057

"Ah..." Her voice was so terrified that she tripped over her skirt and almost fell.

The masked man indeed reached out and helped her up.

Right now!

Qin Sang suddenly turned around and reached out to grab the masked man's white mask...

The mask was removed, but unfortunately, there was still a layer of wrinkled skin underneath.

Qin Sang laughed in exasperation, threw away the mask, and clapped her hands: "Just how afraid are you of having your true face revealed? Why are you covering it up with layer after layer? Do we know each other?"

The masked man smiled, silently praising Qin Sang.

At this moment, Xie Suian also broke through the encirclement and, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, grabbed Qin Sang and ran. Qin Sang originally wanted to say a few more words to get some information, but Xie Suian used his strength to pull her almost flying.

"You... slow down."

In their panic, the two ran aimlessly along the island's winding paths. Because the island was full of trees, exotic flowers and plants, and strange rocks, after a few detours, the pursuers gradually disappeared.

Both of them were skilled in martial arts. After catching their breath, they found two huge rocks, one large and one small, in front of them.

The stones were covered with vines, forming two huge clumps of bushes, one large and one small, which together created a passageway resembling a doorway.

Ahead was a half-wild gravel path leading into the unknown depths of the dense forest.

Seeing that Xie Sui'an was about to leave from here, Qin Sang quickly stopped him: "Take another route, it looks a bit eerie inside."

Upon hearing this, Xie Sui'an turned around and glared at her fiercely: "Now you know fear?"

He desperately wanted to yell at her, to berate her for being heartless, for daring to venture out alone into all sorts of places!

But this was not the time to lose his temper; he was afraid of attracting the attention of those chasing them.

Qin Sang knew she was wrong, so she felt that Xie Sui'an's glare was justified. Since it was justified, she couldn't argue with him. After all, he had risked his life to come to the island to save her.

As if in a fit of pique, Xie Sui'an took her hand and stepped inside.

So they didn't see that on the large rock on the left were two huge red characters carved on it—Forbidden Land.

Unlike other parts of the island, this jungle is not meticulously pruned. It has miscellaneous trees, vines, barren branches and fallen leaves, and only a gravel path and tire tracks on the path prove that people often come here.

"Why don't we turn back?" Qin Sang suggested again. "Why take this back road instead of the main road? I just feel..."

Xie Sui'an didn't even turn his head, and said, "Are you sure you want to go back?"

Qin Sang was naturally curious about what was inside, because the entire Worry-Free Island seemed to have been decorated and renovated everywhere, except for this part, which still retained the island's original state. She was curious about where this path led; she was just a little scared, which was why she kept saying she wanted to go back.

Qin Sang said, "I'll come again next time."

Xie Sui'an secretly rolled his eyes and said fiercely, "Stop talking nonsense." Then he pulled Qin Sang and continued walking inside.

The trees here are lush and dense, blocking out the sun. The path is covered with moss, making it a narrow passage that appears dark and secluded.

The further they walked, the quieter it became; all the sounds of singing and dancing from the island had vanished. The two slowed their pace. Everything in the forest was normal—there was wind, the chirping of insects, and the calls of birds. If it weren't for the somewhat dangerous environment, their walk would probably have been quite pleasant.

They all recalled that when they fell off a cliff in Lixian County and were walking up from the bottom of the cliff, they were in a similar overgrown jungle.

Xie Sui'an wanted to speak, but he was also angry, so he held back. He felt that once he got her out of danger, the first thing he would say was to give her a good scolding.

Unexpectedly, Qin Sang spoke first: "How did you know I was here?" Remembering the name Xie Sui'an she had previously used, she said guiltily, "They really went to the Prime Minister's residence?"

Xie Sui'an glanced at her, giving her a cold look: "How did you know about this place?" Her anger flared, and she raised her voice slightly: "Are you out of your mind?! You came all by yourself to such a dangerous place?!"

Qin Sang explained to him carefully, "It was just a coincidence. I didn't expect this place to be so mysterious. Before coming, I didn't know it was so dangerous. I just thought it was some kind of mysterious restaurant." She glanced at him and could only see his sharply defined jawline taut with anger, his thin lips pressed into a line, which was strangely handsome. She swallowed and said, "Who knew that Worry-Free Island really was an island? So how did you get here? Were you also drugged and sent here?"

Xie Sui'an continued to roll his eyes with a cold expression: "Otherwise what?"

"ah……"

"What do you mean 'huh'? I'd give them ten times the guts to dare touch me!"

"..." Qin Sang hesitated, then changed the subject, "This Worry-Free Island seems to be a huge brothel. It probably houses many high-ranking officials and dignitaries from Kyoto, and not just men, but also quite a few women, as if it caters specifically to noblewomen..."

Speaking of this, Xie Sui'an got angry. Just thinking about how she might have almost been... just like before in Li County, made his chest ache with anger. The anger he had suppressed was reignited and surged into his chest.

He suddenly stopped and turned around, and Qin Sang, caught off guard, bumped into his arms.

Xie Sui'an looked down and gazed deeply into her eyes: "Qin Sang, what exactly do you want to do?"

Qin Sang: "..."

Xie Sui'an: "I don't care what you want to do, just take care of your own life first, okay? Even if you want to do something, it's the rational thing to do is to think things through carefully. If you act blindly like this, you'll die before you even find any clues. I won't be here to save you every time, you know that?"

Qin Sang thought to herself that even if he didn't come to save her, she might not be in any danger. But what did he mean by "not finding any clues yet"? What clues did he think she was looking for?

He blinked and understood. Could it be that he thought he was looking for clues to overturn the case of the original owner's grandfather?

She looked intently at Xie Sui'an's handsome face, which was hovering directly in front of her, her eyes filled with heartache, reproach, and worry... She sighed inwardly and reached out to pat his hand on her shoulder: "I understand, thank you for your concern, brother."

Xie Sui'an's eyelids twitched—elder brother?

Just as she was about to say something, Qin Sang suddenly let out a short, soft "shh".

He had no choice but to shut up and listen attentively.

Sure enough, a very faint sound of wheels rolling over gravel came from deep in the woods ahead.

Qin Sang grabbed his sleeve and pulled him inside.

***

The sound gradually became clearer, accompanied by someone muttering to themselves—

"It's taken so long for just one of these, not even enough for my friends! Sigh, if this keeps up, I'll have to go out and find my own way... Come on, friend, your delicious food is here..."

The sound grew closer and clearer. Fearing discovery, the two found a thick, ancient tree to conceal themselves. However, due to the distance, they could not see what lay ahead.

Xie Sui'an then said, "Don't move here, I'll go up and take a look."

After speaking, he used his lightness skill to leap onto the tree. Qin Sang looked up and saw him land lightly on a branch of the ancient tree.

Xie Suian's gaze pierced through the towering trees and finally locked onto the source of the sound.

It was a huge iron cage, and inside were several enormous... lizards!

An old man with dirty hair and beard was struggling to drag a person from a sidecar. Judging from the way the person's arms and legs were hanging down, it was a dead person.

He frowned slightly. Was this a plan to have people feed the lizards?

Sure enough, the old man carried the corpse on his shoulder and climbed the wooden steps next to the cage step by step. When he reached the top of the iron cage, he squatted down and used a key to open the cage door.

Below, a monitor lizard wagged its tail and walked to the doorway, tilting its head back in anticipation of its food.

With a "bang," the old man threw the body down.

The giant lizard seized the corpse in its jaws, its massive mouth biting down on the head, upper body, waist, and buttocks, swallowing it bit by bit.

Xie Sui'an endured the immense nausea as he watched the person being swallowed bit by bit from head to toe until even the feet were no longer visible.

The old man contentedly pulled out his pipe from his waist, stuffed it with tobacco, lit it with a tinderbox, and began to puff away, nodding as he did so: "Alright, that'll last me another month." With that, he leisurely descended the wooden stairs.

But halfway there, a sharp gaze suddenly shot towards Xie Suian's direction.

Xie Sui'an quickly concealed himself, falling to the ground like a light, drifting leaf.

Qin Sang didn't rush to ask, but just looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Xie Sui'an's mind was filled with the scene of the lizard devouring a human body, and his stomach was churning so badly that he couldn't speak for a moment.

He walked to Qin Sang's side, brought his nose close to Qin Sang's shoulder, and took a few deep breaths to suppress the nausea.

"Don't look," he forced out two words, "There are dead people."

Seeing his pale face, Qin Sang asked, "What did you see? A mass grave?"

Xie Sui'an shook his head, then grabbed her wrist: "Let's go!"

Then they heard the sound of wind breaking behind them.

Xie Sui'an dodged the palm strike from behind with a quick movement. The old man had indeed noticed him!

He pushed Qin Sang aside and began sparring with the old man himself. The old man was just a corpse handler, and quite old. Although his martial arts skills were not bad, Xie Sui'an could still handle him.

The two exchanged blows bare-handed for dozens of rounds. Qin Sang saw that he was gaining a slight advantage, so she felt relieved. Remembering how unpleasant Xie Sui'an's expression had been earlier, she was determined to go and see for herself.

Since there was only one person there, and they had fought for a while without any reinforcements, Qin Sang figured there was no one there now, so she took off running into the deep forest.

Seeing this, the old man chuckled as he continued to fight: "Where did this little thief come from, daring to trespass into the forbidden area of ​​Worry-Free Island? Do you think you're too lucky?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Sui'an retorted, "Hmph, you've been aiding and abetting evil. The outside area is already under the control of the government troops, and you're the only one left struggling here!"

Upon hearing this, the old man paused, and Xie Sui'an seized the opportunity, striking down with a palm and knocking him to the ground.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Clutching his chest, he cursed, "You little brat, you dare to lie to me!" and ran backward.

At this moment, Qin Sang had already run to the iron cage containing the lizards. She did not see the corpses, but only several huge lizards lying lazily inside the cage.

Those beasts were longer than people, their bodies wrinkled and covered with an unsightly layer of skin. A huge stench of decay wafted over with each gust of wind. Qin Sang quickly covered her nose with her sleeve: "What is that? It smells awful!"

Just then, the old man ran back and chuckled when he saw Qin Sang: "What's so smelly about it? You ignorant little girl, if you accidentally barged in, get out of here right now, or I'll drag you in and feed you to the snakes!"

Qin Sang saw that his breathing was unsteady and there was blood at the corner of his mouth, so she knew that he was injured.

He refused to fight them, only wanting to scare them away.

But seeing that his gaze kept glancing at the thatched hut next to him, Qin Sang became wary. She took two steps back, walked to the side of the hut to block his view, and said, "Just now, you weren't feeding your beasts corpses, were you? People who are accidentally killed on this island are all brought here for disposal?"

At this moment, Xie Suian also arrived, and the two of them formed a pincer movement against the old man.

The old man turned around, glanced at Xie Sui'an, and smiled.

Just as Xie Suian realized something was off about the laughter, he saw the old man raise his hand, put his finger to his lips, and suck out a strange whistling sound.

The whistle sounded eerie, with a distinctly exotic tone.

As soon as the whistle sounded, countless hissing sounds came from the thatched hut behind Qin Sang.

Xie Sui'an's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "Qin Sang, come here!"

Qin Sang immediately picked up a dry branch from the ground, ran a few steps forward, and then turned back to defend herself.

Looking at the thatched hut now, it was gradually being covered by tiny lizards! And with the old man's whistle, countless lizards were poised to pounce and launch themselves at Qin Sang!

Goosebumps suddenly rose on her skin. While waving a branch to shield herself, she caught a glimpse of the small lizards that had fallen to the ground, which were moving faster than snakes and rapidly gathering in their direction!

Qin Sang: "Run!"

At this moment, the old man who was blowing the whistle took the opportunity to climb up the wooden steps next to the iron cage, looking down from above and blowing the whistle continuously.

Xie Suian frowned, pulled a hidden dagger from his boot, and threw it at a nearby tree branch. A moment later, the wrist-thick branch fell, and Xie Suian caught it with one hand and ran to catch Qin Sang.

He caught her, put his arm around her waist, spun her around, and placed her behind him. Then, he swung the huge tree branch, creating a powerful gust of wind, and flung away a large number of lizards that were rushing towards him.

"These lizards are probably poisonous, be careful," Qin Sang warned.

Xie Sui'an focused intently on sweeping away the little beasts in the sky and on the ground, but he saw that those crawling from the ground were already close to him, and he could only keep retreating.

But the eerie whistling continued, and more and more lizards appeared. Qin Sang looked up and saw the old man, thinking he had the upper hand, beginning to stroll leisurely down the slope.

He pursed his lips, walked to the iron cage, and smiled as he pulled out a key from his waist. It seemed there was another door there.

He's going to release the monitor lizard!

"Quick! Stop him!" Xie Sui'an said with difficulty.

Qin Sang didn't need his reminder; she had already taken advantage of the time Xie Sui'an was dealing with the lizard to squat down and fill her purse with pebbles. Seeing that the old man had taken out the key, she used a handful of pebbles as throwing weapons, swish, swish, swish... forcing the old man to retreat.

At the same time, she lunged forward, grabbed a dry tree branch and brandished it like a sword, then charged straight at the old man!