Published: February 8, 2025
CHAPTER TEXT:
In the fourth update, this chapter can be considered a continuation of yesterday's outburst. Fourteen hours, and I’ve written less than 9,000 words; I’m quite dizzy myself. Thank you to brother hhhcv for the 2,000, and thank you for your support!
After planting the Luo Shen Cypress, Ye Zhongming immediately returned to his residence but went back to the place where he had previously traded.
This time, however, he did not seek out those merchants.
In the underground city, there was really no distinction between day and night; the people here had long grown accustomed to a life shrouded in darkness, sleeping whenever they felt tired.
In fact, every day, many people spent most of their time sleeping, which helped them forget many things, such as hunger, pain, and despair...
So, when Ye Zhongming stood in the shadows and looked at this abandoned place, it was no different from when he had come here before.
The stench lingered in the air, but Ye Zhongming paid it no mind. He quietly observed, listened, and watched.
Over there, he heard some sobbing, followed by a series of slapping sounds that grew increasingly intense, along with some men shouting. Soon, a few emaciated men emerged from a tattered tent, cursing as they came. One man was wiping blood from his face, while the other two were holding some items, which were too dark to see clearly.
There were still faint sounds coming from inside the tent, but they had weakened.
The commotion here attracted the attention of many, but those gazes were numb and filled with glee at the misfortune of others. Not a single person stepped forward to take a closer look. When the three men left, those people returned to their previous zombie-like state.
Ye Zhongming approached silently, peeking through a hole in the tent before lifting the tattered curtain and stepping inside.
The oppressive sounds of weeping were immediately interrupted by the intrusion of a stranger.
“Get out! Get out! You’ve taken what you wanted; what more do you want?! Want to do us in? Come on, as long as you’re not afraid of getting sick! You bunch of bastards!”
A voice that was nearly completely hoarse shouted with all its might, but the volume couldn’t carry more than ten meters. A girl with long hair cascading down wore a dress so dirty it was unrecognizable. Her calves were covered in stains, just like the face obscured by her long hair.
As Ye Zhongming got closer, he caught a whiff of a foul odor.
Behind this short girl was a makeshift bed covered with a few tattered clothes—if you could call something made of several wooden planks with large gaps between them a bed.
Lying on the bed was another girl wrapped in a greasy blanket, and most of the stench emanated from her.
Ye Zhongming’s gaze flickered as he noticed blood trickling from the head of the girl, evidently the “work” of those three men who had just left!
With the faint light filtering in from outside and his keen eyesight, Ye Zhongming clearly saw the dirty faces of the two girls, and to his surprise, they looked identical.
Twins?!
This was unexpected for Ye Zhongming.
Perhaps it was his prolonged silence that left the girl sitting on the ground in a state of hysteria bewildered. She looked up and gazed at the man standing silently at the entrance.
Although he too towered over her like the three men before, there was no hideous greed in his expression—only a coldness that seemed to pierce her bones.
“You…”
The little girl confirmed that she didn’t know this man, as she had never seen him in the camp before.
“Are you still conscious? Can you understand what I’m saying?”
Ye Zhongming ignored the sitting girl and walked over to the other girl lying there, who was barely hanging on to life, and squatted down to ask.
The girl struggled to half-open her eyes, and her pupils moved slightly, indicating she understood.
Ye Zhongming lifted the blanket to examine the girl’s body. The seated girl wanted to come over to stop him, but her arms lacked strength; being an ordinary person, she could only feebly call out for her sister.