In that instant, Zhao Yi only felt his brain go blank, his consciousness spinning; if Lin Shuyou hadn't reached back to prop him up in time, he would've just fallen right off his back.

Like a drowning man breaking the surface, desperately trying to grab onto anything, Zhao Yi started pounding hard on Lin Shuyou's shoulders beneath him, and Lin Shuyou turned his head to look at Zhao Yi.

"Ah You, you're the most honest and reliable one, so I'm going to seriously ask you something, and you have to answer me truthfully. I only trust you."

Lin Shuyou frowned. "What is it?"

Right now, that impatient expression of Lin Shuyou's looked to Zhao Yi like the very visage of an "immortal."

The heart that had already died gave two spasms at this moment, showing faint signs of coming back to life.

After all, if it really were like that, then Lin Shuyou, who had the worst impression of him, would definitely be the first one who couldn't resist gloating at his misfortune—at the very least he'd be bent over laughing, laughing his face crooked.

Zhao Yi pointed at Yin Meng, who was burning paper, and asked, "Who is Yin Meng making offerings to?"

Lin Shuyou looked at Zhao Yi like he was an idiot, and said as if it were obvious, "Her ancestors."

"She has this habit at the end of every wave, right? She has to make an offering to thank her ancestors for watching over her?"

"Huh? This isn't your first time teaming up with us. You don't know whether she had this habit before? Besides, our Meng Meng isn't that filial."

"Ah..."

The tiny fluctuations that had just appeared in Zhao Yi's heart rate now flattened into a straight line.

"Buzz!"

Earlier, even a lighter couldn't get the Yellow Paper to catch. Now, the moment he held the Yellow Paper in his hand, before he could even flick it, it ignited on its own in a flash.

The rest of the Yellow Paper beside it burst into flames the moment Yin Meng picked it up; it burned so fast she didn't even have time to crumple it together—she could only hurriedly let go and toss it away.

The fire burning on the Yellow Paper was black. Even after the Yellow Paper had been burned to ash, that black flame still lingered, swaying faintly on the ground and in midair.

Lin Shuyou said in surprise, "Looks like this time the Great Emperor is truly angry."

Yin Meng let out a sigh and replied, "Yeah."

Lin Shuyou consoled her. "It's fine, you did it for all of us. Once Brother Xiao Yuan wakes up, he should be able to think of a way to explain things to the Great Emperor. Don't worry too much."

Yin Meng looked at Lin Shuyou with some confusion.

Lin Shuyou: "What's wrong?"

Yin Meng: "I wasn't the one who sacrificed that thing."

Lin Shuyou: "It wasn't you?"

Yin Meng: "It was the one on your back."

When the sacrifice began, Lin Shuyou had been up on the front line fighting Yuanbao; when the sacrifice succeeded, a whole swarm of corpse-fiends attacked from the rear and almost swept Lin Shuyou up along with them.

So Lin Shuyou wasn't clear on the exact procedure of the sacrifice and had no idea Zhao Yi had played the lead role in it.

Now, Ah You understood, and then Ah You's shoulders started to shake up and down, jostling Zhao Yi on his back so that he bounced along with him.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Lin Shuyou laughed until tears came out, letting go of the hand that was holding Zhao Yi up so he could wipe his eyes.

Who knew the moment he let go, Zhao Yi would slide off his back and crash onto the ground. His eyes were open but unfocused, his expression numb.

All his wishful thinking had been shattered. The constant, anxious unease from before finally condensed into the most terrifying fear.

"Zhao Yi, you okay?" Lin Shuyou patted Zhao Yi's face. "Mr. Zhao, Young Master Zhao, Three-eyed, Three-eyed Kid? Hahahahahaha!"

Zhao Yi muttered, "How did he dare, how did you all dare..."

In Zhao Yi's imagination, the sacrificial target was really just some particularly unusual Lewd Temple. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He knew Yin Meng's surname was Yin, knew which family Yin Meng descended from.

But he originally thought that the reason that man surnamed Li had invented and taught this Secret Skill to Yin Meng was first to complete their teamfight offensive toolkit, and second to rely on Yin Meng's status as a descendant of the Yin family to suppress the Lewd Temple and thus achieve a better effect.

Zhao Yi knew that the man surnamed Li had some friction with Emperor Fengdu, because back in Lijiang he'd even invited him to go to Fengdu together someday to seek fortune.

But a grudge is a grudge; parents and children often quarrel too. In that Li guy's team, you had one who wielded the Fengdu Twelve Commandments, plus one with Yin Meng's bloodline—bloodline inheritance and orthodox Taoist lineage both present. A little grudge… what does that even amount to?

So Zhao Yi really hadn't thought in that direction. He refused to admit it was because his own vision was too narrow; instead, he blamed it on the fact that Li usually looked so calm and merciless—who knew that when he actually did something, he'd be this insane?

This Secret Skill should never have been created; even creating it and never using it would already be a grave disrespect to the Great Emperor.

Now, not only had they used it, but Yin Meng was already quite adept at using it. The reason they couldn't successfully perform the sacrifice before was because the Great Emperor had been rejecting this offering. And then… he, Jiujiang Zhao Yi, made his move—not only did he berate the Great Emperor, he even forcefully delivered the offering over.

Zhao Yi was already starting to panic: had the Great Emperor already taken action against the Jiujiang Zhao Family?

Because not long ago there had been rumors in the Jianghu that the one in Fengdu had suddenly awakened from slumber and issued a decree, wiping out a deeply hidden family.

A terrifying existence like that sometimes doesn't even need to exert much Power; just a light slap at the first target, and in line with Jianghu habits, countless forces weaker than you—sometimes even stronger than you—will soon swarm over and tear your flesh and blood to pieces.

Zhao Yi was very clear that he was different. For the same act of gross impiety, Li and Yin Meng could do it. Even if they knew the Great Emperor would be enraged, they still had a special kind of insurance.