The plane circled a few times before finally landing.

Aurora Sinclair slung her bag over her shoulder and followed Mama Young down.

Two rows of men in matching black suits stood on either side of the jet bridge.

Standing between the two rows was a sharp-looking middle-aged man who jogged over to politely shake hands with Victor Trent and Raina Young.

He spoke in fluent Niphorian, "Welcome, Mr. Trent and Madam."

Victor Trent exchanged a few pleasantries with him, speaking fluent Niphorian. Raina Young was fluent as well.

They all got into a luxury car parked nearby, with Aurora Sinclair and Mama Young taking a separate car behind them.

The chauffeur was very proper, wearing white gloves and a cap. He maintained a steady sixty miles per hour, driving with extreme stability.

A soothing song played inside the car, relaxing both body and mind.

The scenery outside the window shifted from the ocean to green hills, and the quiet road seemed to stretch on endlessly.

Aurora closed her eyes to rest, sensing the Power in the surrounding nature. There was even more of it here than on Sunstone.

She felt the meridians in her body hum with excitement and had to break her meditative state, afraid the driver might notice.

’His strength is at least at the Great Martial Master level.’

’The Yamada Clan must be one of the Ancient Martial Families.’

***

「Three hours later」 The car drove deep into the mountains, stopping at a place that resembled an ancient temple.

Lush green mountain bamboo grew on both sides of the temple gate, and a clear stream trickled gracefully along the roadside. The air was incredibly fresh.

The area was very quiet, yet a stern, imposing atmosphere permeated the surroundings.

The moment Aurora stepped out of the car, she felt a powerful domain of Power. ’There must be a master on the mountain.’

She kept her eyes lowered deferentially and followed Mama Young toward the temple gate.

Passing through the wooden temple gate, she saw a large, square set of steps ahead. The perimeter was pure white, and a peculiar symbol was carved into the very center.

Aurora’s pupils constricted. ’I feel like I’ve seen that symbol somewhere before.’

’It looks like the symbol Morgan was examining in his study once.’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

’It was supposedly a clue Kevin Whitlock found while investigating the case of the color-changing pills.’

’Could it be the Yamada Clan?’

The group continued forward. The narrow path gradually widened, and the mountain bamboo gave way to cherry blossom trees.

It was the peak of cherry blossom season. The green mountainside was dotted with pink, and in the mountain breeze, the petals fluttered like dancing butterflies.

Aurora stared at the blossoms in surprise, but then she noticed several strips of yellow cloth tied among the petals.

’It was just like when her master officiated a funeral; he would also hang yellow strips of cloth on the trees by the entrance.’

"Don’t stare," Mama Young whispered, reminding her.

Aurora immediately lowered her head and went back to staring at the heels of the person in front of her.

After about a ten-minute walk up a small hill, the group finally arrived at the Yamada Family estate.

Two guardian statues flanked the simple, ancient gate. They weren’t tall like the stone lions in front of gates in Veridia. The Yamada Clan’s statues were very short, only reaching a person’s calf, and had a bizarre appearance—they actually had three faces.

"See that red thread up ahead? Step over it without touching the bell. Otherwise, you won’t be allowed inside," Mama Young warned again.

Aurora glanced at the red thread suspended above the threshold, a flicker in her eyes.

The people ahead all stepped over the threshold very carefully, and Aurora did the same.

Suddenly, the bell rang.

"TING-A-LING—TING-A-LING—"

The members of the Yamada Family up ahead turned pale. Mama Young’s heart clenched, and she quickly looked back.

She saw that one of the men in black suits, while moving a suitcase, had one of its wheels suddenly fall off and touch the red thread.

Terrified, the man immediately dropped the suitcase, fell to his knees, and began chanting in some unknown language with his palms pressed together.

All the members of the Yamada Family knelt, pressed their palms together, and began chanting toward a cherry blossom tree in the courtyard. It looked exactly like an ancient ritual.

After about ten minutes, they finally stood up again, but their expressions were grim.

Aurora could clearly sense that the people from the Yamada Family were weighed down by worry, as if something bad was about to happen.

"Tiger..." A weak, listless voice came from ahead. A white-haired old man was being pushed forward in a wheelchair.

His face was deeply wrinkled, and his body was so frail he looked like a candle on the verge of burning out.

Victor Trent immediately went forward and performed a Martial Rite. Ignoring the dirt, he knelt directly on the ground, took the old man’s withered, branch-like hands, and cried out fervently, "Grandmaster..."

A dark glint flashed in Aurora’s eyes.

’How can Victor Trent’s master be from Niphoria?’

***

Everyone followed the Yamada Clan’s Family Head into a nearby wooden house.

Mama Young had Aurora take off her shoes at the steps by the entrance and go up barefoot.

Victor Trent and Raina Young entered the host’s room, while she and Mama Young were led to another area.

The woman leading the way wore traditional clothing similar to Neve Sherwood’s, her hands clasped in front of her as she walked with small steps.

After passing through several wooden pavilions, she finally stopped, opened a door, and gestured for them to enter.

Mama Young had Aurora take the suitcase from the man behind them, and the two of them went inside.

Once the woman had left, Mama Young said, "This room is where we’ll be staying. That large house next door is where the Family Head and his wife used to live. We’ll go clean it up in a bit."

Aurora nodded.

The environment here was elegant, evoking the artistic conception of a home nestled by a small bridge and a flowing stream.

A red-lacquered wooden bridge, the green ripples of a lake, overhanging gable roofs—it was all quaint and serene.

Worried she might not know the rules on her first day, Mama Young told her to stay in the room. This unexpectedly gave Aurora some free time. She immediately dug her phone out of her suitcase, but there was no signal at all. She then took out her watch, but it also showed no signal.

Aurora was stunned. ’Don’t tell me this place is like Sunstone, equipped with a device that blocks smart-brain signals?’

Meanwhile, Alvin Morgan, who had just gotten off his plane, discovered the same problem.

"Still no contact?"

Benjamin Morgan shook his head. "Sir, Aurora’s trail disappeared around the Lingqiu area. All signal transmissions are failing."

The look in Alvin Morgan’s eyes turned cold. He picked up his laptop and hacked into Niphoria’s national databank to search for information on the Yamada Clan.

But after three or four hours of searching, he only found a short record, much like the one on Veridia’s Sunstone.

The Yamada Clan was a reclusive family in Niphoria. Their ancestors were descendants of the three great Martial Gods from Ancient Times. They chose to retreat from the world after experiencing too many periods of war and, to this day, none of them have re-entered society.

Alvin Morgan closed his laptop. He clasped his hands and brought them to his lips in thought, then suddenly said, "Benjamin, go contact Neve Sherwood."

***

The Yamada Clan had a custom of hosting banquets for their guests in the evening.

The hosts sat inside, eating a local specialty hot pot. Even Aurora and Mama Young were given their own small wooden tables on the veranda to have their meal.

Women from the Yamada Clan were there to serve them.

Aurora was a little frustrated. She hadn’t been learning Niphorian for long and couldn’t understand what they were saying at all. She could only activate her watch’s recording function, hoping to find a chance to translate it later.

Suddenly, the Yamada Clan’s Family Head pointed at her and said something.

Victor Trent paused, a thoughtful expression on his face as he looked at Aurora. Raina Young waved her hand, seeming to deny something.

Aurora was completely bewildered, having no idea what they were talking about.

Just then, Mama Young, who was beside her, shot her a look, her face showing a hint of inquiry.

"Mama Young, what’s wrong?" Aurora asked timidly.

Mama Young slowly shook her head and said cryptically, "Don’t go out at night."