CHAPTER 1043: 1120: NO REGRETS ALLOWED.

Yi Ran clung to Shu Yu, begging to be coaxed to sleep, but Shu Yu didn’t bring his ancient zither this time. Yi Ran looked at Shu Yu pitifully, and Shu Yu had a face full of black lines.

"Let’s take care of business first!" he said, but Yi Ran’s eyes were full of grievance, almost as if he was about to cry.

Shu Yu said, "Once business is done, come back to the Blue mansion with me tonight."

Yi Ran’s eyes immediately sparkled brightly, "Really?"

Shu Yu: "..."

"You can’t go back on your word!"

So Yi Ran immediately started preparing.

The business at hand was to help Dong Huiying and Shu Yu get introduced to a member of the Witch Gu Clan. That person’s residence contained many books, most of which were ancient tomes handed down from generations, and perhaps, there might be a way to break the witchcraft on Zhi Chen.

This person lived outside the city, but when the Seventh Princess returned to the city, she immediately ordered the city to be sealed.

Now, South City only allowed entry but not exit, yet this was no obstacle for Yi Ran.

Yi Ran changed into an outfit suited for going out and then brought Uncle Jiang — an elderly man with a very heavy aura.

The two of them took Dong Huiying and Shu Yu to a small alley, which wasn’t far from Yi Ran’s residence.

Inside was a secret passage; the passage was new and seemed to have been built only recently.

Yi Ran looked at Shu Yu and said, "I’ve only been in South City for a few months, and coincidentally, this underground passage just finished construction." This way, it avoided the Seventh Princess’s surveillance, and nothing unnecessary would occur.

The underground passage was pitch black and dim, and Uncle Jiang brought an oil lamp, illuminating the path eerily.

Yi Ran and Uncle Jiang led the way in front; the passage was very long and had numerous branches along the way, such that without guidance, one could easily lose their way in this underground labyrinth.

After walking for a long time, there was no road ahead, just a wall blocking the way. But this wall had a mechanism; Uncle Jiang tapped a few times on the wall, and it creaked open.

This was a stairway ascending upward. As they walked up the steps, Dong Huiying smelled the earthy fishy scent, and at the end of the steps was an ancient coffin.

Uncle Jiang pushed open the coffin floor, and the coffin was empty. He then lifted the coffin lid, and the four climbed out of the coffin, entering a small tomb chamber.

Inside the tomb chamber was a door; opening it revealed a sky full of evening clouds.

The evening breeze was gentle, brushing pleasantly against their faces.

Dong Huiying looked around to see tombstones standing in various sizes.

This was actually a cemetery.

Yi Ran said, "Let’s go! The Elder lives at the foot of the mountain over there. He’s probably feeding chickens and ducks now."

Yi Ran walked forward briskly, Dong Huiying and Shu Yu exchanged a glance and then followed.

The Witch Gu Clan originated from Miaojiang, and Miaojiang was within the enemy country, Dajin territory. Dajin practiced polygamy, with customs of male superiority, which was exactly opposite to Dayuan’s.

At the mountain’s foot, there were a few houses enclosed by a small courtyard formed with bamboo fences.

Within the courtyard were chicken coops and duck pens, and a pigsty that housed two well-fed domestic pigs.

From a distance, white smoke could be seen billowing from the chimney, and an elderly man wore a faded gray robe, which had been washed countless times.

But despite his age, the old man’s stature was strikingly straight and his steps steady, with eyes cold yet gleaming.