Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I quickly washed up, organized my backpack, and stepped out of the room.
"Brother Chen, do you have anything to eat? I'm starving, please get me something," I said as I encountered Chen Haiping on the first floor of the inn. I saw him munching on a bun, with seven or eight steaming buns sitting on another table.
I swallowed hard at the sight. In this desolate mountain area, this was the only shabby inn for miles around, with no other houses or places to eat nearby.
Last night, I had eaten the remaining snacks in my backpack to barely fill my stomach. This morning, I woke up to my stomach growling, and I really couldn't take it anymore.
Chen Haiping pulled out a chair beside him and waved me over with a smile. "Jiang Ling, come sit down. No need to be so polite. I don’t have much else here, but I can guarantee there are plenty of buns."
"Haha, thanks, Brother Chen." I expressed my gratitude and sat down next to him without hesitation, reaching for a bun and finishing it in just a few bites.
Seeing me eat so quickly surprised Chen Haiping. He glanced at me in astonishment before turning back to the kitchen on the first floor to bring out a tray of buns.
"Jiang Ling, you came here because of Yang Xiaochao's invitation, right?" Chen Haiping said cautiously as he looked around.
Noticing his mysterious demeanor, I furrowed my brow slightly and slowed down my eating. "Yeah. Is there a problem?"
Chen Haiping lowered his voice and said, "Jiang Ling, to be honest with you, your group is the third batch of people invited by Yang Xiaochao in this month. The previous two batches entered the deep mountains with Yang Xiaochao and never returned. You need to be careful."
Upon hearing Chen Haiping's words, my expression darkened instantly. I put the bun back on the table and looked coldly at him. "Chen Haiping, what exactly do you mean by that?"
On the surface, Chen Haiping seemed to be warning me out of goodwill. However, I suspected he was trying to sow discord between me and Yang Xiaochao.
After all, when I first arrived here, I had fought with Chen Haiping and left him looking like a mess; he still had a bandage on his head.
Chen Haiping had every motive to frame me, so I had to be cautious.
As the saying goes: one should not harbor ill intentions towards others but should always be wary of others' intentions.
"Jiang Ling, don't be nervous. Let me show you some videos; you'll understand," Chen Haiping said as he pulled out his phone and handed it to me. It contained some videos he had secretly recorded. The footage wasn't very clear but was enough to make out what was happening.
In the first video, more than twenty Taoist Masters dressed in Daoist robes were sitting in the inn's lobby drinking tea. Yang Xiaochao was also there wearing sunglasses. They were all laughing together; the atmosphere looked quite harmonious.
The second video was shot outdoors at night, showing only some blurry images, but the voices of the people inside were clear.
"Run! Get out of here! This is not a place for us!"
"Damn it, Yang Xiaochao, you liar! May you die a horrible death! Ah... help me! Someone save me!"
"Heh heh, you foolish people, since you've come, don't think about leaving!" A disembodied voice echoed from the phone, its tone strange and unsettling, unlike any human voice I had ever heard.
"What the hell is this?" I furrowed my brow tightly. Even though I was listening through the phone, a chill ran down my spine, and goosebumps broke out on my skin.
"Help! Help! You monster, let me go!"
"Everyone split up and run! If one of us can escape, it's worth it. Those who survive must spread the word about what happened here!"
"Run!"
...
The video was filled with static noise and soon came to an end.
The other clips were similar, recounting how Yang Xiaochao led a group into the deep mountains at night to rob graves, only to encounter a powerful monster that resulted in the deaths of two previous groups.
After watching all the videos, I noticed something strange. Among this group of people, Yang Xiaochao had clearly never practiced any form of cultivation; his combat ability was the lowest, and he should have been the least likely to survive.
Yet the oddity was that not only did Yang Xiaochao survive each time, but his body was also slowly changing. Even through the screen, I could see that he appeared younger than when I had last seen him.
I handed my phone back to Chen Haiping, my brow tightly knitted together as I muttered to myself in confusion, "Could it be that Yang Xiaochao really brought me here with ill intentions?"
After pondering for a moment without reaching any conclusions, I decided to stop overthinking. I looked up into Chen Haiping's eyes and asked seriously, "Chen Haiping, where did you get these videos? Tell me your intentions behind sharing this information with me!"
Chen Haiping met my gaze calmly and replied sincerely, "Jiang Ling, I found these videos on a phone I picked up at Grave Hill. The reason I'm sharing this with you is that I want to form an alliance. This time, I'm also prepared to venture into the deep mountains with you."
A glimmer of insight flashed in my eyes as I looked curiously into Chen Haiping's eyes and said, "Chen Haiping, you know there’s something fishy in those deep mountains, yet you still want to take the risk. Is there a secret hidden here that I should know about?"
Chen Haiping awkwardly shifted his gaze away, unable to maintain eye contact with me. He picked up a bun and took a bite, laughing as he said, "Haha, Jiang Ling, do you really think there are any secrets in this godforsaken place?"
I was merely curious about what Yang Xiaochao was up to and wanted to see the true form of the monster from the video.
"Jiang Ling, are you really not interested in forming an alliance with me?"
Seeing Chen Haiping's expression, I knew he was definitely hiding something from me. He wasn’t being sincere, so I had no interest in teaming up with him.
Without hesitation, I shook my head and replied, "Sorry, I'm not interested. I'm used to going solo and don’t like working with others. Chen Haiping, you should find someone else!"
With that, I picked up a bun from the table and continued to eat heartily.
After seeing my attitude, a flash of cold killing intent crossed Chen Haiping's eyes but was quickly masked. He stood up and smiled, saying, "Jiang Ling, take your time eating; I'm going to check out the third floor."
As I watched Chen Haiping leave, my expression grew serious. I suddenly realized that I seemed to have stepped into a trap.
(End of Chapter)
Comment 0 Comment Count