Chapter 98 Rescue
Ning Xuan pretended to need to use the restroom, and then had Lin Qing accompany her a little further outside.
When they reached a place where there were bushes and grass for cover, Ning Xuan asked Lin Qing to wait outside. She took a few steps inside and, using the bushes and grass for cover, took out the puppet. The moment she took out her storage ring, she cast an invisibility talisman on herself.
Then, Lu Yan sent the puppeteer and Lin Qing back to keep an eye on the village. His plan was to avoid alerting the enemy and wait until nightfall when reinforcements arrived before taking any action.
It's still daytime, and the village is likely patrolled by their own troops, who patrol frequently, so it's inconvenient to move around right now.
After the puppet left with Lin Qing, Ning Xuan immediately applied Swiftness and Lightness Talismans to her body to increase her speed.
After setting up the talisman, Ning Xuan dashed out like an arrow, heading straight for the hidden underground location based on her connection with the paper figure.
Calling it a basement isn't quite accurate. This place was built behind the village, taking advantage of the terrain to be built directly at the foot of the mountain, with a nearly 2-meter-high passage dug inside.
There were several rooms on both sides of the corridor, which were stuffy and dark.
Each room was crammed with very narrow beds, just big enough for one person to sleep on. Almost every bed had a young girl lying naked, with only a few pieces of tattered cloth of indeterminate color covering part of her body.
Then each girl's hands and feet were chained, just like when Ning Xuan could see Jiang Xiaohong. They couldn't even use their hands to get food for themselves. The chains weren't long enough to support them sitting up, so they could only lie down.
Ning Xuan almost stopped in her tracks after just one look, but no, there wasn't time to save the locked-up girls yet; she had to deal with the few beasts inside who were about to commit their acts of misconduct.
In the innermost room, the lights were on, and the girls who had just been kidnapped were tied up and sitting on the floor, huddled together. Almost all of the girls were awake and were crying in fear.
In front of them were several sleazy, fat men, shirtless, teasing a cat, spouting lewd remarks, and discussing with the other men around them which pretty girl to choose first.
Ning Xuan didn't have time to think, and immediately gave each of these beasts several drops of itching medicine.
The anti-itch solution worked almost immediately. The lewd smiles on the men's faces disappeared, replaced by expressions of discomfort. They then began frantically scratching themselves.
Ning Xuan was still not satisfied, so she kicked each of the men, aiming a hard kick at their groin.
Ning Xuan was afraid that she might accidentally stomp someone to death, making it impossible for Lu Yan and the others to interrogate them later, so she deliberately held back her strength. However, this was still enough to make these people suffer. They were all hunched over, wanting to cover their genitals and scratch their itch.
Two others were kicked unconscious. Ning Xuan felt that letting them faint would be too easy for the other party, so she used a little healing magic to wake them up.
The girls present were both surprised and delighted. They were delighted that they would not be violated for the time being, but they were also surprised by how horrifying the situation was. Of course, some of them thought it might be divine intervention, but in this day and age, they always remembered not to speak carelessly. Even if they thought that way in their hearts, they still did not say it out loud.
The girls were still crying, but now it was a cry of relief, as if they had survived a disaster.
Ning Xuan felt that it was a waste of time for Lu Yan and the others to wait until night, so she decided to speed up the process so that she could save the girls here as soon as possible.
The guards outside heard the shouts of the men and exchanged lewd glances, then chuckled knowingly.
Ning Xuan quickly gave each of them a drop of itching water. Time was of the essence, so she gave each of them a drop to incapacitate them.
Before she came out, she had already used her spiritual power to loosen the ropes on the girls' ropes. If they wanted to escape, they could escape with a little more struggle.
After they ran out, Lu Yan saw the commotion and had no choice but to act ahead of schedule.
However, in order to prevent the villagers from using force to suppress and harm these innocent girls, she decided to first remove the village's military force.
From the man inside to the gatekeeper, Ning Xuan activated her X-ray vision while frantically spraying itching medicine.
Fortunately, she now possesses spiritual power and has a water spiritual root, so she has very precise control over these potions, enough for just one drop per person.
Whenever Ning Xuan saw anyone in the village who could move freely, regardless of gender or age, she would first apply a drop of itching medicine to them. Then, if she saw anyone carrying a gun, she would cripple the person carrying that weapon.
Those who were nearby also had their hands crippled.
Ning Xuan was very fast. In less than 20 minutes, she had disarmed more than 600 people in the village who were able to move freely. Although it looked very strange, no one would guess that she was the one in charge.
So Ning Xuan didn't care about all that; saving lives was the priority. Because her spiritual power was limited, she couldn't save so many people at once. She could only use the potion to knock people out first, and then, once Lu Yan and the others made their move, she would take advantage of the chaos to cast the Rejuvenation spell on those with more serious injuries.
After Ning Xuan had just taken down the last person, the girl who had just been captured in the basement had already broken free of her ropes and was running out of the village.
Meanwhile, Zhao Cheng and his companions, perched in the trees on the outskirts of the village, also noticed the villagers suddenly acting strangely, scratching their ears and cheeks.
Zhao Cheng recognized the girl who ran out as one of the girls who had been arrested; she looked very familiar.
Fortunately, Ning Xuan removed the village's armed forces; otherwise, the girls would have been in danger at any time if they had run away like this.
Zhao Cheng and his men also realized something was wrong. They didn't have time to wait for reinforcements and quickly ran into the village.
While everyone was running forward, Ning Xuan deliberately found cover and quickly switched places with the puppet.
Then he pulled a roll of rope from his backpack. "These people are probably all poisoned. Let's tie them up while they can't move."
Lu Yan nodded, and at the same time, Lin Qing quickly ran to the girl who had escaped.
"Don't be afraid, we're here to rescue you. Stop here and rest while we tie these people up."
Qian Xiaoyu was one of the girls Ning Xin placed the paper figures in, and she was also the first of the group to wake up. She was in good physical condition. Although she hadn't eaten for several meals, she could still run. Behind her were quite a few other girls who supported each other and slowly made their way outside.
Qian Xiaoyu said anxiously, "You guys need to get over there quickly, there are many people over there who need to be rescued, they are all women."
Then, he leaned closer to Lin Qing and whispered, "Could you let the women go over there first? The girls over there who were arrested before us aren't wearing any clothes."
Lin Qing was horrified and quickly reported to Lu Yan, saying he wanted to take Ning Xuan there to rescue her.
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A new chapter
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Lu Yan understood Lin Qing's implication and agreed without saying a word.
Lu Yan and Zhao Cheng continued to tie people up, while Ning Xuan and Lin Qing followed Qian Xiaoyu toward the back of the village. After walking for a while, they found groups of girls supporting each other.
Ning Xuan then pretended to take out some cookies from her bag and let the girls share them and have a couple of bites.
Ning Xuan already knew the location, but she could only pretend not to know the way and let Qian Xiaoyu and the others lead the way.
Apart from Qian Xiaoyu, the others were too weak and unwilling to go back to that terrifying place. Hearing that someone had come to rescue them, the girls stayed where they were and waited for rescue, while Ning Xuan and the other two went to the basement to rescue people.
Qian Xiaoyu was probably still very scared; her voice was trembling.
“They were all locked up. We were probably just captured and hadn’t been locked up yet. We were tied up with ropes. The men suddenly collapsed for some reason. We broke free of the ropes and escaped. Then we saw a lot of girls who were locked up.”
Lin Qing's veins bulged as he listened, and Ning Xuan, even though she had witnessed it firsthand, was still furious upon hearing it again.
The three of them quickened their pace. Seeing that Qian Xiaoyu seemed to be running out of energy, Ning Xuan carried her on her back and took out a biscuit for her to eat while pointing out the way.
Qian Xiaoyu was very hungry, but she could only eat two bites of biscuits before she couldn't eat anything else. Ning Xuan then took out a military water bottle from her bag, but she still only drank two sips.
Ning Xuan guessed that she probably had no appetite right now. Although she was very hungry, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to eat anything after just experiencing something like this.
Ning Xuan didn't try to persuade her to eat it.
With Ning Xuan carrying Qian Xiayu, the three of them moved much faster and soon arrived at the back mountain.
Those guards were not only drugged by Ning Xuan, but they were also kicked down, though they were still conscious enough to experience the effects of the drug.
Seeing this, Lin Qing didn't dare to be careless and quickly tied up the people with the rope in his hand.
After everyone was tied up and put inside, Lin Qing, who was seeing this scene for the first time, immediately had tears in her eyes, feeling both heartache and anger.
However, all these rooms were locked with iron bars.
Ning Xuan no longer needed to hide it, since Lin Qing already knew she was stronger.
She said directly to Lin Qing, "Didn't Xiao Yu say there were a few men inside? Lin Qing, go and tie them up too, I'll unlock them."
Without turning his head, he pried open the iron gate with his bare hands.
The girl inside, however, did not show any excitement; instead, she appeared numb or frightened.
Ning Xuan said softly, "Don't be afraid, we're from the authorities, we've come to rescue you."
While speaking to comfort the girls, Ning Xuan kept her hands busy, breaking one chain after another with her bare hands.
She didn't stare at the girls or show any sympathy, afraid that it would make them feel worse. So Ning Xuan focused on unlocking the locks and kept telling them that she was there to save them and that they shouldn't be afraid.
She couldn't take out the clothes, so she could only make the girls continue to be wrapped in the old rags. After opening all the locks, Ning Xuan planned to pretend to run to the houses in the village to search for clothes and give them to the girls to wear.
Qian Xiaoyu didn't have the strength to unlock the door, but she still helped the girls up. Perhaps because they had been lying down for a long time and hadn't received proper care in terms of food, the girls had bedsores on their backs and didn't have much strength.
Seeing that the chains that had bound them for so long were finally broken and their hands and feet were freed, the rescued girls couldn't help but cry one after another. Even the girl who had been expressionless before had a look of life coming back to her.
Some of the girls may have arrived later than the others, so after being rescued, they started talking to Ning Xuan and telling her about their experiences there.
"They're not human. Almost every day, many people come, one after another, and they torment us."
"Once we were locked up, we had no freedom. They would just pour cold water on us, that was how they took a bath."
"They didn't wash me after rinsing me with water, they just let time pass. My body and the bed dried, but my lower body had been soaked in water for so long that it had already rotted!"
"If they get pregnant, they'll be taken away. We don't know where those pregnant women are sent, or whether those children will be born."
"Every few days, people come to brainwash us, telling us that if we join them and genuinely love Japan, they'll let us go out and move around freely, but we have to prove ourselves with the life of one of our compatriots."
"They are beasts!"
...
After Ning Xuan rescued all the girls, she counted them. Including Qian Xiaoyu and the others who had just arrived, there were more than 300 people. They were locked up in this dark and dreary basement without any dignity, and had to endure the torture of those beasts every day.
Furthermore, to prevent them from committing suicide, their mouths were always gagged. The gags could be removed briefly during mealtimes, but someone would be watching the room. If anyone dared to commit suicide, the girl next to her would also be killed.
The girls who were brought here are mostly kind-hearted. They don't want to harm their fellow countrymen, nor do they want to cause their fellow countrymen to lose their lives because of them, so most of them just grit their teeth and endure it.
Some of them betrayed their compatriots after harming them, and were allowed to move freely outside the village. Then they became their persuaders, coming every few days to brainwash them.
This was something Ning Xuan hadn't heard from Liang Zhicheng. They were supposed to have each person in charge and a team responsible for a specific area and some tasks. Liang Zhicheng was responsible for sending people here, and he had no right to know the specific arrangements for those who arrived.
It seems we need to start with the people here. Where did those pregnant girls go? They must have other hideouts.
However, this time Lu Yan and his team will be needed to conduct the interrogation, while Ning Xuan can provide truth-telling potions and puppet potions from the shadows.
Lin Qing tied up several people much faster than Ning Xuan unlocked so many locks. After tying them up, she helped them up, just like Qian Xiaoyu. The small bed they were lying on was in very poor condition.
But they weren't dressed right now, so it wasn't convenient for them to go out. We could only help them sit up and lean against something for the time being.
Ning Xuan finally unlocked all the locks, and asked Lin Qing to stay here and watch over things while she went to the village to gather some clothes.
Lu Yan and Zhao Cheng were also quick. When Ning Xuan arrived at the house at the very edge of the village, she saw that they had already tied everyone up and gathered them in an open space.
The way they tied their ropes was very special; these people were tied together back to back, and even if they could grab each other's hands, they couldn't untie the ropes.
When Lu Yan saw Ning Xuan, he ran over and asked, "How's it going over there?"
"I've already unlocked all the chains binding them, but we still need some clothes. I'd like to search the houses in the village first and make do with what we have. We'll prepare other clothes for them once your people arrive."
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