Midway through his explanation, Jiang Zheng felt tired from standing, so he simply sat down and continued, "I was just about to leave the village when I ran into Zhang Yu, so we walked together. By the time we got near the village entrance, a group of ghosts with man-eating flower heads suddenly floated out from all directions. Before I could even figure out what was happening, we were attacked. I intended to run towards the village entrance, but it was blocked by the ghosts, so I had no choice but to flee in the opposite direction. Somehow, I ended up here. I didn't expect you all to be here. That's my experience."
Tong Zheng lowered his head and asked, "Did you get any clues from that crazy woman named Xiao Xi?"
Jiang Zheng smiled faintly, not answering Tong Zheng's question, but his meaning was self-evident.
After hearing Jiang Zheng's account, Ke Wuwen suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, "So Xiao Xi is a person! The kid just now said he saw Xiao Xi, and I thought it was a river."
The others: "..." Was that the point?
Ke Wuwen chuckled awkwardly and went to sit aside, no longer disturbing the others' conversation.
Jiang Zheng was willing to share his experience but not his clues, while Zhang Yu was unwilling to say anything at all.
Tong Zheng hesitated for a moment, then turned to Zhang Yu and asked, "Mr. Zhang, Ming He and Mr. Chi saved you just now. If you are still unwilling to cooperate or suspect us, we can act separately after daybreak to avoid interfering with each other. Don't you agree?"
Tong Zheng's words were rather blunt. After all, if Zhang Yu hadn't doubted Jing Ming He before, they could have learned the contents of that notebook earlier and wouldn't have been wandering aimlessly in this village all day.
Zhang Yu glared at Tong Zheng resentfully and said irritably, "I don't have any clues to exchange with you."
"You..." Tong Zheng sneered and walked to sit down to rest, ignoring him.
The atmosphere was tense, and no one dared to say much. You Mi then pulled Lin Ling and Yan Xiaoqian to find a place to sit down quietly and rest.
After sitting down, You Mi looked around and asked Tong Zheng, "By the way, Mr. Tong, didn't you go to the Star Lord's Hall to call Chen Mu just now? Why isn't he here?"
Tong Zheng replied, "He's not here. When Wu Wen and I went to find Ming He and Mr. Chi earlier, he said he would wait there in case Ming He and the others came up from the Star Lord's Hall, so he could help. But when I went to call him, I found he wasn't in the Star Lord's Hall anymore. I don't know if he went down there or somewhere else."
You Mi worriedly said, "Whether he went below or somewhere else, it's very dangerous."
Tong Zheng waved his hand and said, "Whatever. He left without a word, let him do as he pleases."
Jiang Zheng overheard their conversation and casually asked, "The 'below' you're talking about, where is that?"
You Mi was about to answer, but was interrupted by Tong Zheng, who said meaningfully, "This is an important clue, and it's not convenient to say right now. If you want to know, you'll have to find out yourselves."
"But it's very dangerous down there," You Mi added, "It's best not to go alone."
Jing Ming He leaned comfortably against Chi Hao to rest, watching the others chat with interest. Seeing Tong Zheng targeting Zhang Yu and Jiang Zheng, he lowered his voice and said to Chi Hao so only they could hear, "I didn't expect this Tong Zheng to be so vindictive."
"That's good."
Chi Hao was very satisfied with Tong Zheng's performance. After answering Jing Ming He, he subtly placed a hand on Jing Ming He's waist.
Glancing at Jing Ming He, who still had his eyes open and was lost in thought, Chi Hao spoke again, "Jing Ming He, rest."
Since Zhang Yu refused to cooperate, the instance analysis couldn't proceed. Jing Ming He couldn't be bothered to think about it and decided to let Tong Zheng handle it.
Besides, he really needed to rest.
He slowly closed his eyes, mumbling, "I wonder where Guan Wei is now?"
There was still a small piece of parchment in Guan Wei's hand, related to the pattern of the seventh seal.
Chi Hao knew what Jing Ming He was worried about and said softly to Jing Ming He, "We'll get it, whether he's alive or dead."
The ghosts outside were relentlessly trying to break in. Inside, some people were already sleeping soundly, like Jing Ming He, while others were vigilantly staring at the tightly shut door, like Ke Wuwen.
The rest were either too tired to stay awake and kept dozing off, or were diligently sorting through the existing instance clues, hoping to glean something new.
Everyone knew that the longer one stayed in the instance, the closer they were to death.
Jiang Zheng was not a kind person, but he was not foolish either. He knew that Tong Zheng was targeting Zhang Yu, who had questioned Jing Ming He from the beginning. He himself was implicated by Zhang Yu, as they were old teammates.
However, the stalemate benefited no one. He knew this, and Tong Zheng understood it. Jing Ming He and the others were certainly not fools.
But Jiang Zheng knew in his heart that the meager clues he possessed were not enough to exchange with Jing Ming He and the others. However, from Tong Zheng's attitude, he could infer that Jing Ming He and his group possessed far more clues than he did.
Making up his mind, Jiang Zheng stood up and walked over to Zhang Yu, gesturing for him to go aside and talk.
Zhang Yu reluctantly followed Jiang Zheng to a corner of the main hall and asked him unhappily, "What do you want to tell me?"
Jiang Zheng asked directly, "Did you really not find any clues?"
Zhang Yu looked speechless and retorted, "If I had clues, would I pretend to be mute? And have to endure being ostracized?"
Jiang Zheng sighed helplessly, "I really don't know what to say about you."
"Do you really believe they have important clues?" Zhang Yu said disdainfully, "Can you guarantee they aren't deliberately trying to trick us? Even if they have clues to exchange, why should they speak first instead of us?"
Jiang Zheng shrugged, "Because they have more people, you see? Even Wu Wen is tagging along with them."
Mentioning Ke Wuwen, Zhang Yu's dissatisfaction intensified. He glared hatefully at Ke Wuwen, who was dozing nearby, "The clues they can find, we can find them too. We don't need to exchange with them!"
"You're truly stupid," Jiang Zheng said, placing his hand on Zhang Yu's shoulder. He had initially thought that with Zhang Yu's clues, it would be enough to exchange with Jing Ming He and the others. Now, seeing Zhang Yu's stubbornness, he felt disappointed. "If that's the case, I won't accompany you any further. You can figure it out yourself."
He now had only one option left: if the clues were insufficient, he would make up for it with sincerity, hoping that Jing Ming He and the others were not petty people.
Despite this, Jiang Zheng couldn't help but wonder. He had gone through two instances with Zhang Yu. Zhang Yu wasn't particularly clever, but he wasn't this obviously foolish either.
Could being abandoned by Ke Wuwen have hit him that hard? He was just an insignificant follower, was it really worth it? Or was it...
Jiang Zheng felt his speculation was a bit far-fetched. He smiled helplessly and then dismissed it from his mind.