As the child was trapped in the fire, a young man passed by the village and saw the sky ablaze with flames. Initially thinking it was a major fire, he rushed over to help.
Upon arriving at the scene, the young man realized the situation was not as it seemed.
Unable to bear watching such a young life vanish from the world, he, a complete stranger to the child, charged into the inferno and rescued the child.
Furthermore, after rescuing the child and learning of his plight.
The young man argued vehemently, even spending a small sum of money, to take the child from his parents.
To the child, this young man was like a deity.
But this was merely the surface story.
Things did not end there.
It was only after being taken away by the young man that the child suffered those terrible experiences, transforming him into what he was now, neither human nor ghost.
As for how it happened.
After being victimized, the child finally understood that the charlatan who had been discovered as a fraud, his initial objective was not to swindle the meager sum of money from their village or harm innocent lives.
From the very beginning, that fraudulent charlatan was hired and bribed by the young man, specifically to spread rumors in the village, leading to the child being directly trapped in the fire and abandoned by his family.
Even the subsequent story of the young man passing by the village, discovering the fire, and rescuing the child, was merely part of the young man's scheme.
He did all this because the child's birth date and time, according to esoteric beliefs, meant his destiny was special. The young man needed this child to undergo certain experiences and fulfill specific conditions before proceeding to the next stage of his plan.
The plan proceeded smoothly, and the young man achieved his objective.
Thus, the young man stepped forward, feigning goodness, and took the child away. Once in a secluded place, this child, now completely under his control and perfectly crafted by him, could be disposed of as he pleased.
By the time the child realized all of this, it was already too late.
However, the child did not discover the entire truth from the outset. After all, the child was very young when the incident occurred and might not have understood many things.
The child slowly pieced together and came to understand everything over a long period.
Some of it was also revealed by the young man himself.
Once the child was under his control, the young man became utterly fearless, not worried that a child who could not resist or affect him would bring any negative consequences by knowing the truth.
Therefore, when discussing certain matters, the young man did not deliberately avoid mentioning them, even in front of the child.
Not only that.
The young man was merely one of the masterminds behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, the child could neither resist nor seek revenge, and he never gained his freedom. Before that, the young man had already passed away due to reaching the end of his lifespan.
Ye Tiancheng and the other two were quite surprised after hearing this.
Although they had already guessed that there was more than just one person behind this strange tomb, and that whoever orchestrated so much must not be an ordinary person.
They assumed such a person would live for a very long time.
Yet, the child said that the other party had already left the mortal world due to reaching the end of his lifespan.
This indicated that the young man the child spoke of likely had a normal human lifespan. Based on this fact, it was possible he was indeed an ordinary human.
However, perhaps this point could lead to a conclusion.
The young man was probably not the true mastermind, or at least not one of the most important ones, possibly just a pawn in the hands of the mastermind.
However, for the child, his experiences and suffering made him harbor greater resentment and focus more on the young man's affairs, making it seem as if the young man was the main orchestrator.
But upon hearing the end, Ye Tiancheng and the others thought more deeply and deduced the truth.
Although it was unexpected, it also seemed within their expectations.
The child saying he had no name was indeed true. He had no name. When he passed away, although he was old enough to understand things, he was still quite young when the young man took him from his village. He couldn't remember much from that time.
He could only vaguely recall some fragments.
He was simply too young.
In that era, children of such an age usually did not have formal names. In fact, children of this age who died prematurely were not buried in ancestral graves; their bodies were discarded in the wilderness. At best, a pit would be dug, and they would be buried casually.
Some who seemed to have names were actually nameless.
Those children who appeared to have names were usually cherished by their families, who would give them a humble nickname, hoping their children would grow up well.
As for a formal name, it would only be given after the child had grown up properly.
But many more children didn't even have such humble nicknames.
The child Ye Tiancheng and the others encountered, with his tragic fate, was precisely of the nameless type.
The little fox felt great sympathy for the child's experience and asked, "Did you never think of giving yourself a name?"
The child blinked slowly at the little fox's words.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, "I haven't read much. What I know, I've learned from others and through my own exploration."
"So, I don't know how to give myself a name, or what name to choose."
After hearing the child's explanation, the little fox thought for a moment, then looked at the child, and then eagerly at Ye Tiancheng, saying, "Brother, since that's the case, why don't you give this child a name?"
Then, the little fox turned to the child and said, "In the past, I was also found by my elder brother and... and another brother, and they gave me a name. If you don't mind, I can ask my elder brother to give you a name too."
The child looked at the little fox.
He suddenly asked, "Isn't he your biological brother?"
The child was naturally referring to Ye Tiancheng.
Upon hearing the child's question, the little fox scratched his head and replied, "He's not really my biological brother. We have no blood relation; Big Brother found me."
After receiving the little fox's answer, the child's gaze towards the little fox showed a hint of envy.
It was a sight that made one's heart ache.
The little fox sensed it and cautiously asked the child, "So, are you willing? Big Brother will definitely be willing to give you a name."
After the little fox finished speaking, Ye Tiancheng nodded beside him, cooperating with what the little fox had said.
It was just a matter of giving a name, and the child's experience sounded quite tragic. Ye Tiancheng was a compassionate person, and he certainly wouldn't refuse such a small matter.
Ye Tiancheng said, "If you are willing, do you know what your surname is?"
The child thought for a moment and said, "The people in my village were all from the same clan, with the surname Zeng. However, I don't want to have the same surname as them."
Considering the child's experiences, it was perfectly normal for him to express such a sentiment.
Ye Tiancheng and the other two did not find this strange at all.
Upon hearing the child's words, the little fox knew that the child was likely not rejecting his suggestion; in fact, he had accepted it.
He then said to the child, "If you don't mind, you can also take Big Brother's surname. I have the same surname as Big Brother. Or, you can take Brother Liang Ping's surname."
The little fox also gestured for the child to look at Liang Ping.
He then asked Liang Ping, "Brother Liang Ping, you wouldn't mind, would you?"
It was the first time Liang Ping had heard the little fox call him "brother," and he was quite surprised. To be precise, this emotion should be considered flattered.
However, he immediately nodded and said, "Of course, I have no problem with that."
The little fox then looked back at the child.
The child's gaze swept over Ye Tiancheng and the other two, then he slowly nodded and said to the little fox, "Then I'll be like you."
Upon hearing the child's reply, the little fox looked at Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and asked the child, "What do you think of the name Ye Wuji?"
The child was taken aback. He seemed to vaguely understand the meaning of the name but wasn't sure.
He was silent for a moment, then quietly repeated the name.
"Ye Wuji?"
The child looked up at Ye Tiancheng again and asked softly, "What does this name mean?"
Ye Tiancheng replied affirmatively, "It means freedom."
Upon receiving Ye Tiancheng's answer, the child's face lit up with joy almost immediately.
He said happily, "I like this name."
After the naming, it could be felt that the child... no, he should be called Ye Wuji now.
The slight barriers that still existed between Ye Wuji and Ye Tiancheng and the other two seemed to have vanished without a trace, completely disappearing.
Because of this, he became much more dedicated in helping Ye Tiancheng and the others, diligently guiding them on how to leave this place.
Ye Tiancheng and the others were still not entirely clear about Nie Chongyang's condition. Although they felt there should be many more clues in this tomb, they were too worried about Nie Chongyang's safety. Therefore, despite having Ye Wuji's assistance, they still temporarily abandoned the idea of exploring here.
They chose to leave this place first.
Ye Wuji also assured Ye Tiancheng and the others that if they wished to return later, he would still be willing to accompany them back to this place that had trapped him for so many years and help them.
Ye Tiancheng and the other two were clearly very grateful for this.
As for the exit, although the mechanism to activate it was indeed in the room with the pool containing the feng shui fish, the exit door itself was in the very first room that Liang Ping had reached when he first arrived at this place.
As soon as they activated the mechanism here, they heard sounds from outside.
Ye Wuji told them, "The exit should be open now. Let's go."
Everything went more smoothly than they had anticipated.
This was a result that Ye Tiancheng and the others had not imagined.