This doll seemed to be made in human size, and it had a special feature—it bore a striking resemblance to her.
The nose and eyes were just like hers, but when it came to the smile, it was a bit off. The doll's upturned mouth looked eerily creepy.
Thanks to the fairly bright flashlight, Tang Tang searched around the cave entrance and found that there were only three dolls in the cave in total. Moreover, these three dolls looked very much like them.
A bad hunch suddenly crossed her mind.
Before she could continue her train of thought, a rope suddenly came out of nowhere and grabbed Sun Xu. No one knew how the rope was controlled, but it retracted upward, hanging Sun Xu upside - down.
"Ah - ah - ah - ah - ah! Brother, sister, help me!"
Tang Tang was about to move towards him when a snake crawled out from somewhere near her feet. She froze immediately.
While Sun Xu was still screaming, another rope came and hung Sun Xu's brother up. It was a simple and rough move, and he was almost hanging right in front of Sun Xu's face.
"Don't panic. I'll come right away," Tang Tang said as she was about to move forward. But as soon as she took a step, the snake hissed and slithered closer. She stopped in her tracks.
She had a feeling that the snake was deliberately blocking her way.
Sure enough, as long as she stayed still, the snake would also stop moving.
She was a bit confused about what Shen Tian was up to. Why? Her mind was in a complete mess. Clearly, Sun Xu and his brother's names weren't on that roster, so why did this happen here?
Was there a mistake somewhere?
She had nothing in her hands and didn't dare to rush forward rashly, but she had to save Sun Xu.
As she walked forward, she suddenly saw a line of small words written on the cave wall.
"This is a punishment."
A chill ran down Tang Tang's spine.
"Sister, are we going to die here?"
Tang Tang opened her mouth and after a long while, she said, "Don't talk nonsense. How could that be?"
"Is my brother dead?" Sun Xu's voice was very dejected. "After we came in here, will we never see Mom again? Brother..."
Tang Tang felt a pang in her heart that she couldn't quite describe.
"Sister, don't come over for now. I can hold on for a while. Stay still. That snake is a real problem. There's no first - aid in this mountain,"
Tang Tang didn't listen to him. As soon as she took a step forward, the snake advanced another step.
As she continued to move forward, the snake was only half a meter away from her. Tang Tang knew she couldn't go any further.
But she had to save Sun Xu, so she had to move forward.
She repeated this back - and - forth for a long time, with the snake keeping a close eye on her.
She didn't know what was going on outside. It was already seven o'clock.
Sun Xu was starting to get congested from being hung upside - down. He still looked up at her and smiled to comfort her, saying that it was okay.
Tang Tang suddenly felt a twinge of sadness in her heart.
She didn't know how long they would stay here. Everything was uncertain.
It wasn't until ten o'clock at night that her phone suddenly beeped, indicating that there was a signal.
Tang Tang perked up immediately. She fumbled with her phone and was about to make a call. Before the call went through, she suddenly heard a faint rustling sound coming from the cave entrance.
"Is this the place?"
"The location is right here."
It wasn't very clear through the cave entrance, but Tang Tang still recognized the voice. It was Zuo Mu's.
"Brother!"
There were a series of noises coming from outside the cave. She didn't know what was going on. Then she heard Zuo Mu shout for her to step back. She instinctively took a step back. Just as she did, she heard a loud rumbling sound.
Before she could react, there was another rumbling sound.
She stared at the cave entrance with her mouth agape for a long time.
The cave was rammed open by a motorcycle.
Zuo Mu was holding the handlebars with one hand and waving with the other to fan away the dust. The dust was so thick that he could hardly open his eyes.
"I really shouldn't have listened to you guys and just come directly. I should have stuck to my idea and worn goggles."
Zuo Mu propped the motorcycle with one foot. When he looked up and saw Tang Tang inside, he finally felt his heart settle down.
He rubbed his hands, and his heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.
It had only been two days since they last saw each other, but he had been scared out of his wits.
It wasn't until he received intermittent news about Tang Tang that his heart felt a bit better.
But he still ignored the persuasion of Chief Li and the others and followed them into the mountain.
Zuo Mu looked at Tang Tang and softly said, "Hey." He got off the motorcycle and walked towards her. Looking at her, he said, "Come here. Let me take a look. Are you hurt? Did they give you a hard time? Let me see, let me see."
When Zuo Mu was nervous, he tended to talk a bit too much. Tang Tang tugged at the corner of Zuo Mu's clothes. "I'm fine," she said in a reassuring tone. She pointed at the snake on the ground. "There's a snake here. Be careful when you walk over. There's also a live boy over there. His name is Sun Xu. He's the nurse - in - charge's kid."
Zuo Mu looked in the direction Tang Tang pointed and sure enough, saw a boy hanging upside - down and the eerie doll next to the two boys. Zuo Mu frowned imperceptibly and tightened his grip on Tang Tang's hand slightly.
"Don't be afraid. Brother's here."
Tang Tang reached out and squeezed Zuo Mu's hand in return. She waited until several people came in, untied Sun Xu and his brother's bodies from above, and used a pair of tongs to pick up the snake that had been eyeing them menacingly on the ground. Then she slowly let out a sigh of relief.
"I made some other discoveries. The last location I sent you was also a cave. I saw..." Tang Tang hesitated for a moment when she said this. After a long while, she said, "I saw something I shouldn't have. There were instruments filled with human organs, and inside there were also..."
She looked up at Chief Li who had just walked in. "There were also corpses. This is the name record. It should be the kids in there."
"I think it's like a sacrifice and also a bit like revenge. But I can't figure out why."
Zuo Mu reached out and stroked Tang Tang's head. "If you can't figure it out, don't think about it for now. Let's get out of here first."
Tang Tang nodded. Then she took out a list from her backpack, which she had taken from the cave. After handing it to Chief Li, she followed Zuo Mu out. As soon as they got outside, when she saw Zuo Mu, she reached out and tightened her grip on his clothes.
It was just a small, subtle gesture, but Zuo Mu still understood.
Zuo Mu turned to look at Tang Tang, pulled her into his arms, and rubbed her back. "Don't be afraid. Brother's here."
"I said before that no matter where you are, I'll find you,"
Zuo Mu lowered his head and ruffled Tang Tang's hair. "See, did I keep my promise?"
It wasn't until now, after smelling Zuo Mu's scent, that the uneasiness in Tang Tang's heart finally subsided.
She reached out and tugged at Zuo Mu's arm. "I... I'm so scared,"
She couldn't bring herself to say the rest of the words, which were then rubbed away by Zuo Mu's hand stroking her hair.
"Don't be afraid. Be a good girl."