After standing up, Night Tan quickly scanned the scene. At this moment, the Second Young Master was pinned to the ground by Night Jun’s sword through his shoulder, Night Lan was unconscious in Night Xiao’s arms, and Night Jun was half-kneeling beside me, bandaging my wounds.
However, Jun Wuwang remained frozen in place, looking dazed.
When his eyes met Night Tan’s, he suddenly fell into a panic.
Perhaps judging that the others posed no threat, Night Tan became even more wary of this mysterious Jun Wuwang. He had just opened his mouth to ask, "You—"
As if struck by lightning, Jun Wuwang turned and fled in a desperate scramble.
Night Tan had no intention of wasting his thoughts on such an unknown stranger, so he shifted his gaze back to me.
Seeing the situation, Night Jun stuffed the medicine and bandages into Night Tan’s hands. "Since the rightful person is here, I won't overstep my bounds."
The bandaging of my fingers wasn't finished yet; they were still a blur of mangled flesh. The wounds where the chains had pierced my collarbones had already begun to fester. Fortunately, many of the other injuries from the torture were covered by my clothes. Night Tan held my hands with extreme care, his brows knitting into a tight knot as he looked at them.
Night Tan’s period of secluded cultivation wasn't over yet; why was he here? I was astonished and desperately wanted to ask, but I was twitching so hard from the pain that I couldn't form a coherent sentence. I could only let out low whimpers.
"Don't speak yet, you are too heavily injured." Night Tan gathered me into his arms, lifting me in a horizontal carry. He continued, "The main forces of Zhongli Court are stationed outside. I could only sneak in alone. To get out, we might need to use the Second Young Master..."
He turned his head to look back, only to find the spot empty. Only a pool of blood remained on the ground.
Both Night Jun and the Second Young Master had vanished.
Night Tan’s expression instantly turned sharp. Immediately after, a spark of emerald-green firework soared into the sky. Night Tan barked, "Night Xiao! Over here!"
In a blur, Night Tan had already carried me into the nearest underground secret passage, with Night Xiao following closely behind while carrying Night Lan.
Night Tan was being as gentle as possible, but even the slight movement of being carried made me groan in pain. Night Tan hurriedly said with guilt, "I’m sorry, Master."
The moment his voice fell, a commotion erupted outside. It was the sound of ten thousand arrows piercing the wind. Several arrows shot diagonally through the entrance and thudded into the ground, their tips gleaming with an eerie, ghostly blue light.
"That was the signal for the Poisoned Arrow Rain Array. We can't use that exit anymore." Night Tan listened intently, his voice grave. "We can't delay. If the Second Young Master escapes safely from here, they will set the place ablaze, and none of us will get out."
The secret passage wasn't too narrow, about ten feet wide, with walls made of stone bricks. It hadn't been used in a long time and was filled with the damp smell of mildew.
Night Xiao peered further inside and asked, "Boss, is there a path here? Where does it lead? Can we get straight out?"
Night Tan replied, "Although there are hundreds of underground passages in Zhongli Court, most are filled with traps and mechanisms. Only three lead outside the estate. I only know two of them, and neither is nearby. If I remember correctly, this one can bypass the central courtyard and the East Lake. I don't know how the defenses are there, but let's go see."
He had been the Second Young Master’s personal attendant, yet he hadn't been permitted to know such important matters. It was clear the Second Young Master had been very wary of him.
Night Tan took off his outer robe to wrap me up, then stood with me in his arms. He whispered, "I must trouble Master to endure a little longer."
Moving quietly through the darkness, they navigated several turns. After a while, Night Tan’s expression began to look off. After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, light began to appear ahead, followed by a stone door. From within, the faint sounds of voices could be heard—a mixture of insults and groans, and quite a lot of them.
Several guards stood at the door with blades in hand, seemingly guarding prisoners.
"A dungeon?" Night Tan frowned. "The passage routes have been changed."
Night Tan gave Night Xiao a look. Night Xiao understood instantly; he set Night Lan down, concealed his presence, and crept forward. He easily took down the guards, pressed his ear to the stone door for a moment, and then pushed it open and entered.
The situation inside was unclear, and I didn't know if there were traps. By now, I was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, and I couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Please rest easy. If we have to force our way through, I am confident I can get you out and entrust you to the people of One Sword Tomb," Night Tan said softly to soothe my worries. "However, unless it is absolutely necessary, I do not wish to sacrifice Night Xiao and Night Lan."
I replied in my heart: *I know, you’ve always been the gentlest.*
Once Night Xiao went in, the sounds of cursing and begging for mercy became a chaotic mess. Ignoring the human background noise, he took a lap around the room and came back shouting, "Boss, it's safe! And there are other paths on the opposite side. Shall we go take a look?"
Both sides of the dungeon were lined with sturdy heavy iron bars, crowded with prisoners. Night Tan carried me through the middle without looking left or right.
Halfway through, someone shouted, "How is it you?! You were people of Zhongli Court all along?!"
Hearing this, I took a closer look. I had indeed met this person a few times. He seemed to be the young master who had picked a fight with me and splashed Hibiscus Soup on me during the Sword Appraisal Assembly. What was his name...
"Yi Qiao?"
Seeing me respond, Night Tan tactfully stopped his pace. Yi Qiao was covered in dust and mud, looking quite pathetic and filthy, but at least he hadn't been subjected to heavy torture and was still full of energy.
"Ah, it's a misunderstanding. We're just passing through," I hurriedly explained. But given the circumstances, it was inevitably strange, so I dodged the topic and asked, "Are the people from the Heng Alliance all here?"
Yi Qiao gripped the bars and cursed, "What are you acting for! I knew you two weren't right, always carrying each other around like sissies. To think you're actually the Second Young Master’s lackeys..."
"Night Xiao." Night Tan was at the end of his patience, but since he was holding me, it wasn't convenient for him to act. He could only delegate to someone else. "Beat him."
Night Xiao received the order: "Yes, yes, yes, hehehe." He grabbed Yi Qiao’s wrist through the bars, dragged him forward, and delivered a rapid-fire series of slaps to his buttocks.
"Sigh... Night Xiao, be civilized and reasonable, don't use violence." It was still very difficult for me to speak, and my light attempt to stop him had no effect. "Is Yang Qingzhou here? Is he inside?"
"No... several important figures of the Heng Alliance are locked up separately elsewhere..." Yi Qiao answered halfway in a daze before snapping back to his senses. "You're trying to trick me! Don't even think about it!!"
"Does Master want to save them?" Night Tan turned his head and asked in a low voice.
"Yang Qingzhou is my friend; he must have suffered a lot... I do want to save them, but I don't want to make things difficult for you." I nodded in agreement, then looked at the room full of haggard martial artists. "As for them... if they stay here, they will surely die. At least unlock the doors and let them out. Whether they live or die after that is up to them."
"What! You're going to let me out! Really? Don't be a hypocrite and lie to me!" Yi Qiao’s mouth was stubborn, but he honestly directed us, "The keys aren't on the door guards! The jailers who deliver food have them! They come to patrol every two hours; they should be here soon! Do you want to hide first..."
Sigh, this guy talks even more than Night Xiao. How annoying.
I remembered how quick and skillful Night Xiao had been when he unlocked my chains earlier, so I asked, "Night Xiao, can you open these locks?"
"I can! But I just used up the rest of my needles! I only have one needle left now!" Night Xiao pulled out a small, carefully wrapped cloth bundle and held it up as if showing off a trophy. "The needle Boss left behind after the Title Arena! It's my treasure! I can't bear to use it!"
Night Tan said wordlessly, "Stop talking nonsense."
Feeling very aggrieved, Night Xiao went to pick the lock with trembling hands and tears in his eyes. His hands shook like a sieve as he poked at the keyhole for a long time without progress.
I comforted him, "I'll have Ah Tan give you a few more later."
Night Xiao: "Good, good, good, okay, okay!" With two quick clicks, he swiftly picked the lock.
Yi Qiao: "T-That's amazing."
Yi Qiao stood to the side and watched with wide eyes as Night Xiao picked the locks one by one to release the others. He scratched his head and said awkwardly, "You aren't the Second Young Master’s people? Then where is the Second Young Master?"
"He was injured and fled. Sigh, you could say we've released a tiger back to the wild; there will be endless trouble later." I sighed and asked, "I heard the Heng Alliance was completely wiped out. Is that true?"
"How is that possible! One branch was preserved!" After Yi Qiao’s excited rebuttal, his momentum gradually weakened. "Before we came, a flank was left stationed a hundred miles away, overseen by Yi Shuihan of the White Rainbow Jiao Palace from Wuyi Hill and Qi Ganquan of the Shuofang Beacon Fire from Qilian Fort. There are... probably two or three hundred people..."
...How is that any different from being wiped out?
Even if it was just a drop in the bucket, it was better than nothing. If these people could escape, they would at least have a place to go.
Once it was confirmed that everyone was released, Night Tan said to Night Xiao, "We've delayed long enough. Let's go."
Night Xiao nodded and hoisted Night Lan onto his back again. We took a few steps forward, and the confused crowd from the Heng Alliance, who didn't know the truth of the situation, followed us unsteadily.
Night Tan looked back at them and stopped Yi Qiao, who was in the lead. "We do not know the correct path, and a large group is easily discovered. I hope we can part ways here."
The crowd began to flatter him. "Great Hero, please save us to the end! This place is full of traps; we can't get out on our own!"
Night Xiao: "Boss, these people are so annoying. Should I just lock them back up?"
The crowd waved their hands frantically. "No, no, no, don't, don't!"
I also had a massive headache. I knew nothing of the current situation and didn't know how to proceed. The safety of so many people rested on my single thought; if anything went wrong, I feared my conscience would never be at peace.
I could only helplessly turn to Night Tan for help. "Ah Tan, what should we do? Leaving them here is indeed very dangerous. Even if the Second Young Master isn't here, what if other high-ranking members of Zhongli Court order an attack on them..."
"You need not worry about this. The Second Young Master has always been dictatorial and tyrannical. In Zhongli Court, no one other than him has the authority to mobilize the troops." Night Tan lowered his head. "You don't need to trouble yourself. There are people from One Sword Tomb waiting outside to receive us. You only need to focus on recovering from your injuries; I will handle everything else."
I nodded and leaned my head against his chest, closing my eyes in relief. "Alright, I'll listen to you."
Night Tan turned back to the crowd. "The Second Young Master has gone missing. Zhongli Court will not take any other actions for the time being. You stay here and wait; do not wander around. I will contact your respective sects to come and receive you. If no one comes after one day, or if there is a fire attack or poison during that time, save yourselves. If anyone is dissatisfied, I will lock you back in the dungeon immediately. Any objections?"
Night Tan’s tone was decisive and left no room for argument. A few people wanted to grumble a bit more, but after he glared at them, they all retreated, hushed into silence like cicadas in winter.
I nuzzled against Night Tan’s chest, remembering how it felt like not long ago he was always looking miserable and pathetic, constantly needing me to comfort and guide him.
Just when did he grow to be so reliable?
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
一剑冢 | One Sword Tomb | A sect or location (literally "Single Sword Mound").
横联 | Heng Alliance | Short for the "Horizontal Coalition/Alliance" of various sects.
易峭 | Yi Qiao | A character from Wuyi Hill.
武夷丘 | Wuyi Hill | A location or sect name.
蛟宫 | Jiao Palace | Literally "Flood Dragon Palace."
白虹 | White Rainbow | Likely a technique or branch name.
易水寒 | Yi Shuihan | A person's name.
祁连堡 | Qilian Fort | A location or sect name.
朔方 | Shuofang | Northern region/direction.
烽火 | Beacon Fire | Likely a technique or branch name.
祁甘泉 | Qi Ganquan | A person's name.
称号擂台 | Title Arena | A tournament or platform where martial artists fight for titles/rankings.
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