I didn't answer Li Huai, but instead panted heavily. I had been doing all the work just now, and I was exhausted.
Moreover, my right arm was cold and numb, as if I had been sleeping with my arm outside the blanket all night in winter.
After a while, I leaned against the desk leg and looked around.
The teahouse was now a mess, with corpses piled up haphazardly on the floor and a stench of blood permeating the air, like a living hell.
The portrait of the beautiful woman on the wall was completely torn into several pieces. The tattered paper hung limply, and only half of the woman's face remained, but her expression was still ferocious and terrifying, making people feel a chill in their hearts.
The dead man's head next to me was charred black from the electric shock, looking like a piece of burnt charcoal. My three-edged bone needle was stuck between his eyebrows. He was motionless and posed no threat for the time being.
But even in this tea room, the sky outside the window had already become completely dark.
The lanterns hanging under the eaves, which were previously their normal color with a slight reddish tinge, have now all turned into a deep, eerie red light, casting a ghostly atmosphere inside the house.
In particular, the shadows of the mummies were stretched long and twisted, reflected on the walls and the ground, swaying slightly with the lantern light, as if they might stand up at any moment.
Honestly, this tea room would probably scare an ordinary person so much they'd wet themselves, but it's probably the safest place in the botanical garden.
We have to get out and find a way to escape this botanical garden, otherwise strange things will probably happen again in the middle of the night.
"It's only temporarily quiet, but you can't stay in this place for long. The yin energy is too heavy, and if you stay here too long, even the living will become half-dead."
And don't forget what that person said.
I said in a hoarse voice.
Luo Tianhe tucked the baton back into his waistband, stretched his wrists, and looked at me, asking, "How are we going to get out? The door is still locked, and the window isn't big enough for us to climb out."
Li Huai cautiously peeked towards the doorway, then withdrew, saying, "I think the door should be open by now, after all, something happened..."
Professor Tan twirled the prayer beads in his hand, his face appearing particularly haggard in the red light: "We haven't completely broken the deadlock yet. The evil spirits have only temporarily retreated. We must find a way to leave this place."
I just secretly deduced that the layout of this botanical garden is probably based on some long-lost variant of the Nine Yin Manual. What we've seen is only the outer perimeter; the real danger and the way out are likely deeper inside!
"deep?"
Upon hearing this, Luo Tianhe frowned: "Going deeper into the area is like walking into a trap."
To be honest, he didn't quite believe Professor Tan.
Although we fought off these evil spirits together, we were complete strangers before, and we didn't know where he came from. Moreover, he suggested that we go deeper into the manor, which would be a life-or-death situation.
"Hehe, this is called putting yourself in a desperate situation to survive."
Professor Tan looked at me and asked with concern, "Young man, can your arm still hold up?"
I tried to move my right fingers, and a needle-like pain shot through me, but at least I could move them.
Staying here isn't a solution, so I gritted my teeth and stood up.
"I won't die, let's just take it one step at a time."
As I spoke, I swayed and almost fell to the ground, but Luo Tianhe quickly caught me.
Li Huai tried pushing the door, and the door that those people couldn't open before opened easily this time.
Which way to go?
Li Huai asked.
Li Huai and I couldn't help but look at Luo Tianhe. He must have looked online and at the blueprints for the botanical garden provided by Zhang Qiang, so he should be more familiar with the routes than we were. But now, his brows were furrowed and his face was grim, clearly something we hadn't expected.
"The information online, and the one provided by Zhang Qiang, is all fake! The layout here is completely different from what's shown there; in fact, it's worlds apart!"
I couldn't help but shake my head; it's no wonder Luo Tianhe is like this.
It's obvious that this botanical garden was designed with ill intentions, and naturally they wouldn't reveal the true plans.
I had anticipated this situation.
I glanced at the door that the fat man in the gray suit had kicked, then at the other side of the tea room, at the small door that I hadn't noticed before, half-hidden behind a screen.
"Let's go through the side door. There might be something guarding the main entrance, or it leads directly to the corridor, where we could easily be surrounded. The side door should lead to the servants' quarters or the storage room, or a backyard path, which is less conspicuous."
As I understand it, in this kind of ancient building, the small door was usually reserved for servants, who were often required not to enter or exit through the main gate.
Li Huai, Luo Tianhe, and the others had no objections, and Professor Tan didn't say anything either. We moved the screen aside, and the small door was just an ordinary wooden door.
The door lock opened with a push, revealing a narrow, dark passageway filled with dust and a musty smell.
"Cough cough..."
Luo Tianhe was choked by the dust, and couldn't help but fan his mouth and nose, frowning and cursing.
"These damn rich people, they decorate the rooms so lavishly. Calling them pavilions and gardens, and the passageways for the servants are all messed up like this, they're inhuman!"
Li Huai chimed in, "That's right, they really don't understand human nature!"
I ignored them and carefully observed the passageway. The walls on both sides of the passageway were mottled, and the old newspapers pasted on them were yellowed and curled at the edges. I could vaguely see news headlines and blurry portraits from decades ago on them, which looked a bit eerie in the darkness.
After all, those newspapers were all in black and white, and the people printed on them looked like portraits of the deceased at this moment.
"Stay close."
Luo Tianhe took the lead and pulled out a small, powerful flashlight from his person.
My eyes lit up. Luo Tianhe is quite clever; he knows to bring a flashlight.
Bright light pierced the darkness, revealing yet another door at the end of the passage.
The passageway wasn't long or narrow. But as we walked through it, we always felt like the walls on both sides were squeezing inwards, and the overhead ceiling was so low it felt oppressive, making us feel suffocated and even a little breathless.
Suddenly, I felt that this place was like a coffin.
We quickened our pace, wanting to leave as soon as possible, but what was even stranger was that when the flashlight beam swept across the wall, the words and images on the old newspapers seemed to wriggle slightly, and the people on them even turned their faces toward us!
I think it might be because I was too tired and my vision was blurry, but I couldn't stop the chill from creeping up my heart.
I focused my attention on what was in front of me, no longer noticing anything around me.
Since neither Luo Tianhe nor Li Huai reacted, it means I was just seeing things, and there's nothing to see.
Luo Tianhe stopped in front of the door at the end of the road.
The door looked like an ordinary wooden board, but there was a crooked symbol drawn on it.
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