Moonlit Calamity: The Dragon Girl's Life of Idleness is Broken

They searched aimlessly all night in the rain, carrying torches, but found nothing. They weren't even sure if the person had left the city.

“Qingying,” Xiao Han said, pinching his brow with two fingers, “send a few people to check the inns and post stations ahead to see if there are any traces of her staying overnight.”

"Yes." Qingying glanced at Xiao Han, hesitated, sighed inwardly, and finally went to give the orders without saying anything.

Xiao Han instructed the others to continue the search, as visibility was better during the day than at night, even though it was still raining.

They searched all day but found nothing. News came from the manor that she had not returned.

It was much colder at night than during the day. Qingying noticed his pale face and worriedly advised him to go back, "Your Highness, why don't you go back and change your clothes and rest? We will stay and continue the search."

He looked around at the people; their clothes were soaked through, and with the cold weather, everyone looked exhausted. The rain was getting heavier, and the torches they lit went out after a while.

Without torches, he couldn't search at night. He looked up at the sky, the rain hitting his face, cold and biting.

"That's enough for today, everyone go back now!" Xiao Han said, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "We'll continue the search tomorrow morning."

He didn't get much rest that night, lying in bed unable to fall asleep for a long time. He only took a short nap in the middle of the night. He went out before dawn and waited at the city gate. As soon as the city gate opened, he rode his horse out.

He thought that she had told him to take the medicine when she left, so she shouldn't be going far. Also, the information he found out yesterday proved that she hadn't gone any further.

They checked the inns and post stations ahead, but found no record of her staying there. The people at the inns and post stations also said they had not seen a beautiful woman pass by.

Everyone guessed that it should still be in the suburbs, so today we mainly focused our manpower on searching in the vicinity.

Fortunately, the rain had stopped today. They parted ways at the fork in the road. High mountains stood on both sides, and the right side was surrounded by mountains, making it difficult for horses to climb. So they focused their attention on the left side.

The terrain on the left is relatively flat, surrounded by dense forests, and the area is deserted. The two groups of people split up and went into the mountains to search.

The group appeared in the vast, dark mountains, carrying torches. From a distance, the moving torches looked like fireflies dancing, illuminating the lonely mountains and the heavy night.

The sky soon brightened completely, and even though it wasn't raining, the sky still felt heavy, just like Xiao Han's mood at that moment.

He searched for another day, and by 5 PM he still hadn't found anyone. Xiao Han felt uneasy and looked at the gloomy sky with a worried expression.

Just when everyone thought they would return empty-handed again, a guard came to report that he had spotted the horse that Long Chuqing had ridden out.

Xiao Han's brows relaxed slightly after hearing this, and a glimmer of hope rose in his heart. The words he had heard most often these past two days were: "No, we haven't found it, we haven't discovered anything."

This was the only good news he had heard in two days, and he hurriedly followed.

The group followed the guards to a valley. When they arrived, the horses were still grazing leisurely with their heads down. He went over to check and found that there were indeed signs of the Prince of Qin's residence on the horses, confirming that she should be nearby.

Xiao Han turned around and ordered, "Qingying, immediately take men and search carefully in all directions." He hoped to find it before dark.

He looked around and then joined the others in their search.

After walking along the grass for a while, he found a patch of grass that had been turned over. After thinking for a moment, he followed the marks and searched for it.

The grass was too tall to walk on, so Qingying followed beside him and helped him clear away the grass. The two continued to move deeper into the grass.

As darkness fell, guards lit torches and continued their search in the open wilderness.

"Darkness upon darkness, I'm trapped in a dream again," Long Chuqing murmured as she stood in the darkness.

"Crack... Crack... Crack..." The sound of whips flashing white light echoed in the dark prison.

"What's that sound?" She was startled by the sudden sound. She lowered her head and thought for a moment before walking forward in the direction of the sound.

The closer she got, the louder the sound became, so she quickened her pace. As she approached, she slowed down and drew nearer. The sound was so familiar, and scenes from the past flashed before her eyes.

She walked over cautiously, and ahead lay a dark cell.

Inside the dark prison, Long Chuqing was being whipped by the Heavenly Thunder Whip, the sound of "crackling" echoing through the air.

She clenched her teeth to keep from making a sound. She had become numb to the daily, relentless beatings. At first, she screamed in agony, but gradually, she fell silent, because no one answered her cries; only the echo of her own voice remained.

The only sounds in the dark dungeon were the cracking of whips and the rustling of black iron chains being pulled.

Over time, she even looked forward to the moment she was whipped every day, because in the darkness, only the sound of the Thunder Whip when it struck could be heard, and a faint light could be seen.

She held onto that faint glimmer of hope, and persevered. Without that hope, she would have gone mad sooner or later.

Long Chuqing stood beside the dark cell, looking at her former stubborn self. She gritted her teeth and endured the beatings without uttering a sound. Looking at herself kneeling on the ground, covered in wounds, her heart ached.

Inside the prison, she gritted her teeth and endured the pain; outside, she also gritted her teeth, heartbroken for her past self, and she couldn't stop trembling.

Suddenly someone grabbed her trembling, clenched fist, came up to her, and hugged her.

"Qingqing, don't look, it's all in the past. I'll take you away."

After letting go, Fei Feng took her hand and walked in the opposite direction of the dark prison.

Long Chuqing was pulled forward by Fei Feng. She slowly came to her senses and stopped: "Fei Feng."

"What's wrong?" Fei Feng also stopped walking.

“This is so strange,” Long Chuqing pondered. “The first two times I was plunged into darkness, I was kneeling there and being whipped, but now I have a second perspective. This is completely different from the previous two times.”

"Don't think about this anymore. This is a dream, and many things don't make sense." Fei Feng pulled her along as they continued walking. "Let's go! We need to find a way to get out of here quickly."

They left the vicinity of the dark prison and returned to the boundless darkness they had been in before.

"This...this is too ridiculous!" Fei Feng exclaimed, "How come there's no end to it!"

"I told you there was no end, but you didn't believe me. You've walked this far for nothing!" Long Chuqing said, panting heavily. "It's a good thing you're with me, otherwise I would be so bored by myself!"

"Strange," Fei Feng asked, puzzled, looking at Long Chu Qing's appearance. "Why are you breathing?"

"Isn't that obvious? If I stop breathing, I'll die."

"No, this isn't a dream! You shouldn't be like this. Have you ever acted like this before?"

Long Chuqing then realized that it seemed to be different from the previous two times. Before, she would get tired after walking for a long time, but she was still full of energy, unlike now when she was panting heavily and even had difficulty breathing.