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墨書 Inktalez
"What's that strange aura?"
"It's not the aura of the Ghost Gate Cult. These man-eating flowers are a weapon used by the Ghost Gate Cult against outsiders. They only act like this when they sense outsiders," the woman explained.
A chill ran down my spine as I realized that the man-eating flowers must have detected our presence, prompting their attack.
"So you're saying we're not part of the Ghost Gate Cult? Do you even know what you're saying?" I replied, my tone growing sharper. I didn't want her to figure out who we really were; after all, we had worked hard to infiltrate this place. If we were exposed now, all our efforts would be in vain.
"I wouldn't dare! It must be these man-eating flowers acting up. Hall Master Yin, please don't be angry; I'll handle this. Can you let go of me?" The woman trembled, likely sensing my rising anger.
Captain Wu was struggling against the man-eating flowers, and seeing this, I quickly released my grip on the woman’s neck. Once freed, she took several deep breaths and stepped in front of the flowers, pulling out a flute from her clothing and playing it. The moment the flowers heard the music, they fell silent and ceased their attacks, behaving like ordinary plants.
Seeing that the flowers no longer threatened him, Captain Wu relaxed and sat down on the ground, gasping for air.
I helped Captain Wu to his feet and glanced at the immobilized flowers, silently vowing to destroy them; otherwise, they would become a threat sooner or later.
"Are you all right?" The woman cautiously approached us. Before I could respond, Captain Wu spoke up first. "Do we look fine to you? This is all your fault! Think carefully about how you're going to make amends."
The woman flinched at Captain Wu's fierce demeanor and looked at me for help, seemingly unsure of what to do. Remembering those trapped in the basement, I said to her, "If you hand over those people from the basement, we can consider this matter settled. How does that sound?"
She hesitated for a moment but quickly agreed. "Okay, as long as the two Hall Masters don't hold a grudge against me."
Captain Wu and I exchanged glances, a slight smile forming on our lips as she led us out of the Ghost Gate Cult's premises.
I looked around and realized we were back at the entrance where we had entered the Ghost Gate Cult. Following the woman, we descended into the basement and encountered the Left and Right Protectors guarding those people. The woman bowed to them and said, "Hello, Left and Right Protectors. I'm here to take these people away."
The Left and Right Protectors nodded and turned to unlock the prison door. They pulled out a cloth bag and opened it toward those inside while muttering a few incantations. To our surprise, those people were drawn into the bag as if by magic.
The Left and Right Protectors stepped out with the bag in hand and handed it over to the woman. Suddenly, their gazes fell upon us with an unusual intensity. My heart raced as I wondered if something had gone wrong with them.
My heart began to race, but I maintained a calm facade.
"Who are they?" the Left and Right Protectors asked the woman.
The woman was momentarily taken aback before realizing that the Left and Right Protectors were referring to us. She smiled and said, "They are the Hall Masters of Yin Hall. Surely, you all know that, right?"
Upon hearing her words, the Left and Right Protectors froze for a moment, their expressions instantly turning menacing. Captain Wu and I exchanged glances, silently preparing ourselves. Sure enough, in the next second, the Left and Right Protectors drew their weapons and pointed them at us. "You are not from Yin Hall. Who exactly are you?"
Captain Wu and I felt a jolt of alarm. How did these two Left and Right Protectors know our identities?
The woman looked at the Left and Right Protectors' actions toward us, momentarily stunned. She quickly intervened, saying, "Oh dear, what's going on here? Why are our own people fighting each other? These two are indeed Hall Masters of Yin Hall; they even attended the Feast of Demons. Surely our leader knows whether they belong to us or not?"
The Left and Right Protectors paused at her words, uncertainty creeping into their voices as one of them asked, "You mean they attended the Feast of Demons?"
Their eyes widened in surprise as the woman nodded affirmatively.
The Left and Right Protectors lowered their weapons but continued to scrutinize us. "No, I recognize the Hall Masters of Yin Hall; they don’t look like you."
At that moment, a child stepped out from behind us and addressed the Left and Right Protectors. "It's like this: every so often, all the Hall Masters of Ghost Gate Cult go out for training. This is something everyone knows, right?"
As he spoke, the child's gaze shifted between the Left and Right Protectors and the woman.
They nodded in agreement, acknowledging what the child said; after all, this was common knowledge among members of Ghost Gate Cult.
The expressions of the Left and Right Protectors softened as they looked at Captain Wu and me.
The child continued, "The reason we don't resemble your impression of the Hall Masters is that during one training session, we were careless and got struck by lightning, which caused physical damage. We had to find alternate bodies to continue."
Upon hearing this explanation, the Left and Right Protectors understood what had happened. They apologized to Captain Wu and me, assuring us not to take it personally.
We certainly did not want to cause any trouble. With a nod, we followed the woman out of the basement, where she handed us the bag she had just carried.
"Are you two Hall Masters not coming back to the sect with me?" The woman asked as she noticed we weren't following her.
Captain Wu and I exchanged glances before I focused my gaze on her and replied, "No, we still need to use these people to practice Evil Arts. Once we are done with our training, we will naturally return."
The woman's eyes lit up as she said, "What kind of Evil Arts are you two practicing? Could you teach me? I want to learn too."
"Sure, but you should head back for now," I said.
"Understood."
With that, the woman vanished from our sight.
"We can head back to the suburbs now. We've been out for too long; I wonder how Miss Ruoxi and the others are doing," Captain Wu remarked.
I nodded in agreement. We had indeed been away for too long. We hurried back to the suburbs, but when we arrived, we were shocked by the sight before us—it had turned into ruins.
"What happened here? How did it end up like this?" Captain Wu exclaimed in disbelief.
I looked around; everywhere was marked by signs of burning. What on earth had occurred?
"It seems something went wrong," I said, furrowing my brow.
"Something went wrong?" Captain Wu's face showed clear surprise as he said, "That can't be! Wasn't it said that this place was safe? With Miss Ruoxi here and Xiaomei as well, could they have encountered someone with immense power?"
As soon as Captain Wu spoke those words, my heart sank. Besides the Ghost Gate Sect Master, were there really others with such great power around here?
"Little brother, look over there! There's something," Captain Wu pointed to a spot on the left.
I looked back and saw a glowing shard on a stone. Captain Wu and I walked over and picked it up, but to our surprise, the shard vanished, replaced by a swirling mass of white mist. At first, the mist was small, but it gradually expanded until it obscured our vision.
"Hey, little brother, look! What is that?" Captain Wu's excited voice reached me.
As the mist dispersed, a different scene emerged before us.
I blinked and instinctively muttered, "What is this?"
A child approached us and looked intently, saying, "This is the signal left for us by the Princess."
A signal.
I was momentarily stunned, struggling to understand the child's words as I noticed star-like symbols appearing in front of us.
"This is an astronomical symbol. Brother Wang Niu can't read it yet. He will be able to once he fully inherits the twelve fragments of the lost souls," the child explained while observing the symbols.
I glanced at the symbols again and then turned to the child, asking what they meant.
The child looked back at me and said, "The Princess told us that they were ambushed. The assailant's energy was immense; they attacked the barrier and even injured Xiaomei. Because there were too many people to protect, the Princess found it difficult and got hurt as well."
Hearing this, my heart suddenly tightened as I asked the child if Ruoxi was okay.
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