Guo Wei explained, "Not long after Yue Yang, Cheng Jun, and I entered through the archway, before we encountered Jia Qi, we saw an altar. It was a simple altar, with nothing particularly special on it. It looked eerie, and we didn't dare to get close. Only Cheng Jun walked over to take a look. He said there was a small trough on the altar, with seven candle-shaped slots. It seemed like they could be removed, but..."
"But none of us dared to take the risk," Yue Yang added with a hint of apology.
Guo Wei couldn't help but frown. At the time, he wasn't afraid of any risk, he just didn't want to be the first one to step forward.
Jing Minghe vaguely heard Chi Hao next to him let out a faint, almost imperceptible cold snort.
Jing Minghe made no comment on this. He himself felt quite speechless. Wasn't the purpose of entering here to actively collect all possible clues to pass? How could one abandon clues out of fear of adventure? He truly didn't understand what these people were thinking.
"Alright," Jing Minghe deliberately added a touch of helplessness to his tone, "We'll go get it together later."
Saying this, he turned his gaze to the other side. "Where's Sister Youmi? Did you find anything?"
Jing Minghe asked casually, as it didn't matter if they found nothing. Unexpectedly, Youmi gave him a surprising answer.
"Yes," Youmi said seriously, "After you and Mr. Chi entered the archway, Shen Yue and I thought we couldn't just wait outside. We had originally planned to just explore other parts of the ancestral hall, but then we saw some villagers come to pay respects. So we went up and chatted with them, and learned some things about the town mayor's family."
"Oh?" Jing Minghe's interest piqued, and he leaned towards Youmi, asking, "What things?"
Youmi glanced at Shen Yue, who signaled her to continue. Knowing Shen Yue was not very talkative, Youmi didn't press her. "We learned that the mayor has seven brothers. Among these seven brothers, only the mayor has a son. The rest all have daughters. Therefore, the mayor's son is highly valued, to the point where his every word and action, even eating and sleeping, is closely monitored."
Hearing this, Jing Minghe couldn't help but scoff, "This is called being valued? If someone dared to 'value' me like that, this young master would definitely make them regret being born human."
Youmi smiled at Jing Minghe's remark, then continued, "Later, somehow, the mayor's son suddenly went mad. The mayor invited doctors from town to treat him every day. Within a few days, the mayor's six younger brothers also started inviting doctors to their homes daily."
"What?" Jing Minghe raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Did their daughters also go mad?"
"No, the town doctors revealed that it was the mayor's seven brothers. The day after the mayor's son went mad, each of them developed a cyst on their back, which couldn't be cured no matter what."
"A cyst?" Jing Minghe pressed, "What kind of cyst?"
Youmi shook her head, "I don't know. I plan to find an opportunity to take a look. Coincidentally, I'm a doctor, so I don't think they'll refuse me."
"Aren't you afraid?" Jing Minghe glanced at Yue Yang and Guo Wei. "The mayor and the others might be very dangerous. Why don't you have me come with you when you go?"
"No need, Shen Yue will accompany me," Youmi paused and explained, "It will be more convenient for the two of us. You should still act with Mr. Chi."
Perhaps spurred by Youmi's bravery, Yue Yang and Guo Wei exchanged a look and said, "After this is over, Guo Wei and I will go to the altar to get the trough."
Jing Minghe didn't stand on ceremony and readily agreed, "Alright."
After agreeing, he turned to Chi Hao and said, "By the way, Chi Hao, are those two sticks still there? Give them to them for self-defense."
"Certainly."
Yue Yang and Guo Wei both thanked Chi Hao simultaneously.
With the clues more or less organized, everyone now had their own direction for exploration.
It should still be early, Old Man Hu hadn't arrived yet. Jing Minghe began discussing his deductions with Youmi and the others. "I believe the objective of this instance is to help the spirit of the woman mentioned by the mayor and his family find peace. Those who harmed her are undoubtedly the mayor's family. We just don't know what role the mayor's son played in this. Was he a victim? Or a perpetrator? Also, what conditions need to be met to complete this task?"
"They're here," Chi Hao said, listening to the approaching footsteps. "Let's go sit down first."
As Chi Hao finished speaking, everyone saw Old Hu enter with the same two burly men in red clothes as last time.
This time, no one was late, and the selection proceeded very smoothly. Jing Minghe once again saw the blurry figure standing behind the round table during the selection.
Just as he was trying to get a clearer look, he heard Youmi's voice.
"Minghe?"
He looked at Youmi and saw worry in her eyes, instantly understanding.
He looked up and indeed saw that his nameplate had completely turned blood red, a vivid scarlet that was shocking to behold.
"Heh."
Jing Minghe smiled faintly and stood up of his own accord, signaling the two burly men to lead the way.
Just as he was thinking of a way to meet the mysterious young master of the mayor's family, it seemed like fate had answered.
The others saw that Jing Minghe, having been chosen, not only showed no fear but also appeared relaxed and joyful, his mood seemingly quite good.
Yue Yang couldn't help but blurt out, "Is he... scared silly? Or..."
Chi Hao stood up and cast a cold glance at Yue Yang. "He was waiting for this."
"Huh?"
Yue Yang looked incredulous. Jing Minghe wasn't silly; he was crazy! And not a little bit, otherwise, who would rush to their own death?
Not just Yue Yang, but everyone else had the same reaction as Yue Yang. Chi Hao couldn't be bothered to explain. After Old Man Hu had left, he told Youmi and the others to "go do what you need to do," then instructed Yue Yang and Guo Wei to fetch the sticks from his room themselves, and then he left directly.
Shen Yue, speaking rarely, asked Youmi, "What does Mr. Chi mean by that?"
Youmi also looked speechless. She knew Jing Minghe from outside and was somewhat familiar with him, but as for Chi Hao, they had only gone through one instance together, and she didn't understand him at all. The only thing she knew was that Chi Hao was cold, arrogant, intelligent, and a capable fighter.
"Perhaps," Youmi guessed, "Mr. Chi and Minghe have a plan. They had great chemistry in the first instance."
"Is that so," Shen Yue said thoughtfully, looking towards the doorway. "That's nice."
"Hm?"
Shen Yue shook her head. "It's nothing. It's this time of day, let's go rest first. When it's time for the villagers to be out and about, we'll go find the mayor and the others."
Youmi agreed with Shen Yue's suggestion and then asked Yue Yang and Guo Wei, "What about you guys?"
Yue Yang and Guo Wei stood up simultaneously. Although they were still shaken by their experience behind the archway, they also understood that achieving the mission objectives sooner would increase their chances of survival.
"We'll go get the trough now."