Bai Zhi was unaware of his inner turmoil, and even if she had known, she wouldn’t have cared.
They slowed their pace and walked uphill.
Soon, they could see many girls below on the opposite side, digging the ground.
And of course, there were not just girls; there were many men as well.
Was this really about farming, or was it forcing them into hard labor?
Bai Zhi always felt something wasn’t right, there had to be something amiss, but they just didn’t know it yet.
As they continued upwards, they encountered guards, more than ten in total, all wielding sticks.
Bai Zhi and Wu Wa exchanged glances, and in Xiao Qi’s view, they were divvying up the spoils.
They charged forth, each taking down several guards.
Upon hearing this shout, everyone looked over, and Bai Zhi and Wu Wa directly engaged.
They snatched the sticks and sprang into action, one stick per guard. Such is the advantage of great strength.
The commotion here caused those who were working to stop.
"Could it be that someone has come to save us?"
"How is that possible? Don’t you know how terrifying this place is?"
"But Sister Fang Ya said that they would come to save us, they won’t give up on us."
"Everyone, go and see..."
They immediately dropped their hoes and climbed up, their clothes filthy and thin.
One by one, they were emaciated, especially some of the men, who were almost skin and bones.
"Are you here to save us?"
As several girls asked this question, tears streamed down their faces.
At this moment, naturally, it was Xiao Qi’s turn to step forward; his solemn gaze gave them a sense of safety.
"We are here to save you, don’t worry, we can definitely get out. Come over quickly, stand behind us. How many more of you are there?"
He urgently needed to know how many people were in this place, tricked into labor, lost, and unable to find their way home.
"There are more than ten other girls, they were taken to the other side, we don’t know why, but every time they return, they’re extremely pale, drained of blood. We asked, and they said they’re being bled..."
Both Bai Zhi and Xiao Qi were shocked by this revelation, wondering why they were extracting blood.
Bai Zhi and the others quickly looked at them with concern, including the other girls.
"We haven’t been bled, they just make us dig, and some are taken to mine on the other side, not staying with us. We’re new here, so they haven’t taken us yet."
One of the men spoke up, and it was clear from the nervous looks of many that they saw him as a pillar of strength.
"Hello, I am Xiao Qi, from the Special Action Team."
Xiao Qi revealed his identity first, and upon hearing this, the man’s eyes lit up; he was familiar with the Special Action Team.
"I’m Zhang Yu, a discharged soldier. I came here for work because I heard the pay was good, but then I found these kids. I’ve been trying to get them out, but we’re surrounded by pits of poison snakes and thorns. We simply can’t make it out."
"No worries, we will lead you out. This is my master Xingxing; she’s extremely skilled."
Xiao Qi immediately introduced Bai Zhi, calling her master smoothly as if it rolled off the tongue.
A twitch formed at the corner of Bai Zhi’s mouth; it seemed like she had no choice but to accept the title.
"Hello Zhang Yu, we now need to know the basic situation here: how many people are watching over you, your current health conditions, the situation on the other side of the mountain, and the issue with the blood extraction."