Chapter 142 The Sun Has Set

Chapter 142: Sunset

Wen Yuke frowned and insisted, "It's right there. We're not lying."

Jiang Yingxue stepped in front of the two girls and said, "They're not lying. The cave is in that exact spot; you just can't see it right now."

"They've had a scare and they're hungry. I'm getting them something to eat first. If you have any more questions, you can ask them after they've eaten."

Officer Lu got the contact info from Jiang Peiyao and her friend.

Officer Zhang looked displeased and said sternly, "Please cooperate with our work!"

Jiang Yingxue replied coolly, "We've said all we need to say. The sun sets in about ten minutes. After that, you'll be able to see it. By the way, that snake isn't an ordinary one. I'd advise you not to mess with it."

With that, ignoring their dissatisfaction and even murderous glares, Jiang Yingxue just took the girls by the hand and walked off.

Officer Zhang shouted angrily, "Stop! You can't leave!"

But the three of them ahead not only didn't stop, they picked up the pace.

"What are you all standing around for? Chase them!" Officer Zhang urgently ordered his men to pursue, but unfortunately, they couldn't catch up—the figures vanished in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Yingxue and the others didn't disappear into thin air; they were just walking very fast.

Not wanting to keep their family at the restaurant waiting too long, she discreetly placed a Swift Travel Talisman on both Jiang Peiyao and Wen Yuke and cast a minor illusion spell, allowing them to speed down the mountain without a clue.

In less than a minute, they reached the foot of the mountain.

Wen Yuke was puzzled and said, "Pei Yao, Sister Yingxue, don't you think we came down the mountain really fast?"

Jiang Peiyao said, "Now that you mention it."

Jiang Yingxue smiled faintly and said, "Going downhill is always much faster than going uphill."

"That's true." Wen Yuke nodded, as that made sense to her, and didn't think about it further.

After descending, Wen Yuke called home to check in. Her family didn't know what had happened, so she didn't elaborate and hung up.

Jiang Yingxue led them to the restaurant's private dining room.

Jiang Mingzhen smiled and waved to them, "Peiyao's here. Sit, quickly have your friend sit down."

"Uncle, Aunt, Aunt Mingzhen, Uncle-in-law, Sister Xiao Fu." Jiang Peiyao greeted each relative at the table in turn.

"Uncle, Aunt, Aunt Mingzhen, Uncle-in-law, Sister Xiao Fu, hello. My name is Wen Yuke; you can call me Xiao Wen." Wen Yuke also greeted them using Jiang Peiyao's terms of address.

Lu Caiyun said warmly, "Xiao Wen, please start eating. Help yourself to whatever you like; don't be shy."

"Okay, thank you, Aunt."

During the meal, Wen Yuke noticed that everyone present was wearing a Lightning-Struck Wood Bracelet. She was amazed and couldn't help feeling curious.

She saw eight such special bracelets all at once in this private room.

Wen Yuke asked, "Sister Yingxue, where did you buy these wooden bead bracelets? I'd like to get some for my family too."

At this, everyone turned to look at Jiang Yingxue.

When Jiang Yingxue gave the bracelets to her relatives, her explanation was the same for all: she carved them herself, had them blessed at a Taoist temple, and they could protect one's safety.

However, she had told Jiang Xianzheng and Lu Caiyun the truth.

Jiang Xianzheng smiled and said, "You can't buy bracelets like these outside. The ones we're wearing were all made by Yingxue."

Jiang Yingxue's lips curved into a smile, and she said, "I run a little shop. This type of bracelet will probably be listed on the shop's app in about a week."

She turned to look at Wen Yuke, a faint smile on her lips, and said, "But I still have about ten in my backpack right now. If you want one today, I can spare one for you. We're going home tomorrow. If you still want one after tomorrow, you'll have to go to Y City to buy it."

"I want one today!" Wen Yuke immediately took out her phone and asked, "Sister Yingxue, what's your shop called? I'll download the app now."

Jiang Yingxue said, "Xuehe, the Xuehe Gourmet app. Eat first; downloading can wait. You can do it after the meal."

Wen Yuke's eyes widened in surprise. Wasn't that the shop where she bought her dress? So it belonged to Sister Yingxue.

"Okay." She lowered her head and drank a bowl of soup to suppress her astonishment.

Wen Yuke and Jiang Peiyao's meal wasn't very peaceful at first. They kept receiving calls asking them to go back up the mountain or to think carefully about the cave's location. But after a few minutes, the calls stopped.

Presumably, the people on the mountain had seen the cave after sunset.

On the mountain.

"Those two female students aren't answering their phones now! Unbelievable!"

"Call! Call again!"

"And you two, go search this area again."

"Those three women appeared from this direction!"

Watching the three women vanish before his eyes, Officer Zhang was furious.

"Not cooperating with a police investigation..."

At that moment, Officer Lu cried out in alarm, "Old Zhang! Old Zhang! Look!"

He pointed ahead, in the direction Jiang Peiyao and the others had pointed earlier.

"The cave has appeared!"

Officer Lu looked up at the sky. The sun had indeed set.

It was just as that woman said: you could see it after sunset.

A chill ran down his spine, and a strange feeling arose within him.

"This..." Officer Chen was also extremely shocked. Just moments ago, there was clearly a pond and woods ahead. How could the pond disappear in the blink of an eye, the woods shift from the left to the right, and a cave appear?

It was utterly unbelievable!

"Right, the cave!" Reacting, they hurriedly ran toward the cave.

Seeing the scene inside the cave, they were stunned.

Six people—two men and four women—were huddled in a corner of the cave. One girl had her eyes tightly shut, her face pale. Both her legs were only half their original length. Although her knees were wrapped with cloth strips, they were still stained with blood, a horrifying sight.

"!!!"

"Hurry! Ask where the ambulance personnel are!"

Police Officer Lu had just finished speaking when someone called in to ask questions.

When Shen Chengheng saw the police had finally arrived, he felt a weight lift from his heart.

Four of the girls immediately burst into loud, wracking sobs.

"Wuwu... someone finally came to save us..."

"We're finally saved... I'll never come here again, ever... wuwu..."

Officer Chen demanded, "What happened? Where are the others?"

Based on the briefing, there were 13 people in this outing. Excluding the two girls who went down the mountain ten minutes ago, there should have been 11 left. But now there were only 7 here—where were the other four?

Chen Shuirong's face, a mask of terror, was streaked with blood and tears. "There was a snake!"

The snake had eaten her companion Lin Lichan right in front of her and bitten off Xi Youshan's legs. The blood from the severed legs had sprayed onto her face and body.

Fu Xinlu wailed, "The snake ate them, they're all dead, they're all dead..."

Hearing this, a chill settled over the officers. "You're saying a snake ate people? Where is the snake?!"