Qi Wen was suddenly grabbed by her and almost let out a scream. The next moment, she covered his mouth. "Don't scream!" she whispered.
After letting go, Qi Wen patted his wildly beating heart and complained in a low voice, "You almost scared me to death."
Looking ahead, he asked, "Do you need to go to the toilet? I'll go and tell Steward Chen."
Ye Wanmian gave him a disdainful look. "We've already got the money. Why should we care about them? We're not from the Chen Mansion, so there's no need to report to him. Besides, it would be embarrassing to make so many people wait for me just because I need to go to the toilet."
Qi Wen couldn't argue with her and didn't dare to let her go alone outside. So he held his breath and let her do as she pleased.
Ye Wanmian took Qi Wen's arm and quietly slowed down their steps. Before they knew it, they had distanced themselves from the others.
The thick clouds in the sky were gathering more and more densely. The air became restless and oppressive, and the whistling wind blew all around. It was a sign of rain.
Having got the money, the others were eager to go back. Coupled with the impending change in the weather, in order not to get drenched in the wilderness, everyone unconsciously quickened their pace. The torches were swaying in the wind, and no one noticed that two people were walking slower and slower, and were even on the verge of leaving the group.
They were still on the same way back as they came. Ye Wanmian had an excellent memory and had already remembered the terrain along the way. So when the group turned a corner, taking advantage of a muffled thunderclap in the air, she quickly pulled Qi Wen to the side and hid in the bushes.
This group, composed of servants and mourning villagers, had about thirty or forty people. No one noticed the disappearance of two people.
In the bushes, Ye Wanmian covered Qi Wen's mouth to prevent him from making a sound, while she listened intently to the noises outside.
"Boom—"
The muffled thunder became more and more frequent, and the smell of earth in the air became stronger.
Ye Wanmian looked up at the invisible sky. The thunder and wind drowned out all other noises in the world. In such a situation, it was not easy for anyone to notice whatever they did.
It seemed as if God was helping Ye Wanmian cover up her actions.
Ye Wanmian let go of Qi Wen. Qi Wen couldn't help complaining, "Didn't you say you had a stomachache and needed to go to the toilet? Why did you drag me here to hide? Hurry up and solve your urgent problem."
Ye Wanmian said, "I lied to you. My stomach doesn't hurt at all."
Qi Wen widened his eyes. "What? Your stomach doesn't hurt?"
Seeming to realize that his voice was a bit too loud, he consciously lowered his voice. "Then what do you want to do?"
Ye Wanmian tightly grabbed Qi Wen's wrist. "I found that the jade pendant my dead husband gave me is missing. It was still hanging on me when we were by Young Master Chen's grave just now, but I couldn't find it when we came down the mountain."
"I've thought it over and over again and I think it must have been left in front of Young Master Chen's grave. Will you go back with me to get it?"
Qi Wen widened his eyes. Remembering the actions of Taoist Yuanqi just now, he shivered. "This... This doesn't seem right. How about we come back tomorrow during the daytime when there's enough light?"
"No. What if it's taken away by a wild dog? Where can I find it then? If you go back with me to get it, I'll give you half of my two hundred cash. How about that?"
Qi Wen shamefully felt tempted.
"You said so. Don't go back on your word later."
Ye Wanmian said, "Don't worry. I'm not the kind of person who goes back on my word. Hurry up. It seems like it's going to rain. Let's go quickly and come back quickly!"
The two discussed it for a while and then quietly left the forest and ran up the mountain.
However, Ye Wanmian was very smart. She didn't take the original path but chose another one. Thanks to her frequent trips up the mountain to collect herbs before, she had been to this mountain range. Coupled with her good memory, she remembered every path in the mountain.
In the mountain, the yellow dog was surrounded by several other dogs. It anxiously nuzzled the yellow dog that looked extremely uncomfortable.
At this moment, Xiao Jingcheng had a splitting headache. It felt as if someone was brutally chopping at his head with something. His throat also seemed to be tightly grasped, as if someone was trying to cut off all his vitality. He could feel that his control over this body was getting weaker and weaker.
And the yellow light group's attempt to seize back the control of the body at this moment made him feel an inexplicable panic in his heart.
If this body was also to be abandoned, could he, Xiao Jingcheng, still survive?
Was there still a person named Xiao Jingcheng in this world?
No. He must break the current situation. It must be that stinky Taoist who did something just now, which led to this!
This thought flashed through his mind. He knew that the problem lay with the tomb below. He tried his best to stabilize his soul and fought against the force that was constantly tearing at him. He propped himself up on his four limbs and stood up from the ground. Under the worried gazes of the curly - haired dog and the other dogs, he walked out of the forest with difficulty.
He looked down at the dancing flames in the wind and the slightly raised tomb mound in the darkness. There were black marks on the loess, and there was a faint smell of blood in the air.
"Boom!"
A muffled thunderclap came from the sky. Xiao Jingcheng gasped for breath. The indomitable spirit and the determination not to yield to fate that burst out from the depths of his soul made him, despite his trembling body, raise his head and let out a long howl towards the sky with the rumbling thunder.
This long howl drowned out the lightning that split the night sky. With an irresistible momentum, it startled the flying insects and wild animals in the forest and also reached the dogs lurking in the forest in all directions.
The next moment, one after another, the barking of dogs rang out. Several dogs of different heights, weights, and coat colors leaped out of the shadows and rushed towards the tomb below.
After the yellow dog did all this, its body trembled violently and it fell to the ground.
There were still a few guards from the Chen Mansion left around the tomb. They weren't that scared before the coffin was buried. However, after the coffin was buried and they were guarding around the tomb, smelling the smell of blood in the air, they all felt a sense of unease in their hearts.
Therefore, when that howl that pierced the darkness rang out, they were all greatly startled. When they saw the pairs of green - glowing eyes rushing towards them in the darkness, they immediately screamed in terror.
"There... There are wolves! Help! Help!"
The guards around the tomb were so scared by the surging dogs that they forgot to draw their weapons to defend themselves. They just fled in all directions. In the blink of an eye, there were only the biting dogs left beside the tomb, and no human figure could be seen.
The remaining dogs gathered around the tomb and quickly scratched at the loess on the ground with their paws, destroying the blood - smelling patterns drawn with rooster blood on the ground.
On the dark mountain path, hearing the barking of dogs and the cries for help from the guards of the Chen Mansion, Qi Wen looked shocked and said to Ye Wanmian, "Mrs. Jiang, it seems something's happening over at the graveyard."
Ye Wanmian picked up a branch as thick as an arm from the ground and climbed up. Her face was calm, and her eyes were as bright as stars in the night.
"I heard it, but what does it matter to us?"