Grabbing Your Hand, Dragging You Away

Chapter 73

The dark passage is so long, it sees no end, the air filled with a moist stench of rottenness, entering the nose in waves, making people feel nauseous. The prison warden holds a lantern as he leads the way in front, dim yellow lighting stretching and deforming his shadow, further casting an incomparably sinister and strange atmosphere in the prison.

I walk behind Meng Shao Jue, heart shrinking tighter and tighter with every step.

Yuwen Rui is held captive in a place like this?

Meng Shao Jue suddenly stops in his steps, lowering his head to shallowly smile at me, "Would you like to be in the light, or in the shadows?"

I satirically think, so I still have the right to make this decision? Meng Shao Jue indeed complies with human rights. I say: "In the shadows."

"In the shadows, are you certain?" He reaches out to hook the loose hair by my temple behind my ear, phoenix eyes long and narrow, kindness held in his eyes, "I can arrange for you two to exchange a few words."

"No need." I turn my face away, continuing to walk forward, "In the shadows it is."

He slightly narrows his phoenix eyes, attractive voice carrying pampering as he says: "All in accordance to your wishes."

The prison warden takes us into a stone room, then opens a little window on the wall with a key, revealing a gap that seems to be used for monitoring, just big enough to reveal one's eyes.

"Lord Prime Minister," The prison warden bows and approaches Meng Shao Jue, "The prisoner is just next door, you can directly see from here."

"En." Meng Shao Jue slightly nods, calmly saying: "Tell them to act quicker."

"As you command." The prison warden sounds a "hei-hei" laugh, "This little one shall leave first then, should my lord have any matters, just call out for this little one."

Once the prison warden had said this, he leaves, only Meng Shao Jue and I are left in the prison room. He extends his hand to me, phoenix eyes pointing at that little gap: "Ah-Lan, come over, didn't you want to see him?"

I bite down on my bottom lip, passing by his outstretched hand as I directly head to the window. He is not annoyed by this, just saying with a smile behind me: "Ah-Lan, may you watch carefully."

I no longer care about what he says, looking through the gap to see the rather big but empty prison room next door.

Prison has always represented bloodiness and death, the older the prison room, the more murder that has occurred in it, be it every trace of blood that cannot be wiped clean or the bumpy marked walls, nothing shows anything less than the pain and struggles of those people. I have never thought there will be a day I'd come to such a place, moreover, the person locked in here is Yuwen Rui.

I see him.

He is tied to the wooden cross, figure still upright like bamboo, but his long and slender limbs powerlessly hangs limp. He is still wearing that set of moon-white long robes, now already ragged, revealing a long-whip-like wound, shocking to the eyes. His face is still handsome, but his complexion is so pale, it's practically transparent, as though it would shatter and disappear with one touch. His lips are still lined with a smile, shallow and cold, but it is not possible to see exactly what kind of expression is held in those tightly shut eyes.

I suddenly find it impossible to breathe, like an invisible hand has deadly gripped onto my throat, causing me incomparable pain, but I am incapable of releasing myself from the hold.

"Heart aching just from this?" Meng Shao Jue lowly laughs beside my ear, warm breath intimately coming in touch with my skin, "Ah-Lan, don't be in a haste, there's still more to come."