Wang Jue knew nothing of Xiao Shu's origins, and upon hearing these words, he sensed that the two elders and Li Xiao Shu's family must have been intimately acquainted. However, how they had achieved their undying forms, and why they felt compelled to stand against the Li family, remained utterly incomprehensible to him.

After listening for a long while and hearing no further sounds from inside, he turned back, retreating step by step along their original path until they reached the water pool. Seeing no one else around, Wang Jue quietly relayed what he had overheard to Hou Da Yong.

Hou Da Yong knew the truth behind the deaths of the Nangong couple perfectly well. After hearing Wang Jue's recounting, he reasoned that the matter involved the relationship between Li Xiao Hao and the couple Nangong Ying, and also touched upon the future of his young master, Xing'er. Therefore, he offered no unnecessary commentary, merely feigning total ignorance. He urged Wang Jue to figure out a way to rescue Xiao Shu.

Just as the two were racking their brains over how to save the girl, two male voices suddenly echoed from within the tunnel: "Damn it, what rotten luck today. We went once and came up empty. Now we have to go a second time. Capturing that perverted woman won't be easy." "It's all your fault for being an idiot. I told you that woman couldn't be trusted—one moment this, the next moment that, crying and wiping her eyes all day. She just looks like a basket case."

Wang Jue listened closely and recognized the voices as belonging to the tall and short men who had just climbed out of the pool and gone into the main hall. He and Hou Da Yong quickly retreated next to the Treasure Gathering Plate, using the edge of the stone embryo as cover, just as they had done when emerging from the pool. They watched as the tall and short men, with their arms draped over each other's shoulders, simultaneously plopped back into the water pool. Wang Jue guessed they were going after Li Bing Yu, so he quietly whispered to Hou Da Yong that he had an idea. Hou Da Yong leaned in, pressing his ear against Wang Jue’s mouth to listen to the plan, nodding continuously as he heard it unfold.

After another long pause, Hou Da Yong transformed himself into Li Bing Yu, and Wang Jue disguised himself as the tall man. The two headed toward the main hall, one following the other. The fake Li Bing Yu even adopted an expression of utter innocence, walking while weeping, achieving a nine-tenths resemblance to the real person.

When the pair reached the outside of the stone door, it was already wide open. The entire main hall spanned two to three hundred square meters, paved entirely with white marble, making it even more opulent than the imperial palace. Yet, the room was bare, devoid of furniture or decoration, save for two sets of stone benches and stone chairs placed on the left and right sides. Xiao Shu, Ming Xiao Yu, and Zhang Yu Qiu sat on the left, their arms bound behind them, guarded by Fan Jia and several other living dead—about seven or eight watchmen in total. Two deeply wrinkled elders occupied the seats on the right, currently directing their fury toward the group on the left.

Seeing the fake Li Bing Yu and the fake tall man enter, the old woman first froze for a moment, then asked, "Where is your brother? Why have you returned alone?"

Wang Jue, realizing she was asking for the short man, mimicked the tall man's tone from earlier: "We split up to search. I found her and brought her back. My brother should be back shortly."

"Hmm," the old woman replied noncommittally, suddenly turning and fixing her gaze sharply on Zhang Yu Qiu. "It truly wasn't easy for you to return! We are old now, and sometimes we can't fathom your thoughts or control you. Why are you willing to come back now?"

The fake Li Bing Yu, startled by the old woman suddenly addressing her, feared that a misplaced word might reveal the truth. So, she began to stammer and sob, weeping pitifully, then sneakily glanced at Xiao Shu, which only intensified her crying fit.

Thus, the old woman seemed to grasp "her" inner turmoil, saying with melancholy, "I am helpless against your beloved either. He insists on following his own path and refuses to cooperate at all. What can we do? We must follow the old rule and let him walk the path his uncle took." As she spoke, she tossed a dagger to the fake Li Bing Yu's feet, adding, "You resolve this. Doing so will retrieve the heart that has flown off with outsiders, and it saves me from losing another piece on the board."