Escape on the fifth day

The moment Wang Ge stopped breathing, Lin Chaoying and Jiang Chuangu collapsed to the ground.

Jiang Chuan Gu continued to disinfect the wound relentlessly. The festering flesh mixed with the iodine caused the skin to peel off. He abruptly pulled his trembling hand away, his emotions on the verge of collapse.

Lin Chaoying retreated as if trying to escape, her mind blank.

This was the first time that a living person had suddenly died in front of them, and they were all somewhat overwhelmed by their own overwhelming emotions.

After a long silence, Jiang Chuan Gu straightened Wang Ge's clothes and felt a crease in the pocket of his pants. He reached in and took out the contents, finding several pieces of paper covered with writing.

He shouted, "Lin Chaoying! Left behind by Wang Ge."

The document was filled with his description of the Ghost Gate Plan and the truth about Xiao Mei back then.

Lin Chaoying suddenly realized: "So, even if we hadn't found him today, the truth would have been written down by him anyway."

Jiangchuan Valley: "At the time, he told us that we had to find him within ten days because his body could only hold on for ten days. But later, he used up too much energy from killing people, and his body could no longer hold on."

Lin Chaoying: "No matter what, let's take advantage of the night to move their bodies out. As for Wang Bo's... let's just leave them at the entrance of the River God Temple. As for Wang Ge's, let's take them and see what Kong Yue has to say."

Jiang Chuan Gu: "Okay, I'll go deal with Wang Bo's body first."

They walked to the entrance and found Wang Bo's body. Jiang Chuangu carried it upstairs, while Lin Chaoying went first, feeling around for the buttons on the steps. "Click—" she pressed the groove.

A rumbling sound overhead, and the faint moonlight gradually appeared.

Suddenly, a head popped out of the cave entrance, grinning eerily, and poured a basin of greasy, pungent liquid down on them!

Lin Chaoying was caught off guard and was soaked to the bone. Jiang Chuangu quickly threw the body down and smelled a familiar scent!

gasoline!

The pale moonlight overhead suddenly turned into a leaping red glow. Jiang Chuan Gu grabbed her and pushed her back, using his body to shield her. Lin Chao Ying ran frantically downhill, and just as she reached the corner, she felt a scorching heat emanating from behind her.

Jiangchuan Valley lunged at her, completely embracing her under his body, protecting her head, and they tumbled down the last step of the passageway, rolling back underground.

Ignoring the gasoline covering her body, Lin Chaoying hurriedly turned around to check on Jiang Chuangu's injuries.

His clothes on the back were burned to shreds, and his bare shoulders were mangled and wrinkled. Jiang Chuan Gu was in so much pain that he couldn't even get up. The dense, burning pain made him break out in a cold sweat, his mind went blank, and his vision became unfocused. He kept adjusting his breathing, trying to suppress the pain.

Lin Chaoying noticed that there was still some water left by Wang Ge in the corner, so she immediately opened a few bottles of mineral water and poured it all over the wound.

Jiang Chuangu snapped out of his daze, grabbed her hand, and said sternly, "Lin Chaoying, listen to me, the exit is blocked. They'll definitely keep pouring gasoline down and setting it on fire. Wang Bo's body has already been burned at the entrance. You'll carry Wang Ge's body while I clear the way. Remember, whatever you do, don't touch the fire! After you get out, discard the body and quickly contact Qin Ming. Don't look back..."

"Slap—" A loud slap landed on his face.

Lin Chaoying remained unusually calm, pointing her finger at him and demanding, "Are you awake now?"

Jiang Chuan Gu looked at her blankly, not understanding what she meant, but still obediently nodded.

Lin Chaoying's tone was filled with anger, "Let me tell you, even if I'm trapped here alone today, I can still find a way to survive. If you dare to say anything like 'sacrificing for someone' again, I'll slap you until you shut up!"

She took out a tissue from her bag, wiped the cold sweat from his face, and said firmly, "Today, we must go out together. Even if the river god comes in person, he has no right to take our lives."

Jiang Chuan Gu raised his face, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He wiped the dirt from his palms onto his clothes, took her wrist, and his bright eyes shone even brighter in the flickering firelight.

In the instant their eyes met, they made a decision. Lin Chaoying grasped his hand and said, "The cave entrance is blocked by fire, and I'm covered in gasoline. I'll use my soul to float out first and see if there's any possibility of getting out through the statue."

Jiangchuan Gu protected her body, choosing the farthest corner in the space.

Lin Chaoying floated out of the ground and saw a large group of people, led by Wang Shao. Strangely, Wang Yu was not there.

A dozen or so people stood in two rows around the cave entrance, one holding a torch and the other holding gasoline. Apart from Wang Shao, who was directing, the others had empty eyes, like puppets.

Lin Chaoying's mind raced with mischievous ideas. She instantly possessed the villager and poured the gasoline in her hand directly onto the torch. "Bang—" The flames exploded in the air.

She turned and slipped onto the villager holding a torch, dipped it in gasoline, and threw it at the river god statue. Wang Shao panicked and called on the villagers to put out the fire.

The River God Temple illuminated half the sky over Taoyuan Village that night.

Lin Chaoying then returned to the underground area. "We can't get out from up there." She took out the key that Granny Zhao had given her from her pocket. "I remember when we came in, we didn't need a key, which means there are places here that require this key. Otherwise, Granny Zhao wouldn't have given us the key specifically."

The fire at the cave entrance grew larger, and thick black smoke billowed in. The two searched the room for a new exit.

Finally, at the spot where Wang Ge had placed the bed, Lin Chaoying found a button. She stepped on it, and the stone bricks next to the bed began to move slowly, revealing a black passageway about the height of a person.

Because Jiang Chuan Gu's shoulder injury was too severe, in order to drag Wang Ge's body out, they had to cut off the four legs of the bed, leaving the bed board intact. Wang Ge was placed on the bed board, and the two of them dragged the body out.

Faced with the unknown, Jiang Chuan Gu was not comfortable letting Lin Chao Ying lead the way, so he pulled the rope a little longer so that Lin Chao Ying could walk in front.

The dark tunnel was very long and had many turns. Lin Chaoying asked in confusion, "Who dug this underground space? Where is the exit on the other side?"

Jiangchuan Valley shone his flashlight ahead, saying, "If my sense of direction is correct, we are heading towards the village, not towards the back of the mountain."

"The village?" Lin Chaoying asked worriedly. "Please, please don't let it be Wang Shao's family!"

Jiangchuan Valley: "It's alright. If it were his house, he would be in charge of the fire fighting at the River God Temple right now, which would give us a chance to escape."

In the darkness, the sound of the bed board clattering behind her, and the sight of Jiang Chuangu's burns on his shoulder, along with the loss of contact with her friends outside, filled Lin Chaoying with lingering fear.

She grabbed his arm and said, "I'll float out and scout ahead first. If it's not a good exit, we'll hide and bear it. You should also bear with your wounds. We can go out when the opportunity arises. No matter what happens, don't think about trading your life for mine."

Jiangchuan Valley shone the light from his flashlight behind her and said, "Do you remember when I asked you what our relationship was last time?"

She instinctively stepped back, and Jiang Chuangu, afraid she would step on Wang Ge behind her, grabbed her waist with one hand. He accidentally aggravated his wound, and lowered his head in pain, his face contorted. Seeing this, Lin Chaoying felt sorry for his injury and hurriedly tiptoed and leaned on his arm, wanting to peek and see if the wound on his back was bleeding again.

Their unconscious movements made her feel as if she were being held in his arms.

In the darkness, the flashlight beam shone on half of their faces, outlining their clear silhouettes, while swirling dust lingered around their nostrils...

Jiang Chuan Gu lowered his head, sweat dripping from his forehead onto the ground with a soft "plop," the crisp sound of the water droplets disturbing their thoughts.

Lin Chaoying looked up, meeting those emotionally charged eyes. Remembering what Granny Zhao had said, a string in her heart snapped. She slowly spoke, "If we can both leave Peach Blossom Village alive this time and resolve this matter, I will seriously consider our relationship, whether it's friendship or... something else..."

Jiang Chuan Gu suddenly felt that getting hurt was worth it. He smiled and let go of her hand, whispering in her ear, "I'll listen to you, whether it's friends... or..." He deliberately emphasized the last two words: "other..."

The two continued walking forward, taking a short break as they dragged the body along. Lin Chaoying handed him the few pages of testimony left by Wang Ge, saying, "Luckily I protected it well, otherwise it would have been ruined by the gasoline. Why don't you put this, the phone, and the crystal in your inner pocket?"

Jiangchuan Valley: "Should we keep them all with me? Or should we put them separately?"

Lin Chaoying couldn't help but complain, "I also want to put it close to my body, but this coat doesn't have inner pockets. Next time I'll just buy a few men's clothes, they have more pockets."

“Okay.” Jiang Chuangu took it and stuffed it into the innermost pocket of his clothes. He said with emotion, “When I entered the village, I wanted to tear Wang Ge to pieces. Now my feelings for him are getting more and more complicated. I never thought that in the end we would be the ones collecting his body.”

Lin Chaoying sighed, "Where do you think Xiao Mei is buried? Oh right? Before Xiao Mei died, she asked Wang Ge to go to the back mountain?"

Jiang Chuan Gu: "I remember that Wang Gao was arrested for digging up graves in the back mountain."

Lin Chaoying: "You mean there's a problem with Wang Lin's grave on the back hill?"

Jiangchuan Valley: "Possibly."

Lin Chaoying recalled Qian Fei's last words and felt uneasy. She said, "That's terrible. Kong Yue and Qian Fei must have discovered something in the back mountain as well, which is why several people suddenly disappeared."

Jiangchuan Valley: "If they are really captured, where will they be?"

Lin Chaoying: "Wang Ge said that Chu Tang is in Taoyuan Village, and there is only one person who can capture the three of them."

Jiang Chuan Gu: "Chu Tang? Who will she pretend to be this time? Wang Shao?"

"It seems we've both forgotten someone!" Lin Chaoying recalled that woman's behavior, eyes, scent... Suddenly, the two women's actions slowly overlapped in her memory!

Jiang Chuan Gu didn't react immediately: "Who?"

Lin Chaoying became increasingly certain of her idea and said, word by word, "It's that woman who only appears twice a year, who dies and comes back to life in the village, the legendary bride of the river god, Wang Sui!"