Chapter 93: The Dry Well

Xie Lei stood at the entrance of the main hall, staring at the parasol tree for a moment, when suddenly he lifted his feet and walked toward Duan Rong, coming closer and closer! It looked as if there was only a wall separating them!

At this moment, with a single leap and using the top of the wall as a pivot point, Xie Lei could swing his saber and strike directly at Duan Rong, who was hiding in the tree.

Duan Rong's heart had already risen to his throat, his eyes fixed tightly on Xie Lei.

Once the two of them engaged in combat, if he could not kill Xie Lei in the first instance, and if Xie Lei escaped or sent out some kind of signal to alert the Constables and Ya Men runners, he would be in great danger!

Because, once that happened, he would immediately become a scapegoat, a patsy taking the fall for Xie Lei.

Whether he admitted it or not, he would become the person who abducted Xu Ruhu from the prison and become the target of a manhunt by all sides!

This was absolutely the worst-case scenario!

Duan Rong's hand was not gripping the hilt of his Ox-Tail Saber, but was instead hooked inside his trouser pocket, which contained the Poison Needle he had just prepared this afternoon!

His eyes were fixed tightly on Xie Lei; if Xie Lei showed the slightest unusual movement, he was prepared to strike first!

But Xie Lei was actually very relaxed; his hands hung naturally at his sides, and he made no move to grab the saber at his waist at all!

Furthermore, Duan Rong's thoughts churned back and forth; he truly could not understand how Xie Lei could have discovered him so quickly!

Just at this moment, Xie Lei suddenly leaped up. Duan Rong's expression turned stern, and just as he was about to strike, he suddenly saw Xie Lei bracing himself with both hands and jumping into a water well in the corner of the wall.

That water well was exactly one wall away from the parasol tree where Duan Rong was hiding!

When Xie Lei walked out of the main hall, the place he first looked at was also that water well, not the parasol tree where Duan Rong was hiding!

It was just that the water well and the parasol tree happened to be in the same direction!

"Damn it! That was almost a huge misunderstanding!" Duan Rong cursed in his heart.

He had almost exposed himself just now!

If it weren't for the fact that he had thought it over and over and couldn't find a reason why Xie Lei would have discovered him, he would have nearly attacked prematurely!

Duan Rong calmed his emotions slightly; Xie Lei's figure had already disappeared at the wellhead, having sunk down into the well.

Beneath his mask, Duan Rong's brows were tightly locked. "What is this guy doing in the well in the middle of the night, bracing himself like that? Surely he isn't exercising by going up and down in the well..."

Xie Lei not only went down into the well, but he stayed inside for a full stick of incense's time.

After Xie Lei jumped out of the well, he looked back and glared fiercely at the wellhead, his cheeks bulging from gritting his teeth hard...

Although the night was dark, Duan Rong could sense Xie Lei's hidden anger from the dim light filtering through the window paper of the Inner Room!

"Who angered him?"

Xie Lei turned and walked back into the room, and after a few breaths, the light in the Inner Room went out!

Xie Lei had barely slept for the past two days and one night, his energy already overdrawn; the moment he hit the bed board, a faint snoring sound began!

At this time, in the courtyard, the night was deep!

Duan Rong remained hidden in the parasol tree, not moving an inch, his eyes fixed the whole time on the water well just one wall away!

"That well..." In the night, Duan Rong's eyes flickered.

After Xie Lei fell asleep, he not only snored faintly but also kept grinding his teeth with a creaking sound...

At this moment, the deep night was silent, and Duan Rong, though at a distance in the tree, could still hear it faintly.

Although Duan Rong had drunk a large pot of strong tea, he was still somewhat drowsy, and listening to the teeth-grinding sound made him particularly annoyed...

According to some superficial knowledge from his past life, teeth grinding was usually a sign of a person being under great mental stress.

The night watchman walked along the empty street, the sound of him striking the watch intervals coming from far away...

Duan Rong stood in the tree, yawning, and carefully counted the watch intervals, discovering that it was already the Hour of the Rabbit!

Duan Rong shifted his body's center of gravity from his left leg to his right...

Just at this moment, Xie Lei seemed to have heard the watch intervals as well, as a rustling sound came from the room!

Following that, a dim yellow light lit up on the window paper of the Inner Room.

Duan Rong's spirits suddenly lifted; he calculated that Xie Lei had only slept for two hours.

Xie Lei had indeed risen; he still had to go to the Ya Men to report for duty. In such special times, with a major case unsolved and him being one of the main involved parties, how could he be allowed to get a full night's sleep?

Xie Lei scooped a few ladles of water from the water vat in the kitchen, washed his face with cold water in a wooden basin, then used a tooth-cleaning cloth dipped in salt to brush his teeth, before tidying his official uniform and preparing to go out.

Xie Lei walked to the courtyard entrance, glanced a few times at the water well in the corner of the wall, stepped out of the gate with a profound look in his eyes, and locked the courtyard gate as he left!

Duan Rong, hidden in the parasol tree, watched Xie Lei's back disappear at the end of the alley and sighed, thinking to himself: It's not easy working at the Ya Men! Sleeping later than a chicken and rising earlier than a chicken!

It had just turned the Hour of the Rabbit, and even the chickens hadn't crowed yet!

Duan Rong waited for Xie Lei's figure to disappear at the alley entrance, waited for about another quarter of an hour, and then suddenly landed silently from the parasol tree! His landing was as light as a falling leaf, his feet landing on the bluestone like a cat's paws, without a single sound!

Duan Rong stood on the bluestone, scanning his surroundings with a cautious gaze!

He confirmed there was no one around!

Duan Rong stepped on the bluestone, his figure suddenly leaping up, landing steadily on the wall. He was dressed in black, wearing a black mask on his face, truly like a demon descended into the world!

Duan Rong stood on the wall, glanced at the water well by the wall, and suddenly leaped, soaring through the night like a large bird. When his momentum was spent, his figure landed lightly in the center of the courtyard, his toes tapped, his figure rose again, and when he landed, he was already standing lightly at the entrance of the main hall!

The door of the main hall was tightly shut, the copper lock fastened!

Breaking the lock to enter was naturally as easy as pie for Duan Rong, but now was not the time!

Duan Rong walked slowly to the window of the Inner Room, drew his Ox-Tail Saber, inserted it into the window gap, and skillfully used the tip of the blade to unlatch the inner catch of the wooden lattice window, then pulled open the two-pane wooden lattice window.

Duan Rong was just about to leap inside when he suddenly froze there.

He saw that in the pitch-black room, the windowsill, the floor below the windowsill, and the floor by the room door were all sprinkled with a layer of Fluorescent Powder!

In the darkness, it emitted a faint fluorescent glow!

Duan Rong's brows knitted together. Fortunately, it was still deep night; if he had come during the day, wouldn't he have left footprints? Although his cloth boots were newly bought and would be destroyed upon returning, it might not truly lead to him, but once Xie Lei returned and saw the footprints on the ground, wouldn't that have alerted the enemy!

Xie Lei's gloomy face flashed through Duan Rong's mind again. "This person is indeed deep in thought!"

Duan Rong sighed; whether it was Xie Lei or Xu Ruhu, they were both difficult characters to deal with, and he had to be careful!

Although with Duan Rong's Cloud Snake Step movement technique, it was not difficult to jump into the Inner Room without stepping on the Fluorescent Powder.

But he still gave up the plan to search Xie Lei's room; after all, he could not be sure if Xie Lei had left other traps in the room.

If by any chance he were to accidentally trigger something, wouldn't that just alert Xie Lei?

With his mind made up, Duan Rong closed the two lattice windows again and used the nimble tip of his Ox-Tail Saber to latch the inner bolt through the window gap!

At this moment, Duan Rong turned his head and looked through the pitch-black night toward the water well by the wall!

Compared to Xie Lei's room, what he was actually more curious about was this water well!

His original plan was to start with the easy and move to the difficult, because the room was easy to explore, but inside that water well...

But now, since he could not enter the room, there was only this water well left!

Duan Rong walked slowly toward the water well, a trace of nervousness rising slightly in his heart.

Inside that water well might be the hiding place of Xu Ruhu, and Xu Ruhu was a Martial Artist of the True Qi Realm!

Even a Martial Artist of the True Qi Realm who had suffered heavy injuries was still a dangerous existence!

He had to be twelve times as careful!

Duan Rong stood beside the wellhead; the inside of the well was pitch-black, just like the entrance to hell, without a sliver of light.

Duan Rong leaned over the wellhead and looked down, only to discover that this wellhead lacked the moisture typical of a normal water well.

"It is... a dry well!"

Duan Rong's gaze sharpened; imitating Xie Lei's movements, he braced his hands against the well walls and descended into the wellhead using both hands and feet. His movements were very light, and his figure was soon swallowed by the darkness within the well...

(End of chapter)