Chapter 409 - The Ice Ponds on the Back Mountain (2/2)

After exiting the passage inside the rock cave, Xiao Chen saw many ponds with glistening water in front of him. The ponds were all connected through channels of water and had numerous ink chunks floating on the surface, so much so that the entire cave was shrouded in smoke.

“This must be where they ‘rear’ those kidnapped women,” Su Lianyue said softly, looking at the pile of female clothing in a corner.

Xiao Chen nodded with a deep frown. No wonder the Rancorous Qi here was so strong. How many innocent women had frozen to death here in the past three thousand years? And the number of deaths in that terrifying Ice Prison must be even higher.

There were around a dozen of these ice-water ponds in this cave. Su Lianyue strolled up to one of them and saw that the pond was probably 1.7 meters deep. Under the swirling white smoke, the water was so clear that she could see the bottom of the pond. This must be water from above the mountain.

Xiao Chen joined her and saw numerous hairpins and jewelry like bracelets and earrings lying at the bottom of the pond. These must have fallen while their owners struggled inside the waters. He couldn’t help sighing to see these jewelries; he could imagine just how cruel the scene was.

Su Lianyue carefully observed the pond for a moment before walking to another pond. She went through seven to eight ponds in such a manner, as if she was looking for something. Finally, at the ninth pond, her expression turned pale. She reached for the pond and with a splash, a small object flew out of the waters and fell into her hand.

The object was an intricate purple jade hairpin that resembled the one that she was wearing. They ought to be a pair. Su Lianyue gripped the hairpin in her hand with force, her breathing hitched and her body trembling. Even the rim of her eyes was reddening.

Xiao Chen looked at her current state and said nothing. He could guess that one of their own had been kidnapped as well and that woman was very close to her, perhaps as close as sisters. It was that kind of relationship that he and Xiaoruo shared.

Suddenly, Su Lianyue turned her head and glared at the woman in red. Her eyes appeared even colder than the water inside the ponds. Even Xiao Chen couldn’t help shivering.

She swiftly walked back to them and slapped the woman in red hard in the face. “Pa!” The sound reverberated inside the cave. A red, palm-shaped mark immediately appeared on the woman’s face.

“She was just sixteen; are you even humans…” Su Lianyue suddenly lost control of her emotions and slapped the woman again.

After getting slapped seven to eight times in a row, the woman in red suddenly sneered. “You’ll die a wretched death, a million times worse than them…” Another harsh slap landed on her face before she could finish her sentence.

“I’ll kill you before then!” Su Lianyue’s gaze was sharp and severe. She spread out her palm, summoning a purple fog, and was about to crush the woman’s head. Xiao Chen promptly grabbed her hand. “Don’t be hasty!”

Su Lianyue glared at him. “What’s wrong? Can’t bear to watch a pretty woman die?” Xiao Chen shook his head. “Once she dies, those from the Tianxiang Chamber would notice immediately. We’ll be in big trouble then.”

His words allowed Su Lianyue to finally calm down. She clenched her hand so that her bones creaked and suddenly flicked her sleeve. “Thud!” The woman in red was pushed into the ice-cold water.

Once inside the water, the woman’s face instantly turned purple from the cold. She struggled with all her strength, but the water was collected from the bitter-cold regions in the extreme north and remained nearly frozen year-round. Even though the water didn’t freeze over, it was colder than ice. Those thrown into the water would suffer a pain worse than death.

A short moment later, a frowning Xiao Chen rolled up his sleeves and pulled the woman out of the pond. The woman was so cold that she couldn’t even keep her shivering body upright.

Xiao Chen sighed. He couldn’t empathize with Su Lianyue’s current emotions, perhaps because none of his loved ones were kidnapped and forced to endure such terrible torment. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and he peered at a corner of the cave. He could faintly make out a secret path. “That should be a secret path. Let’s take a look,” he said.

The two of them walked over and triggered the mechanism to unlock the stone door. They entered the walled-in path and found it to be a very long one. It was also very dark inside, and even colder still. They walked for another fifteen minutes before it finally lit up around them. However, what they saw alarmed them instead.

Lying in front of them was numerous female corpses, all of them young women who had been frozen solid. Piles of corpses lined the corners. If not a thousand, then there were surely several hundreds of such corpses here. The women were all dragged here after freezing to death. Many of them were even naked…

Su Lianyue’s breathing became rushed and her bones protested loudly from her clenched hands. Xiao Chen looked away; he couldn’t bear looking at these women. Red Sleeve was an absolute madwoman. She was even more dreadful than actual devils. Just what was her reason for harming so many women? Even more must have died of torment inside that Ice Prison.

“Thump!” The sudden noise sent the entire ice cave shaking. “Oh no!” Xiao Chen cried, alarmed. He turned his head and found the path closed.

Su Lianyue’s expression changed as well. They flew toward the path at the same time and struck the stone door with a cooperative palm attack. Fragments of ice were thrown into the air, but the stone door didn’t move in the slightest.

Suddenly, the woman in red behind them moved. While they were distracted, she swiftly pushed a mechanism button on the stone door. The ground under Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue’s feet instantly disappeared. He instinctively struck the ground with his palm, wanting to rebound from the recoiling force, but his palm force seemed to dissipate as soon as it hit the ground and produced no reaction.

Just like that, the two of them fell into the darkness.