Song Xizhi was startled, but she slowly relaxed again only when the man's warm hand touched her cheek.

It's Pei Yunyi.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Song Xizhi nodded, and then suddenly hugged him again.

The man stiffened slightly, then stretched out his long arm and pulled the woman in front of him into his arms.

He rested his chin on the top of Song Xizhi's fluffy head, holding her tightly with great force, as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.

The two embraced each other tenderly for a very long time.

Song Xizhi finally came to her senses, and somewhat embarrassedly pulled away from his embrace, then spoke to him:

What brings you here?

"You've been busy all day, and you still have to come over at night?"

Pei Yunyi smiled at her: "I was worried, so I climbed in through the window."

Looking at the slightly ajar window opposite the room, Song Xizhi imagined the noble Crown Prince sneaking up to the third floor.

She couldn't help but chuckle: "After the fake Song Xizhi last time, you still dare to climb through the window to find me?"

Pei Yunyi slightly raised his brow, his expression slightly smug, and his words sounded like he was asking for credit:

“Last time, I sensed something was wrong from the very beginning, so when I went to find her, I went through the front door instead of climbing through the window.”

Seeing him spread his tail feathers like a peacock, Song Xizhi couldn't help but laugh: "So, climbing through windows is still my exclusive privilege?"

Pei Yunyi nodded solemnly: "Climbing through windows is your exclusive privilege."

As he spoke, his expression darkened, and his voice lowered, becoming hoarse: "What about climbing into someone's bed? Is that something exclusively mine?"

Song Xizhi felt that his gaze was wet, as if it was about to melt him.

She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, they were glazed over: "Ayi, do you have a lot of energy right now?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Yunyi's breath hitched, then he nodded slightly, his eyes burning, his hoarse voice muffled in his throat: "Mmm..."

Song Xizhi clapped his hands suddenly, smiled brightly at him, and immediately got off the bed: "Then let's set off now!"

The man's expression became dazed for a moment. He stood up with Song Xizhi and stared at her blankly again: "Leave? Where to?"

"Go to Fengning County."

Song Xizhi explained: "He Yunze... said two things to me before he died. The first was about his maternal grandfather, which we have confirmed; the second was about the statue. He said there was something wrong with the statue."

Song Xizhi felt that since He Yunze had said that, he must have discovered something suspicious, but he himself was not sure.

Upon hearing this, Pei Yunyi's expression gradually turned serious.

Song Xizhi was right; he suddenly remembered something very important:

Since the Chen brothers killed so many people in that temple and levied exorbitant taxes in Fengning County, causing widespread suffering among the people.

So... where are the people? And where is the money?

In order to find out where these missing people had gone, they went to General Zeng's tomb, but the tomb was empty and there were no corpses.

They initially overlooked this clue because they discovered He Jianzhang's body, but now, in retrospect, it seems highly suspicious.

Since the fake He Jingyan was able to discover Song Xizhi's wrongdoing so quickly, and even imprisoned Song Xizhi in the Marquis's mansion before heading to Fengning County.

So how did he discover it?

The only place where the news could have leaked out was Fengning County. Perhaps they had already alerted the Empress Dowager when they went to Fengning County, forcing her to take action.

In that case, Fengning County must be inextricably linked to the Empress Dowager.

Thinking of this, the two exchanged a glance, and then immediately set off on horseback, accompanied by their attendants, towards Fengning County.

When the two arrived in Fengning County, it was just dawn.

Since the events of the past, General Zeng's temple has been temporarily sealed off.

The group dismounted in front of the temple and walked straight to the statue of the deity.

Song Xizhi and Pei Yunyi first offered three sticks of incense to the two generals, then said "excuse me" before climbing up to the statue and carefully observing everything before them.

There was no dust around the two statues; they were very clean. When Pei Yunyi gently rubbed the area around the statues with his fingertips, he could feel the fine sand and dirt.

Song Xizhi also lay down at the base of the statue, carefully observing the edges of the statue and the altar. His expression changed slightly: "There are scratches on the altar, like the statue in front of us... has been moved by someone for a long time."

As soon as Song Xizhi finished speaking, Pei Yunyi straightened up and met her gaze. Both of them saw what the other wanted in each other's eyes.

So they hugged the two statues tightly and tried to move them.

Unable to move up or down, it moved left or right.

As the two statues rotated in sync, a tremendous change occurred within the cramped temple.

The altar, which had been perfectly sealed, slowly opened at that moment.

When Qing Tong and Si Qin saw this astonishing scene, they both opened their mouths wide. Even Song Xizhi and Pei Yunyi were surprised by the horrifying scene before them.

The altar slowly opened, revealing an empty space beneath it, as if another dimension existed. Several ladders were securely placed beneath the altar, allowing people to descend.

Pei Yunyi and Song Xizhi exchanged a glance, and then Pei Yunyi took the lead in climbing down the ladder of the offering table.

Song Xizhi watched his movements nervously, and as soon as his toes touched the ground, he hurriedly asked, "Pei Yunyi, what's going on down there?"

Pei Yunyi's pupils dilated, and his hands stiffly pulled out a tinderbox from his sleeve. After he lit it, the eerie flame emitted a scene that looked like a living hell.