What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

At this moment, he was slowly and methodically twirling a string of glossy Bodhi seeds in his hand, a kind and amiable smile on his round face, his eyes narrowed into slits.

It looks like a Maitreya Buddha statue enshrined in a temple.

My memories surged instantly, and I immediately recognized the person in front of me.

At the previous banquet, apart from Lan Manshan, the other four elders of the Lan family had different attitudes towards me.

The chubby elder in front of me had this same smiling face, frequently raising his glass to me.

If I remember correctly, this fat elder's name is Lan Haiping.

When I realized that the person in front of me was not Lan Manshan, my heart sank.

At the same time, my sense of vigilance was immediately heightened.

However, at this moment, I still maintained the posture of standing in the center of the hall.

The expression on his face did not change in the slightest.

But beneath the calm surface, my brain was already racing.

Something's not right here, something's very wrong.

Along the way, the patrolmen on the outskirts, upon learning that I was looking for Lan Manshan, let me pass without hesitation and relayed the message.

The person who led me in just now even told me directly, "Grandpa Lan has been waiting in the Blue Hall for a long time."

But now, the person sitting here to receive me is Lan Haiping.

Logically speaking, as the benefactor of the Lan family, I should have arrived as a distinguished guest, and I had already clearly stated my purpose for coming to find Lan Manshan outside the village gate.

If Lan Manshan is truly unable to come to see me in person due to some unforeseen circumstances or trivial matters, given the hospitality of a large family like the Lan family, he will certainly notify his subordinates in advance.

It's understandable that the patrolman was too far away to know.

But the guide who was waiting for me outside the village gate and led me into the main hall could not possibly not know who was sitting inside.

However, the guide confidently told me that Lan Manshan was waiting for me in the main hall.

What does this tell us?

This proves that the guide was lying!

He deliberately used Lan Manshan's name to lure me into this hall without any suspicion.

An ordinary guide would never dare to make such a joke in the name of the highest elder.

He dared to do this for only one reason—that was the order he had received.

This is not normal hospitality at all; it's a carefully orchestrated scheme!

My mind raced, and I immediately connected this matter with the information I had previously obtained from Grandpa Hei.

Almost instantly, a chilling conclusion gradually formed in my mind:

It is likely that the internal situation of the Lan family has deteriorated to the extreme, perhaps even to the worst possible degree.

Lan Manshan, the old man who once held absolute power at banquets, has lost control of the Lan family's situation and has been completely sidelined.

It's even quite possible that...

Judging from the way he invited me to the Blue Hall, this smiling Elder Lan Haiping in front of me definitely wasn't up to any good!

They are enemies, not friends.

I took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the slightly agitated murderous aura within my body, which was caused by alertness, and allowed it to return to its calm and flowing state.

I know that now that I have entered this hall alone, there is no point in turning against or questioning the other party.

Since this is a trap to lure you in, the best course of action is to find a way to escape.

In those few short seconds that my mind was racing, Lan Haiping, sitting upright in his armchair, had already stopped fiddling with the bodhi seeds in his hands.

He looked at me, his smile widening on his round face, and spoke in a very kind, elder-like tone:

"Young Master Chen, you must be tired from your journey."

The servant may not have explained it clearly to you earlier, but Elder Lan Manshan has been feeling unwell these past two days and is really unable to receive guests.

Considering that you are, after all, a benefactor of our Lan family, we cannot afford to be negligent.

So, this old man has to swallow his pride and come to greet you in his place.

Lan Haiping's voice was deep and steady, echoing throughout the hall.

He paused, then casually asked, "I wonder what brings Brother Chen to our remote mountain forest so late at night?"

"If there's anything you need the Lan family's help with, just ask. I'll make the decision and I won't refuse."

Looking at his smiling face, which resembled that of Maitreya Buddha, I sneered inwardly, but outwardly I didn't show the slightest unusual emotion.

I took my hands out of my pockets and stood there relaxed.

At this point, I didn't respond to his comment, but instead went along with it in a roundabout way:

"Elder Lan, you're too kind."

Since Grandpa is unwell, my visit this time has indeed been rather abrupt.

I paused slightly, and my tone became more sincere.

"However, now that I've arrived in the village, and I've heard that Grandpa isn't feeling well, I'm ready to go."

As a junior, I should visit him at his residence to express my gratitude.

As for the personal matter I'm here for, we can sit down and talk about it slowly after I've finished visiting Grandpa.

What do you think?

In the empty Blue Hall, the atmosphere fell into a brief stillness.

I stood quietly in the center of the hall, calmly watching Lan Haiping sitting in the grand chair.

At that moment, I felt like a younger person who genuinely cared about their elder's health, patiently waiting for his reply.

After listening to my words, Lan Haiping did not show any anger on his round face.

A fleeting, almost imperceptible glint flashed in his narrowed eyes.

However, he did not refuse my reasonable request.

Instead, he slightly raised his right hand, which was holding the string of patina-covered bodhi seeds, and gently tapped the wooden armrest of the armchair three times with his index finger.

"Tap, tap, tap."

The three taps weren't particularly loud, but they were exceptionally clear in the quiet hall, carrying a certain rhythm.

As the three knocks fell, Lan Haiping stood up with a smile and said, "Young Master Chen is right."

Since you are so filial, then this old man can't stop you.

"Let's go, I'll personally take you to visit Elder Manshan."

As he spoke, the two heavy wooden doors of the Blue Hall behind me creaked open with a dull thud, slowly pushed open from the outside.

At this moment, Lan Haiping left the armchair and walked down the wooden steps of the high platform, heading straight towards where I was.

As he continued to close the distance, my expression remained calm.

However, the murderous aura circulating around him instantly surged to its peak activity at this moment.

The moment I just spoke was exactly what I was waiting for!

In the territory of the Gu Masters of Southern Xinjiang, especially in this Blue Hall that has clearly been tampered with.

If I were to foolishly follow him into the backyard or some unknown secret room, I would be completely trapped.