A skeleton lay in the grave.
There was no flesh left, and even the coffin had rotted away. Seawater had seeped into the grave, waterlogging the coffin and corroding the bones beyond recognition.
Wei Yanchi stood in the pit, filthy and covered in mud from head to toe. He did not mind, though. Instead, he crouched down to examine the remains.
Everyone else crouched beside the pit.
The Witch asked him, "Can you tell anything?"
"No. The seawater has damaged the body too badly. If we need further confirmation, I'll have to take these remains to a specialized Research Center for testing."
As he spoke, Wei Yanchi took out a sealed bag, picked through the bones, and placed the most intact one inside.
The weather was foul. Sea fog rose from the water, and the sky seemed to be brewing a devastating downpour. The cemetery where they stood, with its newly opened grave, reeked of seawater and earth.
Zhang Mingqi covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief as she watched, then suddenly asked, "Hasn't your side formed a new S-rank Instance, the Wei Family? How far along is it?"
"Are you fishing for Instance secrets? What, planning to join us?" The Witch tugged at her headscarf, amusement in her eyes.
Zhang Mingqi frowned and looked away. "I was just asking. After all, the Instance side is the one that really has all the clues, isn't it?"
The Witch looked up into the distance. At some point, another sailboat had appeared on the sea, swaying as it approached the island, as though seeking shelter before the storm.
She said, "It takes time for an Instance to form. Problems involving space and time like these require very tightly controlled calculations. Besides, Instances originate in reality. Personally, I think we have to