As the entire passage became illuminated, the scene within was revealed with stark clarity. Numerous pillars stood against the walls on both sides.
And each pillar was bound by chains to a person.
These individuals had long since withered, their time of death unknown.
Yet, the desiccated corpses' contorted faces remained clearly visible, as if recounting the agony they had endured.
“How could this be?”
Shen Bao exclaimed, his eyes dazed.
Though he was part of the law enforcement team and had seen many dead, no prior experience had shocked him as much as the scene before him.
No less than thirty to forty pillars, implying that thirty to forty people had been bound and tortured to death here.
“Did all of this happen because of Xu Laogong?”
He gritted his teeth, his voice laced with anger.
Ye Fan shook his head. “This appears to be some ancient sacrificial ritual, where live humans were sacrificed to divine for divination or to fulfill desires, aiming to communicate with the gods. Such sacrifices were abolished thousands of years ago, so how could they reappear here?”
He stepped forward and examined the corpses closely. No obvious wounds were visible on their skin, indicating that these people were not killed directly but were bound here and slowly tortured to death.
Such methods were utterly wicked!
Hearing Ye Fan’s words, Shen Bao also quickly approached a desiccated corpse and touched it.
“Although weathered, the skin still has elasticity; they could not have died more than two years ago. It is indeed Xu Laogong’s doing. That scoundrel deserves to be torn limb from limb.”
Shen Bao rarely lost composure over the dead, as his position as a law enforcer meant dealing with the deceased was commonplace.
But this time, he was enraged, uncontrollably so.
Ye Fan’s face was equally grim, his eyes burning with uncontainable fury.
Even having lived two lives, he was greatly incensed by Xu Laogong’s disregard for human life.
“Find him, no matter the cost, and bring him to justice,”
Ye Fan said coldly, then gripped his staff and continued forward.
As they walked along the passage, dozens of meters long, it felt as though they were traversing through hell.
Reaching the end of the passage, they heard a rumbling sound ahead, like machinery in operation.
The two men exchanged glances and then cautiously moved forward.
“Village Chief Xu, Young Master Zhou and the others haven’t come to collect goods for half a month. Could something have gone wrong?”
Someone asked, sounding puzzled.
Following that was Xu Laogong’s cold snort: “What could go wrong? They are all influential figures; who would dare do anything to them? Besides, apart from us, who else can supply them with such a large quantity of antique fragments from various periods? They are probably planning a major business deal, which caused the delay. Huzi, we’re running low on fresh blood here, so quickly take some people and capture some individuals; we need a large supply of blood.”
Evidently, Xu Laogong was still unaware of what had happened in East Village and was still preoccupied with how to make a fortune.
Just outside the door, Ye Fan heard everything clearly, and the coldness in his eyes intensified.
This scumbag, even now, was still thinking about killing. If he weren’t killed, Ye Fan felt his conscience would not be at ease.
Shen Bao also glared fiercely at the scene inside, his hands trembling.
He was clearly suppressing his inner rage; for such a scumbag, his restraint from immediate outburst was a testament to his great tolerance.
“I’ll go do it now.”
Huzi responded and then walked towards the entrance.
Ye Fan signaled Shen Bao with his eyes, and the two quickly retreated, hiding behind a stone pillar, quietly waiting for Huzi.
The footsteps grew closer, and Ye Fan squinted, giving Shen Bao a gesture.
Shen Bao nodded, his gaze fixed on the passage.
Soon, Huzi walked over, whistling a tune, appearing quite leisurely.
But the moment he passed the stone pillar, two figures charged out swiftly.
Giving him no chance to react, Ye Fan struck the back of Huzi’s neck with a palm strike.
Before Huzi could utter a sound, he fell straight down.
Shen Bao had already stepped forward, catching him, and gripping his throat to prevent any noise.
“How should we handle him?”
After glancing at Ye Fan, Shen Bao asked.
“What use is keeping such a scumbag? Killing him will end it all.”
Ye Fan said coldly, not even looking at Huzi.
Shen Bao snorted and then tightened his grip on Huzi’s neck.
The unconscious Huzi struggled violently a few times, but Shen Bao’s control was absolute. He was powerless to break free, and finally, his legs went limp, his body collapsing, and he died.
“He who does evil will perish by his own hand; heaven watches all that people do, and heaven spares no one.”
After coldly uttering these words, the two returned to the factory entrance.
As they approached, they could even see the scene inside.
It was a room of several hundred square meters, filled with machines for processing antique fragments. Porcelain, jade, pottery, even calligraphy, paintings, and bronze artifacts were all present. In front of the machines, over a hundred people were busy working, and behind them, around the room, more than twenty men in black, armed with batons, patrolled back and forth.
An old man, with his hands clasped behind his back, roamed through various areas, occasionally berating the workers.
This old man was unmistakably Xu Laogong.
“I didn’t expect him to really be here,”
Shen Bao said, his voice grim.
Ye Fan, meanwhile, surveyed the surroundings, looking for an opportunity to act.
With just the two of them, it was impossible to deal with so many people. Therefore, they needed reinforcements.
“Let’s go out and send the signal. Today, we’ll catch all these parasites in one fell swoop,”
After observing for a while and finding no immediate opportunity, Ye Fan commanded coldly.
Shen Bao nodded and quickly walked outside.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Shen Bao returned and nodded to Ye Fan again.
This was their prior arrangement. As early as when they returned to Qianfo Mountain from Jiangcheng, Ye Fan had instructed Shen Bao to order his subordinate law enforcers to infiltrate Qianfo Mountain and lie in wait in the mountains.
Once they found Xu Laogong’s whereabouts, they would send a signal, allowing these law enforcers to reach this location as quickly as possible.
It had to be said that Ye Fan had calculated every step with extreme precision.
The only thing he hadn’t anticipated was that South Village and North Village would make their move so quickly, nearly disrupting his plan.
Next, their task was to wait here quietly for reinforcements to arrive, after which they could launch a fierce assault on Xu Laogong and his gang.
With the capabilities of the law enforcers, dealing with these individuals would be more than sufficient.
But at this very moment, Xu Laogong, accompanied by several men in black, was walking quickly towards the outside.
“This is bad, they’re coming. Have we been discovered?”
Shen Bao exclaimed in alarm.
At this point, they were too close to the entrance, and Xu Laogong and his group emerged so suddenly that retreating was no longer an option.