"Minghe? Jing Minghe? Can you hear me?"
Chi Hao held the unconscious Jing Minghe in his arms, gently patting his face, his brows furrowed with worry.
Not far from them, Tong Zheng and Ke Wuwen had both regained consciousness. Ke Wuwen excitedly shouted while hugging the package in his arms, "I didn't lose it, it's still here, great! Idol? Idol? Where is he?"
Perhaps it was Ke Wuwen's incessant noise, or perhaps he finally heard Chi Hao's call, Jing Minghe frowned slightly and slowly opened his eyes. Everything was still dark. He felt himself being held and tried to speak, "Brother Hao? Is that you?"
"It's me."
"Idol!" Ke Wuwen rushed to Jing Minghe's side, looking down at him cradled in Chi Hao's arms and exclaimed excitedly, "Idol, I'm so glad you're okay." Sudancrazy.com
Tong Zheng shook his head helplessly. He was utterly confused and didn't know who to ask.
Jing Minghe could see nothing and could only ask, "Where are we now?"
"We don't know where we are," Ke Wuwen replied, crouching in front of Jing Minghe. "Everything around us is a vast expanse of white, with nothing else."
"A vast expanse of white?" Jing Minghe sat up and tried to look around. He "saw" a white spot behind him to his right. He raised his hand and pointed at the white spot he saw, asking, "That direction?"
Ke Wuwen looked confused. "It's the same, all white, nothing there."
Chi Hao asked Jing Minghe in a low voice, "What do you see?"
"A white spot," Jing Minghe replied.
Ke Wuwen was about to ask what was strange about a white spot when everything was white. Thankfully, before he could speak, he suddenly remembered that Jing Minghe was temporarily blind and should, by all rights, be seeing only darkness.
So, he turned to ask, "Idol, can you see what that white spot is?"
Jing Minghe shook his head and replied, "I can't see clearly. If you're willing, we can go closer to take a look."
"Alright," Tong Zheng agreed immediately. "We don't have any other objectives anyway, and we can't be stuck here forever. We have to find a way out."
"Oh, right," Jing Minghe suddenly remembered. "What was that thing you found in the mass grave before we fell?"
Although he knew Jing Minghe couldn't see, Ke Wuwen still held up the item in his hand as if presenting a treasure to Jing Minghe. "It's a large package. We haven't had a chance to see what's inside yet..."
"Open it."
"As you command!"
With that, Ke Wuwen placed the package on the ground and opened it layer by layer. Upon seeing the contents, he shouted excitedly, "Idol! It's a pestle! Made of red jade, it must be the Blood Jade Pestle! But... why are there so many?"
Jing Minghe pressed, "Many?"
"Yes, about ten or so," Ke Wuwen counted. "Sixteen in total!"
"No wonder."
Tong Zheng asked Jing Minghe curiously, "No wonder what? Minghe, do you know something?"
Jing Minghe grunted and explained, "When you were looking for the tombstones, I found out from Lu."
"Lu?" Ke Wuwen looked bewildered. "Who is Lu?"
"The evil spirit possessing Guan Wei. I can see the words that appear on its forehead. It's Lu. I deliberately called it that before, and it tacitly agreed."
Chi Hao softly affirmed, "It is indeed called Lu. It told me."
Ke Wuwen was completely stunned. "Lu? What lu? There are words on Mr. Guan's forehead? How did I not see them?"
"Another clue only Minghe can see," Tong Zheng frowned slightly and asked, "Minghe, are there words on Lin Ling's forehead too? That's why you knew she was problematic from the start and didn't want me to take her with me in the mass grave, making her stay with Chi Hao."
"Yes."
"That's strange," Tong Zheng said inexplicably. "When was Lin Ling possessed? I had no idea. She was always with me..."
Tong Zheng stopped mid-sentence and then realized. "Could it have been at that time? But if it was then, why didn't she harm me?"
Jing Minghe replied, "She doesn't not harm you, but she has a more important mission. This Blood Jade Pestle is what can destroy them."
"..." Tong Zheng apologized. "I'm sorry. It was my carelessness. I almost let her take the Blood Jade Pestle. You clearly instructed that the two must never be separated. I was too negligent."
Jing Minghe waved his hand. "It's not your fault. Based on my judgment, they can likely acquire the memories of the possessed person. If I couldn't see the words on their foreheads, it would indeed be difficult for us to determine."
"Wow!" Ke Wuwen couldn't help but exclaim, "Looking at it this way, my idol is like a bug in this dungeon!"
"What about Lin Ling? What word was on her forehead?" Tong Zheng pressed.
"Qing Di."
"Qing Di?" Tong Zheng immediately asked, "Does this name have any special meaning?"
Chi Hao interjected, "Lu and Qing Di are both mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas."
"Classic of Mountains and Seas?" Jing Minghe and the other two questioned simultaneously.
Seeing Jing Minghe turn his "gaze" towards him, Chi Hao's mood improved considerably. He explained, "However, Lu belongs to the Southern Classic, while Qing Di belongs to the Western Classic."
"Got it!" Ke Wuwen raised the Blood Jade Pestle in his hand and shouted, "These Blood Jade Pestles have words on their tails! They are written as East, South, West, and North! Wait, let me count."
Ke Wuwen counted them carefully again, referring to the Blood Jade Pestles in the package. "That's right, East, South, West, North, four of each!"
Tong Zheng squatted beside Ke Wuwen and asked, "Are there any other words besides East, South, West, and North?"
"No more." Ke Wuwen picked up a Blood Jade Pestle and held it in front of Jing Minghe. "Idol, can you see anything?"
"I can't."
Ke Wuwen dejectedly put away the Blood Jade Pestle and muttered, "We can't try them one by one, can we?"
Jing Minghe reached out and patted Ke Wuwen's body as a form of comfort, then continued, "There's one more thing. Lu told me that even if we successfully eliminate one or two evil spirits, if we make a mistake, the previously eliminated evil spirits will recondense. I didn't understand what it meant at the time, but now it seems that the Blood Jade Pestles and the evil spirits are a one-to-one match."
"What?" Ke Wuwen felt even more despairing. "There are eight! Not a single one can be wrong? If we make a mistake, we have to start all over again, is that what it means? Sixteen Blood Jade Pestles! Eight evil spirits! We must use the correct Blood Jade Pestle to eliminate the corresponding evil spirit. This is too difficult!"
Tong Zheng's brow also furrowed. "The Blood Jade Pestles only have directions, no names. Even if Minghe can see the names of the evil spirits, it's useless."
Jing Minghe closed his eyes and said slowly, "We still have other clues. I believe there must be a connection between these clues that can help us find the correct direction."
"Ah, right!" Ke Wuwen's spirits immediately lifted. "We still have the seal patterns!"