Chapter 362 Are you scared?

Shen Cong then realized that Li Nanke's voice sounded strange. He turned around and found Li Nanke sitting on the ground, her eyes wide open, pointing at something behind the rock.

Following her gaze, Shen Cong saw a skeleton curled up on the ground.

The skeleton was about the length of a human arm; its clothes had rotted away, leaving only bare bones, which remained in a painful, curled-up position.

Next to the skeleton was a small, palm-sized skull.

Shen Cong frowned slightly.

Li Nanke whispered, "This... looks like a child's bone."

As he spoke, he squatted down and reached out to touch it, wanting to see it more clearly.

Shen Cong grabbed her arm and pulled her back a step.

Then he crouched down, picked up a twig, and gently pried open the skeleton.

"Hmm, it looks like a baby less than a month old. Look, there are more over there."

He pointed to a corner behind the stone, where there was also a small infant skeleton, and about two feet away, there was another one.

This body must have died the latest, as the bright yellow swaddling clothes on its body had not yet completely decomposed.

Shen Cong lifted the swaddling clothes, revealing the flesh inside that was not yet completely decayed.

Li Nanke couldn't help but turn around and gag violently, tears streaming down her face.

The trembling sound echoed in the cave.

"How could there be the body of a newborn baby here? How could anyone harm such young children? They were so small."

Shen Cong gently lifted the swaddling clothes with the wooden stick in his hand and said softly, "Bright yellow swaddling clothes...only royal children can use bright yellow swaddling clothes at birth."

Li Nanke turned around in surprise, her pupils wide open.

"Ninth Brother, you mean...?"

Her gaze swept over the three infant skeletons on the ground, her lips trembling before she uttered the shocking guess.

"You mean these three children are very likely royal children?"

But where has the royal family been for the past three years...?

No, the royal family has children born every year!

But none of them survived!

Li Nanke's breath caught in his throat, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

"Ninth Brother, is this what I meant?"

Shen Cong gripped the wooden stick tightly, his lips pressed together, and after a moment he nodded.

"Three years, three babies, and this year is the fourth..."

Qin Wei's frequent appearances in these mountains made it impossible for them not to think in this direction.

Li Nanke fell silent; the only sound in the cave was the whistling of the wind.

Just then, a faint friction sound came from deeper inside the cave, like the sound of an iron chain sliding over stones.

Clang... Clang...

The sound was very soft, but in the deathly silent cave, it was eerily clear.

Li Nanke instinctively grabbed Shen Cong's arm.

The two exchanged a glance, and Li Nanke lowered his voice and said, "It sounds like there are people inside."

"Shh!"

Shen Cong gestured for silence, bent down to pick up the outer garment that had fallen to the ground, draped it over Li Nanke's shoulders, and gestured for her to put it on.

Then he picked up his own and put it on.

The inner garment and outer shirt were almost dry from the heat, and they no longer felt cold when worn.

Shen Cong pointed deeper into the cave and asked Li Nanke in a low voice.

Are you scared?

Li Nanke shook his head and softly replied with two words.

"I'm not afraid."

Shen Cong removed the sticks from the fire and gently extinguished them on a stone.

The fire gradually subsided, leaving only a faint red glow.

Using the faint light, Shen Cong held Li Nanke's hand tightly, pressed against the cold stone wall, and walked towards the direction from which the sound came.

The sound of the chains stopped for a moment and then started again, accompanied by extremely faint voices.

It sounded like someone's murmur to themselves.

The two walked in the darkness for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, when a faint light appeared ahead.

It wasn't moonlight, but a yellowish halo, like torches stuck in the stone wall.

The cave came to a bend, and the two hid behind it, where they saw what lay ahead.

Li Nanke was so shocked she almost cried out, but quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

After turning the corner, you enter a more spacious cave with many dark green vines hanging from the ceiling, making the entire cave appear brighter.

In the center of the cave, there is a three-foot-long stone platform, and a man sits beside it.

The man's hair and beard were matted together, almost completely obscuring his long face, leaving only a pair of eyes that gleamed eerily in the shadows.

His clothes were no longer recognizable as their original color, and his limbs were bound by heavy black iron chains, the other ends of which were embedded in the rock of the cave wall.

The man's activity was limited to a few feet around the rock.

In front of him were several earthenware jars and a strangely shaped small cauldron.

Beneath the cauldron, there seemed to be some lingering embers, emitting a faint residual heat and an indescribable, fishy odor mixed with herbs and a certain burnt smell.

At that moment, the man was looking down, intently stirring the contents of the cauldron with an iron rod about the length of his arm.

A strange laugh escaped his throat as he muttered to himself, "Soon, almost there!"

Just then, the man seemed to notice their presence and suddenly looked up.

Those eyes, like will-o'-the-wisps from behind the disheveled hair, stared straight at them.

Shen Cong pulled her back a little, and the two of them pressed tightly against the stone wall.

Li Nanke covered his mouth tightly to keep himself from shouting.

With her other hand tightly gripping Shen Cong's hand, she stood on tiptoe and gently leaned close to his ear.

"It's Prince Chen, Ninth Brother, are you sure you saw it clearly?"

Although he only glanced at them, Li Nanke recognized those eyes immediately.

The man in the cave, with his hair and beard covering his face and a scraggly beard, was none other than Prince Chen, who had been declared dead by the emperor four years ago.

The girl's body pressed tightly against him, her lips almost brushing against his earlobe, and a faint sweet fragrance wafted from her nostrils, making Shen Cong tense up.

He bit his tongue hard to bring himself back to his senses and nodded slightly.

He also recognized him as Prince Chen.

Li Nanke continued, "So Prince Chen isn't dead. How come he's here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.

Upon hearing the footsteps, the man, Chen Wang, grinned with a strange, twisted smile, revealing his yellowish-black teeth.

His laughter grew increasingly strange. "They're here, they're here."

Li Nanke and Shen Cong exchanged a glance, completely bewildered.

What's coming?

A tall man strode into the cave, followed by two henchmen.

Just as Li Nanke was about to peek for a closer look, Shen Cong whispered in her ear, "It's Qin Wei who's here."

His warm breath tickled her earlobe, making her instinctively shrink her neck.

Peeking out slightly, he saw Qin Wei wave his hand, and two of his subordinates placed the large bundles they were carrying on the ground.

The bundle was opened, revealing colorful swaddling clothes inside.

There is a sleeping baby in each swaddling clothes!

Li Nanke's pupils contracted slightly.

The Prince of Chen squinted, his gaze sweeping over the swaddled infant before him, and he chuckled strangely.

"That bastard's life is almost over, yet he still managed to father so many sons?"