54: My robe is worth two taels of silver.

Jiang Lan lowered his head.

The sound seemed to come from beneath the floor, extremely faint; if Jiang Lan’s hearing hadn’t far surpassed that of an ordinary person, he likely wouldn’t have heard it at all.

Jiang Lan raised his head again.

The room was very spacious and had no partitions; from his position, he could see everything.

But despite its spaciousness, the room contained only a wooden tub in the very center and a wooden table leaning against the corner.

On the table, there was an incense burner with three half-burnt incense sticks.

Two short, one long.

Behind the incense burner stood a green oil lamp.

Jiang Lan recognized that oil lamp; it was almost identical to the one he had seen in the God of Wealth Temple that day.

It was the Green Lantern Sect’s Soul Lamp.

On the wall behind the Soul Lamp, a bronze beast head protruded, its eyes like large brass bells, its mouth wide open as if ready to devour someone.

After observing for a moment, Jiang Lan took a few steps forward, stopping in front of the beast head.

The sound definitely came from this room, but there was no staircase leading downwards within the room.

Therefore, only one possibility remained.

There was a hidden door in the room.

If there was a hidden door, then there must be a switch.

And in the room, besides the beast head, there was nothing else that looked like it could open a hidden door.

The beast head’s mouth was deep, a dark cavern.

Jiang Lan wasn't afraid; he directly inserted his hand, and after some fumbling, his fingertips touched a cold protrusion.

As he applied slight pressure, the protrusion was pressed down.

“Click, click—”

A mechanical whirring sound rang out, and the floor beside Jiang Lan slowly moved, as if pushed open by something.

A moment later, the floor disappeared, revealing a long, winding staircase leading downwards.

Just then, the door to the room outside opened again.

Jiang Lan turned his head and saw that it was Huang Ming, carrying a wooden tub, entering.

Huang Ming had been walking forward with a dazed expression, but when his gaze fell upon the floor next to Jiang Lan, he suddenly stopped as if a pause button had been pressed, one foot still suspended in mid-air.

Seeing this, Jiang Lan immediately activated the Flood Dragon Swim, appearing directly in front of Huang Ming the next instant.

Jiang Lan grabbed Huang Ming by the collar, directly pulling him up like a chick.

He had now confirmed that there should be no ordinary people left in this courtyard.

Since there were no ordinary people, he no longer needed to be constrained in his actions.

Holding Huang Ming, Jiang Lan stepped directly into the narrow entrance of the staircase.

The staircase was deep, the deepest part pitch black, but small green lamps were placed on both sides, making the entire area eerie and somewhat chilling.

Jiang Lan held Huang Ming, his steps quick.

Along the way, the small lamps flickered on and off.

However, he paid them no mind as he descended the stairs.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, the previously dark area in front of Jiang Lan immediately lit up.

Several red lanterns hung high, casting their light and illuminating the underground space.

This underground area was much larger than the room above.

In front of Jiang Lan was a massive wooden bed, adorned with red ribbons, the scene on the bed faintly visible.

And besides that huge bed, in the very center of the room was a stone platform, with raised edges and a sunken middle.

Inside the stone platform, it was dark brown.

Jiang Lan was familiar with this color.

Dried blood, after a long time, would turn this color.

As if hearing Jiang Lan’s arrival, the groaning sound that had stopped earlier began again.

However, the sound was still not coming from this underground room, but from outside.

Jiang Lan frowned. Could there be other rooms?

For some reason, just then, Huang Ming, who had been docile in Jiang Lan’s hands, suddenly began to struggle.

Jiang Lan looked down and saw Huang Ming staring behind him, his eyes bulging, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

Before Jiang Lan could even turn his head, an inhuman sound erupted from Huang Ming's throat.

“Uh uh… ah…”

“Bang!”

Huang Ming’s body instantly exploded, splattering foul blood all over Jiang Lan.

If Jiang Lan hadn't reacted quickly enough to throw him away, he would probably have been covered in many other dirty things by now.

Shaking his hand, Jiang Lan finally turned around.

In front of him was a woman.

The woman was barefoot, her figure slender and graceful, dressed in a light red silk skirt, with half of her fair arms exposed, and a cascade of dark, long hair flowing down like a waterfall.

Jiang Lan looked at her face.

The woman was like a fairy stepped out of a painting, with willow-leaf eyebrows, peach blossom eyes, a cherry-like mouth, and a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Young Master, coming to my humble abode as a guest, why didn’t you inform me beforehand? I could have prepared and fulfilled my duties as a host.”

Jiang Lan also smiled.

“There’s no need for your hospitality. It’s just that my robe is worth two taels of silver.”

“Young Master, between you and me, mentioning silver is a bit too vulgar.”

Jiang Lan didn't reply, but stared at the woman for a while before saying to himself, “Qiu Liangfeng was indeed right; your head is much more beautiful than the one on his neck.”

Hearing this, the woman’s expression subtly changed, a hint of tension flashing deep in her eyes.

But soon, this emotion was hidden.

Her smile remained undiminished as she walked on bare feet, so delicate they seemed to drip water, to the edge of the large bed obscured by red ribbons and sat down, crossing her pale right leg over her left.

Looking up at Jiang Lan, the woman softly said:

“Young Master, you are truly heartless. My head is so beautiful; would Young Master really be willing to cut it off?”

“Clang—”

Jiang Lan drew his long saber.

The woman’s expression changed slightly; she seemed not to have expected Jiang Lan to completely disregard convention and draw his saber directly.

Earlier, she had thought it was just some thoughtless person who had entered her secret room.

But after hearing Jiang Lan mention Qiu Liangfeng, she understood what was happening.

Qiu Liangfeng’s death had been a sensation these past two days.

Everyone in the Green Lantern Sect knew that a killer had emerged from the Demon Suppression Division.

Because of this matter, even the Altar Lord had been alarmed.

She had originally believed that no matter how powerful that killer was, he wouldn't be able to find her.

But who would have thought that not only had he found her, but he had also come to her lair.

Jiang Lan looked down at the woman.

“Before that, I need to confirm something. Are you Hong Luan?”

The woman swallowed, nodding slightly, “Yes.”

“Good.” Jiang Lan took two steps forward, stopping in front of Hong Luan. “Next, I ask, you answer. If you can’t answer, you know the consequences.”

“I understand.”

“First, how long have you been in Yan Capital City?”

Hong Luan answered readily without even thinking:

“More than a month.”

“Good, second.”

Jiang Lan looked into Hong Luan’s peach blossom eyes and softly asked:

“In this month since you came to Yan Capital City, how many lives have you harmed?”