Chapter 340 - Pilgrim's Hollow

Addison paused for a second. "What made you think that?"

"It's pretty obvious," Wuming shrugged a shoulder. "Faking death, no records. That's you and I. Maybe my mother too. Not like I'm going to judge her."

"Then what was she doing in Chengshi if she was an assassin? Wasn't she fairly young when she got here and married your father?"

As always, Wuming did not have an answer. It was getting kind of annoying being asked as he did not know what to say either. "Let's just hope we'll find some answers today."

After the gas cans were filled, they all got back inside the cars and went on for another couple of hours before they saw the walking figure.

**

Qing Lok was already feeling dehydrated. His legs wanted to stop walking but he had to get to the Pilgrim's Hollow. There was no way he was going to spend the night in the middle of the road.

Qing Lok was just reflecting on his poor choices as he walked. He should not have come here. He should not have taken this road. He should have walked back to the city!

He was kicking the dry ground with his frustration. What the hell was wrong with him? Qing Chen and Wuming were right. This was a stupid decision. He should have just let them decide. 

He would have screamed at the top of his lungs if he did not want to preserve his energy. He was hungry as hell too.

Qing Lok was feeling all sorts of negative feelings. That was why he couldn't imagine his joy when he heard that someone was coming.

He heard the soft hum of the engines and he didn't know what to feel when he saw that it was a convoy. It was his family. He almost cried out of pure joy and bliss. He slowed down his walking until the car was beside him.

The window was rolled down and it was Qing Chen. "I'm surprised you made it this far."

"Of course I'll make it this far!"

Qing Chen smiled at him. "You tired? Hungry?"

Wuming sighed from the inside of the car. "That's enough acting up, Lok. You've proven your point, now get inside the car. Liu Meilien is on the other car."

Qing Lok knew he should be offended with what his brother said but he was more than glad to get inside the other car. The moment that he opened the door, Liu Meilien threw her arms around him. "Why are you crying again?"

"I thought something bad already happened to you."

Qing Lok sat down next to her but she refused to let him go, coiling around his arm. "I'm fine."

"If your brothers hadn't come through. What would have happened to you?"

Qing Lok smiled and put an arm around her. "Well, to be honest, I didn't see an ending where they would not come after me."

**

It took another couple of hours before they got to the arc that said that they were already entering Pilgrim's Hollow. All that was running through Feng Xuan's mind was who in their right minds would build something like this in the middle of nowhere? There were no other road that could lead to this place. The construction must've been tedious with all the transport of the materials needed.

Feng Xuan also had the chance to read about the rumor of Pilgrim's Hollow being a worship place for the devil. It was said that the place could have possibly been built around 1600s and had been destroyed by some townspeople.

Which townspeople? No one knows where they are now. Theories said that destroying Pilgrim's Hollow angered the devil and it eradicated the whole town and wiped it off the map.

Damn, stories from before were so much more interesting that the ones they got today. She had to admit getting there set an eerie feeling all over her body.

They rolled into a long driveway which sides were lined with statues made out of marble. Most of their faces locked in eternal screaming. Some of the unlucky ones had some of their limbs broken. Worse, there were also some heads on the grass. A shiver rolled down Feng Xuan's spine.

What in the world was Mother Qing doing in this place? It had already been established that their mother really did come to this place. The question was just why?

Finally they came into a clearing. Opposed to the 'devil worship ground hell gate', the place was open. There was a marbled ground that somehow resembled a human-sized chessboard. It was clear aside from some cracks, leaves, and broken branches. 

There was a building that had once been painted white, now it looked yellow and chipped. The doors looked locked, old and heavy. 

Feng Xuan was afraid to breathe, not really wanting to believe in the stories but didn't want to take her chances. But when her breath would no longer hold, she gave up. Surprisingly, the air smelled clean and crisp.

"Where are we supposed to start?" Qing Lok asked when he got out, Liu Meilien closed behind him.

Qing Chen looked around the place. He had no idea where to begin either. He didn't think this place really exist. But now they were there. "Well, we don't really know what we are looking for. Try to find something that would resemble the things on the tattoo."

They grouped themselves into two. Bolt cutters were pulled out from the trunk and the lock on the doors were cut. The inside was nothing but a big room with a couple of huge cabinets and what looked like an altar of some sort.

"Maybe the rumors are true," Feng Xuan whispered to Qing Chen.

"What we are missing is the table where the sacrifices happen," he grinned at her. 

They were just about to step inside when someone called outside. "We found something."

Qing Chen and Feng Xuan never ran harder.