After the Taoist priest went down the secret passage, Hua Qingcheng hurried to the bedside and fumbled for a moment before finally finding the mechanism hidden in the dark corner of the bed.
Hua Qingcheng pressed the mechanism, and the seemingly sturdy bed tilted slightly. Following Taoist Mingde's example, she lay down on it. Then, she found herself on a slide, which she continued down. After a while, she arrived at a secret underground passage.
Candles lit every few meters on the walls to either side of the secret passage swayed in the gentle breeze, casting a dim, shadowy light on the ground. Hua Qingcheng held her pistol, carefully observing everything around her as she moved cautiously along the secret passage.
At first, the secret passage was only one meter wide, but the further in, the wider it got. After walking for a while, Hua Qingcheng saw a row of stone chambers on each side of the secret passage. Not bothering to explore what was inside, Hua Qingcheng continued forward, quickly catching up with the Taoist priest. She restrained her aura and followed him at a distance.
Passing through a secret passage flanked by stone chambers, Hua Qingcheng found herself in a rather grand underground palace. Unable to decipher the palace's owner, she followed Taoist Mingde onward. Passing through several stone gates, exiting a tunnel, and ascending a flight of stairs, Hua Qingcheng finally emerged from the underground palace.
The night was as black as ink. Hua Qingcheng looked up at the starless sky and then glanced around. She was slightly surprised by the towering ancient trees and the thickets of thorns. Was she in the mountains? And judging by the distance, she must be somewhere near the back of Xiangyang Temple.
Following Taoist Mingde, Hua Qingcheng entered another cave. After walking a little further, she discovered another hidden gem within. It had been transformed into something resembling a grand hall, complete with a large cauldron in the center, beneath which a blazing fire crackled.
The terrifying thing is that there are two jars next to the cauldron, one of which contains unknown medicinal herbs, and the other contains red liquid.
Is that... blood?
Seeing this, Hua Qingcheng's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Could it be the blood of those children? She tightened her grip on the gun and continued to observe.
In front of the cauldron stood an old Taoist priest wearing a dark blue robe and holding a whisk in his left arm. He first tossed the whisk to a Taoist priest beside him, then added a lot of unknown medicinal herbs to the cauldron, scooped in two bowls of red liquid, and closed the lid with a "bang".
"Keep an eye on the fire. It can't be too strong, nor too weak, and it can't go out. Report to me again in half an hour." Wang Zhenyi instructed the young Taoist priest who was burning the fire nearby.
"Yes, Master." The Taoist priest who was burning the fire responded respectfully.
Hua Qingcheng counted and found that in addition to the old Taoist priest and the young Taoist priest who was in charge of the fire, there were more than twenty Taoist priests in the hall who were busy tinkering with medicinal herbs.
Furthermore, there were hundreds of strong women dressed in Taoist robes, armed with machetes, standing on either side, fiercely guarding the entrances and exits...?! Because these people didn't look like Taoist nuns at all, but more like... murderous bandits?!
"Brother, isn't it time to settle the payment for this batch of goods?" A strong woman in a Taoist robe turned the machete in her hand and said to Wang Zhenyi in a gangster tone.
"Ming and Qing Dynasties~"
As soon as Wang Zhenyi finished speaking, a Taoist priest came out holding a box and handed it to him.
"Junior Sister Gong, we have cooperated so many times. When has my senior brother ever cheated you? What I owe you will naturally not be reduced by a penny." Wang Zhenyi opened the box and handed it to the strong woman in Taoist robes.
Gong Yanan took the box and counted the banknotes inside. There were a full 100,000 taels. Seeing that the number was correct, she handed the box to her subordinate who was also wearing a Taoist robe.
"Brother, you are indeed trustworthy. We can continue to cooperate happily next time." Gong Yanan curled her lips into a smile and clasped her fists towards Wang Zhenyi.
"Junior sister Gong, you and I are from the same school, so naturally we should help each other, take care of each other, and make a fortune together..." Wang Zhenyi shook the whisk in his hand and stroked his beard, looking very mysterious (like a human or a dog).
Wang Zhenyi and Gong Yanan were both disciples of the Qingwu Sect. However, they were later expelled from the sect for stealing martial arts secrets. One of them became a thief, and the other became a bandit who killed and robbed people.
Wang Zhenyi and Gong Yanan were in cahoots, occasionally collaborating. Recently, Gong Yanan had been helping Wang Zhenyi kidnap young girls and boys from various locations, using the Si family caravan's carriages to transport the children to Xiangyang Temple on the outskirts of the capital.
Hua Qingcheng: ...
(Am I here to witness the division of the spoils?)
Suppressing the doubts in her heart, Hua Qingcheng continued to observe the movements inside.
"The mountains remain green and the rivers flow forever. Brother, I will send you good stuff next time. I, your junior sister, have something important to do, so I'll leave first. Let's go!" Gong Yanan clasped her fists towards Wang Zhenyi, and then prepared to leave the hall with her men and walk out of the cave.
Seeing this, Hua Qingcheng quickly slipped into the space. After seeing Gong Yanan and her companions leave, she returned to the cave.
"Master, those children hid in the empty hall near the red rose field. When we arrived, they had escaped again. Junior Brothers Mingzhi and Mingqing are still leading people to search for them."
"Mingde suspected that the news of the children being hidden in Xiangyang Temple had leaked out, and that someone had entered the temple and taken them away..."
Hua Qingcheng saw that it was the Taoist priest from before, who was now reporting to the old Taoist priest. From the meaning of his words, it was estimated that Xiaobai and Hongfu had already found the trapped child with Situ Ye and Monk Hua, and had hidden themselves away from the eyes and ears of the Taoist priests in the temple.
I just wonder if they are out of trouble now? However, although she, Situ Ye and Wu Chen were separated, they each had a signal flare on them, so if there was any danger, they could directly call for help.
As long as Situ Ye and Wu Chen found the child, they would be safe. Hua Qingcheng continued to investigate the situation inside. Since she no longer needed to worry about the child, the most important thing now was to find Shan Zuo first...
"Bang!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhenyi slapped Mingde in the face.
"Why did you report it only now? What are you still standing there for? Go and look for someone!" Wang Zhenyi was so angry that his mustache stood up.
He had already paid the money to Gong Yanan, and this prodigal disciple just came over and said that the children had run away?
"Yes, yes, Master!" Mingde touched his red face with grievance and ran out of the cave. Hua Qingcheng saw this and quickly slipped back into the space, waiting until he was far away before coming out again.
"Someone come!"
"Bring that brat up here!"
"I will personally use his heart blood to make the elixir!"
As soon as Hua Qingcheng returned to the cave, she saw the old Taoist Wang Zhenyi furiously ordering his men to bring out a ragged boy.
Although the boy was wearing tattered clothes, barefoot, and his hands were tied, he walked slowly and with a firm gaze, looking like a general.
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