Chapter 7

Yang Ning was not concerned about who was backing Xiao Yishui at the moment; he only cared where Xiaodie was now.

The night was deep, and the mansion was quiet.

Yang Ning walked out of the back courtyard but had no idea where Xiaodie might be. The mansion was quite large, with courtyards connected to each other. He had no idea where Xiao Yishui had taken the Flower Lady.

He tiptoed along a small path, and suddenly heard a sound ahead. He quickly hid behind a tree, peeking out. By the moonlight, he saw a tall, black-clad man humming a tune as he walked out from a side path.

The black-clad man had a knife hanging from his waist, his hands behind his back, and he hummed as he passed by Yang Ning, turning into another path.

Yang Ning crouched low and followed quietly. After a few turns, he saw a courtyard gate not far ahead, which was open. The black-clad man, unaware that he was being followed, approached the gate. Just then, someone came out from the courtyard, also in black, and shouted, "Damn it, why did it take you so long?"

The black-clad man being followed by Yang Ning laughed, "What's the rush? You're with a bunch of pretty little girls, and you're still so angry?"

"So what?" the person from the courtyard replied irritably, "You can only look, not touch. I tell you, Old Xing, be careful. I see you have ulterior motives. You brought four more today. If a single hair of these girls is missing, your head will roll."

Old Xing laughed, "Cut the crap. I'm worried you won't follow the rules and can't control yourself. If you lose your life, it's on you." He waved, "Get lost. I'll take over here. Come early tomorrow, don't keep me waiting."

The black-clad man stretched and yawned, "I'm leaving. Be careful tonight. If someone goes missing, we can't afford it." He walked over, and Yang Ning, who was prepared, hid to the side, watching the black-clad man pass by. He then looked at the courtyard gate, where Old Xing had already entered.

The surroundings became quiet. Yang Ning frowned, thinking that the black-clad man had mentioned a group of pretty girls in the courtyard. Could Xiaodie be among them?

What he had seen and heard so far already made him suspect that the Flower Mansion was not what it seemed. Seeing the black-clad man with a knife confirmed his suspicions.

Yang Ning made sure no one else was around, approached the courtyard gate, and peered inside. The courtyard was quite spacious, with a row of small houses in the left corner, about three or four of them. On the right side was a stable with two horses.

In front of the row of houses was a chair, and in front of the chair was a small table. Old Xing was sitting in the chair, his legs resting on the table. By the moonlight, Yang Ning saw a bright, unsheathed large knife on the table.

Yang Ning immediately understood. He was certain that the row of houses must be where the girls were kept, and Old Xing and others took turns guarding them like prisoners.

The Flower Mansion was indeed full of secrets.

He didn't know if Xiaodie was among them, but if she was, how did she leave the stable that night?

The only way out of the mansion was through a hole behind the flower bed in the back courtyard.

But to get to the hole, he first had to get out of the stable courtyard. It seemed that the stable courtyard was always guarded, making it difficult to escape.

Yang Ning thought about how to approach the row of houses.

To find Xiaodie, he had to get past Old Xing. Old Xing was sitting in the middle of the courtyard, and as soon as he entered, he would be noticed. If Old Xing shouted, others in the mansion would quickly come.

Yang Ning didn't know how many people were in the mansion. If he alerted them, he might not be able to escape.

Just as he was thinking, Old Xing suddenly stood up and walked over.

Yang Ning quickly hid behind the wall, wondering if he had been discovered.

After a moment, Old Xing didn't come out. Yang Ning peeked and saw Old Xing humming a tune and walking back, adjusting his pants. He realized Old Xing was just relieving himself.

Old Xing fastened his belt and walked back to the chair. Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him and turned, frowning, "Who's there?"

"Old Xing, come over here...!" The voice repeated, not far away but muffled. Old Xing couldn't tell who it was, assuming it was a companion. He didn't suspect anyone would sneak into the mansion at this hour, so he walked out, looked around, and asked, "Who's there?"

As he spoke, he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head, dizziness and confusion overwhelming him. He fell to the ground.

Yang Ning, holding a brick, sighed, "So tall and strong, yet one brick was enough." He threw the brick and dragged Old Xing inside. Old Xing was heavy, and Yang Ning struggled to pull him.

Although he remembered the combat techniques from his previous life and could use this body skillfully, the body was still young and not very strong. His soul was attached to this body, but his strength couldn't increase out of nowhere.

Finally, he dragged Old Xing to the wall, worried he might wake up, and punched him a few more times, ensuring he wouldn't wake up for a while.

He noticed a keychain on Old Xing's waist, with five or six keys. He took the keys and ran to the row of houses in the left corner of the courtyard.

There were four small houses, all dark inside. Yang Ning ran to the outermost one, which was locked. He peeked through the door crack and saw it was very dark inside, with various items, including drums and musical instruments, but no one.

He moved to the second house, also locked. Peeking inside, he saw several figures huddled together, but no one was making a sound.

Just as he was about to ask, he heard faint sobbing. He followed the sound to the next house, where the sobbing was clearer, and more than one person was crying. He peeked through the door crack and saw several figures huddled together.

"Little sisters, don't cry...!" he heard a soft voice say, "Crying won't help you get out. If they hear you, they'll beat you with whips...!"

"Stop crying. Since we're here, don't think about leaving," another young voice said sadly, "I've been here for three months and haven't left the mansion once. They promised I could see my father twice a month, but... I don't know how he is now."

The girl, trying to comfort the others, started to sob herself.

Yang Ning frowned, took the keys, and tried to unlock the door. The ancient lock was different from what he knew, and he had to try each key. The rustling sound inside made the crying stop.

When Yang Ning opened the door and entered, the figures had huddled in the corner, clearly terrified.

Yang Ning closed the door behind him and asked softly, "Is Xiaodie here?"

The girls initially thought the black-clad man had heard the crying and come in. Seeing a thin young boy, they were less afraid but still wary. A slightly older girl asked, "Who... who are you?"

"Don't be afraid, I'm not from the mansion," Yang Ning said, moving closer. The girls were still cautious, huddled in the corner.

"Then... did you sneak in from outside?" a young girl asked, "The mansion is heavily guarded, how did you get in?"

"Never mind that. Is Xiaodie here? Do you know Xiaodie?" Yang Ning asked, worried about Xiaodie's situation.

He now understood that the biggest secret of the Flower Mansion was the imprisonment of these girls, but he didn't know why they were kept here.

"Xiaodie isn't here...!" a timid voice came from the back. Yang Ning saw a girl around twelve years old, who clearly knew Xiaodie. He moved closer, "Do you know Xiaodie?"

The girl, still frightened, nodded, "Xiaodie... I used to live with Xiaodie. She... she was very kind to me...!"

Yang Ning, relieved to have news of Xiaodie, asked, "Where is Xiaodie now?"

"I... I don't know...!" the girl said, lowering her head, "I haven't seen her for days."

"Why are you looking for Xiaodie?" the older girl asked again, "Who are you?"

Yang Ning hesitated, then said, "I'm Xiaodie's friend, um, I should... be considered her elder brother!"

"Ah?" the girl, who had been looking down, suddenly looked up, her face full of surprise, "You... you're Xiaoge?"

Yang Ning nodded, "Yes, I'm Xiaoge. Where is Xiaodie? Do you know where she is?"

The girl shook her head, "I... I don't know. I haven't seen her for days."

Yang Ning's heart sank. He had to find Xiaodie, and he needed to get these girls out of here.