Of course Jiang BaiYan would not tell Old William the truth, only saying that Old Frank had gone mad and Little Frank and Jian Jing had gone down to the basement and not come back.
Old William was skeptical but went with him to knock on the basement door: "Is anyone inside?"
No one answered.
He tried to pull on the iron ring on the door again but still could not move it.
Old William's expression became grave: "Let's go out and take a look, maybe there's another entrance down below."
Jiang BaiYan looked at the heavy rainstorm outside and nodded: "I'll go get rain gear."
He went back to his room, put on the bulletproof vest he had bought in New York, concealed it under his coat, and did not forget to put a lighter in his pocket.
The rain outside was extremely heavy, and the bean-sized raindrops hitting his body were very painful.
Jiang BaiYan shone his flashlight around erratically: "Where could the exit be?"
"It should be on the farm, the basement usually has an indoor and outdoor entrance and exit." Old William was very experienced and led the way, "But I don't think Little Frank kidnapped your companion, he has no reason to do that."
How could Jiang BaiYan reveal the truth, he hinted ambiguously: "She's very pretty."
Old William paused for a beat but still shook his head: "Little Frank is a good kid. He used to live with his mother somewhere else, but came here specially to take care of Old Frank because he was sick. Although he is reclusive, he would not do anything bad."
Jiang BaiYan asked: "Are you very familiar with him?"
"We occasionally run into each other in the woods," Old William opened up. "He is very familiar with the forest and knows a lot of small paths."
Jiang BaiYan made an "Oh" sound, seemingly convinced, and probed further: "What's going on with Old Frank's illness? He wanted to kill people all of a sudden, it really scared me."
Old William shot him a look of contempt: "I don't know, I heard from Little Frank that he would occasionally go mad, so he could only be locked up at home. But he is already very old, just an old man..."
The sound of rain roared loudly.
The two gradually stopped talking, standing tens of meters apart, each looking around in different directions.
The beams from their flashlights intersected and separated in the darkness. From afar, Jiang BaiYan could hear Old William shouting Little Frank's name loudly. The coarse voice echoed intermittently, like a broken radio.
Jiang BaiYan had to keep looking back to make sure Old William was not far away.
He sucked in a breath of cold air and felt a profound chill.
Compared to the elaborate haunted house scenes and cameras ready to capture every moment, everything here was so simple and even filthy, yet the sense of horror created was not something that artificial design could compare with.
He even felt that the wind blowing on his cheeks carried a faint smell of blood.
What kind of strange place was this?
Where was Jian Jing?
The sheep was bleating?? Jiang BaiYan turned his head and saw the pure white sheep again.
Somehow it had run out of the sheep pen. It stood silently at the street corner, seeming to want to lead him somewhere.
Should he follow it? Was it safe?
Just as he hesitated, Old William's cursing could be heard from behind: "Damn it, nowhere to be found, could they have gone into the woods?"
Jiang BaiYan turned absentmindedly: "Then what do we do?"
Old William's face was grave: "Let's search again tomorrow after daybreak, it's too dangerous to go into the woods now that it's dark. We should head back. Maybe they will show up themselves after a while."
"But..." Jiang BaiYan glanced at the corner. How strange, the sheep had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
He casually and hesitantly asked: "We really can't go into the woods? We have guns, what is there to fear even if it's a bear?"
"You can go by yourself if you want, but I absolutely won't go in," Old William said. Then feeling he was being too cold, he reluctantly explained further, "There are things scarier than wild beasts in those woods."
Jiang BaiYan asked in feigned ignorance: "How do you know? Reid didn't tell us that."
Unexpectedly, Old William actually answered him, the reply quite specific: "They won't reveal their true appearance to you. What you see..." He stared into Jiang BaiYan's eyes. "Is a sheep."
Jiang BaiYan was stunned and looked towards the sheep pen: "That kind of sheep?"
"No, it's special," Old William said in a low voice. "It bewitches people who enter the forest. If people follow it, they will unknowingly walk deeper into the mountain and never find their way out again."
"Why?"
"It's a demon incarnate," Old William said. "That's how Carrie was bewitched and entered the woods."
Jiang BaiYan scratched his head, pretending to be slow-witted: "How do you know? Reid didn't tell us that."
"Reid is a cop, he doesn't want to believe in evil spirits," Old William said coldly. "He has been obsessed with finding the murderer, but I have seen it with my own eyes. If it weren't for Little Frank calling out to wake me up, I would have definitely been bewitched and lost my mind, never able to leave the woods again."
In horror movies, there would always be NPCs firmly warning the protagonist not to do something, but in order to keep filming, the screenwriter would always make someone from the protagonist team recklessly charge ahead.
Of course Jiang BaiYan was not treating this like an exploitation film, he just didn't want to lose Old William as a "companion" in this unclear situation. So he pretended to be persuaded: "Then let's head back first."
Old William breathed a sigh of relief. The two went back to the farmhouse.
The house was still empty.
Jiang BaiYan tried pulling the movable door panel again but still could not budge it.
He was reluctant: "Being away for so long, something must have happened. If we don't go into the woods, at least we can search around the house right?"
Old William could not dissuade him and suggested: "Let's split up and search, I'll go upstairs to take a look."
"Ok."
"Be careful. If you see anything, yell loudly." Old William reminded him.
"Ok!"
The two split up to act separately.
Jiang BaiYan first wandered around aimlessly in the hall. Only when he heard footsteps overhead did he quietly slip out the back door to the sheep pen.
He narrowed the flashlight beam and slowly walked into the sheep pen.
In the darkness, countless glowing eyes watched him silently.
Jiang BaiYan felt a strange atmosphere, both the eerie feeling of being stared at by the sheep as well as an inexplicable mood conveyed through the stillness that tugged at his heartstrings.
His heart felt heavy, constantly sinking.
He gently sucked in a breath, trying his best to ignore the strange sensation as he slowly walked to the innermost pen and lightly kicked away the hay covering it.
The edge of a movable floor panel was revealed.
Jiang BaiYan crouched down, hiding completely among the sheep as he thought silently.
Although he did not participate in filming the haunted house show this time, when he stayed at Robert's farm, he had read through the movie script which contained many detailed setting drawings.
And Frank's farm was the prototype for the main scene.
He remembered the script mentioning a basement exit that was in the innermost part of the sheep pen.
Unexpectedly there really was an entrance here.
Jiang BaiYan hesitated briefly before lightly lifting the iron ring and propping the door panel open a little with hay to support its weight.
After he finished doing this, he did not go down but quietly retreated back out.
In the darkness, the white lamb silently watched him.
Jian Jing was surrounded by countless roots underground.
Both fire and guns could injure Little Frank and the roots but were unable to inflict fatal damage.
When Little Frank was shot, the roots would dig out the bullet fragments and repair his damaged blood vessels and muscles. It was comparable to top-notch medical care.
And while the roots feared fire, she did not have any fuel. The lighter's flame was just a drop in the bucket, completely unable to withstand the roots' harassment.
In desperation, she could only try drawing a card.
[Card draw in progress (special instance, consumption x2)]
[Draw complete]
[Name: Item Card - Appraisal (Special)]
[Content Description: Can appraise special instance creatures or items, accuracy is higher but does not guarantee completeness of information. Users please consider carefully.]
[Note: Small chance of failure]
At this time, who cared about success or failure. Jian Jing immediately used it.
Luckily the result came out:
[Name: Giant Tree Roots (Partial)]
[Appraisal content: This is the root of what locals call the giant tree, with great vitality. The *** of animals is its best nutrient, with extremely high regenerative ability, cannot be completely identified as ****, afraid of fire, can cause ***** to the human body, currently unable to determine......]
[Note: Has extremely high research value, can be further explored—]
Jian Jing: ???
How to further explore? Being tied over there?
She hesitated for a moment, and boldly said, "Okay, I admit defeat. I am willing to become a servant of God."
Across the thick root wall, Little Frank asked, "Really?"
She said, "Of course."
He: "Then cut off a section of root."
Jian Jing pulled out a dagger and cut off a section of root. The root fell into her palm, writhing, at first glance it looked like a fat centipede.
Little Frank said, "Eat it."
Jian Jing told a calm lie: "It's too big."
Little Frank: "You must eat it, otherwise you won't be able to enter the world of God."
Jian Jing: "I don't understand."
Little Frank: "This is the grace of God."
Jian Jing: Speak human words!
Little Frank didn't hear her belly cursing, and emphasized, "Eat it, otherwise..." He gave a cold laugh, the threat implicit.
Eating is impossible, system? Come out and say something.
[System: The limited pool has been opened]
It's about time.
Hurry up and draw a card.
[Limited card draw in progress]
[Draw complete]
[Name: Limited Card - Borrow Sight]
[Content Description: Select one person and borrow their perspective to see the sights you cannot see. Basic daily time is 30 minutes, consume 1 point of courage to extend by 3 minutes, consume 5 special value points, can be projected on sci-fi glasses. For mission use only.]
[Note: Warning! The host must use this card with caution, no abuse, don't say unforeseen words]
Wow.
The ninja school's arsenal is not enough, directly to the next ninja village. But what does the last note mean? Would she use it to peep at men bathing?
While ridiculing, Jian Jing happily put it to use.
After selecting him as the person to borrow sight from, her vision suddenly turned and changed, showing the world that Little Frank saw.
On the dark roots, there was a layer of hazy red light lingering, extending far into the depths of the forest.
She pretended to swallow the roots, actually throwing them into her storage space, swallowing emptily twice: "Cough, I ate it."
Little Frank asked, "What did you see?"
"Light," Jian Jing's expression became surprised and fanatical, as her acting skills opened up. "God's light!"
Little Frank smiled in satisfaction: "Follow me."
The roots dispersed, and the red lines became flat. He slowly walked along a red ribbon of light towards the bizarre world in the forest.
Jian Jing consumed 5x2 special value points to open projection mode, and touched the pearls in her hair.
Recently it has become popular to braid pearl chains together with hair. She could not be an exception either. Long freshwater pearls were entwined in her hair, usually gentle and beautiful, and now could also serve as markers along the way.
She pulled off a handful, throwing one every few sections of the road.
The spherical pearls were wedged into the cracks of the roots, unnoticed by anyone.
