Chapter 355 Alone

• The mysterious girl nodded with a smile. “Mm, thank you, Lin Shuai… mm, sworn brother.” She clearly wasn’t used to the sudden change in how she addressed Lin Shuai’nan. Hearing her call him “sworn brother,” warmth spread through Lin Shuai’nan’s chest, and a rush of responsibility hit him. He thumped his chest at once. “Piece of cake! Don’t worry. With Old Bai gone, I’ll protect you as your sworn brother. Even if it costs me my life, I won’t let those monsters and evil spirits lay a finger on you!” Lin Shuai’nan might be goofy most days, always cracking jokes, and even now he was playing the clown a bit. But everyone—her included—knew Lin Shuai’nan was dependable. If he said it, he meant it. “Mm, thank you, sworn brother.” Touched by his sincerity, the mysterious girl warmed to the title. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned to Lin Shuai’nan. “Sworn brother, whatever Uncle gave you, you must keep it safe. Never take it out again.” Everyone’s curiosity about what he wore on his chest only grew. Clearly, she knew exactly what it was. For her to be so serious, it had to have a big origin and serious value. Feeling all their eyes on her, the girl laughed it off with a light joke and dodged the question. Seeing her like that, they didn’t press. Lin Shuai’nan nodded solemnly. “Relax. I’ll keep it safe.” “You should be able to show your real face now, right?” Finneas spoke in a low, steady voice. The others froze. The mysterious girl bit her lip, her gaze flickering. “You’ve figured out where I’m from?” she asked carefully. Watching the two of them talk in riddles, the others could only stew, impatient. Could they just spit it out? Finneas shook his head. “I don’t know your origin. But from how you fought off the corpse poison, and your earlier grasp of corpse gu techniques, I can say this much: you… learned corpse gu.” Gasps all around. She knew that eerie, secret art too? Feeling the heat of their stares, the girl stiffened under the pressure, then shook her head. “I heard you came here to find a descendant of a corpse gu family. What do you want with them?” She paused. Seeing Finneas calm as ever, she went on, “You seem pretty hostile toward them.” Finneas shook his head. “So, you’re from a corpse gu family.” His tone was certain. Faces around them tightened. They eyed her warily. Even Lin Shuai’nan couldn’t help sucking in a breath. These three villages had suffered at the hands of corpse gu. They’d seen its horrors up close. So when they realized the mysterious girl was from such a family, they couldn’t help but worry. “Is this mess tied to you?” Ji Yunyue’s face went cold as she fixed the girl with a hard question. The girl quickly shook her head. “No! How could it be me? Those are ancient corpse gu arts. They have nothing to do with our Ba—” Realizing she’d slipped, she clapped a hand over her mouth. But their stern, suspicious looks left her no way out. She gritted her teeth, gathered her courage, and said, “Fine. I admit it—I’m a descendant of a corpse gu family. I’m Ba Yilan. Also, the ancient corpse gu arts were lost long ago. Our Ba family only records a tiny fraction of them. And by my generation, we rarely use corpses to raise gu or practice sorcery anymore!” Ba Yilan kept her voice steady, explaining fast. Ji Yunyue and the others exchanged looks. They believed her a bit more, but doubt lingered. Only Finneas nodded. “This has nothing to do with you. The Ba family… can be ruled out.” His conclusion eased their suspicion further. Right now, Finneas was their backbone. “Hey, it’s fine then!” Sensing the tension, Lin Shuai’nan rushed in with a grin. He turned to Ba Yilan, still smiling. “Little Yilan, a proper intro—this is your sister-in-law. Just call her Sister Xiuxiu.” Ba Yilan saw he was trying to smooth things over and nodded obediently. “Mm, hello, Sister Xiuxiu.” Xiuxiu’s cheeks went pink at Lin Shuai’nan’s sudden move. She waved her hands at Ba Yilan. “Hey, hey, don’t listen to his nonsense! There’s nothing between us.” Then she grabbed Lin Shuai’nan’s waist and gave him a full 360-degree twist-and-pinch. “Say that again!” “Ow—Xiuxiu, c’mon, at least give me a little face in front of the kid!” “Face? Since when do you have any?” Faced with Xiuxiu, Lin Shuai’nan could only turtle his neck and take it, looking pitiful. Their bickering popped the tension. The heavy silence broke into easy air. No one kept harping on Ba Yilan’s lineage. While the chatter went on, Finneas rose quietly and stepped out of the mountain shrine. “Finneas, is the patient stable?” Frederick asked, concerned. “Stable.” Finneas stared at the rolling ridgelines ahead, his eyes sharp and cool. “Picked up a lead. Of the three corpse gu families, we can basically rule out the Ba family.” “Oh? Then per the elder’s notes, besides the Zu family—which lost its line—it leaves only the Shi family.” Frederick had clearly heard the talk inside. He offered, “Finneas, we might dig through Ba Yilan’s side. Maybe she has clues.” “From the look of it, she barely knows the old transmission. Pushing her won’t help. Maybe I didn’t ask the Herb King enough back then. He’s Ba Yilan’s uncle and must have some corpse gu lore. He knows more than she does.” Regret edged Finneas’s voice. “Oh? You think the Herb King held back on purpose?” Frederick guessed. Finneas didn’t react. He watched the distant mountains—then his pupils blew wide. Sensing the shift, Frederick snapped his head around. On the sunlit ridge far off, a lone figure stood clear as day, looking their way. “Finneas, that’s… a person!”