Chapter 140: Where Did the Target Go?

A sacrifice at Majiazhuang?

I asked the taxi driver if he knew what this sacrifice was all about, but he wasn't very clear either, only saying that it was some kind of large-scale event.

Upon arriving at the destination, I finally realized just how popular Majiazhuang was right now.

To put it bluntly, Majiazhuang is a small town, but every single inn in the town was completely booked, and I couldn't find a place to sleep anywhere.

Tourists of all ages could be seen everywhere, with snack stalls packed every few steps.

This place was completely different from what I had imagined.

Since this was Lin Feng's base camp and the stronghold of the Golden Cicada Society, I had assumed it would be a gloomy and terrifying place.

I never expected it to look like this.

Looking at the bustling crowd, I couldn't spot anyone wearing obvious markers of the Golden Cicada Society.

However, if that so-called sacrifice was something orchestrated by the Golden Cicada Society, it would be effortless for them to grab a few people during an event like this.

Countless people go missing while traveling every year; just because we don't know about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Just as I was deep in thought, wondering how I should start searching for the Corpse Pool, someone slammed hard into me from behind.

The person seemed to be running and moving quite fast, spinning me around in a full circle.

"Are you blind or what when you're walking?!"

I cursed reflexively, but when the person turned around and faced me, I noticed his eyes were bloodshot and he looked utterly exhausted.

He walked right up to me and began bowing repeatedly, apologizing and saying he didn't mean to do it.

Seeing his state and how sincere his apology was, I didn't say anything further. I waved my hand, adjusted my luggage, and prepared to look around a bit more.

Right at that moment, he suddenly grabbed both of my shoulders. My brows furrowed, and just as I was about to speak, he blurted out, "Mister, wait a moment. Have you seen my girlfriend by any chance?"

While speaking, he even pulled out his phone and showed me a photo of her.

"Have you seen my girlfriend, Xiaoxiao?"

I glanced at the young man, took a careful look at the photo, and shook my head. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen her. If someone is missing, you should go to the police."

I guessed the man probably didn't hear the rest of what I said. The moment I said I hadn't seen her, he turned away with a desolate expression and continued asking people around him.

Just then, I overheard several elderly people wearing red caps saying that the man who had just questioned me had come here on a trip with his girlfriend a few days ago, but after sleeping for just one night, she had vanished.

I heard that his girlfriend Xiaoxiao hadn't taken a single thing with her; she had simply disappeared into thin air, and today was already the third day.

Over the past few days, the man had been searching constantly and had even reported it to the police, but neither the surveillance footage nor the accounts of other guests at the hotel where they stayed could provide any trace of her.

Hearing this, for some reason, it all sounded somewhat familiar to me.

A moment later, I immediately thought of Qin Nian and Yu Hong. Although they went missing in different places, the nature of the incidents was basically the same. Coupled with the fact that this place was Lin Feng's stronghold, it was hard for me not to connect Xiaoxiao's disappearance with the Golden Cicada Society.

Perhaps this was a breakthrough.

My eyes rolled as I hurried after the man, who was still going around asking people. "Hey buddy, let's talk."

When he saw it was me, he had no intention of chatting and turned around to question other tourists instead.

"Hey, buddy, don't you want to find your girl?"

The man stopped in his tracks and looked at me with a very strange expression.

I patted my chest. "I can help you. Trust me."

After looking me up and down for a moment, the man let out a cold laugh, turned around, and kept walking.

Just as I was about to follow him again, he abruptly whirled around, pointed his finger at me, and snapped, "Stop following me! Do you take me for such an easy mark? You keep saying you can help me find my girlfriend—aren't you just trying to scam money out of me? Not a chance!"

By the time I recovered from my surprise, the man had already walked far away.

I couldn't help wondering: did I really look like a con artist?

Standing there and pondering for a moment, I realized I was completely in the dark upon arriving in Majiazhuang anyway.

Since I had nothing better to do and nowhere to stay, I decided to just trail behind the man.

However, I followed him with a fair bit of skill, perhaps from spending too much time hanging out with Wang Zihao.

I made sure he didn't notice me, and as I trailed him along the way, I discovered some rather interesting things.

I wasn't the only one tailing the man; in the shadows, I had already spotted two or three other people quietly taking turns to keep an eye on him.

Judging by their attire, I deduced they were locals from the village.

At that moment, the man searching for his girlfriend walked into a public restroom. He hadn't been inside long before those three locals followed him in.

"Boss, give me twenty yuan worth of grilled meat, and make it extra spicy!"

While keeping an eye on them, I walked up to a food stall and bought something to eat.

The meat was grilled, the chili powder was sprinkled on, and just as I took my first bite, I saw the three locals walking back out of the restroom.

Only this time, they were carrying a burlap sack between them.

"Boss, I've scanned the code and paid you! Take a look!"

The three of them hoisted the sack onto their shoulders and sprinted off in the opposite direction of the crowd.

Holding my skewers, I maintained a safe distance and followed them.

I trailed the trio all the way to the back mountain of Majiazhuang. This area was nowhere near as lively as the town.

Looking around, weeds grew in abundance, suggesting that the place had been deserted for years.

The three men stopped beneath a large locust tree, put the sack down, retrieved three hoes from behind the tree trunk, and started digging into the earth.

Before long, a huge pit had been excavated.

From start to finish, the three of them didn't utter a single word. After exchanging a brief glance, they tossed the burlap sack directly into the pit and began shoveling dirt back in.

Right at that moment, a faint cry for help came from inside the sack.

Yet this sound didn't make the three men stop; on the contrary, their movements grew even faster.

"Hey, guys, what kind of treasure are you burying there? Mind letting me have a look?"

At that moment, I held a meat skewer in one hand and shoved another into my mouth, my lips stained red with chili.

"Goodness, the chili here is really something! I'm dying of thirst!"

My sudden appearance startled the three men greatly, and they froze, turning to look at me.

Unflustered, I placed my backpack on the ground, took out a bottle of bottled water, unscrewed the cap, and chugged half of it down in one go.

"So, how is it? Are you guys tired yet? Want me to treat you to a bite?"