Yan Qing's inner monologue: Tell me more! I'm really curious!

Perhaps heaven finally heard her heart's voice, for the maid who had spoken earlier was now indignant. Yan Qing heard her angry voice...

"Why should we?! We're all members of the Zhang family, connected by blood. We share the same fate, and we share the same fate. Besides, do you think we're like that second young lady? She's the one who got screwed over the most!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Qing instinctively covered her mouth, afraid that she would make a sound and be discovered.

At the same time, her brain started working at lightning speed. The "second young lady" these two people were talking about must be herself.

What does it mean to say "the one who got scammed the worst!"?

At this moment, the white-clad maid opposite also sighed, "Second Miss ran away for so many years, but in the end she still obediently came back, didn't she? It's just that her cooperation this time feels a bit abnormal to me—could Second Miss have been drugged? This is completely unlike her personality!"

"Tch!" The white-clad maid who spoke first snorted coldly. "The second young lady was taken away by her parents when she was little, and she came back after growing up. It's not even certain if it's her or not!"

So this person actually doubted her identity? Before Yan Qing could think further, she heard another maid in white retort.

"This can't be faked. If I had known, only the blood of that lineage could temporarily alleviate the outbreak of the curse. If the Second Miss's blood was fake, it would have been discovered immediately. After all, blood can't be faked."

“Yes—” After she said this, they both fell silent. “I don’t know when we’ll be free. I’m tired of living like this, where we can’t see the light of day every day!”

The two then began to sigh deeply. After tidying up their belongings, they went out to clean up the rest of the house.

Taking advantage of the moment, Yan Qing quickly ran out from under the bed and left through the window.

She'd had enough of this kind of place.

The terrain of this new Zhang family mansion seemed somewhat familiar. Yan Qing took out the geomantic map she had obtained from the hidden compartment and found that it clearly marked all the terrain layouts here. In addition, it also clearly marked the underground passages of the vast cave area.

However, the terrain on the geomantic map is not completely consistent with the actual terrain; rather, it is symmetrically distributed.

Yan Qing quickly came up with a solution and used the dressing mirror to perfectly solve the problem.

In the mirror, she could see several faintly glowing white dots on the geomantic map, the largest of which was inside the cave.

The small courtyard of Zhang Xinxin, which she had just left, was one of those tiny white dots. It was there that she learned the secret of the Zhang family's curse.

Furthermore, Zhang Xinxin seems to be particularly interested in "Chujiang." And this person is a taboo in the Zhang family's old mansion.

If the scene depicted on the vase is indeed a true account from a hundred years ago, then it at least indicates that the Chu River is inextricably linked to the complete disappearance of the Zhang family's old residence.

Looking at the large white dot in the mirror, Yan Qing hesitated. Why did she feel both anticipation and fear about this place?

Following the route marked on the feng shui map, she prepared to enter the underground cave from a certain artificial hill.

But when she arrived near the artificial hill, she discovered that it was actually a lively garden. The adventurers who had been under tight guard before were now strolling around in twos and threes.

With so many people around, she couldn't get into the cave.

There happened to be many maids in white robes serving them food and tea, so Yan Qing grabbed a plate of pastries and joined the group of servants.

The adventurers seemed quite wary. Several of them refused the tea and snacks offered by the white-clad maid; it seemed they had all been tricked quite a few times when it came to food in this world of strange tales and rules.

"Sister—" Yan Qing was suddenly called out as she passed by someone.

Turning around, she put on a standard smile and asked, "May I ask what brings you here, esteemed guest?"

The person who called out to her was a girl with a round face who looked very cute. She smiled at Yan Qing, showing off eight teeth.

"Sister, this place is so beautiful! I heard that the Zhang family's old house is on Wuyun Mountain. Are we on Wuyun Mountain now?"

Yan Qing shook her head. "This place is called Cangyun Mountain. Our honored guest must have made a mistake. Our Zhang family's old residence has always been located on Cangyun Mountain."

"Oh?" The girl seemed even more curious. "Then, sister, do you know where Wuyun Mountain is?"

I'm not even sure myself! Even if I knew, I couldn't tell you!

Despite thinking this, Yan Qing still shook her head, "I'm sorry, I've never heard of Wuyun Mountain."

"Oh, is that so? Thank you, sister." After asking, the girl turned around and went to talk to the two tall men beside her.

Yan Qing continued to wander through the crowd with her tea and snacks, her mind racing.

"It seems these adventurers are all looking for some Dark Cloud Mountain. I just wonder what this has to do with their mission?"

She listened intently to the adventurers' discussions. Surprisingly, it seemed they hadn't yet figured out how to enter the dungeon.

These people were all invited by Zhang Nana to participate in the Sacred Flame Festival at the Zhang family's old residence on Wuyun Mountain. But the frustrating thing was that the Zhang family's old residence wasn't actually on Wuyun Mountain, but rather in a place called "Cangyun Mountain".

—That is, where they are currently located.

Yan Qing remembered that she had also received an invitation to the "Zhang Family Old House Sacred Fire Festival" event, and she remembered very clearly that the person who invited her was Zhang Nana herself.

But when Zhang Nana first came into contact with her, she had already turned to ashes. Yan Qing still remembers the strange smile that Zhang Nana left behind.

Looking back now, it always gives her a feeling she can't quite put her finger on. It's as if this is the scene she's been waiting for all along.

What she couldn't understand even more was that she knew Zhang Nana's appearance very well. This person looked completely different from her, and she couldn't find any resemblance whatsoever.

But at the Zhang family's old house, she transformed into her own appearance.

Thinking of this, Yan Qing instinctively sensed a conspiracy. The missing invitation, the strange prop that inexplicably betrayed her—Nana's blessing, and finally, the living person who turned to ash before her eyes.

All of this made her feel as if someone had woven a trap long ago, just waiting for her to fall into it.

To take it a step further, the "Falling Flower Cave Girl" instance might have been created specifically for her.