Chapter Ten Next is you

  I stared at my own blood-stained hands in a daze, looking at the long-haired woman locked in the dungeon by iron chains, I asked:

  "Hey, what kind of person are you? You wouldn't be... a fox spirit or something, would you? Why did those two people suddenly go crazy and listen to me earlier?"

  The girl's deep eyes appeared from between her parted bangs, staring at me unblinkingly, then spoke to me in a voice that was almost as stiff as a dead person's:

  "...is my spiritual essence golden elixir......it gave you my magic..."

  "Lingyuan Jindan? Is that the thing you just spat out at me? What is it?" I was a bit apprehensive, Lingyuan Jindan, this kind of thing sounds like something that goes against scientific theory just by its name, and I would never believe in it. But what happened earlier told me that everything this woman said was true. Absolutely not deceiving anyone. And looking at the six fox tails behind this woman, they were also so eerie. Although I don't believe in gods, ghosts, or monsters, I have read books like "Liaozhai Zhiyi", "Shan Hai Jing" or "Huainanzi", and I know a little bit about these things.

  "...I'm telling you...you don't understand..." The woman seemed to have missed my point,"...that's the most precious thing I have..."

  The girl didn't make it clear to me what she meant, and at this point, I don't think it's possible that she's not a normal person. I can only use unscientific thinking to understand her.

  "Alright, I don't know who you are or what you are, but I do know that you're definitely not like us normal people. That's probably why you're locked up in here and chained with iron, right?"

  I took a step forward, facing the woman, and asked cautiously.

  "Almost..." The woman replied in a low, weak voice.

  "That thing you gave me to eat earlier called Lingyuan Jindan, it should be a kind of divine medicine that allows others to gain abilities after eating it, right?"

  "...That's about it......You're still quite clever..." The woman said in an increasingly hoarse voice.

  When I heard what the woman said, my heart skipped a beat.

  "...after eating the Lingyuan Golden Elixir...you can use magic..."

  "So you can also make others listen to you like I just did?" Looking at the corpses of the thick-eyebrowed man and Mr. Zhuang not far from my feet, I still have a lingering fear.

  "......Even if you could, didn't you see...my body is sealed by someone else......" The woman reminded me of this, and I only noticed the six tails nailed to the rock wall behind her, still stuck with talismans.

  Although I don't understand any Taoist magic, I guess the woman's meaning is that her ability was sealed by these iron chains and talismans.

  "Me too."

  I took a step forward, intending to walk around the woman's body and go behind her, pulling down the talismans on her six tails. Although I didn't know what those talismans were for, I thought they might be used to seal this woman, just like in TV dramas.

  But I had just taken two steps when the woman called out to me:

  "...Don't touch! Don't touch my badge..."

  I was startled by her and stopped in my tracks.

  "What's wrong?"

  "...anyone who touches that symbol will die..."

  I was fooled by this woman. If I touched the symbols on her butt, would I really die? Is it true or false? Although I don't quite believe it, this woman is not simple, whether it's true or false, I can only trust her.

  "...you can't tear it down...your ability is not enough..."

  "How can I save you then?" I frowned and asked.

  "......at least......wait until you build your foundation......"

  "Building foundation?" This woman seems to be talking about some Taoist knowledge. At least I've only heard the term "building foundation" in places related to Taoist skills.

  "...to..." The woman's voice grew weaker and weaker, although it was already very weak at the beginning, but now it's even lighter than before, the more I listen to it, the more uncomfortable I feel.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Of course, something's happened... I gave you the Lingyuan Golden Elixir... My powers are gone... Now I can only rely on my physical body..."

  Martial arts? This kind of thing only exists in martial arts novels.

  Only words like these, when spoken from this woman's mouth, really give people a sense of entering a movie.

  I think that the woman just gave me the Lingyuan Jindan in her body, I guess she gave me that bead, so her own body can't hold on.

  "Then... I'll return that Golden Elixir to you? How should I do it?" I asked, rubbing my own chilly lower abdomen.

  Unexpectedly, when she heard me say this, the woman let out a snort of laughter.

  "......donkey......such a good baby was given to you......you don't even want it?"

  My heart skipped a beat, but I quickly replied:

  "When drinking water, don't forget who dug the well. I still understand this principle. Without your Spirit Yuan Golden Elixir, I would have died just now. This life of mine is thanks to you. How can I return the elixir to you?"

  "...... Forget it...... Don't need to return it to me...... That thing, as long as I'm gone...... can be refined again...... You're just like me, that golden elixir...... was a gift from me to you......" The woman's voice had become so soft it was almost inaudible, "...... After I'm gone, bring me some water and food...... if you still have a conscience......"

  "Go out? How can I go out?"

  "...use your... brain..."

  The woman's voice grew softer and softer, lower and lower, until finally her head suddenly sank down and she didn't make a sound anymore.

  "Hello?"

  I was stunned for a moment, thinking she had died. I cautiously walked forward and touched her nose to check her breathing, and found that there was still breath in her nostrils, only then did I confirm that she hadn't died.

  There was no longer the sound of women's voices, nor the rough eyebrows and men with the surname Zhuang. The cave returned to a cold and dead silence.

  In the midst of deathly silence, only the mobile phone that originally belonged to the rough-browed man in my hand was still lit up.

  Suddenly, the phone rang with a piercing music, I looked at the phone and saw that the name displayed was "Zhang Boss", the phone number was 136xxxxxxx. The number starting with 136... is a call from Jiangsu Province.

  As I saw the number on the phone screen, the blood in my heart that had just cooled down suddenly warmed up again.

  Who else could it be but Zhang Laoban calling at this time?

  It goes without saying, it's Zhang Guohua.

  I looked at the incoming call display, then silently took down the phone number and finally answered the phone.

  Of course, in order to prevent Zhang Guohua from knowing that I was still alive, I only pressed the answer button but did not make a sound.

  "Hey, Qiangzi?"

  I didn't answer, I just quietly listened.

  "Did you handle the person I told you to?"

  It's indeed Zhang Guohua's voice.

  As soon as I heard Zhang Guohua's voice, the hatred in my heart surged up instantly. It was this man who had his people bring me here. It was this man who wanted to kill me to silence me in order to cover up his own crimes!

  It's this man, he is so high and mighty, one sentence from him can crush me like an ant!

  This cold-blooded man!

  "Why aren't you answering me? Has someone handled it?"

  Because there was no response, Zhang Guohua on the other end of the phone repeatedly asked, his tone carrying a hint of gloom and coldness.

  At first, I didn't want Zhang Guohua to know about my death, but hearing his voice, the images of those idle rich young masters floated in my mind, and I thought of the defiled Yan Yan, and I couldn't bear it anymore.

  I picked up the phone and in the coldest, most ruthless voice I could muster, I spoke into the receiver:

  "Handled."

  And mine was supplemented with another sentence in my heart:

  "It's all taken care of. You're next, Zhang Guohua."

  Of course, I didn't say this sentence.

  Without waiting for Guo Hua's response, I slammed my phone to the ground with a loud "crack", and the black phone was smashed into several pieces, its body and shell completely separated.

  I didn't look back at my phone or the corpses of the thick-eyebrowed man and the person with the surname Zhuang, but instead walked alone towards the entrance of the dark passageway.

  The woman who gave me the terrible power lies quietly asleep in the cold cave.