Chapter 578: Gospel from Hell

Chapter 578: Gospel from Hell

In a corner of Master Zhao’s estate, next to the garden adjoining the servants’ quarters, stood a uniquely decorated five-story foreign-style building.

Its structure formed a hollow square, surrounded by a stretch of emerald lawn, with a spacious courtyard at its center where many people lived.

Though not as grand as the main house, it was still one of the few luxurious places in the entire settlement.

The household called this place the “Annex.”

Those who lived here were honored guests of the master; unless one was a trusted confidant, a confidant’s family member, or a servant specifically assigned to attend them, no one could come near.

For this reason, even though the Annex sat in a quiet corner far from the main house, a large number of servants bustled about, waiting on them hand and foot.

Yang Xiaoyang had been born here.

Everyone here was kind to her, especially after her grandparents and mother died of illness—that kindness escalated into warmth, even eagerness to please.

The master, in particular, treated her like his own child. Beyond his meticulous care, he allowed her to study and play with his daughter, to wear the same pretty dresses.

And not only that—he gave her a “privilege” no other child had: permission to leave the Annex freely.

As long as she stayed within the estate, she could go anywhere she wished.

For other children, even stepping into the garden outside the Annex would have a servant spot them and bring them back.

Of course, as the price of freedom, one or two silent uncles always followed her wherever she went.

Even when she used the restroom, they stood guard at the door.

Her good friend Yinyin—the master’s youngest daughter—once threw a tantrum at her father over this, demanding he get rid of that annoying “stalker.”

But the master, who usually doted on his little girl, never budged on this matter; instead, he flew into a rage and locked his own daughter in a dark room.

Xiaoyang had never seen the master so furious. She quickly urged Yinyin that she didn’t really mind being followed.

Because she noticed that during the days her friend was locked up, two more pairs of eyes appeared behind her, making the discomfort of being watched even stronger.

Perhaps the master was suspicious.

Suspicious that she had coaxed his daughter into helping her escape.

In any case, she spent those days treading carefully, deliberately acting clumsy and helpless, as if she couldn’t survive without someone looking after her. She clung to the aunt who cared for her, putting on a show for quite a while before the master’s wariness faded.

Though only six years old, having lived alone under others’ roofs since birth, she was far more mature than her peers.

Even if no one ever told her the complicated truths, she could glean from others’ eyes the intentions they carefully hid.

Those uncles followed her not for her safety, but only to ensure she didn’t run away from the estate.

The master’s affection for her wasn’t because she was pitiful or cute, nor for the reasons he claimed—it was solely because of her father.

And the bond between the master and her father wasn’t like hers with Yinyin, a friendship of open hearts; it was pure mutual exploitation between adults.

Adults always liked to invent a plausible name for what they were doing, to cover up the ugly motives underneath.

She didn’t really understand what a merchant did, but she’d overheard that her father helped the master sell goods from the farm outside, making a lot of money.

Her father left her, her mother, and her grandparents here to secure the master’s peace of mind and ongoing help, while the master used her—her father’s only remaining kin in this world—to tether him here.

That was why the master had Yinyin’s teacher also teach her to read and write.

Not to impart knowledge or to give Yinyin a playmate of similar age and learning, but solely so she could write letters to her father.

Perhaps the letters her father wrote to her were only meant to reassure the master? After all, if she truly mattered that much to him, why wouldn’t he even come back to see her?

He hadn’t returned in a long time—not even when her mother passed away. Sometimes she couldn’t help wondering if he might have started another family out there, and that he maintained this father-daughter bond only to keep the master’s trust, not out of concern for her.

It wasn’t impossible.

She’d heard that before her father, there was once a merchant who worked for the master, and one day he vanished without a trace—no one knew if he died or simply disappeared.

At any rate, the family that merchant left behind in the Annex—she never saw them in the estate again.

Perhaps one day, she would end up like that family.

Still, she didn’t hate her father.

In fact, after figuring these things out, she felt much more at ease.

After all, what was so good about the wasteland? Why not stay here?

At least life here was decent—at least for now—and she had her best friend. As for the future, she’d worry about it later; for now, there was nothing she could do.

If there was one person most important in her life, it was undoubtedly Yinyin.

That little girl was the true young miss of this estate, two years older than her. Unlike everyone else here, she genuinely treated Xiaoyang as her best friend, caring from the heart, getting angry at injustices done to her, even standing up for her… Though that naive, over-optimistic sister often bungled things with good intentions and occasionally got her into trouble, Xiaoyang never blamed her.

After finishing their lessons, they always played happily together.

Sometimes catching crickets, sometimes playing house with dolls, and sometimes roping in the other children from the Annex for hide-and-seek.

Hide-and-seek was their favorite game, because it let them briefly disappear from the adults’ sight, and whenever Xiaoyang vanished, everyone grew frantic.

The sight of those people panicking never got old.

That was why, sometimes, their goal in hide-and-seek shifted from finding each other to helping Xiaoyang hide, then watching the servants turn the estate upside down.

But Xiaoyang knew well that this joke could only be played occasionally, not pushed too far. When she felt everyone was about to get truly desperate, she would deliberately slip up and let the servants find her.

For this, Yinyin often scolded her for being clumsy.

But the young miss didn’t know—it was all intentional.

Because if she didn’t, things would be hard to resolve…

“Dammit… I was this close to making that guy cry!”

Sitting on the edge of the fountain in the garden before the Annex, swinging her legs, Yinyin sighed in frustration, propping her elbows on her knees and resting her cheeks heavily in her palms.

As usual, they had spent the afternoon causing a ruckus in the estate, driving the servants to their wits’ end.

But unlike other times, today her father hadn’t shown his face—hadn’t even appeared—only instructing the old steward to send Xiaoyang back to the Annex.

The old steward hadn’t lingered there either.

The estate seemed to have an important guest; he didn’t even scold the two of them before hurrying off, leaving Yinyin feeling rather bored.

So this time, her father hadn’t even been worried, had he?

Did that mean their whole afternoon’s effort was wasted?

“Such a perfect hiding spot—they’d never think of it in a million years… And Xiaoyang, if only you’d been a bit sharper!”

Hearing the young miss’s complaints, Xiaoyang, sitting beside her, gave a simple smile and spoke weakly.

“Sorry, Sister Yinyin… Xiaoyang is too stupid.”

“Don’t apologize! The ones who should apologize are those rude tagalongs! Honestly, don’t those people have anything better to do? Following ladies around all day—what kind of nonsense is that…”

Looking seriously at Xiaoyang, Yinyin continued earnestly.

“And besides, we play hide-and-seek so you can have a little time to yourself, free and easy. If it makes you even more upset, then we’ve got it all backwards, haven’t we?”

“Yinyin…” Xiaoyang looked at her, moved, her eyes brimming with tears.

She didn’t tell her best friend.

She wasn’t really yearning for freedom, nor did she find being followed all that bad. Born here, she had long since grown used to it.

She did not believe that escaping from this place, or hiding away, would truly change her current plight.

Perhaps even if she fled, that rarely-seen father of hers would just send her back, exactly as he had done with her mother, grandfather, and grandmother before.

And yet...

The feeling of being cared for was truly wonderful.

"Don't—don't look at me like that, it's quite embarrassing."

Beholding those watery, innocent eyes, Yinyin averted her gaze in a sudden fit of bashfulness, a pointer finger scratching a cheek made itchy by the setting sun.

Right then, her eyes happened to fall upon the annex building just a stone's throw away, and they instantly lit up.

She remembered a rumor she had heard a long time ago—

The annex had actually been the main mansion of the estate once, and their family had originally lived there, only moving out after the new house was built, leaving the old main building to become the annex.

In the deepest recess of that annex basement, there was hidden a door leading to an underground world, a door that had existed since her great-great-grandfather’s time.

She did not know what kind of place lay beyond.

But she knew for certain that no one could ever guess it was there!

"Of course!"

Grasping Xiaoyang's hands, Yinyin looked at her with excitement.

"I've thought of the perfect place! There is absolutely no way anyone will find you there! Come with me!"

Seeing her so full of absolute certainty, Xiaoyang felt a faint, vague sense of unease; besides, they had already played a trick on the estate adults once today, and playing the same trick twice in one day ceased to be funny.

Pulled by Yinyin as they leaped down from the fountain, Xiaoyang looked at her with a face full of apprehension.

"Wait a moment, Yinyin... maybe we should go tomorrow instead, someone is surely following us right now, and if we go now, won't that perfect hiding spot be exposed?"

"Rest assured, it won't," Yinyin whispered mysteriously close to her ear, lowering her voice, "that place is in the annex... and in the annex, no one will follow you, will they?"

Xiaoyang hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly.

If it was inside the annex...

The Master probably wouldn't be angry.

Seeing her timid, fearful companion finally pluck up her courage, a pleasant smile curled the corners of Yinyin’s lips.

"Follow me!"

With that, she pulled Xiaoyang along, running hurriedly toward the annex.

Anxiously following behind the young mistress, Xiaoyang watched as she led the way to the north wing of the annex, passing through a pitch-black stairwell to arrive at the first basement level.

Xiaoyang had heard of this place; it was the annex storeroom, but because moving things up and down was quite inconvenient, and this annex had nothing that needed stockpiling, it had gone unused for a very long time.

Usually, if there was something that needed temporary storage, everyone simply tossed it into the open space of the courtyard.

Living here for so long, this was the first time she had ever come down.

The basement was entirely cast in shadow, devoid of electric lights, the sole source of illumination being the flashlight Yinyin had handily swiped. The sinister aura and chill dissolving in the darkness made Xiaoyang's calves tremble uncontrollably.

Standing beside her, Yinyin was much the same.

Grip tight on the flashlight, she stood frozen in place. Clearly, she too had not expected the annex basement to be so vast.

It was practically a labyrinth!

"Which... which way do we go?" Xiaoyang cast a timid glance at Yinyin, hoping the latter would shrink from the difficulty and abandon the notion of exploring this cellar.

Yet, she had ultimately underestimated her good friend's determination to grant her freedom.

Yinyin, who had been hesitating just moments before, found every shred of doubt vanish from her eyes the instant they met that hesitant, fearful gaze.

She had promised her that she would give her freedom. Even if only for a single second, she wished for her to live freely, without having to endure those prying pairs of eyes.

There was no place more suitable than this; though it was a bit dark, looking at it from another perspective, this might well be the best disguise.

In this labyrinth that no one cared about, even if they weren't playing hide-and-seek, she could hide away and stay for a while, if only to pass a brief moment free from scrutiny.

Of course, she could also come here whenever she herself was unhappy.

A faint smile could not help but curl the corners of Yinyin's mouth.

Thinking about it this way, it was just like their secret castle.

Perhaps her prayers had been answered, for amidst the dark unknown, she caught a faint, weak sound.

The voice seemed to be calling out for something...

What on earth was it saying?

She immediately pointed the flashlight in that direction.

"This way!"

Watching Yinyin suddenly begin to stride forward, Xiaoyang hurriedly followed.

"Yinyin... maybe we should just go back."

"Wait a second! It's just ahead, we're almost there!"

Tracing the source of that sound, Yinyin walked forward with eager enthusiasm.

She had gradually forgotten whether she was continuing forward to help her best friend find an excellent hiding spot, or simply to hear clearly what that voice was saying.

Perhaps it was both.

Xiaoyang watched her retreating figure with apprehension, always feeling as though things were gradually veering off their original tracks, yet unable to articulate exactly what was amiss.

Yinyin seemed remarkably familiar with this place.

Had she been here before?

Even though she herself had never been down here.

It really would be better to go back early...

If it were only herself it wouldn't matter, but if they both went missing at the same time, the Master would surely be driven mad with rage.

The two walked for some time through the dark basement, arriving at a room cluttered with old sundries.

Behind a pile of discarded wooden crates, there indeed stood a rusted, mottled iron door.

If one did not look closely, it was impossible to even notice.

At least at first glance, she had mistaken it for junk leaning against the wall.

"This is..."

Yinyin stared at the door with glittering eyes.

"I don't know, but this should be it."

Xiaoyang finally could not help but voice the doubt in her heart.

"Sister Yinyin... how did you find this place?"

Yinyin gave Xiaoyang a strange look.

"Didn't you hear it?"

Little Lamb was taken aback.

“…Hear?”

Wasn’t it just the two of them here?

Could there be a third person…

Her small face gradually turned pale.

“Yes!” Yin Yin nodded vigorously, speaking excitedly, “Just when I was silently praying in my heart that I could find that door, I heard that voice! Though I couldn’t make out what it was saying, I could feel it—it said so many things, probably inviting us over!”

“Heard…”

So what exactly did she hear?

Little Lamb looked at Yin Yin blankly, about to ask, when she saw that Yin Yin had already walked forward excitedly, grabbed the rusty door handle with both hands, and was pulling back with all her might.

“…Little Lamb! Give me a hand!”

Looking at the iron door that didn’t budge, Little Lamb said with a wry smile.

“Wait, Sister Yin Yin, we don’t have a key. If we just yank it like this…”

“What are you talking about! This door doesn’t even have a keyhole—it should be pullable… Ah! I felt it move! Come help me—”

Before the words faded, her movements suddenly halted, and her eyes lost their spark.

Before Little Lamb could react, she saw Yin Yin let go of the door handle and collapse limply to the ground.

“Yin Yin—!”

Electric shock?

Or… poison gas?

Little Lamb’s face turned pale, but in the end she didn’t turn and run. Gritting her teeth, she rushed over, caught Yin Yin’s limp body in her arms, and dragged her away from the door.

Yet even after leaving that door, Yin Yin showed no sign of waking. If not for her breathing, she would have looked as if she were dead.

“What… happened?”

Staring at the unmoving iron door, Little Lamb’s eyes were filled with fear. She dared not stay a moment longer, and dragged the unconscious Yin Yin back along the same path to the basement entrance, then dashed toward the stairs to seek help.

Outside was pitch black.

It hadn’t felt like long, yet outside it was already night.

Standing at the north building’s entrance, Little Lamb glanced around and found the place empty—not a soul in sight.

How strange…

Though they were in the annex, they had been gone for nearly half an hour, yet no one had come looking for them, as if they had been completely forgotten.

All these anomalies stirred a flicker of unease in her eyes, but worried about Yin Yin, she mustered her courage and called out.

“The young lady has fainted! Is anyone here… Someone come quickly—”

Before her words faded, a dull, rough growl cut her off.

“Ugh… ah…”

A woman with her head and shoulders drooping stood crooked-necked in the corridor near the stairwell, her hollow, lifeless eyes fixed straight on Little Lamb.

Her appearance was indescribably eerie.

And in those eyes was a bone-deep chill.

Watching the woman limp toward her, Little Lamb swallowed and stepped back in terror.

“Don’t… don’t come near.”

She didn’t know why she ran, but her legs moved instinctively, dragging her stiff body as she fled desperately toward the stairwell.

Her intuition told her that if she were caught, it would be the end.

The moment she burst into the stairwell, the woman quickened her stumbling pace, growling as she charged in her direction.

Not daring to look back, Little Lamb reached the basement, threw all her strength into slamming the basement door shut, and grabbed a steel bar that had fallen on the floor, jamming it through the handle.

At almost the same instant, a loud bang came from outside the door, followed by a violent shudder of the door panel as something slammed against it.

“Ah—!”

Little Lamb screamed and stumbled back two steps, staring at the trembling door with terror in her eyes.

She didn’t know what was wrong with that woman.

Nor did she know what was happening outside.

Everyone had been so kind, always treating her warmly—why had they suddenly become like that?!

The banging suddenly stopped.

The person outside seemed to have given up.

Crouching in the darkness, Little Lamb held her breath, her eyes fixed on the closed door, not daring to make a sound.

She was sure that person hadn’t left.

The heavy breathing was right against the door!

She could even tell that the person was waiting outside, ready to burst in and tear her to shreds the moment she opened the door a crack to peek.

But why?

What had happened to everyone?!

Shivering in the dark, she didn’t know how long passed. Just as her eyelids began to droop, a faint sound came from the darkness behind her.

At first, the noise made every hair on her body stand on end—until she heard her name.

“Little Lamb…”

That voice was like a single candle flame in the dark.

Hearing the weak call, Little Lamb rushed over, knelt beside Yin Yin, her eyes brimming with tears as she grasped her soft, limp hand.

“Yin Yin!”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, you’re awake now!”

“No, that’s not it…”

Yin Yin shook her head in pain, clutching her head with both hands, muttering as if to herself, “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been clever and sought it out… It’s angry—it must be angry because of me…”

“…Angry?” Little Lamb’s eyes were full of confusion.

Her intuition told her that what Yin Yin was saying now was connected to what was happening outside.

Could it be…

That voice?!

But Yin Yin showed no intention of explaining. She just kept holding her head, repeating the same words to herself.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Yinyin! Calm down—”

Little Lamb grabbed her shoulders, about to soothe her, but Yinyin, who had been holding her head in self-pity, suddenly seized her hand.

“Little Lamb... help me...”

Little Lamb looked at her seriously.

“What do you need me to do? I will definitely help you!”

A relieved smile appeared on Yinyin’s pained face.

“Tie me... up.”

“Tie, tie you up?!”

“Yes!” Yinyin’s face twisted in pain, sweat beading on her forehead, and she urged urgently, “Quick... hurry!”

Watching her struggle with all her might to hold something back, Little Lamb suddenly remembered the woman outside, and her hands and feet went cold.

Could she also be...

“...It’s too late.”

Her endurance seemed to have reached its limit; Yinyin’s face was filled with despair, her wavering consciousness growing hazy along with her gradually hollow eyes.

“It’s okay...”

For some reason, Little Lamb suddenly felt less afraid.

She gripped Yinyin’s hand tightly and said softly.

“I will stay with you...”

The sheep in the pen will eventually be eaten, no matter how close it is to the shepherd’s family. Why? Because that was decided the moment it was born.

She never thought about the future, because she always knew her end.

Rather than worry about what was already decided, it was better to live each day happily, at least not to waste the joy and happiness of the moment.

She had a good relationship with the shepherd’s family, especially liking the youngest daughter. She could feel that in this manor, only Yinyin was genuinely good to her without expecting anything in return.

After all, she would be eaten in the end.

If it were Yinyin, it wouldn’t be so bad...

Just then, several short gunshots suddenly rang out from outside the door, followed by low growls and chaotic running, and the dull sound of metal chopping bone.

“Damn—will this ever end!”

Vaguely, Little Lamb heard someone speaking, but she couldn’t understand what they were saying.

A brief collision, and something splattered against the door.

The person pulled out something while muttering incessantly.

“Fuck, this shitty mission only pays a hundred thousand, I’m losing my shirt! No wait, I don’t even have any money... shit!”

As the words fell, with a loud “bang,” the shaky door was kicked open and clattered to the ground.

Little Lamb stared blankly at the doorway.

There stood a pitch-black suit of armor.

The helmet covered the person’s entire face, hiding their expression.

Under his right arm was an automatic rifle, in his left hand a short blade, his whole body covered in blood, with a few scraps of flesh hanging off, looking utterly ferocious.

“Your name?”

She understood that sentence.

Though she didn’t know the person before her, she still answered tremblingly.

“Little... Lamb.”

The person let out a relieved sigh and tossed a cryptic remark at her.

“Mission complete...”

“Remember to give a good review.”