Xiu Xiu had stopped crying. Zhu Yan clicked her tongue, impressed. As expected of the Vice Leader of Guangchun Hall, Wang Buzui was skilled at manipulating people’s hearts. With just a few words, he had calmed Xiu Xiu’s emotions.
Wang Buzui told Xiu Xiu to sit back down, then straightened up. He glanced at Zhu Yan, saw her seemingly lost in thought, and decided not to bother with her. He turned and left the dark hall.
He still didn’t fully trust his subordinates. At this crucial moment, he felt more at ease overseeing things personally.
As soon as Wang Buzui left, Zhu Yan moved closer to the group of women and asked in a low voice, “Were you all brought here today?”
With Wang Buzui gone, the women grew bolder. Some said yes, and others said no.
Zhu Yan asked again, “Have you noticed anything strange?”
One woman replied, “I was brought here three days ago. While we weren’t treated to fine food and drink, we weren’t starved either. We didn’t suffer any physical abuse. As for strange things… Oh, right, for each meal they gave us preserved fruits and candied fruits. Those candied fruits had a spicy aroma.”
“This lady speaks the truth,” Xiu Xiu added. “But that’s how they treat those who obey. Those who don’t… they’re dragged away and never return.”
She had been brought here by Wang Buzui yesterday. By then, there were already several young women here.
They ate, drank, and slept all in this place. If anyone cried or tried to escape, they would be dragged away by those Half-Faced Ghosts.
They were all young women, normally reverent of ghosts and gods. They had also heard many rumors about Half-Faced Ghosts eating people. Seeing this situation, how could they dare to resist? They could only obey.
Earlier, she had dared to crawl over and cling to Wang Buzui’s leg because he had removed his mask, showing the face she was familiar with. That’s why she had gathered the courage to beg him.
“Preserved and candied fruits for every meal?” Zhu Yan murmured, taking note. She continued, “Is the Fire Moth Sect so wealthy?”
While preserved and candied fruits weren’t exactly rare, poor families couldn’t afford them.
“Brother Wang often goes to Xiuxiang Pavilion and spends thousands of taels of silver without blinking an eye,” Xiu Xiu said.
Zhu Yan nodded. It wasn’t really surprising. Ji Dafu was also a member of the Fire Moth Sect, but on the surface, he was a merchant. Not to mention anything else, just that underground gambling den alone had raked in quite a sum.
Moreover, the Fire Moth Sect had grown quite large, with party members in various places. It wasn’t strange for them to have substantial wealth.
Otherwise, people like Lai Luofu wouldn’t have had the means to cause such a stir.
But the preserved and candied fruits… Zhu Yan seemed to think of something. She raised her delicate nose and sniffed. A complex fragrance permeated the air. At first, it smelled like the usual perfume these women wore, but the aftertaste was mixed with… the ethereal, purifying scent of pine, sandalwood, and agarwood incense from temples.
It was indeed so. Again, this method. Resurrection… Today, having entered this gate of hell, she would see exactly how this method of resurrection worked.
After a moment of silence, Zhu Yan looked at Xiu Xiu again. “Xiu Xiu, when did you meet Wang Buzui? And why do you call him Brother Wang?”
From their conversation, she could easily tell that Xiu Xiu wasn’t guarded against Wang Buzui, which made her easily susceptible to his manipulation.
Moreover, if Xiu Xiu hadn’t diverted their attention, perhaps they would have discovered the truth earlier.
Xiu Xiu felt uneasy under Zhu Yan’s direct gaze. She instinctively avoided eye contact, looking troubled, unsure whether to speak.
Just then, Du Xiaowan, who had been unconscious, stirred slightly, her eyelashes fluttering as she let out a soft groan.
Seeing her wake, Zhu Yan quickly helped her sit up. “Madam Li, are you alright?”
Xiu Xiu also moved over, letting Du Xiaowan lean on her for comfort.
Du Xiaowan frowned, clearly not yet recovered from the earlier shock. “Official Zhu? Where is this? Why am I here?”
She remembered being held hostage by a Half-Faced Ghost. To intimidate everyone, they had even cut her flesh, and then… ugh…
Du Xiaowan dry heaved. A woman nearby, fearing she might vomit, quickly brought over a chamber pot.
They didn’t know how long they would be kept in this ghostly place. They couldn’t let her vomit on the floor!
Just the smell alone was unbearable. Their hearts were already tormented enough; they couldn’t let their bodies suffer more.
Fortunately, Du Xiaowan only felt nauseous thinking about that scene. She dry heaved a few times but didn’t vomit.
The wound still ached dully, but compared to her current fear, it was negligible.
Zhu Yan had somehow procured a cup of water. She let Du Xiaowan drink it slowly to calm down, then said, “This is probably the Half-Faced Ghosts’ lair. We’ve all been captured and brought here for some so-called secret method of resurrection.”
Upon hearing the words ‘Half-Faced Ghost’, Du Xiaowan’s whole body trembled uncontrollably. Combined with the dull pain from the wound on her arm, she couldn’t help but burst into tears.
Choking with sobs, she said, “Off… Official Zhu, even you’ve been captured. Does… does this mean we’re all going to die? Wuwu…”
Zhu Yan was at a loss. She didn’t dare make any promises. She could only try to comfort her: “Don’t worry, someone will surely come to rescue us. We’ll escape.”
Xiu didn’t want to dampen their spirits either, but she reminded them, “It’s better not to talk about escaping. If they hear us, who knows what will happen to us.”
Hearing this, Du Xiaowan couldn’t hold back. Her tears flowed like a dam had burst, her sobs growing louder and louder.
Wang Buzui entered with his men, hearing Du Xiaowan’s wailing. Impatiently, he said, “How noisy.”
One after another crying, he didn’t have the energy to comfort them one by one. He was about to order someone to knock Du Xiaowan unconscious.
Zhu Yan spoke up, “Vice Leader Wang, if you find it annoying, why not give us some medicine to bandage the wound? She’ll naturally stop crying then. Besides, if you take her away, you’ll have one less person to use. If it affects anything and causes the resurrection to fail, all your efforts will be in vain.”
She wasn’t sure where they took people when they dragged them away, or what they did to them. It was better to keep them here.
Xiu Xiu also said, “Brother Wang, Miss Du has lost a lot of blood. If the wound isn’t bandaged, what if she bleeds to death? All your efforts would be wasted.”
Previously, every time he came to Xiuxiang Pavilion, he would choose her as his companion. He was generous, and everyone had a love for money. She didn’t mind helping out with some things.
Whether intentional or not, she knew more than the others.
Wang Buzui felt Xiu Xiu’s words made sense. Once the secret method began, if Du Xiaowan died first, it would be too late to capture someone else.
So he took out a bottle of medicine from his sleeve and tossed it onto Du Xiaowan. “Bandage her wound.”
Xiu picked up the medicine bottle from Du Xiaowan’s body and comforted the still sobbing Du Xiaowan: “Bear with it a little. I’ll apply the medicine now. Don’t cry anymore. If you annoy Brother Wang, who knows what he might do?”
Xiu Xiu spoke these words softly, but Du Xiaowan heard every single one of them.
She sobbed a few more times before gradually calming down. With Zhu Yan’s help, she lifted her sleeve to reveal the bloodied and mangled area on her wrist.
Fortunately, Ji Dafeng’s cut wasn’t too deep; otherwise, Du Xiaowan might have bled to death.