"Unless the ’hungry’ that little girl mentioned refers to her wanting your life force."
As soon as these words were spoken, all three fell silent.
Li Zhiyuan continued, "Only if she desperately wants you dead would she make you look so frail and old."
Tan Wenbin spread his hands, "Wasn’t she already turned to ashes in the urn, dead long ago? What does she need life force for?"
Xue Liangliang spoke up, "Her grandma is old, her grandma might be about to die too. She’s not asking for herself, she’s asking for her grandma."
Li Zhiyuan looked at Xue Liangliang again, then turned his gaze to Run Sheng, who was struggling to follow the conversation.
Tan Wenbin cursed, "That actually makes sense, damn, kids are scary. If I meet her on the train again, I’ll dump her ashes in the toilet!"
*Anyone would feel particularly angry at being harmed for doing a good deed.*
Li Zhiyuan said, "She might no longer be on the train, she might be on one of you."
Even though the current situation was bizarre, there was no immediate danger, just an inability to leave. But knowing that such a thing was right beside you made all the difference.
Xue Liangliang quickly asked, "Xiao Yuan, did you see it?"
Li Zhiyuan shook his head, "I didn’t see it, but I suspect it should be on one of you. Earlier this morning, it might have been on you, Brother Liangliang."
"Because the current you looks very different from the previous you. Previously, you were clearly more panicked, your thoughts were disorganized, and the questions you asked were very elementary."
Xue Liangliang pointed at his own nose, "Really, I did?"
"In matters , you might not feel it yourself. I’ve experienced something similar."
Li Zhiyuan had experienced the Grandmaster’s luck, so he thought bad luck would not be much different.
"So if it was on me before, then now she’s on..." Xue Liangliang trailed off and looked at Run Sheng.
It was clear he had noticed Run Sheng’s odd behavior long ago.
Tan Wenbin finally realized as well—though Run Sheng usually appeared taciturn, somewhat dull and honest, he actually had a keen mind, especially in memory. Even when Xiao Yuan gave him a series of locations and instructions, he could remember and complete them well.
But Run Sheng earlier seemed dazed, struggling to recall things as if his brain was in knots.
"Me?" Run Sheng raised his hand and started feeling around his body, "Where is she?"
Immediately, Run Sheng took out a piece of talisman paper and stuck it to his forehead.
Then he removed it again and found it hadn’t changed color.
"Xiao Yuan, there’s nothing."
"She probably isn’t a corpse."
"Then what do we do?" Run Sheng clenched his fists, "If she’s on me, then I won’t go with you. The three of you should try running out; maybe you’ll make it out."
After pausing, Run Sheng pointed at Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin, "Or you two stay here with me and let Xiao Yuan run out alone. Xiao Yuan is clean, and he couldn’t get out before probably because of us."
Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin both nodded, clearly agreeing with this plan.
However, Li Zhiyuan rejected the proposal, "We can’t do that. I don’t think that little girl can orchestrate such a huge setup. We’ve probably entered a separate, eerie domain now.
Originally, we shouldn’t have been able to get in, and it would be difficult even if we actively tried. But because she followed us, we were guided and triggered to enter.
Therefore, most likely, whether she’s here or not, we can’t easily leave this place."
Tan Wenbin shouted irritably, "Then what do we do! What do we do! What do we do!"
Li Zhiyuan and Xue Liangliang simultaneously glanced at Tan Wenbin, then quickly averted their eyes.
Just as Run Sheng was about to speak, Li Zhiyuan interrupted him,
"Brother Runsheng, don’t speak, just sit here and hold my hand. I’ll try using the Corpse Recovery Diver’s method to see if I can get rid of her for you."
Run Sheng nodded vigorously, reaching out to grasp Li Zhiyuan’s hand.
Li Zhiyuan pulled his hand back, then switched to holding Run Sheng’s hand himself.
The boy’s fingertips were already red; he had pressed into an ink pad earlier.
Next, Li Zhiyuan flipped the Compass he had in front of him, opened the slot below, and pinched a small amount of the white powder with his fingers.
Since he had to take public transportation, it wasn’t convenient to bring equipment like the Yellow River Shovel, but he brought what small items he could.
This Compass came from Ding Dalin and had a groove in it, and Li Zhiyuan originally had a fan with various grooves for different powders meant for various uses.
Actually, the fan was pretty useless because, in ancient times, carrying a fan everywhere was normal, but it seemed odd in modern times.
So, Li Zhiyuan transferred all the useful special powders into the Compass’s bottom slot, as Run Sheng carried it around anyway.
"Brother Runsheng, get ready, we’re about to begin."
Run Sheng nodded again, obediently saying nothing.
Li Zhiyuan closed his eyes, and just before entering the Underworld state, he suddenly let go of Run Sheng’s hand and grabbed Tan Wenbin’s instead.
Successfully entering the Underworld!
In Li Zhiyuan’s vision, the other three disappeared, leaving only a little girl in red standing in front of him, her hand held in his own.
The last time he entered the Underworld, he was on Run Sheng’s back, and the little girl wasn’t on Run Sheng then, so she evaded his Underworld search.
But just now, Run Sheng had clearly recovered, his thoughts had become agile again, yet Tan Wenbin showed rare emotional instability.