In other words, moments ago, the fifth cursed scroll had indeed been within their reach, and Ya Feng, without showing any sign, had pulled a sacrificial move right under their noses, sending the cursed scroll away.

This feeling was like having prey in your mouth only to have it break your teeth and escape. The mess left behind could only be swallowed along with blood.

Cao Yanhua anxiously said, “Let’s quickly return to the village to find Qing Shan.”

Ya Feng responded with a contemptuous sneer.

Luo Ren sighed inwardly. Since Qing Shan had “escaped,” he would certainly never return to the village. This mission had failed when success was within reach. Although he felt somewhat dispirited, seeing Yan Hong Sha and the others looking dejected, Luo Ren still tried to steer the conversation toward something positive: “It’s fine. He might escape for now, but not forever. Capturing this scroll is just a matter of time.”

As he said this, he noticed that the look of triumph in Ya Feng’s eyes grew even stronger.

Luo Ren’s heart sank.

Since Ya Feng was displaying such confidence, it meant that she was truly certain, and likely had more tricks up her sleeve.

However, looking on the bright side, since she couldn’t hide her satisfaction, she might also be susceptible to provocation.

Luo Ren thought briefly, then deliberately spoke with confidence: “We’ve already collected four scrolls, more than half of the seven. The rest will be just a simple task.”

Sure enough, Ya Feng laughed coldly: “A simple task? You don’t even know if you can keep those four.”

Luo Ren smiled: “We can keep them. Properly subdued, their tendons extracted, they can no longer cause trouble.”

Ya Feng finally couldn’t resist: “You think you’ve truly contained them? In this world, only the Phoenix-Luan Clasp can contain the cursed scrolls… No matter what method you’re using now, you can’t escape the rule of seven times seven.”

Luo Ren asked calmly: “What is this rule of seven times seven?”

Ya Feng smugly replied: “It doesn’t hurt to tell you. Many secrets about the cursed scrolls are related to the number seven. Seven is completion. I know you’re containing the cursed scrolls using the Phoenix Blood Circle. Simply put, you’ve captured a cursed scroll and confined it with the Phoenix Blood Circle. How long do you think it will remain effective?”

She smiled eerily, her voice dropping to a whisper: “The rule of seven times seven—forty-nine days at most. After forty-nine days, the Phoenix Blood Circle will collapse, and… it will never work again.”

Luo Ren smiled: “Is that so? But I seem to recall that it’s been more than forty-nine days since we captured the first cursed scroll.”

“That’s because you later captured a second one. As long as you subdue a new cursed scroll within forty-nine days, the countdown starts anew from the latest one. Understand?”

So that was the reason. Luo Ren didn’t speak, but inwardly he felt that Ya Feng was telling the truth.

Looking back, the color of the Phoenix Blood Circle had indeed faded as days passed, and they had worried whether it would lose its effectiveness. Fortunately, though completely unaware of the time limit, guided by the clues from the Phoenix-Luan Clasp, they had always managed to recover the new cursed scrolls fairly quickly.

Calculating carefully, indeed, none of the intervals had exceeded forty-nine days.

Since the fifth cursed scroll hadn’t been subdued yet, this current seven times seven countdown should start from when they subdued the fourth scroll in Nantian. Thinking about it this way, he suddenly realized that time was not on their side.

No wonder when he had said “you can escape for now but not forever,” Ya Feng had appeared so smug: they didn’t have “forever”!

Ya Feng continued with a sarcastic tone: “Besides, even if you truly collect all seven scrolls, without the Phoenix-Luan Clasp, it’s all for nothing. How much time do you have left now? Qing Shan doesn’t need to attack you. He just needs to hide and wait out these days. Before long, those four scrolls will re-enter the world—and each one has its eyes fixed on you.”

At this point, she burst into unrestrained laughter, utterly delighted.

Luo Ren’s expression darkened as he stepped forward and seized Ya Feng by the throat: “Where did Qing Shan go?”

Ya Feng continued laughing, her face contorted from the grip on her throat: “How would I know? But Qing Shan understands; he’ll hide somewhere safe.”

On the mountain path, they could faintly see Cao Jinhua’s figure coming down. Luo Ren withdrew his hand, his face grim. Mu Dai looked from one to the other and said softly, “Let’s go meet up with Yi Wansan first and then decide.”

Four people escorting one Ya Feng, yet ironically, it was the prisoner who was triumphant. Yan Hong Sha felt deeply frustrated and could only take it out on Ya Feng, fiercely scolding her, sometimes complaining she was too fast, sometimes too slow, and when displeased, giving her several hard shoves, showing the manner of a harsh jailer.

Fortunately, no villagers were coming or going along this route; otherwise, seeing the bride suddenly reduced to such a state would certainly cause disputes.

Luo Ren still felt something was amiss, and his pace naturally slowed. Mu Dai stopped to wait for him, and when he approached, she took his arm and asked: “What are you thinking about?”

“Don’t you find it strange that when Ya Feng collided with Qing Shan, the cursed scroll transferred to him?”

Indeed, from previous instances, the cursed scroll’s possession required time. Take Luo Ren’s uncle, Luo Wenmiao, for example—the suspected incubation period was at least one to two years.

Mu Dai thought for a moment: “Perhaps the cursed scrolls are becoming more powerful.”

Perhaps, but to be powerful to such a degree seemed somewhat incredible. Moreover, if the transfer was truly so easy, why not transfer to other people present, such as Cao Jinhua?

Luo Ren pondered: “Perhaps… Qing Shan is different somehow.”

Just as he was thinking, Yan Hong Sha suddenly remembered something and called to Cao Yanhua to help her guard Ya Feng, then ran over to Luo Ren.

“I almost forgot the important matter.” She pulled out her phone breathlessly, enlarged a photo, and showed it to Mu Dai and Luo Ren. At the wedding I attended, Cao’s Village had a ceremony of worshipping ancestral tablets. Do you know what writing is on the tablets? Oracle bone script!”

Luo Ren’s heart tightened, and at the same time, Mu Dai blurted out: “The bronze waist tag!”

Yan Hong Sha was surprised: “You know about it too?”

Mu Dai briefly explained the discovery she and Luo Ren made in the cave. In the picture, embedded in the wooden ancestral tablet was indeed a bronze waist tag with the character for “earth.”

Luo Ren felt he was getting closer to the truth.

His previous guess hadn’t been wrong. Cao’s Village was very likely founded by a follower of the cursed scroll who escaped from the cave. Perhaps in this village, a bloodline had continued unbroken from that time to the present.

Ya Feng had chosen Qing Shan. Could it be that Qing Shan was… a descendant of that person?

Due to Ya Feng’s injuries, it wasn’t good to take her up the mountain path, so they walked along the road toward the parking area. After walking for about two or three hours, they saw Luo Ren’s car in the distance. Yan Hong Sha was happy and quickened her pace, waving toward the driver’s seat. As she was waving, she suddenly felt a sense of dread and rushed toward the car.

She stopped when she got close.

She wasn’t mistaken—there was no one in the car.

She anxiously circled the car: no one behind it either.

Luo Ren walked to the front of the car and reached for the door handle: the door wasn’t locked, and the key was still in the ignition.

Yan Hong Sha worriedly said, “He agreed to wait in the car. Did he go to the bathroom…?”

She couldn’t help but rush to the edge of the nearby woods. The forest wasn’t large but was dense. Raindrops were filtered into fine mist by the leaves above. Yan Hong Sha called out into the woods a couple of times but received no response.

Where was Yi Wansan? Had something happened to him? What could have happened?

Yan Hong Sha felt both confused and frustrated.

Luo Ren opened the car door, put Ya Feng inside, and gestured for everyone to gather around. He first asked about Yi Wansan’s situation. Yan Hong Sha swore that everything had been normal when she left, and Yi Wansan had said he wouldn’t go anywhere and would wait quietly in the car.

Luo Ren thought for a moment and said, “Something might have happened. Don’t panic. Let’s clarify the immediate issues first, one at a time.”

He shared his suspicions about Qing Shan.

Cao Yanhua found it hard to believe: “Brother Luo, I’m not favoring my own family, but Qing Shan and I grew up together, playing naked as kids. Back then, he was truly a normal person. That guy couldn’t keep secrets!”

Cao Yanhua refused to believe that Qing Shan was some mysterious descendant carrying a great mission.

He emphasized: “We grew up together, really, we were as close as brothers.”

Luo Ren gestured toward the car: “I don’t know how to pry open Ya Feng’s mouth. After all this time, we’ve rarely encountered someone who understands the cursed scrolls. But it’s clear she’s uncooperative; even torture probably wouldn’t work.”

The topic returned to Qing Shan: “If he hasn’t inherited any family secrets, why did Ya Feng choose him? He must have something different about him.”

Yan Hong Sha said, “His constitution must be different. Didn’t the scroll possess him after just one collision? Previous people, like your uncle, had some resistance to the cursed scrolls. Someone like Qing Shan…”

She muttered softly: “It’s like he was made for the cursed scroll, like an accessory.”

Cao Yanhua didn’t understand: “What do you mean by accessory?”

Yan Hong Sha gave him a look: “Didn’t I just say? Made to match…”

Thoughts whirled rapidly in Luo Ren’s mind as he tried to clarify his thinking.

Different constitution—bloodline—genes…

In the very beginning, what criteria were used to select those who followed the cursed scrolls? Ability? Loyalty? Blind obedience? Or was it from the most fundamental… innate talent?

Luo Ren’s gaze suddenly fell on Cao Yanhua.

Cao Yanhua felt uncomfortable under his stare and fidgeted: “Brother Luo, why… why are you looking at me?”

“Ya Feng didn’t harm you severely, but she showed no mercy to me, Mu Dai, or Yi Wansan. Why?”

Cao Yanhua couldn’t figure it out either: “Why? Because I’m Qing Shan’s cousin?”

Luo Ren said, “Perhaps your constitution is also very different.”