The more regret Xing Yuan felt in her heart, the more innocent she appeared on her face. It was fine; he would always be alone at some point. She was absolutely certain he wouldn't escape this beating.
Mo Li Yan felt a chill and instinctively pulled his clothes tighter. Then, he heard Mo Li Yue say disapprovingly:
"Strictly speaking, A Yuan is older than you, so you should call her older sister."
Xing Yuan leaned gently against Mo Li Yue, as if considering Mo Li Yan's feelings, and whispered, "It's alright, older sister. It doesn't matter if Young Master calls me that. After all, I'm just a little maid by your side."
Xing Yuan's expression was a mix of grievance and stubbornness. Although Mo Li Yue couldn't quite grasp the strong undertones of passive aggression in her words, she recalled Xing Yuan's previous efforts to inquire about Mo Li Yan's whereabouts, and her face immediately turned cold.
Her suspicious gaze fell on Mo Li Yan. Could it be that her brother had started deceiving innocent girls' feelings?
Mo Li Yan felt his sister's threatening gaze on him and, without any backbone, knelt down. "Sister, I know I was wrong."
"Did you bully her?"
The two voices spoke simultaneously. When Mo Li Yue realized what was happening, her face grew even darker.
Mo Li Yue spoke coldly, her expression filled with heartbroken disappointment. "A Yan, didn't I tell you? We cannot engage in acts of murder, arson, or deceiving innocent young girls."
"Ah? Sister, I didn't!" Mo Li Yan looked incredibly innocent. He had only ever loved one girl, the young woman who had just woken up and was looking at them with a confused expression.
"Is that so?" Mo Li Yue snorted, her eyes filled with suspicion.
Mo Li Yan shrugged helplessly, giving off an air of "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."
Qian Yu Wen was someone he had met during his first time venturing out. After a few chance encounters, they had become inseparable friends, and eventually, their feelings deepened.
Therefore, when Mo Li Yan heard that she was in danger, he had rushed into the martial arts tournament without hesitation to snatch her away.
However, when Mo Li Yue asked him how he had arrived at this place and what secrets he had learned from those people, Mo Li Yan looked utterly bewildered.
He said innocently, "I don't know! I don't know how I ended up here."
Qian Yu Wen, standing behind him, silently raised her hand and meekly said, "Is it possible..."
Hearing her voice, everyone turned to look at her. She then mustered her courage and continued:
"Actually, I learned something I shouldn't have known, and I was the one who brought the treasure map out, which eventually led us to this place."
Qian Yu Wen looked at Mo Li Yan with guilt in her eyes. "Actually... I used you. Even if you hadn't come to save me, I would have been fine."
Mo Li Yan hadn't processed it yet, his face a mask of disbelief as his worldview crumbled.
Mo Li Yue, on the other hand, was filled with the rage of betrayal. She then drew her dagger and pressed it against Qian Yu Wen's neck.
Qian Yu Wen gave a wry smile and slowly explained why she had done what she did.
"Our Qian family has guarded this treasure map for generations, preventing those with ulterior motives from coveting it. But a year ago, the Qian family was annihilated by those ill-intentioned individuals. Fortunately, I was out training at the time, so I escaped.
However, those people soon found me. They couldn't understand the contents of the treasure map, so they sought me out, the only one who might know the inside story. I didn't want to agree, but I was powerless. I was even captured, unable to commit suicide.
So, I deliberately caused a commotion. I originally just wanted someone to escort me away, but I never expected... you to come and take me away directly." As Qian Yu Wen spoke, her gaze towards Mo Li Yan was complex.
Mo Li Yan was also stunned, his expression filled with existential doubt. "Then you also... spoke to me like that back then? I thought you were really going to marry someone else, and I thought I was snatching the bride. I never imagined..." that she was actually saving the person she loved.
"I didn't expect it either," Qian Yu Wen said, having regained her composure.
"However, I only realized today that what our Qian family passed down through generations was nothing but a joke. This place has nothing but a wooden house," Qian Yu Wen said coldly, her voice trembling, her eyes filled with resentment.
"No, there are other things," Xing Yuan, who had only intended to watch the show, spoke up.
There were indeed other things. After all, the more powerful beings were, the more they valued karma, especially Nine Infants, who were originally fierce beasts.
If he had cultivated through malevolent energy from the start, it naturally wouldn't have affected him. However, based on what Xing Yuan knew and some of her original memories from the white ball, this Nine Infants was not like that.
Therefore, Xing Yuan was certain that he must have left something behind.
Xing Yuan channeled her internal energy and leaped onto the head of the Buddha statue. She found a mechanism on the statue's head. As the mechanism was pressed, the Buddha statue split in half, revealing a passage.
Although the group did not believe in Buddhism, they naturally respected such Buddhist relics. Under normal circumstances, no one would have thought that someone would mischievously place a mechanism on the head of a Buddha statue.
However, Nine Infants loved to catch people off guard. For him, leaving behind even a small item would be considered fulfilling his karma. As for whether others could find it, what did that have to do with him?
Qian Yu Wen casually wiped her face and was the first to step into the passage. She wanted to see what the thing her family had guarded for so long, and refused to reveal even a single word about it even when facing annihilation, looked like.
The passage was deep and led directly underground, so dark that its end was invisible, as if it led directly to the legendary underworld. A chilling wind blew past their ears, but none of them were timid, so they ignored this eerie gust.
The group lit torches. The light from the torches lessened their unease. However, as the torches lit up, several shadowy figures appeared faintly on the passage walls, looking extremely eerie.
Suddenly, Xing Yuan exclaimed, her face filled with fear as she hugged Mo Li Yue. Her voice clearly carried a hint of a sob. "Sister, something just felt like it was grabbing me."
Mo Li Yue was taken aback. She instinctively stroked Xing Yuan's head and gently comforted her, "Don't be afraid. There are no ghosts in the world."
Mo Li Yan listened to his sister's gentle words, but his gaze remained fixed on the figure ahead who never looked back, his eyes filled with loss.
Did she not want him anymore? She had promised to be with him. They had gone through so much together. Why had she suddenly become so heartless? Not even willing to look back at him.