Chapter 36: Unexpected Assistance

Time ticked away second by second.

Ning Jing grew increasingly anxious. The voices ringing in her ears had long since degraded into meaningless noise.

She had already reached the upper-right corner of the massive pit, but the sheer quantity of severed heads remained overwhelming, leaving her no time to search through them one by one.

Currently, the only thing she could take solace in was that the Moon Goddess, standing beneath the full moon, was paying her no mind and seemed to have zero interest in her.

"How can I narrow down the search area?" Ning Jing furrowed her brows deeply.

Soon, five minutes passed.

"Could it be this one?" Holding the blood-stained club in her left hand, Ning Jing grabbed a severed head with short black hair by the right. She spun the head around, only to find it was not Qian Cangyi's face, but rather a lewd and ugly visage.

Ning Jing wrinkled her nose in disgust, a look of revulsion crossing her face as she prepared to let go and toss it aside.

"Wait, save me, I'm begging you!" The man's head did a complete about-face, dropping its mockery and resorting to pleading. "I'll agree to anything you want! My family is extremely wealthy; I can buy you sports cars, a villa, and ensure you live a life of luxury without a single worry for the rest of your days."

Ning Jing let out a cold snort and ignored him, tossing the head away.

Assurances within a movie world were utterly meaningless, and she had no interest in them whatsoever.

"Stinky bitch, you'll die here sooner or later!" The severed head began to hurl loud curses the moment it was thrown aside.

Ning Jing glared at the head, somewhat annoyed.

Seeing that his insults were getting a reaction, the head escalated his abuse.

Grasping the blood-stained club with both hands, Ning Jing walked back over to the head, raised the weapon high, and drove it heavily into the neck stump.

A squelching sound echoed.

The severed head let out a piercing, miserable scream and immediately begged for mercy.

"Don't, please! Pull the club out, hurry!"

"I'm begging you, I know I was wrong!"

Ning Jing was somewhat surprised by the terrifying potency of the blood-stained club, though she had no intention of letting up just yet.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.

Since these heads were so terrified of the blood-stained club, and they had been lingering in the pit all this time, could she ask them about Cangyi's whereabouts?

With this thought, a faint smile played at the corner of Ning Jing's lips as she asked:

"I can let you go, but on one condition—you have to tell me something. Earlier, did another person fall into this pit? Where is he?"

The man's head contorted in agony and screamed, "I don't know! I don't know anything!"

"I didn't catch that. Say it again." Ning Jing's expression remained detached, her tone glacial.

Hearing this, the head's expression flickered uncertainly before it replied in an extremely faint whisper:

"Wait, I remember now. There was someone, a man, right?"

Ning Jing nodded, signaling with her eyes for the head to continue.

Understanding her intent, the severed head went on:

"The Moon Goddess seemed interested in him. But, hehe, in the end, he'll just end up like the rest of us."

"Are you his companion? Did you come to rescue him?"

"He was near the Moon Goddess. After all, he only just fell into the pit not long ago. But didn't the corpses shift around earlier? Maybe he was dragged somewhere else."

"Can you let me go now?"

Glancing toward the direction of the crimson Moon Goddess, Ning Jing yanked the blood-stained club out of the head and hurried toward the edge of the pit.

Along the way, she paid attention to the nearby heads, but the situation remained unchanged.

"Let's try again." Staring at the club in her hand, Ning Jing steeled her heart.

Half a minute later, the situation was the same; she had acquired no relevant information.

"There isn't much time left. I should probably... head back first..." Ning Jing couldn't help recalling what Mastermind had said. Although twenty minutes was the agreed-upon time limit, unexpected complications could arise, forcing Mastermind to stall for only fifteen minutes, or perhaps other variables might cut the window even shorter. Cutting it too close to the deadline was a recipe for disaster; it was far safer to leave early.

"Besides, I've already searched. No one can say I didn't try to save him. I've looked for so long, but there are simply too many people."

Looking out at the distant edge of the pit, the dense sea of severed heads killed any desire she had left to continue searching.

"He's at your six o'clock direction." Suddenly, a crisp, clear voice pierced into Ning Jing's ears.

Tracing the source of the voice, Ning Jing spotted a severed head with long black hair. She bent down slightly, bringing herself closer to the head, and asked:

"Was that you speaking to me just now?"

"Yes. If you want to save him, you'd better go quickly," the female head said calmly. "Earlier, when the pit was very quiet, I heard a sound coming from over there. I reckon your companion still hasn't accepted his fate."

Ning Jing was somewhat taken aback. "Thank you. But why tell me?"

"Because I also hope someone will come to save me." As she spoke, the female head's eye sockets gradually grew moist.

Ning Jing set off toward the six o'clock direction.

Simultaneously, Qian Cangyi kept his mouth tightly shut. It wasn't that he didn't want to shout; it was simply that the heads surrounding him were yelling with far more fervor than he could muster. His only chance of winning this contest relied entirely on the information he and Ning Jing shared—the content of his cries had to be distinctively unique.

If he made a noise right now, the surrounding heads would hear him and might alter what they were shouting, thereby misleading Ning Jing.

Qian Cangyi refused to squander his only lifeline.

Seconds ticked away. Suddenly, a figure entered Qian Cangyi's field of view: a woman with long hair, holding a blood-stained club. It was Ning Jing.

Having waited so long for this moment, Qian Cangyi immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Ning Jing! I'm at your eleven o'clock direction! I'm Cangyi!"

Ning Jing advanced at a measured pace, but the moment she heard her familiar actor code, she instantly heightened her vigilance and snapped her gaze toward Qian Cangyi's direction.

Their eyes locked mid-air.

"Cangyi!" Ning Jing broke into a run toward him.

"Hurry, take me away..." At that moment, the terror pent up inside Qian Cangyi finally erupted. He couldn't fathom what his life would become if no one came to rescue him; perhaps in just a few days, he would turn out just like the heads surrounding him.

Reaching Qian Cangyi's severed head, Ning Jing bent down and scooped him up. The instant she lifted him, the surrounding heads seemed to plunge into a state of frenzy.

"Take me with you too!"

"I'm begging you! Take me away!"

"I want to leave this place as well!"

"I'll give you whatever you want!"

Pleading cries battered Ning Jing's ears like machine-gun fire.

To them, Ning Jing was a savior-like entity, and they were willing to do anything for a chance at escape. Yet, no matter what they offered, it held zero value to Ning Jing, who had already broken free of the Moon Shadow Curse. Furthermore, the only reason she was willing to rescue Qian Cangyi was because of Mastermind's words.

Ignoring their desperate pleas, Ning Jing cradled Qian Cangyi's head in her right arm and sprinted toward the moon-phase doorway. Since she no longer needed to search, her pace grew faster and faster.

Looking back at the pit, Qian Cangyi caught sight of the yearning gazes burning in the eyes of the severed heads.

Charging out of the pit, Ning Jing stood before the moon-phase doorway, cast one final glance at the crimson Moon Goddess, and then lifted her right foot, stepping across the threshold.