The furnishings inside the stone fort are very simple, with only stone tables, stone chairs, and stone beds, in addition to the talismans on the walls.
Yue Zhenqiao sat down on a stone chair, moistened his throat with a waterskin, and then explained slowly to Lin Yu and Li Nian.
“The two heroines may not know, but around this Shuangjushan Chenjiabao(双锯山陈家堡: Shuangju Mountain Chen Family Fort) are five large Fire Hell towns: Gu Town, Liu Town, Xian Town, Xi Town, and Qi Town, and they are almost on their only way, once one of the best stopover points for merchant teams and escort teams – after all, the nearest Wuquan Village is only half a day's journey away for a normal convoy.”
“Even if we don’t encounter accidents like we did today, it’s actually a good route arrangement to use Chenjiabao as a place to rest and have lunch.”
“More than ten years ago, when I was still a young and inexperienced escort just starting out, my master once said that Chenjiabao, in its youth, could be considered a very lively stopover point – at noon, there were often three or four merchant teams and escort teams gathered here at the same time.”
“But the grand occasion of the past is no longer here, naturally because… since more than ten years ago, this place of Chenjiabao has been a bit ‘unlucky’.”
Yue Zhenqiao glanced out the window and lowered his voice.
“In the beginning, one or two out of every ten merchant teams and escort teams that passed by and stationed here would encounter some kind of misfortune – either members would disappear inexplicably, or goods would be lost. In short, it is said that once you enter ‘Chenjiabao’, there is a probability that the team will be short of people or the vehicle will be short of goods.”
“But no one can say for sure what’s going on – because the people who survive often feel disoriented and are more likely to encounter various dangers and accidents on subsequent journeys.”
“Later, this proportion could rise to as high as three or four out of ten!”
“This incident even attracted investigations from several large martial arts schools and Taoist temples, but after checking and checking, those masters and respected people didn’t find out anything…”
“As fewer teams came to Chenjiabao, the proportion of accidents seemed to drop again, becoming a probability of one in fifteen or sixteen – but after a period of time, there were still rumors that another team had encountered an accident.”
“However, what is certain is that we have felt clear-headed and clear-thinking so far, without any sense of disorientation, and no one is missing. Presumably, we are not so unlucky as to become one in fifteen or sixteen.”
Yue Zhenqiao explained, and Li Nian nodded.
“I see… this Chenjiabao is so strange.”
“But walking镖(走镖: escorting goods) is inherently high-risk. The time was tight just now, and it was okay to gamble on the probability of one in fifteen or sixteen.”
Li Nian said, looking out the window: “No matter how strange and changeable this Chenjiabao is, it is definitely much better than still wandering outside now.”
At this moment, the three suns in the sky had reached their highest and most intense point.
Even through the small window of the stone fort, one could see that the outside sunlight was so bright and dazzling that it almost blinded people directly. The ground above was distorted by the heat wave air, and the stones on the outer wall were crackling from being baked.
This is still based on the condition that the entire Chenjiabao building complex is located on the shady side of a multi-mountain cave on the hillside. If it were directly exposed to the sun and high points, it would probably dehydrate and faint people in a few minutes.
Even if you have 【 props】 that can prevent heatstroke, it is by no means easy to carry it through.
The flying knife, who had recovered, also heard the conversation of several people and nodded in agreement with Li Nian.
“That’s right, in the Fire Hell, it’s best not to wander outside.”
Lin Yu heard the speeches of the other two, but he didn’t quite agree.
“Is the probability one in fifteen or sixteen…”
Since I am in the team, then this probability must be increased to at least twelve or thirteen out of fifteen or sixteen.
Thinking of this, Lin Yu suddenly recalled Yue Zhenqiao's optimistic words.
“He said that in addition to the number of people being small, the goods may also be lost – although three people were sent to guard the goods, how does Yue Zhenqiao know that the three escorts are okay at this time?”
You can’t say that there will be "changes" when you enter here, and it must be a phenomenon that everyone is not adapting to at the same time.
Even based on this, Yue Zhenqiao’s feeling that he is “not mentally disoriented” and “ clear-headed and clear-thinking” may not be reliable!
Lin Yu suddenly felt an inexplicable anxiety, looked around, and subconsciously began to count the number of escorts in the stone fort at the moment.
Including the wounded who are recovering, there are a total of…
Twenty-six people.
Including the deputy镖头(deputy镖头: deputy chief escort) and the three who stayed in the shed of mountain cave to guard the escorted vehicles, there are twenty-nine people.
Lin Yu asked in a low voice: “Yue chief escort, may I ask how many people were in your team when you left Gu Town to send鏢(送镖: escort goods) this time.”
“Thirty-one, what’s wrong?”
Yue Zhenqiao said as a matter of course.
Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
“This is the problem – there are now twenty-nine people in the house.”
Yue Zhenqiao's face changed slightly, and he quickly counted himself.
“One, two, three, four…”
Soon, Yue Zhenqiao pointed his fingers and counted the number of everyone in the house.
“It’s really twenty-nine people?!”
“Adding the three people who watched the car before, there are a total of thirty-two people,” Yue Zhenqiao said as if he was facing a formidable enemy, “There is one more person in the middle of us – what is going on?!”
“A demon has sneaked into and disguised himself as a escort. Damn it, please recognize it quickly. Is there anyone around you who you don’t know!”
Yue Zhenqiao shouted, and the escorts looked at the people around them vigilantly.
But soon they found out…
“Yue chief escort, we all know each other. It seems that no one is unfamiliar!”
Yue Zhenqiao’s face became very bad: “It seems that this demon has begun to disturb our minds…”
Hearing this, Lin Yu finally couldn't help it.
“Yes, this demon did interfere with your minds… but it may be different from the ‘interference direction’ you imagined!”
“This demon did not mix among us and interfere with your minds at the same time to make you think you know it.”
“Yue chief escort – you didn’t realize that you counted the three of us who joined later when you counted just now?”
“We are not counted in your team's original thirty-one people.”
Lin Yu said, and Yue Zhenqiao reacted.
“Yes… that’s right, now we actually have only twenty-six plus three, a total of twenty-nine people.”
“We actually lost two brothers!”
Yue Zhenqiao tried hard to beat his head: “Damn it, what the hell is it that made me become dull without knowing it!”
After a brief self-blame, Yue Zhenqiao once again issued new instructions to other escorts.
“Think quickly, which two people are missing?”
