"I'll accompany you..."
"No need. His company is enough for me. Your task is to protect my treasure well."
Cheng Ze was slightly stunned. The young master's treasure? Xiao Qin is the young master's treasure? Could it be that the young master truly had male affections and liked that handsome boy?
Wen Ting guessed Cheng Ze's thoughts from his expression and couldn't help but chuckle, "First, I don't have male affections. Second, I do like her."
Cheng Ze's expression became even more peculiar. The young master liked that handsome boy but didn't have male affections? How was that possible, unless that boy was a girl!
A thunderclap erupted in his mind. Cheng Ze looked at Wen Ting with a strange expression. Could it be that it wasn't a boy but a beautiful girl?
Thinking of this, a spark of excitement flashed in Cheng Ze's eyes, "Your subordinate swears to protect Madam with his life!"
Hearing this, Wen Ting's face revealed a satisfied smile, "Very good. I'm going to a place first. After I finish my business, I will rendezvous with you. Protect that person well."
"Your subordinate receives the order." Cheng Ze chased after the Illusionary Spirit Butterfly and left swiftly. He had to find Xiao Man as soon as possible and protect the young master's wife before the young master returned!
The Jin Family Patriarch's main residence.
Xiao Man infiltrated it soundlessly.
"Master, the Jin family patriarch has gone to the martial arts hall to discuss matters with the Grand Elder. You have an hour, so you must be quick." Zhu Qing guarded the entrance, "If the person imprisoned inside is not the one you're looking for, withdraw immediately."
"Don't worry, I just need to confirm if the person inside is the one I'm looking for."
"I'll keep watch, you go quickly."
Xiao Man swiftly snuck towards the northeast corner of the main courtyard. The location of the secret chamber was under the rockery here, but there were dark guards nearby. She had to avoid them and enter undetected.
There were many dark guards in the main courtyard. Even though Xiao Man's Qinggong was superb and she was adept at concealing her aura, she couldn't possibly evade all their eyes. Just as Xiao Man was contemplating creating a diversion, she heard voices at the entrance, immediately drawing many people away.
Xiao Man seized this opportunity and entered the rockery, found the mechanism, and entered the secret passage.
Xiao Man followed the secret passage for about fifteen minutes before seeing steps ahead, leading downwards. The walls were quite damp, and there was an artificial lake near the rockery. Could this secret chamber be located underwater?
Xiao Man cautiously proceeded down the secret passage and indeed found a secret chamber below. The chamber was quite large, with many scattered papers on the floor, all covered with drawings. By the desk, a person was lying on the ground, their long hair disheveled, their clothes tattered. For a moment, Xiao Man couldn't tell if this person was male or female.
Xiao Man hid at the entrance, not rushing in. Her gaze meticulously surveyed everything in the room. The person was shackled with chains. The chains were long, but they only allowed movement within the secret chamber, not even approaching the stairs. The person lay motionless on the ground, and it was unknown whether they were dead or alive.
Xiao Man's gaze fell upon the drawings on the floor. They were all blueprints for weapons, some of which she recognized, and some she didn't. In a short while, she couldn't tell if this person was Mo Mo.
Then she heard the person on the ground recite a poem: "For half a lifetime, oars on thirty rivers and five lakes; for ten years, stopping at a hundred flower islets. The willows by the bank are all familiar, yet the clouds and mountains before my eyes cruelly bid me stay. Do not resent the solitary boat with no fixed destination; this body is itself a solitary boat."
"Oh, you're quite the solitary boat," Xiao Man emerged from her hiding spot. "But, in your current state, you do resemble a solitary boat."
The person who had been listlessly lying on the ground instantly sprang up upon hearing Xiao Man's voice and looked towards the staircase, "Stinky girl, if you hadn't come any sooner, I would have been bullied to death!"
Xiao Man descended the steps, and in a flash, she was beside Mo Mo. "I saw the crossbows you developed being sold outside, so I found a way to get my hands on them to examine them. Fortunately, it was me, otherwise, others wouldn't truly understand your signal for help."
"I knew you would find me. Hurry and save me! As soon as I woke up, I encountered a caravan, and then I exposed my abilities, was captured, and ended up here. I've been trapped here for so long, I don't even know what the sun looks like anymore."
Xiao Man squatted down to examine the chains binding Mo Mo, only to find them incredibly strong. She couldn't unlock them, unless she got the key.
"How is it?"
"It can't be unlocked," Xiao Man said calmly. "You are currently with the Jin family, one of the five great families. I discovered the Jin family selling your designed hidden weapons, so I guessed you might be with the Jin family. However, I found that the Jin family had no record of anyone like you, and I immediately understood that you had been captured by the Jin family."
"These people are despicable, tying me up like a dog here. When I get out, I will definitely flatten their Jin family."
"That won't do," Xiao Man stopped her. "Those who deserve to die should die, but those who shouldn't be harmed must not be touched. The Jin family still has many good people. Moreover, if you flatten the Jin family, what about my friends?"
"Then my suffering will be in vain?" Su Dan Novel Network
"Of course not. Those who bullied you will pay the price," Xiao Man comforted her. "Don't worry, I will definitely find the key to save you."
"Why bother looking for a key? Have you forgotten what I do?" Mo Mo said grumpily. "Do you have any materials on you?"
"Of course, I do." Xiao Man immediately handed Mo Mo something from her storage bag. Mo Mo opened it and her eyes widened. "My heavens, these are all excellent materials for forging weapons. Where did you get them?"
"I knew you liked them, so I collected them when I encountered them."
"This is the happiest thing that has happened to me in the two years I've been imprisoned," Mo Mo took out a piece of meteoric iron. "How can I melt this meteoric iron?"
"Simple." A small bird jumped out from Xiao Man's embrace and spat a mouthful of fire at the meteoric iron. The previously indestructible meteoric iron turned into molten iron. Mo Mo immediately poured the molten iron into a mold she had prepared earlier. For the past two years, she had already figured out the structure of the lock, but she just hadn't found suitable materials to make a key.
"Once the molten iron cools, we'll have the key."
"Cooling it is also easy." A ball of ice-blue flame appeared at Xiao Man's fingertips. As soon as the flame touched the molten iron, it instantly cooled and solidified into the shape of a key, leaving Mo Mo dumbfounded. She hugged Xiao Man's hand and looked back and forth, finding no clues. She then grabbed the little fire phoenix from Xiao Man's shoulder, brought it to her face to examine it closely, and asked, "Fire chicken?"
"You're the fire chicken, your whole family are fire chickens! I am a phoenix!" Huo Wu escaped from Mo Mo's hand and flew back to Xiao Man's shoulder. "Mother, she's bullying me."