After Lin Mengya saw the hesitation in Zhu Yan’s eyes, her lips curled up into a bizarre, chilling smile.

She stretched out her slender and delicate hand to go over the network of red veins on the stone slabs.

“Looks, these contain the blood of those girls. Can you imagine their immense grievances that even these stones had become spirits?”

Lin Mengya spouted nonsense while keeping a straight face. The stone slabs had been constantly immersed in blood, so much so that the blood had infiltrated them.

However, Zhu Yan was unaware of the reason. On top of that, he had witnessed the evil that was done here in the past. For the above reasons, he was gradually overcome by the fear of what Lin Mengya said.

“You… you… but I wasn’t the one who killed them. If they were seeking vengeance, they should not be looking for me!”

Unable to keep his composure, Zhu Yan retreated a step, shrunk back, and began to stutter.

Without him being aware, his voice had started to tremble a little.

“But you saw what happened, didn’t you? You saw how they suffered, how they were tortured to death. Now that the rest of the people has gone away, surely these girls will come after you. I can see them now. They are standing on your shoulders.”

Given the atmosphere coupled with the bizarre and creepy mood Lin Mengya created, Zhu Yan, with a threatening manner but a cowardly heart, was frightened to the point that his face became drained of its color.

Lin Mengya glanced at him with indifference. She was running out of time so she did not want to make a fuss with him.

Unfortunately, this guy was capable of any tricks as long as he was not taught a lesson.

She got up and slowly walked up to Zhu Yan. With a mocking look in her eyes, she stared at the guy whose face was drained off its color, and spoke with a whisper saying, “Now you know to be afraid, don’t you? Find the mechanism quickly.”

Lin Mengya raised her eyebrows. She supposed the words she said to frighten him was sufficient to make Zhu Yan obey her at least until they escape this situation.

“Yes… yes…”

He nodded immediately and all the air of arrogance in him vanished completely.

Zhu Yan turned around quickly in search of the entrance to the mechanism room. What he missed was the victorious smile that flashed momentarily across Lin Mengya’s face.

Zhu Yan was way too inexperienced to fight with her.

The mechanism room was at the other end of the dungeon. Its door, which was made of pure steel, was even programed with an advanced security system.

Zhu Yan turned the circular handle of the door with ease and familiarity, mumbling simultaneously. This ought to be the way to open the door.

After some time and effort, the door was opened forcefully by Zhu Yan and immediately, a dusty smell came onto them from within the door.

“Cough, cough… Get in.”

Lin Mengya followed behind Zhu Yan and quickly entered the mechanism room of average size.

It was not especially spacious and it was filled with switches to various mechanisms and the sight of them made her dizzy.

She would be at a loss of where to start if not for Zhu Yan who knew how to operate them.

“Shall we begin now?”

Despite feeling displeased, Zhu Yan managed to keep his willfulness in check.

After all, he still had the mentality of a child. Once he was done with throwing a fit and after Lin Mengya’s scare words, he could still tell what was important and serious.

“Let’s wait a while first. Perhaps we might be able to get the traitor to show himself. We have to know where he stands so that we can better deal with the situation. I suppose you don’t want your dear shopkeeper to suffer any loss, right?”

Most likely, Hongyu and her company were not hiding anywhere nearby. Moreover, Lin Mengya’s appearance here, and there, would have led most people to the front courtyard.

After all, she was the target they were after.

As for the remaining people, she supposed Xiu’s poisonous drugs would be sufficient to deal with them.

Given that she was already here, she was literally in control of the power to kill whoever was in the courtyard. She was definitely going to make the move, but before that, what she really wanted to know was the identity of the mastermind who sent these men.

Frowning, Li Mengya made a quick mental analysis of the possibilities.

She had made quite a number of enemies during this period she arrived in the Nation of Lintian.

The four old men in the Pavilion of Herbs hated her to the point of wishing to get rid of her as soon as possible.

Since she knew the Pavilion of Herbs well now, those large families that hung all their hopes on them would also hate her to their bones.

However, she was not one bit afraid of these people because Cousin Chen would secretly eradicate all of them, who created trouble for her.

What she worried about most was that this traitor reported directly to Dragon Head of the Candle Dragon Cult, just like Sumei.

If that was the case, not only she but also Zhu Yun and Qinghu would be put in a very dangerous situation.

Since she was unable to help the two of them in the Candle Dragon Cult, she could at least quietly help to clean up the trouble that came after.

“Listen, someone’s coming.”

Zhu Yan came close to Lin Mengya and whispered into her ear.

Just as Zhu Yan said, she could hear soft footsteps in the initially quiet dungeon.

She could very well have missed the sound of the footsteps if not for the sensitivity in her hearing.

Immediately, Lin Mengya tensed up. Through the little crack of the metal door, she peeped out quietly.

The footsteps eventually stopped at the bend of the dungeon. Thereafter, the shadows of a few figures quietly moved in.

Even in the presence of the bright lights, their shadows were not easily spotted. They were moving on high alert in the dark.

If Lin Mengya did not open her eyes wide to observe carefully, she would not be able to tell when these people had moved into the secret dungeon.

Seeing how carefully they were moving along, Lin Mengya could not help but sneer quietly in her heart.

“Are they carrying out a sneak attack? It appears that this traitor is very cautious.”

“There’s no one inside.”

One could see the deep end of the secret dungeon in one glance. After those few dark figures scanned the surroundings once, they reported to their commander outside with low voices.

The large space was empty. There was nowhere to hide.

However, the people outside were unwilling to enter the room carelessly.

A few more dark figures entered from outside so as to ensure that every direction of the secret dungeon was taken care of.

Finally, three men entered slowly from outside.

The light might not have lit up those men who were hiding in the dark, but the faces of these three could be seen clearly in the light.

The leader was a thin man wrapped in a long robe in the color of blood.

However, he was wearing a black Ghost Face mask which made him look hideous and mysterious.

Standing behind him was someone whose face was familiar to Lin Mengya.

It did not occur to Lin Mengya that the traitor turned out to be this man.

“Is this the place you were talking about? It doesn’t look anything special.”

The masked person’s voice sounded muffled, but he definitely succeeded in conveying his disdain in the tone of his voice.

“Yes, Ambassador White Dragon, you’re indeed high-sighted. Surely this is not the place, but this pool is very special. Back then, Zhu Yun received a commendation from the Dragon Head because he managed to refine the Bone of Beauty using on this pool. However, now he had become a lost dog. There’s no way he can be compared to our heroic Ambassador White Dragon today!”

Under the light in the dungeon, the face of the man trying to bootlick his leader looked detestable.

“It’s him!”

Standing beside Lin Mengya, Zhu Yan’s body tensed up and his face fell. He spoke with a resentful and murderous voice.

“Hush.”

Lin Mengya quickly covered Zhu Yan’s mouth. After all, those people outside were all followers of Ambassador White Dragon.

If not for the fact that they were separated by a thick pure-steel door, their every move would be detected by the people from outside.

Then, the situation turned for the worst.

Apparently, Ambassador White Dragon was a member of the Candle Dragon Cult.

“Humph, how dare these people used trifle tricks and thought they could measure themselves against me! Go, get hold of that girl for me. As long as she’s with us, Zhu Yun will be dead for sure!”

Just like the man had claimed, Ambassador White Dragon did not think much of this place.

At the command of Ambassador White Dragon, those men began streaming out quietly.

However, the man in black who had been standing behind Ambassador White Dragon remained still. He ought to be some kind of bodyguard.

“Do you know where the mechanism well is?” Ambassador White Dragon asked after scanning the surrounding.

…

He had to be referring to this spot when he asked about the mechanism well.

Lin Mengya leaned against the door as she peeked out. She was beginning to panic.

In fact, Zhu Yan had been holding onto the wooden handle for a while now, and at this moment, his eyes were filled with rage.

“It’s right behind that door. However, common people like me are not allowed in there. If we want to open that door, we would have to trouble you, Ambassador White Dragon.”

The traitor could be said to be an old acquaintance. He was the man who stood by the back gate and had pretended to save Lin Mengya and Xiu earlier on.

At this moment, his obsequious mannerism showed that he had profited much from Ambassador White Dragon.

“Naturally, it wouldn’t be difficult to open it, but there’re two bugs hiding in there. Wouldn’t I suffer more harm if they pounce at me?”

There was a mocking tone in Ambassador White Dragon’s voice. Little did Lin Mengya imagine that Ambassador White Dragon had detected their presence long ago.

However, she still chose to remain still.

“Huh? Bugs? Do you mean—”

The man was slow. He did not pick up the hint.

Ambassador White Dragon did not have the patience to explain. He turned around, faced the door, and said, “I heard that Princess Anle is an exceptionally intelligent person. If she is really that smart, why has she become easy prey to me? See, rumors cannot be trusted.”

The tone of contempt was sufficient to make people feel uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, Lin Mengya, despite being still young, had a rather mature mentality, unlike common people.

Obviously, she was in a very disadvantaged position at this moment, so she decided to maintain the status quo.

“My Lord, are you saying that Princess Anle is in there? That’s impossible. Apart from Zhu Yun, no one knows how to activate this. Unless… Hehe, if they are indeed inside there, could you hand the guy over to me so I can deal with him?”

An evil smile appeared on the man’s face. There ought to be a deep grievance between Zhu Yan and him.

Lin Mengya glanced at Zhu Yan. She was not at all surprised given that this guy had always been arrogant.

“He is my prey. When is it your turn to cut in? Shadow Slave, since the princess is unappreciative of my favor, you’ll have to personally invite her to come out.”

Ambassador White Dragon berated the man who was behind him as he instructed him with a cold voice.