The Bronze Gate was not fully closed—there was a narrow gap, just wide enough for two people to pass through side by side. At that moment, it was closing at an agonizingly slow pace.
Perhaps when the Ren Mian Niao had flown out, the Bronze Gate had been wide open.
And now, it was about to shut once more.
“The Bronze Gate is closing soon—we have to hurry inside!” Zhang Hai Xing exclaimed in excitement.
But Qilin stopped him.
“No. We don’t have the Ghost Seal—without it, we can’t control the gate’s opening and closing. If we enter now, we may never get out again.
“And if there are more creatures like the Ren Mian Niao inside, none of us have the strength to survive against them.”
Ghost Seal? Wang Cang Hai thought.
He recalled the jade seal depicted in the murals—held high in the first Zhang Qiling’s hands.
So that was the key to the Bronze Gate?
And its name… Ghost Seal?
The name alone carried an ominous weight.
One of the Zhang clan members hesitated before asking, “Clan Leader… didn’t you and Wan San go to the Eastern Sea to retrieve the Ghost Seal?
“Did you not find it?”
Another person followed up, “Yeah, Clan Leader, why did you disappear? Why didn’t you return home? Why did you suddenly show up here instead?”
Zhang Hai Xing stepped closer to Qilin, his expression dark.
“The last letter we received from you said that the Ghost Seal was inside a sunken ship at the bottom of the sea.
“But you also said you and Wan San had a disagreement, and that you couldn’t take the Ghost Seal yet.
“But now you’ve come back alone.
“Could it be… because you killed Wan San?”
Wang Cang Hai noticed something.
Zhang Hai Xing’s gaze wasn’t fixed on Qilin.
He was speaking past Qilin—directly at him.
If I were really Wan Bao, Wang Cang Hai thought, then hearing this would make me panic.
I’d be desperate, worried sick about Wan San’s fate.
But I am not Wan Bao. And Qilin is not their clan leader, Zhang Qiling. Neither of us have ever been to the Eastern Sea with Wan San.
So Zhang Hai Xing’s words mean nothing to me.
Yet Qilin—believing Wang Cang Hai to be the real Wan Bao—panicked at Zhang Hai Xing’s accusation.
He turned hurriedly, flustered, and tried to explain.
“Wan Bao, I swear, I didn’t—”
At that very moment, as Qilin turned his head to look at Wang Cang Hai,
Zhang Hai Xing struck.
With the speed of a viper, he swung his black-gold blade straight at Qilin’s back.
Qilin was distracted.
He didn’t notice.
But Wang Cang Hai—facing Zhang Hai Xing directly—saw everything.
His body moved on instinct.
Without hesitation, he threw out his arm, placing himself between Qilin and the descending blade.
Zhang Hai Xing’s lips curled into a sinister smirk.
But Wang Cang Hai…
He wasn’t afraid.
He had full confidence in his martial skills.
Using only his index and middle fingers, he caught the deadly blade between them.
Qilin gasped in surprise.
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