Chapter 75
Unsurprisingly, Li Zhao and Liu Qing encountered the Four Doors and Eight Doors one after the other.
Liu Qing paced back and forth, feeling like she was stuck in a maze: "You're smarter than me, hurry up and think of a solution."
Li Zhao was thinking, and he was relatively calm: "Just now I found a wooden sign in Min Dibao's arms. It said to put the hair on the ground. I have a feeling that this is a trap. I don't know if my hair was sucked by the stone wall when I leaned against it."
He touched the sparse hair on his head.
Liu Qing glanced at Li Zhao's round, egg-shaped head and said nonchalantly, "I just saw that these people don't seem to have much magical power. I'll just release poison gas to kill them."
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard footsteps behind them.
Both of them looked warily in the direction of the sound, wondering if there were any other clones of Min Di Bao who hadn't yet appeared.
To everyone's surprise, it was Yue Ke, Yue Si, and Xian Fei who came out.
"So you are the head of the Yue family, the second young lady of the Yue family, and the head of the Xian family." Li Zhao bowed respectfully to them.
Liu Qing nodded slightly to them in respect.
There aren't many rules in the Demon Realm, but people will still give some face when they see members of the four major families.
Yueke has a good memory; she remembers Li Zhao, someone who had a grudge against Min Dibao before entering the Ruins of Ashes. The woman's name is Liu Qing, and she is from the Liu family of the Demon Realm.
Those who can enter the Ruins of Ashes are no ordinary people. Yue Ke does not make enemies with anyone, but she also does not take the initiative to befriend anyone.
Yueke simply nodded and then prepared to leave.
Li Zhao: "Patriarch Yue, Patriarch Xian, let's not go any further. There are eight doors here, and the next one is sixteen. This place is very strange. Why don't we think of a way to get out now? Otherwise, there will be more and more doors behind us, and it will be very difficult for us to come back later!"
Yueke had already noticed something was wrong with the door here. She stopped, turned around and looked at Li Zhao, saying, "This place is indeed very dangerous. Even Min Dibao, the head of the Min family, lost his life here."
Li Zhao sensed the hidden meaning in her tone: "Does the Yue family head mean to say that I am the murderer?"
Yueke shook her head: "I know you have a grudge against him. Although there are rules in the Demon Realm that prohibit killing each other, no one can interfere in this Ruins of Ashes. I don't care how he died. What I care about is that there are many identical corpses there."
Li Zhao was very sincere; he directly told Yue Ke what was written on the wooden plaque.
Xian Fei was somewhat surprised: "This is clearly a deliberate trap set by someone to ensnare those who come after us. Who left it behind?"
Yue Ke remained silent, though she had a guess in mind. However, she couldn't reveal this person's name.
Yueke shared her suspicions about the mechanism: "The doors here are quite peculiar, but I've noticed that the number of doors follows a pattern. I wonder if this pattern is the key to the illusion. To find out, we'll have to experiment ourselves. But this process might take a while, so please be careful and don't get too close to the stone walls."
After discussing their options, the group unanimously decided that the only good solution was to test each door one by one.
There are still two days left until the ten-day deadline for the Ashes Ruins. Even if we waste a little time in this mechanism, it should be enough.
at the same time.
While the nightmare demon was recuperating, Meng Zheng rescued the Ye family members who were trapped in the river.
Ye Deqing was rescued, but he still put on an air of superiority and looked at Meng Zheng: "Then thank you very much."
Mengzheng quickly waved her hand and said, "It is my honor to be able to save the Ye family head."
Ye Deqing hummed in agreement. He calculated that the closing time of the Ash Ruins was not far off, and they had to leave this place as soon as possible.
The group arrived at the stone gate together. Ye Pingwei opened the stone gate, and a chilling, eerie aura rushed out.
Ye Pingwei said, "Everyone be careful."
Ye Hualing remained as nonchalant as ever, as if he had no regard for life or death, treating life as a game. He walked in first, and seeing everyone still standing there in a daze, he turned around and asked, puzzled, "What are you all standing here for? Don't you want to leave?"
Ye Deqing couldn't stand Ye Hualing's attitude. He felt that his son didn't respect him at all. He snorted coldly, "Since you want to get out so badly, then you can lead the way for us."
Ye Songlan remained silent. In this family, she was the most inconspicuous person. She didn't want to get involved in their conflicts, but she was also unwilling to be ignored. She was conflicted and felt very real. She didn't know what to do.
She had originally hoped to impress her father in these ruins, but she discovered that things weren't as simple as she had imagined. She felt like a weak ant, completely at his mercy.
But she still didn't want to give up. She wanted to prove herself to her father and show that she wasn't useless in the family.
She said, "Father, then I'll clear the way for you from the front too."
Ye Deqing glanced at his youngest daughter and nodded slightly.
And so Ye Hualing and Ye Songlan walked ahead of each other.
Ye Deqing and Ye Pingwei walked in the middle, while Meng Zheng and An Youdao walked at the very back.
The group walked cautiously inside, and the further they went, the colder they felt.
But as they continued their journey, they found no danger whatsoever, which they found rather strange. Escaping the final, desolate place couldn't possibly be this easy.
When they saw the pile of Min Di leopard corpses, they were all shocked, unable to understand what terrible thing had happened. And judging from the footprints on the ground, many others had arrived before them.
This added door is completely baffling and even more of a headache.
Ye Deqing's eyes flashed with a cold light. He knew Min Dibao's strength. The fact that there were multiple corpses of him in this ordinary passage meant that the real Min Dibao had probably been replaced.
Everyone looked very unhappy.
Suddenly they heard a series of footsteps in the distance.
Ye Deqing and Yue Ke's teams met.
On the surface, everyone was still very polite to the head of the Ye family, and they all bowed to him respectfully.
Ye Deqing sized up the group, his eyes revealing that they had been circling around for a long time without finding a way out. A hint of disdain flickered in his eyes.
Everyone tacitly agreed to follow Ye Deqing's arrangements.
Ye Deqing outwardly maintained a peaceful demeanor: "We've only been here a short time. Could you please tell us about the situation here?"
Yueke and the others recounted what they knew, but they did not mention the contents of the wooden plaque that Li Zhao had told them.
After roughly figuring out the situation inside the passage, Ye Deqing stroked his beard and frowned, saying, "We still have two days before we can leave. We must brainstorm and find a solution. Let's act quickly."
Since there were no ferocious beasts here and it was just a smokescreen, Ye Deqing felt that things weren't so bad.
Li Zhao and Liu Qing exchanged glances but did not act alone; they followed behind them.
Apart from the two of them, everyone else here belongs to one of the four major families. It's uncertain whether they might join forces to harm them.
Liu Qing's palms were slightly sweaty; she had just noticed that a few strands of Ye Deqing's beard had fallen to the ground.
If nothing unexpected happens, countless Ye Deqings will soon appear.
After a while, sure enough, they heard some noises coming from not far away.
Everyone was on high alert and prepared to attack.
"What's going on? Are there other people? Or is there a monster?" Ye Pingwei's face darkened.
Yue Ke frowned: "There shouldn't be anyone else."
Xian Fei: "We've been in here for so long and haven't seen a single magical beast, so it shouldn't be a magical beast."
Ye Deqing heard a dense sound of footsteps approaching and had a bad feeling.
The footsteps grew clearer, and several naked, white-bearded, and serious-looking old men emerged.
When Ye Deqing saw the faces of those old men clearly, his face instantly darkened.
When everyone saw who had suddenly appeared, their expressions changed.
Ye Pingwei frowned: "Father, this..."
Ye Deqing was furious. He felt as if he had been seen naked by everyone, and a sense of shame and humiliation welled up in his heart, making him extremely angry.
He remembered seeing a pile of Min Di leopard corpses on the ground when he came in.
He turned to Yueke and Xianfei and asked, "What exactly are these things?"
Ye Deqing's expression was terrifying, and Yue Ke and Xian Fei simultaneously felt a powerful sense of oppression.
Xian Fei spoke first: "The stone walls here are strange; they suck in human hair and turn it into many clones. Has the Night Clan Head been sucked in?"
Ye Deqing frowned: "How is that possible? My hair has never fallen out."
Ye Pingwei cautiously reminded him from behind, "Dad, haven't you been losing a lot of beard lately...?"
Ye Deqing then realized what was happening, his brows furrowed, his face contorted, his fists clenched, and he shouted sharply, "Close your eyes, all of you!"
Ye Deqing was considered an elder here, so no one dared to disobey him and had no choice but to obediently close their eyes.
Ye Deqing snorted coldly and eliminated all the things that had suddenly appeared.
It took no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
"Alright, these things are nothing to fear. Let's continue on our way," Ye Deqing said calmly.
When Yue Ke and the others opened their eyes again, they found the ground a pile of mangled flesh, their faces and bodies unrecognizable. A chill ran down their spines; Ye Deqing was ruthless in his actions, completely unlike his seemingly kind and approachable demeanor.
They continued on their way, and it took them a lot of effort to figure out the pattern of the doors. Only after they found the real exit did they breathe a sigh of relief.
Another day has passed without us even realizing it.
There's only one day left.
The group arrived at the exit.
Ye Hualing gripped the door knocker, the burning sensation almost cooking his hand. He only lightly touched it before instinctively pulling his hand back.
Seeing his actions, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
It's so cold and bone-chilling here, how come this door is so hot to the touch?
Ye Hualing said, "It seems very hot outside. If we put our hands directly on the door knocker, we might get burned. We need to find a way to cool it down before we can go out."
An Youdao followed silently behind. He had wanted to leave this place for a long time; he didn't want to stay here for even a second longer. He stubbornly touched the door knocker, and the scalding heat almost burned his hand.
An Youdao shook his hand, burning himself, and yelled, "Hot! Hot! Hot! Damn it! What kind of junk is this?!"
Ever since escaping the nightmare, Ye Songlan had harbored doubts about An Youdao's character and had become increasingly impatient with him. Seeing him do something so foolish now only fueled her disgust. She planned to break off the engagement after leaving this place. She had no intention of marrying someone like him.
Mengzheng pondered, "But this passage is so cold and the door knocker is so hot, how can we cool it down?"
Yueke glanced at the jade walls around her and suggested, "Why don't we dig these jade stones out and put them on the door knocker?"
Li Zhao took out a curved knife from his bosom and dug a piece of jade directly off the wall.
Ye Hualing took the jade and placed it on the door knocker. With some effort, she pulled the door knocker open, and the door was slowly pulled open.
Everyone smiled, but their smiles vanished the next second.
A wave of heat rushed towards them, and everyone felt as if their faces were being scorched.
Unable to bear the intense heat, An Youdao quickly said, "Close the door!"
Ye Deqing frowned: "No, we have to go through this door to get out."
Ye Pingwei braced himself and said, "I'll go in and try first."
To inherit the Ye family business, one must at least maintain a semblance of appearances.
Ye Pingwei took two steps forward. The heat wave was getting stronger and stronger, almost engulfing him. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he pushed Ye Hualing away and slammed the door shut.
Everyone looked grim.
Yue Si: "It's too hot. Ordinary people simply can't stand it. Besides, we practice metal-based magic, so we are naturally very sensitive to fire."
Mengzheng was on the verge of tears: "How could this happen? Are we going to have to stay here forever?"
An Youdao was on the verge of collapse; he couldn't keep up the act any longer. "Shut up! I can't stay here forever! I want to get out! I want to get out!"
He picked up the jade stone that had fallen to the ground, placed it on the door knocker, and pulled the door open forcefully.
A wave of heat hit him, and he felt as if his face, hands, and legs were on fire. He endured the intense pain and struggled to take a step.
Ye Deqing watched coldly, without stopping it.
He needs someone to take the lead, and this person is reckless, so it's good to let him scout ahead.
Everyone moved away from the door, afraid of being engulfed by the heatwave.
An Youdao was enveloped in a heatwave. He felt a slight change in his skin. He reached out and touched it; it was bubbly.
He swallowed hard and forced himself to take another step.
It's so hot!
He heard what sounded like a sizzling sound, like a chicken sizzling and dripping with oil being roasted.
His consciousness gradually faded, and his body fell straight to the ground.
With a thud, the jade stone fell to the ground.
The door was slammed shut again.
Everyone broke out in a cold sweat as they stared at the dark mass of An Youdao's corpse.
Yue Si was so frightened that she grabbed Yue Ke's arm tightly, feeling as if her body was burning up.
Yueke: "We'll probably be roasted alive before we even get out of this door. We can't afford to act rashly!"
Mengzheng shivered: "Don't you guys feel like it's getting colder and colder here?"
After Mengzheng's reminder, everyone realized it.
As if deliberately playing a prank on them, the jade stones in the passage emitted a chilling aura, as if trying to engulf them.
Everyone felt anxious and confused about what was to come.
They don't have much time left; if they waste it here, they might never get out.
Ye Songlan crossed her arms, sneezed, and her lips turned slightly purple.
Suddenly, a piece of clothing appeared on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw that it was Ye Hualing who had draped his clothes over her shoulders.
Her memory drifted back to her distant childhood, to the scenes of her and her brother playing together. Her nose tingled, and her eyes welled up with tears.
In her dream, Ye Hualing told her that their mother had killed her father's white moonlight, who was also Ye Pingwei's mother.
She always thought that the three of them were born from the same mother, since she had never seen her mother since birth.
She whispered to Ye Hualing, "Brother, is Mother... really true?"
Night flowers nodded.
Upon verification, Ye Songlan's world collapsed.
No wonder Dad didn't like them, and no wonder he was always so tolerant of Ye Pingwei.
Yueke held Yuesi in her arms, warming her as her gaze fell on the broken jade.
She stepped forward and hugged the jade to her chest.
The cold jade penetrates the skin and into the body, causing the body temperature to drop rapidly.
Yue Si asked, puzzled, "Sister, what's wrong?"
Yueke: "I've got it! Let's put all the jade on our bodies; that might help us fight off the heatwave."
Xian Fei followed Yue Ke's example and held a piece of jade in his arms. He nodded and said, "That's a good idea. Although this jade is icy, it's better than being roasted."
Yueke: "But everyone has to be careful not to let your hair touch the jade. You have to wear clothes between your hair and the jade."
Everyone dug out a piece of jade and placed it on their bodies. Sure enough, the jade felt icy cold as soon as it touched their skin.
Ye Hualing pulled the door knocker open once again.
This time, with the jade providing some protection, the heatwave was no longer the near-death experience it had before.
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