She surveyed the room; everything that should be there was there, and everything that shouldn't be there was there too. Even if Duan Yanxi left, he wouldn't go too far.

"Did you find it?" Wenxin asked as she came over.

Wutong shook her head and pointed towards the kitchen.

“Let’s go over there and take a look. If we really don’t find it, we’ll come back and stay here. He can’t run away from us. He must have put a lot of effort into settling things here, so he’ll definitely come back.”

After speaking, Wutong realized she had used an inappropriate and clichéd phrase, and quickly explained to Wenxin, "I wasn't referring to you...it's him...do you understand the metaphor?"

Wenxin didn't say anything and walked straight to the kitchen.

Wutong pursed her lips and followed without asking.

There was no one in the kitchen, and no one in the side room. Wutong had come so early and was just wandering around aimlessly. She happened to see a door locked with an iron chain and a brass lock, and when she reached out to pull it, she found that it couldn't be opened without a key.

The zipper inevitably made a slight noise when it was being zipped up. Just as Wutong was about to call Wenxin over, a woman's frightened voice came from inside the room first.

"Don't come in...don't come in...I've already been very obedient, what more do you want? You devil!"

The voice was hoarse and weak, but it was already imprinted in Wutong's soul, accompanying her like a twin from birth. Even if it were twice as hoarse, she would never mistake it.

Ruolan is inside.

Why is Ruolan so frightened? Who is she talking to, Duan Yanxi?

Wutong held her breath and quietly walked to a window. Peeking through the crack, she saw Ruolan huddled in a corner, looking dirty and disheveled. There were some black and yellow things on the ground, she couldn't tell if they were spoiled food or excrement.

On her other side, there were rows of split logs and a pile of dry branches, which looked like a woodshed.

Niu Laosan wasn't lying; Ruolan had indeed been imprisoned by Duan Yanxi. Judging from the filth on her body, it couldn't have been for a short time.

Inside the room, Ruolan was like a frightened rabbit. Even though she was already in the corner, she kept shrinking further in, sometimes cursing and sometimes begging for mercy. She was no longer as calm and composed as before, and even looked a little crazy.

What methods did Duan Yanxi use to torture her and drive her to this state?

Looking at her, Wutong felt a pang of pain in her heart, but even more so, a sense of satisfaction.

No one is a saint, and no one will willingly be humiliated.

Ruolan used to abuse her power and did whatever she wanted, so she deserves to end up like this.

When Wenxin didn't see Wutong for a while, she came looking for her herself. She found Wutong squatting outside a window with a complicated expression and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Ruolan heard his voice from inside the room but couldn't recognize him at first, only knowing that it wasn't Duan Yanxi.

If it's not Duan Yanxi, then it's the person who can save her!

Without hesitation, she rushed towards the window, shouting, "I'm inside! Help me! Please get me out!"

Wenxin and Ruolan were not close; they had only met a few times, and their relationship was not pleasant.

He paused for a moment after hearing the piercing sound, then asked in a low voice, "Is someone inside?"

"Ruolan," Wutong said in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Wen Xin suddenly realized.

Inside, Ruolan was still calling for help, her voice hoarse from screaming, "Why aren't you saying anything? Please, save me! I'll do anything for you... Are you afraid of Zhou Pan'an? Zhou Pan'an!"

"It's not Zhou Pan'an, it's Duan Yanxi! I made up his name; his real identity is the Emperor of the Central Plains! If you don't believe me, then... then... then go and inform the Prince of Dongqi in Chuanzhou. She's my sister, and she'll prove it to you!"

When the two heard her mention Wutong's name, they exchanged a glance, then looked away a few seconds later.

"What are you going to do?" asked the voice in my heart.

Wutong didn't answer, but called out a name to the window.

"Ruolan..."

Just as she could recognize Ruolan's voice instantly, Ruolan also recognized her voice immediately. When the shouting stopped, she stared in utter shock at the closed window, her pale lips opening and closing repeatedly, unable to utter a word.

Wutong did have something to say to her.

Do you really think I'll save you?

"..."

“I thought you had given up on your sisterhood before you did those things back then.”

Ruolan lowered her head blankly, two lines of tears sliding down her cheeks, washing away the dirt on her face and leaving two visible streaks.

Wutong asked coldly, "Where is Duan Yanxi?"

"I don't know," she said in a low, hoarse voice, almost inaudible.

The sudden reunion with Wutong, especially in this state, made her feel like she had been completely exposed in her most wretched state. If she had a knife at hand, she probably would rather die together with Wutong than live to be laughed at by her.

"How could you not know? Aren't you two together day and night?"

“I’ve been locked up here all day, how could I possibly know where he is?” Ruolan wiped away her tears with her sleeve, her face cold as she shrank back into the corner, muttering, “I don’t expect you to help me, and you shouldn’t expect me to tell you anything. If you’re going to leave, then leave quickly.”

Wutong said, "He doesn't even treat you like a human being anymore. Do you still want to protect him? Even if he came now, he wouldn't save you. He might even use you as a shield to frame you for those crimes."

Ruolan leaned against the wall, looking lost and dejected, her eyes lifeless.

"So what? I have no way out... Even if you tell me what you want to know, are you willing to let me go?"

Wutong said, "I don't want to."

What she did is unforgivable.

Although she didn't kill the mouse herself, he wouldn't have been harmed if it weren't for her inexplicable jealousy and hatred.

Ruolan gave a bitter smile, her laughter filled with sorrow.

"Hehe... I knew it would be like this... I really don't know where he is. During this time, he hasn't said a word except for occasionally throwing me some food... If you really want to find him, you might as well go and check the beds of the women in the village. He's very popular with them, and who knows, he might be in someone's house right now."

As she spoke, her tone gradually became sarcastic and unsettling.

Wutong didn't quite believe her, because someone like Duan Yanxi shouldn't be willing to lower himself to mingle with village women.

However, apart from that sentence, Ruolan refused to say anything else.

Wutong waited for a long time, her mouth dry. She went to the main room to pour herself some tea. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure flash by outside the courtyard. She immediately became alert, hid behind the door, and looked out through the crack in the door.

As the people outside approached, the woman's laughter became clearer, her tone carrying a strong accent, suggesting she was from the village.

The man was uninterested, only occasionally responding with a sound that Wutong would never forget.

=

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