He'd rather run than be turned into a cannon fodder for the broken engagement.

For her safety, Fu Xun carefully considered the feasibility. "Here's what we'll do: I'll send a message to the Qi family and the Fang family. When you go in, don't make any rash moves. Keep the communication stone with you and contact them at any time. If anything seems amiss, come out immediately."

Fu Xun sighed softly as he watched her seemingly eager to stir up trouble. He took out a pair of bells, magical artifacts for long-distance communication. "Take these with you. Activate them if there's any danger, and I'll contact you."

“Okay, I understand.” Leng Huan obediently took a small bell and hung it on his waist. “This time is much better than last time. If we can’t beat them, we can still use magic weapons to blow them up.”

As a disciple of the Refining Peak, she has plenty of consumable magical artifacts, all of which were gifts from her sect relatives, delivered bag by bag. This time, she can't be as strapped for cash as last time.

"..." As a poor disciple of Sword Peak, Fu Xun had nothing to say.

-

The moon was hidden and the stars were few; the night was pitch black and the streets were deserted. Suddenly, a swift figure flew out of the inn and disappeared into the night.

A quarter of an hour later, a stunningly beautiful woman, looking dejected, staggered over from outside a secluded, deserted courtyard, carrying a white porcelain wine jug. She drank and howled as she went:

"Heavenly Bodhisattva... family members, please stop dating, please stop... it's too hurtful..."

The woman's voice was melodious yet strangely tinged; heard in the middle of the night, it sounded like the wailing of ghosts and wolves.

"A glass of baijiu is like poison."

Love hurts so much!

I thought love would last forever...

Who knew they'd tear your feet off halfway through!

……

"Damn it, who the hell is howling like a ghost in the middle of the night?!"

The courtyard itself was desolate and dilapidated, making it an excellent location for filming ghost movies. Several thugs were playing dice with great interest when suddenly a cold wind rose from the ground, causing the lamplight to flicker. At the same time, eerie sounds could be faintly heard.

The group shouted and stared warily, holding their breath.

"Boss, it sounds like a woman is singing..."

The leader slapped his underling on the head with a hand the size of a palm leaf fan: "That's a damn howl of a ghost, not singing..."

After saying that, he spat and drew his broadsword: "Come on, let's go see who's playing tricks! If it's really a woman, let's grab her and have some fun with her!"

Leng Huan, covered in spilled wine and reeking of alcohol, swaggered over in a red and black dress, singing and acting as she went. She portrayed the melancholy and dejected young woman quite convincingly, but most importantly, she had an impeccably beautiful face.

"A glass of baijiu is like poison~~~~~"

"Boss, look over there, there's a real beauty!"

"Wow! She really is an absolute beauty... It's just that her singing is a little scary... The song is like a demonic voice, but she's just too beautiful... Let's go take a look!"

Suddenly, several people appeared before her. Leng Huan feigned dizziness, one hand on her forehead and the other holding a wine jug. She looked up at the thugs with tear-streaked eyes, her voice soft and hesitant as she asked:

"Hiccup~ Who are you guys?"

The eldest brother was so stunned by her look and question that his bones almost melted. He never imagined that she would be here in the middle of the night. He chuckled and reached out to touch her face.

"Boss, aren't we going to report back to the higher-ups?"

Upon hearing his younger brother's reminder, the eldest brother immediately sobered up, and with a swift movement, he knocked the beauty unconscious with a powerful chop.

Clang—the wine pot in the beauty's hand shattered.

"You're right, take her away right away!"

Leng Huan took the hit and cursed inwardly, "Damn it, that's a really ruthless move!"

She secretly circulated her spiritual energy to relieve the soreness in the back of her neck. If she hadn't withdrawn her protective spiritual energy just now, this boss, with his late-stage Qi Refining cultivation, wouldn't have been able to hurt her; instead, he would have been knocked away.

After being successfully imprisoned in the cellar, Leng Huan breathed a sigh of relief. She pretended to be unconscious and secretly sensed her surroundings. Sure enough, there were four or five other girls and boys imprisoned here.

With a sweep of her divine sense, she saw a young man who looked somewhat like the one she had encountered with Fu Xun.

She even suspected that the person behind it all might be practicing some kind of evil magic or the Hehuan Sect's dual cultivation technique.

Quietly waiting for time to pass, there were sixteen thugs in this courtyard, all of them at the late stage of Qi Refining. Luo Yingfei was lucky to escape.

-

"Manager Zhang, you've finally arrived..."

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly heard a noise. Leng Huan silently noted down the name of Manager Zhang and heard the boss's voice ask, "When will the goods be moved?"

"Almost done, let's get ready for the handover. Nothing went wrong, right? We can't afford any more mistakes. Just make sure we get there before Chen Shi (7-9 AM)." The voice was deep and hoarse, seemingly suppressed to be cautious, but Leng Huan still recognized it slightly. Had she heard it somewhere before?

"No, no, sir, we've also hijacked a high-end item. You can go take a look!"

As the sound of footsteps drew closer, Leng Huan quickly relaxed his breathing.

With a creak, the wooden planks at the cellar entrance opened, followed by the soft creaking of a wooden ladder being climbed, and then footsteps approached and stopped in front of her.

"Oh my! She really is a beauty, not bad, not bad, well done!" The manager praised her, then said, "Let's go, take them all away!"

Leng Huan felt like he was being carried on someone's shoulder like a sack, the pressure on his stomach was so rough that he almost vomited!

Damn! Once they're out there, strip them naked and throw them into the street!

She sensed that the group hadn't left the cellar, but rather that on the other side of the spacious cellar, where miscellaneous items were piled up, the steward used a key to open a stone door!

With a slight thud, the stone door was pushed open completely, just wide enough for two people to pass side by side. Sure enough, inside was a tunnel, three feet wide and about six feet high. Anyone taller would have to duck to walk through.

Leng Huan felt like she was wandering around in circles, unable to remember the direction. It seemed like she had gone through several places. Suddenly, as she rounded a bend, she felt that the temperature was slightly lower and the air was more humid. She could even faintly hear a rumbling sound, like the sound of water flowing underground.

Could she have passed under the moat?!

The inner city of the moat, besides the major aristocratic families, is the city lord's mansion. Sure enough, there was a traitor among them!

After passing this place and turning several more corners, Leng Huan suddenly felt himself tilting quite a bit; they were going uphill!

Suddenly they went downhill again. Leng Huan wondered, "Aren't they going to go up?"

—It's hard to tell where she is now.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone finally stopped.

"Alright, Hu San, this time I'll give you a bigger reward. Put the man down, and I'll send someone to take you away from the usual spot."

"Thank you very much, Steward Zhang!"

The old place they mentioned didn't seem to be the same route they had taken; it seemed they had gone in a different direction!

"Somebody come!"

"Manager Zhang, please give your instructions."

"Arrange for them to bathe and change clothes, and the master will arrive frequently."

Damn it! After listening to so much useless information, this person is actually quite cautious!

Leng Huan knew it was about time to wake up. She slowly opened her eyes, looking dazed as if just waking up. She let out a soft moan, then asked in surprise, "Ah! Where am I? How did I get here?!"

As if her voice had flipped a switch, the others slowly woke up, and some couldn't help but start sobbing.

"Alright! It's your good fortune to be made furnace cauldrons! Stop crying and bothering the city, you're just a nuisance all day long!"

Leng Huan keenly noticed that Steward Zhang's voice paused for a second. "Cheng, Cheng?"

She blinked, and then realized that the manager was wearing a ghost mask.

-