Then, silence fell again.
I'm also having a bit of a headache. It seems like we're at a stalemate. I don't trust him, and he doesn't trust me either.
And we each have our own weaknesses.
After a long silence, he finally spoke:
"I can let go of your friends first."
This guy actually made such a big concession?
I was somewhat surprised, but immediately became alert:
"Sure, but you won't make any other requests, will you?"
"Of course I will. You must first destroy the blood talisman in your hand. At the very least, you must ensure that you don't have the ability to destroy the puppet the moment I release your friend!"
The aged voice came, and sure enough, there were new restrictions!
I immediately frowned. Had we reached another impasse?!
"I can release the restrictions on your two friends first. You destroy the blood talisman, and then I'll release the last one!"
Seeing that I remained silent, the voice spoke again.
I gritted my teeth and decided to take the gamble, no matter what.
This stalemate can't continue.
"Fine! Release my two friends first, and I'll destroy the blood talisman!"
"make a deal!"
......
Li Huai and Luo Tianhe, who had been standing still like zombies, suddenly woke up as if from a dream.
Their foreheads were covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, and they looked as if they had just been pulled out of the water.
They were both panting heavily, especially Luo Tianhe, who no longer found the air particularly unpleasant.
"We were affected again just now?"
After a moment, Luo Tianhe gave a bitter smile.
"Yes, the situation is a bit complicated now."
I shrugged and explained the whole story to him.
The old man behind him clearly had ulterior motives.
He released Li Huai and Luo Tianhe because they were easy to control and probably wouldn't take up too much of his energy.
Zhang Qiang, having come from a police background, naturally possessed an air of righteousness.
It probably took him quite a while to turn him into a zombie-like figure, so he left him for last.
This guy probably planned to lure all four of us here and control us!
However, because I am too special, he found that he could not control me, and I happened to have something on him, so he had no choice but to make a deal with me.
Seeing Zhang Qiang still like a walking corpse, I felt helpless, but I could only light a flame and burn the blood talisman to ashes.
I took out another yellow talisman from my pocket, pressed the tip of my tongue against my teeth, and prepared to deal with the consequences of this old man's broken promise.
But unexpectedly, he actually let go of his control over Zhang Qiang.
In an instant, Zhang Qiang seemed to wake up from a nightmare, staggered, and collapsed to the ground.
Li Huai quickly stepped forward and helped him up.
Then she leaned close to his ear and explained in detail what had just happened.
After learning everything, Zhang Qiang gave me a grateful look.
"Didn't you need to talk in person? Come over now."
An aged voice rang out, carrying a sense of weariness and relief.
Even though I was the one who suggested a face-to-face confrontation, I'm now feeling a bit apprehensive. Is there something this old man has up his sleeve waiting for me?
But since it was my own suggestion, I have no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.
We exchanged a glance and gripped the protective charms in our hands tightly.
Then, carefully bypassing the unsettling earthen platform and puppets in the center, they walked toward the source of the sound.
There was a narrow crevice in the rock in front of them, only wide enough for one person to pass sideways.
The four of us squeezed through and discovered that behind the crevice in the rock was an even smaller, almost sealed stone chamber.
Damn it, this looks like a Russian nesting doll, with door after door!
I cursed inwardly.
But this time was different. Inside the stone chamber, the first thing I saw was Zhang Wei's head.
Her eyes were closed, her face was pale, but she was unusually peaceful, just like she was asleep.
Her hair appeared to have been carefully combed and braided into a somewhat outdated style.
What shocked us even more was that a clean dress was neatly folded in a mahogany box next to the head.
There's only Zhang Wei's head here, no body. What's the point of wearing this outfit?
"this...."
Li Huai opened his mouth wide, unable to utter a word.
Lu Tianhe and Zhang Qiang frowned and slowly stepped forward, surrounding the corner of the stone chamber.
There, against the cold stone wall, huddled a person.
He was wearing faded old work clothes, his hair was white and messy, and he was extremely thin.
The old man had his back to us, his shoulders trembling slowly, as if he were sobbing.
I couldn't help but frown. At a time like this, is she still trying to play the victim?
The sobbing stopped abruptly upon hearing our footsteps.
The old man slowly turned his head, revealing a face weathered by time and deeply wrinkled.
His eyes were cloudy, his eye bags were heavy, and his face was full of fatigue and pain, but one could also see a kind of obsessive persistence.
This old man doesn't seem to be playing the victim; he's genuinely in a miserable situation.
"Ahem, you still managed to find me."
The old man's voice was extremely hoarse, like a broken bellows that had leaked air.
He struggled to stand up, but due to exhaustion, he fell back down, and in the end, he could only stretch out one arm in vain, as if trying to block the head on the stone platform.
The ruthless sorcerer we had envisioned has turned into a frail old man, which is hard for us to accept at first.
Three flames were placed on the person's shoulders.
The two flames on the old man's shoulders had already gone out, leaving only the flame at the Baihui acupoint on his head still burning, but it was extremely dim and could go out at any moment.
We don't even need to lift a finger; this old man won't live more than three days!
His earlier statement that he was going to die soon didn't seem to be a lie to me.
"Who are you? What's going on?!"
Zhang Qiang drew his pistol and asked in a deep voice.
The old man did not answer Zhang Qiang's question; facing the dark muzzle of the gun, he seemed to feel no fear whatsoever.
His gaze passed over us and landed on Zhang Wei's serene face on the stone platform.
Suddenly, two lines of tears rolled down his cloudy eyes.
"Xiuxiu, I'm sorry, I have no one to help me. It's been so many years and I still haven't been able to gather enough people."
He murmured to himself, his tone a mixture of love, regret, and despair that was heartbreaking.
Xiuxiu? Is that Zhang Wei's nickname?
I subconsciously pondered, but then suddenly remembered that I had read Zhang Wei's biographical information!
She is an only child. Her parents were ordinary workers who divorced early in life. She took her mother's surname, Zhang, while her father, it is said, died in a car accident later.
This old man is clearly not her father, and his age doesn't match up either; he's almost old enough to be her grandfather!
"You're not Zhang Wei's father, who are you?! You killed those people outside, and you're using their organs to piece together something?!"
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