Is it because they underwent special training?
Or is it just a sixth sense?
Regardless of the possibility, it made Xu Xinghe extremely vigilant.
This Shiwa Village is far more dangerous than she imagined!
Every second you wait increases the risk.
However, there are still many things she hasn't investigated clearly.
After a moment's thought, Xu Xinghe made up her mind to stay one last night.
Tonight, thoroughly explore every corner of the cave. Regardless of whether we find any more clues, we must leave first thing tomorrow morning, or let Yi'an go ahead alone.
Her survival measures ensured she wouldn't die, but they couldn't guarantee the survival of a second person.
Night fell again.
Shiwa Village was completely silent.
During dinner, Xu Xinghe used the same trick again, secretly adding a large amount of sleeping pills to the dishes while serving the couple.
The two remained completely unsuspecting and finished their meal while chatting and laughing.
Xu Xinghe pretended to be sleepy and went back to her room early, but actually sat quietly by the kang (a heated brick bed), listening intently to the sounds outside.
Only when the courtyard was completely silent, and she guessed that the drug had taken effect, did she quietly get up and first sneak to the door of the man and his wife's room.
Pushing open a crack in the window, one could see the two sleeping soundly, their breathing even, and they didn't react at all even when their hands were waved in front of their eyes.
Xu Xinghe breathed a sigh of relief and turned to walk towards Yi An's room.
She knocked gently on the door, and Yi An's hushed voice immediately came from inside, "Who is it?"
"It's me."
Yi An quickly opened the door, "Are you going out again?"
"Okay." Xu Xinghe nodded and handed him a paper packet filled with sleeping pills. "They're already fast asleep. Your task is the same as yesterday: stay here. If they wake up in the middle of the night, or if anything seems amiss, use this to knock them out again."
"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on things." Yi An took the paper package. "You need to be careful too, and don't stay too long this time."
"I know," Xu Xinghe replied, then turned and disappeared into the darkness outside the door without saying anything more.
This time, she moved faster and more cautiously than the previous two times, avoiding any possible line of sight as she headed straight for the cave entrance.
After entering the cave, she did not head straight for the compartment containing the water-tight chamber as before. Instead, she turned on her flashlight, shielded the dim light with her palm, and walked deeper into the cave.
I only focused on the area where the man in black was writing on the previous two occasions, but I overlooked the fact that there were other extending passages in the cave.
After walking along the main passage for about half an hour, the number of cubicles gradually decreased, the passage became narrower, the air grew colder and colder, and there was a faint musty smell and... a faint smell of blood.
Xu Xinghe's heart tightened suddenly. She took out a pistol from her spatial storage and walked even more quietly.
After walking for about ten more minutes, just as the passage was about to turn in another direction, a faint sound suddenly reached our ears.
It wasn't the sound of dripping water, nor the sound of wind, but a dull, intermittent sound, like the dragging of chains, coming from the other side of the corner of the passage.
Interspersed among them were extremely low, indistinct voices of conversation.
She immediately stopped, turned off her flashlight, held her breath, and slowly squatted down against the cold rock wall.
The sound came and went, and the conversation was so muffled that the specific content was indistinct, but what was certain was that there were people deeper inside the cave!
Xu Xinghe's heart started racing involuntarily.
With her hand on the trigger, she moved slowly toward the corner, using the rock face as cover.
She wanted to see what was hidden at the end of this cave.
The dull clatter of chains and the muffled sounds of conversation grew clearer.
At the end of the passage was a much more open underground area, with a kerosene lamp still lit.
The rock face is carved out of numerous cages, each about half a person's height, arranged in a dense array, resembling a dungeon for imprisoning livestock.
The sound came from inside those cages.
Xu Xinghe's heart sank. She stood up and, by the light, saw the scene inside the cage.
Each cage held people, men, women, young and old. Some were huddled in corners, others leaned against the cold rock walls. They were all dressed in rags, filthy, and covered in mud and grime.
The environment here is more humid than other parts of the cave. Water droplets seep from the rock walls, the ground is wet, and it smells strongly of mildew, sweat, and excrement, making it nauseating.
There was no bed in the cage, only a pile of dry weeds on the ground.
Each cage contained two old ceramic basins, one filled with murky water, with impurities floating on the surface and even a layer of green moss growing on the edge.
The other container contained some dark, indistinct things, which emitted a foul, sour, and rotten smell, clearly some unpalatable food.
Xu Xinghe carefully examined these people. They were all normal people, but due to being imprisoned in this closed and damp environment for a long time, most of them had sallow complexions and dull eyes. Many of them were also sick, with festering wounds on their faces and bodies, making them look particularly miserable.
What made her heart clench even more was that there were several thin children in the crowd, the youngest of whom looked no more than six or seven years old, huddled in the arms of adults, their eyes filled with fear, not even daring to cry out loud.
A terrifying thought instantly flashed through her mind.
Could these people be the original inhabitants of Shiwa Village?
If that's the case, it means the entire Shiwa Village has been replaced by a spy organization!
It makes sense for a village to have one or two spies, or even half of them, because they can gradually integrate over time.
But the entire village is full of spies, and there are no elderly people or children left. The only possibility is that they have been completely replaced all at once!
Shiwa Village is located in a remote area, far from the town, and its isolated environment makes it an ideal location to carry out such a conspiracy.
Xu Xinghe took a deep breath and decided to take a risk.
She quickly entered the space and used the spiritual spring water to wash away the distinctive birthmark on her face.
This is part of her current disguise; she can't let these people remember her.
She then found a black cloth strip, covered most of her face, leaving only her eyes exposed, before leaving the space and walking towards the nearest cage.
The once silent dungeon instantly became agitated upon seeing someone approach.
The people in the cages raised their heads, a glimmer of light flashing in their cloudy eyes. They struggled to move to the edge of the cage, stretched out their withered hands, and made muffled sounds.
But when they saw that Xu Xinghe's hands were empty, and that she had brought no food or water, the light in their eyes dimmed little by little, and they all lowered their heads, revealing expressions of despair.
Xu Xinghe immediately realized that they probably mistook her for a spy who had come to deliver food.
She walked to a relatively tidy cage, in which a middle-aged man was imprisoned. Although he was also dressed in rags, he was in the best mental state. His eyes were not as dull as those of the other prisoners, and he still retained a trace of clarity.
"I'm not from Shiwa Village," Xu Xinghe said in a low voice. "I wandered in here by mistake. Can you tell me what happened?"
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