Chapter 37 Conspiracy
Yueqing's heart sank; it seemed she had been targeted as well.
Yin Hu shielded Yue Qing behind him, his bone knife dancing in his hand, leaving afterimages.
He knew the situation was critical and he had to break out as soon as possible.
Just then, a commotion suddenly arose from the depths of the passage.
"What happened?"
"It looks like the top has collapsed!"
Upon hearing the commotion, the attackers showed expressions of panic, clearly not expecting the collapse above.
"It's the females!" someone realized. "They took the opportunity to escape!"
The attackers hesitated for a moment, some turning to chase after them deeper into the passage, while others continued to fight Silver Tiger and Yueqing.
Seizing the opportunity, Yin Hu pulled Yue Qing and rushed back the way they came.
"Elder Xue!" Silver Tiger saw a familiar figure in the crowd, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Elder Xue was standing at the back of the crowd, his sinister gaze fixed on them.
"Trying to run? Not so easy!" Elder Xue sneered and waved her hand.
Several people immediately rushed forward, trying to block their way.
Yin Hu and Yue Qing exerted all their strength, sprinting towards the only exit.
They knew that only by escaping this place could they have a chance to expose the witch doctor's true colors and rescue the trapped females.
The passage was narrow, and Yin Hu practically shielded Yue Qing in his arms. Relying on his keen intuition for danger and his powerful explosive force, he managed to break through the encirclement of the pursuers.
Behind them came Elder Xue's furious roar and the muffled thud of rolling stones, as if the pursuers were trying to block the passage.
"This way!" Silver Tiger growled, pulling Yueqing into a side road.
This side road is more hidden and more rugged.
The two ran, stumbling along, their torches long since extinguished. They could only rely on Yin Hu's exceptional night vision and the faintly glowing stone in Yue Qing's hand to determine their direction.
"Wait..." Yueqing suddenly felt her footing give way and exclaimed in surprise.
Silver Tiger reacted extremely quickly, pulling her back with a sudden burst of force, but the ground beneath their feet could not withstand the impact and cracked with a sickening sound.
"Crack! Boom!"
Without warning, the ground collapsed, and the two instantly lost their balance, falling downwards like leaves.
A feeling of weightlessness enveloped my entire body, and the wind whistled in my ears.
Yin Hu instinctively held Yue Qing tightly in his arms, using his own body as a buffer to try to reduce the potential harm to her.
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, the two fell heavily to the ground.
Dust filled the air, choking people so much they almost suffocated.
"Cough cough..." Yueqing struggled to lift her head from Yinhu's arms, feeling as if all the bones in her body were about to fall apart. "Lord Yinhu, how are you?"
Yin Hu groaned, propped himself up, and after confirming that Yue Qing was alright, he rubbed his back, which was numb from the fall.
"fine."
As he spoke, he looked around.
They fell into a closed stone chamber.
Above them was the breach that had just collapsed, several meters above the ground. The surrounding walls were smooth, cold stone, perfectly sealed, with no trace of a door or passage.
The only source of light was the faintly glowing stone in Yueqing's hand, which barely dispelled the surrounding darkness.
"Looks like we've won the lottery again." Yue Qing gave a wry smile, patted the dust off his clothes, and said with a hint of helpless self-mockery.
This underground journey was practically a trap experience package.
Silver Tiger didn't reply. He walked to the stone wall and carefully tapped and stroked it, trying to find hidden mechanisms or weak points.
The stone wall was cold and hard, and when tapped, it produced a dull echo without any hollowness.
Yueqing also stood up, enduring the pain, and joined the search for an exit.
She carefully observed the patterns on the stone wall, hoping to find some clues.
These patterns are older and more abstract than those in the outer shrine, and their specific meaning is completely indiscernible.
[Ding! This stone chamber is a specially sealed space; no conventional exit mechanism has been detected.]
The system's voice sounded at the right time, but it brought no good news.
"A special sealed space?" Yue Qing frowned, asking herself, "What does that mean?"
Based on current data analysis, this space may be used to imprison or seal specific targets, and the exit may require special conditions or a key to open.
Unable to directly convey the system's message, Yueqing could only feign a guess, saying, "This stone chamber probably requires special conditions or a key to open."
Yin Hu knew that Yue Qing was right, but they were currently at a loss for what to do.
A suffocating silence fell over the stone chamber, broken only by the two people's slightly rapid breathing.
Being trapped in such a helpless place, anyone would feel desperate.
Just then, an extremely faint sound came from a certain direction of the stone wall.
Silver Tiger's ears twitched, and he immediately made a shushing gesture.
The two held their breath and listened intently.
The sounds were intermittent, like people talking in hushed tones. The specific content was unclear through the thick stone wall, but the two were all too familiar with one of the old and sinister voices.
"It's Elder Xue!" Yue Qing lowered her voice, a hint of surprise and anger flashing in her eyes.
Silver Tiger nodded, his sharp gaze sweeping in the direction from which the sound came.
He gestured for Yueqing to come closer to the stone wall, and the two of them pressed their ears against the cold stone surface, trying to catch any sounds from outside.
"This is a significant loss. All the females escaped, and we also lost a lot of our men..." a strange man's voice rang out.
"Hmph, they may escape, but they can't hide." Elder Xue's voice was ruthless. "That tiger clan brat and that female who knows medicine must be captured. They know too many secrets; we absolutely cannot let them leave alive!"
"Don't worry, I've already sent men to block all the exits. They won't be able to escape." The man's voice was full of confidence.
"We must not be careless," Elder Xue warned. "That tiger clan boy is very strong, and that female's methods are also very strange. By the way, how are the sacrifices being prepared?"
"Everything is going smoothly. As soon as the time is right, the ceremony can begin. Then, with the help of that person, we will be able to..."
The following words became more ambiguous, seemingly involving some kind of core secret.
Yueqing and Yinhu exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and solemnity in each other's eyes.
Elder Xue and the others were right next door, and their conversation was incredibly informative.
They were indeed performing some kind of evil ritual, which seemed to be related to a more powerful being, and the females being sold were likely the "sacrifices" of the ritual!
What alarmed them even more was that Elder Xue seemed to know something about their abilities and had already laid a trap.
"We have to find a way to get there," Yueqing said in a low voice, her tone firm.
She couldn't just stand by and watch Elder Xue and the others complete that evil ritual.
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