I thought Jianghu Rat had lost his courage, but after kowtowing a few times, he stood up and rammed himself against the stone wall.
It hurt just watching him!
He was thrown back and fell to the ground. It took him a while to get up, and then he was about to rush at the stone wall again.
I quickly rushed over and grabbed him, "What are you doing?"
He completely ignored me, desperately pushing forward.
"Fatty!" I shouted.
Fatty quickly rushed over and, along with me, pinned Jianghu Rat to the ground.
Pinned to the ground, Jianghu Rat thrashed like he was having a seizure, drooling from the corner of his mouth, his eyelids flickering.
"Brother Xiang, what's wrong with him?" Fatty asked, looking on the verge of tears.
"How should I know? Damn it, is he possessed?" I said.
"Fatty, quickly get the climbing rope!" I said. 138 Reading Network
Fatty responded and found a climbing rope.
In no time, we had tied up Jianghu Rat with the rope.
Even after being tied, he didn't calm down, constantly writhing on the ground like a fish out of water.
After struggling for a while, Jianghu Rat finally stopped.
"Brother Xiang, what should we do?" Fatty asked.
"When you were with him just now, did you notice anything unusual about him?" I asked.
"No," Fatty replied.
"Then what's going on with him?" I was a bit confused.
Fatty said with a mournful face, "Brother Xiang... do you think he might be possessed by a ghost..."
"Possessed, my foot," I cursed. "Where are there so many ghosts?"
"Didn't you see one before..."
It was better that Fatty didn't mention it; as soon as he did, I couldn't help but shiver.
With Fu Honglang gone and Wang Yang injured, Fatty was completely unreliable. If I got scared now, we'd be finished.
"If there really are ghosts in this world and they kill us, won't we become ghosts too? When everyone's a ghost, who's afraid of whom!"
I used this twisted logic to convince myself and to bolster Fatty's courage.
Upon hearing this, he said, "Brother Xiang is right! Damn it, it's just ghosts! My Fatty today really..."
Mid-sentence, Fatty froze, staring at something behind me with sheer terror.
His expression scared me as well.
Without a doubt, I knew there was something behind me!
In a flash, I gritted my teeth, drew the dagger from my waist, and spun around, intending to strike whatever it was with my knife.
But when I turned around, I saw a woman!
And it was a disheveled, disheveled woman.
This woman was about twenty-eight or twenty-nine, with a resolute face, dressed in work clothes, wearing high-top suede boots, holding a mining lamp in her left hand and a pistol in her right.
Judging by her appearance, she had just emerged from the tunnel.
The appearance of a woman in this place meant she was most likely Mao Guizhi!
"Mao Guizhi?" I ventured.
The woman looked surprised, staring at me and Fatty for a moment, then shifting her gaze to Jianghu Rat on the ground.
Upon seeing Jianghu Rat, her brows relaxed, and her first question was, "Where's Old Fu?"
"He went to look for you," I replied.
I never expected to meet Mao Guizhi here.
After some conversation, I explained who we were and our journey.
After listening, she said, "You've worked hard."
"Um... Sister-in-law, why are you alone?" I asked.
Mao Guizhi's expression turned somber, a flicker of sadness in her eyes. "There were five of us originally... two died, and the remaining two got separated from me."
"Did you see Brother Fu when you came out just now?" I asked.
She shook her head, her expression somewhat grim. "This tunnel is a maze; once you enter, it's hard to get out. I walked in there for over ten hours before I got out..."
I was startled, "Then Brother Fu, he..."
Mao Guizhi waved her hand. "It's best not to go in to look for him now. If we go in, we might not be able to get out. We can only rely on him now."
I felt a pang of lingering fear. It was fortunate I didn't follow him in earlier, otherwise...
Mao Guizhi sat down on the ground nearby, asking for some food. I handed her the last pack of compressed biscuits and gave her a bottle of water.
She ate slowly and deliberately, then leaned back and fell asleep.
It seemed her stamina was completely depleted.
Jianghu Rat lay motionless on the ground. Fatty and I sat beside Wang Yang, unsure of what to do for a while.
About an hour later, I saw Mao Guizhi wake up and quickly went over to her.
When I first saw her, I had many questions to ask, but seeing how exhausted she looked, I didn't bring them up.
"Um, Sister-in-law..." I began.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Actually, I came here this time to find you..."
I organized my thoughts and started to explain.
After listening, she said, "So, you've given Qin Jing, whom the Young Lady asked you to find, to Old Fu?"
I nodded. "Brother Fu said only you knew how to meet the Young Lady..."
I paused here. "I want to meet her."
Mao Guizhi frowned. "Why do you want to meet the Young Lady?"
"There are some things I want to ask her in person..." As I said this, I glanced at Wang Yang not far away.
Mao Guizhi sighed. "I can't take you to meet her."
"Why?" I was taken aback.
She stared at me for a long time and said, "Because the Young Lady is in trouble..."
"In trouble? What kind of trouble?" I asked anxiously.
She didn't answer my question but instead asked me one. "How much do you know about the Young Lady?"
"Hmm?"
"In other words, how much do you know about her now?"
After a moment's hesitation, I said, "Can she really live forever?"
Hearing my words, Mao Guizhi was clearly surprised. "You already know?"
"I'm not entirely sure..." I replied.
Mao Guizhi sighed. "Although I don't know your purpose in looking for her, I want to tell you that since you're not one of us, it's best not to contact her."
"Why?"
"Some things are not as simple as you think..."
Mao Guizhi paused. "The less you know about some things, the better it is for you."
"What if I must know?" I said firmly.
Mao Guizhi gave a wry smile. "Then you must be prepared... Once you get involved in this, your life will be ruined. You need to think carefully."
I took a deep breath and found myself hesitating for a moment...