Chapter 162 The Secret Meeting in the Dungeon
Elder Luo suddenly stopped.
He tilted his head and glanced at me.
“Afraid?”
I immediately puffed out my chest.
“Not at all! Not even a little! I’ve seen things way scarier than this!”
“What things?”
“Uh... um... the Sect Leader’s morning temper.”
Elder Luo: “...”
At the dungeon entrance, two stewards bowed respectfully.
“Greetings, Elder Luo.”
Elder Luo waved a hand casually and pointed at me.
“He is my new attendant. I’m taking him inside.”
The two stewards nodded at once.
A terrifying realization suddenly dawned on me.
—I think... I just infiltrated the core of the Blood Lotus Sect completely legally.
And then, when the massive iron gates of the dungeon slowly creaked open, I truly saw it—
Light in the depths.
Voices.
And...
A figure chained to a pillar.
It was Hua Xiang.
My heart nearly leapt out of my throat.
—Oh no.
—The plot is finally reaching the most critical point.
And I...
Had to stand beside Elder Luo and watch the entire thing unfold.
I had assumed that “interrogating Hua Xiang” would be the sort of scene filled with flying blood, rattling chains, and agonized screams.
Before entering, I had even spent a few moments mentally preparing myself.
But after stepping inside—
...Huh?
The dungeon was unexpectedly clean and orderly.
The lanterns glowed dimly. Moisture clung heavily to the stone walls. Yet behind the iron bars in the central cell, Hua Xiang was sitting before a—
—a small redwood tea table.
I stared in disbelief.
What kind of dungeon was this?
This was basically an underground teahouse!
Hua Xiang showed absolutely no signs of having been tortured.
His long hair was neatly tied back. His robes were immaculate. Even his expression remained as calm as ever.
He looked less like a prisoner and more like someone attending an elegant gathering called A Refined Dungeon Symposium.
Standing at the doorway, I couldn’t help admiring him.
As expected of Hua’s predecessor. Hua Xiang was still a level above that flamboyant peacock. You could probably lock him in a pigsty and he’d still somehow sit there looking like an immortal.
Elder Luo, however, was in no mood to appreciate any of that.
Standing before Hua Xiang, his brows were furrowed tightly enough to crush an ant.
“Hua Xiang. Even after being imprisoned, you still refuse to confess?”
Hua Xiang raised his eyes.
His gaze was soft, the corners slightly drooping.
His voice was light.
“Confess to what crime?”
Elder Luo snorted.
“You released that thief.”
I immediately started coughing.
“Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!”
I’m innocent! I didn’t steal anything!!
Elder Luo shot me a glance.
I instantly straightened my back, pressed my lips together, and transformed into the most loyal attendant in sect history.
Hua Xiang remained completely composed.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“I did not release him.”
Elder Luo’s eyelid twitched.
“Someone witnessed you allowing him to leave.”
Hua Xiang remained unhurried.
His expression never changed.
“That was not me releasing him. The sect was in chaos at the time. Someone rescued him before I could stop them. I neither permitted it nor had the opportunity to intervene.”
Elder Luo snorted coldly.
“You certainly know how to wash your hands of responsibility.”
Hua Xiang lifted his lashes slightly.
“I possessed neither the authority nor the intention to release him.”
Elder Luo slammed his palm against the table.
“The stolen item disappeared only after he and that lunatic entered the sect! You allowed outsiders to escape. What exactly were you plotting?!”
Hua Xiang lowered his eyes.
His composure was almost unsettling.
“The missing item concerns confidential matters. If Elder Luo believes I am involved, I have nothing further to argue.”
“Nothing to argue?”
Elder Luo laughed in anger.
“As Left Protector of the sect, you not only allowed outsiders to escape, but colluded with them and conspired to steal sect secrets—”
“Elder Luo.”
Hua Xiang suddenly looked up.
His eyes were so clear they seemed capable of reflecting every shadow hidden in a person’s heart.
“I have never colluded with him. Nor have I leaked any confidential information.”
He paused.
“And there has certainly been no improper association.”
His voice was quiet.
Yet somehow it carried enough weight to silence the entire dungeon.
“As for whether the missing item is connected to this young man, that remains to be investigated. Until the truth is established, I will not make reckless assumptions.”
The dungeon became so quiet that even the crackling of candle flames sounded deafening.
Inside, I was practically bawling.
Waaah, Hua Xiang, stop defending me like this! You're making me feel touched and guilty at the same time!!!
Elder Luo’s face turned green.
Clearly, Hua Xiang’s calm honesty was driving him mad.
Yet he couldn’t find a single flaw in the man’s reasoning.
What he hated most was precisely this—
Hua Xiang’s infuriating habit of always sounding unquestionably reasonable.
And somehow...
actually being reasonable.
Elder Luo’s knuckles cracked audibly.
Coldly, he pressed on.
“Then why did you obstruct our investigation? Where is the stolen item?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?!”
“I truly do not.”
Hua Xiang looked at him quietly.
Like a crane trapped inside a cage, yet still dignified and elegant.
“But once Young Master Lian emerges from seclusion, I will report everything truthfully. I am willing to accept punishment, but only after the truth has been established.”
Silence filled the dungeon.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three.
A dark shadow crossed Elder Luo’s eyes.
—Hua Xiang wouldn’t yield.
And he insisted on waiting for “Lian to emerge from seclusion.”
And according to the original timeline, the younger Lian genuinely possessed the authority to judge Hua Xiang’s case.
Elder Luo’s expression darkened further.
Beside them, I silently sweated buckets.
Hua Xiang was the key node.
But the timeline had already been thoroughly scrambled by my interference.
If Elder Luo lost his temper—
Suddenly, Elder Luo raised a hand.
“Bring the torture rack.”
I froze.
Hua Xiang remained calm.
He merely looked at Elder Luo as one might look at an aging man approaching the end of his years.
Panic exploded inside me.
HOLY HELL, YOU’RE SERIOUS?!
NO!
HUA XIANG CANNOT BE TORTURED!
At that moment—
“Reporting to Elder Luo!”
A deep voice sounded from nearby.
A tall prison guard with soot-darkened skin stepped forward and bowed.
“Elder Zhang and Elder Qin request your presence.”
Elder Luo frowned.
“At a time like this?”
The guard answered steadily.
“It appears to concern last night’s patrol incident.”
Elder Luo snorted.
“Fine.”
He flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.
But before going, he shot me a sharp glare.
“You stay.”
My spine straightened instantly.
“Before I return—
Persuade Protector Hua properly.”
Me: “...Huh? Oh! Yes, sir!”
He took several steps, then stopped again.
Without turning around, he added coldly,
“If he escapes,
you won’t need to keep living either.”
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, understood!”
At last, Elder Luo’s silhouette disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.
I released a massive breath.
My legs nearly turned into noodles.
Just as I was preparing to invent an excuse to follow him—
“Gong”
The prison guard suddenly called my name softly.
I turned around.
The candlelight flickered.
He stood in the shadows, his skin darkened with disguise.
But those long, slightly upturned eyes—
those fox-like eyes brimming with charm—
My heart skipped a beat.
Even painted black, I could recognize those eyes from inside a pile of coal!
I whispered in shock,
“Li-Lian?!”
“Shh.”
The prison guard raised a finger to his lips.
“Don’t alarm anyone.”
Behind the bars, Hua Xiang lifted his eyes.
The moment he looked at the guard, something flickered in his gaze.
“...You again.”
His tone carried equal parts helplessness and affection.
I nearly short-circuited.
WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!!
You two already recognized each other?!
WHAT THE HELL KIND OF CHILDHOOD FRIENDSHIP IS THIS?!
Lian flashed a grin.
Two rows of white teeth appeared.
For a moment he looked exactly like his younger self.
“I came to see how things were going.”
Then he lowered his gaze toward me.
“And... to make sure you’re unharmed.”
My eyes instantly filled with tears.
I KNEW IT!
In the entire Blood Lotus Sect, Lian was the only reliable one!!
But Hua Xiang merely shook his head.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
Lian raised a brow.
“You’ve been imprisoned. How could I not come?”
Hua Xiang lowered his eyes.
His voice softened like incense ash scattered by a night breeze.
“But this matter concerns a critical node in the timeline. If you rescue me now—”
“I’m not here to rescue you.”
Lian cut him off immediately.
“I merely...
happened to stop by and see you again.”
Hua Xiang: “...”
Me: “???”
I stood there staring at an imprisoned Hua Xiang and a jailer-disguised Lian.
My brain had completely stopped functioning.
Unable to hold back any longer, I raised a hand.
“Wait! Can somebody please explain what exactly is going on?!”
Hua Xiang glanced at Lian as though waiting for permission.
Lian took a deep breath.
Then he looked at me.
“...I already told Hua Xiang about us accidentally entering the illusion realm.”
Hua Xiang’s clear eyes sharpened slightly.
It turned out that—
The moment Lian appeared in the dungeon, despite his darkened disguise, Hua Xiang recognized him instantly.
The older version of Lian.
At the time, Hua Xiang had nearly thought he was seeing a ghost.
He had even started raising a hand to call for help.
Fortunately, one warning glare from Lian shut that idea down immediately.
So Lian simply laid everything out.
Every ridiculous disaster we had stumbled into along the way—
Including:
our accidental entry into the illusion realm,
the timeline loops,
our failure to trigger key events that caused the timeline to destabilize,
Mu Cangli losing his mind and tearing roofs apart,
and how we had infiltrated this period to observe the timeline, locate the crucial nodes, and prevent the entire story from collapsing into an unfinished mess—
He told Hua Xiang everything.
Hua Xiang was naturally shocked.
But more than shock, his reaction seemed to be:
Sect Leader... how do you always manage to cause trouble?
And yet—
He believed him.
Not because the explanation was logical.
Not because the evidence was convincing.
But because—
It was Lian.
The little Sect Leader he had watched grow up since childhood.
Hua Xiang trusted him more than he trusted the entire world.