The rusted iron gate had no real defensive strength, and the police officer charged with breaking it down had only rammed it twice before stumbling and falling in.
A musty odor filled the room, as if something had been sealed inside and gradually fermented and decayed into a pungent stench.
Once the iron door was opened, several strong lights immediately shone in, illuminating the entire modestly-sized interior so that nothing could escape notice.
A large black round table, surrounded by a few decayed wooden chairs.
Apart from that, there was nothing else.
Officer Zhang stood at the door and looked inside, his brow furrowed slightly, "Search!"
With nothing inside, the search was clearly not for people but for secret passages or items that might have been left behind.
The priest, holding something wrapped in white cloth, stepped forward for a closer look and remarked, "This is just a temporary stronghold, with a ritual looming they must have been well prepared."
Everything including the table, chairs, and walls were painted in black, and the floor was smeared with a strange black viscous substance, the smell of which was nauseating.
Officer Zhang, with brows furrowed, remained silent as he stepped forward and wiped the table, finding some dark liquid on the shiny black surface.
The viscous substance stuck to his gloves; that was the source of the foul odor.
Wherever those things had lingered, there was this petroleum-like black viscous residue. At the very least, Qiuzi must not have been deceiving her on this point.
But they had been lurking nearby all night on surveillance, and had there been any movement, it would have been impossible for them not to notice it.
Not even a shadow had changed.
"Sir, there is no secret passage nor any other anomalies," a police officer reported after completing the search of the room.
"Understood, you all go out first, I'll have another look,"
Officer Zhang waved them away, and with all the officers gone, the room suddenly felt more spacious.
Outside, the sound of rain and howling wind had stopped, the night before dawn silent and pitch black.
The strong lights made this small bungalow exceptionally bright, shining like a mini sun. The two figures inside stood with their backs to the lights, exchanging glances.
The priest raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly.
He was never in favor of risking oneself; those things moved freely in darkness and were powerful. Truly confining oneself in this room would be like trapping oneself in a cocoon!
Officer Zhang's gaze was sharp as he spoke softly, "Then do you have any other ideas? We can't locate those people at all now; the only clue lies here."
The priest considered, "How about, first, we throw someone in here to stay in the darkness and see?"
So he could only keep a close watch on that side.
The downpour had stopped abruptly a moment ago, the dark clouds from last night had receded, and the sky showed a glimmer of dawn, as if the weather was on the verge of clearing up.
The chanting group was utterly mesmerized.
The darkness was utterly silent, with the scent of decay wafting about, a sticky and slow breath brushing across the entire ruins.
After watching bored for a while, Xu Shuo's body suddenly began to sink downward, the darkness enveloping him as he gradually descended into a marsh, so slowly it seemed as if time had come to a standstill.
Gradually, the girl in the corner was unknowingly submerged into the ground.
She disappeared into the darkness without a sound.
Afar from the ruins, Xu Shuo emerged from the shadow under a tree, looking at the cultists still chanting nearby, beginning to feel bored by it all.
They hadn't noticed his movements.
Was it because there was no difference between his qi and that of the Necrophages?
When Xuena eavesdropped on the scene, she was discovered by the darkness of the other party in just a short while.
That thing was not in human form; it merged with the darkness as naturally as a person breathing, only bringing a dense and oppressive sensation to the surrounding air.
Just like when the entity within him came out seeking something, you felt it touching and caressing you, but in fact, when you reached out, it was just air.
It all originated from the cognitions in one's own mind.
When that thing finally took complete hold of your thoughts, it probably meant losing control.
But he felt he could hold on much longer.
Xu Shuo raised his hand, and a petrol-like black liquid flowed down from his fingertips, over his pale, ashen skin, merging into the shadow at his feet.
Suddenly, a shaft of light shot through from the eastern horizon.
The morning sun, dull yet splendid, stained the edge of the sky with the hues of dawn and gradually spread into the twilight of the sky.
Sunrise.
The dull light began to dispel some of the darkness that pervaded the ruins, and those figures gradually became clearer, standing like reapers in their black cloaks by the side of a pool.
The thing they were encircling turned out to be a round pool, but it was dry inside, devoid of anything.
At this moment, a cultist turned around and walked toward the neatly lying girls.