CHAPTER 372: CHAPTER 347: SU JINGCHEN IS MISSING

Yu Xiaolian waited until the sun had set in the west but still hadn’t seen Su Jingchen return. She couldn’t help but feel extremely anxious. Didn’t they say that they could exchange the ’Phoenix Egg’ for the Immortal Powder? Why hadn’t he returned yet? Could it be that they refused to trade?

Or did he snatch their ’Phoenix Egg’ and then refuse to give them the Immortal Powder, or perhaps something else happened?

Yu Xiaolian began to let her mind wander.

Now, the surroundings were silent, as if no one living nearby seeking medicine had returned.

After waiting a while, Yu Xiaolian couldn’t sit still any longer.

No, she had to go out and take a look.

Yu Xiaolian thickened her eyebrows and used contour powder and makeup tools to modify her face shape, making her baby-fat face appear more resolute. Finally, she changed into a set of men’s clothes she had prepared in her space and fixed her hair with a man’s jade hairpin before hurriedly leaving the house.

Just as she stepped out the door, she hastily returned and left a note for Su Jingchen under the candlestick.

As soon as Yu Xiaolian left the house, she headed as quickly as possible toward the depths of the dense forest. Although the mountain path was rugged and full of thorns, Yu Xiaolian was anxious and wished she could rush to the midway point of the mountain.

Strange, very strange. The path leading to the halfway point was originally home to many households, why weren’t there any signs of them?

Yu Xiaolian’s heart was in her throat, and her steps grew cautious.

The further she went into the dense forest, the darker it became.

Yu Xiaolian stumbled and fell several times.

Though she had a flashlight in her space, she couldn’t use it; the beam was too strong, and she feared that danger would come as soon as she turned it on.

After walking for a while longer, Yu Xiaolian suddenly smelled a strong scent of blood.

As she furrowed her brows and slowly moved forward, she stepped on something soft. Yu Xiaolian suppressed her inner fear, silently took out the flashlight, and shone it down.

With this illumination, Yu Xiaolian was suddenly horrified and almost screamed.

Beneath her foot was a puddle of flesh.

Yu Xiaolian resisted the nausea and quickly shone the flashlight around, discovering that all around her were severed limbs and pieces of flesh mixed with the puddle.

This was definitely not caused by brute force!

It’s the Witch Clan, definitely the Witch Clan’s doing.

But why would the Witch Clan unleash such a massacre? Where was Su Jingchen? Could one of these pieces of flesh be Su Jingchen?

Yu Xiaolian felt her scalp numb, her limbs chilled. If Su Jingchen were truly dead, she’d make sure the Witch Clan paid with their lives.

Yu Xiaolian fixed her gaze on the dark, hellish mountain path, resolutely turned off the flashlight, and continued walking forward with large strides.

Until Yu Xiaolian noticed the road ahead becoming increasingly difficult, she stopped and took out the flashlight to look around again.

No road!

How could there be no road? Didn’t the locals say that the Witch Clan lives on the mountaintop behind the dense forest, and since they always come and go, the dense forest should have been cleared into a clear path? Why was everything ahead overgrown grass and branches, making it difficult to take even a step?

Yu Xiaolian felt unprecedented panic.

But after hesitating for only a moment, Yu Xiaolian adjusted the flashlight’s beam to the dimmest setting and stubbornly moved through what seemed an impassable path.

With every step forward, the branches crisscrossing ahead scraped noisily against her clothing.

No, she couldn’t afford any injuries. If she bled even a little, the Witch Clan might follow her scent here.

Yu Xiaolian wore a hat, mask, and gloves, covering herself thoroughly, afraid she might unknowingly bleed a little.

Yu Xiaolian struggled forward for a while, and as she walked, she heard eerie and mournful chanting. Yu Xiaolian stopped to listen closely.

This sound seemed to come from all directions, leaving Yu Xiaolian unable to discern east from west or know where she was.

Yu Xiaolian decided not to be influenced by the singing and continued forward.

After crossing yet another thorny path, Yu Xiaolian’s view suddenly opened up ahead.

A path!

But the strange singing had stopped, making it impossible for Yu Xiaolian to follow the sound. Still, she believed that as long as she followed this winding path upward, she could reach the Witch Clan’s so-called headquarters.

Stepping onto the path, Yu Xiaolian realized this path stretched downward to the valley, thinking she had made a needless detour earlier.

The path below was full of dead grass, but it was clear that people frequently passed through here.

Yu Xiaolian turned off the flashlight, only using it briefly to light the way when the path was unclear.

After walking for about an hour, Yu Xiaolian noticed the path had turned into layers of upward stone steps.

This puzzled her; why would the Witch Clan choose to live here? Even carriages couldn’t pass through. Did they rely on manpower to carry supplies up the mountain?

Yu Xiaolian said as she continued moving up the stone steps, each step steeper than the last.

Finally, reaching the summit, she was shocked by the wide area spread before her, with rows of neatly arranged houses.

But before she could take a closer look, two people came patrolling toward her, jingling bells with each step.

With the dim light in the distance, Yu Xiaolian noticed these two Witch Clan members dressed peculiarly, resembling primitive people, and instead of holding swords, each had a trident.

Seeing them getting closer, Yu Xiaolian quickly slipped back into her space, planning to reappear once they’d moved past.

After about five minutes, Yu Xiaolian reappeared, not seeing the two anymore, only dim lights from the houses and faint, intermittent voices.

Yu Xiaolian used the night as cover, swiftly sneaking outside one of the houses.

The voices from the conversation inside slowly reached Yu Xiaolian’s ears.

Revealing to her a shocking revelation.

Those people seeking medicine died horribly because the Witch Clan used their bones and blood to feed the Gu Worm larvae.

Still, why would the Witch Clan blatantly massacre all those medicine seekers, without fear of repercussions?

This place wasn’t even well-hidden. She easily arrived despite her lack of skills, so the experts should find it even easier, right?

Yu Xiaolian didn’t realize how many venomous insects and snakes she bypassed. An ordinary person would’ve been devoured and left in bloody tatters.

The people inside began toasting and partying, and Yu Xiaolian stopped listening since there were no useful details. She quietly crouched and stealthily moved further in.

Suddenly, Yu Xiaolian heard a haunting scream from nearby, turning to look toward the sound. She faintly saw rows of iron cages.

That must be where the Witch Clan held captives.