A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

Ye Shuli's intuition told her that the danger was not over.

She pulled Jiang Ye, who was still grinning foolishly, aside and whispered, "Stop fooling around, someone is watching us from the shadows."

Jiang Ye immediately dropped his playful grin and became serious.

"Damn, these guys are really persistent! But don't worry, Lili, I'll definitely protect you!" He patted his chest and assured her, acting like a protective wolf cub.

The two dared not delay and quickly left the inn.

The night was as dark as ink, and the cold wind howled like the whispers of death.

They proceeded cautiously toward the family's old site, taking each step with utmost care.

The sound of the wind around them sounded like the deadly footsteps of Heisha, making their hearts clench.

"Tsk, this feels like playing a horror game," Jiang Ye couldn't help but complain, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.

Ye Shuli rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "Can you be serious? This isn't some game."

"I know, my dear lady." Jiang Ye replied with a grin, but his eyes sharply scanned his surroundings, not missing any suspicious movements.

After walking for a long time, a dilapidated manor finally appeared before them.

Overgrown with weeds, with broken walls and ruins, it was as desolate as a scene from a horror movie.

The once glorious family site is now just a dilapidated outline, telling the story of past prosperity and present desolation.

Ye Shuli felt as if she had been hit hard in the chest, and a dull pain shot through her.

Looking at the desolate scene before her, she seemed to see the fate of her family, and her heart was filled with sorrow.

The laughter and joy of the past have now turned into endless silence.

She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the bitterness in her heart.

"Lili, this place is so dilapidated! It's practically a demolition site!" Jiang Ye exclaimed, his tone still nonchalant, but his eyes also held a hint of regret for this land.

Ye Shuli ignored his complaints and walked straight into the manor.

She carefully avoided the ruins, afraid of triggering some kind of trap.

Suddenly, Jiang Ye stopped in his tracks, his expression turning somewhat strange.

"Lili, I think maybe we could..." he said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

"Lili, I think we could set up some 'surprises' around here?" Jiang Ye rubbed his hands together, a mischievous grin on his face, already imagining the enemy being tricked by his "masterpiece".

Ye Shuli raised an eyebrow. What kind of trick is this guy up to now?

"What surprise? A fireworks welcome ceremony?"

"Hehe, this is much more exciting than that!" Jiang Ye smiled mysteriously and took out a bunch of strange things from his storage bag: animal traps, tripwires, and a few dolls that made strange noises.

"How about it? My unique, secret mechanism will ensure those guys never leave alive!"

Looking at these "things," Ye Shuli actually thought they were somewhat feasible.

After all, this is her home turf, and she knows the terrain far better than Black Fiend.

So the two of them split up and set up these strange little mechanisms around the old site.

"Lili, it's all set here!" Jiang Ye's voice came from not far away, with a hint of smugness in his tone.

"Okay, I'm all done too." Ye Shuli patted the dust off her hands, a sly smile playing on her lips.

Just as the two finished setting up the traps, a dark figure silently appeared at the entrance of the manor.

Black evil!

His eyes were sinister, and he exuded a chilling murderous aura, clearly targeting Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye.

"Hmph, let's see where you can run now!" Hei Sha sneered, about to step into the manor, when suddenly, with a "snap," a trap clamped hard on his foot.

"What the hell is this!" Black Demon cried out in pain.

Before he could react, a tripwire tripped him and he fell to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, the dolls that made strange noises also started to "work," with all sorts of bizarre sounds rising and falling, making Hei Sha's scalp tingle.

"Damn it!" Black Fiend roared, struggling to stand up, only to find himself tightly bound by these traps and unable to move.

Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye, hiding in the shadows, couldn't help but laugh as they watched Hei Sha's disheveled appearance.

"Lili, your mischievous idea really worked! Hahaha..." Jiang Ye laughed so hard he almost fell over, his stomach hurting.

Ye Shuli couldn't help but smile; it was indeed an unexpected surprise.

"Let's go inside and take a look."

Taking advantage of the moment when Hei Sha was trapped by the trap, the two quickly sneaked into the depths of the old site.

Deep within the old site, they discovered a tightly closed stone door.

Jiang Ye was about to push the door open when Ye Shuli stopped him.

“Wait…” Ye Shuli stared at the stone door, her brows furrowed. “I have a feeling that there is someone behind this door.” Ye Shuli looked around warily, and only after confirming that there were no other ambushes did she signal Jiang Ye to step forward.

The stone gate is carved with intricate patterns, ancient and mysterious, as if telling the secrets of time.

Jiang Ye carefully pushed open the stone door, which made a creaking, screeching sound and kicked up dust, causing the two of them to cough repeatedly.

Beyond the stone gate was a slightly dark room. In the center of the room, an old man in tattered clothes was huddled in a corner. His hair and beard were all white, his eyes were cloudy, and he was tightly holding a worn-out wooden box in his hands, as if he were holding some kind of treasure. His body was trembling slightly from tension.

"Who are you?" The old man's hoarse voice broke the silence of the room. He raised his head and looked at Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye warily.

Ye Shuli's heart tightened. It seemed that this was the old butler, but his condition seemed a bit off.

She tried to soften her tone and said gently, "Grandpa, we're here to find someone."

"Looking for someone? There's no one here! You all leave, don't bother me!" The old man became agitated, his voice turning shrill, like a frightened wild beast. He clutched the wooden box tightly, as if Ye Shuli and the others were about to snatch his treasure.

Seeing this, Jiang Ye quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Ye Shuli.

“Old man, don’t be nervous, we mean no harm.” He tried to make his tone sound gentle, but the old butler was still hostile.

The two sides faced off, the atmosphere became tense, and a sense of impending battle filled the air, as if a major battle was about to break out at any moment.

"This old man is so stubborn!" Jiang Ye muttered under his breath, scratching his head. It seemed that forcing him wouldn't work.

He took a deep breath, gave what he thought was his most sincere smile, squatted down, and looked the old man straight in the eye.

"Grandpa, are you hungry? We brought some good food." As he spoke, he took out some pastries from his storage bag and gently placed them on the ground.

The old man looked at the pastries, his eyes clouded.

As Ye Shuli watched Jiang Ye patiently communicate with the old butler, his gentle gaze seemed to melt away all ice. A warm feeling welled up in her heart. How fortunate she was to have met such a man who was willing to unconditionally protect and support her.

A strange sense of dependence welled up in her heart, and a gentle smile involuntarily appeared on her lips. It seemed that she had really begun to depend on him.

"Grandpa, can you tell us what happened here before?" Jiang Ye continued to ask gently, his voice flowing into the old man's heart like a babbling brook.

After finishing the pastries, the old man's eyes seemed to clear a little. He slowly raised his head, looked at Jiang Ye, and murmured, "This...this is...home..." His brows were furrowed, as if he was trying hard to remember something, and his expression was extremely painful.

"Home...my home...why did it become like this..." The old man suddenly clutched his head and groaned in pain. His words were fragmented, like sand scattered by the wind, difficult to piece together into a complete sentence.

Jiang Ye frowned, looking at the old man's pained expression. Just as he was about to speak, Ye Shuli suddenly grabbed his arm and pointed to the old man's chest.

“Look…” Ye Shuli said softly.

Jiang Ye followed Ye Shuli's gaze and noticed the wooden box the old man was carrying. There seemed to be something carved on it. Just as he was about to examine it more closely, the old man suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with terror. He pointed towards the door and said in a trembling voice, "They...they're here..."

The old housekeeper held his head in his hands, groaning in pain, like an old phonograph repeating the words "home...home..." on a cassette tape, making the listener feel both heartbroken and anxious.

Seeing this, Ye Shuli knew she couldn't provoke him any further, so she signaled Jiang Ye to calm the old butler down.

"Grandpa, don't rush, speak slowly." Jiang Ye squatted down again, his tone as gentle as a spring breeze brushing against willow branches.

He patiently comforted the old housekeeper, speaking softly as if coaxing a child.

It took quite a while for the old butler to calm down.

He raised his head, a glimmer of clarity flashing in his cloudy eyes, and slowly spoke, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows: "I remember... I remember... Miss... she... she was very kind, she liked... liked to play the piano... under the old locust tree in the backyard..."

The old butler spoke haltingly, his memories seemingly long buried and needing to be unearthed bit by bit.

He tried hard to recall, his brow furrowed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"And...and...that...cellar...there's...something important hidden in the cellar...the key...the key is...in Miss's...dressing case..."

"A dressing case?" Ye Shuli's heart skipped a beat; this information was extremely important!

She felt like she was playing a role-playing game (RPG) and had finally triggered a key plot point.

It seems the family secret is hidden in that dressing box!

She was so excited she almost jumped for joy, feeling that her path to revenge was one step closer.

She looked at Jiang Ye anxiously, and Jiang Ye also realized the importance of this clue.

He nodded to Ye Shuli, signaling her to calm down.

"Grandpa, thank you. Please take a rest." Jiang Ye reassured the old butler again, then pulled Ye Shuli out of the room.

The two stepped out of the room, and Ye Shuli gripped Jiang Ye's hand tightly, saying excitedly, "We've found a clue! The old housekeeper said there's a key in the dressing case!"

Jiang Ye excitedly gripped Ye Shuli's hand, but remained rational: "Yes, but we can't let our guard down yet. Hei Sha could catch up at any moment, and we don't even know where this dressing box is. We have to find it as soon as possible!"

"Yes!" Ye Shuli nodded. She knew Jiang Ye was right. Now was not the time to be happy. They needed to leave this place as soon as possible, find the dressing box, and unravel the family's secret.

Although she had obtained a clue, Ye Shuli knew that things were far from simple.

They must find the dressing box as soon as possible to decipher the clues, and Black Demon will not give up the pursuit easily.

The road ahead is long and fraught with danger; they must proceed with extreme caution.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar, and a strong sense of killing intent filled the air.

"They're here!" Jiang Ye said in a low voice, his eyes instantly sharpening.

He held Ye Shuli's hand tightly, his palms slightly sweaty.

Ye Shuli also felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. She took a deep breath and looked firmly ahead. A life-or-death struggle was about to begin.

"Lili, be careful..." Before Jiang Ye could finish speaking, a dark figure rushed in, carrying a sharp killing intent, and headed straight for the two of them. They could only quickly dodge the attack of the black demon. Behind the black demon was a group of uninvited guests. The leader, Young Master Murong, had a contemptuous smile on his lips as he looked at them with amusement.