"Er Mao?"
Shan Zuo understood immediately after hearing this. It seemed that the underground secret room he was in now was where Ermao was imprisoned before.
Shan Zuo stood up from the ground and looked around the entire stone chamber. It was about six meters long and five meters wide, roughly the same size as the "bitter melon" secret chamber he was brought into for the first time.
Shan Zuo roughly estimated that there were about a hundred children in the secret room. Perhaps because they were tired of crying, they were all strangely quiet, some curled up, sitting blankly on the ground, or standing aside like dead wood.
"Ermao is a little boy of three or four. He was captured and imprisoned here just like us. But little brother Ermao has already escaped from the secret room. I don't know if he left safely, or if... if he found someone to rescue us..."
The girl looked at the door of the stone chamber leisurely, as if expecting someone to open the door and rescue them from inside.
"I think he'll be fine."
Shan Zuo glanced around at the group of trapped children, some of whom were twelve or thirteen years old, and some were five or six years old. In order to avoid unnecessary complications, he did not tell others that his master was arranging to rescue them.
"I hope so." The girl said worriedly.
After all, Ermao was too young. She was afraid that even if Ermao was not caught by the Taoist priests, he might be abducted by human traffickers, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Girl, why were you brought here?" Shan Zuo asked in confusion.
The girl in front of him looked calm and composed, with the demeanor of a little adult, not like those naive children who would be fooled by a string of candied haws.
"Little brother, I..."
"Girl, you should just call me Dan Zuo."
Hearing the other party calling him "little brother" one after another, Dan Zuo couldn't help but think of Ermao eating candied haws with snot and saliva running down his nose... Thinking of this, Dan Zuo couldn't help but get goose bumps all over his body.
"Okay, Shan Zuo, are you cold?"
The girl saw Shan Zuo trembling all over and thought that the boy was frozen, so she quickly pulled his hands and rubbed them for him.
"I... I'm fine. Girl, tell me why you were caught. Could it be that you were also deceived by the candied haws?" Dan Zuo's cheeks felt slightly hot, and then he pulled back his hands.
Shan Zuo felt that although he was still young, it was inappropriate for him to hold hands with a girl other than Feng Qiyan...
"Shan Zuo, my name is Xia Qingyi. I'm actually from Zhaoyang Country, born into a merchant family. I followed my father out on this business trip. I didn't expect to encounter robbers the moment I entered Laifeng Country."
The girl's eyes were red and tears were gleaming in them. When she recalled those unbearable scenes, she felt a piercing pain in her heart.
"My father... he and the caravan were killed by bandits. Those knife-wielding robbers were not only highly skilled in martial arts but also well-trained. They not only stole goods, but also... killed people! Even the battle-hardened escorts who protected the caravan were no match for them. I suspect... they might be professional killers, or... soldiers in disguise."
"And me... they originally wanted to kill me too, but then a bandit suggested I use my body to make elixirs and grow flowers, so it wouldn't be wasted. So, I was later transferred to a separate courtyard, and then I was brought here and locked up with them."
By the time Xia Qingyi finished speaking, she was already in tears.
"Alchemy? Planting flowers?"
Shan Zuo's face turned grim upon hearing this. It seemed that what his master said was true. There were such utterly heartless people in this world!
"I didn't expect that Miss Xia, you've had such a tragic experience. First, you were robbed by bandits, then you had to endure the pain of losing your father, and finally, you were imprisoned here..."
Shan Zuo, who lost both his parents at a young age, couldn't help but feel sympathy for Xia Qingyi's pitiful experience.
"Dan Zuo, do you think we can still get out alive?" Xia Qingyi looked at the door of the stone chamber leisurely, and the light in her eyes became dimmer and dimmer.
"Of course we can. Miss Xia, didn't you say Ermao has escaped? Since the Taoists didn't catch him, maybe he has successfully escaped from the Taoist temple and found someone to rescue us."
"Miss Xia, you must not give up. You must hold on, otherwise when our rescuers arrive and you are gone, it will be such a pity! Also, for the sake of your father and those caravan members and bodyguards who died unjustly, you must hold on so that you can clear their grievances in the future." Shan Zuo comforted her.
There is no greater sorrow than a broken heart. One must have some faith as spiritual support to have the strength to persevere in the face of adversity. Shan Zuo now wants Xia Qingyi to seek justice for her father and the caravan's deaths as motivation for her survival.
"Shan Zuo, thank you! You're right. I won't give up on myself. I must leave here alive with everyone else..."
Xia Qingyi forced a bitter smile towards Shan Zuo, and after regaining her confidence, she began to comfort the crying children around her.
After all, emotions are contagious.
If everyone looked so miserable, they would probably have already collapsed psychologically before the Taoists killed them. She had to set a good example, so that everyone would not give up and wait for rescuers to arrive.
At the same time, in the dormitory of Wang Zhenyi, the abbot of Xiangyang Temple.
After locking the door, Wang Zhenyi went to the bed. He pressed a button on the hidden area at the headboard, and the bed, which had seemed sturdy at first, tilted slightly. Wang Zhenyi lay down on it, and soon he saw him slide down the slide into the secret passage underground.
The secret passage was dark, lit only by candles on the walls. After entering the secret passage, Wang Zhenyi walked forward for a while and stopped in front of a stone chamber.
He raised his right hand and turned the left eye of the stone dragon on the stone chamber door. With the piercing sound of a millstone, the door slowly opened. After entering the stone chamber, Wang Zhenyi closed the door from the inside.
This is a treasure room filled with more than a dozen large boxes. There is a night pearl embedded in the top and four corners of the stone room, illuminating the entire secret room very brightly.
Wang Zhenyi opened more than a dozen boxes one by one with a "click". Inside were gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, jade, and many poems and paintings by famous artists. All of them were revealed immediately. Any one of them could be sold for a high price.
"Hahaha……"
"It seems that compared to the life of a bandit who robs, kills, and plunders, living on the edge of a knife and licking blood, being a Taoist priest selling golden elixirs is more comfortable. You can make a fortune, enjoy life, and don't have to worry about being wanted by the government..."
It turns out that Wang Zhenyi's real identity is not a Taoist priest, but a gangster who has been wanted by the government for many years.
"When I make a fortune selling the Golden Elixir of Youth, I'll retire from the underworld and stop practicing as a Taoist priest. Then I'll go to Zhaoyang Country and live a life that even gods would envy..."
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