The Sixth Day Secret Passage

Kong Yue returned with a medicine box and sat down next to Chu Tang to treat the wounds on her face. Unexpectedly, as soon as she took out the disinfection tools, Chu Tang raised her hand and knocked them all away.

"Hey!" Lin Chaoying pointed at her and warned sharply, "You better behave!"

Qin Ming, who was about to rush in after hearing the commotion outside, saw Kong Yue raise her hand and inject Chu Tang into her neck. Chu Tang collapsed limply to the ground.

Kong Yue said angrily, "It's my principle as a doctor to treat your wound. Don't be ungrateful."

After several discussions, Qin Ming followed the police to continue their in-depth investigation into the unsolved murder case. In order to stabilize the villagers, Officer Zhang planned to arrange for workers to rebuild the River God Temple. Chu Tang was entrusted to Kong Yue, Luo Shu, Mi Fu, and five police officers to guard it.

The other three can finally catch their breath.

After returning to the hotel, Lin Chaoying changed out of her dirty clothes. Suddenly, a bunch of keys fell out of her pocket. She picked them up and remembered that they were the keys to the underground passage connecting the temple to the old house, given to her by Granny Zhao.

She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the key, lost in thought for a long time.

Why is there a secret passage beneath the temple? Is the key still with Granny Zhao? Does Wang Ge have this set of keys?

This matter doesn't seem to be that simple.

But she was too exhausted to think much. After taking a shower and changing into her pajamas, she clutched the keys in her hand and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, she felt much better and her energy had returned. So, after a quick wash, she took her keys and went out to knock on the door of Jiangchuan Valley.

He looked like he hadn't slept well, his eyes still half-closed. "How did you get some rest?"

Lin Chaoying said energetically, "Of course I've rested well. You look very tired. How's your injury recovery going?"

Jiang Chuan Gu stretched his shoulders and said, "It's okay, Kong Yue helped take care of it yesterday."

"That's fine then." Lin Chaoying took out the keys. "I'm going to see Granny Zhao today. Are you coming?"

On the way, she voiced her doubts, and Jiang Chuangu said, "I remember Wang Ge saying that many people in the village have forgotten the God of Wishes, but we only know about the God of Wishes because of Granny Zhao?"

Lin Chaoying said directly, "I suspect it's related to the old village chief."

Jiangchuan Valley: "Why do you say that?"

Lin Chaoying: "When I entered Grandma Zhao's house, there was a cloth painting on her wall, depicting the back of a man. In the corner, the signature was 'Lin.' The only village chief I knew was named Wang Lin, which contained the character 'Lin.' Of course, this is all just my guess."

The two arrived at Grandma Zhao's house, where the courtyard was as warm and inviting as ever. Upon seeing them, Grandma Zhao was on the verge of tears, and several times she hesitated, unable to speak.

Lin Chaoying took her hands and said, "Grandma Zhao, Wang Ge is in the secret passage under the God of Wishes, but when we went there, he was already dying." Then she took out the key and placed it in the old woman's palm. "We've come today to return the key."

Grandma Zhao didn't say anything more. After taking the key, she silently went back to her room, took out a bankbook, and said, "This is my savings for my funeral. I'm old and don't have the energy. Could you please help me arrange a funeral for him?"

Jiang Chuan Gu pushed the money back and said, "Grandma, you don't need to pay for this. We will take care of it."

"Yes, yes, yes." Grandma Zhao lowered her head and wiped away her tears. "You must call me, call me so I can see this child one last time!"

The two agreed.

Lin Chaoying didn't know how to comfort this nearly 100-year-old woman, so she could only keep patting her back, trying to soothe the scars left by time on her body.

Even as she left, she never asked about the secret passage. For the old man guarding the secret, if the other party doesn't bring it up, it's like a mountain you can't pry open, because it hides not only secrets but also unspeakable memories.

Lin Chaoying and Jiang Chuan Gu called on Qian Fei to decide to go down the secret passage again.

The three arrived at the River God Temple once again. The police had cordoned off the area, and the scene was not as lively as usual. However, the whole village was surprisingly harmonious, and there were more smiles among the villagers than usual.

Jiangchuan Valley noticed a familiar figure sitting under a tree next to the River God Temple and said, "Wang Fei is there."

"Oh my god, what will happen to this little girl?" Qian Fei said, heartbroken. "Her mother is dead, and her father has been taken away for murder..."

Lin Chaoying said, "I want to chat with her for a while first. Why don't you buy two flashlights? And let Qin Ming know so we can go down directly."

Jiang Chuan Gu and Qian Fei: "Okay."

Wang Fei sat under a tree, staring blankly at the bustling River God Temple, when suddenly an ice cream appeared in front of her.

Lin Chaoying smiled and handed it to her, "Are you hot? Want to cool off?"

"Thank you." Wang Fei's eyes instantly reddened. She clutched the ice cream tightly, her trembling hands clumsily tearing open the plastic bag. She lowered her head to hide her emotions and said in a deliberately lighthearted tone, "It's very sweet."

Lin Chaoying, with ice cream in her mouth, remained silent for a long time before slowly asking, "What are your plans for the future?"

Wang Fei wiped away her tears, "Let's continue going to school."

Lin Chaoying asked softly, "How much is the tuition?"

"Hmm?" Wang Fei turned to look at her, forcing herself to keep a straight face, and smiled at her, "Does my sister want to take care of me?"

"Hmm..." Lin Chaoying pretended to think for a moment, then shook her head and said magnanimously, "It's not about being kept, it's just tuition fees, I can easily manage!"

Wang Fei stared at her, tears welling in her eyes, her girlish voice trembling as she said, "Thank you."

The words of comfort felt like cotton stuck in her throat; Lin Chaoying could only hide her discomfort by continuing to eat ice cream and glancing at the other person's expression every now and then. How could she offer comfort? Where should she even begin?

Are you suggesting I relax and that your parents' sins can't be attributed to you? That I still have a bright future?

Or is it true that your parents have always loved you, and you should continue to live well with that love?

Just because her parents are criminals doesn't mean she has to accept the loss of her loved ones.

Lin Chaoying came over just to keep her company, since she had provided clues about Xiao Mei.

Wang Fei said to herself, "My father is not my grandfather's biological son, but his illegitimate son."

Lin Chaoying gave a blank "Ah," and asked, "How did you know?"

“He said that when he was drunk,” Wang Fei continued. “He said that since Grandpa didn’t love him, why did he have him with someone else? Every time Dad got drunk, he would tell me: Dad only loves you. Dad won’t be like Grandpa, who had two children and only favored one. He gave him the position of village chief, and his parents’ love was only for him. Dad only has you, and Dad won’t share his love with anyone else…”

"I cried and begged Dad not to do these things anymore." Wang Fei lowered her eyes, staring at the melted ice cream in her hand, and said softly, "Dad said he had no choice. When I was ten and sick, Dad had already given his life to the River God to save me. He can only keep listening to the River God so that we can live..."

Lin Chaoying understood that the "river god" Wang Shao mentioned must be Chu Tang.

"Sigh..." Wang Fei sighed, nervously licking her lips, her voice trembling as she said, "I just asked the police if they could take me away too, because it's all because I'm sick..."

Lin Chaoying reached out and wiped away her tears, looking at her with pity.

Wang Fei: "I know what my parents have done over the years, the people they killed, the families they ruined. In some people's eyes, they can't even be called human. But they really love me. I've made up my mind. I'm the root of everything. So I will work and study hard, and then come back to continue building Taoyuan Village. I will stay here for the rest of my life to atone for my family's sins and pray that one day I can reunite with my parents."

Thinking of the supernatural crystal within her, Lin Chaoying didn't know how to remind her, whether to advise her to think more positively, or to tell her not to get stuck in a dead end in the future? She couldn't just tell her not to join the Ghost Gate... In the end, all her words boiled down to one sentence: "Wang Fei, I believe in you."

Wang Fei turned around and hugged her, burying her head on Lin Chaoying's shoulder. She didn't cry her heart out, but Lin Chaoying felt that her clothes were soaked.

When Wang Fei left, Lin Chaoying made a pinky promise with her to chat and talk on WeChat every year, and even gave her the address of the Jiazhou B&B, saying, "Come and volunteer during your holidays, and I'll pay you double the market rate!"

Qian Fei sighed, "Just how many good sisters does Lin Chaoying have?"

Jiang Chuan Gu retorted in a conciliatory tone, "I'm not even jealous, and you're jealous?"

Qian Fei sneered and mocked him, "To be honest, when it comes to jealousy, I should be more qualified than you in front of Lin Chaoying."

Jiang Chuangu seemed furious, giving her a disapproving look, then pointed to his shoulder and said, feigning pain, "Why does my shoulder suddenly hurt so much!" As he spoke, he covered his wound with one hand and walked towards Lin Chaoying with a grimaced face.

"What are you pretending for?" Qian Fei, hands on his hips, shouted anxiously, "What a shameless man!"

The three had greeted each other, so when they went down the secret passage, the police helped carry a few lights, and the space, which had been charred black by the fire, was instantly as bright as day.

Qian Fei: "How did you manage to get people out of here? This secret passage is way too narrow!"

Lin Chao-ying: "There is another road, which is wider."

The basement was no different from before. It seemed that the fire had only burned the connecting parts, while the basement remained intact. In the unobstructed space, there were still empty bottles, broken bed boards, and bloodstains and used gauze left behind.

The assisting police officers were also searching around, looking for any new passageways.

Jiangchuan Valley: "To be honest, there's a river not far away. The fact that this person could build a secret chamber under the temple means they must have calculated and dug for a long time."

Lin Chaoying: "Grandma Zhao said that the secret room existed when the gods were alive, which means that this place was likely left by our ancestors?"

Qian Fei: "It doesn't seem like it. If it had been preserved for a hundred years, wouldn't the traces of excavation here be too recent?"

Lin Chaoying looked around and noticed the candles in the four corners. Since there was a light, they were not very effective at illuminating the room. She reached out to pick one up and blow it out when she heard a "boom" sound as a stone struck.

"Ah!" Qian Fei was standing right where the central stone slab mechanism was located, and he fell down uncontrollably.

Jiang Chuan Gu reached out to pull her up, but found that the sunken area slowly began to rise. Qian Fei, who was sitting on the curved surface, was lifted back to the ground, leaving her completely bewildered.

Only then did everyone realize what she was sitting on.

It was a pitch-black coffin.