This was Hua Yao's first time entering the water prison.
She followed Lan Heng at a distance, her large, round eyes darting everywhere, seeming curious about everything, yet also fearful and wary of it all.
Lan Heng glanced back at her. Seeing her demeanor, he walked over and couldn't help but ask, "If you're scared..."
"I'm not scared! I'm not scared at all!" Before he could finish, Hua Yao quickly interrupted, hands on her hips, chest puffed out, adopting a posture of a mature woman.
Lan Heng looked at her, first startled, then he covered his mouth and let out a soft laugh.
Hua Yao's cheeks flushed at his action. Like a child who had done something wrong, she placed her hands by her thighs and whispered, "I'm a little scared, but I just wanted to follow you. I'm worried about you."
Lan Heng's smile faded. He just looked at the coy young girl opposite him. After a long while, he sighed, ruffled her head, and said, "Since you're worried about me, then stay close."
With that, he turned and continued walking forward.
Hua Yao's face lit up at his words. She thought Lan Heng would be angry that she followed without permission, but instead, he had agreed.
"Ouch!" After taking only a few steps, her face collided with a human wall, and a soft whimper escaped her lips.
Lan Heng's back was bumped. He quickly turned to look at her. Seeing her covering her nose, he asked, "Sorry, did that hurt?"
Hua Yao shook her head and looked up at the man's clear, handsome face in the dim candlelight. She quickly removed her hand from her cheek and said, "No... no! I'm fine!"
Lan Heng gazed at the woman opposite him. Her red nose indicated the collision was not minor. Her tightly bitten lower lip and the tears welling in her eyes, coupled with her pretense of bravery β how could she not be in pain!
Something in his heart softened. With a sigh, he pulled out an embroidered handkerchief from hisζ, placed one corner in Hua Yao's hand, and held the other end himself. "Hold on tight. We're almost there. If you're scared, just say so. I'll wait for you."
Lan Heng finished and turned to walk forward.
Hua Yao was led along by the handkerchief in her hand. She looked at Lan Heng's retreating back, then down at the men's silk handkerchief. An orchid was embroidered on one corner, just like his demeanor in her heart.
She lowered her head and smiled faintly. She remembered that the reason she had bumped into him was because he had stopped to wait for her to give her the handkerchief. Her heart was filled with unconcealed joy and shyness. She could even feel the surrounding candlelight becoming brighter.
"We're here," Lan Heng's voice sounded from ahead after a while.
Hua Yao's silly grin froze on her face. She instinctively replied, "So soon?"
"Hmm?" Lan Heng turned and glanced at her.
Hua Yao quickly reacted, letting go of the silk handkerchief, and said, "Oh."
Lan Heng shook his head and chuckled before pushing open the secret room door where Xuan Qingzi was confined.
"You again?" Xuan Qingzi's hoarse voice echoed within the water prison.
Hua Yao hid behind Lan Heng, feeling a little scared.
Xuan Qingzi had already seen Hua Yao. He looked at Lan Heng and said, "Oh ho? Changed the girl?"
Lan Heng narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when Hua Yao from behind put her hands on her hips and said, "Who are you calling a 'girl'? The last person who came was Steward Zhong from our Dali Temple. I am Constable Hua from Dali Temple. Don't you speak nonsense."
"Hua... Constable?" Xuan Qingzi looked at Hua Yao's actions and chuckled, "You're hiding behind him like a chick protected by its mother hen, chirping ignorantly about the vastness of heaven and earth. And you call yourself a constable? Constable of what? You're so cute, you must be a master at capturing hearts, right?"
"You!" Hua Yao was so rebutted that her cheeks turned crimson, her cheeks puffing out high.
"Haha! So cute!" Xuan Qingzi's laughter grew more unrestrained.
Lan Heng looked at the man opposite him, who was acting without restraint. He didn't have time to joke around with him now. His expression darkened as he said, "Cui Nan, how long are you going to laugh?"
Upon hearing these words, Xuan Qingzi's smile froze. "Who are you calling?"
"Who am I calling? Xuan Qingzi, I'm calling you, Cui Nan!" Lan Heng repeated.
"Impossible, impossible! How could you know, you..." Xuan Qingzi's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Lan Heng.
Lan Heng said, "It's not hard to find out your original family name, Xuan Qingzi. Just because Lord Chen didn't find it doesn't mean I can't!"
Xuan Qingzi's expression darkened. He strode to the iron bars against the current and asked, "What do you want?"
"Cui Nan, a royal bloodline of the former Yan kingdom. It is said that the royal family of Yan was almost wiped out by the Su family of Lin kingdom a hundred years ago. How did you escape?" Lan Heng narrowed his eyes and sneered, leaning closer to Xuan Qingzi.
"Shut up, shut up! You dog of the Southern Yue kingdom! Only my Cui family are the true emperors. The so-called Su family and Lu family are just a bunch of hooligans and bandits. What right do they have to speak ill of me?" Xuan Qingzi narrowed his eyes and said through gritted teeth.
Lan Heng said, "Cui Nan, I don't know how you came to have such absurd thoughts. But victory and defeat are common in warfare, and dynastic changes are normal. Since you can't come to terms with it, this must be the reason you founded the Goddess Cult, right?"
"Hmph!" Xuan Qingzi snorted coldly and simply refused to respond.
"Speak!" Lan Heng walked up to Xuan Qingzi, grabbed his wet robes, and said, "Have the remnants of the Goddess Cult infiltrated the court of the Southern Yue kingdom? Who are they?"
Xuan Qingzi was shorter than Lan Heng, and after years in the water prison, his body was emaciated. With just a slight tug from Lan Heng, he was lifted like a chick.
"Oh, so you came to the water prison today just to ask about this, Lord Lan?" Xuan Qingzi leaned close to Lan Heng's ear and provocatively said, "So what if I did? Do you think I'll tell you? The Lu family's reign is about to change hands. I told that woman last time. Now, seeing you like this, the royal family must be in crisis! Haha, as expected, my Goddess Cult has lived up to expectations. The Lu family will be destroyed, destroyed!"
"Bastard!" Lan Heng, seeing Xuan Qingzi's audacity, angrily threw him into the water.
Xuan Qingzi's frail body floated like duckweed across the water and crashed heavily onto the iron bars behind him. At the same time, blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, merging into the dark, foul-smelling water.
Lan Heng looked at Xuan Qingzi's miserable state and said coldly, "Cui Nan, your life is running out, isn't it?"
Xuan Qingzi wiped the blood from his lips and gave Lan Heng a disdainful glance.
Lan Heng was not angered. He said, "You've been bitten by the leeches here for ten years, haven't you? Every time you eat the life-extending medicine given by the jailers, you can neither live nor die. It's very painful, isn't it? Just tell me what I want to know, and I can guarantee you a quicker death."
"Spit!" Xuan Qingzi heard Lan Heng's words and his sunken eyes rolled. He spat, "Lord Lan, this trick won't work on me. I will watch the Southern Yue kingdom perish. I will watch the Lu family disappear from this map. I still want to live, even if... I have to live like an animal!"
"You!" Lan Heng, enraged, punched the iron bars.
"Haha! Haha!" Xuan Qingzi, with his blood-stained mouth, laughed even more wildly.