From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor

Hua Zhuyue began to inspect the large bed again, even checking under the mattress. Xu Chunliang watched from the side: "Sister Hua, if you’re not assured, I can ask them for another room."

Hua Zhuyue said, "It’s not that I don’t trust you, but it’s better to be careful. If I’m not mistaken, the next move for Cao Mulan will definitely be to investigate our backgrounds."

Xu Chunliang said, "Even if she finds out, what can she do? Our goal is to get into her lair. If she dares to harm us, I’ll turn her entire base upside down."

Hua Zhuyue said, "Do you want the sofa or the bed?"

Xu Chunliang lay on the bed and said, "The bed is wide enough for both of us. After knowing me for so long, you should know that I’m just joking around; in reality, I’m a true gentleman who can’t be swayed."

Hua Zhuyue laughed and said, "A true gentleman pays a price in blood." Xu Chunliang vividly remembered the scene from last night when he had a nosebleed, and Hua Zhuyue was indeed a bit worried that he might bleed again. Wouldn’t others misunderstand it as her doing?

Neither of them intended to shower. Although they checked and found no surveillance equipment, modern technology is ever-evolving. Something could be hidden in an inconspicuous corner, couldn’t it?

Hua Zhuyue took off her shoes and lay down on the other side. They exchanged glances and burst into laughter, both guessing the cause of each other’s amusement. Hua Zhuyue actually felt a bit embarrassed and threw a pillow at Xu Chunliang: "Go sleep on the sofa!"

The pillow hit Xu Chunliang, but there was suddenly nothing beneath him. They, along with the bed, fell below.

Xu Chunliang reacted quickly, intending to spring back, but as he tried to channel his energy, his meridians throbbed with excruciating pain. His old injuries hadn’t healed, and forcing his True Essence might worsen them. Besides, Hua Zhuyue was by his side, and even if Xu Chunliang bore the pain to escape, Hua Zhuyue lacked his skills.

As the bed fell, the lights went out, immediately followed by the sound of steel plates closing overhead.

The bed landed on a cushioned air mattress, swaying a few times. Neither Xu Chunliang nor Hua Zhuyue was hurt. Hua Zhuyue turned on her phone’s light to illuminate the surroundings, smiling helplessly: "It seems it’s not our first time falling into this kind of trap."

Xu Chunliang said, "Looks like your security check was inadequate."

They got off the bed, walking on the cushion to reach solid ground, finding it covered in red sand. The surrounding walls were built with green bricks. Xu Chunliang moved closer in the light to inspect, finding all the bricks to be ancient, with inscriptions on the blue-gray surfaces saying, "Endless happiness," "Prosperity for descendants," and "Eternal life."

Xu Chunliang said, "These are Han dynasty bricks."

Hua Zhuyue felt her heartbeat quicken, wanting to speak, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Xu Chunliang stuffed a round object in. It was somewhat bitter, and Hua Zhuyue’s first reaction was to spit it out.

Xu Chunliang whispered in her ear, "This red sand is called Peach Blossom Sha, which can lead to infatuation and loses control, having aphrodisiac effects."

Hua Zhuyue thought to herself, isn’t that an aphrodisiac? She swallowed the round pill but still dared not take deep breaths. Recalling the last time at the Divine Medicine Planting Base, where they fell into a trap in a confinement box, it seemed this was a common tactic of their adversaries.

Both of them were cautious, yet they still fell into someone’s trap.

Hua Zhuyue said with some frustration, "A single slip in all our precautions—they finally got us. Knowing this, we shouldn’t have stayed."

Xu Chunliang replied, "You can’t catch the tiger cub without entering the tiger’s den. This proves we’re close to finding Xiahou Zun."

Hua Zhuyue said, "It seems our identities have been exposed."

Xu Chunliang said, "It was only a matter of time. I suspect that Yan Hong guy has sold us out."

Just as Yan Hong fell asleep, someone pressed a knife to his neck. The lights turned on, revealing that the bearded man had a curved kukri knife against his carotid artery. The bearded man hushed him: "Don’t move, or nicking the artery will cause unstoppable bleeding."

Yan Hong trembled as he spoke, "You... why are you doing this, we’re from the same sect..."

The bearded man chuckled darkly, "The young lady wants to see you." He threw a pair of handcuffs at Yan Hong.

Understanding what was expected, Yan Hong obediently cuffed himself, following the bearded man back to the room in the Hundred Herbs Building.

Cao Mulan had removed her armor, wearing a white long dress. The enchanting woman in red by her side respectfully poured her tea.

Feigning composure, Yan Hong held up his cuffed hands, asking, "What does President Cao mean by this?"

Cao Mulan said, "Who are the two people you came with?"

Although Yan Hong sensed danger, he didn’t immediately admit it, sticking to the script he and Xu Chunliang planned, "They’re my partners. We came to Dongzhou to assassinate Hua Zhuyue together..."

Cao Mulan sighed softly, glancing at the woman in red, who then smiled at Yan Hong with seductive allure. Suddenly, she tossed something small and sharp—a short flying knife—aimed straight at Yan Hong’s right leg, embedding deeply into his flesh.

The woman’s speed was alarmingly fast. Even at his best, Yan Hong would’ve struggled to dodge, let alone with his hands cuffed.

Yan Hong cried out in pain. Looking down, the knife was embedded deeply, almost to its hilt. He instinctively tried to pull it out.

Cao Mulan said, "Hongxiu, how could you treat our guest like this? Go on, pull out the knife."

The woman called Hongxiu stammered softly, "I was wrong." She walked step by step towards Yan Hong.

Though the woman was enchanting and beautiful, she was terrifying in Yan Hong’s eyes. He shook his head, "No need..."

Cao Mulan looked coldly into his eyes and said, "You won’t even listen to me?"

Intimidated by Cao Mulan’s aura, Yan Hong’s hand stopped halfway.

Hongxiu reached Yan Hong’s side, grabbed the handle of the knife, and pulled it out, bringing with it a lot of blood, some of which stained Hongxiu’s red dress. Yan Hong clenched his teeth in agony.

Hongxiu pouted, "Annoying, you’ve dirtied my clothes." To everyone’s surprise, she reversed the knife and stabbed it back into Yan Hong’s thigh. Yan Hong let out a muffled groan, his forehead instantly beaded with cold sweat.

Cao Mulan seemed to see nothing and said indifferently, "Who exactly are these two people?"

Yan Hong realized their plan had completely been exposed and screamed, "President Cao, they forced me, the man is called Xu Chunliang, the woman is the Orchid Sect’s Hua Zhuyue..."

Once the defenses collapsed, it was like a flood breaking through a dam, and Yan Hong recounted the whole incident from beginning to end.

After listening, Cao Mulan made a gesture, and Hongxiu pulled the knife out again. Poor Yan Hong dared not resist and could only let her torment him, as the fresh blood from the wound had already dyed his pants red.

Hongxiu called for the big bearded man to help bandage the wound on Yan Hong’s leg, then covered his eyes with a black cloth. After everything was done, the big bearded man and Hongxiu withdrew.

Cao Mulan said, "Yan Hong, as a disciple of our sect, you should know the rules. Colluding with outsiders to damage our sect’s interests requires three stab-six hole discipline to cleanse the house."

Terrified, Yan Hong knelt on the ground, "President Cao, please spare me. I was forced. Xu Chunliang is sinister and tormented me in every way. I’m not afraid of death, but the torture of the Autumn Death Needle is truly unbearable."

Cao Mulan nodded and said softly, "Come closer, let me take a look."

Yan Hong took two steps forward, but his foot found nothing beneath it. He cried out in fear as his body plummeted through a hole.

Yan Hong fell from a height of six or seven meters, landing heavily and becoming disoriented. When he regained his senses, he saw a light ahead and, despite the pain, crawled toward the lit area. There sat an old man with white hair and beard, engrossed in reading a book.

Hearing Yan Hong’s footsteps, the old man put down his book and beckoned him over, "Come here."

Xu Chunliang and Hua Zhuyue quickly realized they had fallen into a maze, where the underground tunnels twisted and turned, repeatedly bringing them back to their starting point despite their attempts.

Hua Zhuyue said, "This is clearly a maze."

Xu Chunliang said, "This Cao Mulan is quite something."

Hua Zhuyue asked, "You mean this underground maze was built by her?"

Xu Chunliang shook his head, "This underground maze must be old. If I’m not mistaken, it might very well be an undiscovered Hidden Soldier Cave."

"Cao Cao’s Hidden Soldier Cave?"

Xu Chunliang nodded.

Hua Zhuyue had visited Qiaocheng before and toured a publicly known Hidden Soldier Cave, which had been submerged for over seven hundred years due to the Song Dynasty Yellow River breach, only to be rediscovered by chance during air-raid shelter excavations in the 1970s.

Experts confirmed it as the legendary Cao Cao’s Soldier Transport Path, hailed as the underground Great Wall by the archeological community. It includes both the Qiao Watchtower and ancient tunnels, intricately interwoven, extending nearly eight kilometers currently discovered.

It seemed that Cao Mulan’s true purpose in leasing land for traditional Chinese medicine cultivation was this underground Great Wall.

The maze they were in was established by the Cao Army to prevent enemy infiltration, designed by Cao Cao’s renowned advisor Guo Jia, whose strategic wisdom was comparable to Zhuge Liang.

Xu Chunliang and Hua Zhuyue turned around in circles, unable to leave the ancient maze, and their phones had lost signal.

Staring at the peach-blossom curse array on the ground, Xu Chunliang thought to himself that if he couldn’t cure poisons, he would’ve already done something improper with Hua Zhuyue.

Hua Zhuyue whispered, "This aimless wandering isn’t getting us anywhere. I have a feeling they’re watching our every move from the shadows."

Her words reminded Xu Chunliang, so he said, "Get on the bed."

Hua Zhuyue was taken aback, "What?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Get on the bed first, then we’ll talk."

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