Wei Zheng hurriedly stood up, "Aunt Su! Don't forget your status, there are some things you can't know."
"My status... you mean, my status as a concubine?"
Seeing that she had misunderstood him, Wei Zheng softened his voice, "No, what I meant was... you are a woman, you shouldn't get involved in these things."
Su Ruanruan looked up, forcing back the tears in her eyes. "So what if I'm a woman? I am a woman, but I am also an older sister. My younger brother, Xiaoxi, is so young and has never seen mountains and rivers or the splendor of the world."
"But he died tragically on that mountaintop, with not a single piece of his body intact."
She clutched her chest tightly, "In the dead of night, I hear him crying desperately, telling me how much he hurt... and that he was thrown to wild beasts..."
“Before, I thought it was just a nightmare, but now I know that it was a dream that Xiao Xi sent me. I believe that someone really did harm him.”
"As the older sister, how can I pretend nothing happened when I know my brother was murdered?"
Su Ruanruan then looked at Huo Yan, "Huo Yan, believe me, I'm not a bad person, and I won't reveal your secrets. I just want to avenge Xiao Xi."
Huo Yan gently wiped away her tears with his fingertips and said tenderly, "Why are you crying? When did I ever say I didn't believe you?"
"However, these things are not something a woman like you should worry about. I haven't told you because I was afraid you wouldn't be able to accept it. Your brother is my brother. Don't worry, I will definitely bring that person to justice."
"It's just us..."
Wei Zheng nudged him with his finger, "Hey, brother, are you really going to tell her...?"
Huo Yan ignored him and told her the purpose of their trip in detail.
Wei Zheng rolled his eyes. "Fine, I admit I was being nosy." He went back to his seat.
“Mine, mining,” Su Ruanruan murmured.
"So, all these days you've been surveying the terrain, searching for their hidden passages, in order to wipe them out in one fell swoop?"
"Hmm, you're quite clever," Wei Zheng said.
Su Ruanruan and Huo Yan exchanged glances, then suddenly burst out laughing. "I want to know, is Chu Ran in cahoots with them?"
Wei Zheng was somewhat bewildered. "So what if we're in cahoots? What are you laughing at?"
"I laugh at the ways of the world; karma always catches up with you," Su Ruanruan asked. "May I see your drawing?"
Wei Zheng said, "Why are you looking at this? You can't..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jin Yu saw Huo Yan nod slightly to him, so he snatched the paper from Wei Zheng's hand and spread it out on the table.
“You…” Wei Zheng sighed, wondering why they were both like this.
Su Ruanruan walked over quickly and stared at the picture for a long time.
"Are you sure there are only four secret passages?"
"Of course, my men aren't just sitting around doing nothing. Sigh, why am I telling you all this?" Wei Zheng covered his mouth.
Seeing Su Ruanruan staring blankly at the blueprint, Huo Yan put his arm around her waist and asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with this blueprint?"
The exit of the first secret passage was in a granary in the eastern town, where they received their provisions.
The exit of the second secret passage is in a county brothel not far from the foot of the mountain on the west side, which is where laborers are transported.
The exit of the third secret passage is in the deserted village to the south, where they transported ore out.
The exit of the fourth secret passage was located in a fake grave in Maoshan Village, which was used for escape. They searched for a long time before finding it.
This time we will definitely surround them completely, and none of them will be able to escape.
“No, there are more than four secret passages,” Su Ruanruan said definitively.
Wei Zheng: "Hiss, you little girl, do you even know what you're saying?"
Huo Yan glanced at him and said, "Shut up and let her talk."
He put his hand on Su Ruanruan's shoulder. "Do you know something?"
Su Ruanruan paused, then slowly said, "That day, Chu Ran kidnapped me, blindfolded me, and I didn't know where I was... He took me to his secret room, and while he was away, I..."
Su Ruanruan thought for a moment and decided to keep it brief, "In short, I found a hidden compartment in the secret room, where a piece of parchment was hidden."
Su Ruanruan pointed to the paper on the table, "There are four points on that map, and they are the same as the positions marked on your map."
"However, the map circled Qingshan County in cinnabar, and there was a Zhou character written next to it."
"What do you mean?" Su Ruanruan looked up at Huo Yan.
Wei Zheng leaned closer curiously, "Why did he lead you into the secret room? Is there anything good hidden there?"
Su Ruanruan didn't want to say it, simply because she could tell that Chu Ran was a guy who was blinded by lust. By acting submissive and foolish in front of him, she greatly satisfied his vanity.
This also made him lower his guard against her to the lowest level, especially since she was a pure and harmless woman who had been thoroughly checked.
Huo Yan knew that Su Ruanruan was intelligent, but he never expected that she would not only escape his clutches, but also see something so important.
But what exactly do the red circle and the character "周" represent?
Jin Yu pondered for a moment, "If Zhou represents a surname, then it will be difficult. Qingshan County is not a large county, but it is not small either, and Zhou is a common surname here..."
Su Ruanruan looked at Huo Yan, who was deep in thought, and said, "Huo Yan, that Zhou, if it's the location of the final secret passage, I've guessed a place, but I don't know if I'm right..."
Their eyes lit up, and Huo Yan asked, "Where?"
Su Ruanruan smiled wryly, "If I'm not mistaken, that secret passage might be Zhou the Butcher's courtyard in the county town, and there might be a hidden passage under the pigsty."
Back then, when she was hiding from Butcher Zhou and lying on the ground in the pigsty, she always felt like she could hear the wind, but she was so terrified that she thought it was just her imagination.
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