"This, this is Xie Lianhuan's?!"
The moment Xie Yuchen revealed the identity of the owner of this tomb, Wu Tianzhen practically lunged towards the coffin.
He stared intently at the skeletal remains for a while, disbelief etched on his face. "This is impossible! These bones look like they've been dead for decades, but Zhang Liushen clearly said Xie Lianhuan was alive?!"
...It's not Schrödinger's cat, is it? Could Xie Lianhuan be in a superposition state of being neither alive nor dead?
...No wonder Xiao Ge insisted that Xiao Hua had to see it for himself. This is truly bizarre, utterly illogical.
At this point, a contradiction arose between Zhang Liushen and the skeletal remains in the coffin. There was only one way left to verify the truth.
Xie Yuchen took out the wrapped root of the human-faced bean from his pocket. The human-faced bean, suppressed by Zhang Qiling's blood pressure, had been quiet all along, daring not to make a sound. Now, finally seeing daylight, it hesitantly lifted its head slightly to test the waters.
"The liquid in this coffin should be dissolved corpse fluid from the decaying bones. Sticking the human-faced bean directly into the coffin should have an effect," Wu Tianzhen said, his heart filled with apprehension, but he managed to steady his thoughts to help Xie Yuchen analyze the situation.
However, it was at this moment that he also noticed something strange.
"...But why has the flesh and blood of the corpse in this coffin dissolved to this extent? Does the liquid inside have a stronger corrosive effect on flesh?" Wu Tianzhen didn't quite understand. Just in case, he reminded Xie Yuchen, "Xiao Hua, when you insert the human-faced bean, be very careful not to touch the liquid inside. We don't know if this thing is harmful." xxs one
Xie Yuchen nodded upon hearing this. Holding it with a thin thread, he slowly immersed the root of the human-faced bean into the coffin liquid.
The Qilin blood had been wiped clean. The moment the human-faced bean was submerged in the liquid, it began to tremble, greedily absorbing the coffin liquid like parched earth receiving timely rain. Within a few breaths, it grew to the size of an apple.
Its outer skin stretched to a semi-transparent state, filled to the brim with the slightly swirling coffin liquid.
The growth of the human-faced bean required some time. After a period of intense focus, Wu Tianzhen's eyes felt dry, so he decided to rest for a moment.
"I say, maybe this isn't Xie Lianhuan in here at all!" Fatty tried to tease a blue rabbit, but it kicked him in the stomach, distorting his expression for a moment.
Just as he was about to react, he saw the rabbit hop a few times and land on Zhang Qiling, who seemed lost in thought. Meeting Zhang Qiling's questioning gaze, he instinctively offered a smile as if nothing had happened.
The blue rabbit wore a triumphant expression.
Fatty: ...I've decided. When we get back, I'm eating rabbit meat for a month straight. That'll teach you!
He shot the blue rabbit a disgruntled glare and continued, "What if this Mr. Xie went for a swim in the lake, and someone stole his clothes and emblems from the shore, and then the thief drowned in this very coffin?"
He fabricated a ghostly version of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, attempting to ease the tense mood between Xie Yuchen and Wu Tianzhen.
After all, Fatty still felt that the Zhang Liushen was likely telling the truth. That thing was so cryptic, and in the end, it even "proved its innocence" by exploding itself into fireworks. It looked utterly demonic.
But just as he finished speaking, before Wu Tianzhen could even reply, the human-faced bean suddenly mutated!
Its semi-transparent outer skin instantly turned white, like a suddenly appearing white balloon encapsulating all the liquid within.
This was a pale skin slowly growing out, and in the center of this skin, a face was gradually appearing, as if drawn with ink and brush.
This face carried a hint of the resilience forged by time, but anyone who saw it would have to admit it was a rather good-looking face.
A prolonged silence ensued.
"This is Xie Lianhuan."
Xie Yuchen said expressionlessly, his tone devoid of any discernible emotion.
...Xie Lianhuan, who had been missing for twenty years, had actually died here. Was that Zhang Liushen talking nonsense with his eyes closed?!
Wu Tianzhen's mind was a chaotic mess. He wanted to comfort Xie Yuchen but didn't know how to start; this was not a sorrow that could be alleviated by a few simple words.
Amidst this confusion, another thought occurred to him—
If Zhang Liushen was completely talking nonsense, without any basis, then wasn't Xiao Ge's lifespan perfectly fine?
Although Hei Yanjing had vaguely confirmed it at the time, that scoundrel was always unreliable and loved to play tricks. Perhaps he was joking this time too?
A multitude of thoughts crowded his mind, and Wu Tianzhen couldn't tell whether he wanted Zhang Liushen to be accurate or inaccurate. This conflicting feeling gave him a strong sense of guilt.
Fatty, lacking his complex thoughts, spat on the ground and cursed, "Damn it, this Zhang Liushen is really a piece of artificial intelligence, can't get anything right!"
But at this moment, Hei Yanjing, who had been standing by like a prop, suddenly spoke up in his usual flamboyant manner.
He seemed completely oblivious to the current atmosphere, his tone as casual as ever:
"Not necessarily~ At least in this blind man's eyes, Zhang Liushen is still quite useful~"
While Hei Yanjing wasn't a good person in the traditional sense, his strength and insight were undeniable. His words made Wu Tianzhen's head spin even more.
And amidst this complex entanglement, Xie Yuchen finally spoke slowly.
"...We speculated before that the human-faced bean isn't necessarily only activated by blood."
He still appeared very calm, as if the person lying in the coffin had no relation to the relative he had been pursuing for so long.
"I don't believe Xie Lianhuan died so absurdly," he slowly drew out his dragon-patterned staff. "I'm going to retrieve this skeleton."
"Shatter my bones, and try again."