Murong Mingyuan was captured alive by Brent and brought to the command center. She hadn't been mistreated prior to that.
It was because of the words on her body that neither Brent nor even Ron dared to lay a finger on her.
This made Murong Mingyuan feel, for the first time, that having words on her body actually had its advantages.
She was filled with regret now.
Regret for acting impulsively, not only getting herself captured but also leaving Li Qianfan’s fate uncertain.
But all she could do now was to be confined in a "private room," silently savoring her regret.
Rhode, fearing she would be lonely, had even found a female internet celebrity to keep her company in the private room.
This treatment was quite good, all things considered.
Murong Mingyuan thought that in three to five days at most, she would be used as an important bargaining chip and taken out of the Blackwater Forest.
However, just ten minutes ago, eight people wearing fox masks and black robes entered the private room.
Upon entering, without waiting for any reaction from Murong Mingyuan, they chased the female internet celebrity who was talking to her out of the room.
The door closed—
One of the black-robed figures asked her directly, "Tell me, where is Li Qianfan now?"
Murong Mingyuan was stunned by the question and blurted out in return, "How would I know where he is?"
She was telling the truth.
But before she could even finish speaking, the black-robed figure who questioned her raised his hand and delivered a heavy slap to her face.
Murong Mingyuan was stunned by the blow.
Purely on instinct, after a moment of stunned silence, she exploded in anger, her voice sharp and fierce. Raising her fists, she lunged forward, "You dare hit me?"
*Thwack—*
The black-robed figure casually raised his leg and kicked her flying, answering her question.
Crashing heavily against the wall and then falling to the ground with a thud, Murong Mingyuan felt as if all her bones had been shattered.
There were eight of them.
One of them could casually kick her flying with a single leg. If it were any other girl, she would have collapsed on the ground by now, trembling and weeping helplessly.
But Murong Mingyuan was not like that!
She merely wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, glared fiercely at the black-robed figures, and after a brief rest, got back up, shouting, "I'll fight you!" and charged forward again.
And then—
After Murong Mingyuan was kicked flying for the eighth time, crashing heavily against the wall, she could no longer bear it and vomited a mouthful of blood.
Her face was deathly pale, and she felt as if her internal organs had shifted. Her blood churned violently, stars swam before her eyes, and she didn't even have the strength to lift her head.
But she—
Still managed to lift her head with difficulty, propping herself up on her elbows, crawling towards the black-robed figures!
Even if she were beaten to death, she wanted to take a bite out of him before she died!
This was Murong Mingyuan.
She might never be loyal to anyone, but she possessed a backbone that refused to yield, even in the face of death.
The black-robed figures truly hadn't expected Murong Mingyuan to be so stubborn.
This only fueled the killing intent in his eyes.
He sneered, raised his foot, and stepped on Murong Mingyuan's left hand. "Since you court death, I'll disable one of your hands first. Let's see how long you can remain defiant."
To his threat.
Murong Mingyuan paid no heed. She just forced her head up, opened her mouth, and lunged to bite his leg.
Just as the black-robed figure's right foot was about to exert force—
Someone spoke, "Old Eight, let her go."
The one who spoke was a woman.
Judging by her voice, she was very young.
After hearing the woman speak, Old Eight, who was about to disable Murong Mingyuan's hand, immediately retracted his foot and stepped back.
Murong Mingyuan looked up.
When Old Eight and the others entered, they had remained standing.
Only this one person was seated on a chair.
Since they were all wearing black robes, black masks, and even hoods like nuns, it was difficult to distinguish between male and female if they didn't speak.
Beneath the woman's black mask were a pair of eyes that glowed faintly.
They were incredibly captivating!
Murong Mingyuan, with her stubborn demeanor, met the woman's gaze for a moment and suddenly felt chest tightness, a surge of irritation.
She didn't want to, nor dare to, make eye contact with this woman.
But no matter how hard she tried, the woman's eyes were like magnets, fixing on Murong Mingyuan's eyes.
Making it impossible for her to look away!
Chest tightness, blood surging, a torrent of irritation, she even imagined herself as a balloon being constantly inflated.
The air inside grew more and more abundant.
Murong Mingyuan felt that she would explode with a bang at any second!
Just then, the woman shifted her gaze away from Murong Mingyuan.
Feeling as though she was about to explode, Murong Mingyuan was instantly relieved.
*Phew—*
She let out a long breath and hastily lowered her head.
Her heart pounded: "This woman knows sorcery."
The woman then said to her, "Believe it or not, I can make you mentally collapse and turn into an idiot at any moment?"
Believe it!
The ironclad facts from moments ago made Murong Mingyuan firmly believe that it would be incredibly easy for this woman, whose eyes no longer glowed, to make her mentally collapse and become an idiot.
However—
Murong Mingyuan still blurted out, "I don't believe you!"
The woman and Old Eight and the others—
They all thought of an old saying: "A dead duck's mouth is still hard."
The woman, too lazy to argue with Murong Mingyuan.
She directly asked, "Do you truly not know where Li Qianfan is now?"
*Pfft.*
Murong Mingyuan spat out a mouthful of blood and replied in a low voice, "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you!"
The woman asked again, "Do you know who we are?"
Murong Mingyuan slowly sat up and stared at the woman's mask. "Whoever you are, who cares, what's it to me?"
Before she finished speaking—
Old Eight sharply rebuked, "How dare you speak to our Young Palace Master like that!"
Murong Mingyuan looked at him and said again, "Whoever you are, who cares, what's it to me?"
These black-robed figures—
Finally realized that Murong Mingyuan's mind seemed to have a slight problem.
"Old Eight, stand down."
The woman, addressed as Young Palace Master, ordered Old Eight to step down again, then said to Murong Mingyuan, "Our primary objective for coming to the Blackwater Forest is to capture Li Qianfan alive. Because he has an irreplaceable role for us."
Murong Mingyuan raised her hand again, wiped the blood from her lips, and remained silent.
"Perhaps you already know, perhaps you don't."
The Young Palace Master continued, "In the few days since you were captured, 27 members of the Rhode team have fallen victim to Li Qianfan's ambushes."
What?
Murong Mingyuan was stunned.
The Young Palace Master, closely observing her reaction, said indifferently, "It seems you truly don't know that you've been used by Li Qianfan. He exploited your impulsiveness, and the desperation of the Rhode team to capture him alive, to easily breach the outer defense zone. He calculated long ago that with the words on your body, Rhode and the others wouldn't dare do anything to you after capturing you."
Murong Mingyuan's eyes flickered.
The Young Palace Master continued, "I've always suspected that the 'Snow Phantom' who massacred 27 people in the dark was Li Qianfan, whom Rhode and the others thought had frozen to death somewhere. But I can't figure out how he survived the initial 30 hours in sub-zero temperatures wearing only a set of thermal clothing. That's why I came to talk to you properly, keeping Rhode in the dark."
Murong Mingyuan raised her hand and pointed to her swollen cheek. "Is this how you 'talk properly' to someone?"
Who beats someone into such a state when they want to have a good chat?
The Young Palace Master, however, said, "When we usually have a good chat with someone, we break a few of their bones first, or chop off a hand. Believe me, I'm not lying to you."
Murong Mingyuan—
She stared at the woman's mask, remained silent for a long time, and chose to believe her words.
"Before coming here, I thoroughly reviewed your profile."
The Young Palace Master continued, "You were originally the eldest daughter of the Murong family in Dongtu Si Jiu. Because you offended Li Qianfan, you suffered an unbearable tragedy on your wedding day. Especially since you and your mother-in-law were branded, and your face was disfigured by him, treating you like a slave."
Murong Mingyuan said nothing.
What the Young Palace Master said were not secrets; they could be discovered with careful investigation.
"Although your beauty has been restored."
The Young Palace Master slowly rose from the chair. "But I believe that the tragic experience on your wedding day, the indelible words branded on your body, and the fact that a pampered young lady from a prominent family was forced to serve as a slave—these three points will forever be thorns, piercing your heart."
She was right.
Every time Murong Mingyuan thought of these three thorns, her heart would ache as if being cut by a knife, and she couldn't find peace.
She became irritated again and asked the Young Palace Master, "What exactly do you want to know from me?"
The Young Palace Master immediately replied, "I want to know how he could endure the extreme cold!"
"How would I know?"
Murong Mingyuan got up, coughing, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you sick in the head, or did the extreme cold freeze your brain? You actually think Li Qianfan could endure extreme cold wearing only a set of thermals?"
She truly didn't know.
Nor did she believe that anyone could endure such cold.
Seeing that she genuinely didn't know what was going on, the Young Palace Master changed the subject. "Murong Mingyuan, regardless of whether Li Qianfan is dead or not. How about we make a deal?"
Murong Mingyuan was startled. "What deal?"
The Young Palace Master replied, "I'll take you safely out of here. And in the future, I'll help you establish your own influence in Dongtu Si Jiu, so you'll never have to be anyone's slave again. But you have to join our organization."
Murong Mingyuan looked at her, and after a long pause, she uttered four words: "I won't do it."
(Feeling cold all over, drowsy, feels terrible.)