Jiang Cheng nodded slightly to the Fatty and took a deep breath. "Let's begin."
The Fatty turned around and walked step by step toward the spot Jiang Cheng had chosen. Jiang Cheng and Ye Qiutang fixed their eyes on the Fatty's back, as if hoping to find a little comfort in those broad shoulders. They had no hope of getting out on their own; the Fatty was their only chance to break through.
As it happened, both Jiang Cheng and Ye Qiutang had complete faith in the Fatty.
Jiang Cheng trusted him because they had spent so much time together and had come to understand and care for each other deeply. Ye Qiutang was different; her confidence came entirely from what Old Man Song had told her.
Bearing the hopes of all three, the Fatty stood steadily before the window. Once he had composed himself, he reached out and poked a hole in the paper window, then leaned in to peer through it.
About ten-odd seconds later, as the Fatty straightened up, all three of them felt a strange force. It converged at a point directly behind them, but this time it didn't repel them. Instead, it formed a vortex that pulled them inward.
Ye Qiutang was the first to lose her footing. She was yanked backward and plunged headfirst into the center of the vortex. Jiang Cheng and the Fatty were swept backward after her, and then the suction finally vanished. The three of them were gone from the courtyard.
The next second, Jiang Cheng and the others abruptly came to in another identical courtyard. They hadn't woken up lying on the ground; they had remained frozen in the same pose, like statues.
They had no idea how long they'd been standing there, but all three of them now