Upon receiving Xu Zhiping's approval, Yan Shouyi grudgingly accepted the night watchman's lantern, but asking about its function immediately after receiving the gift seemed impolite.
Thus, Yan Shouyi could only suppress his curiosity and temporarily stash the lantern into his satchel, planning to inquire about its capabilities later.
Seeing Yan Shouyi shove such a large lantern into his small satchel, Xu Zhiping couldn't help but stare, asking, "Where did you get that satchel?"
"Satchel?"
Yan Shouyi patted the bag and replied, "It's an heirloom."
"Heirloom?" Xu Zhiping coughed lightly. "This satchel looks old, but its craftsmanship doesn't seem like it's been passed down for hundreds of years. It looks more like something from the last few decades."
To say the satchel was a product of recent decades wasn't wrong, as Yan Shouyi's satchel had metal buttons and plastic clasps.
This was clearly not something passed down for centuries; calling it an heirloom was a bit of an exaggeration.
Yan Shouyi gave an awkward laugh, "My grandfather gave it to me, I didn't think too much about it and just assumed it was an heirloom."
"Your satchel is quite remarkable. It reminds me of an old acquaintance," Xu Zhiping said with a reminiscent look.
"Acquaintance?"
Yan Shouyi had never really considered the origin of his satchel. After all, his grandfather had given him countless treasures, and the satchel was merely something to carry them in.
Who questions the origin of a plastic bag when buying groceries?
However, with Xu Zhiping's reminder, Yan Shouyi became a bit more attentive.
If this satchel was a product of recent decades, perhaps the person who made it was still alive.
Though the satchel appeared small, it was a universe within, capable of holding an astonishing amount of items.
Anyone who could create such a satchel could not be ordinary. Yan Shouyi suddenly became interested in delving deeper.
He patted the satchel and said, "When my grandfather passed it to me, he didn't mention where it came from. He just taught me not to flaunt my wealth and to hide good things in my satchel."
Xu Zhiping was left speechless, torn between laughter and tears. "Your Lu Ban descendants have impossibly high standards. To others, your satchel is already a coveted treasure. Who would care what's inside it?"
"Uh... I suppose that's true."
Yan Shouyi scratched the back of his head, realizing he had never considered this point in all these years.
So, he had been carrying his treasures around with him all along!
How many times had he been targeted by thieves over the years...
"Let's not dwell on this," Xu Zhiping said. "Don't let Yu Jinhong's soul go to waste. Quickly go and collect it. I'll go check on Shuzhen."
"Alright!"
With the battle won, Yan Shouyi felt significantly more relaxed. As Xu Zhiping went to check on Shen Shuzhen, Yan Shouyi used the lantern to collect Yu Jinhong's soul.
Yu Jinhong's head had long since been separated from his body, and Yan Shouyi had crushed it. His remaining body lay on the ground, like a small mountain, slowly dissipating in the wind.
Yan Shouyi took out the lantern, and with a thought, it acted like a magnet, drawing Yu Jinhong's body like iron filings, pulling everything into it.
Soon, Yu Jinhong vanished, but an item dropped onto the ground.
"Yo, it even dropped loot?"
Long Feicheng ran over, curiously picking up the fallen item. He held it in his hand and exclaimed, "It's a rope knot, but the pendant attached below should be quite valuable."
"Bring it here, let me see," Yan Shouyi said.
Long Feicheng tossed the rope knot to Yan Shouyi. Yan Shouyi examined it, and his expression suddenly changed.
"What's wrong?" Long Feicheng quickly asked.
"This is the Twin Knot of the Laoshan Sect. The Twin Knots come in pairs. Yu Jinhong split his soul into two, entrusting each to a Twin Knot. This way, even if one soul is destroyed, the other can survive!"
"This... this means Yu Jinhong isn't completely dead?!" Long Feicheng exclaimed in shock.
Yan Shouyi nodded grimly. "That's right... I didn't expect Yu Jinbo to care so much for Yu Jinhong, not even using the Twin Knots himself, but giving them to Yu Jinhong."
"Then what do we do now?"
Holding the Twin Knot, Yan Shouyi immediately ran towards Han San and Yao Yuming.
Upon seeing the Twin Knot, both of them also changed their expressions.
"There's still a lot of clean-up work to be done here. I'll trouble you, Han San, along with Senior Yao, to head to the Yu family ancestral home and make sure Yu Jinhong doesn't escape!" Yan Shouyi said.
"Alright, leave it to us!"
Han San took the Twin Knot and immediately set off with Yao Yuming for the Yu family ancestral home.
Yu Jinhong's other soul must also be severely damaged by now. Yan Shouyi wasn't worried about Han San and Yao Yuming being unable to handle him, but rather about Yu Jinhong escaping.
After all, to cut the grass, you must remove the roots. Leaving Yu Jinhong as a menace posed a significant threat to both the funeral parlor and Yan Shouyi.
After sending off Han San and Yao Yuming, Yan Shouyi was filled with unease.
He turned around and looked at the chaotic scene in the funeral parlor.
Everywhere were ruins from the battle, and the severed limbs of many funeral parlor members.
Although the battle was won, everyone had paid a heavy price.
Yan Shouyi felt deeply remorseful. "Even though I did my best to set traps, I still couldn't completely suppress Yu Jinbo and the others. If only I were a little stronger."
The desire for strength was Yan Shouyi's constant motivation. The reason he craved power was not to dominate anything, but simply to protect his loved ones and friends.
As Yan Shouyi was consumed by guilt, an off-road vehicle rushed into the funeral parlor.
To everyone's astonishment, Weng Qianxiang, Wang Jiwang, and Old Jin arrived late.
"Old Weng, why are you only arriving now!" Long Feicheng stepped forward and chided, "We're already finished here!"
Weng Qianxiang sighed. "Don't even mention it. We encountered a lot of trouble on the way. It was already difficult to get here tonight!"
"Never mind that," Yan Shouyi said, pulling Wang Jiwang and Old Jin along. "You two, come with me quickly!"
He had asked Wang Jiwang and Old Jin to come specifically for Shen Shuzhen.
Shen Shuzhen, after using the Yellow Springs Netherworld Belt to take Yu Jinbo away, was on her last breath. Yan Shouyi was uncertain if Old Jin could still save her life.
The two were dragged along by Yan Shouyi, confused, and brought to the ruins.
When everyone heard that the ancient physician's descendant had arrived, they parted ways, allowing the three to squeeze through.
Approaching the bedside, Yan Shouyi directly said, "Old Jin, this is Grandma Shen. She is very ill, take a look quickly!"
Although he didn't yet understand the situation, out of his integrity as a descendant of an ancient physician, Old Jin immediately began to feel Shen Shuzhen's pulse.
"What is my great-grandmother's condition?" Cui Yu asked anxiously.
After feeling her pulse for a while, Old Jin said with lowered eyebrows:
"Her pulse is weak and feeble, almost imperceptible in its rhythm. Chronic old ailments, combined with too much drained vitality, mean that even if it were my ancestor from the Qihuang School, I'm afraid... there would be no hope."
These words were undoubtedly a death sentence for Shen Shuzhen.
Those gathered around could not help but shed tears.