"So... about this painting. Should we give it back?"

On the mountainside.

The moon hung high in the sky. Judging by its position, sunrise was still about four hours away.

Patches of thick clouds drifted over, gradually obscuring the bright moon. The forest shadows deepened, making the woods feel a little sinister.

Watching Chu Susu hold the scroll in both hands, both Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei were at a loss for words.

Ever since the old Monk had gotten the better of them with his "Wait and See Zen," Zheng Xiu had held no hope for Chu Susu’s "Stealing Skill."

Whether it was Chu Susu’s Open Stealing or Blind Stealing, though they were strange and unpredictable, they ultimately had patterns that could be followed. Feng Bei had been careless twice, but she wouldn’t be a third time. Zheng Xiu didn’t think Chu Susu could possibly steal the painting from the old Monk’s grasp.

However, the old Monk’s act of showing the scroll to Zheng Xiu had unintentionally met the conditions for Chu Susu’s "Open Stealing."

Chu Susu admitted she had taken a gamble.

And she had won.

But this felt... wrong.

Seeing the silent Zheng Xiu, Feng Bei took the initiative. She took the painting from Chu Susu’s hands, undid the cord, and strapped the scroll to her back. "It’s fine," she said. "We’ll just return it to the Master afterward."

Subconsciously, she was gradually learning Zheng Xiu’s "flexible" way of thinking.

"Well, I suppose that’s our only option."

Zheng Xiu nodded. To be honest, he was indeed very interested in this painting.

If this scroll was truly as incredible as it seemed, if it really hid a "World in the Painting" equivalent to a Ghostly Realm, then as a "Prisoner," Zheng Xiu absolutely could not miss this opportunity.

Zheng Xiu had so far figured out two ways to advance on the Prisoner Path: one was to come into contact with a Ghostly Realm, and the other was to upgrade his prison cells.

"Eternal Purgatory" was currently under construction. If he wanted to advance on both fronts, he would have to ’grind’ the Ghostly Realm in this World in the Painting.

Silently apologizing to Master Dengdeng in his heart, Zheng Xiu took the lead, and the three of them followed the path down the mountain under the faint moonlight.

On their way down the mountain, two Ravens circled in the sky, as if searching for something.

Feng Bei quickly recognized them as the Ravens belonging to Dou Xie and Yue Yan.

Sure enough.

The three of them were walking on the mountain path, nearly at the base, when Yue Yan shot out from the woods. She was carrying the pathetic-looking Dou Xie, her feet tapping nimbly through the air as she landed before Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu.

"You got it?"

Seeing the three of them coming down the mountain, Yue Yan seemed to understand what had happened.

Zheng Xiu nodded. "We got it."

Yue Yan crooked her ten fingers, and the web of threads she had set up throughout the forest, like a spider’s web, swiftly retracted into her sleeves.

THUD.

Yue Yan dropped Dou Xie on the ground.

"I’m very curious. How did you manage it? That old Monk is so difficult to deal with."

"It’s a long story. We’ll talk when we get back."

Zheng Xiu glanced back at Chu Susu, who looked like a guilty child wringing the corner of her clothes, her face full of unease. He didn’t go into detail about how they had obtained the Cannibal Painting.

Dou Xie whimpered as he climbed up from the ground, complaining about Yue Yan’s rough handling.

On the way down the mountain.

Zheng Xiu asked about the fire at Yunliu Temple.

Yue Yan laughed, taken aback. "You don’t think we were the ones who set the fire, do you?"

Zheng Xiu shook his head. "You wouldn’t." Master Zheng silently glanced at Dou Xie, adding a thought in his mind.

’I’m just worried the brat doesn’t know any better.’

Dou Xie seemed to vaguely sense the deeper meaning in Zheng Xiu’s gaze. His mouth fell open, and he pointed at himself.

Yue Yan chuckled and explained, "We went up the mountain early and told the monks our purpose, but that Master Dengdeng was unwilling to see us. I snuck in but was stopped on the stone steps by a simple ’Wait a moment.’" As she spoke of this, a hint of frustration crossed her face. "I never expected a temple to hide such a master. The world is vast and full of wonders."

"Later, Dou Xie and I noticed some Wandering Swordsmen lurking around Yunliu Temple, eager to cause trouble. I caught one and did a bit of questioning. That’s how I learned that a few days ago, someone had spread a rumor within a hundred-mile radius of the temple. The rumor claimed that Yunliu Temple housed a great treasure: an Ancient Painting by Gongsun Mo worth a fortune. Ordinary swordsmen of the Jianghu wouldn’t know the dangers of Path Mystic Skills. They were drawn in like flies to rotting meat."

Hearing this, Zheng Xiu’s brows furrowed. "Who spread the rumor?"

He felt it was all too coincidental, too unusual.

Yue Yan shrugged helplessly, her moist lips pouting. "That, I’m afraid I don’t know."

Dou Xie, covering his face, stepped forward and asked in confusion, "We’ve got the painting, right? Let’s just go back and report. Who cares who spread the rumor?"

Yue Yan smiled sweetly. "Although this child speaks without thinking, he has a point, in a brutish sort of way. We have the painting now. No matter who was stirring up trouble in the shadows, we’re the ones who benefited in the end. Besides, I’m sure it’s connected to that bunch of ’Can’ people! My guess is that those ’Can’ people wanted to take advantage of the chaos, but they never expected Master Dengdeng to be so formidable. And in the end, you were the ones who got it."

Yue Yan looked relaxed, her face beaming. As a typical ’office worker’ within Ye Weiyang, for her, the mission to Shuzhou was complete the moment Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu successfully snatched Gongsun Mo’s masterpiece from the old Monk.

As for their colleague who had been taken by the Cannibal Painting, that was outside the scope of Yue Yan’s concerns.

Feng Bei didn’t hide anything from Yue Yan and Dou Xie and shared her and Zheng Xiu’s deductions.

She explained that the scroll likely contained its own Ghostly Realm, because when she had witnessed the Cannibal Painting in action, she had seen Xin Hu’s waist token on a treetop. Upon hearing this, Yue Yan and Dou Xie showed expressions of pure astonishment. The idea that a fearsome and terrifying Ghostly Realm could be hidden inside a scroll was a strange event the likes of which had never been recorded in any of Ye Weiyang’s cases.

After regrouping, the group descended the mountain and were about to reach General Town.

They now had two choices: either rest for the night in General Town and leave the city at dawn or travel through the night back to the Imperial City to avoid any unexpected complications.