Chapter 032
Beeihae Shinnshiow
Shinnshiow and Shannchyuan approached the door. Shannchyuan shone his flashlight into the passage behind the door. Couldn't see anything there. Shannchyuan gestured for Shinnshiow to stop. Shannchyuan wanted to enter the passage alone. Shinnshiow didn't have time to argue because Shannchyuan had already stepped into the underground passage.
Shannchyuan paused for a moment. Shinnshiow wasn't sure what was going through Shannchyuan's mind. Maybe the man had doubts. But it wasn't long. A moment later, Shannchyuan stepped forward a little so that his feet were already in the dark passage. Again, he shone on the walls on the right and left of the hall. From behind, still, Shinnshiow couldn't see anything quite conspicuous.
Shannchyuan then turned his body. He rushed out of the hall. After standing by Yinqyueh's side, Shannchyuan grabbed the girl's hand. He gently led the girl back to the stone bench where they had sat before. Shinnshiow followed behind them. After the three of them sat back down, Shannchyuan opened his mouth again.
"The light you just saw, flashing or moving?"
Yinqyueh looked at Shannchyuan. She raised her right hand. With a quick movement, the girl placed her right palm on her forehead. She looked like she was trying hard to remember something.
"It happened so fast. I can't remember for sure. At first, the light flashed, then suddenly disappeared."
"The light dimmed, then disappeared, or did it suddenly disappear?"
"All of a sudden, it disappeared!"
"The light disappeared before or after you shouted?"
"I saw a flash of light, after which I shouted. Then the light disappeared."
Hearing Yinqyueh's words, Shinnshiow nodded. He glanced at Shannchyuan. Shinnshiow was sure that Shannchyuan had the same conjecture as him.
Shannchyuan took a deep breath. "Shiowdi, what do you think just happened?"
"I think we shouldn't talk too loud for now," Shinnshiow whispered.
"Eh?" Yinqyueh called out slowly. The girl turned to Shinnshiow.
"Right!" Shannchyuan also whispered. "I think there's someone in the hallway. What you saw earlier was probably that person's flashlight. After hearing your scream, he turned off the flashlight right away. I don't know if that person is still in the hallway or has run away."
"So, what should we do now?" Shinnshiow felt a little panicked. But he tried to stay calm.
"You two, better go up there first. This situation is clearly hazardous. We don't know who the person wandering in the hallway was. I'll ask Yihshyong and Jenqyih to come down here. Later, I will go into the passage to check the situation with them." Shannchyuan's tone was unyielding.
Apparently, Shannchyuan wanted Jenqyih and Yihshyong to go down into the basement to enter the passage where they had opened the door. Shinnshiow could completely understand that.
Dahge definitely doesn't want anything bad to happen to Miss Liuchiou. I hope this girl understands Dahge's concern. Now is not the time to be stubborn!
Shinnshiow was relieved that the girl straight away nodded without arguing in the slightest. Shannchyuan, Shinnshiow, and Yinqyueh immediately walked towards the corner where the ladder going up to the surface was. Shinnshiow pounded on the iron steps stuck in the cellar wall with a certain rhythm. Apart from reporting that two people would be going up, Shinnshiow also requested that two people come down to replace them.
Shinnshiow was nervous because he had to wait quite a long time for an answer from up there. Shinnshiow wanted to get up there right away without the help of a harness. He felt the iron rods were very solid as a foothold. But Shannchyuan stopped him. The situation was not that serious at that time, so they had to prioritize the safety factor. If the problem had indeed reached an emergency stage, where time was precious, they could relax a bit of the safety factor. Even so, they still have to be careful.
Shannchyuan said maybe Jenqyih, who should always be on guard at the edge of the hole, was a little sleepy, so he didn't pay attention to the sound coming from below. It was only after Shinnshiow pounded the iron rod again that there was a reply from above. Shinnshiow could hear Shannchyuan heave a sigh of relief.
While waiting for the three people above to be ready to pull them up, Shinnshiow and Shannchyuan tied ropes around Yinqyueh's body. The girl didn't utter any words. Shinnshiow could not tell that the girl was scared or that she was simply reluctant to speak. Finished tying Yinqyueh's body with ropes, Shannchyuan helped Shinnshiow wrap the safety rope around Shinnshiow's body. Yinqyueh would go upstairs first, then Shinnshiow would follow.
As Shinnshiow and Yinqyueh were preparing to rise to the surface, the people above said that they were ready to grasp the ends of the ropes they were holding. Swiftly and dexterously, but still, with measured speed, Yinqyueh stepped on the iron rods one by one until she finally arrived at the top. That girl was very agile. What she had just witnessed didn't seem to affect her ability to move. When it was Shinnshiow's turn, he also tried hard to move much faster than before. Therefore, he had set foot on the ground in their backyard in a relatively short time.
Shinnshiow repeated Shannchyuan's message about two people having to go down the pit. Jenqyih and Yihshyong nodded. They said they were ready. Their faces, though they looked tired, were still very excited.
After that, Iren and Shinnshiow helped Jenqyih and Yihshyong down into the hole. Jenqyih went down first. After that, they took down two Kerosene Pressure Lanterns. It turned out that Yihshyong's previous words were true. Of the five lamps they had, only two still contained sufficient amounts of kerosene. Lowering the two lights took a little longer. Finally, it was Yihshyong's turn to go down into the hole. He carried basic supplies such as drinking water and a first aid kit.
As they had agreed, Iren stood guard at the side of the hole. Shinnshiow went straight into the house. Immediately, Yinqyueh followed Shinnshiow. They then sat in the dining room. The girl seemed to be unsure of what to do. Seeing the confused Yinqyueh, Shinnshiow was also confused at first.
"You'd better get some more sleep," said Shinnshiow.
I think Dahge would say this too.
"It's already morning," Yinqyueh protested. "I definitely can't sleep anymore."
"Then how about you take a shower first? After that, you can help me make breakfast." Shinnshiow smiled.
"Take a bath now?" Yinqyueh looked at Shinnshiow with a strange look. It seemed the girl could hardly believe that Shinnshiow had just suggested such a thing.
Even though it was morning, the sky was still dark. The people in the city had a habit of bathing only once a day. Even though some take a shower in the morning before they start their daily activities, most of them choose to take a shower when they return home. The customs were similar to those of the people in Tianjing and the surrounding areas. It's actually a strange phenomenon. The gigantic city where they live was on the equator. Apart from the air temperature being quite hot, the humidity was also relatively high. Bathing twice a day should make a lot more sense.
Yeuandong, the hometown of Shinnshiow and the other friends who live in the house, was also on the equator. The temperature and humidity were more or less the same as the temperature and humidity in the city where they now resided. Therefore, they did not feel a significant difference when they just moved there. The prevailing custom in Yeuandong was to take a bath twice a day. Morning and evening. Before starting activities, and after returning home after sunset. Indeed, not everyone did exactly that. Some people bathe three times a day. That's not to say that no one showers only once a day. However, their number was very few.
"Oh, sorry!" Shinnshiow realized that Yinqyueh might have different habits from them. "Where we come from, we usually take a shower every morning. Even in the countryside, many people shower in the morning when the sky is still dark." Yesterday, during their conversation, they had already told Yinqyueh they were from Yeuandong. Some people's customs in Yeuandong might seem strange to people from other places.
Yinqyueh smiled. "My mother is also from Yeuandong. Regarding the issue of taking a shower in the morning. I can understand because many of my relatives also have the habit. Taking a bath in the morning is not an unusual thing."
"Regarding that, perhaps you are right." Shinnshiow nodded. "Often, we only shower once a day. But it's not because we've adapted to the customs here. Even since we were still living in Yeuandong, we were one of those people who were so lazy to take a bath. So in Yeuandong, we just look weird." Shinnshiow laughed out loud.
Yinqyueh also laughed at Shinnshiow's words. "I also belong to the group of people who are lazy to take a shower. So often, I also only shower once a day. But usually, I choose to take a shower in the morning. But of course, after the day is a bit light. When the sun hasn't risen like this, it feels weird if I have to wet my whole body. Besides, the water must be freezing."
"Okay!" Shinnshiow could understand Yinqyueh's reasoning. "You don't want to take a shower now, and that's fine. You can sit in the living room watching television."
"Really? Is Shiowge serious?"
"Of course, I'm serious. But I suggest you take a shower now. Because later, after they've finished checking the passage down there, they'll all be showering. By then, the queue will be long. So while the bathroom is still empty, you use it first."
Yinqyueh still looked hesitant.
"If you think the water is still too cold, you can take a warm bath."
Yinqyueh's face brightened. "But isn't the water heater broken?"
"Who said that?"
"Yesterday, I heard that the water heater was not working."
"It's not that it's broken, but heating the water just becomes slower. So, it's not that it doesn't work at all, but it doesn't work as it should." Shinnshiow laughed.
"Yeah, but wouldn't it be too long if I had to wait for the water heater to work properly? I am afraid the warm water will not flow until after sunrise."
Suddenly, they heard someone open the door that separated the kitchen from the backyard terrace. A moment later, Iren had appeared in the dining room.
"Eh! Why did Renge even come here? You have to stand guard at the edge of the hole, right?" asked Shinnshiow.
"I just wanted to say that the hot water will probably be ready in ten minutes. While all of you were down there, I had the water heater on." Iren looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "Right! I think in ten minutes, the warm water will start running in the shower."
"It is such a coincidence!" Shinnshiow cheered happily.
Iren nodded. He promptly left the dining room to return to guard at the hole's edge.
"Okay, I'll get ready to take a shower." After saying that, Yinqyueh got up from the chair at once. She went straight into Shannchyuan's room. She came out of the room with a towel and toothbrush a moment later.
"Maybe you should wait ten minutes," said Shinnshiow.
Yinqyueh nodded. She sat back in the dining room.
"After you shower, can you wear long sleeves?"
Yinqyueh nodded. The girl didn't ask Shinnshiow's reason at all.
It turns out that she can also be an obedient girl.
Shinnshiow did not instantly go to the kitchen to prepare the tools and ingredients for cooking. It was still too early to prepare breakfast. Shinnshiow intended to wait a bit before he started working in the kitchen. Therefore, Shinnshiow instead went to the living room and watched television. Just like before, he didn't turn on the light in the living room. Television sound volume is also minimal. It's barely even audible. While changing television channels, he hummed. No television show caught Shinnshiow's attention enough.
Ten minutes later, Yinqyueh shouted. "Shiowge! I'm taking a shower now."
Shinnshiow got up from the sofa and walked into the dining room. He still had time to see Yinqyueh open the bathroom door. The girl immediately disappeared behind the door. Shinnshiow walked into the kitchen. He took drinking water to quench his thirst. After that, he returned to the living room.
Ring!
Their phone rings.
Shinnshiow gasped. Calling at a time like this was not a natural thing. The phone rang once again. Shinnshiow hadn't moved yet. When the phone rings for the third time. Shinnshiow quickly stood up. He got up to get ready to move into the family room to answer the phone. When Shinnshiow turned around, he saw Iren running towards the phone.
It's such a quiet atmosphere. No wonder Renge, who is in the corner in our backyard, can hear the phone's ring!
Iren picked up the receiver right away.
"Hello!" Iren exclaimed.
Iren frowned. It seemed something was wrong.
"Hello!" Iren shouted louder.
Five seconds later, Iren hung up the receiver.
"Who's calling?" asked Shinnshiow.
"I do not know!" Iren looked so annoyed. "No one answered my greeting."
This is odd!
"Who do you think they are?"
"I do not know." Iren glared at Shinnshiow. "Why didn't you answer the phone call?"
"I was just about to answer it when you ran in here."
"Are there no suspicious people outside?"
"I don't know. I didn't notice the atmosphere outside."
"It is your duty to keep watch in the living room, isn't it?"
"But it's already morning. I'm getting ready to cook."
"All right! I'm going back first to guard the backyard. I don't want Dahge to be upset that I wasn't there when they needed me."
After saying that, Iren speedily returned to the backyard. Shinnshiow also turned around and sat back down in the living room.
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