I feel like that older sister must have played before, she keeps spoiling the plot...

The bald man looked down at the elderly village guardian from his imposing height.

“Is that any way to speak to me?”

“Do you even know who I am?”

“I’ve been personally acknowledged by the Lord of Sin himself—”

Before he could finish, he prepared to flaunt the ‘blessing’ surging within him.

But then, the corner of his eye caught an unusual flicker of color.

Not the sacred golden light, nor the crimson hue of sin.

It was gray.

Lifeless, like the ashes of burnt firewood.

As if alive, it materialized on the ground not far from him—and then began to burn.

Though it bore no flame, the scorching heat it radiated was far more unsettling than any fire.

Where the ashes touched, whether soil or stone, everything instantly disintegrated into the same gray powder, vanishing without a sound.

The burly man’s triumphant grin froze.

No.

This wasn’t right.

This aura… it reeked of annihilation and finality!

He jerked his head up.

Everything in his line of sight was being silently devoured by an eerie ‘flame.’

…All of it rapidly turned to ash, without even a whisper of wind.

The speed was suffocating.

“No…”

This power… he’d heard of it somewhere before…

Why?!

Why would the power of the Lord of Ashes appear here?!

The great Lord of Sin had already declared his satisfaction!

The air thickened with the acrid stench of death.

He watched helplessly as his flesh withered into dust.

Then, only a skeleton remained.

And that skeleton, as if manipulated by an invisible hand, slowly turned.

It knelt abruptly in the direction where Su Qi and his group had departed.

Then it stood, took a step forward, and knelt again.

Within the hollow sockets of its skull, twin flames of soul burned eternally.

“I understand now…”

“This is the Lord’s will.”

“One step, one bow.”

“To cleanse the sins upon you.”

…

Meanwhile, the five who had reached the earthen house seemed to have found a new ‘clue.’

Su Muxue paused.

Though called a house, it was more like a sprawling compound.

She reached out to pull the copper ring handle on the wooden door.

A searing force shot through her fingertips, repelling her hand.

So, there was a barrier.

She took half a step back, considering leaping over.

But she sensed something watching her from the shadows.

If she dared jump, her head would roll the next second.

With no other options, she scanned her surroundings.

Around the house lay broken pottery shards, rotting wood, and… scattered bones.

Was the clue hidden among these?

At this point…

Her only hope was that the other side would play by the ‘rules.’

Su Muxue crouched and began meticulously examining the pottery fragments.

They varied in size, coated in dust, some edges bearing faint traces of patterns.

She patiently picked them up, brushing off the grime.

Then, on the inner side of a few larger pieces, she discovered shallow carvings.

Easy to miss unless scrutinized.

She pieced the marked shards together—they formed an incomplete design.

The shape… vaguely resembled a yin-yang symbol?

Next, she turned to the wood and bones.

The wood yielded nothing, but on a broken femur, she felt an uneven patch.

Scraping away the dirt revealed carvings similar to those on the pottery.

Mentally combining the bone’s markings with the pottery’s pattern…

A more complete yin-yang emerged.

But it still lacked the final piece.

Her gaze swept the area once more, landing on the door’s twin copper rings.

Su Muxue pressed the assembled design against the door, using the rings as the ‘eyes.’

She pushed again.

“Creak—”

This time, the door swung open.

A mustier, dust-laden draft rushed out.

Inside lay a desolate courtyard.

The central fish pond had long dried up, its bed caked in a sludgy black substance, interspersed with pale bone fragments—human finger bones, strangely covered in fish-scale-like keratin.

A dark purple tentacle, studded with suckers, coiled around a rockery, its severed end oozing pus.

Then, something shifted.

A skeletal arm shot from the ground, snatching the tentacle and dragging it underground.

As it retreated, it also scooped up the bony fingers from the pond, stuffing them all into the hole it had emerged from—regardless of whether they’d fit.

Finally, the bone hand patted the dirt flat.

Mission complete, it seemed to sigh before collapsing midair, shattering into inconspicuous fragments.

Su Muxue, witnessing this, wore a rare look of bewilderment.

What was that supposed to mean?

Outside, the middle-aged man, fearing she’d be left unsupported, quickly followed her in.

Liu Yuan, however, hesitated, her expression conflicted.

Su Qi ruffled her hair and bent down. “What’s wrong?”

Liu Yuan leaned in, whispering, “Brother, I don’t really want to play anymore…”

“Not fun?”

“Mhm. That sister… she’s probably played before. Always spoiling things…”

“Earlier, she just skipped past the old man who was obviously a clue-giver.”

“And now she solved this puzzle in seconds.”

“No sense of participation at all.”

With that, she blew a playful breath at him, her little fang grazing his ear.

“Let’s quit! Go buy bubble tea instead!”

…