The villain has been playing badly for ten years

The river surged, the rain spun like a skein, and the world was a blur, drowned in the pounding wind and rain, making it impossible to discern distance or direction. The mountains and trees lost their original outlines, and everything seemed hazy.

There was a dimly lit lantern on a solitary boat, swaying in the wind and rain, reflecting the figures of several people, but they were not clear.

The Privy Council descended from the sky like an owl at night, quickly following the pursuit and surrounding the cabin. The people on board were so frightened that they squatted with their heads in their hands. At this time, there was a man hiding in the dark, his face pale and his eyes revealing a trace of fear.

An official dragged the man in front of Meng Qilian, and the man immediately knelt down.

"My Lord, I'm just a boatman. I don't know what I've done wrong!"

Meng Qilian's gaze was like cold iron: "It's a big taboo to go out on a boat in this storm. Where are you going in the middle of the night?"

He pointed tremblingly at the people next to him. They were a couple, with a child in their arms. They were so scared that they didn't dare to say a word.

"This is my brother-in-law's family. My nephew has recently fallen ill with a strange disease. I heard there's a famous doctor on the other side of the river, so I rushed over overnight..."

Meng Qilian understood, but she was also suspicious: "There's a clinic near the river in Nanzhao, so why would we need to go so far away by ferry?"

"Your Excellency, you may not know that there is an epidemic in Nanzhao recently, and the doctors here are unable to cure it at all."

plague?

Meng Qilian reached out to touch the child's forehead and found it was indeed very hot.

An official stepped forward and said, "There has indeed been talk of an epidemic in Nanzhao recently, but it only affects children."

"There's such a thing."

Meng Qilian lowered his eyes and looked at the woman. There was a hint of dodder fragrance in the rain, which seemed to cover up the smell of medicine.

He suddenly realized that something was wrong. Although the child was burning hot all over, his skin was unusually pale and his fingers were purple and black.

"has a problem."

The woman seemed to sense something and her slender eyes narrowed. In a moment, several people jumped out from the water, all dressed in black, and drew their sharp blades towards Meng Qilian.

In this sudden change, the woman threw the child in her arms towards Meng Qilian and jumped into the river. Meng Qilian was about to chase after it, but unexpectedly, the child suddenly turned into a wild beast, its figure like a ghost, baring its teeth and rushing towards him.

On that pale face, the bloody mouth was split behind the ear, revealing sharp teeth.

Meng Qilian was slightly startled. Seeing this, several officials opened their iron umbrellas to block the attack.

"Master Meng, it's a ghost!"

Those killers were clearly the men in black from the Three Flowers Temple. They swung their knives, causing the lonely boat to sway.

Meng Qilian thrust his long sword through a man, and the man turned into smoke and shattered into powder as he rotted on the ground.

At this moment, there was a loud "bang" and the isolated boat exploded, and a strong smell of air rushed towards us.

"There's gunpowder, go into the water."

Meng Qilian shouted loudly, and several officials jumped into the water together with him, breaking the boat into pieces.

Fortunately, everyone was brought ashore from the water without any harm, but one of the suspects managed to escape.

Several officials hurried to chase the man. Li Ji pulled a man out of the water. It was the boatman. He climbed ashore and spit out the water.

Meng Qilian searched his body and found a bag with night-blooming jasmine flowers embroidered on it with gold thread. It was clearly a flower that would wither on sight.

It seems something happened to Nian Zheng and Hua Jianbai...

He held the bag in his hand and shouted, "Where did these two go?"

The boatman suddenly tilted his head, and the poison that had broken through his teeth suddenly appeared, and he foamed at the mouth.

Meng Qilian was shocked, and when he checked for breath again, he was already dead.

……

……

"Tick."

"Tick."

"Tick."

I don’t know how long it took, but the ethereal sound of water drops echoed in the empty space, bringing with it bursts of chill.

Ning Xiusu slowly regained consciousness from his coma, feeling a heaviness in his head, as if he were being restrained by invisible shackles.

The cold stone walls around were still dripping with water. It was obvious that they were inside a cell. The ground was damp and the environment was dim, with only a faint ray of light penetrating.

When I looked up, I saw double vision and it was blurry and hazy.

Where is this?

He got up in a daze and found that his body was covered with mud and dust, as if he had been dragged here.

After finally seeing things clearly, I looked around. The stone wall was as hard as iron. The only exit was very high above my head, locked by a heavy iron window.

Not to mention that he couldn't get up, even if he could, all the things on his body that could be used to pick the lock would have been stripped away.

Ning Xiusu's black hair was scattered on his body, and even the jade hairpin on his crown was gone.

Infinitely wonderful...

Even the bag was not around his waist, and all his belongings were lost.

This group of people are obviously not ordinary bandits.

Ning Xiusu was thinking about this when he suddenly heard some rustling sounds, almost like rats. He thought that the cell must be smelly and unbearable.

"Big villain! Wai, can you hear me?"

When Hua Jianbai's voice appeared, he felt a little happy.

Ning Xiusu hurried towards the source of the sound. Behind the damp and cold stone wall, the clear sound became muffled as it penetrated, and seemed to be far away.

"It's me, how's your side?"

Hanami was defeated and said, "Oh, what bad luck! There's water all over here, up to my ankles!"

"Where does the water come from, and can it be blocked?"

"Nonsense! If I knew where the water came from, would I even tell you?"

Ning Xiusu was also anxious when he heard this, "Don't worry, I'll find a way."

After saying that, he looked around the place. The iron window was the only exit, but it was too high and the stone walls on all sides were extremely slippery, making it really difficult to get through.

On the right side, there was a messy pile of wood on the stone wall, and something seemed to be blocked at a high point.

"Big villain, you better talk to me, otherwise I'll be drowned by the time you come up with a solution!"

Ning Xiusu struggled to clear the debris, put the haystack under his feet, and then leaned against the wall, saying:

"Don't be discouraged, okay? There's nothing you can do on your side."

"no!"

Hanamibai felt that the other party's voice seemed clearer, but when he saw the water level rising, he became extremely depressed.

"Are there any iron bars?"

"No, nothing."

The more he answered, the more desperate he felt, and he couldn't help wanting to cry:

"Oh my God... I haven't even enjoyed my prime years yet, and now I'm completely screwed."

Ning Xiusu was panicked by his howling. He stepped on the dry weeds and piled up debris, and finally his fingers touched a dent high on the stone wall.

There was an iron chain embedded in the stone wall, and the gap was blocked by straw bags or something, but it seemed to lead to the other side.

"Hana Jianbai, do you have a chain over there as well?"

"Chains?"

It was almost pitch black on Hanamibai's side. Seeing the water almost reaching his chest, he groped around but found nothing.

Something moved under my feet and touched my calf.

He then held his breath and went into the water. As far as he could see, there seemed to be some algae in the water, emitting a faint glow.

Hua Jianbai did see an iron chain as thick as a wrist, and then he emerged from the water and wiped the water stains off his face.

"Big villain, what do you mean?"

"Maybe we are in different positions, I am at the bottom."

Although the sound from the other side of the wall was far away, it had a calmness that made people feel less panicked.

"If you clear the gap, the water will naturally flow in."

"then you……"

Ning Xiusu was hanging on the wall, his arms were almost powerless. Just as he was about to say something, he lost his balance and fell to the ground, almost fainting.

Hua Jianbai heard the noise and suddenly became nervous: "Wai, what's wrong with you?"

He took a breath, clapped his hands, and got up.

"...It's okay... Just do as you're told."

Hanamibai reacted and realized that, yes, he was a mermaid and was not afraid of water.

There was no time to say anything more. He dived into the rising water and worked hard to clear the gap.

All the straw bags and bamboo leaves were cleared out, and soon the water level began to drop and flow to the other side.

The gaps in the chain are not too big, roughly enough for a palm to fit through. The rest are all iron plates, and the connection points are one high and one low.

Ning Xiusu's side was in a low place, and after the water poured in, the weeds floated up.

But the iron window was too high, so we could only wait for the water level to rise and use the buoyancy to lift the person up.

Ning Xiusu wanted to give it a try. If he really couldn't open it, he wouldn't suffocate to death anyway.

……