Song Yan arrived at the Qin Tower just as the afternoon sun was slanting. However, the surroundings were quite different from the last time he came.
He tilted his head slightly and glanced at the private rooms on the upper floor. Although the Qin Tower was still brightly lit, it was empty.
The bustling scene from before seemed like nothing more than a dream. Song Yan couldn't figure out what on earth had happened to make all the people inside disappear overnight.
And it had happened in such a short period of time.
People couldn't just vanish into thin air.
The only explanation was... the perpetrator before had probably set this whole trap for him.
Although he knew that all this might be a trap set by the culprit, Song Yan couldn't just leave Shen Huaian behind and go on his own.
After all, they had grown up together. No matter what, he couldn't abandon his friend.
Song Yan took a deep breath and finally slowly pushed open the door of the Qin Tower. The tables and chairs in the hall were neatly arranged. Although a brawl had taken place here not long ago, it seemed as if nothing had ever happened.
The empty hall was devoid of any human presence.
Frowning, Song Yan slowly walked upstairs. The letter didn't specify where he should go, only saying to come to the Qin Tower. And Jinghong didn't show up either. The whole Qin Tower was as quiet as a tomb.
This left Song Yan puzzled as to what the other party was up to.
What was the purpose of luring him here? And where exactly was Shen Huaian?
The mysteries were laid out before him, and the only thing he could do was to find out for himself what was going on.
He slowly climbed the stairs and, following his sixth sense, made his way to the private room where Cui Liu had met her misfortune. He paused at the door. After preparing himself, he reached out and pushed the door open.
To his surprise, the room was empty. There wasn't a single soul in sight.
"Chief Song has guessed wrong."
Just as Song Yan didn't know what to say about the situation, Jinghong's voice suddenly rang out from behind him. He turned around and saw her standing there, wrapped in a cloak.
Her beautiful eyes were slightly narrowed, and with her arms crossed over her chest, she stood behind him. "I didn't expect Chief Song to be so punctual. You said you'd come alone, and here you are, all by yourself."
Jinghong let out a charming laugh and gently tapped Song Yan's shoulder with her hand. Her tone was full of coquetry, but there was a hint of coldness in her eyes.
Song Yan reached out and grabbed the hand that Jinghong had placed on his shoulder. His tone turned cold. "Where did you take Shen Huaian? What's the real purpose behind all this?"
He didn't have the time to beat around the bush with the other party. Moreover, Song Yan had nothing nice to say to the culprit.
Hearing this, Jinghong let out a laugh. She reached out her other hand and tapped his forehead. Her voice was low. "Chief Song... why don't you just take a good nap?"
With that, she waved her hand, scattering the soporific powder hidden in her sleeve onto Song Yan's face. He felt a sudden dizziness, and Jinghong's face in front of him gradually blurred. Finally, he lost consciousness.
Jinghong looked at the unconscious Song Yan on the ground. The smile on her face gradually faded. She stared at him and softly murmured,
"I'm free..."
When Song Yan woke up, he found himself locked in a secret chamber. Sitting beside him was Shen Huaian, who had been kidnapped before.
He wanted to say something, but he found that his mouth was gagged, and his hands and feet were tied up. This left him completely immobilized.
"Don't waste your energy. These knots are tight. You can't untie them without a knife."
Just as Song Yan was struggling desperately, a nonchalant voice sounded in his ear. He looked up and was immediately stunned.
She was wearing a gorgeous red dress that was in disarray. At the moment, she was sitting on the ground, looking at Song Yan calmly as she spoke.
Jinghong?!
What on earth was she up to?
Perhaps Song Yan's gaze was too obvious, and all his questions were conveyed through his eyes. Jinghong could tell at a glance that the other party must have misunderstood her.
She shrugged. Although it would be quite complicated to explain the situation at the moment, if she didn't explain, she would surely be stabbed to death by his accusing looks.
So she slowly began to explain, "I know this explanation might sound absurd to you, but this is the truth. The person who kidnapped you is my double. I'm in the same situation as you now."
Song Yan didn't believe a word of her explanation. However, she was indeed quite different from the person he had met before, in terms of both her temperament and personality.
But he couldn't be sure that she wasn't just putting on an act to deceive him.
Jinghong could tell from the other party's expression that he didn't believe her at all. Oh well, it didn't matter. She had said what she needed to say. Whether he believed her or not was none of her business.
Just then, the door of the secret chamber opened. Song Yan followed the sound and saw a person wearing a cloak. With her head bowed, she walked all the way up to them.
"Greetings,阁主." The person bowed gracefully in front of Jinghong. Her voice was charming, and with a flutter of her eyelids, it seemed as if she could steal one's soul away.
Jinghong let out a disdainful snort. Leaning against the wall, she said bluntly to the person at the door, "A Liu, there's no need for you to keep up this act. By tying me up and locking me in here, you clearly don't have any respect for me as your阁主."
"阁主, you're joking. I had no choice but to do this for my own freedom. I've been your shadow for far too long. I've even forgotten who A Liu really is." A Liu's voice was low, and there was a hint of gritted teeth in her tone as she said this.
Although her words were polite, her tone wasn't as respectful as her words implied.
Song Yan was still a bit dazed looking at the two of them. Having just woken up, he was still a bit confused about the situation.
Two Jinghongs?
"You voluntarily agreed to be my double back then. Now, for just one man, you're willing to leave the pavilion and tie me up. Don't ever regret your decision in the future."
Jinghong's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. Her voice was low, and there was a strong sense of threat in her words. But A Liu didn't seem to care. Instead, she covered her mouth and let out three loud laughs.
"Thank you for your advice,阁主. But unfortunately, you won't have the chance to see how things turn out for me. I'll just set this place on fire, and all of you will die."
Hearing the other party's hysterical words, Jinghong's expression didn't change a bit. Instead, she smiled slightly. "Then you're welcome to give it a try."
Looking at the other party's confident expression, A Liu felt a pang of panic. Having been by her side for so long, she knew the阁主's personality better than anyone else.
She never said anything without being certain. Could it be...
There were still her people in this secret chamber?
Impossible. She had taken care of everything. There couldn't be anyone else. She must be trying to scare her.
"Fine, I'd like to see who else can come to your rescue!"
With that, she pulled up her cloak. Glancing in Jinghong's direction, she finally managed to say this with a straight face.
Then came the sound of footsteps gradually fading away.
"What... is going on here?" Shen Huaian, who had been pretending to be unconscious, finally woke up when A Liu came. But he didn't dare to interrupt their conversation, so he continued to pretend to be asleep.
After A Liu left, he struggled to sit up. He was still a bit confused about the current situation.
Jinghong glanced at the newly awakened Shen Huaian and raised her eyebrows slightly. "I thought you'd sleep for a while longer."
Shen Huaian could tell that the other party's words were mocking his previous act of pretending. He thought his disguise was perfect, but he didn't expect to be discovered.
He didn't know what to say in response. Saying too much would only make the situation more awkward, so he just let out a few laughs and let it pass.
On the other hand, Song Yan, whose mouth was still gagged, watched the two of them chatting. There was a look of confusion in his big eyes.
Why weren't their mouths gagged?
He shifted his body and nudged Shen Huaian with his elbow, hoping that the other party would remove the cloth from his mouth. But Shen Huaian just shifted his body slightly, indicating that his hands were also tied up.
Jinghong watched their little interaction and let out a laugh. She took out the hand that had been behind her back and rubbed her wrists, which had been tied for a long time.
"How were you able to untie the ropes?" Shen Huaian looked at her actions and was a bit stunned. He blurted out this question.
Jinghong gave him a sideways glance. She reached out and pulled the cloth out of Song Yan's mouth. After that, she reached out and tapped Shen Huaian on the head. Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. "It's better for kids not to ask so many questions."
"Alright, you should probably tell us what's going on now, right?" Song Yan frowned slightly. The conversation between her and A Liu just now was quite strange.
阁主?
What kind of power was behind her?
There were so many mysteries in what had just happened. He had had many questions since the first time he saw her. Now that the situation was urgent, there wasn't much time for small talk.
He got straight to the point.
Jinghong propped her chin up with her hand. Looking at Song Yan's frowning face, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly. When she smiled, there was a faint dimple on her cheek.
Her beautiful eyes blinked gently. Pointing at the thick smoke outside, she said with a smile, "Don't worry about me for now, Chief Song. You should be more concerned about how to escape. After all,"
She paused for a moment. Looking at the smoke outside, her voice was low and full of temptation. "The fire will reach here soon. Which is more important, the questions or your lives?"
...
Song Yan was silent at her words. Shen Huaian was panicking. If he had known things would turn out like this, he wouldn't have gone to the Qin Tower.
There was still a career waiting for him to build at home. How could he just die like this?
Although he was anxious in his heart, he kept it to himself. If he spoke up now, he would only disrupt Song Yan's train of thought.
Jinghong watched the different expressions on their faces and just let out a soft laugh. The smoke outside was getting thicker. They couldn't stay here any longer. So she clapped her hands. As soon as the sound died down, there was the sound of footsteps outside.
"Greetings,阁主." A masked black-clothed man walked to the door and bowed in her direction. His voice was cold, without any trace of emotion.
"Alright, take me out." Jinghong just gently waved her hand. Her voice was low, and she gave the order without any emotion.
Hearing this, the black-clothed man broke the railing and handed Jinghong a wet handkerchief.
Jinghong held onto his hand and walked out of the door. Looking back at Song Yan and Shen Huaian sitting on the ground, she hesitated for a moment. Then she took out a dagger from her sleeve and threw it in front of them.
She tilted her chin slightly and smiled. "I hope we'll meet again."
With that, she slowly walked out of the door.