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The food on the table looked appetizing, but they already knew the rules of Bone Town and naturally did not touch it with their chopsticks.

Shi Wuming listened to the lively discussions in the tavern hall and said knowingly, "It seems that Teng Liniang was also a guardian of Bone Town. Unfortunately, she violated its rules, so she had to die."

Ning Yuzhou nodded, "Teng Liniang truly loved her previous husband, but he was an outsider cultivator who could not stay in Bone Town forever. Unwilling to let him go, she killed him as a sacrifice. After the deed was done, she regretted it and announced that she wanted someone to investigate her husband's death."

Teng Liniang's actions were ostensibly to have someone help investigate the man's death, but in reality, she was challenging the rules of Bone Town, wanting to break them. However, things got out of control later, and she regretted it.

When she came to Auntie Hua, she was hoping Auntie Hua would help her escape death.

Auntie Hua, also a guardian, knew the constraints placed on guardians by Bone Town and naturally refused to do such a thing.

So Teng Liniang ultimately died, becoming one of the countless bones in the bone houses of Bone Town.

Hearing the two unravel the entire story, Wen Qiao and Su Molan were stunned.

So even the guardians of Bone Town could die.

And after becoming a guardian, she was swayed by a man's affection, wanting to break free from Bone Town's constraints and leave for a freer and broader world outside, only to lose her life.

"Why wouldn't they?" Shi Wuming said matter-of-factly, "Bone Town is closely linked to the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones. As long as the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones stand, Bone Town will not disappear! The guardians can only die here, and after death, they become skeletons of Bone Town, never able to leave."

Even though they were prepared mentally, it still sent shivers down their spines.

They couldn't imagine whether those trapped in Bone Town felt resentful, unable to escape even as guardians or sacrifices, their bones forever bound to it.

Bone Town was like a cursed land, where all who lived there were cursed, their lives and deaths beyond their control.

—

After wandering the streets for most of the day, they returned to Auntie Hua's inn.

Auntie Hua sat lazily at the inn's entrance, her large body blocking the doorway. Seeing them return, she reluctantly moved aside, creating a narrow passage for one person to pass through.

She lifted her eyelids and asked, "Did you find out what you needed?"

Her tone suggested she already knew what they had been up to on the street.

Ning Yuzhou smiled, "We found out. It's a pity about Teng Liniang." A woman who once lived so freely, but due to a momentary lapse, ended up losing her life.

Auntie Hua grunted, waving her fat hand, "What's the pity? She couldn't see clearly, but now she's freed, so it's not really a pity."

"But didn't she seem unwilling to die?" Wen Qiao's clear voice carried a sharp insight, "Didn't she regret it later?"

Otherwise, she wouldn't have sought Auntie Hua's help.

Auntie Hua snorted, coldly saying, "Since she once had such thoughts, there's only one outcome! In Bone Town, there's no room for regret." She looked at Wen Qiao, her narrowed eyes full of cruelty, "These are the rules of Bone Town; no one can escape them."

Hearing this, Wen Qiao frowned slightly.

A hand gently rubbed her head, and she turned to see Ning Yuzhou.

Ning Yuzhou smiled at her, his expression soothing, calming her restless heart instantly.

His smile remained warm, starkly contrasting with the bleak bone house. Ning Yuzhou said to Auntie Hua, "We've troubled you for quite some time. We'll be leaving tomorrow."

Auntie Hua replied calmly, "Oh, just return the room key to me."

They stayed another night in Bone Town and returned the bone key to Auntie Hua early the next morning.

Ning Yuzhou gave Auntie Hua a bottle of spirit pills, saying, "If we come again, we'll need your hospitality. This is a deposit."

Auntie Hua couldn't help but laugh, "You lot are strange, actually wanting to come back! The full moon in Bone Town isn't easy to encounter." Without it, they couldn't enter the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones.

"No problem, as long as someone can predict it," Ning Yuzhou said with a smile.

Auntie Hua was taken aback, about to say something, but saw them already leaving.

Walking out of the alley, they arrived at the streets of Bone Town, where the malevolent gazes were omnipresent.

The five of them pretended not to notice, pulling their hoods lower, and walked out of Bone Town.

The moment they stepped out of Bone Town, the pervasive malevolence finally dissipated. Although they were in a mass grave with a few fresh corpses, it felt much better than Bone Town.

Shi Wuming sighed, "After staying so long in the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones, even a dead man's bones look clear and bright now."

Hearing this heavy statement, everyone looked at him, seeing him staring blankly ahead, looking lost and then his eyes turning red.

"What's wrong?" Wen Qiao asked curiously.

Shi Wuming wiped his eyes, choking, "Nothing, I'm just so moved. Being locked up for so long, finally getting out of that hellhole, I'm just happy..."

Oh, so it was tears of joy.

Everyone ignored him and left the mass grave.

Shi Wuming wiped his tears and followed, his steps unusually light.

After leaving the mass grave, Ning Yuzhou summoned the flying boat, and the group boarded it.

The flying boat trailed a beam of spiritual light, instantly leaving the range of Bone Town and heading into the distance.

Once aboard the flying boat, Shi Wuming looked around, everything seeming new and interesting.

Pei Qiyu sneered, "Have you never seen a flying boat before?"

"I have, but it's been too long, I can't help but take a few more looks," he replied casually. When he realized the flying boat was crafted by Ning Yuzhou, his reaction was exaggerated, "I thought this flying boat looked extraordinary, turns out it was made by Master Ning. Master Ning is truly talented. If you were a girl, you'd be my ideal wife..."