I started out with seven husbands, and I worked hard to support my family while crying.

Chapter 335: Searching for an Escape Opportunity

Pei Yan frowned, pondered for a moment, and then a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes as he spoke.

"Teacher, you have been serving as an official in Dounan County for some time now. Are you familiar with the terrain here?"

Upon hearing this, the old man's cloudy eyes lit up instantly: "I know a little bit about it. Does Your Highness have some ideas?"

Pei Yan lowered his voice and said cautiously, "Perhaps we can use the terrain to our advantage and find an opportunity to escape."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, as if they had seen a glimmer of light in the darkness, and the flame of hope was rekindled in their hearts.

Just as they were racking their brains to figure out how to escape this hellish prison, a series of dull and heavy footsteps, like a death knell from hell, slowly approached from afar. The footsteps echoed in the narrow, dark, and damp passageway, each one seeming to strike their hearts, instantly throwing their heartbeats off track.

At the end of the corridor, a figure gradually emerged. It was Bai Wuchang, the henchman of the Flower Monk, appearing before them in a sinister and terrifying manner. The cell was already incredibly dark, with a few dilapidated oil lamps flickering precariously on the walls. The faint light could barely outline Bai Wuchang's chilling silhouette. His deathly pale face appeared even more eerie in the strange light, like a lifeless human skin mask. His long, narrow, triangular eyes, like bottomless, icy pools, radiated a sinister light that sent chills down one's spine, as if capable of sucking in one's very soul.

"Take Hua Ruyan and Fang Xiaoxiao away!" Bai Wuchang's sharp, piercing voice suddenly rang out in the cramped space, like a sharp blade slicing through the suffocating silence. At his command, the several burly, ferocious-looking henchmen behind him pounced on him like hungry wolves, baring their teeth and claws.

Fang Xiaoxiao was extremely weak from the heavy blow she had received from the Flower Monk. She was like a candle flickering in the wind, as if she would be extinguished at any moment. She leaned weakly against the wall, each breath difficult to take, her rapid panting sounding particularly clear in the deathly silence of the cell.

Upon seeing this, Pei Yan was instantly enraged, his eyes burning with fury. He took a sudden step forward, ready to rush forward and stop them at all costs.

"Your Highness, do not act rashly!" Fang Xiaoxiao cried out urgently, her voice weak but filled with unwavering determination. At the same time, she strained to give Pei Yan a meaningful look, her eyes filled with calmness and restraint, signaling him not to make any rash moves at this moment.

Pei Yan's steps froze in mid-air. His clenched fists, white at the knuckles from extreme anger, trembled slightly. But seeing Fang Xiaoxiao's resolute gaze, he ultimately suppressed his inner rage, his teeth grinding together.

Hua Ruyan was already terrified, her delicate face now completely bloodless, like a blank sheet of paper. She clutched Fang Xiaoxiao's clothes tightly, her voice trembling like a leaf in the wind: "I don't want to go with them, no!"

Fang Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth and, with all her might, whispered to comfort Ruyan, "Don't be afraid, Ruyan. Let's see what they're up to first."

Bai Wuchang let out a disgusting sneer: "Hmph, enough nonsense, take him away!"

Those henchmen showed no mercy. They roughly stretched out their thick arms and dragged Hua Ruyan and Fang Xiaoxiao away like chicks.

Pei Yan watched helplessly as they were dragged away, his heart burning with anxiety, as if a million ants were gnawing at his soul. He could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything but silently pray that Fang Xiaoxiao would be safe.

As their figures disappeared at the end of the dark corridor, the cell fell into a deathly silence once more. Pei Yan and his teacher exchanged worried glances; the dilapidated oil lamp on the wall swayed precariously, as if it might go out at any moment. They had no idea what horrific misfortune awaited them next.

Fang Xiaoxiao and Hua Ruyan were dragged and pulled by those rude henchmen to the Flower Monk.

The room was spacious yet dark, its walls crumbling and reeking of a mixture of decay and blood. The faint light filtering through the small windows seemed to be swallowed up by the darkness. In a corner lay a pile of stolen gold and silver treasures, which gleamed eerily in the dim light.

The Flower Monk was sitting on a tattered tiger-skin chair. The moment he saw Fang Xiaoxiao, who was as beautiful as an angel, his already small green bead eyes widened like copper bells, and drool uncontrollably flowed from the corners of his mouth. His greedy and lewd appearance was disgusting.

His gaze was glued to Fang Xiaoxiao, burning with lustful intent. It was as if the five or six heavily made-up women beside him had instantly vanished into thin air, becoming utterly vulgar. Even Hua Ruyan, a woman who was usually considered somewhat attractive in his eyes, now appeared plain and unremarkable under Fang Xiaoxiao's radiance, utterly ordinary.

The Flower Monk couldn't wait to stretch out his thick, tree-trunk-like hand, wanting to touch Fang Xiaoxiao's delicate face, muttering filthyly, "Oh my, little beauty, you've really stolen my soul."

Fang Xiaoxiao glared at him angrily, spat at him, and shouted, "Shameless scoundrel! Don't even think about touching me!"

Instead of getting angry, the Flower Monk grinned, revealing a set of uneven, yellow teeth, and lewdly said, "Oh, little beauty, you've got quite a fiery temper, but that's exactly what I like."

Hua Ruyan trembled with fear, but she still mustered her courage and shouted, "Let her go! You bad guy!"

The monk glanced at her sideways, his face full of disdain and annoyance, and roared rudely, "You little brat, how dare you yell at me like that? Get out of here!"

Just then, a shifty-eyed henchman rushed in and whispered a few words in the monk's ear. The monk's face instantly darkened, and he muttered curses under his breath, "Damn it, this is going to be difficult!"

It turned out that urgent news had come from outside: the imperial court had learned that Dounan County had been captured by this group of mountain bandits, and was now sending a large army to encircle and suppress them.

The Flower Monk began pacing anxiously back and forth in the room, his heavy footsteps kicking up clouds of dust. He was constantly calculating a countermeasure in his mind. Suddenly, he turned his head sharply, his sinister gaze falling on Fang Xiaoxiao again, a chilling smile creeping onto his lips: "I've thought of an idea that might help us escape this calamity."

Fang Xiaoxiao's heart tightened instantly, and an ominous premonition enveloped her like a dark cloud.