Chen Bugu stood at the door. At that moment, he felt his blood freeze, a chill swept over him, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
The headquarters of "Cross Street" was not as elaborately decorated as the "Unyielding Hall"; from the outside, its layout was square, but the courtyard walls were high, making it difficult to see over them.
Only through that large door could Chen Bugu catch a glimpse of the front yard.
Chen Bugu's face was pale, and his steps felt heavy, like a thousand pounds, making it difficult to move.
In the front yard of "Cross Street," a large cross stood in the center.
Tied to the cross was a person, covered in blood, with his head bowed low.
Although Chen Bugu could not clearly see the person's face, the person's build and clothes seemed to remind him.
At this moment, Chen Bugu kept telling himself in his heart to calm down, to calm down!
He took a step and walked into "Cross Street."
Chen Bugu regretted not paying attention to Jiang Sisi's words earlier; she had clearly met his companions, so why did he Ignore her reminder?
But, but he had clearly told them to go to the Unyielding Hall…
Chen Bugu's thoughts were chaotic as he looked at the cross getting closer and closer to him, his mind suddenly becoming a tangled ball of string, unable to comprehend anything.
When he finally walked in front of that person, Chen Bugu's mind finally cleared.
His mind was blank.
At this distance, he could even see the iron spikes on the cross deeply embedded in the skin of the person in front of him.
That person was tied to the cross with iron wires, his entire body covered with various wounds, skin torn and flesh exposed, blood dripping from the cross onto the ground below, staining that small patch of earth dark red.
Chen Bugu could feel the other party's breath, though faint, which made him briefly relieved.
No matter what, at least the person was still alive.
He took out the Rapid Wind Dagger, pulled apart an iron wire, and cut it with the dagger.
But the iron wire was already embedded in the flesh and blood; under Chen Bugu's cut, the broken iron wire seemed to have pulled at the wound, waking the person in front of him from the pain.
He lifted his head, a pair of tired, cloudy eyes revealed beneath his blood-stained hair, and a one-inch long saber scar now marked his familiar face.
The moment he saw Chen Bugu, there was a fleeting moment of surprise in those eyes.
Immediately after, the person's face twisted into a smile uglier than a cry, and a dry, hoarse voice slowly came out.
"Bu Gu Ge, you... you finally came."
Chen Bugu looked at Wang Bin's purple skin beneath the iron wires, not daring to act rashly again.
"Cross Street is very strong, don't… don't fight, quick… escape."
Wang Bin's voice was intermittent, clearly in very poor condition.
"It's okay, hold on, Lin Lin will be here soon, and I'll handle the rest."
"Besides you, where are Liu Shifu and the others?"
Chen Bugu clenched his fists, speaking while frequently looking back, finally seeing Lin Lin and the others appear at the entrance.
"Town outside west… southwest…"
Before Wang Bin could finish speaking, his head drooped down again.
"Lin Lin! Save him!"
As soon as the words fell, Lin Lin felt the scenery around her shift, and she had already arrived in front of Wang Bin.
Chen Bugu dared not delay, directly activating Bullet Time to bring Lin Lin over.
Lin Lin, seeing everything before her, was also frightened and turned pale, quickly casting Holy Light.
At this moment, Bai Ting and Yan Kuan and the others also rushed in from the entrance, and everyone fell silent at the sight of Wang Bin's tragic state.
Even Bai Ting, who was usually the calmest, now had a gloomy and angry expression on his face; everyone clenched their fists, waiting quietly.
Lin Lin's expression was solemn; her Holy Light shone on Wang Bin's body, but the surface wounds healed very slowly, as if a strange power was Entanglement around the wounds, resisting her treatment.
This strange energy was not as overbearing as the one Chen Bugu had contracted when he killed the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle in the forest, but perhaps because it had been affecting him for a long time, it was quite troublesome to expel now.
"Wang Bin is too seriously injured. I need to stabilize his injuries first. Don't let anyone interrupt me."
Lin Lin spoke, for she had already heard footsteps that did not belong to their group.
In the corridor on the west side of the courtyard, two people suddenly emerged, looking at Chen Bugu and his group, shouting loudly.
"What are you doing!"
The moment Chen Bugu turned his head, his figure had already appeared in front of the two, his right hand gripping one person's neck, pressing him against the wall.
"Who did it?"
Everyone only saw a blur flash by, and in a blink of an eye, Chen Bugu had already subdued one person.
That person's eyes were filled with terror; feeling Chen Bugu's gradually tightening grip, his face instantly turned crimson, unable to utter a single word.
"We... we don't know either, we were just ordered to guard him."
The other person slumped to the ground, Chen Bugu's speed making him instantly realize that the person in front of them was not someone they could deal with.
"The beast tide attacked the town, and you avoided the fight. Even if I kill you now, Alek can't say anything."
"We... we really don't know!"
"The two of us just followed the deputy leader's instructions to guard this person; we truly know nothing else."
"Did you, did you lay a hand on him?" Chen Bugu finished speaking, then looked back at Han Badou.
"He hit him, he hit him, I didn't, I really didn't, I only joined Cross Street a few days ago, I really don't know, please… please spare me."
Seeing that the person in Chen Bugu's hand was about to suffocate, the other person, who was slumped on the ground, was terrified and quickly begged for mercy.
"Chen Dage, he's not lying."
The moment Han Badou's voice appeared in his mind, Chen Bugu applied a slight force with his right hand, snapping the neck of the person in his grasp.
He flung the corpse aside and walked back to Lin Lin.
Yan Kuan and Bai Ting were following Lin Lin's instructions, slowly removing the iron wires from Wang Bin's body, gently lowering him from the cross.
Seeing Chen Bugu return, Bai Ting spoke, his voice colder than usual.
"What happened? Where are Liu Shifu and the others?"
As Bai Ting and Yan Kuan removed the iron wires from Wang Bin's body, they got a clearer look at his shocking wounds; at this moment, everyone felt a surge of suppressed anger.
"The deputy leader of Cross Street gave the order; they don't know the rest. As for Liu Shifu, he should be in that abandoned building about ten kilometers southwest of the town's outskirts."
"I once told them that if there was no place to stay in town, they should wait for us there."
Lin Xiaoxiao walked forward, full of worry.
"How could Liu Shifu and Teacher Lin abandon Wang Bin?"
Chen Bugu shook his head; he was also completely confused now, not knowing how Wang Bin had provoked Dongcheng Xiuwu.
Everyone was silent for a while; the joy of repelling the beast tide vanished in that instant.
"His injuries are stable now. This isn't a place for treatment. Should we leave here first?"
Lin Lin wiped the sweat from her forehead and glanced at the corpse not far away; she was a little worried.
From the plaque at the entrance, they knew that this was the headquarters of "Cross Street."
Regarding "Cross Street," everyone had occasionally mentioned it when chatting with other Awakeneds on the city wall not long ago, knowing that it was the largest human Awakened force in Obsidian Town.
If a fight broke out here later, she wouldn't be able to treat Wang Bin properly.
Chen Bugu also considered this point; he nodded and carried the blood-stained Wang Bin on his back.
Everyone left "Cross Street" together.
