In the rear courtyard of the blacksmith's shop stood two large buildings. The one on the right served as the blacksmith's living quarters, while the one on the left was a warehouse for storing ironware.
The gaunt middle-aged man led Li Xianzong and the others to the ironware warehouse. He pushed open the long-sealed door, releasing a musty, rust-laden odor that filled the air.
Li Xianzong stepped over the threshold and entered the warehouse, his gaze sweeping steadily across the interior.
The warehouse was filled with various instruments of torture: razors, steel needles, finger crushers, branding irons, cangues, tiger benches, and more.
Li Xianzong narrowed his eyes. These were nothing like the "torture devices" used by that twisted woman, Yichuan Mei. The items in this warehouse were genuine instruments of torture, designed to inflict pain and suffering.
Most were covered in dust and rust, but some appeared brand new, as if recently forged.
"Why would a blacksmith have so many torture devices in his warehouse?"
The speaker was a burly young man with ordinary features and an arrogant demeanor, clearly not one to be trifled with—the kind who relished brawls and violence.
Yet such a temperament was unremarkable among those in the Evil Class. The young man's only distinguishing feature was his missing left ear, as if it had been sliced off by a sharp blade.
The gaunt middle-aged man said, "Not only that, look closely. Some of these torture devices are new, while others are old. Blacksmith Wang is still forging more."
As he spoke, he picked up two razors—one rusted and the other with a gleaming blade.
"He's repeating this meaningless act of forging torture devices!" Li Xianzong declared, delivering his final judgment.
The young man with the missing left ear frowned. "What's the logic behind this NPC's behavior? Or is it just a meaningless setting we should ignore?"
Just then, a man in a suit exclaimed excitedly, "Look what I found!"
Everyone turned to see him holding a dark red steel nail, about two inches long. The dark red was dried blood.
Li Xianzong's eyes flickered as he took the nail. After a few seconds, a notification appeared:
[ Name: Curse Nail ]
[ Type: Consumable ]
[ Function: Spirit Erosion ]
[ Description: This steel nail once pierced the heart of a powerful warrior. In her dying moments, her resentment clung to the nail, forming a curse. Anyone pierced by this nail will have their spirit consumed by the curse and perish. ]
[ Note: I curse you, curse you to die a violent death just as I did. ]
"A very powerful consumable," Li Xianzong sneered. "Isn't that reasonable? After taking down a powerful elite monster, we deserve some strong items to replenish our supplies."
He glanced around at the group. "I'll keep this consumable safe. Any objections?"
The team members shrugged.
In the Evil Class, strength reigns supreme. The strong rule, and once their authority is established, it's absolute. Those who defy them can challenge their position, but they must be prepared to pay with their lives.
In the Orderly Class, however, voting, negotiation, or the consent of the discoverer is required.
Next, Li Xianzong and the others meticulously examined every torture device and piece of ironware, but found no more items or consumables.
The group then left the warehouse and headed toward Blacksmith Wang's residence.
Creak~
Li Xianzong pushed open the wooden door and carefully surveyed the room.
A bed made of blue bricks stood by the window, with a square table in the center and a wardrobe facing the bed.
After some searching, they found an account book inside a wooden chest containing clothing.
Captain Li Xianzong flipped open the thread-bound ledger, glanced at it, and turned to his teammates.
"Anyone here read traditional Chinese characters?"
The ledger was written in traditional characters, and the handwriting was atrocious. Li Xianzong realized his literacy wasn't up to the task of deciphering it.
Traditional characters... The Evil Class members exchanged uneasy glances, falling into a momentary silence.
A man in a suit stepped forward. "Let me take a look."
Li Xianzong sighed in relief and handed him the ledger.
The man in the suit studied it intently for a long time before smiling. "This is a detailed record of the blacksmith's income and expenses. Now we know who bought those torture devices: a man named Squire Zhao."
He immediately added, "But the numbers in the ledger don't match what we saw. There are far too many torture devices in the warehouse—far more than Squire Zhao ordered."
The numbers don't match... Li Xianzong frowned.
He vaguely sensed this was a clue—information the Instance was revealing to the Spirit Realm Walkers.
Li Xianzong had already experienced an A-rank instance. After all, how else could he be considered a genius? The higher the difficulty of the instance, the greater the test of a Spirit Realm Walker's abilities.
Many pieces of information had to be unearthed through their own efforts.
Li Xianzong shared his thoughts with his teammates. The gaunt middle-aged man pondered for a moment before cautiously suggesting:
"I have a hunch, though I can't be certain. Blacksmith Wang seems to be cursed. I detected a faint aura of curse emanating from him."
The gaunt man explained further:
"Curses are abilities exclusive to Witchcraft Masters at the Saint Stage. I haven't reached that level yet, so I can't guarantee it. Besides, this is a faction-based instance, so the presence of curses is perfectly normal, not particularly strange."
"A curse..." Li Xianzong processed the information, concluding, "A curse compels him to endlessly forge instruments of torture?"
He didn't dwell on it for long before declaring:
"Let's leave this place and find Squire Zhao. He should be our next target. We need to complete the side quests before the Orderly Faction does."
"Xiuer! Xiuer!"
Zhang Yuanqing strode through the western streets of the town, shouting at the top of his lungs, "My Xiuer, where are you?"
Guan Ya and Queen silently followed behind him.
As Queen observed their surroundings, she whispered to the Mixed-Blood Beauty beside her, "Has he always been this... socially outgoing?"
She had always been intensely curious about the legendary Primordial Heavenly Venerable.
After spending a short time with him, they discovered that this widely renowned figure possessed neither the arrogance nor aloofness of a natural-born prodigy, nor the humility and warmth one might expect.
He was talkative, lively, and could chat about anything with anyone.
And she didn't find this personality off-putting.
Guan Ya chuckled. "He joined the Five Elements Alliance less than a week ago, and he's already become close with his colleagues. You know Fu Qingyang, right?"
"Of course," Queen replied, touching the silver ring on her earlobe with a smile. "He's the real deal—a true prodigy. They say he's incredibly handsome but aloof and difficult to get along with. The female colleagues who admire him aren't as numerous as those who adore Ling Jun from the Taiyi Sect, but they're fiercely loyal."
Guan Ya turned to glance at her vibrant and charismatic female colleague. "Even Fu Qingyang likes him. He becomes much more talkative whenever Primordial is around."
Queen gasped in surprise, clicking her tongue in admiration. "Is this what they call 'genius recognizing genius'?"
"No," Guan Ya corrected. "Fu Qingyang just enjoys hearing Primordial's flattery."
"..."
At that moment, Huode Star General grumbled impatiently, "Is Widow Xu really living nearby? Could Granny Wang be lying to us?"
They had been searching for half an hour, Zhang Yuanqing's throat was nearly hoarse from shouting, yet the legendary Widow Xu remained elusive.
Without finding her, their mission couldn't proceed.
The sun beat down mercilessly, baking the Ancient Town. After half an hour of searching, the group was drenched in sweat and forced to take a break in a shady alleyway.
Li Chunfeng leaned against the ancient white wall, fanning himself with his hand. "Are we missing something?" he asked.
Missing something? Zhang Yuanqing lowered his head in thought, mentally reviewing every detail. He couldn't find any gaps.
Hmm, just because I can't sense it doesn't mean it's not there. If I triggered my old illness, I might be able to recall every detail, but that's too risky.
Guan Ya, standing beside Zhang Yuanqing, pondered for a few seconds before saying, "No, we haven't overlooked any crucial clues. Widow Xu's information has only surfaced twice: once when Granny Wang mentioned her address, and again with the Scarecrow. But neither of those leads seems relevant to our current predicament."
The round-faced youth frowned, his expression sour. "It's so hot, it's making me irritable. I'm thirsty. What about you guys?"
I'm thirsty too. Zhang Yuanqing immediately turned to Queen, grinning. "Your Majesty, might we trouble you for some refreshment?"
"What kind of refreshment?" Queen muttered, her tone skeptical. "That sounds... odd."
If you were Guan Ya, I'd be saying this while staring at your chest! Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself.
Driving Guan Ya was a surefire way to please her; the "Veteran Driver" loved it. But driving other women would have made him look like a creep.
The Queen, with her striking appearance, was the epitome of a beautiful, mature woman. Large hoop earrings, smoky eye makeup, and a summer outfit of a thin top and capri pants revealed her curvaceous, mature figure.
Unlike Guan Ya, who relished driving, the Queen was rather "clumsy" in this regard.
"It's true that Water Ghosts can manipulate water, but we can't conjure it from thin air," she explained.
Seeing her teammates struggling in the heat, she pondered for a moment and said, "I'll go to the river and 'transport' some water for you. Even the dirtiest water becomes potable after our Water Ghost purification."
Guan Ya cautioned, "Don't go too far."
The Queen didn't even turn her head. "Don't worry. We won't encounter the Evil Faction until we finish the side quest."
Zhang Yuanqing watched her graceful figure recede into the distance. After she disappeared, he turned back to the group and said:
"I believe finding Xu Xiuer requires a specific trigger. But with so little information, it's hard to deduce what that trigger might be."
Guan Ya suggested, "Why not start with her background?"
"Her background..." Li Chunfeng mused. "She's a widow suspected of cursing Granny Wang's son. Could she be a Witchcraft Master? Granny Wang's son must have wronged her, likely by breaking into her home at night."
"But there's a logical flaw here. If she's a Witchcraft Master, how could a mere mortal harm her?"
"Of course, we can't be certain if Granny Wang's son was truly an ordinary man. Besides, that's not particularly relevant to our current predicament."
"What are you even talking about? All this analysis feels pointless. You scholars just love overthinking things," Huode Star General grumbled.
"It's simple! Granny Wang's son slept with her, she cursed him, and now she hates men."
"Hates men, so she's avoiding us? That makes sense," the slightly plump Chi Ou nodded repeatedly.
"Nonsense!" Grass on the Plain retorted calmly. "Do you think no Spirit Realm Walkers have ever taken this path before? Were there no men among them?"
"Well..." the round-faced Chi Ou stammered, unable to answer.
Guan Ya pondered aloud, "No, Huode Star General's theory has merit. I have a hypothesis: what if this trial requires a female Walker to trigger it?"
Her words sent a ripple of unease through the group.
The Queen had broken away from the pack!