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Li Zhisheng's face showed a look of surprise as he exclaimed, "How do you know?" The Old Woman, still wearing a worried expression, replied, "I not only know that you have Soul Burial, but I also know that you are a descendant of Li Yu!"
I thought to myself, "Li Yu? Does this old lady know Li Zhisheng's ancestor?"
Li Zhisheng answered directly, "That's right, Li Yu is indeed my ancestor. As a Yin Master, I find it strange that you don't recognize him. But since you already know, I won't beat around the bush. Do you have a way to resolve the Soul Burial on me?"
The Old Woman grasped Li Zhisheng's hand and examined his sleeve for a moment before saying, "As a Yin Master, you must know that once Soul Burial is buried within the body, it is almost impossible to resolve. However, coincidentally, I do know a method that might help you, but..."
Seeing the Old Woman fall silent, Li Zhisheng grew anxious. "But what? If there's a way, just say it. It's better to face it than to avoid it."
"Well... never mind, there's no need for me to hide it from you." The old lady released Li Zhisheng's hand and continued, "The method is to bury a second Soul Burial within your body. This way, you will have two Soul Burials inside you, and they will consume each other, which might give you a chance at salvation."
Upon hearing this, I pressed further, "Old Woman, you just said 'might.' Could there be other outcomes?"
The Old Woman's expression darkened further at my question. "Yes, just as you said. In order for these two Soul Burials to consume each other and achieve cancellation, their powers must be equal; even the slightest difference won't do. Otherwise, one will consume the other and become a combined entity of the two Soul Burials. The result... well, I don't need to elaborate on that."
I had initially thought there was a way to eliminate Soul Burial, but it turned out to be a risky move. If it failed, the consequences would extend beyond just one city. "What do you think?" I asked Li Zhisheng.
Li Zhisheng looked helpless. "First of all, we can't find another Soul Burial with equal power. Right now we don't even know where the Soul Burials are located; how can we search for them? This method is no different from having none at all."
"You're not wrong; however, at least there is one method now..."
"Well, not entirely." The Old Woman interrupted with a cough. "There are indeed Soul Burials available; it's just uncertain whether their powers are equal. So whether or not to use this method depends on your own decision."
Neither Hu Fang nor I dared to make any rash judgments; Meng Zhuang was even more confused. Li Zhisheng pondered for a long time, seemingly struggling to make a choice.
I thought to myself, "If he doesn't accept this proposal, then the Soul Burial within him will erupt sooner or later. While this plan might lead to even more serious consequences, at least there is a glimmer of hope—though I don't know how likely success is..."
Li Zhisheng asked, " Wang Po, can we discuss this a bit more before making a decision?"
The Old Woman nodded, saying, "Think it over carefully; after all, this is a matter of life and death... cough cough," she coughed a few more times.
At that moment, Meng Zhuang interjected, "Since we can't make a decision right now, why don't we eat something first? My mom's cooking is really delicious; let me treat you all to some!"
Just as Meng Zhuang was about to lead us away, he was stopped by the Old Woman with a single sentence: "Zhuangzhuang, you haven't been back for so long; it's not too late to have a meal with me before you leave."
Seeing the Old Woman like this, Meng Zhuang seemed a bit at a loss. "Well, if you insist, how could I refuse?"
The other three of us exchanged glances, unsure of what to do, and could only follow Meng Zhuang as he sat down.
Upon hearing Meng Zhuang's agreement, the Old Woman immediately beamed with joy and hurriedly said, "Great! You all sit tight; I'll go prepare some dishes for you to taste my cooking."
Sitting in the courtyard, I asked Meng Zhuang, "Aren't you going to help?"
"Oh right, right..." Meng Zhuang got up and moved forward. As soon as he walked away, I whispered to Hu Fang and Li Zhisheng, "You two stay here; I'll go take a look." They nodded in understanding, and I followed after Meng Zhuang.
I trailed him to the kitchen, where I saw the Old Woman already chopping vegetables with a knife while Meng Zhuang helped by tossing wood into the stove. When he noticed me coming in, he said, "Shen, what are you doing here? You should just sit with them; I've got this covered."
I smiled and replied, "It's fine; you keep busy. I'm just here to see if you need any help. I can't just wait around while the elderly tire themselves out."
Hearing this, the Old Woman chuckled and said, "Buddy, you're so thoughtful! But after all these years, I've managed just fine on my own; there's no such thing as tiring myself out."
She held the knife with slightly trembling hands, cutting the carrots into uneven chunks.
"Wang Po, let me do it. Just tell me how," I said as I stepped forward to take the knife from the Old Woman's hand and began chopping.
Before long, a table full of hearty farmhouse dishes was served in front of Hu Fang and Li Zhisheng. Hu Fang smiled at the Old Woman sitting beside her, "This looks so sumptuous! Thank you, Wang Po."
"Oh, it's nothing. It's all thanks to your friend Shen here. He was busy in the kitchen while I hardly did anything," the Old Woman replied.
Hearing Wang Po praise me, I humbly said, "I didn't do much; it was just a little effort, all thanks to your guidance. Please, try it and see how it tastes." With that, I gestured for everyone to dig in.
In no time, the dishes on the table were cleared away. Hu Fang still seemed unsatisfied, saying, "This is so much better than steak at a Western restaurant."
As Meng Zhuang realized it was getting late, he stood up to take his leave. "Wang Po, you've eaten; we should prepare to leave now, or we might disturb your rest."
"Are you leaving already? Shouldn't your friends stay at your place?" the Old Woman asked.
"Yes, that's right. Why do you ask, Wang Po?"
"It's nothing. I just thought since there are already two people at your home and it's a bit cramped, why not let you stay here? I have plenty of empty rooms now that no one is using them. It would be more convenient if they need to find me."
Although Meng Zhuang hesitated a bit, he eventually agreed. "Yeah, that's true. If we all squeeze together at my place, no one will get any rest. I'll just go back home for now; I need to spend some time with my parents." After hearing this, I could only nod in agreement.
After Meng Zhuang left, the Old Woman settled the three of us into a large room in the courtyard. There were three beds neatly arranged inside as if she had known we would come to stay; even the blankets were already laid out.
The Old Woman settled us in and mysteriously warned us, "This village is a bit strange. You mustn't go out at night, and if you hear any noises, don't open the door." With that, before I could ask anything, she turned and walked away with her hands behind her back.
I watched her departing figure, feeling something was off but unable to pinpoint why. I had no choice but to close the wooden door. Just as I shut it, I heard Hu Fang sitting on the edge of the bed whispering, "Shen Xu, don't you think something's strange?"
"What did you notice?" I asked.
"Look at these blankets; they're spotless, as if they were just laid out. If that Old Woman really lived here alone, why would she have three beds made? Did someone sleep here before?"
At that moment, Li Zhisheng added, "That's not all. What's even stranger is that I noticed the Old Woman has no scars on her arms. Earlier, Hu Fang mentioned that the middle-aged woman cut her arm while saving her, but I just looked closely, and there are no signs of any injury."
I replied, "I've noticed all of this too. There's another issue: when she was cooking earlier, she claimed to have lived alone for many years, yet she couldn't even cut a radish properly. That doesn't make sense. Also, when the Old Woman first met Meng Zhuang, she showed extreme enthusiasm, but from Meng Zhuang's reaction just now, it seems there isn't that deep of a connection."
After we finished discussing, Hu Fang sighed, "You two are too calculating. You clearly see something's off but act like nothing's wrong. Human nature is truly frightening..."
I said helplessly, "Isn't that how the world works? If you don't stay vigilant, you might fall into someone's trap at any moment. I've come to realize this deeply..." With that, I couldn't help but sigh.
Then I turned to Li Zhisheng and asked, "So what do you think? Are you willing to try...?" He pondered for a moment before saying, "I don't see this as a choice. If I don't try something, I'm as good as dead; even you two might not escape unscathed. Trying gives at least a glimmer of hope—do you think I have any other options?"
Seeing Li Zhisheng's serious expression, Hu Fang asked, "Is there really no other way? That Old Woman's method seemed very dangerous..."
I looked at the dim tungsten lamp overhead and felt an immense weight on my heart. "Yes, it's very dangerous. These two Soul Burials must be exactly equal in strength; otherwise, the consequences will be far worse than now. Not trying would mean planting a time bomb inside Li Zhisheng that could explode at any moment. Since we arrived here, I've sensed something is off; it feels like our actions are being controlled by someone else. We're like ants being manipulated."
"Are you Gu Kai?!" Li Zhisheng suddenly exclaimed.
"Right now, it's just speculation, and I'm not completely sure. It's not that Gu Kai isn't involved; I feel like Death Apostle still has some things he hasn't told me, so I can't trust him one hundred percent."
"From what I can see, I don't think Death Apostle would do anything harmful to you. Everything we've encountered seems to indicate that Gu Kai is also targeting Death Apostle..." Before Li Zhisheng could finish his sentence, a slow knocking sound came from outside the door.
"Knock... knock... knock..." The three of us inside the room tensed up at the sound. I thought to myself, "Didn’t Wang Po say not to open the door no matter what sounds we hear? Why is she here so soon? Did she forget something?"
The room fell silent, and no one dared to make a sound. I swallowed hard and tentatively asked, "Is that you, Wang Po?"
After asking, I perked up my ears to listen closely, but there was no further sound from outside. "Maybe it was just the wind..."
Just as I finished speaking, a hoarse and deep voice came from outside, breaking the silence. "No... it's me."
Hearing this, I quickly ran to the door and cracked it open slightly. To my shock, there was someone who looked exactly like Wang Po, covered in blood, crawling at the entrance. She struggled to reach out her bloody arm toward me. In the dim light filtering through the crack of the door, I noticed a long and distinct scar on her arm...
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