【Texture】(113, 114)

Author: Wandering Traveler,

March 31, 2016, first published on sis,

Chapter 113:

The paths in the garden, especially those dividing the numerous surrounding courtyards, were almost entirely uneven cobblestone
surfaces. The purpose of this was simply to enhance the classical cultural atmosphere of the garden. But
at this moment, it was causing Du Jinlong and me, who were running at full speed, considerable discomfort.

On this surface, every step left the small area of our feet uneven.
We hadn't noticed it while walking normally, but running made it immediately feel like stumbling.

Logically, since Du Jinlong and I were slow runners, the guy behind us should be too. But before we even
reached the first corner outside the house… A figure lunged at us from behind, grabbing
Du Jinlong's shirt folds at the back…

Du Jinlong instinctively sidestepped and elbowed the pursuer in the chest, trying to push him away.
However, to his surprise, the man showed no pain whatsoever after the elbow strike;
he merely leaned back, then suddenly lowered his head and bit Du Jinlong's arm.

Du Jinlong was wearing a short trench coat with thick sleeves. The pursuer's bite didn't tear the sleeve
or cause any real damage, but it still terrified Du Jinlong. He quickly
kicked the pursuer hard in the stomach, finally knocking him to the ground and freeing himself from the grasp
.

Just as Du Jinlong escaped, another pursuer caught up with me. Having finally acquired the power of the Crimson Lotus
, my reflexes far surpassed those of ordinary people. So, when the pursuer practically
leaped , I sensed the airflow behind me and instinctively turned to deflect the attack with the back of my scythe
…

The pursuer couldn't dodge in time, his chest slamming into the back of the scythe, and
he fell .

In my opinion, at high speed, slamming one's chest into such a hard and narrow object as the back of a scythe
would be extremely painful. A normal person, after such an impact, would at least
recover on the ground, groaning a couple of times before getting up and continuing. But at this moment, the person in the white robe,
after , didn't pause at all. With a twist of his body and a mechanical stretch of his legs, he stood up again,
arms outstretched, mouth open, revealing gleaming white teeth, and lunged at me. That sight instantly reminded me of "
zombies "...

I had encountered a zombie in Liziping before. Although we only met briefly before I, in my
depressed smashed its head open with a hammer, the zombie's movements were deeply etched in my
mind.

Seeing the movements of the robed pursuers behind me, my heart tightened! I inwardly groaned...

The ground was uneven. Even though Du Jinlong and I were wearing leather shoes,
we still felt some pain when we stepped on protruding stones. The real reason we weren't running fast was because of this pain
. But these robed pursuers were striding forward, stepping on the protruding
pebbles as if nothing was wrong, many of them barefoot.

"Damn, these guys are really brainwashed... even their sense of pain seems to have disappeared..."

After kicking the "white-robed zombie" that lunged at me again, I flicked my wrist, flipping the scythe
blade back.

Even if they were brainwashed and controlled, these pursuers were, after all, ordinary believers, living, breathing
people. So I hadn't really considered using the scythe to kill them. But when I realized they were so
thoroughly controlled, having lost their normal rationality, and that if I showed them any mercy, I'd probably be caught and
bitten to death , I hardened my heart!

I turned and ran a few more steps, and realizing someone was approaching from behind again, I didn't hesitate any longer.
Without looking back, I swung the scythe behind me, and with a "thud," I could feel the blade
cutting into flesh. As I swung back, I heard a man scream repeatedly.

Judging from the sensation in my hand, I confirmed that I had struck the man's arm. Since I hadn't
killed him and could still hear his continuous cries, I didn't turn back, but simply ran forward. Considering that
Du Jinlong was unarmed and would be unable to fight back if caught, I subconsciously slowed down,
deliberately staying behind him to block and cover the pursuers. The reason for doing this
was perhaps what Wang Lie had mentioned—"the sense of responsibility of someone with special abilities."

The result and price of being a "hero" was that just seconds after I wounded the first pursuer,
I was caught by five or six "white-robed zombies."

Faced with the onslaught of multiple pursuers, I had no choice but to use my fists, feet, and scythe. I first used a side kick to knock down the one on my right,
then swung my left arm, smashing my fist into the face of the one on my left who was closest to me and trying to bite me.
As I smashed

After using my right-hand scythe to deflect the third pursuer, I finally lost my balance and
tumbled to the left. The hard pebbles struck my ribs with a resounding crash, causing
excruciating pain.

Falling to the ground was expected…

What's the key to fighting multiple opponents?

It's not just about physical training and developing reflexes; the most important thing is maintaining composure
and a clear mind, carefully considering attack, defense, and evasion. In short, it's about anticipating
potential situations and devising countermeasures in a very short time.

There were five pursuers. I knew that even if I could knock down or delay one of their
attacks with a single blow, after using my hands and right foot, I would definitely be grabbed by the remaining two.
The best way to avoid being caught was to use the fall to dodge their possible attacks, then
roll on the ground to reposition myself. Then I got up to deal with the remaining two...

Therefore, after falling to the ground, I endured the excruciating pain caused by the impact,
rolled several times to the left, and then used my hands to push myself up from the ground on my knees.

Just as I looked up, an ugly face loomed close to me, its mouth
snapping open to bite.

Just as I thought I was doomed, a foot shot out from the side, slamming into
the face and sending the attacker flying

. Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me up. Simultaneously, another leg was raised, sending the fifth
white-robed figure, who was trying to approach and attack me, flying several meters away.

"That leg strength..."

I couldn't help but marvel. This white-robed figure was quite burly, weighing at least 150
or 160 pounds. Even with all my strength, I might not be able to kick him that
far .

Among the people I knew, only Xia Jiang, that female warrior, seemed to possess such monstrous strength. And
besides , only one other person seemed capable of doing it...

that was the woman with the mole on her eyebrow. That girl had clashed with Xia Jiang once in the cemetery, demonstrating
strength no less than Xia Jiang's. Besides the woman with the mole on her eyebrow, even Wang Lie didn't actually possess that much strength.

The woman with the mole on her eyebrow had also clashed with Wang Lie once at Jianyi Temple. In that collision, Wang Lie had the absolute
advantage , but he later explained to me that when he clashed with the woman, he actually used his Yin-Yang
ability, using the rotation of Yin and Yang energies to dissipate most of the force of her impact, and then even
deflected it back. In terms of pure strength, the woman with the mole on her eyebrow was definitely superior to him…

Sure enough, when I turned to look at the person who had come from the eyebrow, that signature small black mole on her eyebrow came into my view
.

The woman with the mole on her eyebrow noticed me looking at her, didn't say anything, just glared at me hatefully, then turned and
grabbed me, running away…

As the woman with the mole on her eyebrow grabbed my hand and ran away with me, I suddenly had a strange feeling. This
feeling reminded me of Zhou Jingyi again…

Like Zhou Jingyi, I felt the woman with the mole on her eyebrow's hand was warm and soft, a
feeling of intimacy and déjà vu. It was as if she were a long-lost relative.

Remembering how she had spontaneously addressed me at the airport, and how Du Jinlong had just called her
"Miss Yan," a thought struck me. While she pulled me along, I suddenly
asked , "Are you my sister?"

The woman with the mole on her eyebrow trembled slightly upon hearing this, but didn't stop, continuing to pull me
forward until we rounded the first corner
. Only then did she respond impatiently to my question

, "Guess whatever you want..."

"What's your name?" I pressed.

The woman with the mole seemed taken aback, casually uttering two words that shocked me... "Yan Jing!"

"If it's a boy, he'll be named Yan Ping; if it's a girl, she'll be named Yan Jing... because my older brother is naturally quiet and peaceful. He only
hopes his children can live a peaceful life. Before you were born, in a letter he wrote to me, he
explained the reason for giving you this name..."

My uncle's explanation of the origin of my name suddenly flashed through my mind.

"What? Your name is Yan Jing?" I asked again in surprise.

The woman with the mole on her eyebrow seemed to realize she had let something slip, and immediately pushed my hand away, shouting
as , "No time for your nonsense... escaping is the priority..."

Realizing she wouldn't answer my question, I suddenly remembered our current situation with her and
Du Jinlong , and had to suppress my doubts, focusing solely on running behind them.

Finally, after turning a corner, the three of us successfully entered the "main path" of the garden. The main path was a standard blue brick and stone slab road, where we could finally run at full speed, widening
the distance between us and the pursuing crowd . 　　After running along the main path for more than ten meters, the woman with the mole on her eyebrow suddenly turned onto another path, and Du Jinlong and I followed without thinking . The woman with the mole on her eyebrow seemed much more familiar with the area than Du Jinlong and I. She led us around several corners as we ran, finally escaping the sight of our pursuers … 　　Through several houses, I noticed the pursuers seemed to have lost their target and began to disperse. 　　The woman with the mole clearly realized this as well, slowing her pace. She jogged while observing her surroundings. Soon, she determined a new route and waved for us to follow. Du Jinlong and I followed her to the left at the newly appeared T-junction. As 　　soon as we turned, we saw two slightly short figures walking towards . 　　We were all startled and were about to turn back when the people coming from the opposite direction called out, 　　“Brother Yan… you really are here…” 　　Hearing the voice, I paused, turned to look at the people, and then recognized them. 　　It was Li Jing and Xu Yue, carrying bows and arrows… 　　Seeing these two, I instantly felt a headache coming on. I rushed to Li Jing, taking three steps at a time , and growled at the young man in a low voice, 　　"Didn't I tell you to take her back to the city? How did you and her end up here too?" 　　Li Jing, facing my anger, looked aggrieved and helpless, as if he had no way to express his suffering. 　　Xu Yue stepped between Li Jing and me, biting her lip and saying, "It has nothing to do with him... I insisted on going down into that cave, and he had no choice but to come along to protect me." 　　Before I could turn my anger on her, the woman fixed her gaze on the woman with the mole on her eyebrow , and exclaimed in surprise in a low voice, "It's you?" 　　The woman with the mole on her eyebrow walked over quickly, brushing past Xu Yue, and casually waved her hand at Xu Yue, saying , "We'll talk about other things later. Did you two come out of that kitchen? Didn't you run into anyone else when you came over?" 　　Xu Yue blinked, clearly not understanding the situation. Upon hearing the woman with the mole on her eyebrow ask a question, he reflexively replied, "The kitchen? Oh, you mean the house at the tunnel exit? Hmm... I don't see it ..."

Hearing Xu Yue's words, I immediately ignored Li Jing and Xu Yue's anger at not following my instructions and
shifted my attention to Xu Yue's answer and the purpose of the woman with the mole's question.

Xu Yue said she hadn't seen anyone along the way, which should be true. Because it was obvious that
everyone in this garden complex should have gathered in that "lecture hall" just now. But I remembered that there
should have been a man in a black suit lying unconscious in the kitchen, yet Xu Yue's answer didn't mention it.

Thinking of this, I immediately pressed Xu Yue for confirmation: "Really, you didn't see anyone? There wasn't a single unconscious man in the
outer ?"

Xu Yue seemed a little confused by my question, but still shook her head to deny it.

"I didn't knock him hard, he should be awake by now..."

the woman with the mole said as she ran towards the path Xu Yue and Li Jing had come
from .

Du Jinlong followed after her. Realizing that staying here meant risking being discovered and chased by those
lunatics , I couldn't explain much to Xu Yue and Li Jing. I could only grab them
and follow...

As we ran, I said to the woman with the mole, "Did you knock that guy out? Are you trying
to escape again? He'll wake up and definitely inform the people here.
Have you thought about whether that place is even passable?"

"That guy already informed them... That's why that bitch didn't
preach her twisted theories normally today. Instead, she brainwashed everyone in the hall. Her goal in controlling them
is to catch us who infiltrated... You can ask this guy if you don't believe me..."

The woman with the mole pointed at Du Jinlong as she spoke.

Du Jinlong, running alongside me, explained with a mournful face, "I attended
a Dharma assembly four days ago. That one was completely different from this one. It was just a few men and women doing striptease and performing
sex acts on a stage, and then that Rinpoche came up and mumbled a bunch of nonsense. In the end, he tried to get the listeners to donate money and
join. I don't understand what's going on this time! These people are acting like madmen..."

After listening to Du Jinlong's explanation, I thought for a moment and suddenly understood.

It turned out that the "Dharma assembly" I encountered today was different from
the other ... The reason for the difference was that the man in the black suit who had been knocked unconscious in the kitchen had
regained consciousness and run off to report that someone had infiltrated. That so-called Rinpoche probably
knew this and temporarily changed his brainwashing methods, directly and forcibly putting the listeners under
mental control. Firstly, it would allow her to identify infiltrators, and secondly, she could use these listeners as her temporary
henchmen to deal with infiltrators like me.

However, this very reason led me to question the woman with the mole's next move.

"In that case, the ancient sewers are even more impassable… They know where we came from
, and they've definitely set up people to lie in wait. Going there would be like walking into a trap,"

the woman with the mole replied without turning her head. "Why are they impassable? Didn't those two just
come ? And they didn't encounter anyone along the way… I've been tracking that bitch for days. That bitch
is so arrogant… she probably never expected we could break through such a large group. So now,
even if she thinks of having people block the tunnel, we can slip in and escape before her!"

Hearing this, I recalled bumping into her at Nanjing Airport yesterday. It turned out
this girl wasn't there for me, but to track that Daye guy. "Rinpoche..."

As we spoke, we rushed into the secluded courtyard where the tunnel was located.

The woman with the mole entered the kitchen without a word,
quickly piling up things like honeycomb briquettes and kindling at the entrance of the room, then held out her hand to me.

"A lighter!"

The other three and I, who were standing to the side looking confused, asked. "
What do ?"

"What else? To start a fire!" The woman with the mole immediately rolled her eyes at me!

"What did you say? You're going to set a fire?"

I asked, but instinctively pulled my lighter from my pocket. However, upon
hearing her say she was going to set a fire, I hurriedly tried to put it back, but the girl with the mole was quick
, snatching the lighter from my hand and then
lighting several pieces of methane tinder around the pile of firewood and coal…

"This place should be burned down…"

she muttered menacingly as she lit fires everywhere! Moments later,
several fires appeared in the room… Unable to stop this crazy girl in time, I could only lead Xu
Yue and the other two down to the storage room beneath the kitchen for shelter.

A dozen seconds later, the girl with the mole ran down from above. Seeing the four of us waiting for her, she clearly
didn't bother to greet us and rushed into the tunnel entrance.

Seeing her go in, Du Jinlong quickly followed. After pushing Li Jing and Xu Yue into the tunnel, I
stared at the billowing smoke and flames rising from the stairs for a moment, then shook my head helplessly before finally crawling into
the entrance.

At the junction of the tunnel and the sewers, I peeked out and bumped into a dark figure coming straight at
me . I felt a soft, protruding chest and realized it was a woman. Looking down, I
saw it was Xu Yue.

"Xu Yue, what are you doing? Why are you going back?"

After confirming it was me, Xu Yue stammered, "I saw you didn't come in, so I wanted to go back
and check ."

Xu Yue's words surprised me, because I could clearly sense a
hint of concern in her voice.

Even in the darkness, Xu Yue noticed my slightly surprised look, then showed an embarrassed
expression, but then lowered her voice and said to me, "Brother Yan, I have something to tell you… that woman
, the one with the mole on her eyebrow! She's the one who sold that house in Li Family Village to my brother! She's…"
"The original owner of the house!"

"Just as I expected..."

I breathed a sigh of relief, patted Xu Yue's shoulder, and whispered, "I know... I
understand !"

But before I could finish speaking, the woman with the mole's voice came from the darkness.

"What are you two whispering about? If you have something to say, say it directly. I
hate it when people gossip behind my back..."

I gently pushed Xu Yue away, reached into my pocket, pulled out a flashlight, and turned it on, illuminating
the sewer . I saw the woman with the mole's arms crossed, leaning against the sewer wall a few meters away
, coldly watching Xu Yue and me. I smiled faintly and replied,

"Your ears are really sharp... you can hear us from this far away. It's nothing... Xu Yue just
told me that the house her older brother lives in now is one you sold to him."

The woman with the mole's frowned, her expression clearly showing her extreme reluctance to discuss the matter. But
even so, she still spoke.

"So what? Does that mean selling a house is illegal?"

I sighed and said to her solemnly. "Selling a house is naturally not illegal, but
someone died in that house. Xu Yue's little niece was hanged in the room. Besides, we're both sensible people,
so there's no need to waste words. That house is constantly leaking evil energy! In business, there should be
integrity. You probably didn't fully disclose to the buyer that the bedroom was connected to this ancient sewer when you sold the house
... Now that the evil energy here is leaking, it might affect the
innocent . You must know that as the person who sold the house,
you can't escape responsibility for this, can you?"

The woman with the mole lowered her head in frustration after hearing my words. She didn't answer me, but kept muttering to
herself .

She probably thought her mutterings were so quiet that only she could hear them. Unexpectedly,
having awakened the power of the Crimson Lotus, my hearing was now far beyond that of ordinary people. So, even from several meters away
, I could still hear bits and pieces of her muttering.

"...If I'd known it would cause this kind of trouble, I shouldn't have forced Mom to sell this shabby house.
What to do? What to do? If Mom finds out about this... she'll definitely start nagging me endlessly...
"

Chapter 114

I stood there calmly watching the girl's face contort with a variety of expressions—regret, grievance, sadness
, and more . At the same time, a storm raged in my mind...

Yan Jing... if that really was her name... I felt that some of my previous, almost far-fetched
reasoning and analysis now seemed to make sense...

According to my uncle, because I was a boy, my father named me Yan Ping. And Yan Jing
was a name reserved for a girl. If my parents had another girl later, she would definitely
be named Yan Jing.

The woman with the mole on her eyebrow now claims her name is Yan Jing, and all of this cannot be explained by mere coincidence. Considering
her calling me "brother" at the airport and her act of robbing my mother's cenotaph, I feel I
've discovered a connection between us.

She might actually be my blood-related sister… because only if she were my sister
could our interactions make sense.

If she were unrelated to me, approaching me solely for the same reasons and
purposes , would she need to rob my mother's grave? She robbed my mother's grave because she knew
there were no ashes in her mother's urn, only her mother's bracelet. The only people who would know this,
besides my father and grandmother, are my mother herself, whose fate remains unknown.

The fact that this woman with the mole knows this proves she must be closely
connected .

Even my uncle and aunt, and Yan Guang, are probably still completely unaware of this.
And it was only after Han Zhe sensed something was wrong and opened my mother's urn that I discovered this
secret .

Of the three people who knew, my father and grandmother both passed away twenty years ago, one after the other.
And because of the suddenness of their deaths, they didn't have time to tell me.
Judging from her words and habits, the woman with the mole on her eyebrow was at most in her early twenties; naturally, she couldn't have learned this secret from my father and
grandmother . That leaves only my
mysterious mother as the only possible source.

To know the truth about my mother's urn from my mother, to bear a resemblance to me,
and the same name…

it's impossible for us not to be related.

But what was her purpose in doing all that?

Trying to take the urn first was probably to cover up the fact that there was no ashes inside.

And what was the purpose of covering up
this ?

Why would she do such a thing? Could it be…?

A thought struck me. I glanced at the other
three people then shoved the flashlight into Xu Yue's hand and silently walked to the woman's side.
Lowering my voice, I whispered in her ear, "You went and snatched the urn before me, did Mom send you? Was I right
?"

The girl was completely absorbed in her own thoughts, muttering to herself, and
hadn't noticed my approach. Upon hearing my words, she almost reflexively replied, "...
I knew it, why are you asking? Don't come to me with this, go settle accounts with Mom yourself..."

But as soon as she said "settle accounts," she immediately realized what I meant, abruptly turning her head, her eyes
filled with shock and disbelief.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her forward more than ten steps.

This girl was no less strong than Xia Jiang; normally, I wouldn't be able to control her, but she
was clearly in a state of panic, and I managed to drag her aside.

Looking at Yan Jing's bewildered expression, the muscles in my face
twitched .

Logically, after my guess was confirmed, I should have countless questions I wanted answered from her.

But for a moment, I didn't know where to begin. All
the .

First, my facial muscles twitched, and finally, my whole body trembled violently. Yan Jing was in
a similar situation. This girl, who had seemed so strong and domineering before, now looked like someone had exposed her
most private side, like a helpless child, bowing her head and remaining silent before me. However, she quickly noticed
my condition and immediately reached out to support my shoulder. Her expression, which had previously
been feigned indifference, now showed clear concern.

After a long while, I finally managed to wrest control of my body from my instinctive reflexes.

Taking a long breath, I suppressed my true emotions and feelings, glanced at
Xu Yue and the other two not far away, and said to Yan Jing in a low voice, "Okay, okay... right now,
the most important thing to get them to a safe place.
We can deal with the rest later."

At this moment, I was so agitated that I could barely speak.

Yan Jing stared at me, her eyes rolling upwards. After a long pause, she managed to stammer, "Why...why should I
do what you say?"

My face contorted involuntarily. Hearing Yan Jing's half-complaint, half-muttered
words, I forced out a few more through clenched teeth. "Why, why? Because I'm your
brother!"

After saying that, I swallowed hard and added, "If you want to acknowledge me as your brother, then listen to me
. If not, get out of here! I don't care about having a sister..."

Upon hearing my last sentence, Yan Jing's expression changed drastically, and she lowered her head again.

I stared intently at her, savoring the feeling of regaining control over my emotions and body.

Yan Jing trembled slightly, seemingly taking a deep breath as well, before looking up and softly saying to me,
"I understand... I'll listen to you here."

From the flickering look in Yan Jing's eyes, I guessed something. I then lowered my voice and
asked, "Tracking and investigating this Rinpoche, was it your own decision... Mom didn't know
?"

Yan Jing tilted her head, her face contorted with pain, admitting my suspicion.

"Why did you investigate this Rinpoche?" I pressed on.

"I... I discovered something strange about this old house. I came in and saw the little girl's body. I know someone
is using this old house to perform evil magic. My mom originally didn't plan to sell this house, but I wanted
to live separately from her and didn't want to continue living in this old house! So I forced her to sell it and bought
another one myself. Now that this family that bought the house has had this happen, I'm afraid my mom will nag me if she finds out... so I hired
that detective to help me investigate. This time, I originally wanted to sneak in and take care of that woman, to avenge the
little girl ..." Yan Jing explained, her lips pursed and her voice trembling.

I sniffed and nodded repeatedly. In an instant, many things that I had always found
perplexing suddenly became clear.

At this moment, I could confirm the following:

First, my mother was still alive...

Second, all these years, she had been living in this Li Family Village in the same city as me, with this sister I had never known
.

Third, there must be some secret about my mother. The furnishings and items in the house in Lijia
Village were all lost in the river during my uncle's transport back to the city. Yet, she managed to
retrieve them and restore them to their original state. Based on this alone, I even
suspect that my mother, like Wang Lie and Han Zhe, possesses some special abilities.
Yan Jing's abilities, in another sense, prove this point.

Fourth, my encounter with my sister Yan Jing under these circumstances was purely accidental.

Clearly, my sister, like most rebellious teenagers her age, wanted to leave
her parents and live independently. To achieve this, several years ago, she persuaded my mother to sell the house in Lijia Village
. As someone with supernatural abilities, my mother was well aware that the old house in Lijia Village was connected to an ancient sewer system and its potential
uses . She probably initially opposed it, but couldn't resist my sister's persistent pleading and eventually
sold the house to Xu Yue's cousin's family.

However, after the sale, my mother likely reached some kind of agreement with Yan Jing. Yan Jing was responsible for handling the aftermath of the house
sale … That's why she came to check on the house's condition and discovered
the tragic death of Xu Yue's niece and the leaking of malevolent energy through the bedroom's underground passage. Fearing her
mother would find out and cause trouble, Yan Jing secretly investigated and followed that Da Ye Rinpoche
and the yoga training institution, trying to resolve the matter herself. But she didn't expect that I
knew , and because of Xu Yue's sister-in-law's strange behavior, I eventually discovered the events at the old house and got
involved.

Then, after I stood up during the ceremony, she, also among the believers, noticed me. Knowing
I was her brother, she proactively jumped out to sing, trying to attract the attention of others so I could escape…
This girl clearly has feelings for me. Thinking of this,
a hint of .

At this moment, I finally calmed down from my previous uncontrollable excitement.

I took out my phone and spoke. "This isn't the place for explanations. Giving me a number... don't tell me you
don't even have a cell phone!"

Yan Jing blinked. "The signal isn't working here..."

"So what if it's not working? I'll write down your number so I can find you later!"

Yan Jing's face instantly turned bitter.

"Brother, can you please let me go? I know what you want from me! But there are some things I really can't explain to you
... All these years, Mom and I know what you've been up to and what you've been doing.
Mom has her own reasons for not contacting you, Second Brother, and Uncle and Aunt. If you really want to know about our family, you
have to go to her."

"I don't care! Since you've run into my line of fire this time... who else should I go to if not you?" I looked up, staring intently at Yan Jing with a determined
expression .

"Second Brother? You mean A-Guang? Okay... at least you know you have a second brother! I'm telling you straight
... A-Guang listens to me in everything. If you don't tell me your ***** and method... from now on, you can forget about
us two brothers!"

At this moment, I was forcing Yan Jing to choose between her mother and me. Moreover, I felt
my influence as her older brother wasn't enough. Knowing she also knew about A-Guang, she immediately included
him to increase my side's leverage! Two brothers…and a mother! You decide what to do
…

Yan Jing's face turned pale and then red after hearing my words, clearly caught in a dilemma.

She slowly lowered her head and murmured softly, "Brother, I understand how you feel. If I were in her shoes…
I'd feel the same way. But there are many things you really shouldn't know right now. If you knew…I'm worried you'd
go crazy. Mom has her own difficulties with everything she's done…you should understand her! Don't force me to
choose between her and you…"

Yan Jing's voice was barely audible, but her pained and troubled
expression , and that soft, gentle voice I'd never seen before, suddenly touched something deep within me
.

I choked up involuntarily, and my hand holding the phone fell limply to my side. I wondered if my
actions were too cruel...

Having just confirmed and discovered I had a younger sister, I immediately wanted to bring her under
my control. Is this how an older brother should behave? And most importantly, this
sister had been separated from me for who knows how many years...

My heart softened without me realizing it.

After a moment of silence, I slowly asked, "After you've dealt with things here, will you come to
find me?"

Yan Jing noticed my softening attitude and quickly nodded. "I'll definitely come to find you and my second brother...

because I've actually wanted to come and acknowledge you for a long time, but Mom wouldn't allow it... But now that things are
like this, there's no need for me to hide my identity from you. I'll come to see you when I have time... of course,
secretly... I can't let Mom know!"

"What could possibly be the reason... that a mother would refuse to see her own child, and even
forbid siblings from recognizing each other?"

This incomprehensible question popped into my mind.

But looking at Yan Jing's almost aggrieved expression, I ultimately suppressed the question
in my mind and didn't ask it. Because I knew that even if I asked, Yan Jing would never give me an answer.
On the contrary , it would damage the little bit of affection and trust that we had just built up.

I pursed my lips, thought for a moment, and then thought of something before asking, "Can you tell
me your birthday?"

Yan Jing blinked at the question, looking somewhat puzzled.

"Nothing else... As your brother, I don't even know how old my sister is or
when birthday is? Now that I know, when you come to see me and A-Guang... maybe we can
make up for the birthday present and cake we owe you..."

I stretched out my right index finger and rubbed it back and forth under my nose twice. Because I knew myself that what I
said a bit sentimental, and a certain feeling of soreness naturally arose in my nose. To hide my unconscious emotional
outburst, I had to use this action to conceal it.

I was concealing it, but Yan Jing's eyes clearly showed a slight reflection...

or perhaps in her view, the question I asked was her own private matter and should not be subject to her mother
's control or interference. She lowered her head and whispered a year and birthdate to me.

When I heard the date, I froze…

The year and birthdate Yan Jing gave me were all too familiar. This date
was a few days after my father's tragic death at my ancestral home. At that time, I was
recuperating at the county hospital, arranged by my uncle.

I tried to control the sadness that overwhelmed me as I recalled that painful past and forced
a . Then, turning to look at the other three people
in the distance who were just standing there watching us, oblivious to what was happening, I said to Yan Jing,

“Alright, I doubt you'd tell me anything else, even if I asked. As your brother, I don't want to put
you in a difficult position.”

Yan Jing responded with a grateful “Mm.”

"What are you planning to do now? Should we try to slip away first... and then anonymously call the police, asking
them to search the old house and this yoga training center? To
expose what these guys have done?"

I immediately asked Yan Jing about her next steps.

Yan Jing shook her head vigorously at my suggestion.

"We can't call the police! If we do, Mom will
definitely . If she finds out... I'm doomed!"

"Then what do we do? Wait... it's been so long. Haven't they noticed we escaped from that yard into
the sewer? Not a single pursuer has followed us in? Could the houses outside have already burned down...? It
seems like we haven't had enough time..."

I said, shifting my focus to the practical problems we were facing,
and vaguely noticing something amiss.

Yan Jing also shifted her focus at this moment. Faced with my question, she chuckled softly.

I looked at her face, puzzled…

She quickly pulled herself out of her familial entanglement and explained why there were no pursuers.

“They must have learned their lesson after being burned once… Two days ago, I ambushed her in Wuxi.
Her gang chased after me, but I ran while simultaneously taking down the fastest pursuer, crippling
seven or eight of her men. The tunnel is so narrow; only two people can come in at most. That woman is
smart ; she knows that if we tried to block the entrance, no matter how many people came down, we wouldn't be able to beat them… so she didn't dare send anyone
to chase us in directly!”

“Two days ago in Wuxi… yesterday in Nanjing… and here again today… Is this woman really that busy? Traveling between several cities
non-stop?”

I blinked, finding it somewhat unbelievable.

"Nothing strange... This woman's Rinpoche status is real! These days, living Buddhas like her are more sought after than
government officials... What can you do! There are too many fools in this world, so many that even swindlers can't keep up with them
all!"

Yan Jing seemed to have returned to her normal state, shrugging her shoulders while making a sarcastic remark.
This posture and gesture were also a habitual gesture that Yan Guang and I would occasionally adopt. From this point of view... this girl
probably really does have similar blood to Yan Guang and me.

"If that's really the case, that's for the best... at least when we evacuate through the waterway, we won't have to worry about someone
chasing us."

As I spoke, I turned and waved to Xu Yue and the other two.
After confirming that my conversation with Yan Jing was over, Xu Yue and the others quickly followed, flashlights in hand.

Yan Jing clearly didn't want any contact or communication with Xu Yue and the other two. Seeing them approach, she
said to me, "Let's figure out how to evacuate from here first. I'll go clear the way ahead."

After saying that, she quickly walked into the darkness on her own.

I had no objection to this, and after Xu Yue and the others arrived, I led them
back along the sewer we had come from.

After walking for a while, we saw thick smoke and flames billowing from the middle of the sewer ahead.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that the flames and smoke were caused by the burning corpses.

When another corpse caught fire in the distance, and I saw Yan Jing holding my lighter beside it, I
realized that this was all her "handiwork."

"What are you doing?"

I immediately shouted at her.

Yan Jing heard this and immediately shouted back, "That woman wants to use this sewer to gather 108
evil corpses to perform a Yin Sha initiation on herself! I'll burn all these evil corpses as I go! Let's
see how she gathers Yin Sha energy then... I'll infuriate her! Besides, these evil corpses are pretty dry... they'll catch
fire easily, might as well burn them!"

"My goodness... this is a sewer! If you burn them all the way here... the whole sewer will
be filled with smoke soon. Are you trying to suffocate everyone?" I never expected my sister to be so
unreliable, doing whatever comes to mind! Without considering the surroundings or the potential consequences…
…

“Why didn’t you think of that? Hurry up and get ahead… This smoke isn’t drifting very fast… Just
get out of the sewers before the smoke spreads! If you don’t burn it, the Yin energy will keep generating and accumulating. Burning
it will solve the problem of the Yin energy leaking out!”

Yan Jing ran to the next corpse and lit her lighter again.

I thought to myself, what she said makes sense. My main purpose in coming down from the bedroom of the old house in Li Family Village
was to find out the source of the Yin energy and to find a way to eliminate the
threat it might pose to Li Family Village.

I had been thinking about how to deal with this. Now, Yan Jing
solved the problem with the simplest and most practical method.

After understanding this, I immediately led Xu Yue and the others to speed up and overtake Yan Jing.

Xu Yue had already seen these corpses once when she came with Li Jing, although I didn’t know how
she had survived them! But I managed to remain calm and keep up with us.

Finally, there were only 105 corpses in the waterway. After traveling
quickly , I led Xu Yue and the others out of that section of the waterway where the corpses were kept.

After confirming we were out of that "horrible section," I felt a
slight .

Having fought Yan Jing before, I knew her skills and abilities well.
I wasn't worried at all about leaving her to stay behind and burn the corpses.

My thoughts then turned to the strange events that had happened in my family.

I was now certain of one thing: my mother was probably
the key ! But I couldn't understand why.

I suspected my mother was a demon hunter like Wang Lie or Han Zhe. But while the profession of demon hunter
was shady, it shouldn't lead to family separation and the loss of loved ones, right? Wang Lie, Han Zhe,
and even Zhao Zhongyuan and Lin Moxiang, whom I met in Xia Yu City, all
had their own normal daily lives besides slaying demons.

I was lost in thought, so I slowed down. Xu Yue and Li Jing kept pace with me. Only
Du Jinlong clearly still had a severe psychological trauma from the corpses he had just seen. Even
as the three of us slowed down, he continued to rush forward relentlessly… seemingly wanting to get as far away from that section of road as
possible. So, before long, he was at the forefront, even disappearing
from .

But just as I was deep in thought, trying to piece together some clues, Du Jinlong's screams
suddenly .

The sound reverberated through the waterways, sending chills down our spines.

I snapped out of my reverie and exchanged a glance with Li Jing.

"I'll go check… you stay with Xu Yue!"

After giving Li Jing my orders, I pulled the sickle from my belt and ran towards the direction from which Du Jinlong's
screams had come...

Update Note:
"Face Tattoo" will be temporarily suspended in April. Updates will resume on the first Thursday of May.
There are several reasons for this. First, work commitments; I'll be traveling for most of April. Second
, I'm short on time to write, and I'm not satisfied with the quality of my recent chapters. Although I've roughly
outlined the plot, it feels somewhat like a diary entry. This break is a way to clear things up and consider how to translate the
fully developed storyline into written form. 　　I hope everyone understands and continues to support this novel!

URL 1:https://www.sexlove5.com/htmlBlog/159933.html

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