When Wei Jingru saw that her older sister finally showed some emotion, she was overjoyed. Ever since her older sister came back from the dead, she had been depressed and rarely left the house. She rarely even spoke to them. Her mother wept every day, and her father was never home. The house was incredibly gloomy.
Seeing that Wei Jinglan's complexion had improved slightly, Meng Zhao asked gently, "Your third sister told me that you haven't been eating or drinking lately. Has something happened?"
Wei Jinglan hesitated, her eyes flickering as she glanced at the others in the room. Seeing this, Wei Jingru pouted, and although somewhat unwilling, she still went out on her own.
Meng Zhao turned to Shen Yun and said, "Xiao Yun, you two go out for a bit, I need to talk to Jing Lan."
Shen Yun nodded, then left the room with Huang Cui and Yin Chun, gently closing the door behind her.
Only the two of them remained in the room. Meng Zhao sat down next to Wei Jinglan and asked softly, "What's wrong? Are you bothered by the recent rumors? If so, you might as well come back to Qingshi County with me, far away from here. Then no one will bother you."
Wei Jinglan shook her head. "No, ever since I decided to go home, I knew what would be said outside. Those words can't hurt me."
"Why is that?"
Wei Jinglan was silent for a moment, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. Finally, she raised her head, her eyes filled with pain: "Zhaozhao, I killed someone."
Meng Zhao was startled; her pupils contracted sharply, and her voice involuntarily rose a few decibels: "Who is it?"
Wei Jinglan's thoughts drifted away as she slowly revealed the truth. She and Xiao Chuan had returned to Quyang to assist the government in suppressing bandits. However, so much time had passed that they had long forgotten the route they had taken to escape. They had searched the mountains for a long time but could not find any trace of the bandit stronghold.
Even the soldiers who were suppressing the bandits said that so much time had passed that the bandit stronghold might have moved to a different location. They would roam around and disappear into the mountains and forests after committing crimes, leaving no trace.
The authorities had previously arrested several people when they committed crimes, but no matter how severely they were tortured, they refused to reveal the location of the stronghold. According to Wei Jinglan, the stronghold was extremely strictly managed, and anyone who came out to work had to have family members in the stronghold. They had committed many evils, and even if they told them, they would not be able to escape punishment. It would be better to leave a way out for their families.
Just when everyone was about to give up, Wei Jinglan suddenly made a suggestion.
Since that person was able to chase her all the way to Qingshi County, he certainly wouldn't give up easily. She wanted to use herself to lure him out.
Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao immediately felt tense. If she were there, she would have tried to dissuade Wei Jinglan. However, at that time, Wei Jinglan was surrounded by people who were only interested in suppressing the bandits, so they did not care much about her safety.
Wei Jinglan continued, "That day, I was staying at an inn. The officials said they had people in the two rooms on either side of me and told me to rest assured. But when I opened my eyes, I still saw that person."
"Jinglan, it's been a long time." A deep voice sounded, like the low groan of a demon from hell, sending chills down one's spine.
When Wei Jinglan opened her eyes, she first glanced at herself and saw that she was still wearing the same clothes she had worn before going to bed. She breathed a slight sigh of relief, then realized that she was in an unfamiliar room. Her heart suddenly raced, and her voice was filled with fear: "Where am I? Where have you taken me?"
"What else could it be but a counterfeit?" The man sneered and reached out to take Wei Jinglan's hand.
Wei Jinglan dared not dodge and could only be restrained by him. Trembling, she pleaded, "What exactly do you want to do?"
"I've been looking for you for so long, and you ask me what I want?" The man's voice was tinged with madness. "Of course I want to be with you for the rest of my life. If you behave, I won't be angry with you for running away before, okay?"
Wei Jinglan leaned against the man's chest, her eyes darting around, and whispered, "Okay, okay... I'll listen to you." Her voice carried a hint of obedience.
The man seemed quite satisfied with this and wanted to say something more, but just then, there was a loud knocking on the door.
"Boss, something bad has happened! Our scouts have reported spotting government officials nearby!" The voice outside the door was urgent and somewhat panicked.
"What?" The man abruptly released Wei Jinglan, his face instantly turning grim. He turned to look at Wei Jinglan, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes: "What did you do?"
Wei Jinglan quickly shook her head, her voice filled with panic and innocence: "I didn't do anything, I really don't know anything."
The man stared at her for a few seconds, seemingly trying to determine the truthfulness of her words. Finally, he snorted coldly, turned around, and walked towards the door: "You stay here and wait for me to come back."
The door was slammed shut, followed by the sound of the lock clicking shut.
Wei Jinglan's heart pounded even faster. She knew this was her only chance. She couldn't just sit and wait to die; she had to find a way to escape.
She rushed to the door and pushed it hard, only to find it locked from the outside. She then ran to the window and tried to open it, but the window was also nailed shut. After knocking a few times, her palms turned red.
She told herself to stay calm while searching the room. Her eyes fell on a chair in the corner. She walked over quickly, grabbed the chair, and smashed it against the window. Once wasn't enough, she tried twice. By the time the chair was in two pieces and a gap had been smashed in the window, she had finally managed to break it open.
Ignoring the pain in her hand, she rolled over and jumped out. The mountain stronghold was completely different from the place she had been before. She groped her way into a room and saw the tinder she was looking for. But before she could light it, she heard someone coming. She quickly crawled under the bed to hide.
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