Wen Nuan trembled all over. She was about to write something more when the person in the room walked out.
Xue Xing Yue was already asleep on Wen Nuan's lap, and Wen Nuan was smiling kindly.
The man in black paused. Yu Xiao Yu stepped forward, intending to pick up Xue Xing Yue.
The man in black stopped her, "Leave her, and you may go."
Yu Xiao Yu blinked, "And my request?"
The man in black said coldly, "I will not go back on my word."
Yu Xiao Yu nodded, "Then I will await good news from the楼主 (Lou Zhu - Master of the Tower)."
After Yu Xiao Yu left, the man in black stepped forward, grabbed Xue Xing Yue, and said coldly, "Stop pretending. I know you're not asleep."
Xue Xing Yue dared not move. The man in black continued coldly, "If you don't wake up, do you believe I'll throw you off this?"
Xue Xing Yue could no longer pretend to be asleep. She had to open her eyes, look at the man in black, and grin, "Uncle Hei."
The man in black gave a cold laugh, "I don't know what your intention is in approaching Nuan'er, but since Nuan'er likes you, you can stay here for now. If Nuan'er no longer likes you, or if you do something Nuan'er dislikes, I will throw you off."
"Uncle Hei, I will treat Aunt Nuan well," Xue Xing Yue quickly said.
"You stay with Nuan'er. I'm going out on business." The man in black left.
Xue Xing Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief. She went to Wen Nuan and asked, "Aunt Nuan, why are you imprisoned here?"
Wen Nuan pointed to the table and made muffled sounds.
Xue Xing Yue frowned. Wen Nuan took her hand and wrote the words "paper and pen."
Only then did Xue Xing Yue understand. She quickly picked up the paper and pen from the table and handed them to Wen Nuan.
Wen Nuan took them, spread the paper, and began to write.
Xue Xing Yue leaned closer. Since Wen Nuan could not see, she wrote very slowly, but it was at least clearer than writing in her hand.
"I was kidnapped," Wen Nuan wrote.
Xue Xing Yue asked, "Who is this Uncle Hei?"
Wen Nuan wrote, "Wen Ling."
Xue Xing Yue was unfamiliar with the name. She asked again, "Aunt Nuan, is there any possibility of us escaping?"
Wen Nuan shook her head and wrote, "No."
Two words.
Xue Xing Yue scratched her head, feeling a bit of a headache, "Then what should we do?"
"I know the method of communication between the Qian Jin Lou, but I can't do it now," Wen Nuan wrote.
"Aunt Nuan, leave it to me," Xue Xing Yue said.
Wen Nuan wrote down the method. Xue Xing Yue read it several times and memorized it. Then, she burned the paper that she and Wen Nuan had written on with the candlelight.
Xue Xing Yue began to search for the carrier pigeons unique to Qian Jin Lou that Wen Nuan had told her about.
Wen Nuan told her they should be on the rooftop.
Xue Xing Yue climbed onto the windowsill in her free time and looked at the rooftop from outside. It seemed to reach into the clouds. She felt that if she climbed up, she would be smashed to pieces if she wasn't careful.
Xue Xing Yue felt a little guilty. Did she still have to climb?
Returning to the room, Wen Nuan stroked her head and wrote in her palm, "You can reach the rooftop directly by taking the stairs here."
Xue Xing Yue's heart finally felt at ease. She asked, "Aunt Nuan, how long until Uncle Hei leaves?"
"Barring any accidents, three more days," Wen Nuan wrote in her palm.
Xue Xing Yue felt that she had to endure these three days, even if it meant pretending.
The man in black would come every night, and then she would be knocked unconscious and thrown to the ground. By the time she woke up, it was usually broad daylight.
And Aunt Nuan would always wash her body frantically. She had seen it more than once, Aunt Nuan rubbing her skin until it was red.
She didn't understand, and Aunt Nuan wouldn't say, only shedding tears. Since it was something that made Aunt Nuan sad, she would never ask about it again.
When the three days were up, the man in black did leave, but before he left, he left many people behind for her and Aunt Nuan.
Nicely put, they were there to protect them; plainly put, they were under house arrest.
"Don't be afraid, Aunt Nuan," Xue Xing Yue comforted Wen Nuan.
Wen Nuan nodded and made muffled sounds.
Xue Xing Yue said, "I know everything, Aunt Nuan."
She had heard her mother mention Wen Nuan before – that seductive and beautiful woman, but because of Uncle Wen, she had been harmed.
Her mother had blamed herself many times, but it was too late.
Now, she would definitely protect Aunt Nuan on behalf of her mother.
Xue Xing Yue opened the door first and said, "I'm hungry. I want to eat Fushou Tang's peach blossom cake, osmanthus cake, apricot blossom cake..."
The string of pastries made those people, who could frown without flinching when killing, frown for the first time.
"I told Uncle that he must satisfy whatever Aunt Nuan wants. Now Aunt Nuan wants to eat these pastries, and she wants to eat them all together," Xue Xing Yue said, her face unblushing and her heart unfaltering.
This was something she and Aunt Nuan had planned a few days ago. The pastries here were from Fushou Tang in the east of the city, and the pastries from Master Li's shop in the west of the city. To buy them all, three people were needed.
Uncle Hei had left four people. This left only one person.
The four people discussed it. Looking at the young lady in the wheelchair and the little child, they felt that the楼主 was not as terrifying as described.
So, three people went to buy the pastries, and only one person guarded Xue Xing Yue and Wen Nuan.
Then, Wen Nuan collapsed with an illness. Xue Xing Yue cried and yelled frantically. Finally, the remaining person was drawn in. Seeing Wen Nuan spitting blood, their expression changed.
"Quickly go find a doctor, hurry..." Xue Xing Yue cried uncontrollably.
"But... but I was sent by the楼主 to protect Miss Wen."
Xue Xing Yue said angrily, "If something happens to Aunt Nuan, do you think Uncle Hei will let you off?"
The man in black trembled. Xue Xing Yue continued, "Look at me, how can a child my age run away? Or do you think Aunt Nuan can run in her wheelchair?"
"Then I'll go find a doctor," the man in black said, turned, and left.
Seeing this, Xue Xing Yue quickly ran over to help the seemingly unconscious Wen Nuan, who was pretending to be in a coma after spitting blood. But she was too small and had no strength. She could only ask, "Aunt Nuan, how are you?"
Wen Nuan opened her mouth as if to speak, but in the end, she couldn't say a word. Seeing this, Xue Xing Yue quickly offered her hand and asked, "Aunt Nuan, what do you want to say? Tell me."
Wen Nuan wrote in her palm, "Don't worry about me, quickly go report."
"But..." Xue Xing Yue looked at the weak Wen Nuan, feeling at a loss.
Wen Nuan cried out urgently in muffled sounds.
Xue Xing Yue could only grit her teeth and say, "Alright, Aunt Nuan, I'll be back."
She dropped Wen Nuan, forcefully pushed open the door, and it opened a crack. She squeezed through, moved along the corridor to the very end, saw the stairs, and without hesitation, she began to climb. As she looked down, her calves almost went numb.
This... this was too high.
Her efforts were rewarded. She finally climbed to the rooftop and saw the pigeons in the cage.