Chapter 238: Secret Chamber Mandala

Spurred on by the alcohol, the dry heat in Luan Jingfu's lower abdomen surged upward even more forcefully. A flash of ferocity appeared on his face as he said, "Let's make it today, shall we? Take them to vent some of this pent-up frustration..."

Wei Yutian also saw the gloom weighing on Luan Jingfu's heart, and since he himself hadn't practiced his arts for some days, he nodded and said, "Today will do."

Wei Yutian then shook the bell in his hand, and a slender woman dressed in snow-white robes walked out from behind the Rockery.

The one who came was Bai Ai.

Su Di possessed a plump allure, while Bai Ai was a vision of lean, cold beauty.

Wei Yutian glanced at Bai Ai and said, "Prepare the ritual; tonight we make offerings to the Five Passages God!"

Bai Ai's gaze flickered. She looked at Luan Jingfu in the pavilion before crouching down and murmuring, "Yes."

Bai Ai stood up, turned, and exited the courtyard.

Soon, she called for Su Di and Pei Qing. The three of them took a large quantity of wolf-smoke, incense, candles, and various ritual implements. Pei Qing, walking at the very back, was also carrying a lantern in her hand.

The three walked into an inconspicuous, remote side room on the east side. This side room was very low and even somewhat dilapidated, looking more like a room for storing miscellaneous items.

The three entered and moved aside the dust-covered cabinets and clutter piled in the corner. Then, Bai Ai crouched down in the corner and pressed hard on a blue brick. Suddenly, the floorboards in the corner tilted upward. Su Di immediately bent down and pulled the tilted floorboard upward. The light from the lantern in Pei Qing's hand behind her shone into the hole in the floor, revealing stone steps leading downward.

Here, there was clearly a Secret Chamber.

Bai Ai clapped the dust off her hands.

Su Di turned, took the lantern from Pei Qing's hand, and using the lantern's dim yellow light, descended the steps into the pitch-black Secret Chamber.

Bai Ai and Pei Qing followed closely behind Su Di and also walked inside.

After descending the stone steps, they arrived at a space. Su Di used the flame from the lantern in her hand to light the Candle Lamp on the stone wall.

The Candle Lamp was as thick as an arm, instantly illuminating the Secret Chamber as brightly as day.

The space of this Secret Chamber was not very large, and it was empty, without a single object.

While Su Di was lighting the Candle Lamp on the stone wall, Bai Ai walked slowly to one of the stone walls, her slender, fair hands pressing down on a certain spot on the wall.

Following a trembling sound, the stone wall in front of her opened inward like a pair of stone doors; clearly, there was more to be seen behind those stone doors.

These stone doors were quite hidden; the person who built this Secret Chamber was clearly well-versed in the arts of mechanisms and artifice.

Su Di lit four Candle Lamps. Seeing that Bai Ai had already opened the stone doors over there, she put the various implements she was holding into Pei Qing's arms and said, "You two go ahead and set up; I'll go fetch the offerings!"

Bai Ai glanced to the side, seemingly having no objection to what Su Di said. She took a Candle Lamp from the stone wall and walked into the pitch-black Secret Chamber. Pei Qing, holding a large pile of wolf-smoke, incense, candles, and implements in her arms, followed step-by-step behind Bai Ai.

Seeing the two enter that Secret Chamber, Su Di walked slowly to the stone wall on the opposite side. Her gaze shifted, and her two fair, plump hands, like lotus roots, pressed down on two different spots on the stone wall.

With the same trembling, a stone door opened inward. Su Di took a Candle Lamp from the adjacent stone wall and walked inside.

The layout of this Secret Chamber was completely different from the space outside. The outer space was square, while this Secret Chamber was narrow and deep.

Su Di held the Candle Lamp and walked into the pitch-black depths...

On both sides of the Secret Chamber, many tall iron cages were placed against the walls. The iron cages were more than half a person's height, and the black iron bars emitted a cold, cruel luster.

Su Di walked while holding the candle, going straight to the iron cage in the very back before suddenly stopping...

As she approached, a rustling, unusual sound rang out from inside the iron cage.

The candlelight in Su Di's hand shone into the tall iron cage in the corner. Inside, there were actually two women, and they were two young maidens, only they were wearing coarse cloth garments, and their hair was somewhat yellowed...

They were the offerings Su Di had just mentioned, and also the "goods" Luan Jingfu had spoken of earlier—they were actually two maidens, or more accurately, virgins.

Because only the deflowering blood of a virgin was useful for practicing the Filthy Blood Technique.

Su Di approached the large iron cage and, being careless with her footing, kicked an empty bowl. The empty bowl immediately clattered on the floor.

Su Di's gaze tightened. She naturally knew that it was because they had finished eating today and the bowl hadn't been collected in time.

It seemed Pei Qing had been lazy today. She hadn't expected that they would suddenly start making offerings to the Five Passages God today, so she had intended to collect the bowl when delivering food tomorrow.

Su Di took a key from her waist and inserted it into the large lock hanging on the large iron cage. With a click of the spring, Su Di removed the large lock, opened the cage door, and said coldly, "Come out!"

The two maidens, their faces full of terror, cowered in the corner of the large iron cage, their voices trembling as they cried, "Sister, please let us go... We will remember your great kindness for a lifetime..."

Su Di sneered and said, "Let you go? Then I would have to go to hell!"

"Sister! I beg you..."

"Enough nonsense!" Su Di said coldly, "Are you coming out yourselves? Or do you want me to drag you out?"

Su Di had seen this kind of scene I don't know how many times; her heart had long since become as hard as iron.

Seeing that they were still curled up in the corner, Su Di leaned in and climbed inside. The two maidens hadn't done little farm work at home and had some strength in them. As soon as Su Di climbed in, they actually acted with ferocity, wanting to strike Su Di.

One reached out, intending to grab Su Di's hair, but Su Di channeled her Internal Breath into her palm and gave a light tug. The two felt an incredibly powerful force pulling them out of the large iron cage.

The two farm girls stumbled and half-knelt on the ground. Just as they were about to stand up, Su Di struck them twice with palm-knives on the back of their heads, and they immediately fainted on the ground.

Only then did Su Di drag the two of them along, sighing, "You've already reached this point, where else would you have a chance to survive! Blame only your bad luck; you can't blame anyone else."

As she spoke, Su Di dragged them out, turned a corner, and walked toward the side where Bai Ai and Pei Qing were.

Su Di walked into that Secret Chamber and glanced at Pei Qing. Pei Qing immediately knew that Su Di was blaming her for not collecting the bowl in time. Pei Qing avoided Su Di's gaze and lowered her head.

Among the three of them, Su Di and Bai Ai had entered the manor around the same time and were more mature. Pei Qing had entered the manor later and was duller, often acting as a helper for Su Di and Bai Ai.

However, Su Di and Bai Ai actually took quite good care of her; it was only when she was lazy that they would say a few words to her.

Seeing that Pei Qing clearly understood her meaning and was lowering her head to arrange the incense and candles, Su Di didn't say anything more to her. She placed the two farm girls in the corner by the wall and, together with Bai Ai and Pei Qing, began to set up the ritual.

This Secret Chamber was actually quite spacious, and the ceiling was more than three times higher than the outside, with a shape that was even more strange and eerie.

In the middle was a protruding, bare high platform.

Around the high platform were four iron basins supported by stone racks. Inside the iron basins was dry wood doused in fierce oil, with flames burning fiercely...

And even more terrifying was that in front of the stone walls surrounding the Secret Chamber, in front of every wall, stood a stone-carved idol.

The idol was more than two zhang tall, and the top of the idol's head almost touched the rock ceiling at the very top of the Secret Chamber...

Moreover, the craftsman's carving skill was clearly very deep; the stone-carved idol was carved very delicately, with whiskers and hair visible strand by strand, and the expression and form were lifelike.

(End of chapter)