“Follow her,” Yan Hua said with quiet determination. Trusting her instincts, she felt that following this woman was the right course of action. Something about her presence felt like a key to unlocking the mystery they were embroiled in.

  Wu Mi hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded, following behind her with Yan Hua by his side. The journey was far from over, and with each step, the uncertainty of what y ahead grew heavier. But they couldn't turn back now.

  Wu Mi wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed it down and obediently followed behind Yan Hua.

  The winding path led deep into the wilderness, with withered branches and leaves intertwining and stretching outward, disturbing the mood of passersby. Yan Hua and Wu Mi were pulling at these broken branches and leaves while continuing to follow the woman.

  "It's really unbelievable. I just came to stay at an inn, and I ended up in such a strange pce, encountering all these inexplicable things. I really don't know what kind of bad luck I ran into, really..."

  "Don't you want that silver ingot?" Yan Hua stopped and said lightly.

  Wu Mi was instantly speechless.

  "No matter who or where you unknowingly learned this secret, you've already been caught up in it. If, when you first heard about it, you simply kept it as a secret hidden deep within your heart, then maybe it would have remained nothing more than a distant memory. But, unfortunately, you ended up at the inn. You wanted to find that ingot of silver. Once you took the first step, there was no going back," Yan Hua said, her eyes filled with contempt and mockery.

  Sighing, Wu Mi had no choice but to acknowledge her words. Indeed, it was his greed for the silver that had led him to take that first step. And now… now he was tangled in this mess, facing the strange and unsettling things happening around him. He couldn't help but remember that night...

  "You finally came."

  Wu Mi's legs felt as weak as cotton, and he felt like a piece of wood as he fell straight to the ground.

  "So, you really are that timid." A crisp voice rang out above Wu Mi's head.

  Wu Mi trembled and raised his head slightly. "Ah, it's you." Wu Mi remembered that Yan Hua had returned to that room and that she hadn't come out again, but when did she come to the 3rd floor?

  Yan Hua's smile was somewhat eerie; she was staring at Wu Mi but didn't say anything more.

  "I know I shouldn't be on the 3rd floor... I was just curious," Wu Mi quickly got up from the ground and expined somewhat awkwardly.

  "You know me?" Yan Hua's words left Wu Mi puzzled. He already knew her; she was a staff member at the inn, and Wu Mi had met her on his first day there. But why was she asking him this question now?

  "Or should I say you recognize my appearance?" Yan Hua rephrased, but Wu Mi still couldn't understand her words.

  Yan Hua smiled, but very softly. She leaned close to Wu Mi's ear and gently said, "If I say I look like Yan Hua, you should understand what I mean, right?"

  Wu Mi finally understood. She wasn't Yan Hua; she was just someone who looked like Yan Hua. But is there really someone who looks so much like them in the world? He expressed doubt, and how did she get into the inn? Does she know Yan Hua?

  "Yan Hua doesn't know I'm here," the woman said, as if seeing through Wu Mi's thoughts.

  "Then you are..." Wu Mi was waiting for the woman's answer.

  "I am Yan Hua," the woman replied with a very certain tone.

  "Ah?" Wu Mi really doubted if there was something wrong with his brain.

  "And you are the Baima jacket."

  "What?" Wu Mi still didn't understand her meaning.

  "When someone dies, someone has to take their pce. Although the dead person was already dead, I still have to find someone to repce them."

  Wu Mi ended up in a baima jacket, and then killed Yan Hua. Though his heart was still trembling, once he took the first step, he had decided to keep moving forward.

  He believed that, in time, he would get the silver ingot. But he had always wanted to know the identity of the woman in front of him. Unfortunately, he hadn't yet found the opportunity to learn.

  "Hey, who are you? How dare you barge into our hideout!" A figure, who could be described as a bandit, suddenly jumped down from a tree or appeared from an unknown direction.

  "I... I'm here to find someone," the woman said, clearly frightened, huddling and speaking softly.

  "Who are you looking for?" The bandit clearly cked patience.

  "Tian Ling," the woman replied, her voice trembling.

  "Tian Ling? You're looking for Tian Ling? Who are you?" The bandit seemed surprised.

  "I am Tian Yu."

  "Ah!" Wu Mi excimed. This woman was actually Tian Yu? Tian Ling's older sister? But they were both supposed to be children... yet the woman in front of him was clearly in her twenties. Had time passed that quickly?