underground cave

Qin Ming and Qian Fei left the courtyard again. Under the moonlight, they walked through the dimly lit passageway, headed north at the fork in the road, crossed two gates, and found a separate house with flickering light shining from inside.

Lin Chaoying and Jiang Chuan Gu stayed in the room with Kong Yue.

Less than half an hour later, a photo of Qin Ming was sent to the group chat, along with a series of names, ending with Wu Liang, and below Wu Liang was Wu Yang.

"Is this a family tree?" Lin Chaoying said, zooming in on several names. "Wu Liang's spouse is listed as Mei Shuang? Isn't his wife's surname Tang?"

"Mei Shuang?" Kong Yue pondered for a moment, then said, "Mei Shuang is from Twelfth Street?"

Lin Chaoying and Jiang Chuan Gu: "Huh?"

Kong Yue said incredulously, "There was indeed a person named Mei Shuang in Twelfth Street more than ten years ago. Later, when I joined Twelfth Street, she was going through the process of leaving the company. My teacher told me that Mei Shuang's medical skills were amazing, and her superpowers were also top secret. She was a role model for the younger generation in Twelfth Street. I remember her very well."

Lin Chaoying: "If it really is one person, would the people of Twelve Street be involved with the Ghost Gate?"

Kong Yue: "I don't know either."

Jiangchuan Valley: "Maybe the Wu Liang of today isn't really Wu Liang."

Lin Chaoying: "That's true."

"That's not right." Lin Chaoying realized and sent a message in the group: [Where did you guys find the book? Is it so easy to get into the ancestral hall? Is it so easy to find the family genealogy?]

Qin Ming: [The offerings are on the table? Only the lights are on here; there's no one here.]

Lin Chaoying: "How strange, it feels like someone is guiding us."

Before I could think further, a knock came at the door, accompanied by the distant sound of wind chimes. In the night, the two sounds played like music; when the bell rang, the knocking softened, and when the bell stopped, the knocking became louder...

Lin Chaoying looked at the door warily. "It's so late, and we've already turned off the lights. Why are you knocking on the door?"

Jiangchuan Valley: "I'll go. You guys stay in the room."

Lin Chaoying: "Be careful."

Jiangchuan Valley leisurely put on his bathrobe, opened his umbrella, and slowly pushed open the door, only to be met by a pair of reflective glasses.

Butler Zhang, still forcing a smile, took out a bottle of clear spray and said, "Mr. Jiang, it's raining heavily and damp. I'm worried about mosquito bites at night, so I've brought you some insect repellent."

Jiang Chuan Gu said irritably, "With such a big yard, don't you hire a professional to repel mosquitoes? Why do you have to knock on the door in the middle of the night to deliver them?" Another sound of wind chimes mingled with the sound of rain, making his head spin.

Butler Zhang bowed slightly to express his apology and said, "I'm sorry to disturb your rest. Would you like me to go in and help everyone with their rinsing?"

Jiang Chuan Gu's vision began to blur. He gripped the doorframe with one hand and said impatiently, "No, no, I want to sleep!"

As soon as the door closed, he leaned against the wall, rubbing his eyes and blinking repeatedly, trying to clear his head. Accompanied by the continuous ringing of the wind chimes, he locked the door in frustration, returned to his room, and casually tossed the insect repellent in his hand aside.

Lin Chaoying stepped forward to support him, "Are you alright?"

Kong Yue grasped his wrist to take his pulse. There was nothing abnormal. She said, "The pulse is fine. I wonder if there's anything wrong with the wind chimes."

The noise came from the empty courtyard next door again. Kong Yue lowered her voice and said, "They're gone? Did they really come here in the middle of the night just to have an affair?"

Lin Chaoying felt uneasy. "Let Qin Ming and Qian Fei come back tonight. Tomorrow, we'll take the keys and check each room again. Something feels off tonight."

"I heard it!" Kong Yue exclaimed, pulling back the curtains as if on cue.

Lin Chaoying: "What? What did you hear?"

Kong Yue: "Cen Ting's voice was very soft, coming from the neighboring courtyard."

Lin Chaoying and Jiang Chuangu were puzzled. The house across the street was empty, so how could there be a sound? Unexpectedly, light was indeed coming from the room in the outer courtyard across the street, through the courtyard wall.

Jiang Chuan Gu asked in confusion, "That's not right. When we went into that house just now, it was completely locked inside?"

Lin Chaoying sent a message in the group chat: [Reply immediately, there's something unusual in the empty yard next door, suspected to be a small team!]

Kong Yue: "I really heard it, a very faint and soft cry for help! It was definitely Cen Ting's voice!"

Lin Chaoying comforted her, saying, "Qian Fei and the others will be back soon. Don't worry, let's discuss it together."

Everything tonight felt eerie. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, as if an invisible hand was pushing things along, compelling the five of them to pay attention to the empty courtyard next door...

Jiang Chuan Gu paused for ten minutes. "There must be something wrong with the wind chimes. I feel completely confused, and the louder the sound, the more panicked I feel."

panic?

Indeed, Lin Chaoying also felt it. Tonight, she was also filled with a lot of panic. Usually, she was used to focusing on things and doubts, but tonight she was uncontrollably afraid and worried.

"Crack—crack—bang—" A loud crash came from next door, as metal objects struck the ground and the door was smashed open.

Hearing the commotion, the three people inside rushed out. From next door came Qin Ming's distraught voice, "Are you crazy! Qian Fei!"

Lin Chaoying and Kong Yue ran out of the courtyard, and Jiang Chuangu took the opportunity to put on the backpack he had prepared in advance. Inside were some small tools. Ever since he was trapped in the River God Temple last time, he had been worried that the problem would happen again, so he had taken extra precautions and always carried the backpack on his body in case of emergency.

Qian Fei frantically searched the brightly lit room, finally spotting a bracelet in the corner by the bed. "It's Cen Ting's! It was given to her by her mother for her eighteenth birthday! She's right here!"

Without a second thought, he swung the knife at the bed. The moment the wooden planks broke, a hidden mechanism activated, and the bed planks creaked and moved away, revealing a dark pit. Without any hesitation, Qian Fei jumped down.

Qin Ming stepped forward and grabbed the hem of her clothes, but was pulled down into the room along with her.

"What are you doing!" Lin Chaoying panicked and tried to grab him, but because there was no support, she was also caught in the throes.

Seeing this, Jiang Chuan Gu dared not leave Kong Yue alone. Without saying a word, he pushed her, and the five of them fell into darkness like dumplings being dropped into a pot. The bed board slowly closed, and a smiling woman stood in the courtyard.

"Pfft—" Lin Chaoying swallowed a mouthful of dirt and fell, hitting the rocks on either side. She was dizzy and saw stars.

Qian Fei, who was standing next to him, groped his way up from the wall. "How did I get here?"

Qin Ming lay on the ground, cursing loudly, "Qian Fei! Are you crazy! What are you doing!"

Qian Fei stared blankly at his teammate's contorted body on the ground, "I really don't know!"

Lin Chaoying sighed, "It's probably the wind chimes' fault too. Everyone's been acting strange tonight." She turned around and called out, "Kong Yue! What are you doing down here!"

Kong Yue covered her head and accused, "Jiang Chuan Gu threw me down!"

“I want to go with you…” Jiang Chuan Gu said helplessly, “I can’t leave Kong Yue alone, so let’s go together.”

Qin Ming: "Stop talking about that, let's figure out a way to get out of here!"

Qian Fei was still clutching Cen Ting's bracelet in his hand. "Cen Ting might really have been here. This is her bracelet!"

Jiang Chuan Gu was glad he had brought his tool bag. He took out two small flashlights and handed one to Qin Ming. The moment the beam of light came out, he was finally able to see his surroundings. He saw that there was a new path in the darker depths ahead. When he looked back for the entrance where he had fallen, he found that it was locked tightly.

It seems they have no choice but to continue into the darkness.

Lin Chao-ying: "I feel like someone lured us here."

Qian Fei: "After guessing and guessing, I think everyone here has something going on! Maybe they're all superhumans from the Ghost Gate!"

They each put one arm around the shoulder of the person in front of them, forming a line. Qin Ming led the way, followed by Qian Fei, Kong Yue, Lin Chaoying, and Jiang Chuangu brought up the rear. The group cautiously made their way forward.

A rustling, crawling sound came from afar, like something wriggling along the walls and the ground like a snake. Lin Chaoying felt her hearing suddenly improve and said, "Something's coming!"

Qin Ming stopped in his tracks. "Are we directly ahead?"

“That’s right!” Lin Chaoying didn’t know what was on the other side. “It’s close to the ground, spreading out rapidly, like… a snake…”

Qian Fei's ankle was entangled by something as thick as a finger. She suddenly exerted force forward and fell to the ground with a thud, being dragged away from Qin Ming. Her five fingers gripped the wall, and the knife in her right hand was firmly embedded in the ground. In an instant, Qian Fei used all her strength to sit up, flipped in the air, and used the knife to cut the strange 'snake' in half with her backhand.

Qin Ming didn't have time to grab Qian Fei. His flashlight was tucked into his waistband, and countless things, resembling ropes or snakes, shot out from the air. He rolled up his trouser leg, drew his dagger, and the cold glint of its blade reflected his fierce eyes. With a swift movement, he severed the opponent's attack, sending numerous hard objects crashing to the ground. "Trees?"

Lin Chaoying pulled Kong Yue away, saw the attack coming towards her, and turned to the side to close the mechanism from her sleeve and take out a hidden arrow. Jiang Chuangu used a stick to stir in the air, using their strength to entangle several foreign objects together. Lin Chaoying quickly cut them off with an arrowhead.

Qian Fei and Qin Ming stood at the forefront, resolving most of the troubles, while Lin Chaoying and Jiang Chuangu protected Kong Yue from behind and cooperated with them.

Kong Yue: "Are these tree branches mutated? Or are they controlled by superhumans?"

Qin Ming tried to use his supernatural abilities, but found that his mental strength was still insufficient, so he could only continue to use his dagger to stop the endless stream of branches.

In an instant, all the branches retreated, slowly standing upright in the air like people. Qian Fei held up his knife warily, and Qin Ming raised his flashlight. In the dim light, more than a dozen branches twisted in the air, and the tips of the branches bulged little by little, actually growing countless leaves.

Qian Fei: "What are you doing? Performing a show?"

Qin Ming: "Are you telling a lame joke?"

The leaves grew more and more lush, each one the size of a palm, and instantly rushed towards the unsuspecting Qian Fei. "Slap—" The loud sound of a slap was particularly jarring in the silence.

"You son of a bitch!" Qian Fei was so angry that he leaped up and slashed at them horizontally in mid-air with his knife.

The branches that had sprouted leaves were even more difficult to deal with, being both troublesome and sharp. Lin Chaoying and Jiang Chuangu were already struggling to keep up with them from behind, let alone facing an even larger number of Qin Ming and Qian Fei in front of them.

"I have fire!" Jiangchuan Valley shouted.

Lin Chaoying: "Everyone hide on the right side!"

Qian Fei grabbed a branch and tied it horizontally to bind countless branches in the air. The flexible branches in the sky turned into a huge bunch of twisted branches. Qin Ming stepped forward to help control them. Lin Chaoying tore off a few branches that were not tied with her bare hands. Jiang Chuangu aimed and threw a burning match into the air.

The firelight illuminated the entire cave, crackling and popping as it burned, quickly receding and leaving behind a ground littered with withered branches and leaves.