Don't provoke mentally ill people in the infinite flow genre!

The four left the grove and continued eastward along the dirt road. They walked for an unknown amount of time until, in the darkness, they could vaguely see the outline of a temple.

The temple was not large, and it was clear that it had been in disrepair for many years. The plaque was crooked, and the characters on it were long since blurred. Two broken paper lanterns hung on the lintel, swaying in the wind.

The wooden threshold was almost rotten from years of rain, the blue brick floor was cracked and covered with damp moss, and you could easily slip and fall if you weren't careful.

"Slow down, everyone."

Yi Zanglan whispered a reminder, and she walked in front, using the moonlight to illuminate the way into the courtyard.

The place is small, with only three rooms: in the main hall, there is a headless statue of a god, and the incense burner on the altar is covered with ash and cobwebs, so it is estimated that no one has ever cleaned it; in the outhouse on the right, there are some old offering utensils and unopened wine jars.

She circled around but couldn't find anyone. Finally, she pushed open the door to the left side room and felt a wave of dampness hit her. Inside, a dim oil lamp was lit, and a figure was vaguely reflected on the wall.

A man sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed with his back to them, his head slightly lowered, as if he were reading something.

He was wearing a faded black robe, his long, disheveled hair was tied up at the back of his head, and there was a cane standing next to him. It must be Li the Cripple.

"Are you Master Li?" Following the principle of politeness before resorting to force, Yi Zanglan chose a more courteous form of address. "It is truly abrupt for you to visit so late at night. I wonder if you have time to answer a few questions for us? We will offer you a reward afterward."

"..."

Li the Cripple remained seated upright, not moving an inch, and naturally ignored her.

"Master Li?"

"..."

Still silent.

Wu Ying was already short of patience, and now, fueled by the lingering effects of the alcohol, she squeezed the orange peel in her hand tightly and threw it as a projectile.

Snapped!

She used at least 70-80% of her strength this time, hitting the back of the other person's head squarely.

Is it so hard to ask you a question?

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li the Cripple swayed twice, then, like a broken piece of wood, he suddenly fell straight to the side, his head hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

"Oh no!"

Yan Zhao and Yi Zanglan exchanged a glance, then rushed forward and grabbed Li the Cripple by the collar, turning him over.

Li the Cripple remained seated cross-legged, his body already stiff.

He lay there on his back, his face pale, his eyes slightly open, and the corners of his mouth turned up as if he were smiling. It's unknown what he saw before he died.

Yi Zanglan bent down, and the other three followed her, beginning to lift the clothes to examine the body.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the body died no more than two hours ago. Strangely, there were no wounds on the body, indicating that it was not caused by a blunt or sharp weapon. Only a small mark was found near the back of the heart.

The mark was vermilion, as if branded into the skin, its shape winding and curving, like a strange flame, or perhaps...

"A fox's tail," Tang Yunxi guessed aptly. "Isn't this the tip of a fox's tail?"

The other teammates listened and all thought it made a lot of sense.

"Li the Cripple was killed by the fox spirit." Yan Zhao fell into deep thought. "So the other four immortals forced us to linger in the woods for so long just now to prevent us from ruining the fox spirit's plan?"

"Why did the fox spirit want to kill Li the Cripple?" Wu Ying asked, then quickly gave her own answer, "...Oh right, Li the Cripple did a feng shui consultation for the Zhu family, and he gave Master Zhu this terrible idea, which was an offense to the spirits."

Yi Zanglan searched Li the Cripple's body for a long time, and finally found a small, snow-white bone in a hidden pocket sewn close to his body.

"This doesn't look like human bones."

Yan Zhao took it, examined it carefully, and then smelled it before frowning and drawing a conclusion.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is a fox's tailbone."

According to legend, the fox's tail is where a fox's cultivation is concentrated. Li the Cripple must have a purpose in keeping this tailbone, and it probably wasn't obtained through any legitimate means.

"Compared to the other four immortals, the fox spirit is clearly more malevolent. I think Master Zhu must have offended the fox spirit back then, and the willow spirit and the others are just assisting the fox spirit in taking revenge," Yi Zanglan said. "When we get back, we need to focus on investigating what happened, and..."

Before he could finish speaking, a series of chaotic footsteps came from outside the temple, approaching with a clear target.

Before long, rude voices could be heard discussing something outside the wall.

"Is this it? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, I just saw them go into the temple with my own eyes."

"The employer said that the four girls must be left with their bodies intact and brought back to report; if that cripple is not dead, kill him too, and burn the temple down with him—remember to be quick, this place is eerie, and retreat as soon as you're done."

"clear!"

Wu Ying crouched by the door, peering through the crack. After a moment, she turned and looked at Yi Zanglan with a serious expression.

"They seemed to be a gang of robbers, the very stereotypical kind, about a dozen of them, all carrying knives."

"Damn, they all have knives?" Tang Yunxi nervously touched her lower back. "I only have a pair of scissors!"

She had specially taken these scissors from the embroidery room so that she could peel fruit for Bai Xian.

"It's okay, I can handle it." Yan Zhao pushed her shoulder. "You hide first, I'll summon the Claw of Fury, so you don't get hurt."

"You two should both hide," Yi Zanglan calmly rejected the suggestion. "While the Claw of Wrath can be used without limit, it consumes a lot of energy. You don't need to use it against these ordinary NPCs."

"But your weapon hasn't cooled down yet."

"They dare to even see my sickle?" Yi Zanglan walked to the bedside, casually picked up Li the Cripple's cane, and weighed it in his palm. "This is enough."

"They've been admitted to the hospital," Wu Ying reported in a deep voice, and immediately made a decision, "I can use my skills to assist the captain. Zhao Zhao and Yun happy, you two hide in a safe place first."

Now that things had come to this point, the other two, having weighed the pros and cons, naturally didn't insist any further and chose to accept the arrangement.

So Tang Yunxi crawled under the bed, while Yan Zhao crawled into the narrow cabinet door.

After confirming that the two women were hidden, Wu Ying and Yi Zanglan exchanged a glance and decisively clicked on the system interface.

[System prompt: Use skill [Silent Shadow]? Three uses remaining this round. First use provides one hour of effect, decreasing with each subsequent use.]

【Yes. 】

A bronze dagger with intricate patterns instantly appeared in his palm. Wu Ying stood behind Yi Zanglan, his figure gradually becoming transparent until he completely merged into the air.

The next second, Yi Zanglan reached out and pushed open the door to the side room.