That's right, the woman in red holding flowers that they bumped into on the road earlier was actually Yan Qing!

Wen Jiajia's face lit up. "You mean, that brat Yan Qing didn't die at all? Not only that, she's in this instance now?"

Yan Che nodded. "Based on my understanding of her, she should be under control right now, otherwise she wouldn't have given us such a warning. So, Yue Qi and I must go and investigate."

Yue Qi remained silent, intently studying the geomantic map Yan Qing had given them the entire time. However, he seemed somewhat perplexed; Wen Jiajia noticed that his brows remained furrowed the entire time.

Curious, she leaned closer to the geomantic map and exclaimed, "Come on, let me see! — Huh, what the heck is this?"

She looked at it from left to right, and it didn't look like a map at all! What frustrated her the most was that the text on it was in traditional Chinese characters, which she couldn't understand at all!

"This is too much! Is that brat Yan Qing doing this on purpose?!" Miss Wen was getting upset.

Yue Qi usually ignored her, but Yan Che, in a great mood, took the initiative to explain to her.

"This is the geomantic map of the Zhang family's old residence. With it, our safety will be greatly improved. However, I think many of the mechanisms on it don't seem to be recent technology. There are many that I've never even heard of."

Wen Jiajia refused to believe it. "What kind of power could a mere old Zhang family mansion have? Don't forget, we even made it through the Nine Hells more than two thousand years ago. Are we afraid of a mere Zhang family?"

Yue Qi finally couldn't listen anymore and interrupted Wen Jiajia.

"Tell me, since you arrived here, have you received any system notifications?"

"Right, I almost forgot!" Wen Jiajia finally realized, "Could it be that we're still outside the instance? But we're definitely already inside!"

Even so, she knew in her heart that something was definitely wrong with this instance. Most importantly, that damned invitation was still safely tucked away in her bag!

If you enter the instance, the invitation should disappear.

This leaves only one explanation: they haven't actually found the correct way to enter the instance.

Yan Che sighed, "That's why we're planning to explore this Zhang family mansion. Otherwise, every extra day we stay here will be more dangerous—this Zhang family mansion is clearly problematic."

Next, they arranged for Wen Jiajia to guard the rear, while Yan Che and Yue Qi took the opportunity to sneak up onto the roof and disappear.

The Zhang family's old house is composed of many small courtyards, which can be clearly seen from the feng shui map.

So the two of them had specifically planned before setting off, and their destination this time was still to find Yan Qing's whereabouts.

Based on the feng shui map and the direction in which the women in red disappeared that morning, the two initially estimated three most likely locations.

The first location was a small courtyard, the closest to the main square. According to the feng shui map, this place should be located near the center of the Zhang family's old residence, and it was their primary target.

They carefully avoided the patrolling guards along the way and successfully sneaked into the courtyard. But they were dumbfounded as soon as they entered.

This little courtyard had long been abandoned.

Moreover, the only building in the courtyard had four large brass locks hanging on it, and the mottled rust on them told them that the place had been sealed off for at least several years.

Yan Che tried to peer through the window, but unfortunately, the window was covered from the inside, so he couldn't see anything at all.

"Yue Qi, why don't you give it a try!" Yan Che began to urge Yue Qi, who had the ability to see clearly.

Yue Qi's right eye flashed with blue light as he peered through the window. He seemed somewhat surprised to see something.

"There was nothing in the room, not a single piece of furniture or decoration. In the very center of the room, on the floor, lay a red embroidered robe, folded neatly."

"A woman's embroidered robe? Red?" Yan Che seemed to have thought of something. "Do you remember Yan Qing, the girl we saw during the day? What's the difference between the red embroidered robe you see now and the clothes that girl Yan Qing was wearing?"

Yue Qi thought about it carefully, "I have to say, this dress is exactly the same as the one Yan Qing is wearing."

Yan Che nodded. "It seems that the owner of this place must also be a woman in red holding flowers."

The two searched for a while longer, but found nothing. They then prepared to leave and head to the second suspicious location.

However, the journey was not very smooth.

They had just stepped out of the courtyard when they ran straight into a patrol of spearmen. They were carrying someone on their shoulders.

Yue Qi stared at the woman dressed in white with shackles on her hands, who was being dragged forward by the guards, staggering along.

In the instant the corner turned, Yue Qi saw her raise her face—it was actually that lively and cheerful little girl, Ami.

At this moment, Ami's face was covered with streaks of blood, making her look exceptionally pitiful. In addition, her back and hands were covered with deep, bone-revealing bloodstains, clearly indicating that she had suffered considerable torture.

Yue Qi couldn't understand how this little girl could have been tortured like this so soon.

Also, could that sudden plume of smoke be related to her? After all, he clearly saw the terrified expression on the old man's face.

"Hurry up! You're so slow, do you want to die?!"

The guard's voice sounded like a mechanical duck, completely devoid of emotion.

Yue Qi observed that the little girl named Ami, although she looked very scared, had a clear and bright gaze.

As soon as she turned the corner, she knelt down on the ground with a thud.

The guards immediately sprang into action. Yue Qi couldn't see their movements, but Ami's trembling pleas for mercy never ceased. This continued for several minutes before the group finally moved forward again.

After waiting a while longer until there was no further movement, Yue Qi pulled Yan Che along and quietly slipped out.

He went straight to the corner, to the place where Ami knelt down and begged for mercy.

"What are you doing?" Yan Che was a little confused. What was Yue Qi looking for?

They were standing behind a rock wall, so they were relatively safe at the moment.

Yan Che watched as he groped his way down the stone wall, eventually kicking out a shallow little pit in the ground.

At the bottom of the pit, a small and exquisite fragment of white jade lay quietly.