Chapter 1861: Chapter 1861: Lost in the Wilderness (18)
"Mr. Xie!!"
Yao Qing shouted several times, but unfortunately, Xie Ningfeng did not respond at all.
He was already dead.
Xin Zhu looked to his side; the girl watched the dead person indifferently, without showing any emotion.
It was as if it wasn’t a person who died in front of her.
Fear flashed in Xin Zhu’s eyes.
"Miss... Miss Liu, what... what should we do?" Yao Qing was at a loss and could only hope for Chuzheng.
"Keep going."
"..." Yao Qing swallowed: "What about Mr. Xie?"
"What, do you want to take him along?" Chuzheng said indifferently, "If you can, then go ahead."
Anyway, don’t make me do it, you can do anything.
Yao Qing: "..."
There was no way she could carry Xie Ningfeng.
Yao Qing glanced at Chuzheng’s dispassionate eyes and carefully laid Xie Ningfeng down.
-
In the dimly lit tunnel, four people cautiously moved forward, beams of light occasionally illuminating the surroundings.
These four were none other than Brother Gao and the others.
Apart from Lan Chen and Li Tian, only Brother Gao and Gan Lu remained; Xiao Mo and Uncle Min were nowhere to be found.
Li Tian clutched her arms, somewhat afraid: "Brother Gao, how long have we been walking here? Why isn’t it ending?"
"I don’t know either, let’s keep moving forward." Brother Gao said in a deep voice, "Going back might encounter those wolves."
They had previously encountered wolves, and when besieged, they fell into here.
However, being chased all the way, Xie Ningfeng and Xiao Mo had scattered, unsure of the current situation.
"Brother Chen, don’t you feel it’s eerie here?" Li Tian spoke in a lowered voice to Lan Chen.
Lan Chen shook his flashlight: "It’s just a tunnel, what’s there to feel, don’t say such things."
"But... but I always feel like someone’s watching us." The feeling was strong.
Lan Chen was impatient: "There’s no one here, just us."
Gan Lu, listening to Lan Chen and Li Tian’s conversation, was also annoyed: "Can you guys be quiet? Afraid those wolves won’t find us?"
"You..."
"Stop arguing." Brother Gao pressed his hand downward: "Listen."
All four quieted instantly. From deep within the tunnel, a knocking sound echoed, somewhat indistinct.
"What’s that sound?" Li Tian was covered in goosebumps.
Gan Lu frowned: "Could it be Xiao Mo and the others?"
"Stay alert, keep moving forward."
Brother Gao led the way, and Gan Lu looked at Li Tian and Lan Chen, rolling his eyes, gesturing for them to go first while he covered the rear.
With that level of capability, they dared to play with this stuff, not even knowing how they’d die, a bunch of fools.
The sound drew nearer.
One knock after another, like pounding on their eardrums.
Up ahead appeared an archway with evident chisel marks, the sound emanating from within.
Li Tian and Lan Chen were certainly not brave enough to take the lead, Brother Gao signaled them not to move rashly, and cautiously entered the archway.
Inside the archway, the light was better than outside; it was a huge cavern, with chisel marks on the stone walls.
However, the cavern was empty, with nothing inside.
Brother Gao indicated it was safe, and the other three followed in.
"Where’s the sound coming from?" Gan Lu frowned, "There’s nothing here."
The sound hadn’t ceased; it kept resonating.
Yet, inside the cavern, they couldn’t discern from which direction the sound originated.
"What’s this?" Li Tian pointed at the cavern’s stone wall, "Why is it so strange..."
The chisel marks on the stone wall were numerous and complex, many had faded, and the interrupted chisel marks made it impossible to identify what they were depicting.
"Brother Gao! Brother Gao! Is that you?"
"Xiao Mo!" Gan Lu looked at Brother Gao, "Brother Gao, did you hear that?"
"Hmm."
"Brother Gao, Brother Gao, we’re here!!" Xiao Mo’s side presumably heard and began shouting excitedly.
The knocking grew louder.
After much effort, the group identified Xiao Mo’s location, and then came the dilemma... how to get him out from the other side of the wall?
On Xiao Mo’s side, he was alone, and even he couldn’t explain why he was there.
His side was different from theirs; it was a sealed space, and if he didn’t get out soon, the oxygen would run out quickly.
Just as everyone was stumped, footsteps echoed from where they had entered.
Everyone quieted at once, vigilance surged, they gripped their weapons tightly, focused on the entrance.
Shadows drew near.
"Brother Gao!"
A frail voice tinged with a tremble sounded, followed by Yao Qing emerging from the darkness, looking at them with delight.
"Qingqing?" Brother Gao released a sigh while his breath caught again: "How did you come here?"
"I..."
Yao Qing looked behind her.
Chuzheng led Xin Zhu into their view, and the group’s expressions were varied.
This woman had previously disappeared; Brother Gao suspected her motives were impure, viewing her as a ticking bomb, so he didn’t care about her fate.
Lan Chen and the others had a falling out with her, not intending to look for her.
Who would’ve thought she’d suddenly appear here...
And who was the person beside her?
"Qingqing, are you alright?" Brother Gao pulled Yao Qing to his side, his peripheral vision constantly sweeping over Chuzheng.
"I’m fine, Brother Gao." Yao Qing shook her head: "But... we encountered Mr. Xie, he... he’s dead."
Xie Ningfeng was dead.
This news was anything but good.
However, Li Tian, his girlfriend, didn’t appear very saddened; her attention was on Chuzheng and Xin Zhu.
Xin Zhu’s appearance was the best Li Tian had ever seen...
"Liu Chuzheng, who is he?" Li Tian pointed at Xin Zhu, her tone full of accusation: "Where have you been these past two days?"
"Do I have to report to you? Who do you think you are?" Damn thing daring to question my whereabouts, really thinks himself important.
Li Tian: "..."
Brother Gao cautiously scrutinized Xin Zhu: "Miss Liu, who’s this young fellow?"
Chuzheng gave the same explanation she gave Yao Qing, a fellow traveler she picked up.
Whether Brother Gao believed her wasn’t her concern, at worst they’d have a fight, she feared nothing.
Xin Zhu adhered to Chuzheng’s instruction, saying nothing, clearly not used to being around so many people.
Brother Gao evidently didn’t believe her, this person had appeared abruptly.
Yet Chuzheng had done nothing; what they were experiencing had nothing directly to do with her, even finding reasons to interrogate her was challenging.
Brother Gao had no choice but to first find a way to rescue Xiao Mo.
Xin Zhu spoke softly to Chuzheng, "This place... I think I’ve been here before."
"Hmm?"
Xin Zhu carefully recalled, countless images from his memory flashed by.
A group had once entered here; he accompanied a middle-aged man, his teacher...
"Found it... found it!"
Everyone was excited, illuminating the wall back and forth.
Xin Zhu’s head suddenly throbbed like it was being pricked by needles, every nerve felt tugged at, those memories began to dissipate, he could no longer grasp them.
"If you can’t remember, don’t force it." Chuzheng held his palm, soothing him, "It’s alright."
