110: Chapter 110 Dragon-Slaying Stone

No one answered.

Until he walked to the innermost cell.

Chen Mo stopped in his tracks.

In the corner of the cell, two small figures were huddled together.

One was wearing patched coarse cloth clothes, her hair was a mess, and her face was covered in dirt, but her eyes were startlingly bright. She tightly clutched a sharp wooden splinter she had obtained from somewhere, shielding another, even smaller girl in front of her.

Little Sister Zhang.

The one she was shielding behind her was none other than Little Grass.

Chen Mo felt as if his heart had been fiercely squeezed by something, and then immediately released.

Thank goodness.

Alive.

And no missing arms or legs.

Little Sister Zhang clearly saw Chen Mo as well. She froze for a moment, and tears instantly welled up in her vigilant eyes. Her lips moved, seemingly wanting to call out "Big Brother Chen."

Chen Mo's gaze hardened, and he shook his head slightly.

Acknowledging each other at this moment was not a good thing.

Although these brothers from the City Guard Department were currently his comrades-in-arms, there were too many people and too much gossip. As a constable himself, if people found out he had a "little sister" who had been captured by the White Lotus Sect, endless trouble would follow. Furthermore, the current situation was not yet stable. If they had to fight for their lives later, and he was carrying two burdens, no one would be able to escape.

He turned his head and said to a trusted Runner behind him: "Keep a close watch on the people in this cell. These two Little Girls... they look a bit like the children of my former neighbors. Don't let anyone bully them."

The Runner was a sharp man. Upon hearing this, he immediately nodded: "Don't worry, Boss. As long as I have a breath left, not a single hair on these two girls will be missing."

Chen Mo turned back and gave Little Sister Zhang a deep look.

The meaning in his eyes was: Don't be afraid, I am here.

Little Sister Zhang seemed to understand. She sniffled, lowered the wooden splinter in her hand a little, and hugged the shivering Little Grass behind her tightly.

"Boss! There's a situation over here!"

Tiger Li, who was scouting ahead, shouted.

Chen Mo collected his thoughts and walked over quickly.

At the end of the passage was a huge stone door.

The stone door was carved with eerie patterns, resembling a blooming lotus, but the petals were twisted, looking like faces.

"Is this the road to the Forbidden Ground?" Chen Mo asked the captive.

The captive nodded like a garlic-pounding pestle: "Yes... yes... it is usually opened by a mechanism..."

"Open it."

"I... I can't open it... The mechanism is inside..."

Tiger Li cursed, swung a large hammer, and smashed it against the stone door.

"Clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere, but the stone door didn't budge, not even leaving a white mark.

"This thing is cast from refined iron and wrapped in a layer of stone on the outside." Tiger Li rubbed his numb tiger's mouth, "Smashing it hard definitely won't work."

Armament Three stepped forward and reached out to touch the gap at the edge of the stone door.

"It's sealed from the inside," he said. "Someone has lowered the Dragon-Severing Stone."

Everyone's hearts sank again.

The road ahead was blocked, and the way back was sealed.

Now they had truly become turtles in a jar.

"Don't panic." Armament Three turned around, looking at the group of somewhat discouraged men, "As long as it's a mechanism, there's a way to break it. Even if there isn't, we have explosives in our hands."

"Explosives?" Tiger Li's eyes lit up, "Where did we get explosives?"

"The ones carried by that Poison Water Squad earlier." Armament Three pointed to the spoils of war piled not far away, "Those aren't ordinary poison water bladders; they have fire oil compartments inside. As long as the ratio is correct, we can blow this door open."

"You know how to make it?"

"A little." Armament Three sat down and began to tinker with the bottles and jars, "But it will take time."

Chen Mo looked around.

There were quite a few wounded.

Although they had won the battle just now, seven or eight brothers had been splashed by the poison water and were now lying on the ground groaning. The pain of flesh rotting was not something an ordinary person could endure.

"Treat the wounded first." Chen Mo ordered, "Take the dry grass from the cells and spread it out; don't let them lie on the cold ground. Also, look for clean water."

He also found a corner to sit down, tore open his clothes, and checked the wound on his abdomen.

Although the flesh had been sliced off, the edges of the wound were still somewhat blackened. The poison had seeped in.

He took out golden sore medicine from his bosom and sprinkled it on as if it were worthless.

It hurt.

It was a piercing pain.

Chen Mo gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging. He looked up at the cell not far away; Little Sister Zhang was watching him through the gaps in the bars, her eyes full of worry.

Chen Mo squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying and gave a thumbs up.

Tiger Li leaned over and handed him half a rock-hard steamed bun: "Eat something to regain your strength. This hellish place, who knows how much longer we'll have to drag this out."

Chen Mo took the bun and took a fierce bite.

"No matter how long it takes, we have to drag it out." He said while chewing, his cheeks bulging, "If we can't get out, Lord Ye will definitely find a way to get in. Besides..."

He glanced at Armament Three's busy back.

"With such a big secret hidden underground, those bastards from the White Lotus Sect must be more anxious than us. They sealed the door, which means they are doing something shameful inside. As long as we don't die, we are a thorn in their throats."

Tiger Li chuckled: "That's true. I've never been this pathetic in my entire life. Once we get out, I'm going to find the biggest restaurant and drink for three days and three nights."

"Count me in."

Chen Mo swallowed the bun and gripped his knife tightly.

On the rock wall above, a drop of water would occasionally fall into the stagnant water, making a "ding-dong" sound.

In this deep, secluded underground, this sound heard exceptionally clear, as if it were timing this group of trapped people.

...

"Boom!"

A muffled sound, like a large firecracker going off in a sealed jar.

That heavy Dragon-Severing Stone door was finally blown open by the "makeshift explosives" Armament Three had tinkered with. Gravel flew everywhere, and the dust and smoke made people cough incessantly.

"Cough, cough... That was powerful." Tiger Li waved his palm-leaf-sized hand to brush away the dust in front of him, "Brothers, grab your weapons, let's go in!"

Chen Mo held his knife, followed behind Armament Three, and ducked into the dust and smoke.

Passing through the stone door, the scene before them suddenly opened up, making one's scalp tingle.

It was a huge natural karst cave, with countless stalactites hanging from the ceiling like a monster's fangs. The surroundings were lit by thick ox-oil candles as thick as a child's arm, illuminating the entire space and casting eerie, flickering shadows.

In the very center was a churning pool of blood.

That was not a metaphor; it was real blood. The pungent, sweet smell was thick and inseparable, drilling straight into their noses.

But the most eye-catching thing was not the blood pool, but the woman wearing tight black clothes.

Ye Zhiqiu.

Chen Mo had only known before that this Chief Investigator was formidable, but that was just hearsay. Today, he finally saw the real deal.

Ye Zhiqiu was not holding a knife or a sword; she was carrying an iron bar she had dismantled from somewhere. It was square with sharp edges and looked heavy just by looking at it.

She was being besieged by five people.

An old man in a white robe—no need to ask, the leader of the White Lotus Sect. The remaining four, judging by their attire, were also ruthless characters at the Protector level.

Five against one.

The result was that they were being suppressed and beaten by Ye Zhiqiu alone.