Urban Martial Saint

Chapter 1928 - 1928: Interconnected Caves

Wen'er followed behind Ye Qing, unaware of what had happened ahead. Seeing Ye Qing stop, she couldn't help but become cautious as well, moving closer to Ye Qing and whispering, "Ye, what's going on?"Ye Qing stretched his hand behind him, gestured for Wen'er not to make any noise. During this time, Ye Qing had a clearer view of the situation at the exit, and he became even more certain that there was indeed someone lying at the entrance.

The darkness enveloped this person, making it impossible to see his appearance. He lay motionless on the ground, his hands stretched forward, as if trying to grab Ye Qing, yet without any movement, looking extremely eerie.

In the dark cave, even though Ye Qing was brave, he wasn't reckless. The cave was filled with strangeness, and dangers lurked everywhere. Even if Ye Qing wasn't afraid to die, he had to consider Wen'er behind him.

After confronting this person for quite a while, Ye Qing had gathered strength, ready to pounce and sever this person's neck with the Metamorphic Iron Dagger. However, since the person remained motionless, Ye Qing dared not make any rash actions, fearing being ambushed.

After roughly two minutes passed, even Ye Qing started sweating. He tightly clenched his fists, puzzled that the shadow remained still. Could it be that this was truly a corpse?

Taking a deep breath, Ye Qing gripped the Metamorphic Iron Dagger and slowly crawled towards the person. His senses were on high alert; if the person suddenly moved, he would definitely hack down with the dagger. In this cramped space, it was impossible for the person to dodge.

Wen'er followed behind him, initially wanting to crawl forward with Ye Qing, but Ye Qing stopped her, leaving her nervously watching the situation unfold.

Ye Qing wasn't far from the person, and shortly he had crawled up beside the person. Still, the person remained motionless, seemingly unaware of Ye Qing approaching. Even when the dagger was placed at his neck, the person didn't react.

Ye Qing grabbed the person's wrist to test, finding no pulse, which relieved him. It seemed this was indeed a dead body. He signaled Wen'er to come closer, simultaneously turning on the flashlight to assess the situation.

Wen'er crawled towards Ye Qing, who suddenly switched on the flashlight, illuminating everything around, including the person before Ye Qing. Wen'er saw clearly as the light shone upon a bloody face, causing her to exclaim involuntarily!

Ye Qing also saw the person's condition clearly; the face was a bloody mess, an empty eye socket, with the other eye hanging out by a thread of flesh. The face was devoid of features, the nose missing, revealing the nasal bone. The mouth was a bloody hole, the tongue severed halfway, looking terrifying. No doubt it looked scarier than the most frightening evil ghost in movies.

Moreover, this person's hands were still stretched forward as if trying to grab something but unable to. Combined with his hideous face, he looked like a ghost crawling forward forcefully, terrifying indeed.

Even someone as brave as Ye Qing gasped at the sight.

"What's… what's going on?" Wen'er hid behind Ye Qing, horrified by the sight. Despite growing up among Tomb Robbers, she felt scared, after all, she was still a girl.

Ye Qing stared at the person for a while, frowned, and said solemnly, "His face was hacked off with a knife, leaving just a bloody mess for us to see."

"Ah?" Wen'er widened her eyes, exclaiming, "How… how cruel? Who did this?"

"Let's first see who this person is." Ye Qing sighed, turned to Wen'er, and said, "The body hasn't started decomposing, indicating he hasn't been dead long. During this time, those in the cave are mostly from your South Ridge Sect. Do you recognize him?"

Initially hiding behind Ye Qing, Wen'er dared not look. However, upon hearing Ye Qing's words, she was shocked. Yes, not many people entered the cave. Whoever died here might really be related to the South Ridge Sect.

Taking a deep breath, Wen'er suppressed her fear and crawled from behind. Examining the man's clothes carefully, her face changed again, saying shakily, "This… this is one of our South Ridge Sect people. I recognize him; his name is Wang Fangliang, he was with Zhou Changjin..."

"Oh?" Ye Qing immediately frowned. If the deceased were those loyal to Wen'er, Ye Qing could accept. There might have been a conflict with Zhou Changjin's group, causing them to kill this person. However, if it was someone loyal to Zhou Changjin who died, it complicated matters.

Among Zhou Changjin's group were several powerful foreigners assisting them, those loyal to the South Ridge Sect couldn't possibly match them. Who attacked Zhou Changjin's group? Could it be those infiltrators' group? But who were they and why would they clash with Zhou Changjin's men? Moreover, it seemed Zhou Changjin's group fled here from an intersection, suggesting those infiltrators chased Zhou Changjin's group out, and this person was killed during the escape. Does that mean those infiltrators are stronger?

Filled with doubts, Ye Qing became clear that the cave was indeed more dangerous. Remembering the long-haired monsters suddenly rushing out earlier, probably due to some external attack, although unclear what exactly happened. But undoubtedly, more people appeared inside the cave. Now with only Ye Qing and Wen'er left in the cave, neither of them had the ability to protect themselves.

"We must leave here quickly." Ye Qing turned to Wen'er, saying seriously, "Do you know the way out?"

Wen'er nodded, since she had been inside once before, she remembered the way out clearly.

"Alright, let's get out." Ye Qing pushed Wang Fangliang's corpse aside and crawled out of the cave first.

As Wen'er described, the cave was built on a cliff. The cliff was quite high, but luckily, rock protrusions made climbing down relatively easy.

Ye Qing climbed down along the rocks, also keeping an eye on the surroundings. Logically, Wang Fangliang died at the tomb exit; Zhou Changjin's men were caught in battle here. According to this situation, an intense battle must have occurred here, with many casualties. But Ye Qing climbed down without finding any corpses; the battlefield was unexpectedly clean.

Ye Qing felt even more puzzled; both sides out here wouldn't leave without a fight, why wasn't there even a trace? Could it be those inside didn't chase out? Impossible, right? They fought decisively then, how could they not seize the chance to attack?

Reflecting for a moment, Ye Qing suddenly remembered something. He hastily looked up at Wen'er, who was also climbing down like him, and asked, "Wen'er, you mentioned encountering two long-haired monsters when you came in, where was that?"

"In this cave area," Wen'er pointed around, "The cave is vast, we encountered two long-haired monsters while walking around inside."

Ye Qing turned around in the dark, sensing the cave was indeed extensive. If what Wen'er said was true, he realized what happened now. However, Ye Qing was reluctant to believe it.

After contemplating a bit, Ye Qing turned on the flashlight again, lighting up beside him for closer inspection.

Wen'er was almost to Ye Qing's side; seeing him turn on the flashlight again puzzled her, so she whispered, "Ye, what are you doing? Turn off the flashlight quickly; if it attracts long-haired monsters, we'll be in danger."

As Wen'er spoke, Ye Qing already spotted dried blood on a nearby rock. From its luster, it was clear the blood hadn't been there long. Moreover, checking around, Ye Qing found more blood stains. But shining the flashlight around still didn't reveal any corpses, which was odd.

Seeing her reminder had no effect, Wen'er grew more worried and urged, "Ye, Ye?"

Ye Qing glanced up at her, then casually turned off the flashlight without speaking, continuing to climb down. Observing the surroundings, he confirmed his suspicion, understanding precisely what occurred here.

Just as Ye Qing suspected, Zhou Changjin's men must have conflicted with pursuers. Undoubtedly, there were casualties evidenced by the cliff's bloodstains. Yet, due to the long-haired monsters, bodies weren't present. Ye Qing concluded the cave must connect with the cave inhabited by those long-haired monsters!