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墨書 Inktalez
I understood why the resentment was rising from the ground. Shangguan Mingyue had grown up in the mountains and was not very familiar with these things.
Having grown up in a village, I knew all the tricks of farming families, so I could see through the situation at a glance.
"Yan Xi, what do you really understand?" she asked, a bit anxious.
"Mingyue, do you know what a cellar is?"
A cellar is a place used by farmers to store grain. My family also had a cellar, filled with my father's wine.
Illegal activities often took place in cellars because they were hidden and not easily discovered.
"Yan Xi, do you know where the entrance to the cellar is?"
I didn't know, but since the vengeful spirit's resentment was so powerful, I could have Paper Man lead us to find it.
Following Paper Man, we arrived at a spot behind the shed and discovered some dry straw next to a wall.
The leaves around were green; it made no sense for this straw to be yellow unless someone had deliberately placed it there. Dead grass is yellow.
Sure enough, when we cleared away the straw, we found a movable wooden board underneath.
"Yan Xi, are we sure we want to go down there?"
"Since we're here, let's take a look. You can't catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den, and I feel like we might find something valuable on this trip."
Encouraged by me, Shangguan Mingyue followed me down into the cellar.
We tried to minimize our footsteps as we descended the worn staircase.
This cellar was unlike an ordinary farmhouse cellar; typically, a farmhouse cellar opens up into a vast space, but this one led to a long corridor. To avoid being detected, we had no choice but to move forward in the dark, afraid to turn on the lights.
I kept my hand against the wall as I walked, careful not to bump into anything.
After a while, I felt something slick and damp on the wall. Unable to see clearly without the light, I brought my hand closer to my face and sniffed it. A strong metallic scent of blood hit me instantly.
I extended my hand to Shangguan Mingyue for her to smell.
"Yan Xi, it's human blood," she confirmed.
She recognized it too. I continued to feel along the wall, noting that there was quite a significant area of blood.
It seemed we had come to the right place; this was definitely it.
We pressed on in the dark, and before long, we reached the end of the corridor.
Suddenly, our surroundings opened up, revealing a source of light ahead.
We still crouched in the passageway, hesitant to step out. Exposing ourselves now would make us easy targets.
Three men sat around a table, completely naked and drinking, their faces bloated and brutish, clearly not the kind of people one would want to encounter.
Above a tattered quilt on the right side, three girls were bound. Each of them bore varying degrees of injuries, their hands and feet shackled, their hair disheveled and looking utterly miserable. They were naked and filthy, appearing to be in their early twenties.
"Yan Xi, I can't believe I might have stumbled upon those cellar prisoners from the news," I thought as I took in the scene.
"Yan Xi, why is Mu Xuanche making us deal with this? Can't we just call the police?" Mingyue's question echoed my own thoughts. It was rare for Mu Xuanche to be so meddlesome; it felt strange.
"Forget that for now. We need to save them first. We can't just stand by and do nothing," I insisted.
"Save them? How? Look at those three; they're huge! And look at my arms and legs—I don't want to end up as one of the captives," Mingyue replied, her eyes wide with fear.
Following Mingyue's gaze, I quickly noticed something odd.
"Mingyue, look at their hands," I said, pointing out one of the men. On the back of his right hand was an inverted swastika. I realized with a jolt that this was connected to the Cult of Spirits. Mu Xuanche must have known about this connection, which was why he wanted to intervene; otherwise, given his personality, he wouldn't have bothered.
"How do we save him?"
Shangguan Mingyue looked at me, but I was just as troubled. There was no way out.
If they were ghosts, we could fight back, but these were three burly men, living and breathing. Our talismans and weapons were useless; how could we possibly fight them?
Two women against three strong men—wasn't that just asking for death?
"If only we could knock them out," Shangguan Mingyue sighed.
Knock them out...
"Do you have any sedatives?" I asked her.
"Of course, when you're out in the world, you have to carry some sedatives, right? The problem is how to get them to take it; that's the key."
"Give it to me," I said, reaching out for the sedative from Shangguan Mingyue. I then wrapped it inside the Paper Man.
A noise came from a distance as the three men rushed over to check it out.
Taking advantage of the distraction, I instructed the Paper Man to place the sedative inside. When the three men saw there was no commotion, they returned to their drinking.
Breathing heavily, Shangguan Mingyue asked me, "Did you manage to put the drug in? You almost got me killed just now."
I signaled for Shangguan Mingyue to create some noise from afar to facilitate my actions here.
"Bright Moon, is your medicine reliable?"
"I don't know, it was given by the master,"
Damn, the master actually entrusted a sedative to his apprentice.
If I hadn't witnessed his true abilities, I would have definitely thought he was a con artist.
After about ten minutes, the effects of the drug finally kicked in, and the three of them slowly collapsed.
We waited a few more minutes to ensure there was no movement before daring to rush out to free the three women from their shackles.
Mingyue's lock-picking skills were impressive; without a key, she quickly unlocked those restraints.
The three women looked at us with fear, trembling all over.
I kept reassuring them, telling them we were there to rescue them, and gradually they calmed down a bit.
"Alright,"
As Shangguan Mingyue's voice fell, the last lock clicked open.
We quickly led the three women away, planning to regroup with Mu Xuanche and the others before investigating further.
I never expected this.
Just as we were about to leave with the three women, the one in the middle turned and rushed towards the three men, shouting,
"Big brother, wake up! Someone's trying to run away!"
Both Shangguan Mingyue and I were momentarily stunned. We wanted to take the other two with us, but they were so frightened that their legs went weak and they couldn't move at all.
With no other choice, we decided to leave on our own.
However, time had already been wasted, and it was too late.
The three burly men had been roused by that woman and were now approaching us.
Each of them held an iron rod, looking quite imposing.
"Yan Xi, it seems we've fallen into a trap."
"I don't think so. That woman must have developed Stockholm Syndrome."
I had once come across a news story about a woman who was imprisoned in a cellar. After being rescued, she returned to seek out her captor and remained devoted to him.
Out of curiosity, I had done quite a bit of research on the topic.
I learned that it was called Stockholm Syndrome, where hostages develop a psychological dependence on their captors. Their lives are controlled by the captors; when the captors allow them to live, they feel immense gratitude. They share a fate with their captors, viewing the captor's future as their own and considering the captor's safety as their own safety.
It seemed that these people had been imprisoned for quite some time. The reason I didn't think it was a trap was that the scars on that woman were not fake, especially the row of burn marks on her face from cigarette butts. No woman would use her own face for such tricks.
Three burly men approached us, and Shangguan Mingyue and I leaned against each other. The sound of our racing heartbeats and steady breaths was unusually clear in the eerie silence.
On the ground, two women were crying distressingly. When the three men shouted at them, the women crawled over on their knees like beaten dogs. The men began to whip the women with a baton, and their heart-wrenching screams echoed in the air.
Listening to their cries, one of the men looked up at us and smiled, as if to taunt us. "I never expected such a gift to come my way. I was just worried about where to find some goods, and here you are! Now put down your weapons and entertain a few gentlemen. We might treat you a little better."
The leader of the men stepped forward with a threatening tone, while the two others laughed sinisterly behind him.
If I were to stay here and be tortured, I would rather die. The three men slowly advanced toward us, confident that we wouldn't escape due to their overwhelming strength.
Just as they were about to reach us, Shangguan Mingyue and I exchanged a knowing glance and simultaneously pulled out a handful of Glutinous Rice from our pockets, throwing it into the men's eyes.
"Run,"
The two of them held hands and dashed out.
The three men had extraordinary stamina, but halfway through, they were dragged back.
Taking advantage of the moment, I plunged Shiro into one man's arm. He winced in pain and let go of me.
As I lunged toward Mingyue, another man pulled me back, and Shiro was still embedded in that man's arm.
Without our weapons, we were essentially helpless.
The three men looked at us with cold smiles. The man I had stabbed pulled Shiro from his arm.
Then, a glint of cold light flashed in his eyes as he aimed Shiro at my stomach.
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