It's truly eerie—something different from the usual supernatural elements. Zhang Yuanqing watched the cat corpse hanging from the eaves of the room, silently murmuring to himself. Whether someone had slipped in or something had slipped out, either way, it wasn't a good omen… The group exchanged silent glances, their eyes filled with alertness and seriousness. Only Li Li, who had just been unusually animated, broke the quiet tension, her face blazing with anger as she lowered her voice: "Such brutal treatment of animals—this cannot be tolerated. I demand that the culprit pay for it. We’ll kill Madame Wang right now." Zhang Yuanqing glanced at her and said: "Don’t rush. Clearly, there’s a story unfolding in Madame Wang’s character. Let us observe carefully, wait for the task to activate. After all, based on my two successful S-level instance experiences, the key to survival is not to act prematurely—think more than you do. S-level instances have very low room for error. A single small action might cost your life." "Call me Queen," she turned to the Wood Demon youth, her earrings at her ears swaying gently as she said, "Captain’s right—the higher the instance level, the fewer hints provided. Every corner is full of danger. Unlike our earlier C-level and D-level instances, where mission objectives and rules were clearly laid out for us. In these high-difficulty instances, just one misstep could lead to total failure." Li Chufeng pondered briefly before saying: "And the reverse also holds true—perhaps by eliminating Madame Wang now, we can resolve this incident successfully. It’s like Schrödinger's cat." Fire Deity Army was momentarily stunned: "Who is Schrödinger? Does he also love cats?" The knowledgeable Li Chufeng blinked, his expression puzzled as he opened and closed his mouth several times before deciding to abandon the explanation altogether and simply said: "Something like that." Fire Deity Army nodded, glanced toward the room across the courtyard, and seeing Madame Wang hadn’t yet emerged, quietly added: "Have any of you considered why it’s cats being hung—rather than chickens, ducks, geese, or dogs? If it were those animals, we might even have a meal here." By asking this, he implied that the cat corpses are not random—they must be part of an instance hint. From the Night Wandering Deity's perspective, Zhang Yuanqing offered his insight: "Cat corpses belong to the yin element—yin materials. Extracting their qi nourishes spiritual beings and can also be used in creating zombies." Li Chufeng added: "They can also serve as props for special rituals or magical ceremonies." As they were speaking, the wooden door creaked open, and Madame Wang stepped out with a walking stick, her back slightly bent, holding a white porcelain teapot with vibrant glaze. … Li Xianzong led his teammates along the roadside, beside them was a small river crossing through the ancient town. The river surface was spanned by stone-paved bridges laid in neat rows. "This place is awful—no one to be seen, let alone any attractive women," muttered the thin middle-aged man, casting about anxiously. In past group experiences within the Spirit Realms, there had been a time when the setting was a midnight hotel. Inside, a cold-blooded murderer lived, and the mission required finding and killing this powerful criminal. The hotel housed many "ordinary residents"—people indistinguishable from real-life counterparts—and during their task execution, the middle-aged man had taken advantage of several women residing in the hotel. No moral penalty needed. For the Evil Organization, Spirit Realm instances were not only growth opportunities—they served as paradises where they could indulge their vices, doing whatever they wished without consequence. "The Yin-Yang Town is a combat-oriented realm—not exclusively ours," the bald man said, surveying the thin man with a knowing smile. "So it's impossible to have a setting that allows you to act freely of your own will. Were you ever a rapist before becoming a Wu Gu Master?" The thin man chuckled: "I can only say the security officers are simply inadequate. What about you?" The bald man replied calmly, "Murder! Li Xianzong—our time has already passed eight minutes. If we don’t find the blacksmith shop soon, we’re all done." Ding! Ding! Ding! As they spoke, faintly, they began to hear the sound of iron being struck. Li Xianzong looked ahead and smiled: "There it is—we’ve arrived." His teammates were delighted: "Indeed, you guessed right—it’s on this very street!" "Guessed?" Li Xianzong scoffed. "With your pig brains—think about it. A blacksmith shop would never open deep within a lane. High-temperature smelting requires good airflow—deep houses can manage that. But quenching needs abundant water, and riverside locations are ideal. So follow the main road beside the river—you’ll find it." As they approached, they stopped at the blacksmith’s shop. A sturdy figure of two meters tall stood there, lowering his head and hammering steadily on an iron ingot. Li Xianzong studied him carefully: "Are you Wang, the blacksmith?" The blacksmith slowly raised his eyes—his gaze now bright red, like blood. … "Thank you, Madame." Zhang Yuanqing held the teacup, glanced at the Wood Demon youth. Li Li took a small sip and nodded gently. Zhang Yuanqing felt reassured and sipped the cool tea. As a Healing Mage, the Wood Demon was especially sensitive to toxins. If anything were amiss in the water, he would have noticed it immediately. The others either drank or carefully avoided touching the water as they thought about what came next. Just then, the Captain—Yuan Shi Tian Zun—approached with an ease that suggested natural familiarity and asked: "Madame Wang, why are there no people in town? We’ve walked all along this route and haven’t seen anyone." Madame Wang’s elderly voice responded slowly: "In past years, the town was very lively. A few years ago, something happened—then people gradually began to move away." "Oh?" Zhang Yuanqing quickly asked. The narrative had been triggered… everyone instantly became alert. "This…" Madame Wang seemed hesitant, paused a moment, and said: "Many years ago, one day it suddenly started happening—people were dying one after another. Their hearts were being removed. Everyone grew fearful—claiming there was something sinister in the town itself. The wealthiest resident, Zhao, had hired a sorcerer from outside to investigate. Shortly after arriving, the sorcerer identified the culprit—the descendant of the Yin-Yang Immortal. This woman secretly harmed the townspeople by extracting their hearts to prepare medicine pills. With the community’s united effort, they finally eliminated her. Before dying, she cast a curse upon all residents—she said everyone would eventually turn into cats." The descendant of the Yin-Yang Immortal… Zhang Yuanqing and his teammates exchanged glances and asked: "And then?" Madame Wang sighed: "At first, no one took it seriously. But gradually, more people disappeared—and the number of cats in the town increased steadily. Only then did everyone grow afraid and start relocating." How excellent at conversation she is… Queen smiled, turning to Zhang Yuanqing. "So, Madame—why didn’t you leave?" Madame Wang shook her head: "I’m old—I’ve no intention of leaving. I’m already one foot in the coffin; I’m not afraid of these little things anymore." The Wood Demon youth looked up at the cat corpses hanging from the eaves and said solemnly: "So, then—why are you hanging all these cats here?" Madame Wang responded calmly: "That was the method left by the sorcerer—he advised that placing peeled cat corpses inside houses would prevent the curse." The young Wood Demon snorted. Just moments earlier, she had said she wasn’t afraid of the curse at all. Zhang Yuanqing then asked: "Madame, who exactly is the Yin-Yang Immortal? And why did her descendant remove hearts to prepare medicine pills?" Madame Wang reflected: "She was a highly accomplished immortal—said to be a heavenly figure. She founded this town and shortly after, ascended into heaven. I’ve heard this from my elders since childhood—but I’m not sure whether it’s true or not. Her descendants remained in the town due to her legacy, and everyone respected them. It's surprising that one of them would commit such an act." Zhang Yuanqing frowned thoughtfully—how were Ming Dynasty immortals so inherently evil? The temple attendant at San Dao Mountain had killed disciples, and now this descendant of the Yin-Yang Immortal was removing hearts to prepare medicine. "Was it only one descendant?" Zhang Yuanqing sipped his cool tea. "Yes," Madame Wang said. "Most of her descendants passed away early—supposedly because the original immortal’s ascension drained the family's life energy." But in fact, the Yin-Yang Immortal had never ascended—the goal of long-life failed… Could it be that removing hearts to prepare medicine was connected to this very failure? Zhang Yuanqing was deep in thought when suddenly, Guan Ya asked: "Madame, besides us, have there been any outsiders from outside the town before?" Guan Ya looked at her with a quiet gaze: "Yes." "What did they do here?" smiled Guan Ya. The elderly woman hesitated: "I don’t remember clearly…" Others didn’t understand why Guan Ya had asked this question. But Zhang Yuanqing and Queen exchanged glances, then fell into thoughtful silence. They had reviewed several guides—none of them mentioned the curse at all. And how could there be a case solved in an inn if the town were entirely empty? Could it be that the instances are evolving constantly—the side missions varied with each group of Spirit Realm Pilgrims? If so, then the Demon King’s hidden mission—I might still encounter it—but my experience would differ from yours. Wouldn’t it be frustrating if only a fixed sequence of subplots triggered the hidden mission? That would seem unfair. Well—let’s just focus on the current task triggered by Madame Wang: is it to break the curse? With that thought in mind, Zhang Yuanqing cautiously asked: "Madame, do you have any specific requests for our assistance?" Madame Wang shook her head. Scholar Li Chufeng supplemented with diligence: "Madame, besides yourself, are there any other residents in town?" After a thoughtful pause, the elderly woman replied softly: "Besides me, five others. One is the widow Xu on the west side of the town. Another is Zhao, who lives at the center—the largest house in town belongs to him. There’s also Wang, the blacksmith. And then there’s the sorcerer hired by Zhao—where does he live? I’m not quite certain." The round-faced young man, E Chou, blinked: "Only five people? What about the sixth?" Madame Wang looked at him: "The last one is my son…" E Chou was stunned: "Your son? Where exactly is he?" Guan Ya turned her gaze to the newly emerged room and said gently: "He’s inside… right there." As she spoke, she turned back toward them, her wrinkled face revealing a strange smile: "You’ll soon see him." For some reason, Zhang Yuanqing felt an instinctive weight settle in his chest. Then he witnessed something terrifying—the Fire Deity Army, sitting across from him, had his pupils constricting into narrow slits—turning green like cat eyes. His cheeks, neck, and arms were covered with thick black fur. His mouth and nose bulged outward, and a pointed cat’s head emerged atop his skull. Within just several seconds, the Fire Deity Army transformed fully into a black cat measuring fifty centimeters long. "Yuan," "Yuan Shi…" Zhang Yuanqing heard Guan Ya’s trembling voice. He turned to see—Guan Ya’s face had changed dramatically; her eyes were wide and strange as she stared at herself. What was happening? He instinctively uttered the words, but they surged into his throat and emerged instead as a long, sharp meow. A deep sense of alarm rushed through him—he looked down to find his hands now covered in fur. Zhang Yuanqing felt an overwhelming sense of fear—completely unaware that any change had occurred within himself. At the same time, the Wood Demon youth, E Chou the Earth Oddity, and Scholar Li Chufeng all underwent dramatic transformations. Fine hairs from their pores emerged in various colors—lips and lower jaw bulged, cat ears sprouted on their heads, and their bodies rapidly shrank. Then came Guan Ya and Queen. "Meow! Meow!" Cat-like sounds echoed continuously—one after another—as the seven of them fully transformed into cats with different fur colors. Madame Wang held her walking stick, standing in shadow, gazed toward the room, her voice hoarse: "At last—foreigners have arrived. Son, you’ve waited long enough, haven’t you?"