Two Living People Hidden Beneath the Dried Well!

Gu Qinghe did not continue to pry at the door.

"Who are you?"

The person behind the iron plate gasped for air.

"Sun Erhe... the one driving the corpse cart last night."

The law enforcement disciples guarding the water channel drew their swords in unison.

Sun Erhe, who had been missing for an entire night, was actually hiding in the old herb cellar!

Gu Qinghe leaned close to the hole.

"Prove it to me."

"The cart that left the peak last night was number seven, and the rear left wheel was missing a chunk. There were four corpse bags on the cart: number two, number six, number nine, and number twelve. Zhao Chong was packed in bag number nine, and Ma Quan's body was stuffed into cabinet number fifteen."

These details matched the records in the morgue perfectly.

Li Sanshun asked, "How do we open the iron door?"

"There are three copper bolts under the door. Pull the left and right ones together, but don't touch the middle one. The middle one is connected to an ignition array; pull it wrong and the herb cellar will be burned through."

Gu Qinghe had two disciples dig away the medicinal mud in front of the door.

Three rusted copper bolts were soon revealed. The middle one was wrapped in thin copper wire that disappeared beneath the iron plate.

The fire outside was burning closer.

Ash and smoke drifted into the water channel, and the stone walls began to heat up. If they delayed any longer, even if they didn't trigger the mechanism, the fire on the surface would burn into the herb cellar.

"I'll count to three, pull together."

Gu Qinghe gripped the left copper bolt, and another disciple grabbed the right.

"One, two, three!"

Both exerted force simultaneously.

The copper bolts slid out half a foot, and the iron plate loosened inward.

Sun Erhe pulled the mechanism from the inside, and the iron plate finally shifted, creating a gap wide enough for a person to squeeze through. The stench of long-accumulated rotting herbs rushed out.

The two law enforcement disciples only took one breath before covering their noses and retreating.

Li Sanshun, however, faced the medicinal fumes and took a deep breath.

[You have inhaled a mouthful of low-grade rotting herb fumes.]

[Air quality: Poor.]

[Life energy increased by 0.01 points.]

[Detected components: Corpse-Bone Vine, Breath-Closing Powder, Hemostatic Medicine, Red Saltpeter Powder, Fire-Marrow Sand.]

Both Red Saltpeter Powder and Fire-Marrow Sand could ignite.

An array was indeed buried here!

Li Sanshun turned sideways and squeezed through the iron door.

The old herb cellar was much higher than the water channel, and over a dozen rows of iron racks stood inside. The racks were piled high with iron boxes containing Corpse-Bone Vine; many lids had rusted through, and withered vines hung from the gaps down to the floor.

Sun Erhe leaned against a stone pillar, his hands bound behind his back. A broken blade was embedded in his left leg, and his clothes were soaked through with blood.

A large iron box sat in the center of the cellar.

A stone was pressed onto the lid, and a thin bamboo tube protruded from a gap. Zhao Chong lay inside, the tube in his mouth, his body covered in Corpse-Bone Vine.

His chest showed no signs of movement.

"Is he still alive?"

"The effects of the Breath-Closing Powder haven't worn off yet." Sun Erhe pointed his chin at the iron box. "Don't lift the box. There is an array disk pressed underneath it; if the box moves, the entire herb cellar will go up in flames."

Gu Qinghe brought her people in and first cut the ropes on Sun Erhe.

Sun Erhe, however, dared not move his leg.

"There is a pressure plate under my knee, too. They left me here just to make me die with Zhao Chong."

A disciple pushed aside the Corpse-Bone Vine by his leg and indeed found a square stone slab. A copper wire was connected beneath the slab, leading to the bottom of the iron box.

The two mechanisms were linked.

Save one, and the other would trigger.

Gu Qinghe took out a Message Talisman, but the paper turned to ash the moment it lit up.

"There is an isolation array in the herb cellar; the message can't get out."

"Don't touch the copper wires on the ground."

Li Sanshun walked forward through the gaps between the iron racks.

The smell in the herb cellar was too chaotic. Corpse-Bone Vine, blood, and medicinal dregs were mixed together; an ordinary person couldn't distinguish where the incendiary powders were buried.

He took off his face mask and took several deep breaths.

His throat had just been burned by the toxic fumes, but his life energy replenished it. It hurt, but he could still hold on.

[Detected traces of Red Saltpeter Powder.]

[Detected traces of Fire-Marrow Sand.]

[Detected volatile lamp oil scent.]

Li Sanshun walked to the right side of the iron box.

The smell of lamp oil was strongest here.

He scraped away the White Sand Soil on the ground, revealing a thumb-thick ceramic pipe. The pipe bypassed the iron box and connected to the pressure plate under Sun Erhe's knee.

"The ignition array runs through this ceramic pipe."

Gu Qinghe inspected the inside of the pipe.

"It's filled with lamp oil; we can't cut it directly. If a spark splashes in, it will still ignite."

"Then we drain the lamp oil."

Li Sanshun pulled the spare bamboo tube from Zhao Chong's mouth, inserted one end into the ceramic pipe, and stuck the other into an empty medicine bottle.

A disciple poured clean water into the bamboo tube.

Lamp oil was lighter than water and soon flowed into the medicine bottle from the other end. After two bottles of lamp oil were drained, only clean water remained in the ceramic pipe.

Only then did Gu Qinghe lower her sword.

Clack!

The ceramic pipe snapped.

The ignition line connecting the two pressure plates was ruined.

Sun Erhe still dared not stand up.

"There is a spring catch under the pressure plate. The moment I lift my leg, the copper needle will strike the flint."

Li Sanshun brought over an iron ingot of similar weight from nearby and had the two disciples hold Sun Erhe steady.

"Count to three, you lift your leg, and I'll press the iron ingot down."

"What if you're too slow?"

"Then we all burn together."

"You certainly know how to comfort people."

Sun Erhe bit his sleeve.

"Three!"

The two disciples hoisted him up.

Li Sanshun shoved the iron ingot into place.

The stone slab sprang up half an inch before being pressed back down by the ingot. The copper needle beneath grazed the flint, producing only a few sparks, failing to touch the water-filled ceramic pipe.

Sun Erhe collapsed on the ground, blood still streaming from his pant leg.

The first witness was saved!

Gu Qinghe fed him a Hemostatic Medicine and turned to the iron box in the center.

The iron box could not be moved, and the lid was also connected to the mechanism. To save Zhao Chong, they had to open it from the side.

Gu Qinghe used her short sword to shave away the rusted box wall.

A piece of iron plate fell away.

Li Sanshun reached in, pushed aside the Corpse-Bone Vine, grabbed Zhao Chong's shoulders, and dragged him out through the gap.

Zhao Chong's body was ice-cold, his pulse so weak it was nearly impossible to find.

Gu Qinghe pried his mouth open, placed a Detoxification Pill under his tongue, and used her spiritual energy to push the medicinal power through.

After a dozen breaths, a coughing sound came from Zhao Chong's throat, and he spat out a mouthful of black, medicinal-smelling water.

He was still alive!

Both key witnesses had been found!

Seeing Zhao Chong wake up, Sun Erhe propped himself up against the stone pillar.

"Go quickly. The people who captured me said that after the herb garden caught fire, someone would come to check the cellar. If they don't find the bodies, they will trigger the array disk themselves."

Gu Qinghe had two disciples lift Zhao Chong and assigned another to carry Sun Erhe on his back.

Just as they reached the iron door, the sound of gears turning echoed from beneath the ground.

Red light flared simultaneously from the four corners of the herb cellar.

The array disk buried beneath the iron box began to operate. Fire-Marrow Sand flowed along the array patterns, heading straight for the piles of Corpse-Bone Vine stacked all around.

"Someone started the ignition array from the outside!"

Gu Qinghe drew her short sword.

"Back to the abandoned well, now!"

The group rushed out of the herb cellar and followed the water channel toward the wellhead.

Before they had run far, a massive boulder crashed down from above, perfectly sealing the exit of the abandoned well. Immediately following, six masked cultivators appeared by the well.

One of them stepped onto the stone slab and spoke down into the well.

"Are the people all gathered? Perfect. Seal the well and ignite the array!"