Kong Bei walked over with steady steps, the prayer beads in his hand making a faint sound as his thumb moved them.

  "Abbot′s here!" someone suddenly shouted, and everyone immediately stepped aside, clearing a path.

  Kong Bei took a few slow steps forward, his brows tightly furrowed. Yi Xian was dead, and Yi Kong knelt beside him, staring bnkly at Yi Xian with a vacant gaze.

  "Yi Kong." Kong Bei called his name, but Yi Kong didn′t respond.

  "Abbot, we've been calling him for a while, but he hasn't responded," Yuan Jue said softly from the side.

  Kong Bei couldn't help but furrow his brows again. He didn′t know exactly what had happened, but he felt an indescribable sense of unease.

  "Abbot, Yi Xian..." Yuan Jue hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should speak, but after thinking for a moment, he continued, "Yi Xian looks like he fell from a great height."

  Kong Bei suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on the ancient tower. It stood silently, the damaged walls occasionally shedding bits of debris in dissatisfaction.

  "Who allowed them to go in?" Kong Bei suddenly raised his voice and reprimanded loudly.

  "Abbot, no one allowed them to go in, and besides... that ancient tower has always been sealed." Yuan Jue had never seen the abbot so angry before and was taken aback. He quickly pointed to the tower's main door and said,.

  The door was indeed sealed, and the rge lock still looked the same as it had for the past twenty years.

  "Take Yi Xian's body to the empty house in the backyard, and bring Yi Kong back to his room. Keep a close watch on him," Kong Bei said, unwilling to say more. He turned to leave, but in that fleeting moment as he turned, his gaze fell once again on the ancient tower that had been sealed for so long.

  Late at night.

  Kong Bei hadn′t slept. Holding his prayer beads, he paced back and forth in his room. The events of the day weighed heavily on his mind, preventing him from finding any rest. He didn′t know exactly what had happened, but he felt an overwhelming sense that something was about to occur.

  "Knock knock." There was a sound of knocking at the door.

  Who could it be? Kong Bei set his prayer beads down on the table and slowly made his way to the door, pulling it open with deliberate slowness.

  Yi Kong′s eyes seemed to carry an indescribable strangeness.

  "It′s you. Coming to find me at this hour—are you here to tell me what really happened?" Kong Bei avoided his gaze—the kind of look that always made him feel uncomfortable.

  Yi Kong didn′t speak. He stepped forward and walked in.

  Kong Bei didn′t acknowledge him, instead turning to sit at the table and casually taking a sip from the cup in front of him.

  Yi Kong smiled, his grin as radiant as a newly bloomed flower, bright and mesmerizing. Finally, he spoke, "Kong Bei, long time no see!"

  Kong Bei suddenly sprayed the tea he had just sipped out of his mouth, the teacup crashing to the ground. He stared wide-eyed at Yi Kong, unable to believe the words he had just heard.

  Yi Kong slowly sat down across from him. "I came to see you," he said, his smile now soft and gentle. He pced his hands delicately together on the table.

  "You... you..." Kong Bei stammered, his body beginning to shake violently.

  “It′s been thirty years, and you′re still the same. You′ve gotten a little older, but you′re still pretty much like you were thirty years ago,” Yi Kong said, gently tracing his finger across his face. He continued, “It′s a shame... I′ve grown old too.”

  Kong Bei sucked in a sharp breath but finally summoned the courage to shout, “Who are you?!” His voice was so low that even he could barely hear it.

  “Me? Hahaha!” Yi Kong suddenly threw his head back and ughed. His ughter echoed throughout the room, his face contorting from the intensity of his ughter.

  Kong Bei stood frozen, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word. His body buckled, and he colpsed onto the ground, completely numb.

  Yi Kong finally stopped ughing, his expression growing eerie as he looked at Kong Bei. “Can′t you recognize my voice? Hahaha!” Another chilling ugh escaped him as he flicked his sleeve and walked out of the room, leaving Kong Bei alone in the room, screaming in terror.

  He couldn′t believe his eyes, nor could he trust his Er Duo. He desperately hoped that it was all just a nightmare, but...

  Yi Kong had indeed spoken.

  Yi Kong was a monk.

  But the voice that came from Yi Kong was that of a woman.

  Kong Bei recognized that voice.

  How could Xue Qiuqiu′s voice be coming from Yi Kong′s mouth?