Without a doubt, after leaving Xu Xiuer's bedroom, the "communication" was restored, and he once again sensed the presence of Xiao Doubi. He calmed his emotions, allowing his consciousness to follow the connection between host and spirit servant, and descend into Xiao Doubi's body. Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes. The scene before him stunned him—his vision distorted and dim, with turbulent currents rushing through countless floating impurities. Was he in water? How could Xiao Doubi be underwater? He thought for several seconds, then decided to take over control and lead Xiao Doubi’s body. But after attempting this, he failed. Because Xiao Doubi was in an unusual state—he had just activated the Treasure-Seeking skill, instinctively operating his body and resisting any external influence. A similar situation had occurred during the night when they confronted Black Shu. Was there treasure underwater? Zhang Yuanqing's mind stirred with a thought, yet he didn’t stop trying to influence Xiao Doubi. He gradually worked to disrupt the current state. Xiao Doubi was only beginning to develop his spiritual awareness; his self-control was still weak and unable to suppress his instincts. However, as host, he possessed this very ability. In the previous encounter at Songhai Elementary School, he had not disturbed the spirit servant, simply wanting to observe what treasures Xiao Doubi might have discovered. Now, with Guan Ya and Queen Jiang in crisis, he could no longer allow Xiao Doubi to "lose control." After about ten seconds, Zhang Yuanqing completely regained control and pulled Xiao Doubi’s head out of the water. The view changed. He now saw a clear river surface, the opposite bank built from stacked green stones, and lush moss growing along the banks. He heard Queen Jiang's voice filled with desperation: "I'm getting dizzy all the time—my heart is racing. I might faint any moment. Guan Ya, you're losing more blood. Can you still hold on? Give me your rifle—I’ll keep going a bit." Guan Ya was injured? Was the situation this dire? Zhang Yuanqing felt profound concern and anxiety. Then Queen Jiang sighed: "Five minutes have already passed—apparently, Yuan Shi and his party won’t come to rescue us. They may be struggling themselves. I really hoped Yuan Shi would arrive just in time." Zhang Yuanqing moved his limbs, turned around, and faced the sound source. About seven or eight meters away, Guan Ya stood at the roadside, leaning against a white wall, holding her rifle. Her face was pale. Her lower leg wrapped with a black shirt—indicating she had sustained an injury to her leg, unable to stand steady on her own. Each time she fired a shot, her complexion grew paler. Queen Jiang, wearing a smoky makeup and silver earrings, gently protected Guan Ya, stepping in front of her whenever infant spirits approached, acting as a living shield so that Guan Ya could fire at them. Notably, Queen Jiang wore only a black sports bra—lifting deep, soft lines of white flesh, generous and appealing. Her waist narrowed suddenly into a slender figure, with a smooth, soft abdomen. This contrasted sharply with Guan Ya's toned midsection and defined abdominal muscles—the kind of strong, athletic silhouette. Guan Ya’s lower leg was wrapped in the same black shirt—this one she had taken off. Surrounding them were six infant spirits, probing and attacking like a pack of hyenas. So many spirits—yet they were actually infants! Zhang Yuanqing quickly changed his plan, returning control to Xiao Doubi and issuing the instruction: "Fight!" This was an ideal opportunity for training Xiao Doubi’s combat skills. "Bang!" Guan Ya pulled the trigger, driving back the infant spirit clinging to Queen Jiang's ankle. The spirit shrieked in pain, its form twisting and distorting. Queen Jiang shivered, her energy draining once again. She finally collapsed into a soft seat, her face pale: "I can’t hold on anymore..." Even more distressing was that the infant spirit who had been washing her hair by the river at the time suddenly left the bank and began crawling toward them—seeming to join their attack. Perhaps it was just an illusion... Queen Jiang sensed that the dead child's eyes had been consistently focused on her chest. The round, lovely infant approached quickly. In a flash, she reached close enough. Guan Ya reacted as if facing battle, turning her rifle to aim directly at Xiao Doubi. Her face serious, observing that this infant spirit’s strength and speed were far greater than the surrounding dark-blue ones. At that moment, the infant suddenly showed a fierce expression, opened her mouth with a loud cry of "Ahh!", and knocked down the dark-blue infant in front of her. Guan Ya's fingers on the trigger abruptly released. Her eyes flashed with surprise. So Xiao Doubi hadn’t been aiming at them after all? "Then—then they’ve had an internal conflict!" Queen Jiang, who had previously been overwhelmed, now saw a new spark of hope emerge in her weary gaze. In that brief pause, Xiao Doubi already firmly pressed the dark-blue infant to the ground. No matter how it struggled, it couldn’t escape the pressure from its peers. Xiao Doubi lowered his head and bit into the neck of the dark-blue infant. With a gentle suction, a stream of black smoke transformed into fine lines, flowing into Xiao Doubi’s mouth and nose. Xiao Doubi’s body suddenly swelled out significantly—his energy grew stronger. Encouraged by this success, he no longer needed Zhang Yuanqing's guidance. He took a deep breath and loudly cried "Ahh!", then charged toward the remaining five infant spirits. The dark-blue infants stood firm against strong enemies, ready to fight to the end. But when facing powerful peers, they seemed suppressed—fleeing in all directions instantly. Xiao Doubi chased after them, quickly disappearing from view. "What's going on? Why did this little infant spirit save us?" Queen Jiang was both surprised and puzzled. Guan Ya looked slightly bewildered, a bit skeptical, gently shaking her head: "No matter what—we’re safe now. We don’t need that man to rescue us." "That’s true—we’ve managed to get through the crisis," said the vibrant, confident queen, now lying down on the ground, leaning against the wall, her chest rising and falling rapidly. As they were speaking, both heard sudden footsteps approaching from afar—accompanied by Yuan Shi Tian Zun's voice: "Guan Ya! Queen Jiang!" Queen Jiang’s expression changed momentarily. Despite fatigue, she urgently said: "My clothes! My clothes!" Though she dressed in a mature, composed style, she hadn’t yet reached the point of wearing only her bra before men. She quickly unbuttoned and loosened her shirt, stepped into a narrow alley beside the wall, and hurriedly fastened it over her bloodstained garments. When she was fully dressed, just as her teammates arrived, they all stared at her weary figure—unison in their voices: "You’ve also been nourished?" "...What nonsense!" Queen Jiang muttered, spitting out. Then, she noticed the Fire Deity’s back bearing a person named "Eating Lotus," and gasped: "Who is he?" "Eating Lotus!" "How has he managed to shrink so dramatically—how did he go from being such a plump figure to this slender form in just half an hour?" Queen Jiang was stunned, yet deeply impressed. While they were speaking, Zhang Yuanqing knelt at the side of Lao Si Ji and gently extracted the bullet fragment from her. "Your injury is serious—you’ve lost too much blood. You can’t fight anymore," said Zhang Yuanqing, his brow furrowed. Guan Ya looked down, observing the tender, heartfelt expressions on Zhang Yuanqing’s face. A gentle smile formed at the corner of her mouth: "A seasoned driver always reserves a backup plan for himself." In Zhang Yuanqing's puzzled gaze, Guan Ya opened her inventory and produced a syringe. "You still have diluted life essence?" Queen Jiang exclaimed in surprise. Fu Qingyang is truly generous—offering such strategic-level supplies to his sister as if they were free! Well, I’ll have to make every effort to show my appreciation when we return to reality. Zhang Yuanqing silently admired this. "The last one—I’ve kept it for a life-saving reserve," said Guan Ya. She pierced the syringe into her wrist vein and administered one-third of the liquid, then gave another third to Queen Jiang. Queen Jiang looked radiant—her skin restored to smoothness and vibrancy—and softly asked: "Guan Ya—is there any chance you are the daughter of a senior elder?" Strategic-level supplies were only accessible to officials at the executive level; second-tier scouts had no right to use them. Guan Ya shook her head. Queen Jiang's expression changed slightly, hesitating: "Are you perhaps a junior wife?" ...Then Guan Ya said: "Fire Deity—please bring over Eating Lotus." "I don’t need you," responded Eating Lotus, voice weak and breathless. "I’d rather not waste this precious life essence on me. As a soil spirit, we can absorb the earth’s vitality to restore our strength. I’m only mildly deficient in yang energy—not seriously injured. The earth will fully replenish my endurance." Fire Deity quickly placed Eating Lotus down beside the ground. "Yang deficiency and energy depletion..." Queen Jiang finally found time to ask about what had happened earlier, observing the four men: "What did each of you experience?" Zhang Yuanqing briefly described the events to Guan Ya and Queen Jiang: "When we arrived at Xu’s bedroom, Eating Lotus had already been discarded as waste on the floor. Had we come even a few minutes later, he would have perished. So young people—practicing abstinence truly brings peace and relief of worries." Zhang Yuanqing didn’t seek to claim all the credit. If he said that everyone else had been aroused while only he remained composed, he might have faced criticism. In fact, he himself hadn't managed to control his desires at first—his own flaw stood exposed. Rather than all four of them being overwhelmed, it was better to let Eating Lotus stand out as a symbol of the group’s resilience and harmony. Fire Deity and Li Chunfeng nodded in agreement: "Being aroused is like having a blade cutting through your flesh." Eating Lotus blushed deeply—so embarrassed that he wanted to sink into the ground. Guan Ya, though her face looked slightly pale, became animated when the subject of intimacy came up. With a cheerful expression, she said: "Look at Eating Lotus—he’s truly blessed! How does Xu Xiuer compare to real-life women? Would you mind sharing your experience?" "...Please stop!" Eating Lotus pleaded. "Stop—this is too much!" Queen Jiang glanced over at the four men and smiled: "Have any of you been in a relationship with Xu Xiuer?" "No, no!" they said together. "Only Eating Lotus hasn’t managed to hold himself." Eating Lotus turned away, utterly defeated. "You both faced such hardships," said Li Chunfeng, successfully shifting the conversation. Queen Jiang then described her personal experience—the assault by restless spirits. After speaking, she furrowed her brow and asked with a hint of curiosity: "Later on, that unusual infant spirit began to move toward other spirits—driving them away." Fire Deity seemed puzzled: "Did the infants at Xu’s home have an internal conflict? Or did this special infant spirit specifically come to save you?" Queen Jiang shook her head: "I’m not certain." She looked pointedly at Zhang Yuanqing and said with a sigh: "You, as the Spirit Walker of the Night—when you’re needed most, you seem utterly ineffective. If it hadn’t been for that little infant spirit suddenly becoming aggressive and driving away its companions, I’d have lost both Guan Ya and myself." Guan Ya glanced at Zhang Yuanqing, paused in silence, then changed the subject: "Is that little infant spirit your spirit servant?" Huh? Queen Jiang turned sharply around—her silver earrings swaying—and stared at Zhang Yuanqing with a puzzled expression. Zhang Yuanqing raised his hand and tapped twice. After several seconds, he looked toward the alley behind them—Queen Jiang followed his gaze, but there was nothing visible. "Ah!" Zhang Yuanqing exhaled deeply into the eyes of his companions. Immediately, each person felt a sharp, tingling sensation in their vision—like needles pricking through their eyes and temples. Then, suddenly, they saw a small infant spirit appear in the alley—a round, lovely figure with sparse downy hair and dark shiny eyes resembling black buttons. The infant's abdomen was swelled with effort as it moved its limbs, crawling toward Zhang Yuanqing with a steady, determined pace. How could this be? Queen Jiang wanted to examine closely—yet as soon as she looked, the sensation in her vision faded. The spirit disappeared—not vanished, but simply no longer visible. It had always been there—the spirit servant of Yuan Shi Tian Zun. He had placed it right beside Guan Ya and herself from the very beginning—as a backup plan for just such an emergency. Queen Jiang’s mild irritation now completely dissipated. Then she realized—hadn’t Zhang Yuanqing shown her that very moment, when he manipulated the spirit servant? She felt embarrassed—not just because of the physical act, but also because she had clearly been aware of her own confidence in her own body—her chest, her sense of self. The fact that Yuan Shi Tian Zun had witnessed this intimate moment suggested a subtle appreciation. Guan Ya observed Queen Jiang with quiet awareness—she instantly grasped the depth of the queen’s feelings. Zhang Yuanqing was unaware of all these rich inner thoughts between the two women. Then he said to Queen Jiang: "Queen Jiang, may I ask you one favor?" "What is it?" she responded, instinctively cautious and nearly covering her generous chest with her hands. "Will you go into the water with me? I suspect there’s something down there—something beneath the surface." Queen Jiang paused, then smiled lightly and said: "Of course. Just give me a moment—I’ll freshen up my clothes." She walked to the bank, leaped into the river with a loud splash, and plunged headfirst into the water. The water splashed around her. Zhang Yuanqing remained at the shore, watching until the river bottom churned with turbid water—only then did Queen Jiang emerge from the surface, completely dry. “The river was empty— I even blew through the silt at the bottom to check.” She gently tapped her earring chain against her earlobe. Nothing? That couldn’t be right. The person_name’s Treasure Seeking skills wouldn’t fail… Zhang Yuanqing pondered for several seconds, then had a realization. The person_name hadn’t met the trigger condition with the Queen, so he’d remained at the riverbank, carefully scanning the surface. He sensed that there was something valuable beneath the water—but could not locate it. As for the Queen, she had searched tirelessly and come away empty-handed. “What’s hidden down below? Is it an item tied to a concealed task, or has another subplot been unlocked? Given the information presented in this Instance, there can’t be any new subplots. “If it’s a hidden mission, then the treasure beneath the river is likely the very Prop left behind by the Yin-Yang Hermit—the one the Demon King once lamented missing.” With that thought, Zhang Yuanqing stirred to action and said: “I’ll go down myself.” “You’re going down too? Then it’s just nothing—it’s truly nothing,” the Queen remarked with a dismissive wave of her hand. Plunging into the murky river with a splash, Zhang Yuanqing swam through the water using his arms and legs, summoning the person_name to aid him with the Treasure Seeking skills. The person_name materialized at the riverbed, wandering haphazardly—like an aimless fly—now shifting left, now right. After exchanging breaths several times, Zhang Yuanqing finally had to give up. Indeed, there was nothing beneath the river’s surface. That wasn’t possible. Assuming this tied into a hidden mission, I’ve already collected all the jade pendants and should have triggered the story progression… So perhaps my assumption was wrong—maybe the jade pendants aren't the key? He quickly spun his mind, simultaneously removing his clothes and wringing out the moisture. As water droplets fell one after another, an idea struck him—the issue had become clear. “A hidden mission still has one unmet condition, and I haven’t fully decrypted the storyline of the Yin-Yang Town Instance. From the perspective of the task itself, it hasn't yet been completed.” Therefore, his next objective would be to complete that final piece—unlocking the full narrative of the Instance—and then return to revisit this matter. He returned to where the group was resting and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s think about what lies ahead—the next stage.” The Queen stroked her silver circular ring thoughtfully. “There are only six people in town; we’ve already resolved three cases—so logically, the story should be concluded now.” Guan Ya shook her head: “Actually, that’s incorrect. While there are six individuals in the town, the storyline of the Old Woman and the Cat counts as one unit—meaning the Yin-Yang Town has only five distinct storylines. “We’ve already cleared the Curse of the Cat and the widow Xu Xiuyu. If the organization is progressing quickly on their side, they’ll have also completed two of these. Then, the final storyline will likely become a point of contention between both groups.” Zhang Yuanqing said solemnly: “The last character is a mage—the one hired by Zhao Yuanzong.” … At Zhao’s residence. A thick mist enveloped the entire courtyard, drifting gently like a veil. Suddenly, the grayish fog began to tremble—like water released from a dam—and surged in a single direction. The mist grew thinner and clearer over time. Gradually, the figure of Li Xianzong emerged: he carried a butterfly dagger in his mouth, held a gruesome human head in his left hand, and dragged a carved wooden box with his right palm. As he opened the lid of the box, the dense fog flowed swiftly into it—like fish returning home. Soon, the mist vanished entirely, revealing five companions lying in the inner chamber: four unconscious, one whose heart and liver had been removed. In addition, during the battle, they’d lost another companion. Thanks to Li Xianzong’s swift response and timely use of this Prop, he had secured his teammates and Zhao Yuanzong within the mist before proceeding to defeat them one by one—otherwise, the team would have suffered severe casualties. The five surviving members are: Li Xianzong, a young man missing part of his left ear, an emaciated middle-aged man, a well-dressed man, and a quiet man with a short-cropped hairstyle. Their roles correspond to: Enchantment Demon, Wu Gu Master, Wu Gu Master, Enchantment Demon, and Illusionist respectively. “This absurd Instance—combat hasn’t even begun, and already two people are dead.” Li Xianzong tossed Zhao Yuanzong’s head toward the mountain peak, then walked over to each of his companions and woke them up with a firm kick. “You lot of useless ones—what you’ve done is more failure than achievement,” he scolded loudly. The teammates groaned but dared not respond. “Did we manage to defeat that monster?” asked the emaciated man, looking around nervously. “If not, would you mind retrieving its head and adding it to your soup?” Li Xianzong said dryly. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll be delighted to have me join you for a taste,” the emaciated man replied with a chuckle. “But what about our next stage? I hope we don’t lose more people—otherwise, by the time we reach the grand confrontation, half of us will be dead and we won’t know how to fight.” “Do you think the organization isn't losing people too?” asked the young man with his left ear missing, calmly. Just as Li Xianzong was about to speak, a tone resonated in his ears—like an alert from the Spirit Realm: 【Ping—You have successfully defeated Zhao Yuanzong. Please proceed immediately to the central square of the town and kill the evil mage to initiate the grand confrontation.】 … At the riverbank, Zhang Yuanqing and the others simultaneously heard the same tone from the Spirit Realm: 【Ping—You have successfully overcome the allure of beauty. Please proceed immediately to the central square of the town and kill the evil mage to initiate the grand confrontation.】