Xiang Wan's breath hitched. This person was just as annoying as that day, showing no awareness of being a hostage. Since he wouldn't tell the truth, she shouldn't blame her for being impolite.
"I'm very persistent, so I'll be a romantic ghost and tell you about it in the afterlife."
Before Su San could figure out what was wrong, Xiang Wan used a dagger to cut open his collar, tore off a piece of cloth, and stuffed it into his mouth. She then bound his hands and feet again, ripped all his clothes to shreds, and threw him into the pool, leaving only his head above water.
"Remember this, this is your punishment for breaking the rules that night. If you can escape and find me, I'll consider letting you join us."
After saying that, Xiang Wan clapped her hands, hummed a little tune in a good mood, and returned to the dense forest.
Su San, left in the pool, let out a wail. After Xiang Wan left, she released her acupoints and walked naked ashore, as if it were nothing serious, a smile playing on her lips.
Upon entering the dense forest, Xiang Wan hurried along the path she had taken before towards the group of people. At her pace, she caught up with them in less than an hour. To avoid attracting their attention, Xiang Wan lagged far behind, ensuring she wouldn't be spotted but also wouldn't lose them.
She made many marks along the way, but by evening she still hadn't seen Feng Yulian. Growing increasingly hungry, she found a secluded spot and ate some wild fruit to fill her stomach.
The group kept moving forward, and the women and children being driven dared not utter a single complaint. When they were hungry, someone would bring them food; when they were thirsty, they would have water to drink. Regardless of how tired they were, they were always urged to keep going, or they would be beaten with sticks.
Even at night, these people didn't rest. Except for letting everyone sit down and rest for a while when it got dark, they kept walking, including the guards.
This was highly unusual, and Xiang Wan dared not be careless. Except for occasionally going out to find something to eat, she stayed close behind them. After walking for three days and three nights, when most of them were about to lie down, they saw people coming to meet them. Many people pushed wheelbarrows over, and after handing them over to the leader, they placed the children, who were so tired they could fall asleep as soon as they lay down, onto the wheelbarrows one by one. The women climbed up one by one, lay down, and fell fast asleep as soon as their heads tilted to the side.
Hiding in a tree, Xiang Wan saw from afar that the approaching people were all wearing black veils, and one of them, the leader, was talking to the masked man. This masked man was the one who had been sitting to the side when Chang San was giving his lecture, Xiang Wan's former companion—Shi Di.
They whispered amongst themselves for a while, but Xiang Wan couldn't make out what they were saying. The veiled man ordered the group to turn back, and Shi Di followed them. Chang San led his men back the way they came, passing right under the tree where Xiang Wan was hiding. She held her breath, listening to their casual conversation as they walked.
"Boss, how many times has this happened? Can't you let the brothers get a good night's sleep?"
"Want to sleep? Go back and sleep as long as you want, no one will bother you. If you don't do your job well, you don't need to wake up either, just sleep in the ground, much easier."
"Hey, don't take it seriously, brothers. We're just complaining a bit, boss."
"snort!"
"Boss, what's the use of these kids? They're not as useful as those women."
"Who knows, maybe they just like it that way, who knows."
"Hahaha, you have such a filthy mind."
"I'm exhausted. I'm going back to get some sleep. Don't let anyone bother me."
"I really want to lie down and sleep right now."
"Go, if you don't want to die, leave now. This place is not safe to stay."
"The boss is right. We've got a reward this time. Let's go back and get drunk. It'll make our trip worthwhile."
"You drunkard, you'll drink yourself to death sooner or later."
...
The people walked further and further away, and their voices became indistinct. Xiang Wan jumped down from the tree and tiptoed towards the group of people wearing black veils.
The surroundings were eerily quiet; not even the chirping of birds or insects could be heard. After walking for a while, Xiang Wan noticed that the path the group had traversed had been carved out by human hands, forming a narrow, winding trail. Trees stood tall and dense, their canopies so thick that even sunlight couldn't penetrate. Standing there alone, she felt a chill run down her spine; it was a truly sinister place.
The group walked briskly, turning several corners before arriving behind a rock. The rock was situated at the base of a towering mountain peak, surrounded by scattered pebbles. From a distance, it would appear as a dead end; one would never discover the secret passage behind it until they were right in front of it.
After the leader arrived, he casually picked up a pebble and tapped it lightly behind the rock six times—two light taps and three heavy taps—the sounds echoing back and forth. A moment later, the leader beckoned Shi Di to go inside. The rest of the group followed suit.
Seeing the group gradually move forward, Xiang Wan seized the opportunity and knocked the last person pushing the wheelbarrow unconscious with a pebble. With no one to support it, the wheelbarrow was about to tip over. Xiang Wan leaped under the wheelbarrow, propped it up, and slowly lowered the handlebars, letting the supports at both ends of the handlebars support the ground to prevent it from tipping over.
Only two carts remained. The person pushing the cart in front didn't turn back and slowly disappeared behind the rocks. Xiang Wan deftly removed the veil from the unconscious person's head, covered her own face, knocked the person unconscious again, put her on the cart, and pushed it inside.
Behind the rock was a cave, and the entrance was unguarded. Xiang Wan pondered that the builders must have been too confident, thinking that no one would find this place.
Upon entering the cave, she found it brightly lit everywhere, and her last vehicle was some distance from the one in front. She ran a few steps and caught up.
After walking quite a distance, a metal door came into view. The person at the front stepped down and pressed a square button on the side. The door slowly opened, revealing a passageway. On either side of the passageway were numerous glass cubicles. Some contained people with thin tubes inserted into their bodies, and it seemed as if a red liquid was flowing through them. Some were children, naked, immersed in the liquid. Others were women, including pregnant women. The women's eyes were closed, but their bellies twitched occasionally, and the infants inside showed remarkable vitality.
No one spoke along the way. Each time they saw an empty glass cubicle, someone would stop the wheelbarrow, strip the person inside naked, and send them inside. The glass door would slowly close, and countless tubes would gently extend into the person's body. As red blood gradually spread from the thin tubes, a layer of mist would slowly rise from inside the glass, then liquefy, immersing the person inside.
Xiang Wan felt a chill run down her spine. Compared to these people's plight, the original owner's experience was far better. What were these people plotting, using so many lives as a prelude?
As she walked further in, fewer and fewer people were pushing carts, but the people inside the glass door seemed endless, stretching as far as the eye could see. Xiang Wan was terrified. In order to find out the truth, she followed the others and sent the person she had knocked unconscious through the glass door.
Such a massive project went undetected; just how deep must the waters be behind it?
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