Because she had been waiting outside for so long, everyone had been waiting for her for quite a while when she finally went in.
As soon as she entered the room, everyone's eyes turned to her.
Yan Qing noticed that besides their group, there was only an elderly man who looked to be in his fifties with a goatee and a dignified appearance. He was the Third Elder who had presided over the wedding ceremony of the Falling Flower Cave girl.
"Nana, you're here."
The old man looked at her, a smile appearing on his face. He waved to Yan Qing.
"Nana, come with me. The rest of you, stay where you are."
When the old man said this, apart from Zhang Xinxin who remained in a daze, the other three all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that being called upon is not a good thing.
Yan Qing followed the old man, subtly noting down the route they took. In contrast to the eerie and terrifying atmosphere outside, the main hall of the small building was surprisingly simply furnished and quite bright.
The walls of the room were covered with colorful murals depicting the process of Yaksha, the leader of the Eight Heavenly Dragons, suppressing and subduing the Nine Hells. Beside her, on the wall, was a huge black disc on which countless people were running frantically. Behind the disc was a huge stone millstone, which was spinning rapidly toward the crowd in front of it.
If someone who runs slowly is crushed by a stone, they will immediately turn into a mangled mess of flesh and blood, a gruesome sight too terrible to behold.
Yan Qing couldn't help but gasp, then saw the old man leading the way suddenly turn around, smiling as he spoke.
"What, Nana, are you still afraid of the mural on the wall? Actually, you don't need to worry, it's just a painting."
Although Yan Qing wasn't frightened, she subtly flinched slightly.
"You're joking. I'm just a little timid."
The old man laughed, "You little rascal, you're still exactly the same as when you were a child! I still remember the first time you came back with your older brother, you were so scared when you saw me that you cried!"
Yan Qing touched her head but didn't reply.
The old man suddenly sighed, "Alas, the girl I originally favored in Falling Flower Cave was always you! But what did you do? You secretly went to university and there was no news of you for three years—if it weren't for that, Xin Xin—alas!"
The old man, the Third Elder, suddenly stopped in front of a wall and began to knock on it seemingly casually.
The tapping sounded very regular, varying in length, and she immediately realized what it was.
"This is—Morse code!"
Yan Qing kept her head down, but her ears were on high alert. She dared not miss a single word the Third Elder said.
"The prey has arrived; the twelve gates open."
These were the words that the Third Elder had just typed out. She was now absolutely certain that the Third Elder did not have any good intentions towards her!
After the Third Elder finished striking, he stood there with his hands clasped.
Not long after, a small door suddenly opened in the wall behind Yan Qing, about the width of one person, and it was brightly lit inside.
"Let's go."
The Third Elder took the lead and went in first, followed by Yan Qing. She quietly wiped her face in an inconspicuous place before slowly walking in herself.
The small door led to a very narrow passage, barely wide enough for one person to pass sideways. Not only that, but it was also extremely low. She could still manage to stand upright, but the Third Elder in front of her could only walk in a half-squatting position, having to turn sideways – it must have been incredibly uncomfortable for him.
Yan Qing's hand unconsciously brushed against the wall; she could feel that the wall was getting increasingly damp. Could there be a large water source nearby?
As you walk further, water droplets begin to seep from the walls, and the air is filled with a thick mist, mixed with the smell of green algae and seafood.
Now she was even more certain.
The two walked downhill, one after the other. Finally, they arrived at a huge stone slab, where the Third Elder stopped.
"Nana, come here—" He turned and beckoned to Yan Qing, leading her to an elderly man with white hair standing in front of the stone slab, and introduced him.
"This is the Grand Elder. Nana, this is probably your first time meeting him. You can just call him Ancestor."
Yan Qing nodded obediently, "Greetings, Ancestor!"
"Hmm, not bad, not bad." The elder smiled and stroked his beard. Although he looked to be almost a hundred years old, his voice sounded like that of a young man, incredibly youthful.
Yan Qing looked up. Why did that voice sound so familiar?
The elder looked at her with a smile, "Nana, have you been comfortable these past few years studying away from home?" Although he said it with a smile, Yan Qing did not miss the cold glint in his eyes.
So she lowered her head and said, "I study away from home on my own and I also have to work part-time. I can't say whether it's good or bad."
"In that case, why don't you stay here? As a member of the Zhang family, the old house is your eternal home."
Something about this sentence sounds a little strange.
Before Yan Qing could react, the First Elder came over carrying a wooden tray from the stone slab behind him.
On the wooden tray was a white cloth, and above the cloth were three long lancets. However, unlike ordinary lancets, the bottoms of these three lancets seemed to be connected to a small, tube-shaped object that looked like gold but wasn't. It faintly revealed a bluish-gold color.
Yan Qing looked at the three long lancets and instinctively wanted to run away.
The elder smiled and beckoned to her again, "Nana, come here."
Yan Qing had no choice but to walk over.
The elder took a lancet from the tray and pricked it into her index finger, then squeezed her finger repeatedly. Bright red blood flowed through the lancet into the small metal tube at the back.
The metal tube, which looked to be only about one milliliter in size, gradually turned from its original grayish-blue-gold color to a bright gold as blood continued to flow in, shimmering with an eerie red light.
Yan Qing glanced at it; the white cloth on the tray was slightly curled up at the edges, as if something was underneath. So, she spoke up.
"Elder, I'll take care of the rest myself."
The Grand Elder was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected her to agree so readily. So he also agreed.
"Okay, it seems that Nana, you really are a thoughtful and good child."
Yan Qing put away the first lancet and then went to get the second one. She accidentally tugged at the white cloth, but quickly put it away again.
The second lancet was successfully filled, then the third one...
"Elder, I'm done." Yan Qing put all the blood collection needles back on the white cloth, turned to face Elder Da, and looked as obedient as could be.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
