Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 14 Tracking the Secret Passage

Following the intermittent cries of the child, Gu Qingyue deftly climbed over one courtyard after another. Because each small courtyard was guarded, Gu Qingyue dodged and weaved, climbing over the walls three times before the cries became clearer.

Looking at the house in front of her, controlling her breathing and steps, Gu Qingyue went around to the back of the house, climbed a thick tree in the yard, and finally saw the situation inside the house from behind the branches.

A dozen or so boys, around five or six years old, dressed in ordinary, even tattered, huddled up and stared at the middle-aged man in front of them. Some were crying softly, while others were trembling, burying their heads in their arms, too frightened to look at him.

There was only one older boy, about eleven or twelve years old, probably around the same age as me. He dressed very differently from the other children.

He was dressed in a clean and elegant manner, wearing a light blue long robe of indistinct texture, a jade-colored waist belt, and a jade hairpin in his hair. He did not look like an ordinary person. He sat quietly in the chair, indifferent to the two people in front of him.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man in a crimson robe, who appeared to be in charge, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at each child one by one with a satisfied expression, and occasionally turning to say something to the woman following behind him.

Gu Qingyue suppressed her anger and checked on the little boys one by one.

The lamps inside the house were brightly lit, perhaps due to the middle-aged steward's inspection, and Gu Qingyue scanned them.

Suddenly, I saw a familiar face.

Isn't this Xiao Shun, whom I traveled with for a while before and went to Rhino Town together?!

Was he arrested too?

Xiao Shun huddled in the corner, his clothes tattered, his big eyes wide open, trying to appear fearless. Every now and then, he would turn his head to comfort the little boy next to him, who looked even smaller than Xiao Shun. The two huddled together, trying their best not to tremble.

Gu Qingyue felt a pang in her heart. These scumbags!

In her life, she hated human traffickers the most. In her previous life, she had solved several major cases involving transnational criminal groups that trafficked countless women and children, causing them immense suffering. Looking at the situation before her, Gu Qingyue only wanted to send these scumbags back to the deepest hell!

Yes, Gu Dashen cannot tolerate the existence of these scumbags!

Gu Qingyue was easily ignited by the two pitiful children!

She found a more comfortable position on the tree, preparing to squat down and carefully observe the situation in the yard, waiting for an opportunity to rescue the children.

About fifteen minutes later, the middle-aged manager walked out of the house, followed closely by the woman behind him, smiling obsequiously.

"Steward Qiu, I'll go and make the preparations. I'll make sure the person is delivered to our master smoothly." After saying this, the woman curtsied behind Steward Qiu and prepared to leave.

"Keep a close eye on that older boy. He's someone the master specifically instructed us to take with us. Make sure nothing goes wrong," Steward Qiu's voice came, and the woman immediately stopped.

She glanced at Steward Qiu somewhat cautiously, "Is that young man also a medicinal ingredient?"

"Don't be so talkative. It's very important, don't be careless," Manager Qiu narrowed his eyes, glanced at the woman with displeasure, and waved her away.

The woman left quickly, trembling with fear. Steward Qiu walked into the courtyard, whispered a few words to the gray-clad men guarding the area, and then leisurely walked away.

Gu Qingyue squatted on the tree. Although she was far away, her hearing was amazing since she gained her healing ability, so she could hear the whispers in the courtyard clearly.

Manager Qiu had just instructed the gray-clad guards to send the people left to guard the manor to meet the King of Hell after the deed was done!

What a cruel heart! He doesn't even spare his own people!

Clearly, these children are very important to them.

Can I rescue these children by myself?

Gu Qingyue crossed her arms and touched her chin.

These children are too young! She can't carry so many people by herself, especially in the deep mountains. The best opportunity would be to follow the vehicle transporting the children and seize the chance to strike.

Having thought everything through, Gu Qingyue jumped down from the tree, preparing to find a convenient place to hide.

Suddenly, they heard a series of hurried footsteps coming from outside the courtyard.

"Ma Er, quick, move the men! Someone's coming!" A man's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

The three men in gray who were guarding the courtyard immediately went into the room.

"Quick, get up, let's go!" The boy named Ma Er rushed to the boy, grabbed his arm, and pulled him away.

The boy pursed his thin lips, his eyes were cold, and he tried to pull his arms back, very unwilling. However, he had been given a muscle-relaxing drug and his strength was limited, so he had no choice but to follow along.

Meanwhile, the two gray-clad men behind them also began to drive away the other children.

Gu Qingyue crouched down and pressed herself against the side of the house, taking in everything.

"Truly, heaven is on my side!" Gu Qingyue breathed a sigh of relief.

Quickly catch up with the three men and the children.

Then, a man named Ma Er led a group of people into a side room of the house. After entering, he touched under a table, and a cabinet against the wall behind it slowly slid aside, revealing a door. The door slowly opened, revealing a dark entrance.

Is this really true? It's a secret passage! A cunning rabbit has three burrows.

Not knowing where the cave entrance led, Gu Qingyue gritted her teeth and followed the children into the secret passage as they were driven inside.

The moment the secret passage door closed, Gu Qingyue heard the sound of weapons clashing outside.

It seems that someone has indeed come, but I don't know if they've come to rescue the children.

It was pitch black before Gu Qingyue could see clearly after a while. Rows of bookshelves were right in front of her in the dark room, but there were no books on them, as if they had been taken away. The bookshelves were arranged in a mess, and there was a thick layer of dust on them, indicating that no one had cleaned them for a long time.

Using the torches of the group of people in the distance as a guide, Gu Qingyue tiptoed until they were quite far away before following them.

After walking for about half an hour, several of the younger children began to cry quietly, probably because they couldn't walk any further.

Ma Er and the other two discussed it and decided to stop and rest for a while, while Gu Qingyue took advantage of the uneven walls of the passage to gradually approach.

He had just pulled the dagger out of his sleeve, but then thought of the children and put it back.

Gu Qingyue took out two more packets of sleeping pills from her chest and slowly moved towards the torch in front of her.

Just as they were about to throw it, they heard rapid footsteps behind them, indicating that a large group of people were chasing after them.

Hearing the commotion, the three in front drew their swords, and two of them turned and ran towards the passage. The remaining one, Ma Er, grabbed the boy and ran forward.

Seeing this, the other children, not knowing what had happened, also stumbled and ran after the two in front.

With nowhere to hide, Gu Qingyue quickly drew her dagger and, with a sudden twist, knocked both of them to the ground. They never expected that the first person to appear in the passage would be a dwarf, and that their throats would be slit in the first exchange.

Gu Qingyue didn't bother to look at the people on the ground and ran after them. After dealing with these two, she was more confident about the last one.

Seeing a group of children running desperately behind Ma Er, Gu Qingyue stepped onto the wall of the passage, bent down for leverage, and quickly darted forward.

"Xiao Shun, it's me," Gu Qingyue called out in a low voice behind the children.

Xiao Shun, who was stumbling along with a group of children, stopped abruptly upon hearing the sound.

The little boy he had been dragging along lost his balance and fell to his knees, bursting into tears.

"Waaaaaah--------"

Gu Qingyue had never heard such a strong and loud cry before. It sounded like it came from such a small child.

This cry immediately alerted the people chasing after them.

This also stopped the children who had been running away with Ma Er in their tracks.

"They're up ahead! Hurry! We've found them!" Shouts came from behind, growing louder as they approached.

"Quickly, save the child first!" another voice called out.

That voice sounds familiar.