Is Zhou Village scarier than a place full of zombies in the outside world?
However, when she thought about the women’s group in Zhou Village today, she realized that sometimes human nature is even scarier, like an unfathomable deep sea with a vastness beyond imagination.
Ah Mei’s grandmother’s house only had two beds, and she and Ah Mei slept on one of them. Since there were no recreational activities and it was still early to sleep, they started chatting.
Most of the time, it was Ah Mei doing the talking, and she responded.
Both of them were teenage girls, and they talked about their preferences, ranging from clothing to games and food.
Ah Mei mentioned that she would make some spicy and sour radish strips for Bai Qingqing in the future. They stimulate the appetite and can make you eat two bowls of rice.
Bai Qingqing smiled and said she liked spicy food, “Then you’ll have to make a lot of it.”
As they continued chatting, both of them fell asleep.
The next day.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a floor full of golden fragments, bathing the two sleeping girls in warm and peaceful atmosphere.
The old lady came into the room and called out, “Get up, it’s time for breakfast.”
Bai Qingqing woke up first and then looked at the sleepy-eyed Ah Mei, saying, “Wake up, let’s go have breakfast.”
After freshening up, the two sat on chairs and had breakfast with the old lady. After finishing, Bai Qingqing instructed Ah Mei that Hongjie would notice they were not in the small dark room today and told her to find a place to hide.
Bai Qingqing disguised herself and went to Ah Bao’s house first, saying through the window, “Ah Bao, I’m going to find your brother.”
“Really?” Ah Bao’s eyes were full of anticipation. “Sister, you must bring my brother back.”
“Okay,” Bai Qingqing agreed.
There weren’t many people in the village, and she managed to evade the patrols’ sight and successfully reached the halfway point of the northern mountain.
Hearing footsteps and voices, Bai Qingqing quickly hid behind a pear tree, waiting until the people had passed before coming out.
It wasn’t the season for pears to ripen. The pears hanging on the branches were still green. They must taste sweet when they are ripe.
She climbed up the hill, taking left and right turns along the small path. Some houses had been abandoned on the northern mountainside, with the walls of the old houses crumbling, and the weeds in the yards were knee-high.
The new ancestral hall was built with contributions from the people of Zhou Village, and with the existence of the new ancestral hall, the old ancestral halls on the mountain were naturally abandoned.
Was Awang really being held here?
In fact, she had some doubts in her heart. Even if Awang and Ah Mei were not allowed to be together, why were they separated and locked up on two different mountains? It seemed like they were intentionally keeping the two apart.
She didn’t rashly enter the old ancestral hall. If someone was guarding it, she would be exposed.
“Bai Qingqing, what are you doing here?”
She immediately turned around and saw Fu Chen furrowing his brows and looking at her with a somewhat gloomy expression.
“Brother.” Bai Qingqing hurriedly ran over and looked at him. “I came to find someone.”
“Who are you looking for?”
Bai Qingqing skipped over some details and exaggerated the poignant love story between herself and Ah Mei that she encountered in the small dark room, accompanied by tears of emotion.
“So, I ran here.”
Fu Chen’s face still looked unpleasant. He wondered if the amnesiac Bai Qingqing was too naive.
“Didn’t I tell you not to wander around?”
Bai Qingqing lowered her eyelashes and pouted, “I didn’t.”
Fu Chen raised his hand to cover her head and said coldly, “I’ll scold you later. Follow me.”
“Oh.” Bai Qingqing’s lips curled up, and she followed behind him, asking, “Brother, how did you come here? Are you here to investigate the old ancestral hall?”
Fu Chen held her hand and said, “Come and take a look.”
In the previous life, he felt that something was off with the people in Zhou Village, but he didn’t have time to investigate carefully. He was too focused on finding Bai Tiantian with Shen Mingxuan and neglected the old ancestral hall on the mountain.
Bai Qingqing was a little apprehensive about going in alone, but now that she had Fu Chen, a peak-level Tier 3 powerhouse, by her side, she felt much more reassured.
She could use Fu Chen’s help to save Awang and complete the mission.
The two entered the old ancestral hall. The dilapidated walls of the house bore traces of decay, and rays of light shone through the broken tiles. The atmosphere inside the room was eerie.
Bai Qingqing moved closer to Fu Chen and pointed to the statue of Guan Gong in the middle, asking, “Brother, look at that statue, it’s so terrifying.”
Fu Chen glanced at the statue of Guan Gong and said, “What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just a statue.”
Bai Qingqing followed him around, inspecting the surroundings. In addition to the dilapidated statues, there were some broken tiles, water barrels, and weeds, but nothing else.
Wasn’t it said that Awang was in the old ancestral hall?
Where could the person be hidden? Fu Chen had mentioned leaving in three days. If she didn’t find the person by then, her mission would fail.
Fu Chen’s face darkened slightly as he searched carefully but still couldn’t find any clues.
In the previous life, when the Thunder Squad left, the entire Zhou Village underwent a transformation. Flakes of flowers filled the air, and anyone who inhaled them would immediately undergo a mutation caused by the planted seeds.
In the past two days, he had searched both the north and south sides but hadn’t found the source, except for this old ancestral hall.
He wasn’t protecting the people of Zhou Village out of kindness; the wicked would receive their due. He wanted to kill that thing as a precaution, to prevent it from becoming uncontrollable in the future.
If they couldn’t find it, he would leave Zhou Village early with his teammates and Bai Qingqing.
“Let’s go. We’ll leave tonight.”
“So soon?” Bai Qingqing exclaimed, “Didn’t you say three days?”
Fu Chen glanced at her and said, “It’s not good to stay here for too long. We’ll leave first and search for supplies in nearby cities.”
Bai Qingqing dragged her feet and didn’t want to leave. Her eyes were fixed on the statue of Guan Gong, where she noticed a candlestick on the table, which seemed strange.
“Brother, that candlestick is weird. Can you go take a look?”
Fu Chen raised his gaze and also noticed something unusual. He walked over and grabbed the candlestick but couldn’t lift it. As he twisted the candlestick, a rumbling sound came from beneath the statue of Guan Gong.
Bai Qingqing walked over and lifted the yellow cloth, revealing an underground passage.
Fu Chen glanced at her. “Stay up here. I’ll go down and take a look.”
“No.” Bai Qingqing held his hand. “Brother, I’ll go down with you. If someone comes later, I won’t be able to handle it alone.”
Fu Chen thought about it and agreed. It was best to have her by his side.
The underground passage was pitch black. Bai Qingqing took out a flashlight from her space and illuminated the way. They walked down the stairs for a few minutes until they reached a spacious area.
As soon as they entered, Bai Qingqing was stunned.
Inside the underground passage, there were prison-like rooms reminiscent of ancient times. In the spacious rooms separated by wooden barriers, many children huddled together. In another cell, several young men leaned against the wall, their faces pale and bodies emaciated like corpses.
Bai Qingqing shuddered, could this be Zhou Village’s secret?
Why were the children kept underground? What was the reason behind it? She didn’t dare to speculate, fearing it might be the darkest answer.
Fu Chen held her hand and pulled her closer, saying, “Don’t be afraid.”
Bai Qingqing approached the cell where the young men were locked and asked, “Who is Awang?”
One of the young men raised his pale face and looked at her, asking, “Who are you? How did you get in? Hurry, run away.”
Bai Qingqing earnestly replied, “Are you Awang? Ah Mei sent me to find you.”
Awang, like Ah Mei, became visibly excited upon hearing the other’s name. He struggled to crawl to the front of the cell. “How is Ah Mei?”
Bai Qingqing said, “She’s fine. I’ll release you now.”
She looked at Fu Chen beside her and said, “Brother, let them out.”
Fu Chen broke the lock and frowned as he looked at the group of imprisoned children. He hadn’t expected Bai Qingqing to accidentally discover Zhou Village’s secret.
The people locked up here had no fighting power, and even if they managed to escape, they would be recaptured.
Regardless, they needed to leave first and figure things out later.
Bai Qingqing looked at the children in distress and asked gently, “Can you all get up?”
The children huddled together for warmth, their dark eyes calm, unwilling to speak. Clearly, they didn’t trust her.
Awang spoke up, “They won’t listen to you.” There was a serene sadness in his eyes. “Because their parents told them to stay here.”
After the group left the cellar, Awang revealed the cruel truth, “They only feed the children once a day. When necessary, they become the villagers’ food, as are the men from outside the village.”
Bai Qingqing’s body trembled slightly, and she felt a nauseating discomfort in her stomach. It reminded her of the turbulent times in ancient history.
Eating one’s own kind.
Even women and children had to go to the battlefield, not out of respect for women or equal rights, but out of the sorrow of that era.
Didn’t Zhou Village have enough food? Why would they do such a thing?
Suddenly, numerous villagers wielding weapons surrounded them, shouting and yelling excitedly.
“Capture them! Take them to the Divine Tree!”
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