Night
Xu Lanxin returned from the ghost market and hadn't seen Cen Yan for several days. Instead, she encountered the most troublesome person.
She was browsing in the store, intently looking at the perfume in her hand.
The surroundings fell silent instantly, and the sounds of guests chatting disappeared.
A strange presence approached her. Sensing danger, she looked up and was so frightened that she almost dropped what she was holding.
Good heavens, did I not check the almanac before going out?
The long-lost scoundrel, Xiao Muhan.
Xu Lanxin was so nervous that she didn't know whether to leave or stay.
"Lord Xiao, what a coincidence! You also have your eye on this perfume?"
She cleverly handed him the perfume.
"Please go first, sir. Well, my husband, Master Cen, is calling me back for dinner!"
The man scoffed.
"I'm afraid your Lord Cen can't take care of you right now."
Xu Lanxin dropped her fake smile, her expression calm, though a hint of impatience flickered in her eyes.
"Lord Xiao is too kind. Farewell!"
After saying that, Xu Lanxin turned to leave, but Xiao Muhan blocked her way by stepping aside.
"What? In broad daylight, Lord Xiao, are you trying to act like a hooligan?"
Looking around, he didn't see Qingyu and Qinglu.
"Stop looking, they can't save you now. I advise you to come with me obediently. Perhaps, I'll take pity on them and spare their lives."
The man smirked, looking confident of victory.
"Please, Madam Cen."
Faced with overwhelming power, Xu Lanxin had no choice but to compromise, after all, she was a pragmatic person.
Lifting a corner of the carriage curtain, it seemed the carriage was heading out of the city.
The man wasn't worried at all that she would escape, so he didn't tie her up.
"Don't worry, I have already sent someone to deliver the message to Lord Cen, and I believe you will meet soon."
Xiao Muhan poured a cup of tea and handed it to him.
I took the teacup; the tea was still steaming, and it should feel warm to the touch.
But at this moment, Xu Lanxin couldn't feel anything, only that her hands were a little cold.
The slightly swaying tea reflected a hint of nervousness in her eyes.
Drink it all in one gulp.
With a 'thud,' she pretended to be angry and put the cup down on the small table with a little force.
“Lord Xiao always makes such a big fuss, using me to threaten Cen Yan. What, you can’t do anything with Cen Yan, so you resort to taking it out on me.”
Xu Lanxin looked disdainful.
A gust of wind rushed towards her, and a strong, powerful hand gripped her neck.
The intense feeling of suffocation and the sharp pain triggered a stress response in her, and she kept pulling at his hand with both of hers.
But this amount of force felt like a cat's claws to Xiao Muhan.
As the air in her lungs gradually escaped, she began to feel that the person in front of her was starting to blur.
"Lord Xiao, every time you lose to...Cen Yan, you feel resentful; your mind is twisted."
Li Lanxin's voice was hoarse, she had difficulty swallowing, and she managed a mocking smile:
"Those who don't know the situation might think that Lord Xiao has a crush on Lord Cen, and that he can't have her."
Just when she felt her soul was about to leave her body, the grip on her neck suddenly disappeared.
She touched her neck, coughed a few times, and then gasped for breath, inhaling fresh air.
"Heh, trying to provoke me?"
The man gave a cold laugh.
"Once I get what I want, I will grant your wish."
He suddenly moved closer and tapped her shoulder twice.
"If you can't speak, then don't speak."
After saying that, he leaned against the carriage, closed his eyes, and ignored her.
Xu Lanxin didn't know the way, nor did she know which direction the carriage was going, and she had nothing on her to leave a mark.
Even if there were, the idea of deceiving Xiao Muhan into leaving a mark on Cen Yan is a beautiful dream.
Inside the magistrate's office in Jinling.
Cen Yan sat at Magistrate Xu Qing's desk, flipping through the book in his hand, but Magistrate Xu was nowhere to be seen.
Qingyun stood opposite the desk.
"The only people on the list of those who embezzled and accepted bribes are Xu Qing and some of his subordinates, so the ledger mentioned in the secret letter has not yet been found."
"I have already imprisoned Xu Qing and others. The following documents in the ledger are witness testimonies."
Just then, a knock sounded on the door.
A yamen runner walked in through the door with an unmarked envelope and handed it to Cen Yan.
His fingers gripped the letter so tightly they turned white, and the paper trembled slightly.
Cen Yan suddenly stood up and quickly ran out from behind the desk.
The letter fell to the ground.
The words, "If you want Xu Lanxin's life, exchange it for the account book..." leapt off the page.
Cen Yan's mind went blank; all he wanted to do was harness his horse and give chase.
He was then stopped by Qingyun.
"Get out of the way!"
Cen Yan's words concealed his restraint, as if he were about to explode at any moment.
Qingyun knelt down in front of Cen Yan.
"My lord, all the work assigned by His Majesty has been completed, and we are only waiting for the final judgment. If you delay because of personal matters and it gets back to His Majesty in the future, I'm afraid he will blame the lady."
"Your subordinate is willing to go in your place, sir."
Cen Yan stared intently at Qingyun, his eyes slightly lowered, and at this moment, his mind became a little clearer.
He turned and walked back the way he came.
"Let me write a letter, and you can take it to him first."
Master of Youying Pavilion - Ye Lanyi.
His intuition told him that he could trust that person in the matter of Xu Lanxin.
After being taken out of the city, Xu Lanxin was taken to a place she never expected.
'Dragon Tiger Mountain Stronghold', a typical bandit den.
Xiao Muhan is a real scoundrel. How can someone who associates with bandits be a good person?
She was shoved hard from behind and locked in a room in the mountain stronghold.
Xiao Muhan's voice rang out from outside the door.
"I advise you to stay put and not think about escaping. We lack everything here, except men. Once I get what I need, maybe I'll let you go if I'm in a good mood."
Xu Lanxin ignored him and looked around the room.
The people in the village all had fierce or lewd expressions on their faces, and even the air seemed to be filled with the smell of killing and bloodshed.
It sends chills down your spine.
The only option now is to wait for someone to rescue her. With her rudimentary skills, she hasn't even gotten out yet, so she'll probably only be destined to be a maidservant in the bandit camp.
Xiao Muhan has repeatedly provoked her, so just wait and see, don't let her catch him off guard, otherwise, he'll know why flowers bloom so brightly.
The room was simple, with just a low table and a four-poster bed.
Xu Lanxin sat down at the table, where the teapot was empty.
At dinner time, Xiao Muhan brought over some food.
A bowl of steamed buns and a plate of braised meat.
He handed it to Xu Lanxin, but seeing that she didn't move, he sat down opposite her, took a steamed bun, and started eating it with a smile on his lips.
They were eating the braised meat with great relish.
"What, Lord Xiao, you have nowhere to eat, so you come here to scaveng for food?"
The man's face instantly turned ugly, and the table under Xu Lanxin's elbow cracked with a sound.
Perhaps pleased by her shocked and frightened expression, he left without making things difficult for her.
After all, he hasn't gotten what he wants yet.
After he left, Xu Lanxin patted her chest in lingering fear.
That stubborn mouth almost got him killed.
The temperature in the mountain village was very low at night.
It had been dark for a long time, and I had no idea what time it was.
Xu Lanxin was cold and hungry. She hugged her arms and rubbed them together. Her stomach felt like it was being churned.
The door was kicked open forcefully from the outside with a 'bang'.
Xiao Muhan rushed forward and grabbed her without a second thought, pulling her away.
Xu Lanxin's arm was being pulled hard by that person, causing her pain and making her steps unsteady.
"Let go, where are you taking me?"
The man didn't reply, he just kept running forward, and the sounds of fighting continued outside.
That is...
The attire of the Shadow Pavilion belongs to the people of the Shadow Pavilion.
Xu Lanxin's mind raced.
She's a VIP at the Ghost Market, maybe she's here to rescue her. Even if she's not here specifically to rescue her, it wouldn't hurt to give her a ride since she's a VIP.
Without hesitation, she used all her strength to pry Xiao Muhan's hand apart, while shouting for help.
Xiao Muhan suddenly stopped in front of her, and before she could brake, she crashed into him as if she had hit a hard wall.
Just as she was feeling dizzy and lightheaded, a silver light flashed past, and before she could recover, she was pulled away by an external force.
When she regained her senses, she only saw Xiao Muhan's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, growing further and further away.
And she was flying in the air.
An unfamiliar presence surrounded her, and when she turned her head, she was already in someone's arms.
It was him, the master of the Shadow Pavilion.
The two landed slowly on the ground, and several masked men in black quickly surrounded them, forming a protective formation.
Xu Lanxin felt a little embarrassed and quickly moved to a safe distance.
"Thank you for saving me, Pavilion Master."
Ye Lan's lips, hidden beneath a mask, curved slightly upward.
"Didn't Madam Cen say we're friends? There's no need to be so formal."
The Shadow Pavilion's forces gained overwhelming dominance and quickly took control of the stronghold.
Xiao Muhan alone is putting up a stubborn resistance.
Ye Lan, standing beside him, snorted coldly, a hint of ferocity flashing in his eyes, and flew into the battle circle.
The black figure's every move blended perfectly with the darkness, leaving only the white shadow of the sword reflected in the moonlight.
Soon, Xiao Muhan was defeated and fell to the ground, heavily injured.
Ye Lanyi's sword tip was pointed directly at his neck.
"Wait, spare his life!"
As night fell and darkness descended, he looked over with a sharp expression.
"You must keep him!"
"No, no, no, you've misunderstood. He's an official, after all. Killing him would cause us a lot of trouble. Although we can't kill him, torturing him should be acceptable, right?"
Xu Lanxin quickly walked over, touched her chin, and laughed maliciously.
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