Zhang Yuanqing realized he had misunderstood the key point. Following the experience from the Mountain Spirit Temple and drawing on the insights accumulated from reading numerous guides, he instinctively believed that in such survival quests, the Spirit Travelers needed to actively discover clues, identify methods to address crises, and then resolve each crisis one by one—just as he had done in the Mountain Spirit Temple. After successfully navigating the ghost doll crisis through reliable intelligence, he promptly began searching for the rouge box, assuming it must contain the solution to the ghost doll crisis. Indeed, this proved true: he deduced the pattern that the ghost dolls killed one person per night, or ceased killing once their vital essence was satisfied, which enabled him to survive. Yet this was unreasonable—not every Night-Wanderer possessed such an advantage. In fact, given the difficulty of the first two stages, 99.9% of Night-Wanderers would inevitably fail and perish—this was still not the greatest crisis facing the quest. He misunderstood the core focus—he thought the Silent Village was a combat-focused quest, when in fact it's a survival-focused one (though combat is necessary for survival). Survival is the primary objective, and he should have started with survival, not combat. However, within the village, combat is essential for staying alive. The ghostly doll that appears unexpectedly and the paper figures that teleport at will inevitably encounter you at specific times—without fighting, you simply cannot survive. Therefore, the correct approach is—to leave the village and head to the ancient tomb. Indeed, the complete map of the Silent Village consists of both the village and the tomb together. From the initial introduction in the spiritual realm, through Wang Xiao'er's narration, the old man's descriptions, and finally Mr. Xu's revelation of the tomb's location—each clue has been guiding the spiritual travelers to discover that there's another map within the quest. The tomb is safe—at least at night, as clearly stated in the introduction: "That evening, she followed out." The Princess and the supernatural items have already departed the tomb, making the village the most dangerous area. In contrast, the tomb itself is now safe. Therefore, the "retreat now" prompt from the King Cat speaker is not a response to the paper figures—it is the very method to solve this quest. After grasping this, Zhang Yuanqing did not immediately set off. He remained seated by the edge of the bed, gently running his fingers over the cool metallic surface of the King Cat speaker, murmuring softly: "There's still one point of uncertainty, one question. The point is that there was no crisis at three in the morning, but by four in the morning, all the villagers had died. According to the current pattern, three in the morning should have encountered the mirrors, and four in the morning should have faced the Princess. Since the Princess is the most formidable, it makes sense that the entire village perished. Yet, there was no crisis at three in the morning. So, at four in the morning—was it the mirrors or the Princess? If it was the mirrors, then where did the Princess fit in? Is she merely a background figure? The question then is: the ancient tomb is safe at night. What about during the day? Is the daytime safe as well? The main objective is to survive for 24 hours—not to return to reality at dawn. "Due to the lack of prior information, he found it difficult to deduce the answer and had to temporarily set the matter aside, accompanying the deceased No. 1 to leave Mr. Xu's courtyard and proceed to the ancient tomb." The deceased No. 1 politely closed the courtyard gate with a soft "click." Zhang Yuanqing stood by the small river, carefully surveying his surroundings. Though the village houses—compact earth-and-stone structures—were arranged haphazardly and offered a limited view, there was no strong gathering of negative energy in his perception. The paper figures were not nearby. He quickly moved forward with the shadowed corpse, only to suddenly stop and stand frozen in place. Zhang Yuanqing faced a critical issue—he could no longer distinguish between east, south, west, and north. At night, people typically use the moon or constellations to determine direction, but the night sky within the scenario was dark and featureless, devoid of stars or the moon. There were no reference points. Moreover, the village lacked living vegetation, making it impossible to infer the direction of light based on the growth patterns of plants and trees. "The passage of time inside the replica is just like outside—now it's summer, and I remember that in summer, the southeast wind blows..." Yet, the village is shrouded in a damp, invisible mist, like a gauze haze that disrupts the natural wind. Zhang Yuanqing racked his brain, utterly at a loss, standing dumbfounded—how could a top graduate from Songhai University, one of China's most prestigious institutions, be defeated by such a minor detail? Suddenly, he noticed the lively river flowing cheerfully and had a fresh idea. Since rivers flow from high to low, and since mountainous areas are naturally elevated, the direction of the stream could be ruled out—thus, the rear mountain range is not in that direction. Although the river might not necessarily originate from the mountains, simply following the opposite flow of the river at least ensures he won't be going the wrong way. "One li is 500 meters, so twenty-three li is roughly 11 kilometers. The mountain paths are harder to navigate than flat terrain, and we also have to account for the time spent searching for the ancient tomb..." It was now close to three in the morning. Zhang Yuanqing silently calculated—finding the tomb before three o'clock would be difficult, but arriving at the destination before four would be quite manageable. A person and a corpse walked through the silent village, their footsteps mingling with the cheerful sound of flowing water, forming a lonely, monotonous melody that echoed through the still night. In such an atmosphere, even ordinary people with weak resolve would surely suffer mental collapse, despite facing no actual danger. Indeed, the special spiritual realm of the Night-Wanderer deity is rather somber and unearthly. As he walked, Zhang Yuanqing counted the minutes—about fifteen minutes later, he finally stepped out of the village. A well-compacted dirt road led out into the fields beyond, and at the far end of the fields rose a majestic, rolling mountain, standing tall and quietly resting in the darkness. Fortunately, the river flowed out from the mountains... Zhang Yuanqing exhaled a long breath. Suddenly, as he was about to fully leave the village and head into the fields, a cold sensation swept over his back, as if someone were watching from behind. Zhang Yuanqing swiftly turned around—behind him lay the desolate, decaying village, shrouded in a solemn darkness, the path quiet and winding deep into the village. Strange indeed... Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brows quietly, and without further hesitation, he quickly set off with the shadowed corpse, running faster and faster, until he vanished into the fields. Racing across one muddy field path after another, they soon reached the foot of the mountain. Once inside the mountain, methods for determining direction multiplied. The sunny side of a lone tree pointed south, while the shaded side pointed north. In the dense forest, the drier rock faces faced south, while the wetter, moss-covered ones faced north—indeed, even ant hills (the entrance openings) were oriented north to south. After locating the southwest, Zhang Yuanqing led the shadowed corpse deeper into the forest, weaving through trees and streams, moving swiftly forward. Every few minutes, he would pause to reorient himself, checking cardinal directions and adjusting his course to avoid getting lost in the dense forest. As for the twenty-three-mile journey, there was no better way than to estimate the distance on his own. After having walked roughly ten miles, Zhang Yuanqing stopped beside a pine tree and exhaled a stream of cool, vital energy. The energy gently settled on the ground, coalescing into a round, endearing infant with sparse downy hair. "Ah-ah-ah..." The curious little creature opened its wide, bright eyes, surveyed the surroundings, then, feeling afraid, crawled to his master's feet and clung to his lower leg. Indeed, though not very old, this little one had never seen the deep mountain woods before, and thus instinctively feared unfamiliar environments. "Go find your treasure!" Zhang Yuanqing comforted the infant while issuing the command. Locating ancient tombs isn't difficult—just make good use of the little quirky creature's treasure-hunting function, and you'll be able to pinpoint the tomb's location deep in the mountains, as long as you're not too far away. If you release the creature within the village, it'll likely head straight for the rouge box. When the creature receives its command, it gives a few "Ah-ah" sounds and quickly climbs toward Zhang Yuanqing's back. I asked you to find tombs, not to return to the village for the rouge box… Zhang Yuanqing grabs the creature's plump legs, lifts it above his head, and throws it forward. "Turned around! Go that way!" The creature looks puzzled, as if confused by the contradiction in the instructions, yet obediently suppresses its instinct and crawls in the designated direction. The little spirit swiftly moves its limbs, like a nimble spider. Zhang Yuanqing follows at a relaxed pace. As they climb, the creature suddenly turns around and retraces its path. "Turned around again!" Zhang Yuanqing quickly intercepts it and reorients it. The little comic immediately detached himself from the treasure-hunting mode, glanced茫然ly at his master, and followed his command, crawling southwest. Zhang Yuanqing, trailing behind with the shade spirit, observed that after a few minutes, the little comic made another turn and retraced his steps. Ah, you little rascal, you've turned against me again... Zhang Yuanqing bent down and picked up the little spirit, no longer letting him lead the way, furrowing his brows deeply. After careful analysis, he concluded that there might be no valuable treasures inside the ancient tomb—or the remaining items were of little worth—hence the little comic kept returning to the village. There, there were the rouge box, the ghost doll, and the mirror—though all were eerie and haunting, they were still exquisite artifacts. They attracted the little comic. "Then we'll have to rely on ourselves after all..." Zhang Yuanqing swallowed the infant spirit whole and continued forward with the shade spirit. The night grew thick and time slipped by quietly. About forty minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing finally discovered the robbery tunnel. It was a rugged, grassy hollow, surrounded by no rocks. Among the lush, green grasses, a circular opening revealed itself, from which a strong, dense chill rose in thick waves from the dark, deep mouth of the cave. Found it—Zhang Yuanqing was overjoyed. Though without a timer, he had a good sense of time, and now it was nearly dawn. To be safe, Zhang Yuanqing split his spiritual body in two, one part entering the body of the corpse and descending into the cave. The entrance was not deep—only about two meters—and upon landing, the first deceased, Wáng Yī Shù, moved forward through the narrow passage, brushing against the dark walls. After about fifteen meters, he reached the end of the tunnel. The opening was no longer covered in soil, but thick, dark bricks. This tunnel had been carved directly from the roof of the tomb, leading down into the chamber beneath. "Zhang Yuanqing" picked up a fragment of stone and tossed it into the darkness below, where he quickly heard the faint sound of it landing. Approximately four meters high—then he leapt into the tomb chamber. Zhang Yuanqing outside waited a few seconds, confirming there were no anomalies within the tomb, before stepping down from the breach and moving forward on hands and knees along the corridor, entering the tomb. With his night vision, he took in every detail of the chamber. The tomb covered an area of approximately forty square meters, its walls constructed of dark blue bricks. At each of the four corners, there stood two terracotta attendants and guards; over the years, the terracotta figures had cracked and even lost limbs. A stone staircase leading upward connected the tomb to the exterior, paved with rounded stones. Beyond the chamber lay another passage leading deeper into the tomb. "This should be the antechamber," Zhang Yuanqing deduced based on the terracotta figures at the corners. Likely due to the connection with the external breach, the air inside the chamber was neither stagnant nor heavy, and the oxygen levels were ample. He guided the shadow ahead, following closely behind, observing the surrounding brick walls—sewn together with white lime mortar, laid in staggered courses. The walls of the passage door were specially constructed using a technique of three vertical and three horizontal brick layers. In archaeological terminology, this is known as "three arches, three vaults." Only tombs of the highest rank can employ this construction method... Well, Zhang Yuanqing learned this from reading tomb-robbing novels—his school doesn't teach it. After passing through a corridor about six meters long, a person and a corpse arrived at the main chamber. The main chamber is spacious, roughly the size of a five-star hotel's lobby, with a stone platform of the type known as "Shimazu" at its center, upon which rests a white jade coffin. Wall niches are built along the eastern, western, and southern walls of the main chamber. Some niches contain porcelain and ceramic vessels, others hold bronze objects covered in rust, and still others contain tall black wooden boxes standing nearly as high as a person. At the four corners of the main chamber, various bronze ceremonial items are arranged. Zhang Yuanqing withdraws his gaze, silently steps out of the main chamber and stands by the corridor door, then operates the deceased No. 1 to push the coffin. Next, he intends to verify a hypothesis: if the county lady's body lies within the coffin, then the crisis at four in the morning must have originated from that bronze mirror. On the contrary, the chief boss of the副本 is the Princess. Unexpectedly, despite the strength of the first deceased, he is unable to push open the coffin. Zhang Yuanqing, stationed at the doorway, returns to the main tomb in astonishment, joins the spectral corpse in pushing the coffin—yet even together, they are unable to budge it. What's going on? Is it the spiritual realm restricting me, or is the coffin sealed by some secret incantation, rendering it inaccessible to outsiders? After a few seconds of contemplation, Zhang Yuanqing gives up on opening the coffin, feeling a sense of relief as though a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Since the incident involving the old wooden plank, he has harbored a significant psychological reservation about opening coffins. Zhang Yuanqing then directs the spectral corpse to move the wooden chest from the alcove—only to find it equally immovable. "Well, it seems we've stumbled upon a sanctuary," he remarks, settling onto one of the chests and ceasing further attempts, simply waiting for dawn. In the quiet darkness of the tomb, Zhang Yuanqing sits for several minutes, growing somewhat bored; the first deceased is unable to engage in conversation. He once again reflects on "one lingering Although he had already reached the ancient tomb, he still hadn't found answers to these two points. This left Zhang Yuanqing feeling uneasy. "Let's just wait until dawn. After dawn, the village should be safe, and the villagers will return to normal. Then I'll go back and ask an old man for more information. If the mirror has been sold, then the odd occurrences at three in the morning will make sense. The danger at four in the morning will be the Princess's." "But why can't the coffin be opened?" Ah, the itinerant Daoist. According to Wang Xia'er's account, the itinerant Daoist has also come to the tomb. Combined with the situation of the unopenable coffin, Zhang Yuanqing now had a clear hypothesis: the Daoist was lying inside the coffin, and since he didn't belong to the storyline of this particular plot, the Spirit Realm Traveler could not open it. If only the old stone coffin of the old cobbler had been as cooperative back then... As he thought about this, his gaze swept across the tomb chamber, and he still sensed something was off. After pausing for a few seconds, he pulled out his Observer's glasses. After putting on his glasses, he scanned the room again, his pupils suddenly narrowing. Through the lenses, he caught the subtle details within the main tomb and realized something was amiss. The offerings were too neat—unusual. Wang Xia'er had visited this place; the thieves had broken in, surely they would have disturbed the chests and cabinets. Yet from porcelain to pottery vases, to boxes and ceremonial equipment, everything was perfectly arranged. At that moment, a surge of electric current ran through Zhang Yuanqing’s body, sending a shiver of profound unease through him. "Hmph—" He quickly expelled his small, cheerful spirit, fixed his gaze on the round, endearing infant, and issued a steady command: "Search for the treasure!" The small spirit, receiving the instruction, swiftly moved its limbs and crawled toward the outer area of the main tomb. The infant spirit ignored the coffins and the valuable offerings, and simply continued on its way. Zhang Yuanqing’s face instantly turned pale. He suddenly understood why the small spirit had always returned along the same path, and why the coffins and cabinets wouldn’t open—everything was a fabrication. This isn't even a tomb—back then, he hadn't even come near the tomb. He... has been bewitched! When did it happen? Who bewitched me? Zhang Yuanqing recalled the eerie gaze he'd felt when leaving the village. From beginning to end, it was only at that moment that he sensed something unusual. As for who had cast the spell—the answer was clear: the bronze mirror! Calculating the time, he had left the village around three in the morning. "Now I understand why no strange events occurred at three in the morning. The mirror's spell is imperceptible to ordinary people and doesn't cause tangible harm. It wasn't that nothing unusual happened at three—rather, no one was aware of it." If that's the case, then I never actually left the village... Never left the village... Zhang Yuanqing's eyes grew increasingly frightened, his face gradually pale, until it lost all color. "What time is it now?!" He shouted sharply, though no one answered. As the words settled, a cold, piercing gale surged through the sealed tomb, sweeping in from all directions. "Whoa...!" Zhang Yuanqing heard the fierce howling of the wind, saw the brick walls, the coffins, the burial goods—everything around him—being torn apart by the gusts. No matter how powerful the enchantment, once it was disturbed by external forces, it instantly shattered. The Princess has arrived!