He Yi said, "Niu Tianlu, he took a portion of the souls of the eight people who died in the mine disaster and used them to create a Yushi (corpse puppet). When Niu Bao activates the Yushi, they will automatically search for their own souls."

"So that's it!" I realized. "Niu Bao, did your grandfather tell you to follow these walking corpses?"

"No!" Niu Bao shook his head. "My grandfather only said to let the walking corpses out, and you would know what to do next!"

What a Niu Tianlu, leaving no loopholes!

Afraid we would abandon Niu Bao halfway, he wouldn't give us any information until the very last moment.

I said calmly, "Continue!"

Niu Bao blew a few simple notes on his flute. Each of the eight corpses grabbed the ropes attached to the bottom of their coffins, dragged the coffins out the door, and walked step by step towards the mountain.

The eight walking corpses, dragging eight coffins, marched towards the summit in a human-like formation, quickly disappearing into the vast snowfield.

The speed of the walking corpses traversing the snow didn't slow down at all, despite the deepening snow. They reached the abandoned coal mine before dawn.

Instead of heading into the coal mine, the coffin-dragging corpses detoured around it, continuing into the depths of the mountains.

I looked at Niu Bao and asked, "Didn't you say that those people died in the coal mine?"

Niu Bao was also dumbfounded, "That's what my grandfather said, and that's what everyone in the village said. I don't know why it's like this."

Niu Bao's expression didn't seem to be lying. I immediately sent a telepathic message to Ye Yang: "Be careful, things might change after dawn."

There were only two possibilities for the sudden change in direction of the walking corpses carrying the remnants of souls: either their incomplete souls were no longer in the coal mine, and they were instinctively sensing the direction of their souls, or someone was deliberately guiding the walking corpses in another direction.

I had been out of Meng Family Manor for a day and a night. Had none of the five killing intents targeting me in Meng Family Village moved?

Impossible. They were just choosing the right time and the right place.

The only uncertainty was who would make the first move!

While I was guessing who would appear first, someone else was making the same calculations. That person was Meng Die, the heiress of the Meng family.

If Meng Die hadn't told me later that she was not far from me, I would never have imagined that the third-generation heiress of the Meng family would run up the mountain out of curiosity.

At that time, if I had walked about three miles further north, I would have seen a girl in a fox fur coat standing in the snow. That was Meng Die.

Meng Die stood quietly in the snow, while the girl behind her gently stamped her feet in the snow. Further back were six female swordswomen in mink coats with long swords at their waists.

Meng Die was different from other girls I had met. She possessed a dignified air of a scholarly family, yet she also belonged to the Jianghu (martial world). If I had to describe her, I could only say that she carried the aura of a Confucian swordsman.

The girl standing behind Meng Die finally couldn't help but say, "Miss, if you think Li Po is hateful, we can go down now and teach him a good lesson. Why bother following him and suffering like this?"

Meng Die gently shook her head and said, "I don't think Li Po is hateful."

"Li Po isn't hateful? I think he's detestable!" The little girl said indignantly, "He's just a Jianghu (martial world) practitioner. Marrying into the Meng family as a live-in son-in-law is a blessing he's cultivated for several lifetimes, especially as the young lady's live-in husband. What more could he want?"

"He fought all the way to the Meng family, causing such a ruckus. If you ask me, the Old Master shouldn't have negotiated with him. He should have skinned him alive."

Meng Die smiled and said, "Do you think Li Po is a reckless man?"

"Isn't he?" The little girl widened her eyes and said, "If he understood even a little bit about human relationships, he wouldn't have smashed up the wedding banquet and kicked down the Meng family's gate."

Meng Die shook her head again and said, "When everyone in the Meng family was pessimistic about Li Po, I had already obtained Li Po's information."

"This person seems to act without thinking and never shows weakness. In fact, he has long calculated the weaknesses of his opponents, especially in the battle against Ao Xue Zong (Proud Snow Sect). It can even be described as amazing."

"Li Po's recklessness lies in his willingness to seek victory on the edge of a blade. Opponents who regard him as a reckless man suffer greatly because of this misconception."

"I dare say that those so-called talented youths who pursue me, even with the family forces behind them, would not be able to gain an advantage against Li Po, unless their fathers are willing to personally step in and use their family's influence to suppress Li Po."

The little girl's eyes widened even more, "Miss, your evaluation of Li Po is too high, isn't it?"

"No!" Meng Die said, "I even think I underestimated Li Po! If you don't believe me, just wait and see. I bet that those who are chasing after him are no match for Li Po."

"But those are the Four Excellences!" The little girl exclaimed, "None of the three of them are Li Po's opponents? Miss, didn't you say that you would marry whoever could single-handedly defeat the Four Excellences?"

Meng Die smiled and said, "That's why I didn't object to Li Po joining the Meng family."

The little girl said in a low voice, "Miss, what if... I mean, if... if Li Po can really handle the Three Great Mysteries alone?"