"Xue Changan, you're in my hands, and you speak so defiantly. Do you think it's useful?"
Xue Changan remained silent. She knew that as long as she didn't reveal the whereabouts of An Ru and An Ping, An Ning could do nothing to her.
An Ning also knew what Xue Changan was thinking. She didn't ask again. First, she stripped off Xue Changan's outer clothes, leaving only her inner garment. Then, she took out a medicinal bottle, poured out some liquid, and smeared it on Xue Changan's arm, then down her body, finally applying it all over.
"What are you doing?" Xue Changan watched as her clothes were removed and something was applied to her body.
She saw An Ning smiling gleefully and said mysteriously, "I have something fun for you to try."
With that, An Ning took out another small box and opened it. Inside was a large green worm, wriggling in the box.
She placed the box on the ground. The worm wriggled out and quickly crawled towards Xue Changan's arm.
"An Ning, what do you want to do?" Xue Changan watched the large green worm crawl onto her arm.
"Since you refuse to speak, I must use some methods of torture, won't I? Beating is not my style. How about letting An Ru's Green General have a go and see how tough your mouth is to open."
An Ning was fortunate to have seen the Green General in An Ru's room, thinking it would be used to comfort An Ru later. Now, it had found its purpose.
Xue Changan sneered at her words, "What can a mere worm do to me?"
"Don't rush." An Ning sat on the ground and watched as the green worm followed the path An Ning had directed, heading south, and finally reached Xue Changan's neck.
Xue Changan's eyes widened. At this moment, she realized the green worm was following the path An Ning had set, with her ear as the final destination.
Thinking of the green worm crawling into her ear, Xue Changan felt utterly disgusted.
Her stomach churned. As the Green General reached her earlobe, Xue Changan finally broke down and shouted, "I'll talk, I'll talk..."
An Ning narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Too late..."
Xue Changan was furious and wanted to curse, but she didn't dare to. Otherwise, she had no idea what An Ning would do next.
Xue Changan felt the green worm trying to crawl into her ear and cried out in despair, "I'll tell you where An Ru and the others are!"
"Where..."
"In Yu..."
Just as she uttered the first word, a voice from outside was heard, "Your Majesty, are you within..."
Xue Yunlan, who was guarding the door, trembled, but she didn't act impulsively. Instead, she looked at An Ning, her expression looking very bad.
An Ning saw the anger in Xue Yunlan's eyes. Clearly, the person outside was someone who mattered to Xue Yunlan.
Therefore, this person must be Xue Yu.
Xue Changan also realized who the person outside was, "Xue Yu, save..."
The remaining words were not spoken, as An Ning had already stuffed her mouth full of moldy food from the ground.
Xue Changan felt a wave of nausea and wanted to spit it out, but An Ning held her mouth tightly shut.
Xue Changan writhed all over, the green worm trying to get into her ear, moldy food in her mouth. She had never felt so pathetic. She vowed that next time, she would make sure An Ning had a miserable end.
Xue Yu was no ordinary person, nor were the guards outside. He was once one of the formidable Fengyin, capable of causing rivers of blood to flow. He soon heard Xue Changan's cry for help from within.
He kicked open the door. Light flooded in, revealing the trapped person. As he approached, he realized the woman with her face smeared with moldy food was Xue Changan.
He quickly stepped forward, helped Xue Changan up, and had her spit out the food from her mouth.
After spitting for a long time, Xue Changan raised her head, her face contorted in a ferocious expression, "They cannot escape. Xue Yu, I order you to kill them."
"Who are they?" Xue Yu asked.
Xue Changan gritted her teeth, her voice squeezed through her teeth, fiercely saying, "An Ning, Xue Yunlan."
Xue Yu paused slightly, "Xue Yunlan is also here?"
Xue Changan then remembered that Xue Yu didn't know she had imprisoned Xue Yunlan here. She looked at Xue Yu and said, "I will explain to you later, but for now, capture them."
Xue Yu knew that asking Xue Changan now wouldn't yield any answers, so he nodded, "Alright."
With that, Xue Yu left.
Xue Changan called for someone from outside. A person rushed in and, seeing Xue Changan stripped down to her inner garment, let out a cry.
Xue Changan, enraged, picked up a shard of broken porcelain from the ground and roared, "Get out! Get back to your Qianjin Tower! If I ever trust Qianjin Tower again, I'll be a fool."
Wen Ling dodged the object thrown by Xue Changan and scratched his head, saying, "I can leave, but what about my bounty?"
Xue Changan's face contorted with rage, her fury burning, "What have you accomplished for me? And you still dare to ask me for a bounty? Get out..."
Xue Changan trembled with anger.
She truly wondered how the renowned Qianjin Tower cultivated its assassins.
They were simply a bunch of useless people.
Wen Ling felt very wronged and practically ran out. He wanted to find the楼主 (lour-zhǔ - master/head of the building), saying this荒泽 (Huāngzé - Barren Marsh) Empress was untrustworthy and stingy with bounties.
Xue Yunlan sat on the ground, panting, struggling to catch her breath, "You... you go. I can't run anymore!"
After days of starvation, Xue Yunlan knew she had no strength left.
An Ning looked at Xue Yunlan, who had no strength left, and crouched down, saying, "Quick, I'll carry you..."
Xue Yunlan was startled and shook her head, "It's no use. If you do that, neither of us will be able to escape."
"How will we know we can't escape if we don't try?" An Ning turned to look at Xue Yunlan.
At this moment, Xue Yunlan felt as if she saw her own imperial sister. In the past, her imperial sister had also said things like An Ning.
She turned her face away and said, "Hurry and go. Don't you still have someone to save?"
An Ning walked over, pulled Xue Yunlan up, and helped her forward.
Seeing this, Xue Yunlan said softly, "If you take me, you definitely won't escape. Xue Yu is not just anyone, he is Fengyin."
An Ning heard this and said, "There's a room ahead. Let's go in and rest for a bit."
Closing the door, An Ning helped Xue Yunlan sit on the bed.
There was tea on the table. Although it was cold, she couldn't afford to be picky at the moment.
She poured a cup of tea for Xue Yunlan and handed it to her. Xue Yunlan accepted it without politeness and drank it down in one gulp.
Xue Yunlan put down the teacup, her complexion suddenly much worse. She raised her head and said, "He's chasing after us."
Indeed, footsteps could be heard from outside, "Princess An Ning, I am Xue Yu. Please open the door."
Xue Yunlan felt some guilt, "If it weren't for me, you probably would have escaped by now."
"Yunlan, do I resemble Xue Zining?" An Ning suddenly turned to Xue Yunlan.
Xue Yunlan was startled and looked up. At this moment, the young girl before her had an exceptionally beautiful face, but she was also exceptionally cold. Her eyes were clear as water, with a hint of chill.
An innate aura of majesty slowly emanated from the girl's body.
"Yes..." Xue Yunlan said.