Playing Escape Roles

There was a dark area on the lawn in the backyard, which became even more obvious after the surrounding snow was swept away.

The cover attached to it was pulled away, revealing a steep staircase entrance.

There was no light below, and they could only see the two sides of the staircase extending all the way down until they were swallowed by the gloom.

The white candles stored previously came in handy, and with the help of the faint candlelight, the few of them slowly walked down.

The stairs were made of wooden boards, which looked like they had existed for a long time. They were stained with brown, unidentified coagulated matter and some viscous liquid resembling fresh blood.

Stepping on it made the heels feel vaguely stringy and sticky, causing extreme discomfort.

The further down they went, the larger the space became, and the sound of dripping water could be vaguely heard as the snow from above melted and dripped onto the basement floor.

Until they reached the very bottom.

The three of them lightened their footsteps. The temperature seemed to have dropped significantly, and no matter how much they wore, they shivered with cold.

A thick, cold, and decaying scent rushed over them. Along with sticky sounds, everything around them came into view.

The damp and dark stone walls were adorned with scarlet candles in all directions, but strangely, the candle flames were not strong; instead, they seemed vaguely swallowed by the darkness, unable to cast much light.

And beneath the candles lay dozens of short figures.

With withered hair and bodies so thin they were reduced to skeletal frames, their pitch-black eyes were out of focus and slightly open, and their hands were tied with thin red strings, hanging limply to the sides, unable to hold any flesh.

They were all girls.

They were the sacrifices chosen by the village.

Sang Yu's heart sank as she recognized one of the figures.

It was the girl who was casually beaten and scolded, whom they met before Granny Wang led them to attend the wedding banquet.

The three of them walked over and began to check their conditions.

Perhaps due to prolonged hypothermia, a few of them had already lost their breath, with only a sparse few breathing feebly.

Sang Yu still wore a faceless expression, but several recovery potions suddenly appeared in her hand, and she forcefully shoved these potions into the mouths of the few people who could still be saved.

After confirming that they had recovered, she covered them with the warm blanket she had exchanged for using her points.

After finishing all this, the few of them began to look around the West Zhou, wanting to find more clues.

There had to be some hidden clues in this place, otherwise it couldn't be so concealed.

Thinking this, Bo Shuo's gaze swept quickly across every corner. 007 came with its own brightness, so Bo Shuo didn't need to rely on the tiny candle to take in all the details.

In the corner directly ahead of them, there were slight, faint scratches on it.

Bo Shuo steadied his mind and stepped forward first.

After wiping away the thick dust nearby, the pattern inside was revealed.

This pattern was carved into a very concealed stone wall. It looked like it had been there for a very long time, and the handwriting was somewhat mottled and unclear, allowing only some patterns to be vaguely recognized.

Seeing this, the other two people nearby also gathered around, bringing the candles in their hands to illuminate it with the faint candlelight.

This looks so familiar, Sang Yu slightly frowned, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to recall. I seem to have seen it before.

"Not just you, we should have all seen it." Bo Shuo said in a deep voice.

"These marks are distributed in various areas of the village. At first, I thought they were children's casual doodles, but now that I think about it, they should be the escape routes marked by those abducted."

"They made very adequate preparations, even figuring out every corner of the village, and there must be a ringleader among them planning the escape."

The candlewicks swayed around, and the scattered shadows moved like water ripples. A rustling sound suddenly came from the dark place.

At that exact moment, the expressions of the three people instantly tightened.

The sound grew closer.

Bo Shuo's body stiffened. That cold wind seemed to spread from his limbs, turning his entire shell into a plaster statue, and any slight movement seemed to let one hear the creaking inside.

Wait... where did the wind come from?

This was clearly a sealed underground space; how could there possibly be flowing air?

It was as if something was moving fast, generating a rapid sense of airflow during its movement.

Suddenly, Bo Shuo's gaze was firmly nailed to the eastern corner.

Wait, why was there no candlelight in this corner?

That patch was pitch-black, and the gloom became the best camouflage. Looking at it from other directions, one could only see a void.

In the entire basement, among the four directions of east, south, west, and north, candles were placed in all directions except the east.

Only the east had none.

No! Perhaps there were some, but they were obscured by something.

Bo Shuo thought of something, clenched 007 in his hand, took a deep breath, and extended 007 in that direction.

007 pointed its butt toward that area, covered its eyes with a small handkerchief, and shrieked in startlement, "Ahhhhhhhhh."

Unlike other examinees, Bo Shuo could also use 007's light to see his surroundings, and thus discovered something even more scalp-numbing.

He found out—that easternmost area wasn't a patch of shadow at all; it was clearly strands of damp, sticky black hair.