Ye Zhiqiu looked around. Countless gazes seemed to be fixed on him. Combined with the cold moonlight, they became his nightmare.
Time didn't allow him to be distracted any longer. The fires at the foot of the mountain were gradually approaching him. Ye Zhiqiu quickly pulled himself out of fear.
No matter what, he had to leave this place. He didn't want to become a part of these corpses.
He propped his hands on the ground and struggled to stand up. He didn't know what had cut his hand, but Ye Zhiqiu felt a tearing pain in his palm.
Due to the low light at night, he couldn't see what it was, but now wasn't the time to care about it.
Ye Zhiqiu covered his injured palm and rushed up the mountain in a hurry.
As long as he climbed over this mountain, he could leave this strange place.
The fires were still approaching. A voice came from behind him. The tone was gentle, as if patiently coaxing a lost child.
"Don't go any further up. It would be bad if you meet a man - eating beast."
"Child, come back to me. It's dangerous outside. Don't go any further."
The voice behind him was gentle, but in Ye Zhiqiu's ears, it was no different from the whispers of a demon.
This man was the owner of this villa. His name was Ye Shang. He was also the one who had taken away A Yan back then and the one who had watched coldly as the escaped children were whipped.
No matter how gentle he sounded now, he couldn't change his cold - blooded nature.
Ye Zhiqiu didn't stop. Every few steps he ran forward, he could see the corpses of children. He didn't know how many more corpses there were on this mountain.
The gazes of the corpses and the footsteps behind him filled him with fear.
The worst part was that the wound he had just cut was now in excruciating pain, as if being stabbed by a knife.
Ye Zhiqiu frowned tightly due to the pain, but he couldn't stop now.
No matter how painful it was, he had to grit his teeth and run forward, because he had no way back.
Ye Shang behind him had said all the nice words, but the child in front still showed no sign of stopping. He clenched his fist hidden in his sleeve, but there was still a smile on his face.
His usually squinted eyes were now wide open. He had already wasted too much time.
Thinking like this, the next second he reached out and took the sword from the guard's waist. With a light tap of his toe, he rushed forward.
The rustling sound of leaves came from behind, and the footsteps were getting closer. Ye Zhiqiu could feel his strength gradually fading.
He had wounds on his knees and hands, which made it impossible for him to run fast. But even so, he could only try his best to run faster, a little faster.
He looked ahead. There was still a long way to climb over this mountain. He didn't know if he could leave before they caught up with him.
The next second, Ye Shang gave him the answer.
A long sword whistled past his ear and plunged straight into the tree trunk in front of Ye Zhiqiu. The sword hummed, and a lock of Ye Zhiqiu's black hair by his face was cut off by the blade.
If the sword had been a bit closer, it would have pierced not the tree but his neck!
Ye Zhiqiu looked at the long sword on the tree trunk in front of him. His feet paused for a moment, and the next second, a man slowly fell from the tree.
His white clothes fluttered slightly. Under the moonlight, the dark cloud - like patterns on his collar glowed faintly. The man jumped down from the tree and landed right in front of Ye Zhiqiu.
He squinted his eyes and walked towards Ye Zhiqiu with a faint smile on his face. His voice was gentle, without a trace of blame. "Child, making us go to such lengths to look for you at night. You're really naughty."
Ye Shang walked up to Ye Zhiqiu and reached out to stroke his head. It seemed like a doting and helpless head - pat, but Ye Zhiqiu could feel the pressure from the other man.
His hand exerted a little force, and Ye Zhiqiu could feel his scalp being pulled, but he didn't dare to move a bit. The other man's aura was too powerful, making him feel like a prey being targeted by a poisonous snake.
"Sir."
Just then, the guards behind finally arrived late. The fire illuminated the area. Ye Shang withdrew his hand and took out a silk handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe his hands, as if what he had touched just now was something disgusting.
"I think the guards in the villa should be no problem." Ye Shang folded his hands in his sleeves and looked at the guards standing in a row in front of him. His voice dropped a bit.
Hearing this, the guards all knelt down. Their voices trembled with fear. "It was our negligence in guarding. Such a thing will never happen again!"
There was still a smile on Ye Shang's face, but his squinted eyes opened. He looked at the guards kneeling in front of him, reached out and gently pointed, and said with a smile, "There's never a next time with me."
As soon as he finished speaking, the guard on night - watch today suddenly fell to the ground. The incident happened so suddenly that no one knew how Ye Shang had made his move, and the guard lost his breath silently.
Ye Zhiqiu, who was standing closer, saw clearly how Ye Shang had taken the guard's life.
In front of his eyes, under the flickering firelight, he saw the glowing silk thread. The thread wrapped around the guard's neck, and the end of the thread was in Ye Shang's hand.
Although it was hard to believe, Ye Shang had indeed used the silk thread in his hand to kill someone.
Ye Shang's expression remained unchanged. Even after just killing someone, he could still maintain a calm look, as if it wasn't him who had made the move.
He smiled and cut off the silk thread in his hand. Looking at the guards kneeling nervously in front of him, he said with a smile, "I can pretend that today's incident never happened. But if a similar situation occurs next time, it won't just be the life of one guard."
Saying this, he paused for a moment, looking at the guards with a hint of disdain in his eyes. "You can't even catch a child. I have to make a move myself. A bunch of useless people."
After saying that, Ye Shang didn't pay attention to Ye Zhiqiu anymore. He waved his sleeve and walked down the mountain.
Ye Zhiqiu was also escorted down the mountain by the guards. He looked back. Although he was so close to the mountaintop, he still failed in the end.
He didn't know what punishment he would face next, and he didn't know if he could survive this time.
But if he survived like this, the final outcome would still be death, right?
Ye Zhiqiu laughed self - deprecatingly. He didn't expect that after doing so much, he still couldn't change this outcome.
When he was brought back to the villa, it was already dawn. The sky was turning pale. Ye Zhiqiu looked at the corpses around. Some of their faces he had seen before, and some he hadn't.
They were just casually thrown on the mountain, without even a simple earthen grave. He couldn't tell what he was feeling. Anyway, he would sooner or later become a part of these corpses.
He stopped looking and walked forward silently with his head down.
The wind gradually picked up, and the sky was overcast with dark clouds. It looked like a storm was coming.
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it started to rain. The big raindrops hit his body painfully. Ye Zhiqiu was forced to kneel in the center of the villa. The children brought with him were called to stand aside and watch.
Ye Shang stood under the eaves, looking at Ye Zhiqiu kneeling on the ground. There was no trace of emotion in his eyes.
The raindrops splashed on his robe, but he didn't care at all. He just waved his hand.
The guard standing aside understood and quickly picked up the whip in his hand and handed it to Ye Shang.
"Sir, do you want to punish him yourself this time?" the guard asked timidly, looking at Ye Shang's face.
If this child was to be punished by Ye Shang himself, it usually meant that the child's fate was not good, because Ye Shang was never a person who would show mercy.
"This child is so bold. If I don't give him a lesson, what if other children follow his example?" Ye Shang reached out and took the whip from the guard's hand, saying this with a smile.
His tone was calm, as if he was just discussing what to eat today. It seemed that nothing could stir up the slightest emotion in him.
Seeing this, the guard didn't dare to say anything more. He stepped back and said respectfully, "Yes."
Ye Shang walked slowly into the courtyard with a paper umbrella in his hand. The splashing raindrops and the dirt on the ground soiled the corner of his clothes, but Ye Shang didn't care. He walked slowly step by step to Ye Zhiqiu's front.
All the children around gasped in surprise. They had been here for a while and had seen many people being whipped by the guards for trying to escape.
But it was the first time they saw the sir punish someone himself.
"The sir always smiles. He shouldn't be too harsh, right?" a child asked naively.
"The sir may seem easy - going, but no one who has been taken away by him has ever come back..." The child stopped talking here because Ye Shang looked in his direction.
Meeting the sir's gaze, the child quickly covered his mouth and said nothing more.
Ye Shang's expression remained unchanged. He still had that smiling face. He just lifted the long whip in his hand. The whip hit the ground with a dull sound, and the rainwater splashed up high.
With his action, everyone around didn't dare to say a word.
"I've said since the first day you came here that don't even think about running away. This child was caught by me personally, and I'll punish him personally this time. I hope next time, I won't hear this ridiculous news that someone is trying to escape."
Ye Shang's voice wasn't loud, but in the sound of the crackling rain, it was particularly clear. Many children were so scared by his aura that their legs went weak and they couldn't even stand up.
The whip landed on Ye Zhiqiu's body again and again. The other man didn't show any mercy with each strike. With one whip, the skin would split open, but he didn't kill him. These were just skin - deep wounds.
The pain of the rain mixing with the whip wounds was indescribable, but Ye Zhiqiu always kept his head down, gritted his teeth, and never let out a single groan.
Ye Shang raised his eyebrows when he saw that the child never made a sound during the whipping. He knew he hadn't shown mercy. He had used 60% of his strength with each whip.
Although it wouldn't kill him, the pain wasn't something a child could endure.
It was a bit interesting...
Ye Shang put away the whip. Looking at Ye Zhiqiu covered in blood, he didn't say anything. After giving the whip to the guard, he walked slowly to the eaves. He didn't give any further instructions. He just looked back in Ye Zhiqiu's direction before leaving.
The guard looked around. Since the sir didn't give any instructions, he didn't care about this child anymore. The rain was still falling, and Ye Zhiqiu was the only one left in the yard.
He propped his hands on the ground. The corner of his mouth was bitten and bleeding because he was exerting too much force. There was no one around to help him. The other children all looked timid.
It was understandable. Facing this situation, anyone would be scared.
The rain mixed with the blood from the wounds and flowed down. Ye Zhiqiu knew he should go under the eaves to avoid the rain, but he really didn't have the strength. He could only watch helplessly as the blood on the ground was diluted by the rain.
Maybe... he would die like this.
He frowned. When this thought came to his mind, the pain in his palm became more and more obvious. He struggled to lift his palm and took a look. The wound on it hadn't healed. He didn't know if it was an illusion caused by excessive blood loss...
It seemed that there were faintly bugs crawling on the wound.
Ye Zhiqiu was startled by this conclusion. He blinked his eyes to confirm again, but the next second, there was only the unhealed wound on his palm.
Maybe... he really had seen wrongly.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that the raindrops on his body had disappeared. Ye Zhiqiu looked up and saw the man standing above him with an umbrella in his hand.
It was Ye Shang.
Ye Zhiqiu didn't know what the other man wanted to do now. He didn't want to know either. He took a look and then shifted his gaze.
Ye Shang didn't care. He looked at the wounds on Ye Zhiqiu's body that had been soaked white by the rain. There was no trace of emotion in his eyes.
He had been here for a long time, but this was the first time he had seen someone who could endure the pain under his whip. It was really interesting.
"I'm here to save you." Ye Shang said this with a smile.
But this words sounded hypocritical to Ye Zhiqiu. It was Ye Shang who had brought him back and made him like this.
How could Ye Shang have the face to say that he was here to save him?
Ye Zhiqiu wanted to laugh at his absurd words, but the pain all over his body made him not even have the strength to lift the corner of his mouth.
In the end, he remained silent and didn't respond to Ye Shang's words at all.
Ye Shang knew his words wouldn't get a response, and he didn't force it. He waved his hand, and the guards around took Ye Zhiqiu away.
He wanted to struggle, but he didn't even have the strength to struggle now.
Ye Shang walked in front with a wooden face. No one knew what he was thinking.
But Ye Zhiqiu didn't have the strength to think anymore. Due to excessive blood loss, he fainted before he could figure out the other man's purpose.
When he woke up, he didn't know how much time had passed. He opened his eyes and saw the familiar scene in front of him. It was the room he lived in.
He moved his hand and felt a sharp pain. Only then did he notice that his body was wrapped in bandages. He was in great pain all over, and even moving a bit felt strenuous.
"You woke up earlier than I thought." Ye Shang was looking at the book in his hand. He didn't even give Ye Zhiqiu a look. His tone was calm.
Ye Zhiqiu looked at Ye Shang sitting by the window. He never allowed the people who tried to escape to be treated. But today, he was being abnormal and had specially saved him.
Ye Zhiqiu didn't understand the other man's purpose. He opened his mouth and asked in a hoarse voice, "Why did you save me, a person who tried to escape?"
Ye Shang closed the book in his hand and put it on the table. Looking at Ye Zhiqiu lying on the bed and unable to move, he said, "I never save people who are useless to me. I just think you're still useful. That's all."
"What do you want me to do?"
"It's not a good habit for a child to ask too many questions. When your injury heals, you'll naturally understand what I want you to do."
Ye Shang stood up, looked at Ye Zhiqiu, smiled, and his voice dropped a bit, with a hint of temptation. "That moment will come soon. I hope you can become my proud work."
After saying that, he pushed the door and walked out. Ye Zhiqiu was left alone in the room. He thought about what Ye Shang had said to him just now. Ye Shang looked like a poisonous snake spitting out its forked tongue.
What he wanted him to do would definitely not be a good thing.
But after his last attempt to escape, the guards in the villa were even stricter. He had missed one chance to escape. If he wanted to escape next time.
I'm afraid it could only be after his death.
It was only after he had escaped to the mountain last time that Ye Zhiqiu understood why the guards would feel unlucky when passing by there.
Because on that mountain, there were countless innocent souls buried.
He had been in the villa for so long, but he didn't know why they had captured so many people, what their purpose was, and why so many innocent people had died.
But only the dead could know the answers to these questions. Ye Zhiqiu hadn't experienced it, so he didn't know what the other man's purpose was.
And the bug on A Yan's chest... was there any connection with all these?
Ye Zhiqiu couldn't figure it out. But if he couldn't figure out the connection between the two, he would be very passive.
He didn't know what Ye Shang wanted him to do, and he couldn't find a way to deal with it.
Now it seemed that all the initiative was in Ye Shang's hands. This feeling was really bad. It was like he was just waiting for death.
Ye Zhiqiu's injury was getting better day by day. After leaving that inexplicable message that day, Ye Shang never came to see him again.
It was good that he didn't come. Otherwise, who knew if Ye Shang would bring him bad news.
But he couldn't just stay here and wait for death. Ye Zhiqiu looked at the house opposite him. Ye Shang would take people into it every once in a while, and some of them never came out.
Occasionally, a few who survived would still die within seven days.
That place was closed. Except for the children taken in, no one else could get close to it. If Ye Zhiqiu wanted to know what was going on inside, there was no other way but to go into that house himself.
He had also thought about finding the people who had walked out of the house alive, but it seemed that Ye Shang had discovered that A Yan had instigated him to escape last time. The people who had survived never showed up in front of those who hadn't entered the house.
Their living places were far from his, so there was even less chance to get close to