CH 99

Chapter 99 – Without a Key 11

When Xu RenDong arrived on the third floor, the rain had already risen up to his knees.

It is unimaginable that the amount of precipitation in this torrential rain was so large that it flooded the third floor in just a few hours?!

Shi JianChuan didn’t come down with him. Time was running out and Xu RenDong didn’t ask him what he was going to do.

Xu RenDong rushed to the third floor in astate of great anxiety and when he saw the amount of water, his face was pale and his heart was cold. Rain poured in from outside the railing. The water level was already higher than the top of the railing and at this time the sky was still pouring rain. The turbid rainwater kept pouring in from the railing and the loud sound of raindrops was alarming.

Xu RenDong waded into the water without hesitation. The rain was icy cold and the stings hurt his joints. In just a few seconds, the stagnant water has climbed from the knees to the thighs. There was a lot of resistance in the water. Xu RenDong struggled through it and headed desperately towards his room. After a long time, he finally opened the door.

“Lian Qiao!” 

The candles had long since been extinguished and the room was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything. Xu RenDong was in a hurry to get inside so he didn’t notice the threshold of the door under the water, tripped and pitched forward into the water.

He made a big mistake. He took in a big mouthful of water as he fell into it. The smelly rainwater poured down his windpipe, causing him to cough and vomit. He didn’t pay attention to this and shouted while coughing: “Cough, Lian Qiao! Where are you, Lian Qiao!”

There was no response.

The rain flooded the furniture and the wooden tables and chairs were floating in the water. Xu RenDong pushed aside the table and chairs, looked around in haste and finally found Lian Qiao in the corner.

He almost swam to Lian Qiao’s side. He saw that Lian Qiao was immersed in the water, top to bottom. His eyes were closed and he was still tied to the bench. But fortunately this bench was here, otherwise he would have sunk into the bottom of the water long ago and would not be found anywhere.

Xu RenDong caught Lian Qiao with one hand and cut the climbing rope with a knife. He shivered and hugged Lian Qiao who was cold all over in his arms – fortunately, he was still breathing!

“Lian Qiao! Wake up! Wake up!” Xu RenDong swam towards the door with Lian Qiao on his back, calling out to him continuously. At this time, he regretted very much why he gave Lian Qiao sleeping pills. He almost killed Lian Qiao!

“Well…” Lian Qiao finally woke up leisurely under Xu RenDong’s repeated calls. He lay on Xu RenDong’s back and stared at the dark waters around him in a daze. Just as he was about to speak, water poured into his mouth, causing him to cough loudly, “Cough, cough, cough…“

“Come up!” Xu RenDong pushed him hard and lifted him abruptly away from the water..

Lian Qiao instinctively hugged his neck and asked in a weak voice, “Brother RenDong…how…cough! What’s going on…”

Xu RenDong didn’t know how to explain, so he could only say: “Hold onto me tight first! I’ll take you to a safe place!”

“Oh…” Lian Qiao’s head suddenly sank and his head bumped against Xu RenDong’s head. The arm around his neck loosened a lot.

“Lian Qiao?!” Xu RenDong was shocked and quickly grabbed him.

“I’m so sleepy…” Lian Qiao’s voice was inaudible. “I don’t have the strength… I’m sorry…”

Is it because of the sleeping pills? The sleeping pills still haven’t worn off yet? Or…or did he use the wrong dose and caused the sleeping pill to have an anesthetic effect? !

Xu RenDong gritted his teeth. Now is not the time to blame yourself, the most important thing was to save Lian Qiao!

He pushed away the water with one hand and folded the other hand, supporting Lian Qiao’s thigh. Lian Qiao was leaning heavily on his back and the arms around his neck were flabby.

The rain is still pouring down. The icy stagnant water had flooded his waist. Xu RenDong came out of the room and went straight to the stairs. He glanced outside inadvertently and couldn’t help being astonished.

This rain was not normal! Even in typhoon weather, it is impossible for the precipitation to reach more than ten meters in just a few hours! What is this concept? It’s almost like a tsunami!

The exit of the tulou has long been closed and there is no drainage pipe. Now all the rainwater has accumulated inside and the tulou has been turned into a large pool. They were trapped inside it and could not escape. They could only watch the water rise higher and higher until they drowned!

Wait – what about the others?

Xu RenDong looked around while swimming towards the stairs. To his surprise, the doors of all guest rooms were still closed and the chaotic escape scene he imagined did not appear.

There were no bodies floating in the water either. Where have all those people gone?

They wouldn’t be still in the room would they…

After finally reaching the entrance of the stairs, Xu RenDong was overjoyed and ran up the stairs in the water. However, as soon as he got out of the water, he felt extremely heavy. It turned out that he had buoyancy support in the water just now, so he could easily carry Lian Qiao on his back. At this time, he exited the water and naturally felt that Lian Qiao behind him was more than ten thousand pounds. His legs were weak and he almost fell back into the water.

“Urk…” Xu RenDong grabbed the stairs with one hand, forcing every ounce of strength in his muscles. His forehead was bruised with blue veins, his teeth were clenched, and the roots of his teeth hurt.

“Brother RenDong… let me down…” Lian Qiao said intermittently, pushing him gently with his hand.

Xu RenDong squeezed out two words from between his teeth: “Don’t move! Hold on tight to me!”

Just as he turned around, the corner of his eyes saw a gleam of white sweep past. He turned around in surprise and saw a small snow-white snake sprang out of the water. The snake seemed to have come up from the bottom of the water, with something hooked on its tail.

The little white snake climbed up the railing, climbed under the eaves, circled around the lantern and then continued to climb up the eaves.

It moved quickly,and the little snake body quickly disappeared in front of Xu RenDong. Despite this, Xu RenDong could still see clearly – what was hooked on its tail was actually a silver ring.

Xu RenDong carried Lian Qiao on his back and continued to walk up the stairs, his brain running fast: that should be the submerged ring on the second floor. Shi JianChuan wants to collect all the rings? Doesn’t he already have one as a talisman?

Wait, this tulou has a total of nine floors and each floor has a ring, which means there are nine in total… The number of tablets in the ancestral hall is also nine, nine x nine = eighty-one…

“Nine” must mean some kind of special meaning!

But the instance prompt is clearly “a lock without a key”. What is the relationship between “nine” and the “lock”?

Xu RenDong struggled to carry Lian Qiao to the fourth floor. The stagnant water has not yet reached here but the rainstorm has already wet all the lanterns, the corridor was also wet and there are ponds everywhere. If you step on it accidentally, anyone would slip.

Within the sound of wind and rain, the sound of intercourse in the room could be heard faintly. Those people were so engrossed in lust that they didn’t even notice the violent storm outside, no wonder they were drowned inside the room.

As soon as he stepped on the floor, Xu RenDong felt soft and fell forward. Lian Qiao rolled down from behind him and let out a grunt.

“Lian Qiao!” Xu RenDong hurriedly reached out to him but suddenly felt a strong dizziness. He turned around quickly and subconsciously supported the ground with his hands, so as to not himself fall.

“Brother RenDong…” Lian Qiao crawled over with difficulty, “What’s wrong with you…”

There was thunder and lightning outside, and the wind swept through the tulou, making a whimper. The cold wind slapped his body with rain and Xu RenDong felt cold all over and even shivered.

“It’s okay.” His lips were purple and he took a deep breath to pull Lian Qiao up from the ground, “Let’s go, continue up.”

Lian Qiao reluctantly raised his hand and touched his forehead. His eyes became bitter: “You have a high fever.”

“It can’t come on so fast.” Xu RenDong denied it very decisively. Although he was drenched in the rain and went down into the cold water to save someone, it was only a matter of two or three hours. How could it be possible to suddenly have a fever and become unsteady?

“…” Lian Qiao suddenly changed his face and pushed him hard.

The two of them had no strength. When Lian Qiao pushed him like this, not only did he fall down again but even went back several steps.

“You leave me alone, you go!” Lian Qiao bit his lip fiercely, forcing himself to gather his energy. “If this goes on, both of us will die!”

“Don’t make trouble!” Xu RenDong said angrily, reaching out to pull him, “You get up!”

Lian Qiao struggled but fortunately, because of the anesthetic effect of sleeping pills, he couldn’t do anything decisive. Xu RenDong had just pulled him up from the ground when he suddenly heard a scream behind him.

The scream of a woman!

Xu RenDong turned back and saw that the corridor was still empty. The big red lanterns, which had been doused by the rain, twisted wildly in the wind, banging against the eaves. The woman lost her voice after a scream.

Immediately afterwards, another scream came from the other direction!

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

This time, it’s a man?

Xu RenDong’s heart skipped a beat. What happened? What was going on?

“Wu… uh…” Lian Qiao in his arms suddenly twisted in pain, a strange moan squeezed out of his throat. He suddenly grabbed Xu RenDong’s shirt, his eyes were red and his brows were locked, as if he was struggling with something.

With Lian Qiao like this, how could he let go? Xu RenDong hugged Lian Qiao tightly and dragged him upstairs abruptly. There was a sudden banging noise on the roof, mixed with the crying and screaming of men and women.

What’s going on up there? Why is it so noisy?

Xu RenDong was stunned for a moment. Just when he was stunned, there was a sudden “squeak” sound beside him.

A man covered in blood came out of the room. He had no clothes on, and there were still traces of teeth marks on his lower body. However, he was holding a bloody thing in his hand.

A heart. A heart that was still beating.

Xu RenDong’s pupils shrank suddenly. He subconsciously protected Lian Qiao behind him and, at the same time, was shocked to find that there were successive “squeaks” all  around him.

One door after another opened and dozens of people covered in blood came into the corridor one after another. They were originally expressionless but when they looked at each other, they became furious and rushed towards each other to fight.

Fists and feet landed on the flesh and made a dull sound. Everyone fought together, waving tables and chairs, vases, and scissors in their hands. In an instant, blood splattered everywhere. The screams were endless and the corridors were filled with blood.

The terrifying scream resounded throughout the tulou, instantly covering the sound of wind and rain, turning this place into a purgatory on earth!

Crazy! They are all crazy!

Xu RenDong took a deep breath, took out a crowbar from his backpack and prepared for battle.

“Lian Qiao.” He whispered, “Follow… hmm!” 

Before the word “me” could be said, a pair of hands stretched out from behind and strangled him tightly!

Xu RenDong’s pupils shrank suddenly and he subconsciously raised the crowbar but stopped after seeing the other party’s face clearly.

Lian Qiao?!

The person who was strangling his neck was actually Lian Qiao?!

At this time, Lian Qiao had obviously lost his mind. He stared at Xu RenDong with red eyes, a terrifying grin at the corner of his mouth. He squeezed Xu RenDong’s neck with both hands and tightened his fingers inch by inch. Xu RenDong heard “click” and “crack”, and it was his fragile neck bone that was screaming.

“Uh…uh…” Xu RenDong’s throat was stuck and he couldn’t make a sound.

With a bang, the crowbar fell to the ground. Xu RenDong tried to pull Lian Qiao’s hand away but it was in vain.

When he saw the bloodthirsty cruelty in Lian Qiao’s eyes, he knew that Lian Qiao was not in control of himself.

But…why…

Didn’t he already have a ring…

Xu RenDong’s chest heaved violently, trying to inhale even a trace of air. But no matter how much he struggled, Lian Qiao’s fingers were constantly tightening… His slender trachea was so compressed that there was no gap and even the neck bones were about to be crushed.

The lack of oxygen in the brain made Xu RenDong confused and the severe pain and suffocation repeatedly awakened him. He was forced to hang on the line between life and death, swaying from side to side. It was excruciatingly painful.

Xu RenDong was strangled by Lian Qiao and his feet left the ground. He was forced to lean back, unable to see Lian Qiao’s face. He could only see the pitch-black ceiling, the drenched red lantern, the violent storm outside and…

Wait, what was that?

On the verge of death, something froze in Xu RenDong’s heart.

He saw a snow-white giant python dozens of meters long in the air.

The body of the python was as thick as a giant tree, circling and rising from the water. There was a man standing above the huge snake head, in a black Tang suit.

Shi JianChuan?!

There seemed to be something in his hand…flickering…

A “click” sound came from his neck. Like something had shattered completely. The crisp cracking sound was transmitted to the brain along the bones. Xu RenDong suddenly felt that his body lost weight and his entire person became lighter.

The last sight he saw was a black shadow flying out of the dark and slamming into Shi JianChuan who was above the python.

A cloud of blood erupted in the air.

Then, the overwhelming darkness struck again.

It was all over again.