chsdbacks Chapter 230 Safe House
Chapter 230 Safe House
Nie Lingfeng carefully put away the fragment. It was important evidence and a clue.
He carefully searched the area around the platform again, confirming that there were no other valuable discoveries, nor any hidden mechanisms or secret passages (except for the bottomless vertical shaft, which he did not plan to explore for the time being). Then, he returned to Chen Duo's side, took out the last of his compressed biscuits, and ate them slowly with water to replenish his strength, while thinking about his next move.
Their current condition is unsuitable for an immediate long journey and intense battle. The best option is to find a completely safe and secluded place to fully rest and recover before making any further plans. However, returning to Mengla Town is out of the question. Although Yan Ben is dead, his remaining forces and the "Council's" potential spies are still around; going back would be tantamount to walking into a trap. Returning to Jinghong or the mainland? The journey is long and would easily expose their presence.
Just as Nie Lingfeng was deep in thought, the encrypted communicator given to him by "Eagle" in his arms suddenly vibrated very weakly and intermittently. Deep underground, the signal was extremely poor, but there seemed to be a special encrypted frequency band that could barely make a connection.
Nie Lingfeng immediately took out his communicator, walked to a spot with a slightly better signal near the cave entrance, and pressed the answer button.
"Shasha... Mr. Nie... Miss Chen Duo... Are you... safe?" The signal was extremely poor and the sound was severely distorted, but one could still vaguely make out that it was "Eagle's" calm voice, tinged with a barely perceptible concern.
"We're still alive, but we're injured and need to rest." Nie Lingfeng explained the situation succinctly, using the simplest code words, and gave the approximate location (deep in the rainforest west of Mengla Town, an abandoned mine).
"Sasa...understands...keep going...rescue...arranged...Sasa...'Azan Ki'...trustworthy...go to...the safe house he provided...coordinates...Sasa..."
The signal was interrupted, but encrypted coordinate information had already been transmitted to the communicator.
Ajarn Ki? That mysterious informant witch doctor? He provided the safe house? Was it "Eagle's" arrangement, or Ajarn Ki's own idea?
Nie Lingfeng quickly weighed his options. Azan Ki was a mysterious and unpredictable man, seemingly possessing knowledge of both the power of "Nammu Cave" and the "Council," making him potentially unreliable. However, the fact that "Eagle" had personally given instructions indicated that, at least in the assessments of "The Company" and "Dawn," he was trustworthy, at least for the time being, and a potential collaborator. Moreover, they genuinely needed a safe place to recuperate; traversing the rainforest and border on their own was far too risky.
"Let's take a gamble," Nie Lingfeng decided. He noted down the coordinates and roughly determined the location; it should be in the northeast of Mengla Town, in a more remote mountainous area closer to the China-Myanmar border.
He returned to Chen Duo's side and waited for about an hour. Chen Duo woke up again. This time, her eyes were much clearer. Although she was still tired, she was able to sit up on her own and whispered that she was "hungry" and "thirsty." (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)
Nie Lingfeng gave her the last bit of water and biscuits, and watched her eat them in small bites until her complexion improved a little before telling her about the situation and his plans.
After listening, Chen Duo simply nodded and obediently said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. That old man... although he smelled a bit strange, he didn't stink. He probably... isn't a bad guy."
Even Chen Duo's intuition said so, which reassured Nie Lingfeng a bit more.
The two rested until it was fully light (judging from the light coming through the cave entrance), and felt they had regained some strength. Nie Lingfeng carried the still weak Chen Duo on his back (she insisted on walking by herself, but Nie Lingfeng carried her without explanation), and carefully made their way out along the mine tunnel they had come from.
In the mine tunnels, the dark red slime and the "moving shadows" had vanished without a trace, as if with the annihilation of the evil god's incarnation, these byproducts born of corruption had also lost their basis for existence. Only the occasional traces of battle and scattered ashes proved that what had happened before was not an illusion.
It took them twice as long to finally emerge from the abandoned mine. Back in the humid, sultry, yet vibrant air of the rainforest, both felt as if they had stepped into another world.
Nie Lingfeng determined the direction, carried Chen Duo on his back, and once again stepped into the vast, perilous tropical rainforest, heading towards the coordinates of the safe house provided by Azanji.
This time, their steps were slow but firm, with a clear goal—to recuperate, regain their strength, and then... continue to investigate the shadow of the "Council" and uncover more secrets of this world.
Sunlight filtered through the layers of tree canopy, casting dappled shadows on the two people.
The road ahead remains unknown, but at least they have joined hands once again to carve out a path to survival from despair and darkness.
Chapter Ninety-Eight: Safe House, Internal Vision, and the "Sleeping Divine Object"
The rainforest afternoon was sweltering and humid, like a giant, slowly fermenting steamer. Sunlight was cut and filtered by the layers of dense, almost impenetrable dark green canopy, leaving only fragmented, flickering, and rough-edged spots that barely illuminated the tangled, slippery, muddy ground beneath our feet. The air was thick with the sweet, pungent scent of grass and trees, mixed with the unique, slightly fishy dampness of the soil, and the almost imperceptible yet ubiquitous "life field" produced by the active metabolism of countless tiny organisms, creating a primitive, wild, vibrant yet perilous backdrop.
Carrying Chen Duo on his back, Nie Lingfeng had been trekking through this green maze for nearly four hours. His steps were steady, but his pace was slow. He carefully chose relatively firm or leaf-covered footholds, avoiding areas that appeared flat but might actually be soft mud or hiding poisonous insects. The weight on his back was light; Chen Duo was thin, but her quiet breathing and occasional unconscious nudges against his neck kept his nerves constantly on edge.
According to the coordinates provided by Azan Ki and the rudimentary electronic map on the communicator (the signal was intermittent), they should be approaching their destination. The surrounding environment had also subtly changed. The tall Hopea trees and strangler figs were gradually decreasing, replaced by more low-growing, but denser, with branches twisted like gnarled dragons, unidentified tree species. On the ground, amidst the thick layer of fallen leaves, traces of carefully cleared, simply paved paths with gravel began to appear. Although similarly covered with moss and new plants, these were clearly not made by wild animals. In the air, besides the inherent scent of the rainforest, there was a faint, almost imperceptible, bitter aroma, somewhat similar to the lingering bitter fragrance of some kind of burnt herb, somewhat like the acrid smell and strange spices emanating from Azan Ki, but more natural, more… “clean.”
This is it.
Nie Lingfeng stopped and cautiously observed his surroundings. Not far ahead, on a relatively flat slope surrounded by several enormous, buttress-rooted trees and backed by a steep rock face covered in ferns and vines, several low houses, almost blending into their surroundings, were vaguely visible. Built of bamboo, logs, and thatch, the houses had a rustic style, clearly characteristic of the Dai or border ethnic minorities, but their structures were exceptionally sturdy, and the thatched roofs were thick and neatly maintained. Around the houses was a simple fence made of sharpened wooden stakes and thorny vines. Hanging on the fence were dried plant roots—whether animal skulls or specially treated ones—which appeared somewhat mysterious, even eerie, in the dappled light.
There were no obvious guards, nor barking dogs. But Nie Lingfeng's senses told him that this area was not undefended. He could vaguely sense that the surrounding trees, vines, and even the ground beneath his feet subtly formed something like a "warning array," extremely simple yet perfectly integrated with the natural atmosphere. Any creature with obvious malice or strong aggression that intruded would likely trigger an unknown reaction immediately. Moreover, the bitter, herbal scent in the air seemed to have a faint effect of soothing, repelling insects, and even... shielding senses.
"Teacher Ajarn Ki! Nie Lingfeng and his sister Lin Duo have arrived as promised!" Nie Lingfeng did not approach the fence rashly, but stood about twenty meters away from the nearest bamboo house, raised his voice, and called out in as calm a tone as possible. He gave the aliases "Lin Feng" and "Lin Duo", but Ajarn Ki should know their true identities.
The sound carried far through the tranquil rainforest, startling several colorful birds in the nearby treetops.
After a moment of silence, the curtain of the largest bamboo house in the middle, woven from thin bamboo strips and hung with dried chili peppers and corn, was slowly lifted from the inside by a withered hand covered with age spots.
Ajarn Ki's hunched and thin figure appeared in the doorway. He was still wearing his dark blue traditional attire, almost blending into the shadows, and a black turban. The deep wrinkles on his face appeared even more pronounced in the dappled afternoon light. His deep, pool-like eyes calmly looked at Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo on his back, without any surprise, as if he had known they would come and that they would be in this disheveled state.
"Come in." Azan Ki's voice was still hoarse and flat, devoid of emotion. He turned around, lifted the curtain, and gestured for them to enter.
Without further hesitation, Nie Lingfeng carried Chen Duo on his back, quickly walked to the front of the bamboo house, bent down, and crawled inside.
The interior appeared more spacious and tidy than the exterior, and also… more “strange.” The light was somewhat dim, with only a few soft rays of light filtering through a few deliberately left “skylights” in the roof, covered with transparent oil paper. The bitter aroma of herbs in the air was more intense, mixed with the warm scent of dried spices, and a faint, stale smell reminiscent of aged wood and books.
The interior furnishings were simple, yet exuded an ancient charm and the wisdom of daily life. Bamboo tables, chairs, and beds were polished smooth and warm to the touch; several large pottery urns and bamboo baskets lined the walls, filled with various dried herbs, seeds, and ores; hanging on the walls were scrolls painted with intricate patterns and symbols on animal hides or coarse cloth, as well as some simple, unadorned bone or wooden ritual implements of unknown purpose. Most striking was a stone basin in the center of the room, about a meter in diameter, carved from a single piece of black stone, filled with clear spring water, on the surface of which floated a few vibrant green leaves. Below the basin, the floor was inlaid with white pebbles forming a simple, ancient-looking pattern resembling the Bagua (Eight Trigrams).
This place doesn't feel like a modern dwelling; it's more like the retreat of an ancient "shaman" or "witch doctor" who lives deep in the rainforest, surrounded by nature and mystical forces.
Azan Ki pointed to a bamboo mat covered with clean animal hide near the stone basin: "Put her here."