Just as Jing Minghe was utterly bewildered, the wolf lying on the ground stood up. It approached the two men step by step, finally stopping beside Jing Minghe and rubbing its head against his waist, appearing remarkably docile.
"..." Jing Minghe tilted his head and looked speechlessly at Chi Hao, asking, "Hao Ge, am I scarier than a wolf? Why is this big fellow so gentle with me?"
After speaking, Jing Minghe cautiously reached out and petted the wolf's head.
Hmm, it was quite soft.
The wolf circled Jing Minghe once, then turned to face Chi Hao, suddenly baring its teeth and looking as if it wanted to devour him.
Chi Hao let out a cold laugh and subtly clenched his fist.
To prevent the wolf from getting its head exploded by Chi Hao, Jing Minghe immediately stepped in front of Chi Hao and said to the wolf, looking down, "Don't hurt him! Otherwise, I'll kill you. Believe me, ten more like you wouldn't be able to defeat him."
Whether the wolf understood Jing Minghe's words or was simply intimidated by Chi Hao's powerful killing aura, it howled, truly retreated a few steps obediently, and ceased its ferocity.
"Yo," Jing Minghe turned back to Chi Hao and said with a smile, "Still obedient, aren't we."
He had inexplicably subdued a large wolf, yet Chi Hao's expression wasn't pleasant.
Jing Minghe patted Chi Hao's shoulder and discussed with him, "Since this guy isn't harmful to us, let's keep him for now. He might be useful."
Chi Hao snorted coldly but did not object. His gaze swept to the wall behind them, and he suddenly said to Jing Minghe, "There's a way to save Lin Ling."
"Oh?" Jing Minghe quickly inquired, "What way?"
"Your wolf."
Jing Minghe's mouth twitched, and he earnestly emphasized, "It's not my wolf."
Chi Hao ignored Jing Minghe's emphasis and walked straight back.
Jing Minghe hurried to follow and noticed the wolf trotting obediently behind him. A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, but he didn't intend to dwell on it.
The two men and one wolf returned to where Lin Ling was.
Chi Hao looked at Jing Minghe, who, understanding the implication, lowered his head to look at the wolf and commanded, "Go clear away those plants."
Jing Minghe had only intended to try Chi Hao's suggestion, but to his surprise, the wolf actually obeyed him and began to clear the plants. He also noticed that the plants on the wall seemed to be terrified of the wolf; as soon as it touched them, they would automatically retract.
Lin Ling was finally rescued, but she was unconscious. Jing Minghe pressed her philtrum, managing to revive her.
Upon seeing Jing Minghe, Lin Ling grabbed his arm with emotion, her voice weak as she said, "Mr. Jing, help..."
Before Lin Ling could finish, Jing Minghe preempted her, asking, "Where's Sister Yumi?"
Lin Ling raised her hand and pointed to a spot not far away, "She's... there."
Jing Minghe put Lin Ling down and patted the large wolf that was circling him, seeking praise, commanding, "Go there! Continue clearing those plants."
The wolf looked in the direction Jing Minghe pointed and obediently ran off to work.
Before long, Yumi was rescued, along with Yan Xiaoqian, whose hand was entwined with Yumi's as they were both ensnared.
"Sister Yumi!"
Chi Hao went over to help Jing Minghe wake up Yumi and Yan Xiaoqian.
Yumi was about to speak when Jing Minghe held her hand, saying, "Rest first."
After Yumi and the others recovered, Jing Minghe finally asked, "Sister Yumi, how did you end up in here?"
Yumi sat up and replied, "Behind the main hall, there's a cave blocked by rocks. We entered from there. Oh, and when we came in, we saw a mural on the wall by the cave entrance."
"Oh?" Jing Minghe turned to look at Chi Hao.
Yumi then asked him, "And you? Did you also enter from the cave entrance?"
"No," Jing Minghe said, "We fell in from behind the statue in the side hall."
Having said that, he realized that while he had indeed fallen, Chi Hao had not. Just as he was about to clarify to avoid diminishing the great Chi's prestige, he heard Chi Hao ask Yumi and the others, "Can you walk?"
Yumi and the others quickly got up and nodded in response, "Yes."
"Lead the way."
·
The old woman, holding Guan Wei's hand, strained her eyes open, admiring the man before her with immense satisfaction. A peculiar chuckle escaped her lips.
Guan Wei frowned slightly. He knew something was off about this old woman from the moment she latched onto him, but to get more clues, he decided to observe the situation and let her lead him to her home.
The outside temperature was around ten degrees Celsius, but inside the old woman's house, it was terrifyingly cold, clearly below freezing.
"Child," the old woman asked in a drawn-out voice, "What is your name?"
Guan Wei smiled and retorted, "Old woman, don't you know my name?"
The old woman paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Of course I don't know. You're a stranger, how would I know your name?"
"That's right," Guan Wei withdrew his hand from the old woman's grasp, "I am a stranger. Why does the old woman want to know my name?"
With that, Guan Wei took a step back, his eyes fixed on the old woman before him.
The old woman continued to chuckle, head bowed. As Guan Wei stepped back, she stepped forward, answering his question.
"Because if you don't tell me your name, it will hurt a lot, a whole lot. Only by answering my questions obediently will you avoid pain."
"What?"
Guan Wei felt a gust of cold wind sweep past his ear. The old woman before him had vanished. From behind him, a monster with a head shaped like a pitcher plant attacked.
It floated, its feet not touching the ground.
Guan Wei, with his background as a bodyguard, was agile, but he still found it extremely difficult to evade.
Finally finding an opportunity, he leaped out of the window only to see the outside engulfed in a frenzy of dancing ghosts.
It had gotten dark.
Guan Wei quickly found a hidden spot to conceal himself. He suspected these ghosts were villagers, but each ghost had a head shaped like a pitcher plant, making it impossible to identify anyone.
Looking only at their clothes made identification even harder. The clothes varied in age and even era, and the number of ghosts seemed to be more than twice the total number of villagers in the entire village.
"Roar~"
Hearing the sound, Guan Wei immediately dodged. His hiding place had been discovered.
More ghosts converged on him, and Guan Wei could only continuously dodge and flee.
He wanted to run towards the village entrance, but for some reason, despite the village not being large, he became disoriented.
He finally managed to escape the village, only to find not the familiar path he had taken to arrive, but a dilapidated small temple.
The ghosts were still in hot pursuit. With no other option, he had to take temporary refuge in the small temple.
The temple had only one hall. The stone statue inside was of the Earth God. Two white candles burned beneath the statue, their flickering light accompanied by faint crackling sounds.
Guan Wei had no time to examine the surroundings and quickly hid behind the statue. Behind the statue was a shallow pit, and next to the pit lay a piece of yellow cloth.
He jumped into the pit, pulled the yellow cloth over himself, and felt considerably safer.