Seeing Chen Xiao skillfully open the elevator door and step inside, Lin Qian became even more certain of her guess.
Her benefactor, Chen, must have met his end here, and now he had returned to claim vengeance!
"Aren't you coming with me?"
As Lin Qian remained lost in her thoughts, frozen in place, Chen Xiao called out impatiently.
"Ah, coming, I'm coming right away!"
Lin Qian scurried into the elevator. As the doors closed, trapping her alone with Chen Xiao in the confined space, Lin Qian felt a tremor of nervousness… and fear.
Noticing her pretense of bravery despite her obvious fear, Chen Xiao remained expressionless, not calling her out. Internally, however, he reveled in it.
"Benefactor Chen… how, how did you pass away? Were the people from Yuquan Palace responsible for your death? Can you tell me about it…"
Lin Qian mustered her courage and asked, her voice trembling.
Chen Xiao cast a cold glance at her, which sent Lin Qian shrinking into a corner of the elevator, no longer daring to pry.
There was only one floor indicated on the elevator buttons, with no number specified. Judging by the downward distance, Chen Xiao estimated it to be between the second and third basement levels.
The elevator doors opened to reveal two security guards drinking and playing cards.
However, these were clearly no ordinary guards, as beside them lay two hunting rifles, each over a meter long.
"Why are you taking over so early today… Huh? Who are you people?"
The two guards were already bleary-eyed from drinking. When the elevator doors first opened, they had assumed it was their relief.
It wasn't until they saw Chen Xiao and Lin Qian inside the elevator that the guards sobered up halfway. They raised their rifles and aimed them at Chen Xiao.
After confirming they were not their colleagues, they made to pull the triggers without hesitation. However, Chen Xiao gave them no such opportunity. With a glare, the two guards dissolved into two clouds of bloody mist with soft popping sounds.
Chen Xiao stepped out of the elevator, with Lin Qian following, silent and trembling.
Although this wasn't the first time she had witnessed Chen Xiao's abilities, she was still terrified by the scene before her, barely daring to breathe.
Beside the two guards was a long corridor, leading to a single, very sturdy door. As Lin Qian fumbled for her keys, Chen Xiao kicked the door open.
Beyond the door was a vast room, hundreds of square meters in size. To be precise, it was a massive prison cell.
The dungeon was dark and damp, holding dozens of scantily clad girls. As the door opened, a foul odor assaulted their senses.
This was because the girls' daily necessities, including eating, drinking, defecation, and urination, were all conducted within this single large room. Furthermore, the cell was underground, with no ventilation and poor air circulation, so the pungent smell was… imaginable.
However, Lin Qian could no longer afford to worry about the smell. To save her good friend, she rushed inside impatiently.
The girls looked at the two with vacant, dazed eyes, unsure of what was happening.
Judging by the girl's clothes, she was another captive? But why would they need to kick down the door to bring someone in?
As they pondered this, Lin Qian shouted, "Sisters, you are saved! We've come to rescue you!"
Lin Qian's voice was filled with pride. At this moment, she felt like a chivalrous heroine descending from the heavens!
Although, in reality, she had done little more than lead the way, and even that was debatable, as the dungeon was discovered by Benefactor Chen himself.
The girls remained still, as they were uncertain of what was truly happening.
They were simply too accustomed to being imprisoned and beaten. Like sheep long penned in, even if someone were to break down the pen door, they had forgotten how to escape.
The girls' reaction surprised Lin Qian, who couldn't understand why they were behaving this way.
Chen Xiao, however, understood perfectly. But having rescued them was already going above and beyond; the subsequent rescue efforts would be left to others.
Chen Xiao, not minding the late hour, made several phone calls, contacting the local authorities and the Exorcism Division, urging them to come and provide assistance quickly.
Although the Yuquan Palace had colluded with the authorities, he didn't believe that all government officials had been corrupted by the Yuquan Palace.
"Sisters, you are free, why aren't you leaving?"
Lin Qian asked, looking bewildered.
Just then, someone among the imprisoned recognized Lin Qian and tentatively called out, "Xiao Shishi?"
Lin Qian followed the sound and found a familiar face. She immediately ran over excitedly, exclaiming, "Xiao Diandian! That's great, I knew you were held here!"
Lin Qian was so overjoyed that she failed to notice that the rescued 'Xiao Diandian' did not display the expected joy on her face.
"Xiao Shishi, what's going on?"
As Lin Qian approached, Xiao Diandian asked, her tone somewhat cold.
"Xiao Diandian, it's like this, you told me to be careful of the boss and to leave quickly, so I…"
Lin Qian rambled on, explaining the general course of events.
The girl's communication skills were somewhat lacking; not only were her words unfocused, but they were also rather jumbled, jumping from one point to another. Fortunately, she managed to convey the gist of the situation.
However, what surprised her was that after she finished explaining, and while awaiting Xiao Diandian's praise, Xiao Diandian looked at her with utter hatred, grinding her teeth.
"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have told you anything!"
Lin Qian was completely stunned, staring at Xiao Diandian with wide eyes, and asked in confusion, "Xiao Diandian, what do you mean by that…"
She simply couldn't comprehend why, after risking her life to save this 'little sister,' the other party would treat her good intentions with such ingratitude.
As she thought about it, Lin Qian's eyes began to well up with tears.
She felt wronged, and wanted to cry!
"Who asked you to save me!"
Xiao Diandian completely ignored Lin Qian's distress and roared furiously, "Do you know that your self-righteousness has disrupted all my plans? The hard work of months has all gone to waste!"
Lin Qian didn't know what 'plans' Xiao Diandian had. She just felt wronged, "But, but I came to save you…"
"Who asked you to save me?"
Xiao Diandian said coldly, "Did you ever consider that if I knew this place was dangerous and warned you to escape, why didn't I escape myself? You truly have a pig's brain!"
Lin Qian suddenly froze, as if struck by lightning. "That's right, if you knew this place was dangerous, why didn't you escape? Xiao Diandian, what were you trying to achieve?"
"You're going to make me so angry I die!"
Xiao Diandian had no desire to deal with the foolish Lin Qian.
"Xiao Diandian, I know I was wrong, please don't be angry anymore, okay? Even though I don't know what your plans are, you've been saved now, haven't you? As long as you're alive, you can always find a way. Whatever your plans were, you can start again. I, I'm willing to help you with all my might!"
Lin Qian pleaded earnestly.
Chen Xiao watched this scene from a distance, shaking his head helplessly.
He couldn't fathom how someone with such innocent and naive thoughts could become a skilled technician.
It just went to show that people, as long as they mastered a skill, could make a living even if they were a bit slow-witted.
Xiao Diandian not only did not appreciate Lin Qian's words but waved her away repeatedly, "Just stay away from me, and you'll be doing me a great favor…"
Lin Qian's mouth turned down, and this time, she truly looked like she was about to cry.
She choked out, "Alright, then I'll leave. I'll leave, is that okay… Xiao Diandian? What's wrong?"
Lin Qian was about to leave in a huff, but halfway through her sentence, she saw Xiao Diandian's face turn pale, followed by a trickle of dark blood from the corner of her mouth.
"I don't need you to worry about me…"
As Xiao Diandian spoke, she coughed violently, spitting out another mouthful of blood.
The blood was dark and had a foul stench. The sisters nearby, witnessing this, were greatly alarmed and screamed, fleeing in panic.
It was as if Xiao Diandian's spitting blood was contagious.
"Xiao Diandian, Xiao Diandian, what's wrong with you?"
Lin Qian was once again thrown into a panic, completely at a loss.
After spitting blood three times, Xiao Diandian finally lost consciousness and fainted.
Lin Qian forced herself to calm down. "Call, call an ambulance, yes, call an ambulance, but I don't have a phone, where is there a phone?"
As she stood there, bewildered, Chen Xiao walked over, picked up Xiao Diandian, and started walking out.
"This woman has been poisoned."
Leaving only these words, Chen Xiao carried Xiao Diandian back upstairs to Yuquan Palace to help her detoxify.
Lin Qian quickly followed, tentatively asking, "Benefactor Chen, besides killing, can you also save people?"
"I know a little."
Chen Xiao replied humbly.
Lin Qian clicked her tongue incessantly and asked, "Benefactor Chen, are all vengeful spirits as powerful as you?"
"If becoming a ghost could make me as powerful as you, then I wouldn't be afraid of death either… And if I had died sooner, perhaps I could have become a ghost and cured my mother's illness, then she wouldn't have passed away…"
The light in Lin Qian's eyes gradually dimmed, as if recalling a painful memory.
"When I was eighteen, my mother fell gravely ill. My family had no money for treatment, so… so I dropped out of school and took up this profession. Although I earned enough money to pay for my mother's treatment, her illness was too severe, and she passed away in the end. I had no way to turn back… Benefactor Chen, wouldn't it be wonderful if people could go back in time? If I could make a different choice, perhaps there wouldn't be so many regrets."
Chen Xiao didn't ask about Lin Qian's past, but Lin Qian volunteered the story.
Chen Xiao remained noncommittal.
If life had no regrets, what kind of life would it be?
But thinking of his own cheat-like life, he truly had no regrets… Chen Xiao immediately swallowed the words that were about to escape his lips.
He was not qualified to say such things, especially to a girl like Lin Qian.
Seeing that Chen Xiao wasn't responding, Lin Qian also fell silent. After about ten minutes of silence, Xiao Diandian suddenly sat up.
As if waking from a nightmare, she glanced around, murmuring with a confused expression, "How am I still alive?"