Behind the blacksmith's workshop stood two large buildings. The one on the right was the blacksmith's living quarters, while the building to the right housed the storage warehouse for tools and equipment. The thin, wiry middle-aged man led Li Xianzong and the others first to the warehouse, piled high with iron implements. After pushing open the long-dusty warehouse door, a heavy, rusted odor rushed in. Li Xianzong stepped over the threshold and entered the warehouse, his gaze steady and thorough. Various instruments of torture were arranged throughout the space—surgical razors, steel needles, clamps, hot irons, standing shackles, and tiger stools, among others. Li Xianzong narrowed his eyes. These were quite different from the eccentric woman from Yuchuan Mei's collection of torture devices—these were genuine instruments of torture, designed to inflict suffering. Most of them were covered in dust and rust, some so fresh they seemed newly forged. "A blacksmith," he mused, "why would there be so many such instruments in his warehouse?" The speaker was a sturdy young man with ordinary features, yet an unruly, defiant demeanor—clearly not someone to be taken lightly, a young person inclined to bravery and aggression. However, among evil-class characters, such a presence was quite unremarkable. The only distinctive trait of this young man was the absence of his left ear, seemingly severed by a sharp blade. The thin, wiry middle-aged man remarked, "Moreover, observe carefully—the tools here are both new and old. The master blacksmith is still continuously crafting new ones." He picked up two razors, one heavily rusted, the other with a gleaming edge. "He is repeatedly forging tools—without purpose!" Li Xianzong delivered his final judgment. The young man with the missing left ear frowned, "What is the underlying logic driving this NPC? Or is this simply an arbitrary, meaningless setting that we can safely ignore?" At that moment, a man dressed in a suit exclaimed in surprise, "Look—what have I just noticed?" Everyone turned to look, and in his hands was a steel nail of about two inches in length, its dark red hue the dried blood of a long-dead wound. Li Xianzong's eyes flickered as he took the nail from him. A few seconds later, a message appeared: 【Name: Nail of Curse】 【Type: Consumable】 【Function: Erodes Spirit】 【Description: This steel nail once pierced the heart of a powerful warrior. As she died, her lingering resentment became entwined with the nail, forming a curse. Anyone wounded by this nail will have their spirit gradually consumed and eventually vanish.】 【Note: I curse you. I curse you to die like me—by fate, not by choice.】 "Quite a powerful consumable," Li Xianzong chuckled. "Doesn't that make sense? After defeating a strong elite monster, we should certainly replenish ourselves with some potent items." He glanced around at the group. "I'll take responsibility for this consumable. Anyone object?" The team members nodded slightly. The martial-oriented professions upheld strength and valor; once established, their authority was firm and unshakable. Those who dissent may initiate challenges—but must be prepared to pay the price of their lives. In the orderly professions, voting or negotiation is required, and final approval must come from the discoverer themselves. Li Xianzong and the others carefully inspected every piece of equipment and ironware, finding no props or consumables. Then, the group left the warehouse and headed toward the house where Wang, the blacksmith, resided. "Creak~" Li Xianzong pushed open the wooden door and carefully observed the room. A bed made of stacked blue bricks stood by the window, a square table lay in the center, and a wardrobe faced the bed directly across. The group searched thoroughly and discovered a ledger inside a wooden chest storing clothing. As team leader, Li Xianzong opened the bound volume, glanced at it briefly, then turned to his teammates and asked, "Who knows classical Chinese characters?" The ledger was written in classical characters, and the handwriting was particularly messy. Li Xianzong realized his own cultural proficiency was insufficient to read it. Classical characters... The members of the chaotic professions exchanged glances, momentarily falling silent. A well-dressed man stepped forward and said, "Show me." Li Xianzong exhaled gently and handed over the ledger. The well-dressed man studied it carefully for a long time, then smiled, "This is the detailed income and expenditure record from the blacksmith's shop. I now know who the equipment was sold to—a man named Zhao." He then added, "However, the figures in the ledger don't match what we've observed. There are far more instruments in the warehouse than Zhao had ordered." The numbers don't match... Li Xianzong furrowed his brow. He sensed this was an information clue—something the copy had revealed to the spiritual realm travelers. Li Xianzong had personally completed an A-level quest, which was essential to being considered a talent. The more challenging the quest, the greater the test for the spiritual realm travelers. Many details required him to uncover on his own. Li Xianzong shared his thoughts with his teammates. The thin middle-aged man paused to think, then said with some hesitation, "I have a hunch, but I'm not certain—Li Xianzong seems to be under a curse. I can sense a faint aura of curse emanating from him." He explained further, "The curse is a capability of the Wuzhu Master, a stage I haven't yet reached, so I can't be sure. Moreover, this is a faction-versus-faction raid instance, where curses are quite common and entirely expected." "Curse…" Li Xianzong organized the information and concluded, "Is it a curse that keeps him constantly forging implements?" He didn't dwell on it long and declared, "We should leave here and seek out Zhao Yuanwai—he should be our next target. We need to complete our side quests before the Lawful faction does." "...Xiu'er, Xiu'er..." Zhang Yuanqing walked along the western streets of the town, calling out loudly, "My Xiu'er, where are you?" Queen Guan and a few others followed Zhang Yuanqing silently. As she observed the surroundings, she softly asked the mixed-race beauty beside her, "Has he always been this outgoing?" She had long been curious about the legendary Yuan Shi Tian Zun. After a brief interaction, she found that this renowned figure lacked the aloofness and elegance of a royal prodigy, nor did he display humility or warmth. Instead, he was talkative, lively, and could easily engage in conversation with anyone on any topic—always ready to chat. She didn't mind this personality at all. Guan exhaled, "Just a week since joining the Five Elements Alliance, and he's already very familiar with his colleagues. Do you know Fu Qingyang?" "Of course—I know him well. He's truly a royal prodigy." The queen stroked the silver rings at her earlobe with a smile. "It's said he's very handsome but quite reserved and difficult to get along with. Few of his female colleagues from the Taoguan Sect favor him as much as the one from Ling Jun, though all of them remain deeply devoted to him." "Guan Ya turned her head, glanced at her colleague with a bright, commanding presence, and said, 'As for Fu Qingyang—everyone really likes him. Whenever Yuan Shi is nearby, Fu Qingyang speaks more.' The queen was astonished, murmuring in admiration, 'That's what we call talent recognizing talent.' 'No,' she added, 'Fu Qingyang simply enjoys listening to Yuan Shi flatter him.' '...' At that moment, the Fire Deity's army grew restless, asking, 'Is Xu's widow truly living nearby? Could it be that the village midwife is deceiving us?' They had been searching for half an hour, and Zhang Yuanqing's voice was nearly hoarse—yet the legendary Xu widow had not appeared at all. Without seeing her, their mission was effectively stalled. The sun was blazing, scorching the ancient town. After walking for half an hour, everyone was drenched in sweat and had to take a temporary break in a shaded alley. Li Chunfeng leaned against an old white wall, using his hand to fan himself, and said, 'Do we perhaps have any information we've overlooked?' Overlooked? Zhang Yuanqing bowed his head and went over the details in his mind, finding no apparent omissions. "Hmm, I can't quite sense anything missing—perhaps it's just not yet apparent. If I were to trigger a long-standing illness, I should be able to recall all the details, but that would be rather unprofitable..." Guan Ya stood beside Zhang Yuanqing, paused for a few seconds, then said, "No, we haven't missed any crucial clues. The information about Xu's widow has only appeared twice—once when Wang Po mentioned her address, and once when the straw figure was described. "But this doesn't seem directly related to the difficulties we're currently facing." The round-faced young man, frowning as he chewed on lotus root, asked, "The weather has been quite hot, making one restless. I'm thirsty—how about you all?" "I am too," Zhang Yuanqing remarked, turning his gaze to the queen and smiling, "Your Majesty, could you please provide some juice?" "What kind of juice is that? Your words sound rather odd," the queen murmured. If you were Guan Ya, I'd be staring right at your chest with that very sentence! Zhang Accompanying Guan Ya in driving was a perfect match—old Si Ji simply loved it. But when it came to other ladies driving, he seemed rather awkward. This queen, at first glance, was a stunning, mature woman—her large earrings and smoky makeup, paired with a simple summer dress and seven-quarter pants, accentuating her well-proportioned, graceful figure. Unlike Guan Ya, who enjoyed driving, she was rather clumsy in this regard. "Water spirits can certainly master water, but they can't conjure it out of thin air," she remarked, observing her teammates struggling under the heat. "I'll go to the river and bring some water over for you. Even if the water is muddy, after our water spirits purify it, it will be drinkable." Guan Ya added, "Don't go too far." The queen didn't turn around. "Rest assured," she said, "before we complete the side quests, we won't encounter any threats from the evil faction." Zhang Yuanqing watched her graceful, poised figure fade into the distance, then looked back and said, "I believe that to find Xu Xiuer, a specific method will need to be employed." "But the information provided so far is still too limited to deduce the triggering mechanism." Guan Ya suggested, "Why don't we start from the characters' backgrounds?" "From the characters' backgrounds..." Li Chunfeng mused. "She's a widow, and it's rumored she has cursed Wang Po's son—perhaps even a witch or a practitioner of witchcraft? Wang Po's son has suffered harm at her hands, likely by making nocturnal intrusions into her home." "But there's a logical inconsistency here. If she's a witch, how could she be harmed by an ordinary man?" "Of course, we can't be certain whether Wang Po's son is truly ordinary, and this point isn't directly related to the current predicament." "What are you talking about? You've gone on and on with all these analyses, yet I still don't see a clear focus. Scholars always seem to overthink." Huo De Star Army expressed his dissatisfaction. "This is actually quite simple. Wang Po's son slept with her, and she cursed him as a result—so she dislikes men." "Dislikes men, so she avoids us?" That makes sense… The slightly plump Li Lu nodded. "Nonsense!" Li Li, standing on the original grass field, said calmly. "Did the previous spiritual realm travelers never walk this plot? Were there no men among them?" "Well…" Li Lu, with his round face, stammered. Queen Guan mused, "No, the fire-loyalty army's assumption is sound. I have a hunch—what if this stage requires a female traveler to trigger it?" Her words sent a ripple of surprise through the gathered crowd. The queen has stepped away from the group!