The Vicious Female Character at the End of Days: C13.2

Hey, first of all, thanks for reading my lousy Machine Translation. To be honest, I’d really like it if you guys corrected the mistakes I made. But please speak nicely and politely. My heart is not strong enough to read your too-harsh comments. Have a nice day. 🙂

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Chapter 13. (2/2)

The two entered the old ancestral hall. The dilapidated walls of the house were weathered, and light shone through the tiles; the atmosphere inside was eerie.

Bai Qing Qing moved closer to Fu Chen, pointing to the Guan Yu statue in the center and asking, “Brother, look at that statue, it’s so scary!” Fu Chen glanced at the statue and said, “What’s there to be afraid of in a statue?”

Bai Qing Qing followed him around to look for the statue. Besides the dilapidated statue, there were some broken tiles, a water vat, and weeds in the ancestral hall, but nothing else.

Wasn’t Awang supposed to be in the old ancestral hall?

Where was he hidden? Fu Chen had said he’d leave in three days; if he didn’t find him, her mission would fail.

Fu Chen’s expression darkened slightly. He searched carefully again, but still couldn’t find any clues.

In his previous life, when the Thunder Squad left, the entire Zhou Village underwent a strange change. Petals filled the air; anyone whose breathing tract was exposed would be planted with seeds, immediately causing a mutation.

He had searched the north and south sides for the past two days, but hadn’t found the source, except for this old ancestral hall.

He wasn’t doing this to protect the people of Zhou Village—evil deeds will be punished—but rather as a precaution, wanting to kill the thing to prevent it from becoming uncontrollable later.

If he couldn’t find it, he’d just leave Zhou Village with his teammates and Bai Qing Qing as soon as possible.

“Let’s go, we’ll leave tonight.”

“So soon?” Bai Qing Qing asked in surprise, “Wasn’t it supposed to be three days?”

Fu Chen glanced at her and said, “This place isn’t safe to stay in for long. Let’s leave first and then go to the surrounding cities to find supplies.”

Bai Qing Qing lingered, reluctant to leave, her eyes fixed on the Guan Gong statue¹. She noticed a candlestick on the altar and found it strange.

“Brother, that candlestick is strange, go take a look?”

Fu Chen looked up and noticed the anomaly as well. He went over and grabbed the candlestick, but couldn’t lift it. He twisted the candlestick, and a rumbling sound came from under the Guan Gong statue and altar.

Bai Qing Qing went over and lifted the yellow cloth, revealing an underground passage.

Fu Chen glanced at her. “You stay upstairs, I’ll go down and take a look.”

“No,” Bai Qing Qing grabbed his hand. “Brother, I’ll go down with you. What if someone comes? I can’t fight them.”

Fu Chen thought about it and agreed; it was best to keep her with him.

The underground passage was pitch black. Bai Qing Qing took out a flashlight from her spatial storage for illumination. After walking up the stairs for a few minutes, the two reached a wide area.

As soon as they entered, Bai Qing Qing was stunned.

The underground passage resembled an ancient prison. In spacious rooms separated by wooden partitions, many children were huddled together, while in another cell, several young men sat against the wall, their faces ashen, their bodies as thin as mummies.

Bai Qing Qing felt a chill run down her spine. Could this be the secret of Zhou Village?

Why lock the children underground? What was the reason for doing so? She dared not let her imagination run wild, fearing the darkest answer in her heart.

Fu Chen held her hand and pulled her to his side, saying, “Don’t be afraid.”

Bai Qing Qing walked to the cell where the young man was being held and asked, “Who is Awang?”

A young man raised his pale face and looked at her: “Who are you? How did you get in? Run!”

Bai Qing Qing looked at him earnestly and asked, “Are you Awang? Amei sent me to find you.”

Awang, like Amei, became agitated upon hearing the name and struggled to the cell door. “How is Amei?”

Bai Qing Qing said, “She’s fine. I’ll let you out now.”

She looked at Fu Chen beside her: “Brother, let them out.”

Fu Chen broke the lock, frowning at the group of children imprisoned. He hadn’t expected Bai Qing Qing to accidentally discover Zhou Village’s secret.

The people imprisoned here were all incapable of fighting; even if they escaped, they would be caught again.

Regardless, they had to get out first.

Bai Qing Qing looked at the children with difficulty and asked gently, “Can you get up?”

The children huddled together for warmth, their dark eyes calm and unblinking, unwilling to speak, clearly disbelieving her.

Awang spoke up, “They won’t listen to you.” A quiet sadness lingered in his eyes. “Because their parents made them stay here.”

After the group left the cellar, Awang revealed the cruel truth, “They’ll come once a day to feed the children. When necessary, they’ll be food for the villagers, and even for men from other villages.”

Bai Qing Qing’s body trembled slightly, a feeling of nausea rising in her stomach, reminding her of the war-torn years of ancient times.

-Exchanging children for food.

Women and children were also sent to the battlefield—not out of respect for women or for equal rights, but because of the tragedy of that era.

Didn’t Zhou Village have enough food? Why do this?

Suddenly, a large group of people from Zhou Village, armed with weapons, surged out and surrounded them, shouting excitedly.

“Catch them! Take them to the Sacred Tree!”

Footnote:

1. Guan Gong frequently appears in shops and restaurants, as he is considered one of East Asia’s most prominent symbols of loyalty and integrity. As a warrior guardian, he is believed to provide protection, wealth, and good fortune. ↩︎