Uncle Huzi was incredibly carefree—despite everything that had happened, he still wanted to sleep… in the middle of a graveyard, no less.
But to be fair, I could understand his condition. Trapped by my Spirit Binding Formation, he had been pacing in circles within an eight-meter radius for hours. Saying he walked a hundred kilometers might've been an exaggeration, but dozens? That was plausible.
"Get up. No more sleeping," I said firmly.
Sensing something off in my tone, Uncle Huzi quickly opened his eyes and sat up from the ground, still looking completely drained.
As he came to his senses and glanced around the Zhang ancestral graveyard—especially at the workers lying scattered across the ground—he suddenly shivered and leapt to his feet, a look of terror spreading across his face.
"Young Master, did someone… die?"
"Almost. If I had arrived half an hour later, people would've died—and not just one person," I replied seriously.
When I first got here, Zhang Yunliang had already triggered a corpse transformation. He wouldn't have survived. And the workers inside those coffins? Their yang energy would've been completely drained, leading to their deaths too.
"This is all my fault. I nearly caused a disaster!" Uncle Huzi slapped his thigh, full of regret.
"What exactly happened after I left?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"When you and Miss Zhang left, you specifically told us to wait for your return before continuing the relocation. At first, everything was fine—no one moved. But a while later, Zhang Yunliang went off to the grove to relieve himself. When he came back… he was like a different person. He insisted we continue with the relocation immediately. I tried to stop them, saying we had to wait for you, but Zhang Yunliang was insistent—he even offered to double their pay.
"These workers are loyal to the Zhang family, not me. Hearing about extra pay, they ignored my warnings and got right back to work. I stepped in to stop them by force…"
"And then?" I asked, puzzled. Based on what I knew of Uncle Huzi's martial skills, those workers shouldn't have been a match for him.
"Well, Zhang Yunliang saw I was getting serious, so he told the workers to pause. I didn't realize it was a trick. He came over pretending to apologize, saying he'd been impulsive and agreed to wait for your return. As we talked, I noticed something strange—his facial muscles kept twitching, and his eyes would occasionally roll back, showing the whites. I thought he was just scared and let my guard down. That's when he struck me with a stone from behind… after that, I remember nothing."
I nodded slowly.
This wasn't as simple as I'd thought. Uncle Huzi mentioned Zhang Yunliang had gone to the grove right before everything went wrong. That must've been when he was bewitched—his spirit manipulated by the black shadow hiding in the woods.
I'd never gotten a clear look at that shadowy figure, and I still had no idea what he was really after. But one thing was certain—he bore a deep grudge against the Zhang family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risked such a drastic and dangerous plan.
He hadn't just tried to kill members of the Zhang family—he'd tried to wipe out the innocent workers too. That level of cruelty was beyond reason.
Even though I'd temporarily contained the situation, I was sure that shadow wouldn't give up so easily.
While I was still talking with Uncle Huzi, dawn had fully broken. The workers who had been lying unconscious started waking up one by one.
I questioned them about what had happened. None of them remembered anything.
They only recalled Zhang Yunliang ordering them to dig, uncovering several coffins, and then a white mist spreading through the air. After that, they had all felt extremely sleepy and simply passed out.
The whole thing reeked of sorcery, and even I felt disoriented.
Whoever targeted the Zhang family was a master of the arcane—his methods were obscure and terrifying.
Just then, Zhang Yunliang himself awoke in the middle of the graveyard. Sitting there looking weak and dazed, he said nothing.
I walked over and crouched beside him, locking my eyes on his face.
He shifted uncomfortably under my gaze and snapped, "What are you looking at me for? I don't have flowers growing on my face."
"Do you remember what happened last night?" I asked.
"No. I was just playing with my phone. Then I heard someone calling me from the woods. I went to check it out, and after that… nothing," he replied awkwardly.
I narrowed my eyes. "Tell me honestly—have you done anything shady lately? Or made any enemies?"
He grew visibly flustered at the question, his gaze darting, his voice rising with irritation. "I haven't done anything! Stop blaming everything on me. We paid you to help relocate our ancestors' graves. If you're not up for it, just leave. Why all this nonsense?"
"Brother! How can you talk to Young Master Wu like that? He saved your life last night! If it weren't for him, you'd be dead!" Zhang Yunyao stormed over, glaring angrily at her brother.
Zhang Yunliang snapped back, "I don't remember him doing anything! Don't put this all on me. I'm done talking. I'm going home to sleep."
With that, he got up and trudged off, leaving the ancestral graves behind.
I didn't stop him. I just watched his back thoughtfully.
There was definitely something off about him.
From the first moment I met him, I'd sensed a heavy, ominous aura clinging to him. Among the entire Zhang family, he was the only one carrying that kind of killing energy.
But he refused to admit anything, and there was nothing more I could do.
As he walked away, I finally said aloud, "Zhang Yunliang, hide the truth all you want. I saved you once—but I can't save you forever. If you keep lying and end up dead, you'll have no one to blame but yourself."