At the end of the stone corridor lay a dungeon, where countless skeletal remains were piled high behind iron bars. Some had already turned to bone, while others were still in the process of decay, with maggots writhing in their hollow eye sockets. The bodies at the very top were still recognizable as boys no older than sixteen, each with a clean, circular hole at the crown of their head.
"These are the 'waste' left over after their brains were harvested," Yao Sichen said, his voice terrifyingly cold. "Judging by the state of decay, the earliest ones must have been here for over a year."
Fu Yingzhi covered her nose and mouth, fighting back the urge to retch. Her gaze landed on a small wooden chest in the corner of the dungeon. It was filled with scraps of cloth of various colors, each embroidered with a name and a birth date.
Chapter 122