From seeing that Buddhist scripture, following Xue Zhao hastily down the mountain, meeting Yan Sanhe, to now with the two of them climbing the steps while conversing freely…

Tang Jianxi suddenly realized he’d been led by the nose by a seventeen-year-old girl for half the journey.

This was too damn interesting!

Yan Sanhe, seeing Tang Jianxi’s expression undergo subtle changes, decided to play her trump card.

“She’s dead. She died of natural causes. She calculated the day herself, put on her hundred-patch robe and embroidered shoes, applied rouge, and passed very peacefully.”

“Oh!”

Tang Jianxi gave her a bland response, his face showing no great sorrow.

Yan Sanhe couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Water Moon Nunnery hadn’t sent Mingyue to the funeral—logically he shouldn’t know!

Yet his manner suggested he’d known all along.

“I guess you already knew. Am I right?”

This little girl was testing him again.

Tang Jianxi forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, once again forcing an ambiguous answer from his mouth. “Oh?”

“But there’s one thing you definitely don’t know.”

Yan Sanhe couldn’t be bothered guessing his thoughts anymore. She directly threw out her trump card. “After her death… the coffin split open again.”

“What?”

Tang Jianxi abruptly stopped, his face changing dramatically.

“As for why it split open…”

Yan Sanhe changed tack. “You must first tell me—do you actually know about her death or not?”

Tang Jianxi looked into the young woman’s dark eyes, feeling like he was now a fish on the chopping block, only able to be cut.

“I didn’t actually know, but a few days ago my daughter had a dream. She dreamed a new grave had been added behind Water Moon Nunnery. I had a bad feeling.”

So that was it!

“Jingchen’s coffin won’t close because she has a thought in her heart. Over time, the thought became a demon. Old Master Tang, aren’t you curious who I am?”

Yan Sanhe held her head high. “I’m the person Water Moon Nunnery invited to transform Jingchen’s thoughts and resolve her demon.”

She has a heart demon?

Tang Jianxi’s inner world collapsed. How could she have a heart demon?

“Her heart demon is a drumbeat sound—boom… boom… boom… Old Master Tang, now you should understand why I absolutely had to come see you?”

Yan Sanhe gave him no moment to catch his breath. “Because her heart demon isn’t at Water Moon Nunnery, isn’t at the Music Bureau, but at the Tang family.”

As the words fell, the expression on Tang Jianxi’s face also shattered.

The Tang?

Family?

…

Down the mountain.

Young Master Pei’s expression was also splitting. That person called Xue Zhao had only sent down four sedan chairs, saying those with injuries should ride up, and those without should climb on their own.

Actually, they weren’t quite sedan chairs—just two bamboo poles with a bamboo chair strung between them.

Fine, climb then!

After Young Master Pei climbed for a while, his expression split again.

What was wrong with everyone?

Hero Li wore an expression of “Auntie is not pleased right now.”

Xie Fifty wore an expression of “Don’t provoke me.”

Huangqi was seriously injured and had no strength to speak.

Zhu Qing continued being his sealed gourd.

…No one was speaking anymore!

Without Yan Sanhe, the team was just scattered sand—Young Master Pei finally reached this conclusion.

The mountain wasn’t high. After just half an hour, they could see houses built against the mountainside, one after another.

By now it was near dusk, with cooking smoke rising from every household.

Mountain folk who’d been busy all day waited for dinner while standing at their doorways, craning their necks to watch this group of guests arriving by sedan chair.

Chickens flew, ducks called, dogs barked, cattle poked their heads from cow sheds, sheep stopped grazing, pigs rooted at their pens…

Young Master Pei walked beside Xue Zhao. “By the way, this place of yours has quite a lively, worldly atmosphere.”

Xue Zhao said nothing coldly, only giving him an expression that said “Did you think this was the underworld?”

Continuing to spiral upward, after crossing the last stone step, the view suddenly opened up before them.

The mountaintop was actually one entire flat space, paved with huge square blue stone bricks. An ancient, simple large mansion stood imposingly, with two enormous stone lions at the entrance.

Looking into the distance, mountain ranges stretched endlessly, impossible to see the end.

Looking down the mountain—tea gardens, villages, farmland…

Thinking that all of this belonged to the Tang family, Young Master Pei couldn’t help but sigh. This Tang Jianxi was properly a local tyrant!

Just then, a bald old man came out to greet them. “Five guests, please follow me.”

Throughout the journey, maintaining a stern face without speaking, Third Master suddenly spoke. “Where is your master?”

Young Master Pei froze. Shouldn’t he first ask where Yan Sanhe was?

“The master is in his study. Miss Yan and Doctor Zhou are waiting in the courtyard. Dinner will be delivered to the courtyard in one hour.”

The bald old man smiled at Xie Zhifei, his two large front teeth yellow and crooked. “Does the young master have any other questions?”

“No more.”

Xie Zhifei forced a smile. “Lead the way.”

…

The moment Third Master’s foot stepped into the mansion, the study door creaked open.

A woman stepped inside, her brows involuntarily furrowing.

The room had no lamp lit, pitch black. The man was lying askew on the kang edge, seemingly already asleep.

The woman walked over, taking the quilt from nearby to cover him.

Tang Jianxi opened his eyes. At the same moment, the woman’s movements paused. Seeing tears at the corners of the man’s eyes, she was momentarily speechless. After a long while, she finally said, “What’s wrong with you, Master?”

“Qiao’er, Zhiwei… she’s truly gone.”

Tao Qiao’er stood frozen for quite a while, then sighed. “No wonder Mingyue had that dream. It must be their mother-daughter heart connection.”

“Last time she came, I felt something wasn’t right. Her complexion was too poor. I had Old Zhou check her pulse, but she…”

Tang Jianxi grasped her hand and placed it over his eyes.

“She didn’t care in the slightest. Smiling, she told me that when the King of Hell calls someone to die at the third watch, he won’t wait until the fifth watch. She also advised me to be more open-minded, not to be too attached.”

“She was always perceptive.”

Tao Qiao’er wiped away his tears. “What’s going on with those young people in the guest courtyard? Why were they even carried up?”

In all these years, Master had never received outside guests. Even if guests could break through all three trials, they’d climbed the mountain themselves.

“Her coffin split open. They say she has a heart demon. To resolve the demon, the coffin must close. Those young people came to help resolve her demon.”

Tao Qiao’er grabbed the man’s hand tightly. “Zhenge!”

Her voice filled with terror.

Tang Jianxi pressed his body close. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…”

“I’m not afraid of that. I’m afraid for Mingyue, that child. She’s still carrying a child. If she finds out…”

Tao Qiao’er stood up urgently. “I must have Xue Zhao make a trip down the mountain.”

“Wait.”

Tang Jianxi pulled her back. “There’s something else you need to know.”

“What?”

“They say Zhiwei’s heart demon is related to the Tang family.”

These words exploded in Tao Qiao’er’s ears, making her ears ring for a moment. After a long while, she finally found her voice.

“This matter… I, I, what should we do?”

Tang Jianxi sat up, his expression changing several times. In the end, he still uttered one sentence.

“I don’t know either.”