"Strange, judging from the muddy footprints left on the ground, the two people, one big and one small, one male and one female, were undoubtedly coming from this direction. How could they not be here? It's almost dawn, and if we can't find them soon, they'll easily be discovered."
After the cold-faced man hurriedly left, he carefully searched the front yard and finally confirmed that the assassin everyone was talking about must be the man who had fallen into the water and disappeared without saying goodbye for some unknown reason.
To his surprise, one of the two pairs of muddy footprints on the ground was a narrow mark left by a woman. But he had already agreed to Lanxiang's request and personally escorted her out of the West Garden; why was she coming back?
As he sat alone in the dark corridor, puzzled, he suddenly saw two guards from Long Ye's courtyard—the two who had escorted the drowning man back—appear facing him, seemingly whispering and chuckling to each other.
"Sigh, I've made two trips in the middle of the night, I'm exhausted."
"You really didn't expect that little girl to be so capable. She actually dared to kick the vice leader's thing. I'm afraid she won't have a good life from now on."
"As expected of the vice leader, he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. That little girl is old enough to be his daughter."
"Since they had already promised to release the sickly man, they secretly signaled to us to imprison him."
"The Snapdragon Society has never had assassins or spies infiltrated before, so how could the vice leader possibly let them go? I'm afraid the two of them are doomed."
"But they both look so young and frail, they don't seem like bad people at all. Could they be villagers from the neighborhood who accidentally wandered in?"
"Hmph, what's so strange about that? In the Xiaolong Society, if the deputy leader says it, it's true, and if he says it's not, it's not. Even the Dragon Leader gives him some leeway. This matter is definitely going to be unclear. Alas, now that the two of them are locked up together, they can be considered a pair of star-crossed lovers on their way to the underworld."
...
So the stern-looking man quickly stood up and stepped forward to ask, "Brothers, what were you talking about just now? Could it be... that someone has discovered the assassin's trail?"
As he spoke, the man's heart suddenly skipped a beat, as if it had frozen in place for a moment. Could it be that he was too late, and they had already been captured?
“Oh, we meant that the Swift Dragon Society has never had an assassin before. If he is unfortunately caught this time, the gang will definitely not let him off easily.” One of the guards, who seemed to be extremely cautious, hurriedly stepped forward to shield the other person behind him, and swallowed back what he was saying.
Before the cold-faced man could even react, the cautious guard grabbed him and hurriedly left.
After the two quickly reached a safer place, the person being tightly held said with great confusion, "We're all from the Xiaolong Society. Didn't you see that the person just now was a rare favorite of the vice leader? Why didn't you tell him the truth?"
The cautious guard then flung the man's hand away, glared at him fiercely, and said, "What do you know, you newcomer to the West Garden? The dungeon is the most important place in the Swift Dragon Society where they imprison serious criminals. Apart from you, me, the guards inside, and the two leaders, no one else can know about it. Anyone who leaks information will be killed without exception. Look at you, acting so foolishly just now, your loose tongue almost cost us both our lives."
"So that's how it is. I hope you will take good care of me in the future, Master. I will be eternally grateful!" The man immediately understood, cupped his hands in respect to thank him, and then the two left together.
Meanwhile, seemingly not far from a little-known gate behind the West Garden, in a dark underground grotto, Yan'er and the man who had fallen into the water were finally captured and imprisoned together. The grotto was dimly lit everywhere.
The bottom of the grotto appears to be several meters above the ground. Several thick stone pillars support the entire cave, which is divided into several large and spacious caves. There is a neat set of steps at the entrance leading all the way to the bottom.
The walls of the grotto are carved with some unidentified figures and landscape reliefs, and there are also dragon patterns on the stone pillars. The grotto itself is already very amazing, but with these carvings, it becomes even more mysterious and enigmatic.
In one of the grottoes, which resembled a prison cell, the black iron door was firmly locked with a huge iron lock, and the two guards at the door stood watch without letting up, like gatekeepers.
This is the most mysterious place in the Snapdragon Club—the dungeon.
At this moment, in the darkness, the man who had fallen into the water tilted his head and curled up in a corner. He glanced disdainfully at Yan'er, who had just been thrown in and was lying face down on the cold dungeon floor with disheveled hair and rumpled clothes. He said to her without any kindness, "See? I told you he wasn't a good person, but you wouldn't believe me. Now you've suffered the consequences."
No sooner had the words left her lips than a mournful, sorrowful cry suddenly rang out from Yan'er: "Waaah..."
Seeing her lying on the ground, her thin shoulders trembling more and more violently, and her sobs becoming clearer and clearer, the man couldn't help but panic and quickly went over and squatted down beside her.
He patted her shoulder, about to offer some words of comfort, when Yan'er suddenly sat up abruptly, shrinking back as if she had lost her mind. She closed her eyes, refusing to look at him, and yelled, "Beast! Get away! Don't touch me! Get out! Get out!"
The man was startled by her unusually agitated emotions, but only for a moment before he continued to speak to her tentatively, saying softly, "Miss, miss, it's me. Open your eyes and look carefully. I'm the one who saved you in the pond!"
Upon hearing this, Yan'er finally seemed to calm down a bit after a while. She slowly raised her head, and when she recognized the person in front of her, she exclaimed excitedly, "You, weren't you thrown out of the Xiaolong Society by that beast's men? How come you're here? And where is this place?"
"Hmph, how can you believe the words of those bandits and robbers? You're too kind, young lady," the man sneered.
Recalling everything that had just happened, Yan'er couldn't help but lower her head again silently, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, it's all Yan'er's fault, causing you to be implicated innocently."
"Never mind, it really doesn't make any difference. Anyway, I, Wang Er, am destined to be alone in this life, with no attachments. Living is so difficult, dying will bring peace," the man said sadly.
"So your name is Wang Er. Do you have any other brothers or sisters? Are you the second oldest?" Yan'er finally regained her senses, wiped away her tears, and asked curiously.
“Didn’t I already say I’m all alone? Where would I get any brothers or sisters? I think you were really frightened tonight. Did he do anything to you?” Wang Er asked with concern. Yan’er shook her head.
"That's good. Actually, my parents have always hoped that I could have a younger brother or sister, but unfortunately... never mind, let's not talk about me. Let's talk about you. How did you, a weak woman, end up in a place like this?" Wang Er hesitated for a moment, then asked Yan'er.
"I'm not lying to you, I really did come here to find my young lady," Yan'er affirmed again.
"Your young lady is really missing?" Wang Er asked in surprise.
Yan'er nodded: "Everything I said in front of that beast just now was true. By now, notices searching for my young lady must be posted all over the world."
"But what about your young lady? How could she be in a place like this?" Wang Er was very puzzled.
Yan'er said bitterly, "Actually, when I was first captured and brought here, I had my doubts and wanted to escape. However, my companion who was captured with me suddenly said she had something very important to do first, and I didn't feel comfortable leaving her here alone, so I stayed with her. In the days since, I've always felt that my young lady's presence is everywhere here. Until tonight, I saw a plate of dumplings in the tea room that looked familiar, like the dumplings my young lady used to make. Later, I met some guards who said my young lady was serving in the West Garden, so I risked going there, but who knew..."
"So that's how it is." Wang Er suddenly realized.
After a moment, Yan'er composed herself and then remembered to ask, "Oh right, I haven't had a chance to ask you yet, what were you doing there just now? Judging from your outfit, you don't seem to be from the Xiaolong Society."
Wang Er then recalled, "I am from Taohuadian Village, south of Xiqin City. Actually, I came here to find a girl. That day, there was a sudden downpour, and she was likely taken away by a strong man named Long En from the Xiaolong Society, whom I rescued in the mountains that day. Because I had just recovered from a serious illness and was exhausted from the long journey, I wanted to find some medicinal herbs in the mountains. Unexpectedly, I was discovered and someone tried to rob me. I accidentally slipped and fell off the cliff. Fortunately, a strong man saved my life."
"Oh, so you're the man who fell into the lake that day! Are you looking for Chief Long Enlong?" Yan'er said with a sudden realization.
"Chief Long?" Wang Er asked, frowning in confusion.
"Oh, that beast just now was the vice leader, Long Ye. Long En is the real leader of the Xiaolong Society, but he's been away for the past few days," Yan'er explained.
Once Wang Er understood, he hurriedly asked, "So he's the leader of the Xiaolong Society. No wonder he's so generous; he also seems to have an extraordinary air about him. By the way, does that young lady know if Leader Long has brought any women back recently?"
"Could it be her?" Yan'er thought to herself.
After a moment of silence, Yan'er said, "You don't know this, but besides me and Sister Lanxiang, there seems to be another woman in the Xiaolong Society!"
"Is what you say true, young lady?" Wang Er asked anxiously.
Yan'er nodded and said, "Actually, the first person to jump into the water to save you that day wasn't that strong man, but a woman in a pink dress. She was amazing! Everyone else was too scared to jump in to save you, but she jumped in without hesitation right away. That was a cliff several dozen feet high!"
Even now, recalling it, Yan'er still speaks with excitement.
Upon hearing this, Wang Er was so shocked that his eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed as if he couldn't utter a word...
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