Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Sang Nian, Don’t Leave Me Alone Here

Sang Nian panicked, “Xie Chenzhou!”

Xie Chenzhou, with his tongue pressing against his cheek, reluctantly stopped.

Xiao Zhuochen took two steps back, clutching his chest.

Sang Nian rushed forward, “Are you alright?”

Xiao Zhuochen shook his head, his gaze towards Xie Chenzhou tinged with a strange color:

“It’s only been a few months, but Young Master Xie has become much stronger.”

Xie Chenzhou responded nonchalantly,

“Maybe my hand feels better tonight.”

Xiao Zhuochen was speechless.

“Why are you disguised, Xiao Shaoxia?” Sang Nian asked.

“I was sent by my Grandmaster to investigate the case of missing cultivators in Liangzhou, and to avoid raising suspicion, I had to disguise myself.”

Xiao Zhuochen said,

“I wanted to reveal my identity to you at the tea stall during the day, but I couldn’t find the right opportunity.”

Sang Nian understood, blurting out,

“I knew it! You look so familiar, it’s you! No wonder even your silhouette is so handsome.”

Xiao Zhuochen was taken aback, then coughed lightly, covering his mouth:

“Miss Sang, your words are quite…direct.”

Xie Chenzhou gritted his teeth, stepping forward to block Sang Nian, shielding her from Xiao Zhuochen’s view:

“Xiao Shaoxia, what brings you to the Yaowang Valley at this late hour?”

Xiao Zhuochen said seriously,

“The missing person case may be related to the Yaowang Valley. All the clues point here.”

“Yes, yes, we think so too.”

Sang Nian poked her head out from behind Xie Chenzhou:

“My senior brother and senior sister are also missing.”

“And when I came here, I only mentioned finding my senior sister, but the Medicine King Valley disciple brought up my senior brother. It’s really suspicious.”

Xiao Zhuochen glanced at the empty bowl on the table and said in a deep voice,

“Miss Sang, you drank that bowl of ginger soup. Are you feeling unwell?”

“The ginger soup is fine,” Sang Nian pointed to the extinguished incense burner, “The problem is this.”

Xiao Zhuochen was startled, “This incense is strange?”

Sang Nian said, “Don’t worry, I closed the door and extinguished it. You can breathe now.”

Xiao Zhuochen looked at her serious expression, a faint smile involuntarily broke through his usual cold demeanor:

“Thank you, Miss Sang.”

The beauty smiled. Sang Nian was immediately stunned, nodding dumbly:

“No, you’re welcome.”

Xie Chenzhou, standing beside them, coldly snorted:

“Miss Sang, regain your senses. It’s not as safe here as the Xiaoyao Sect.”

This reminded Sang Nian. She tapped her head in annoyance and continued with the matter at hand:

“Since we have the same goal, why don’t we investigate the Medicin King Valley together?”

Xiao Zhuochen shook his head:

“This trip may be dangerous. Miss Sang, you should leave.”

Xie Chenzhou finally found an opportunity to speak, his lips curled in a mocking smile:

“I’ll protect her safety. Xiao Shaoxia, just take care of yourself.”

Xiao Zhuochen hesitated, “This…”

Sang Nian said, “More hands make lighter work. Don’t worry, we won’t hold you back.”

Xiao Zhuochen no longer hesitated and bowed to them:

“Then thank you, Miss Sang and Young Master Xie, for your help.”

Sang Nian smiled, “You’re welcome.”

Just as they were talking, a sound of footsteps came from outside.

Xiao Zhuochen flicked his sleeve, igniting the incense in the burner, calmly using his incantation to summon a puppet.

The puppet, with the same appearance and aura as Sang Nian, lay on the table, seemingly asleep.

The three of them exchanged glances, hiding their figures and holding their breath.

“Creak—”

The door opened, and the two Yaowang Valley disciples returned.

“Senior brother, why are we here?” The younger boy said nervously, “All the guests are already resting.”

The older man extinguished the incense and scolded,

“Shut up, just do as I say.”

“Oh.”

The man stepped forward, confirming that the girl at the table was unconscious, and turned to call out,

“Carry her.”

The boy clumsily followed instructions, but also noticed something was wrong:

“She seems to be sick. Are we taking her to be treated?”

He sighed,

“Senior brother, you’re so kind.”

The man twitched his mouth:

“Never mind. I’ll handle this. You go report to the Valley Master.”

The boy took a few steps, then turned back, confused:  

“What am I supposed to tell the Valley Master?”

The man picked up Sang Nian’s waist token, which she had casually left on the table:

“Give this to the Valley Master. Don’t say anything else.”

“Okay.”

The boy hurried away.

Sang Nian suddenly received a voice transmission.

It was Xiao Zhuochen’s voice.

She turned to look, and he nodded slightly at her:

“Miss Sang, I’ll go with him to see the Valley Master. Be careful.”

Sang Nian also sent a voice transmission:

“You be careful too.”

Xiao Zhuochen left the room.

Inside the room, the man struggled to carry the puppet on his back and left in a hurry as well.

Sang Nian touched Xie Chenzhou’s hand and gestured with her eyes.

The two of them followed the man silently, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

The valley was silent.

A few lanterns under the eaves swayed in the wind, their light dim.

As Sang Nian walked, she seemed to remember something and stopped abruptly.

Xie Chenzhou sent a voice transmission, “What’s wrong?”

She said, “….You’ve been on the beams of the room this whole time?”

Xie Chenzhou was confused, “I followed you in.”

Sang Nian slowly covered her burning face with her hand and remained silent.

Xie Chenzhou was about to ask again when the man in front of them stopped in front of a rockery.

In a flash, his figure suddenly disappeared.

Sang Nian quickly stepped forward and said in a deep voice:

“Something’s wrong.”

She reached out and touched the rockery, but her hand passed straight through.

Xie Chenzhou also stepped forward:

“There’s another space behind the rockery, this is the entrance.”

Sang Nian made a mark for Xiao Zhuochen and pulled Xie Chenzhou forward, taking a step:

“Let’s go, let’s see.”

The next moment, the scene before them turned upside down.

This was a tunnel entrance, with torches hanging on both sides, illuminating the stone steps that extended downwards.

Sang Nian looked down:

“Go down?”

Xie Chenzhou seemed to be thinking about something, and paused for a few seconds before replying:

“Down.”

The passage was just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Sang Nian whispered:

“You have to stay close to me.”

Xie Chenzhou grabbed her sleeve and silently walked in front of her.

Sang Nian blinked, quietly following his footsteps.

The tunnel was dug very deep. They walked down for a while before they finally heard a faint sound of water.

Sang Nian hurried forward, rushing out of the opening ahead, and the scene before her suddenly opened up.

This was…

Her breath caught in her throat.

A huge cave, with countless iron cages hanging in the air, filled with people.

They were old and young, sitting or lying down.

Their expressions were uniformly numb.

This was a dungeon.

The dungeon where those missing people were imprisoned.

The further Sang Nian walked, the more her heart pounded.

Were all these people captured by the Medicine King Valley?

Xie Chenzhou’s face was very ugly. Sang Nian accidentally touched his hand and was slightly surprised.

He was…

Trembling.

In a flash, she suddenly remembered something.

Dungeon, iron cages…

Could it be that Xie Chenzhou was imprisoned here back then?!

Ahead, the Medicine King Valley disciple walked towards them.

Sang Nian didn’t have time to think, she pulled Xie Chenzhou away from him.

Fortunately, they were still invisible, and he didn’t notice anything. He quickly disappeared into the depths of the passage.

Sang Nian was about to let go of Xie Chenzhou when he suddenly grabbed her finger, his grip strong.

She turned her head to look at him.

The boy’s face was pale as paper, his dark eyes fixed on the front.

His breathing was slow, almost completely held back.

Sang Nian’s heart inexplicably tightened:

“Xie Chenzhou, wait for me here. I’ll go check out that side, I’ll be back soon.”

He shook his head and said in a low voice:

“Sang Nian, don’t leave me alone here.”

Sang Nian grabbed his hand with even more force, her voice steady:

“Okay, let’s go together.”