Liu Baqiao was just about to answer the question, but ultimately decided against it as he didn't want to hurt Chen Songfeng's feelings. Chen Songfeng wasn't someone that he got along particularly well with, but he already had a far better personality than the average scholar, so Liu Baqiao had to learn to be content.

Thus, in a display that was completely out of character for a serial chatterbox like him, he remained silent for the rest of the trip.

————

In the darkness of the night, Chen Ping'an crafted three torches, which the trio used to light the way forward.

In the end, they arrived at the foot of a tall mountain, and Chen Ping'an wiped away the sweat on his forehead as he said to Ning Yao, "Ning Yao, tell her that this is a mountain that's been sealed off by the imperial court, and ask her if she has any reservations about entering a restricted area."

Ning Yao relayed the message to Chen Dui, who responded with a shake of her head.

Chen Dui looked up at the mountain, and she was absolutely certain that the ancestral grave of the Chen Clan was situated there.

She slowly closed her eyes, then crouched down and wrote out a long line of text on the ground with her finger. After that, her lips moved slightly as she wiped away everything that she had written with the palm of her hand. 

She then rose to her feet and stepped around the patch of ground that she had just wiped smooth with her hand before stepping onto the mountain, seemingly not requiring any further guidance from Chen Ping'an.

Upon reaching a certain point halfway up the mountain, Chen Ping'an pointed at a tree that was growing on a small mound not far away. The trunk of...