This young girl is not only exceptionally skilled, but also quick and decisive in her actions, just like the magistrate's wife. I wonder if everyone in their family is like that...
Cheng Ruyi skillfully dragged the two unconscious guards who were lying on the ground outside the door into the house. While taking out the hemp rope she had prepared beforehand, she said, "It would be safer to tie them up and hide them."
The two people opposite looked over upon hearing this. Guo Qinglan thought Cheng Ruyi's thoughtfulness was commendable, while Xiaoyu had an expression that said, "You know your stuff."
After the three of them finished cleaning up, they began to carefully examine the room.
The room looked unremarkable, with just a dozen or so boxes piled up casually, like a storeroom in an ordinary person's backyard. However, Ruyi recognized that these boxes were exactly the same as the ones that had been transported on the cart before.
It seems my guess was correct; those children were indeed transported here by handcart.
"By the way, Miss, I heard Clerk Peng's voice when I was setting the fire in the front yard. It seemed that he was leading a group of people who were surrounding the gate. After the fire started, they rushed in during the chaos, saying they were helping to put out the fire, but they all rushed into the inner courtyard."
While searching around, Xiaoyu said, "Do you think they're here to see you? Could it be that Luo Xian has had a change of heart and is willing to offend his new backer for the sake of Miss?"
After listening, Guo Qinglan paused slightly, a ripple flashing in her eyes before returning to calm. "It couldn't have been arranged by Luo Xian. Peng Zhubu has always been at odds with him. Perhaps it was his own idea."
Registrar Peng led his men in? If it wasn't Magistrate Luo's doing, then it's very likely the Zhou family was behind it! Thinking of this possibility, Cheng Ruyi felt instantly more at ease!
With Registrar Peng dealing with the Zheng family in the front yard and drawing all their attention, the three of them no longer needed to be distracted by the outside world and could search with greater confidence and boldness.
The room wasn't big, and the search was completed in no time.
"Have you found anything? I have nothing here except empty boxes!" After searching for a while, but finding nothing, Guo Qinglan was somewhat disappointed and anxious.
Cheng Ruyi looked closely and found that the red line disappeared on the ground in the northwest corner of the room, which must be the entrance to the secret passage!
She first pretended to look around, then thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we move all the boxes and take a look? The Zheng family is very likely planning to dig a tunnel to get out of the city. The entrance to the tunnel should be nearby. Perhaps we will find something on the ground!"
The other two agreed that it made sense, so they moved the box to another corner together.
"Found it! It's here!"
After everyone worked together to move the boxes piled up in the northwest corner of the room, a very conspicuous wooden door was revealed on the floor.
The wooden door appeared to be unlocked, but its material was unknown, yet it was incredibly heavy. In the end, it took Xiaoyu and Guo Qinglan working together to lift it open.
The underground space was much deeper than expected, and the three of them walked along the stone steps for quite a long time before finally reaching the bottom.
After passing through a rough passageway with very obvious signs of artificial excavation, the space in front of you suddenly opens up.
This appears to be a naturally formed cave. Two burning torches were placed at the entrance, and although the light was limited, it at least illuminated the general situation inside the cave quite clearly.
The cave has many branching paths in all directions, winding and seemingly bottomless. If an ordinary person accidentally wanders in, they would probably be trapped for a while.
Fortunately, Cheng Ruyi is no ordinary person; she has a cheat code!
The glowing red line stretched northward, silently guiding her in the darkness.
While the others were searching around, Ruyi intentionally or unintentionally walked to the right-hand intersection and secretly scattered a few thorns on the ground, intending to pretend that Yunle had left them behind.
"There's actually an underground cave here? The Zheng family probably discovered this and that's why they're thinking of using it for evil purposes." Xiaoyu was quite young, and instead of being afraid after discovering the cave, she seemed very excited, even raising her voice considerably.
Guo Qinglan looked at the cave in front of her with a grave expression. "There are so many paths here, we don't know how long it will take to find it. I wonder how Xiuwei is doing now..."
"Don't worry, Miss. Although Xiuwei is of average talent and not very diligent, she has at least studied martial arts for a few years. As long as she doesn't resort to brute force, she should be able to protect herself!"
Guo Qinglan, who was already quite annoyed, felt even more frustrated after hearing Xiaoyu's casual remark. She couldn't help but retort, "Xiuwei's aptitude is already better than mine. Her talent is clearly above average. Do you think everyone is as gifted as you?"
As if oblivious to her young mistress's impending anger, Xiaoyu continued to complain, "Am I exceptionally talented? I thought only someone like the young master would qualify. My master used to say that if I had even a tenth of the young master's talent, I would have graduated long ago. Sigh..."
"My older brother is a monster! He's not even human, don't compare yourself to him! You and..."
"Um... excuse me for interrupting you two, I've found something here, would you like to come and take a look?" Cheng Ruyi never expected that they would still be in the mood to chat at this time, and couldn't help but interrupt them.
Fortunately, the two were immediately drawn over, and after discussing it, they decided to explore the cave together.
The dark cave was much harder to navigate than I had imagined, and I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but it felt like the temperature had dropped several degrees. Luckily, Xiaoyu’s tinderbox provided a faint light for everyone.
Tick-tock! Tick-tock!
Water droplets seep from the stalactites on the cave ceiling and fall to the ground, while a few rats occasionally dart out along the path.
Looking at the flickering firelight ahead, Ruyi thought that although there was air circulation here, it was clear that the deeper one went, the thinner the air became. However, since there was water and small animals living there, it proved that the environment was not too harsh.
The good news is that although the passageway is rugged, it is not very long.
After the three of them walked through two forks in the road, they finally saw a light at the exit ahead. They immediately put away their tinderboxes and carefully moved to the side to hide and observe.
Outside was a larger cavern than the entrance, with a small fire burning in the center. The light was limited, and one could only vaguely see several smaller caverns connected to the main cavern, all of which were fitted with iron railings. Although it was hard to see clearly, the occasional sound of children crying suggested that they had found their destination!
The other iron bars had already been opened, and the inside seemed empty, leaving only the last and smallest cavern. For some reason, although the iron bars were ajar, the cries of children could be heard intermittently...
"What's wrong with you guys! You can't even catch a few little brats, and these are the last few left. If you keep dawdling, it'll be dawn. If you delay the boss's business, you won't be spared even if you die several times over!"
In the dim light, a burly man was cursing at the person next to him, spittle flying everywhere.
"Brother Ma, you don't know, that girl knows martial arts, I... I can't beat her!"
"Yeah, yeah, and that chubby girl next to her is really weird too. My whole body goes numb the moment I touch her, it's so eerie!"
After listening, Brother Ma laughed dismissively, "You guys can make up even more outrageous excuses. Do you think I'm an idiot? Who would believe that? You try saying that to the boss and see if he doesn't kill you!"
"I...we're telling the truth, Brother Ma. If you don't believe me, go in and try it yourself...Ouch!"
Before the short man next to him could finish speaking, Brother Ma kicked him to the ground.
After kicking him once, he didn't stop, kicking him a few more times before saying viciously, "Go to hell! You make me handle such trivial matters? What are you guys good for?! Get inside and arrest them right now!"
Now the henchmen next to them dared not refuse anymore, and had no choice but to bite the bullet and go over to open the iron gate.
The girl who knows martial arts, the chubby little girl whose whole body goes numb at the slightest touch—they're clearly talking about Luo Xiuwei and Cheng Yunle!
"I'll deal with those guys, you guys go rescue the people!"
After leaving those words, the little fish flew away like the wind, wanting to take care of the henchmen before they could react!
Just as Ruyi and Guo Qinglan were about to take action, a loud shout suddenly came from the back of the passageway: "Who's there, sneaking around here! Help! Seize them!"
Damn it! I never encountered any patrols when I came here before, why did I have to run into them now of all times!
"I'll deal with them, the rescue is up to you!" Guo Qinglan knew that Cheng Ruyi didn't know martial arts, so even though she really wanted to rescue her daughter, she had no choice but to leave it to someone else in this situation.
Cheng Ruyi knew that time was of the essence, and without any hesitation, she ran directly towards the small cave.
After a year of being cleansed by elixirs, even without any lightness skills, her body was already much more agile than that of an ordinary person.
With a few strides, she reached the outside of the iron railings, quickly opened the door, and rushed inside!
"Yunle! Where are you? Yunle!"
The space inside the cave was much smaller than expected, so the light was very dim. Cheng Ruyi could only barely see a few small figures at the deepest part of the cave, and could not see anything else.
"Mother! It's my mother!"
Suddenly, a round figure rushed out and hugged her tightly, saying in a soft, tearful voice, "Waaah, Mother, you're finally here! Waaah, Yunle knew Mother would come to save me!"
Cheng Ruyi was heartbroken and hugged her daughter tightly. "Yunle! It's alright, sweetie~~ Mommy's here to take you home!"
Thank goodness, we finally found it!
Although she was excited, she didn't forget her mission. So, while picking up her daughter, she said to the other children in the cave, "Children, don't be afraid, we're here to save you. Is there any baby who can't walk? Auntie will carry you. The rest of you, come out quickly and leave this place with me!"
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