EBE Chapter 38 Reluctantly Arrested
Chapter 38 Reluctantly Arrested
Xuan Yi and Jiang Si had just exchanged a few words when they saw movement in front of the stove not far away. The masked men who had gathered quickly and neatly lined up in a row.
They walked empty-handed to the stove and extended their left hands to the burly man behind it. The man, holding a sharp blade, quickly slashed the man's palm, and blood gushed out instantly. The man in black dripped all the blood into the iron pot on the stove, then took a strip of black cloth from the second man and quickly wrapped it around the wound as he walked away.
"What are they doing?" Xuan Yi asked.
"They might be collecting blood," Jiang Si replied softly.
"The righteous sects of the martial arts world always say that Weiyang Palace is ruthless and bloodthirsty. They should really see that this is what true bloodthirstiness is."
Jiang Si squatted to the side and nodded in complete agreement.
Seeing that more and more men in black were lining up, and realizing that hiding any longer might expose them, the two exchanged a glance, turned around, and flew off in another direction.
After walking for a while, Xuan Yi felt something was wrong and gradually slowed down.
"Jiang Si, haven't we run into the patrol team for a while now?"
Jiang Si nodded; he had also noticed something amiss.
“We saw the stove in the morning, and it was normal for there to be fog on the mountain due to the temperature difference. But now, an hour or two has passed, and the fog on the mountain has not dissipated; instead, it has become thicker and thicker.”
The faint mist they saw in the morning was now so thick it was almost tangible.
"Wait!" Xuan Yi's expression suddenly changed, and he instantly picked up the waist token hanging on his body. He saw that the silver-white character "Xuan" was surrounded by a cloud of dark mist.
"Oh no! There's poison in the fog. Hold your breath and don't inhale too much toxin."
The two immediately tore off a piece of cloth from their clothes and wrapped it around their mouths and noses, and tried to adjust their internal energy, but it was too late. Their internal energy was blocked by the inhalation of the poisonous fog.
"We probably can't stay here any longer. Let's go out first," Jiang Si suggested.
As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. Just as the two were about to leave, the unusually lush plants in front of them suddenly emitted a very pungent white mist, which made it almost impossible for them to open their eyes. Startled, the two quickly retreated.
"It seems we've fallen into someone's ambush. Now we probably can't leave even if we wanted to," Xuan Yi said, covering his mouth and speaking indistinctly.
Jiang Si didn't speak, but drew his sword, and the sharp sword wind instantly swept away the pungent white mist in front of them. However, there was too much mist around them, and their internal energy was limited. They dared not expend too much energy, so they could only watch helplessly as the white mist in front of them slowly closed up again.
The two stood back to back, forming a circle, intently watching their surroundings. Just as they were wondering who was behind it all, the thick fog suddenly began to thin and dissipate, and a clear, melodious female voice came from behind it.
"To have survived under the great shaman's nose until now, I truly admire you greatly."
Immediately afterwards, a very beautiful woman appeared before them.
"Oh, where did you two handsome young men come from? No wonder the Great Shaman wasn't in a hurry to make his move today. Gentlemen, are you here to see me?"
The woman was dressed in red, which made her skin appear as white as snow and her hair as black as ink. Her curvaceous figure swayed gracefully, and her large, watery eyes were full of affection, exuding a captivating charm.
The woman in red waved her hand, and instantly a group of men in black armed with weapons surged out from all around, surrounding Jiang Si and his companion.
"Guests are always welcome. Now that you two gentlemen are here, let Manniang entertain you properly."
Jiang Si and Xuan Yi did not put up any further resistance. They knew that they had probably already fallen into the group's trap when they stepped into Qixia Mountain.
Seeing Jiang Si and the other man obediently surrender, Man Niang smiled slightly, walked to Xuan Yi's side, and gently lifted his chin with a slender white finger.
"This face is so pleasing to the eye. I'm almost reluctant to hand you over. If you behave yourself, I might save your life."
Xuan Yi smiled at the woman in red, but his gaze was as cold as ice, devoid of any warmth.
"But your face disgusts me. Stay away from me, or I'll throw up."
Man Niang was not provoked by Xuan Yi's words. Instead, she seemed to have heard a joke and covered her mouth with her hand, laughing softly.
"Youthful arrogance."
As soon as the words were spoken, their weapons were taken away, hoods were put over their heads, and chains were put on their hands. They could only follow the masked man leading the way. They walked and stopped along the way, turning left and right. When they finally stopped, Jiang Si realized that he didn't seem to remember the route. He seemed to hear the sound of flowing water.
He was then kicked into the pool, and immediately heard another splash.
The iron chain in his hand was slowly pulled upwards, as if he were being suspended in water.
"Be gentle, such a handsome young man is a rare sight. Take off your hood."
Following Man Niang's instructions, Jiang Si and the other man regained their sight and saw their current predicament.
They appeared to be in a pool within a mountain cave, the pool divided into individual iron cages. The water was deep, almost up to their chests. Besides the two of them, several other mangled, bloody corpses hung in the cages, their human forms vaguely discernible. The water was stained a murky, bloody red. On the bank, besides Manniang, were four men in black standing guard.
The entire cave was very dark, with the only source of light being a torch on the wall.
"As the saying goes, courtesy comes before force. I'll give you a day to think carefully about what you have to say. Of course, you can also maintain your integrity and say nothing, just like those people next to you. Of course, they can no longer be called human beings. In that case, don't blame me for being ruthless. To be honest, you are all so good-looking, I really can't bear to be rough with you."
Manniang winked at the two men, leaving behind a string of silvery laughter that echoed in the cave, before turning and leaving with the others behind her.
In the dimly lit cave, amidst the foul-smelling pool water, the two captured men exchanged a helpless smile through the cage bars.
Xuan Yi made no attempt to hide from the guards at the cave entrance. He shook the iron chains binding his wrists, which jingled and echoed in the empty cave.
"Jiang Si, have you thought about what you need to tell me?" Xuan Yi winked at Jiang Si.
"There's a lot to explain, but I don't know what aspect they want to hear about."
"Well, that's hard to say." Xuan Yi turned his head and shouted to the men in black at the cave entrance, "Brothers, I don't want to die yet! Can you tell me a little bit what you want to know?"
The men in black at the cave entrance seemed not to hear, remaining standing straight without making any move.
Xuan Yi, undeterred, continued shouting, "The young master next to me is from a wealthy family. Once we get out of here alive, we'll definitely receive generous gifts from you all!"
"Yes, yes, brothers, my dad is rich. Gold, silver, jewelry, beautiful women, real estate and property are all within his reach." Jiang Si chimed in without batting an eye.
The back-and-forth between Xuan Yi and the other person instantly turned the originally quiet cave into a lively place.
"It's...no use...they...can't...hear..."
Suddenly, a very weak voice came intermittently from the corner.
Jiang Si and his companion looked in the direction of the sound and saw another person hanging in the iron cage on the far right. This person was short and thin, with messy hair covering his face. In addition, he was hanging his head so that his appearance could not be seen. They could only judge that he was an older man by the sound.
"Can't hear me? What do you mean?" Xuan Yi asked.
After waiting for a long time, the weak voice came again.
"The more you know, the faster you die."
Xuan Yi let out a cold laugh, "I see you know quite a lot, aren't you? You're still alive, aren't you?"
Upon hearing this, the man gave a bitter smile and sighed, "Ha, alive? What difference is there between me and dead now?"
“There’s a huge difference. If you’re alive, you can tell us everything you know, and maybe we can both survive. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, old man, you’ve done a good deed.”
“If you know anything, senior, please tell me. I will do my best to save you from this predicament,” Jiang Si added from the side.
"Forget it, give up. Struggling... will only make your death worse." The person in the corner said this and then fell silent.
Seeing that the old man was unmoved by either soft or hard tactics, Xuan Yi had no choice but to temporarily give up trying to communicate with him.
Since the guards at the door couldn't hear him, Xuan Yi raised his hand and grabbed the iron chain in his hand. Using the strength of his arm, he suddenly lifted his legs out of the water and kicked forward with his right toe. A wire hidden in the sole of his shoe flew out with the force.
Seeing this, Jiang Si quickly swayed his body to the right. The chain above his head swayed with his body and crashed into the oncoming wire, causing the wire to lose speed and fall rapidly, eventually landing in Jiang Si's hand.
Jiang Si looked at Xuan Yi with admiration and praised, "The item was well hidden."
Jiang Si quickly inserted the wire into the lock on his wrist, turned it a few times, and with a soft "snap," the chain opened.
He twisted his wrist, intending to walk to the iron cage and unlock it in the same way, when he heard the old man's weak voice coming from the corner again.
"Ahem, wait a minute."
Jiang Si was taken aback but did not move. "May I ask what guidance you have for me, senior?"
“If you open the cage, you can live, but your companions will die.”
Jiang Si dared not disbelieve the old man's words. "Senior, could you explain it more clearly?"
"You think the entire cave is only guarded by those few puppets at the entrance? The biggest mechanism in the cave is actually underwater. Under each iron cage are countless man-eating fish. Once you leave the cage, the weight inside disappears, and those fish will swim out of the water. They are used to eating human flesh and drinking human blood. In no time, your friend will be devoured."
Jiang Si frowned, hesitant to make a move. He took a deep breath and plunged into the pool, creating huge ripples.
Xuan Yi knew that Jiang Si had gone to check the underwater situation, but he was actually quite skeptical of the man.
A moment later, Jiang Si emerged from the water. He brushed a handful of wet hair from his forehead and nodded to Xuan Yi.
"The bottom of the pool is made of pieces of wood, and it is indeed hollow underneath."
They thought they could escape quickly, but unexpectedly they found themselves in a stalemate.
"Hey, old man. So if what you're saying is true, there was no weight in the cage before we went in, so why didn't the fish escape?"
“That woman had a bell in her hand. When the bell rang, she could easily control the movements of these fish.”
"Controlling fish? Could it be that these fish, like those men in black, have been cursed?" Jiang Si grasped the key point.
The person in the corner was also somewhat surprised to hear Jiang Si's question. He raised his head slightly and looked at the two people in front of him, whose appearances and temperaments were both extraordinary. His originally quiet heart began to flutter.
"You also know they've been bewitched?"
"We discovered this by accident after we captured the body of a man in black," Jiang Si briefly described the situation he and Xuan Yi had encountered.
"You guessed right, it's Gu. The secret Gu poison technique from the Great Shaman of Southern Xinjiang—Blood Fiend. After those masked men in black were corrupted by the Gu worms, they lost all five senses, becoming neither alive nor dead, only able to unconditionally obey the Gu King's commands. They can no longer be considered human." The person in the corner seemed to have said too much, and by the end, he was barely breathing and could hardly catch his breath.
To be honest, Xuan Yi was really afraid that the old man would suffocate and die in front of them.
He quickly said, "Old man, why don't you rest for a while before talking? We still have a whole night, so it won't make a difference if we wait a little longer."
Jiang Si: Good grief, I thought you were concerned about her, but it turns out you even arranged for her to spend the night with you.
After a short rest, the old man took the initiative to ask.
“I heard that the woman valued you two quite a bit; you must not be ordinary people.”
"Xuanyi of Weiyang Palace"
Jiang Si of the Qingfeng Sword Sect
"Weiyang Palace and Qingfeng Sword Sect? Your combination is quite novel. However, compared to this place, the name of Weiyang Palace as the Demon Palace is likely to change hands."
The old man's words struck a chord with Xuan Yi. Xuan Yi's goodwill towards the old man immediately increased, and even his way of addressing him became more polite.
"I see that you seem to know a lot about the affairs of the martial arts world, so you must be a member of the martial arts world yourself. How did you get caught here and locked up?"
The old man didn't react for a moment to the change in address Xuan Yi, and paused before speaking.
"Who I am is insignificant. Being imprisoned here is simply because I am less skilled than others." The old man sighed. "However, the martial world is likely to suffer another bloody storm."
Everyone has secrets, and since the old man didn't want to talk about it, Jiang Si and the other man didn't pry further.
The old man's words also silenced Xuan Yi and the other. It seemed that the person behind Qixia Mountain was playing a big game of chess, and if they were not careful, they would become pawns to be manipulated.
Just as the three of them were silent, Xuan Yi and Jiang Si suddenly felt a series of vibrations on their necks.
Their eyes lit up, and they quickly exchanged a glance. Jiang Si pulled a bone whistle from his clothes, blew it gently, and soon the familiar vibration returned.
Immediately afterwards, a slight noise came from outside the cave. Although the sound disappeared quickly, it was still caught by the three people inside the cave.
Jiang Si quickly hid the bone whistle, wrapped the iron chain around his hand, and restored it to its original state.
A moment later, two men in black walked in one after the other from the cave entrance. Jiang Si looked at one of them and suddenly smiled knowingly.
"Xuanyi, we're saved."
As soon as the words were spoken, the two men in black removed their masks, revealing two familiar faces. These two were none other than Bai Heming and Li Hengzhi, who had not appeared since entering the mountains.