Not far away, a woman wearing glasses walked over.
She wore a white gauze skirt and a pair of small white shoes, complemented by thin black-rimmed glasses, giving her a scholarly air.
"Are you here to find your relatives too?" Zhang Cheng asked with suspicion.
He felt that this girl seemed to know more than they did.
"My professor is a sociologist. Half a year ago, he brought a group of senior students to Tianyang City to understand the local customs and traditions, but..."
The girl didn't finish her sentence. Zhang Cheng and the middle-aged man could basically guess what happened afterward.
"Beautiful lady, do you have any ideas?"
"This is not the place to talk. Let's go to where I'm staying first!"
Zhang Cheng and the middle-aged man nodded. Although they were suspicious, they had no better options at the moment.
Soon, the three of them arrived at a small bungalow. The room was dilapidated and seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time.
"My name is Bai Ying. I've been here for some time, longer than you."
Upon arriving at the room, the woman extended her hand to shake hands with Zhang Cheng and Li Yanghe.
"Three days ago, the situation here was different from what it is now. Back then, apart from the local customs and traditions, everything else was the same as the outside world."
"But for the past three days, the entire Tianyang City has been acting strangely. The Er people have been going to the great sacrificial hall in the center from time to time, and I don't know what they are up to."
"My professor told me they might be performing some kind of ritual!"
Zhang Cheng and Li Yanghe were somewhat surprised. Was her professor alright?
"Your professor?"
Bai Ying nodded, showing no hesitation!
"This matter, I'm afraid even the Er people don't know about it. My professor's condition is very peculiar. Sometimes he's a normal person, thinking like us. Other times, he completely transforms into one of the Er tribe, doing and saying things for their benefit."
"I received a call from my professor half a month ago. He used a code language that only we understood to describe his current predicament and asked me to come here to rescue him!"
"But he also said that every word he spoke was under the surveillance of the Er people, and I was already being watched by them. Therefore, I had to be careful."
Zhang Cheng and Li Yanghe were greatly astonished, not expecting these people to be so cautious.
"It is precisely because of this situation that I couldn't call the police or do anything else. I had to come here alone. But before I left, I left clues. Anyone who knows me well will know what I'm doing!"
"Miss Bai, you shouldn't have come. Without great power, coming here is like a lamb entering a tiger's den!" Li Yanghe's face was grim.
He now understood that it wasn't just about leaving three days later; their very lives were in danger now.
"I know, but my professor treated me very well. I left clues, and as long as someone finds them, we will be rescued. The reason I came here is also to gather those who haven't been controlled by that mysterious force."
Zhang Cheng and Li Yanghe exchanged glances. They might be the people Bai Ying was referring to.
"It's not just you. I've already contacted over 30 other people. Before coming here, I checked if any tourist groups would be coming to Tianyang City recently. Fortunately, a tourist group is scheduled to arrive in three days."
"At that time, we can gather together, and then let the tourist group take us away."
Zhang Cheng looked at the girl opposite him and gave her a thumbs-up.
As expected of an educated person, unlike rough characters like them, who could only roar when encountering problems.
He hadn't expected Bai Ying to have already planned their escape route before coming here.
"How naive. Do you think you Er people can come and go as you please?"
Just as Zhang Cheng and Li Yanghe showed signs of joy, a cold, emotionless voice entered the bungalow.
"Bang!"
Immediately, two men in black, holding strange scythes, kicked the door open and walked in.
"Who are you, and what do you want?"
Zhang Cheng, along with the other man, shielded Bai Ying behind them, their expressions tense as they looked at the strange men in black.
"What do we want? Heh heh..."
A gloomy voice echoed, like the roar of a hellish demon, instilling fear in their hearts.
The three of them initially wanted to resist, but they found themselves unable to move. Their limbs felt as if they were paralyzed, and a sense of dizziness overwhelmed their minds.
"You, what did you do to us?"
The only answer Zhang Cheng received was a black cloth bag.
Soon, the three of them were bound by the Er people.
"My dear, well done!" one of the men in black said, his voice hoarse but his excitement palpable.
"These are the last uncertain individuals. I didn't expect that that skinny old man could resist our clan's secret art."
"So what? With the Great Shaman's intervention, aren't they all caught in one net? This woman thought she was clever, but she ended up harming her friends, hahaha..."
"Want to be saved? Better luck next life, heh heh..."
The two men in black took Bai Ying and the other two out of the bungalow and headed towards a smaller house next to the great sacrificial hall, which was Er Tilang's residence.
...
Two days later.
Ten miles outside Tianyang City.
This was a dense forest, and by now, nearly a hundred black-clad warriors had gathered.
They stood in neat rows, awaiting instructions from a tall man with a burn scar shaped like a flame on his face.
"This mission is rather perilous. Each and every one of you must be vigilant and must not give those evil elements the slightest chance to resist."