Lin Xiaohong's house is next to Xiao Meiying's house. It's a small house with one bedroom, one bathroom, and a kitchen.
When the men sent by Xiao Meiying's father went inside the house, they found it extremely clean. There was no furniture, not even a speck of dust. It looked like it had just been cleaned very recently.
The leader of the group instructed his men, "Search every corner. We need to find something useful for our investigation."
Right after everyone heard the order, they all began searching the rooms and the bathroom. While everyone was busy with their task, the leader of the group called someone again.
"Mr. Lin, there's nothing in your daughter's house. It seems like someone erased all signs of her living here," the leader reported to the person on the phone, presumably Lin Xiaohong's father, who had spoken to Xiao Lei a few hours earlier in his house.
"It must be the Mo sect. Lin Xiaohong reports her every move to me, so I don't think she did that. I don't know why, but I still feel like something is missing," the person on the phone remarked.
Right after he finished speaking, one of the group members suddenly rushed to the leader and exclaimed, "Leader, we found something! It's... a hidden room beneath the main bedroom."
Hearing his words, the leader quickly ran towards the place where they found the hidden room while still on the phone.
The hidden room was cleverly concealed beneath a loose floorboard in the corner of the main bedroom. The leader, guided by the members of the group, quickly located the spot. With a swift motion, he lifted the floorboard, revealing a dark opening beneath.
Without hesitation, the leader went into the hidden room, his eyes adjusting to the dim light filtering in from above. As he scanned the room, he was met with an unexpected sight. Covering the walls were numerous photographs of Xiao Meiying, ranging from candid snapshots to carefully posed portraits. In the center of the room lay a body pillow adorned with an image of Xiao Meiying, as if it were a cherished possession.
In the hidden room beneath the main bedroom, alongside the unsettling array of photographs and the body pillow of Xiao Meiying, there lay a small bed draped with disheveled sheets. Scattered across the floor were an assortment of sex toys.
The combination of the photographs, the body pillow, and the array of intimate objects hinted at a disturbing fixation on Xiao Meiying. It was clear that whoever owned this hidden room harbored a deeply troubling obsession with her.
"Mr. Lin, I think you need to see this. I'm going to send you some pictures," the leader said to Mr. Lin, his voice grave with concern.
Soon, the team members captured the pictures using a camera and quickly uploaded them to the server using a laptop.
On the other side, Lin Xiao, father of Lin Xiaohong, was staring at the pictures sent by his men. As he gazed at the images, Lin Xiao was stunned beyond comprehension. He had known that Lin Xiaohong liked Xiao Meiying, but he had never realized the extent of her feelings until now.
Realizing that his daughter had hidden something as significant as this from him, Lin Xiao began to fear that she might have concealed other secrets as well, perhaps even involvement in Xiao Meiying's disappearance.
Lin Xiao felt torn and confused. On one hand, he hesitated to inform Xiao Lei about this discovery, knowing it could implicate his daughter as a prime suspect in Xiao Meiying's disappearance. Yet, after much deliberation, he ultimately chose transparency and decided to tell everything to Xiao Lei.
Lin Xiao wasted no time in calling Xiao Lei, recounting every detail about the disturbing discovery his men had made.
Xiao Lei was equally shocked by this, but for some reason, he couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was manipulating the situation, playing mind games with him and everyone involved.
"Let's continue our investigation into Lin Xiaohong. But first, update me on what the spies in the Mo sect have discovered," Xiao Lei instructed.
Hearing the mention of spies, Lin Xiao quickly retrieved a file from his desk and began to tell its contents to Xiao Lei.
The file contained detailed reports from the spies within the Mo sect. According to the information, the Mo sect had no involvement in Xiao Meiying's disappearance. Instead, it revealed a disturbing turn of events: when the Mo sect's operatives visited Xiao Meiying's house to gather information, they encountered the housekeeper, who was injured. so, they tortured her to find information on where Xiao Meiying might be, they couldn't find anything from the housekeeper so they killed her.
Hearing the contents of the file, Xiao Lei was silent for some time. Then, he voiced his speculation, "Why would they kill the housekeeper if she didn't know anything?"
"Perhaps she saw their faces," Lin Xiao suggested, considering the possibility.
"No, the Mo sect is too careful to do something sloppy like that," Xiao Lei countered, shaking his head.
"Perhaps they hired some thugs to carry out the task," Lin Xiao suggested, exploring another angle.
"That could be a possibility," Xiao Lei conceded, his confusion deepening as the investigation took yet another perplexing turn.
"Lin Xiao, you keep investigating. Perhaps it's time for me to have a conversation with the leaders of the Mo sect," Xiao Lei said, contemplating a direct approach to uncovering the truth behind Xiao Meiying's disappearance.
"Are you serious, leader?" Lin Xiao exclaimed, taken aback by Xiao Lei's decision.
"Yes, I am serious. Instruct the spies to convey to the leaders of the Mo sect that I wish to speak with them. It's time I learn why they refer to my daughter as their sect's holy daughter," Xiao Lei asserted, his determination clear in his voice.
....
The basement of Feng Lou's house was dimly lit, with sparse furnishings and cold, concrete walls. Dust danced in the faint light filtering through small, barred windows near the ceiling. In one corner, a rusty boiler hummed softly, casting eerie shadows across the room.
Amidst the gloom, Lin Xiaohong lay unconscious on a makeshift cot, her form barely visible in the dimness. Her face was pale, framed by strands of disheveled hair, and her clothes were torn and stained.
As Lin Xiaohong finally regained consciousness, she instinctively reached for her head, wincing in pain. "Oww, it hurts," she cried out softly, her voice echoing in the dimly lit space.
Slowly, she began to take in her surroundings, her eyes adjusting to the gloom. Realization dawned as she realized she was in a basement, the walls closing in around her in shadows. But what caught her attention more than anything else was the sight of a variety of food and medical supplies scattered across the floor.
Her confusion deepened as she observed the stuff laid out before her. There was enough food and medical supplies to sustain her for months, a perplexing gesture of care amidst her captivity.
Lin Xiaohong couldn't shake the dissonance between this unexpected kindness and Feng Lou's previous cruelty, such as breaking her arms and fingers. She had anticipated a grim fate, expecting death at the hands of Feng Lou. Yet, this act of providing for her survival left her puzzled and uncertain about Feng Lou's intentions.
However, she quickly got rid of the confusion when she remembered the pain she went through she quickly started searching the room for an exit, and soon she was able to find a door.
Expecting the door to be locked, Lin Xiaohong was taken aback when she found it open. With cautious steps, she pushed the door further, her heart pounding in anticipation. But instead of stairs leading to another level, she was met with dirt stretching out before her.
"Huh???" Lin Xiaohong exclaimed in disbelief, her voice echoing off the walls of the underground chamber. Panic surged through her as she frantically began digging at the dirt with her nails, desperation driving her efforts. But no matter how hard she tried, the earth remained unyielding, offering no escape.
Realization crashed over her like a wave – she was trapped. With a rising sense of dread, Lin Xiaohong's screams filled the confined space.