Chapter 39.3
The entrance was dark and deep, completely bottomless, but there was a small wooden staircase that made it accessible.
Tang Mianmian s.h.i.+vered uncontrollably, âBut we donât know where this secret pa.s.sage leads toâ¦â
âWeâll know when we get there.â Duan Hongzhen objected, appearing eager to enter.
The two women looked at each other, and at Shen Yuan who was sitting on the bench who was still resting.
Moments later, Shen Yuan opened his eyes, âLetâs go down.â
Lu Siâer was obviously a little scared. âBut⦠what if this secret pa.s.sage leads to another dead end⦠Or if thereâs another flood once we go down⦠Then arenât we bound for death?â
Duan Hongzhen smiled and said, âYou can choose to stay here alone.â
Lu Siâerâs face turned ashen. She looked like she wanted to say something else but Tang Mianmian suddenly took a sniff and asked, âDo you smell something?â
âWhat smell?â Xiao Tangqiu followed with a sniff and as expected smelled something strange. âLike something is burningâ¦â
âYes! The smell of something burning!â Tang Mianmian clapped his thigh.
Xiao Tangqiu burst out, âWait! Why would there be the smell of something burning here?â
Everyone turned around, faces turning ugly at the same time. The church had started burning G.o.d knows when, and the flames were surging in their direction, the air filled with smoke that choked them at once.
âFire!â Xiao Tangqiu reacted immediately. âAfter drowning is burning at the stakeâ¦â
âf.u.c.k! Youâre right!â Tang Mianmian responded, âThey suspected Lily Marlene was a witch, so they first tried to drown her, then set her on fireâ¦â
At this moment, they didnât have the time to hesitate whether to use the secret pa.s.sage under the statue or not, because they only had one choice left.
The door of the church had been completely engulfed by the raging flames and so were the surrounding windows. They couldnât escape from the door or windows at all and could only head towards the secret pa.s.sage.
Shen Yuan was the first to go down, followed by two women, then Duan Hongzhen. Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian, who insisted on the principle of giving priority to women and children, let Lu Siâer and the little boy go down first before they finally retreated to the bottom.
Xiao Tangqiu went second last with Tang Mianmian jumped down right behind him.
âOuch, ouch, ouch! The fire is burning my a.s.s! Hurry up!â
Xiao Tangqiu was in a hurry and didnât have any time to waste. He had directly jumped into the secret pa.s.sage. Tang Mianmian didnât bother with the stairs as well and rolled down to the bottom.
Tang Mianmian had reached the bottom when the fire spread to the entrance of the secret pa.s.sage but the flames seemed to be unable to leave the church and stopped at the entrance of the church and the secret pa.s.sage.
However, before Tang Mianmian and Xiao Tangqiu could breathe a sigh of relief, the fire suddenly acted like it had self-consciousness, condensed into the shape of a hand and swept at Xiao Tangqiu.
Xiao Tangqiu subconsciously rolled on the spot, the flames sweeping over his head instead. He suddenly felt his scalp grow hot and smelled his hair burning. However, at this point, he had already neglected his hair. Whatâs the use of having any hair if he were dead?
He rolled around several times, narrowly escaping the flames. Countless holes were burnt through his clothes. Naturally, Tang Mianmian, who was at the back with him, was not much better off.
The two behave like theyâre jump
ing through rings of fire, bouncing up and down, rolling left and right on the ground. They had a hard time catching up with Shen yuan and others who were ahead of them.
Before the two could catch their breath, they looked back and felt almost powerless. The flames, which seemed to be self-conscious, was burning even more fiercely as if in retaliation for not being able to catch up with anyone. With a whoosh, it angrily crossing the border of the church and the secret pa.s.sage, and quickly making its way in as it swallowed up everything in sight.
Now, they didnât even need a flashlight because the originally pitch black secret pa.s.sage was lit up by the flames.
âRun!â Tang Mianmian issued a loud roar, dragging Xiao Tangqiu with him as he started running.
Xiao Tangqiu didnât even have the opportunity to catch his breath before he was made to run with Tang Mianmian.
The flames were chasing after them, so they could only run for their lives frantically. They looked at the bright blaze in the entrance of the secret pa.s.sage. Although they were afraid of the unknown and the flames got rid of the unending darkness, it also blocked their retreat. If they met a dead end in front, they were finished!
The secret pa.s.sage was s.p.a.cious and also quite long. They ran desperately for a long time without seeing the exit of the secret pa.s.sage. The worst thing was that the fire was still chasing after them. They had no time to stop and rest. If they stopped for even a second, they would be mercilessly mercilessly by the hungry flames.
Xiao Tangqiuâs lungs felt like they were about to burst from all the running. His body wasnât good to begin with and his physical stamina was just average at best. Now, all this running had already exceeded his physical limit but he could only strengthen his resolve and keep moving. He knew that he couldnât stop because even the slightest pause and he would be engulfed by the flames.
Towards the end, his strength was sustained by willpower alone and his consciousness had begun to blur. If Tang Mianmian hadnât been dragging him along, he might have fallen unconscious.
Lu Siâer and the little boy also ran very hard. They were out of breath but were pushed beyond their physical limits by flames.
Xiao Tangqiu looked at the endless path ahead and despaired. Right then, Lu Siâer suddenly stumbled over something and fell to the ground screaming.
She subconsciously held out her hand to Xiao Tangqiu, who was closest to her and yelled, âHelp me!â
Seeing her eyes fill up with fear, Xiao Tangqiu couldnât help but pause. However, in the next moment, Shen Yuan pulled him forwards and said coldly, âYou canât save her, just go!â
Indeed, as expected, the flames shot out relentlessly, quickly swallowing Lu Siâer into that sea of fire. She barely had any time to struggle before her body completely disappeared into the fire, leaving only echoes of her screams.
If Xiao Tangqiu had turned to save her, even if just to stretch out a hand to pull her, he most likely wouldâve also been caught in the flames. He couldnât help but feel heart palpitating from the horror. If Shen Yuan hadnât held him back, maybe he wouldâve died in the fire with Lu Siâer.
Before Xiao Tangqiuâs heart could start beating normally again, Shen Yuan grabbed his arm and ran forward.
Xiao Tangqiu was dragged by Shen Yuan and Tang Mianmian, one on the left, the other on the right. Although his lungs were burning with pain, it was much easier than before.
Moments later, he finally saw a glimmer of hope. A faint light appeared in the distance, immediately lifting their spirits.
They made a determined effort to run towards the light and finally arrived at the place where the light was coming from before the fire could set their bottoms ablaze. It was a wooden door!
Xiao Tangqiu was delighted. They had finally found the exit of the secret pa.s.sage.
However, his heart sank again. They obviously didnât have any time to open the door. Once they stop, they would be devoured by the fire. What could they do? !
Just as Xao Tangqiu was struggling with how to open the door, they had already reached it. The aloof rushed to the front. Xiao Tangqiu saw Tang sword in her hand slice heavily at the wooden door. Under that powerful blow, a loud noise broke the door.
As soon as the door was broken, they rushed in, including Xiao Tangqiu who was still being dragged by Shen Yuan and Tang Mianmian. Upon entering the door, Xiao Tangqiu was so tired that he wanted to throw himself to the floor. He could no longer move his legs. Fortunately, when he looked back, he found that the fire had stopped chasing them.
The fire seemed to be stuck in the secret pa.s.sage as if it were blocked by an invisible door. Soon, the fire gradually got smaller until it disappeared completely and the secret pa.s.sage was once again plunged into darkness.
Xiao Tangqiu couldnât believe that they had successfully escaped the fire. He fell to the ground, gasping for air. His head was a blank sheet. It wasnât until Tang Mianmian hugged him and cried loudly that the reality of them surviving finally set in.
â
Wuwuwu,
Qiuqiu! We actually made it!â
âWe survived!â
~~~
P.S. Sorry for missing last nightâs updates. I had so much work I stayed up till 4am just to finish up everything. I realize that releases arenât as punctual, and while I try to stick to a certain time, I canât say for sure on which days I might be delayed. Anyways, thereâll be another update tonight. â¤