Chapter 1683: Trapped Alive Inside (Patreon)

Chapter 1683: Trapped Alive Inside

After entering the secret passage, Meng Pei noticed a protrusion on the wall.

He reached out and pressed it, causing the wall outside the secret passage to return to its original position, sealing the entrance.

As he groped his way forward, he carefully observed his surroundings.

The secret passage was long, and since he was alone and had no guide, he was uncertain which direction to choose at the fork in the path. He randomly picked one, and by chance, he chose the path that led to the magistrate's private residence.

However, when he reached the end of the chosen path, there was only another wall before him. It was the same wall he had entered through, complete with a protrusion.

After hesitating for a while, Meng Pei decided to press the protrusion, but there was no response.

Meng Pei waited for a moment, then turned around and retraced his steps to the fork, choosing the other path.

This time, he ended up at the black market entrance. Though the journey was long, when he reached the end, he was faced with yet another identical wall with a protrusion.

He pressed it, and still, there was no response.

Meng Pei's head buzzed. All three directions led to a protrusion, and none of them yielded any results. Was the one he had entered through simply a mechanism to close the door, rendering him unable to exit?

Suddenly, Meng Pei understood the meaning behind that person's eerie smile before he left – even if he entered the secret passage, it was futile. With no one to open the doors, he couldn't get out at all!

This secret passage would trap him alive inside.

Upon hearing this, Meng Yunzheng paused. "The protrusion you pressed didn't respond?"

Wait a minute. They hadn't tried the protrusions leading to the abandoned mansion and the magistrate's private residence. They didn't know if they were functional. But the wall that led to the black market, Meng Yunzheng had definitely seen the bandit press that protrusion, revealing the face of the gatekeeper behind it.

Meng Yunzheng turned his head to look at the bandit trailing behind.

The bandit was cautiously looking around, afraid that a wild beast that hadn't left the Beast Camp might suddenly leap out from a corner and tear him apart. With Shu Yu and Young Master He in front of him, he hadn't heard the hushed conversation between Meng Pei and Meng Yunzheng.

Seeing Meng Yunzheng's gaze, he became flustered. "Wh-what's wrong?" he stammered.

Meng Yunzheng squinted. "You said that the protrusion leading from the secret passage to the black market had to be pressed simultaneously with the third tile beneath it?"

The mountain bandit nodded. "Yes, yes. There's a brick under the third tile beneath that protrusion. You need to press them both at the same time."

Meng Yunzheng recalled the situation. When the mountain bandit pressed the protrusion earlier, he had indeed noticed the bandit placing his other hand on a tile below.

At the time, he thought the bandit was simply leaning in a bit, as there was no visible change in the tile's appearance.

He hadn't anticipated such a subtle detail.

Upon hearing this, Meng Pei also had an epiphany.

He gave a wry smile. If it weren't for his familiarity with the area, who would have thought of this?

He examined every part of the wall, but he still couldn't find a way out.

As a result, he was trapped in the secret passage for the entire night. It wasn't until the following afternoon that he was attempting the wall leading to the magistrate's private residence when he heard faint movements outside.

Someone was about to enter the secret passage!

Meng Pei instantly became alert and hurriedly hid back at the fork in the path.

It didn't take long before he heard faint sounds, and a group of people arrived, pushing a cart.

Meng Pei was nervous the whole time. Even though he was hidden in the fork, he couldn't be sure which direction the group was going. If they happened to turn towards him and they met face-to-face, wouldn't that expose him completely?