Chapter 84 Crisis

The wind sways the moon's shadow, and crows cry in the night.

Fan Xiaoxiao followed Ye Niangzi with her head down. Behind her was a gruff-looking jerk, and at the front was an elderly woman.

The woman's back was hunched, and she coughed laboriously from time to time. Beside her was a little girl who looked not much older than Xiao Bao, holding a small oil lamp.

The dim light illuminated the long wooden corridor, casting long shadows of everyone as if they were about to be dragged into the darkness.

"Creak..."

The wooden planks beneath their feet seemed quite old, making a sickeningly loud sound as they walked on them. No one spoke, so the sound seemed rather eerie in the quiet night.

"Cough cough cough, we've arrived..." The old woman stopped and turned slightly to the side, the candlelight making her profile appear somewhat obscure.

"Come up."

Fan Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback, only then realizing that the old woman was standing in the center of a wooden plank, surrounded by a wooden frame that resembled a fence.

"Tsk, go up! Didn't you hear me?" Fan Xiaoxiao's shoulder was shoved hard by Tieji. She pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and led Ye Niangzi onto the wooden plank.

Iron Chicken was the last one to go up. After he stood in place, the old woman reached out and tugged at a rope in the corner.

"Clang clang clang".

A copper bell rang, and then the wooden board slowly began to move!

Fan Xiaoxiao's pupils dilated suddenly, and she froze on the spot. The wooden plank was still slowly rising, and her body trembled slightly.

This... isn't this an elevator?!

Perhaps she was too shocked, for Lady Ye, who was standing beside her, also noticed her emotions. She squeezed Fan Xiaoxiao's hand questioningly, as if asking her what she had seen.

Once she came to her senses, Fan Xiaoxiao opened her mouth, about to tell them what she had seen, but then remembered that there were several people guarding them nearby, so she had to keep quiet.

"Crack."

With a sharp thud, the wooden plank finally came to a stop. The old woman led the way, followed by Fan Xiaoxiao and Ye Niangzi, with Tieji behind them. The little girl holding the oil lamp brought up the rear. As they passed each other, Fan Xiaoxiao glanced down and noticed that the little girl's hand holding the oil lamp was trembling slightly, and some of the wax on the back of her thin hand had turned milky white.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she glanced at the child again. But the child's head was lowered, and she couldn't see his face.

After descending the platform, there was a large open space. Perhaps because of the high altitude, the wind was a bit strong, causing the candlelight to flicker. Seeing that everyone had arrived, the old woman nodded and continued to lead them through a long, narrow wooden corridor, with rows of torches lit on both sides.

By the light of the fire, Fan Xiaoxiao noticed a narrow staircase not far away. The staircase branched off from the side of the wooden corridor adjacent to the cliff, seemingly leading downwards. However, she had only passed by briefly and could not make out the appearance of the staircase clearly.

The group walked for a while longer and finally arrived at the gate of a courtyard. Two burly women stood at the gate, and when they saw the old woman, they bowed to her.

"Ah Zu!" The old woman at the front hummed in response to the two. She turned her head, her cloudy eyes looking at Iron Chicken standing behind her.

"Iron Chicken, that's enough for now. I'll have Alan and Axiang help me out in a bit. Cough cough cough."

"Yes!" Iron Chicken did not hesitate, bowed, and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute."

Iron Chicken paused, turned around, and asked with his head down, "Is there anything else you need, Grandfather?"

"Ahem, take the little mute away. It's so late, walking down is too tiring." Fan Xiaoxiao's eyebrows twitched slightly. Walk? It seems that the narrow staircase they came up with does indeed lead down. The little mute? She subconsciously glanced at the little girl following at the back; the child was still somewhat blankly looking down with her head down.

Tieji respectfully clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to the old woman. After replying to her question, he walked to the little girl's side and led her back the way they had come. In the interplay of light and shadow, Fan Xiaoxiao seemed to see the little girl glance at her as she turned around, but the child's movement was too subtle. Fan Xiaoxiao blinked, wondering if she had seen it wrong.

"Alright, let's go in."

The wooden door creaked open, and a night breeze blew in, causing the two red lanterns on the gate to sway back and forth. The old woman glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao and Madam Ye, then slowly turned around and walked into the courtyard.

"Alan, Axiang, go prepare a room and take them there. I'll go change my clothes first; I need to examine these two girls in a bit."

"yes!"

...

Fan Xiaoxiao and her companion were led to a small room and roughly pushed inside. Two burly women stood guard at the door, seemingly to prevent them from escaping.

Fortunately, this time it was better than on the ship; at least they provided a hanging oil lamp basin, which made the room very bright.

Upon entering the room, Fan Xiaoxiao quickly surveyed it. It was a square room with no windows. The only passage was the door in front of them. The room was empty except for a few dark red marks in a corner, which looked ominous. She frowned, feeling a growing unease.

The room was almost too clean, suggesting this wasn't the first time someone had been imprisoned here. When they came up, Iron Chicken had been watching her and Madam Ye. This was to prevent them from harming the old woman, and after they came up, the guards were even tighter. These people seemed quite experienced in imprisoning people.

But no place is without flaws. Firmly believing this, Fan Xiaoxiao walked to the other side of the wall and knocked on it, somewhat skeptical. There was a dull echo; it seemed the other side was solid. Fan Xiaoxiao frowned and changed direction, continuing to rub the wall.

"Save your energy." Ye Niangzi heard her commotion and leaned lazily against the wall, trying to persuade Fan Xiaoxiao.

"There is no way to escape in this way."

Fan Xiaoxiao, who was pondering the wooden door, curled the corners of her lips: "That's not necessarily true."

Lady Ye was slightly taken aback. She paused for a moment as she was about to take something out of her sleeve pocket, and then casually pulled her hand out.

"oh?"

The wooden door in front of her had vertical latticework, and the paper pasted on it was already quite worn; with a gentle tap, the paper fell out. Fan Xiaoxiao smiled, took out the rope from her pocket, and measured it against the wooden door. After determining the distance, she tiptoed and began to tie the rope.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist from behind. Startled, her hand trembled, and the rope fell to the ground.

"What are you doing!" Fan Xiaoxiao didn't dare to yell at the other party, so she could only glare at Ye Niangzi and try to lower her voice to question her.

"Is everything ready?"

A hoarse, sinister voice came from outside the door. It was that old woman who had returned!

(End of this chapter)