33: Chapter 33 You are innocent

"Wuwuwu... I didn't... I didn't steal anything else..."

Facing Lei Lie's tiger-like roar, Xia Nuannuan shrank into a ball, her small hands clutching her hem tightly as she wept like rain on pear blossoms.

"I only ate that moldy chaff... and water... everything else... the weapons, the armor, I didn't even touch them! Really!"

"Only chaff and water?" Lei Lie snorted coldly, clearly not believing her.

Just then, Wan'er, who had been standing to the side in deep thought, suddenly spoke up.

She scanned the surrounding environment with sharp eyes and calmly analyzed:

"Lei Lie is right."

"Although there is stored grain in the Granary, it has never been stocked with water to prevent moisture. The four walls here are sealed, and there is no entrance for a water source."

"More importantly... if a person had lived here for a year, eating, drinking, and excreting would be a big problem. But apart from dust and the smell of mold, there are no obvious foul odors or household waste around here."

Hearing Wan'er's analysis, Lei Lie suddenly realized, "There is a secret room in the Granary?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Xia Nuannuan, who had only been crying, suddenly stiffened.

Like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, she immediately clamped her mouth shut, not daring to even breathe, her eyes filled with terror and resistance.

Seeing that Lei Lie was about to fly into a rage and interrogate her further, Zhou Yun gently patted his shoulder.

"That's enough." He walked up, blocked the Lei Lie, who was full of menacing Aura, behind him, and shook his head with some helplessness:

"Captain Lei, Wan'er, what are you doing?"

"She is just a teenage girl who hid here to survive, and she hasn't done anything heinous. Why use the tone of interrogating a criminal to treat her?"

After saying this, he slowly squatted down so that his line of sight was level with Xia Nuannuan, who was curled up on the ground.

He did not get too close, but maintained a distance that made her feel safe, with a gentle smile on his face,

"Don't be afraid."

"Captain Lei has a loud voice, but he means no harm. We won't hurt you either."

Zhou Yun's voice seemed to carry a certain calming power, allowing Nuan Nuan's mood to settle slightly.

She timidly raised her head, and through her hazy, teary eyes, she saw a face as gentle as jade.

In this dark, damp, and moldy Granary, the big brother before her was like a beam of warm sunlight, instantly shining into her terrified heart.

Stunned, she subconsciously murmured, "Big brother... you are so kind."

"Presumptuous!!" A shout exploded once again.

Lei Lie stood behind Zhou Yun, his eyes wide as copper bells, and he reflexively scolded:

"Have you no manners! What 'big brother'? The City Lord of Flower City is right in front of you! Why don't you hurry up and pay your respects?!"

"Ah!" Xia Nuannuan was so startled by this sudden shout that her whole body jolted; her nerves, which had just relaxed, tightened again, and her little face turned deathly pale.

Zhou Yun sighed slightly.

Lei Lie only then realized what he had done, and with a sheepish expression, he took half a step back, cupped his hands, and said, "This subordinate is in the wrong!"

Although Lei Lie had backed down, Nuan Nuan seemed to have been left with psychological trauma from the fright.

She didn't dare to call him "big brother" again; instead, she scrambled up from the ground in a panic, her knees went weak, and she knelt down properly before Zhou Yun, her forehead pressed against the cold floor, her voice trembling yet exceptionally clear,

"Sinner... Xia Nuannuan, pays respects to the City Lord!"

"There's no need for this, get up and talk." Zhou Yun hurriedly reached out to help her up.

However, Nuan Nuan knelt firmly on the ground and refused to get up no matter what.

She lowered her head, took out a crumpled little notebook from her sleeve, held it above her head with both hands, and said with a stubbornness that seemed carved into her bones,

"This sinner does not dare to rise!"

"Sinner Xia Nuannuan, over the past year, has unauthorizedly stolen and eaten public grain from the Granary... totaling thirty-one catties, six taels, and four qian!"

"Please punish me, City Lord!"

Hearing this number, Zhou Yun, who had originally wanted to say something, froze his outstretched hand in mid-air.

Thirty-one catties?

He subconsciously looked at Wan'er, then at Lei Lie, and finally looked at the girl kneeling on the ground in disbelief.

He was shocked.

It wasn't because she had eaten too much, but because... it was too little!

Absurdly little!

Three hundred and sixty-five days in a year, and she had only eaten thirty-one catties of chaff?

This meant that on average, she ate less than one tael of chaff every day!

How much is one tael of rice?

It's probably just a small handful, about the size of a child's fist!

And this was just chaff, which has no nutritional value!

"This..."

Zhou Yun looked at the skinny girl before him, who seemed like she could be blown over by a gust of wind, and an indescribable bitterness surged in his heart.

"Eating less than one tael of rice a day? And having to survive in such a completely sealed place..."

Zhou Yun squatted down, looking into Nuan Nuan's large, fearful yet still clear eyes, his voice trembling slightly,

"Nuan Nuan, tell big brother."

"Over this past year... how on earth did you survive?"

Facing Zhou Yun's concerned inquiry, Nuan Nuan lowered her head, biting her bloodless lips, but remained silent.

How did she survive?

This question was something even she didn't know how to answer.

Was it by counting the mold spots on the wall of the secret room to pass the days?

Or was it by relying on memories of the warmth when her father was still alive in her dreams?

Seeing that Nuan Nuan remained silent for a long time, Zhou Yun was fine, but Lei Lie, who was on the side, was an impatient man.

He couldn't stand this hesitant demeanor, and immediately raised his eyebrows, the attitude of not just an elder, but a strict captain, surfacing again,

"What? The City Lord is asking you a question, and you won't answer?"

Lei Lie stepped forward, his armor clanking, and said in a stern tone: "I see that you clearly still don't realize your mistake!"

"Where is the secret room? Why don't you lead the way immediately? If you dare to conceal it again, even if you are Brother Xia's daughter, I will never show mercy!"

"Lei Lie!" Zhou Yun frowned and shouted softly, trying to stop him.

However, Lei Lie's intimidation clearly worked again.

Nuan Nuan's body jolted violently, and then she took a deep breath, as if using up all her strength.

Only then did she finally raise her head with difficulty, her voice as thin as a mosquito's. "Sinner... will lead the way now."

"Please, City Lord... follow this sinner."

As she spoke, she scrambled up from the ground tremblingly and walked toward the darkest corner of the Granary.

A pile of long-rotted, blackened wooden boxes was stacked there.

Nuan Nuan struggled to move two of the empty boxes, revealing a moss-covered stone wall behind them.

She stretched out her skinny little hand and rhythmically pressed a few times on a seemingly ordinary blue brick.

"Click."

An extremely faint mechanical sound rang out.

Immediately after, the originally seamless stone wall slowly recessed inward, revealing a narrow gap that could only accommodate one person passing through sideways.

"There really is a secret room in the Granary?"

Zhou Yun was secretly surprised.

Nuan Nuan said nothing; she just lowered her head and was the first to squeeze inside sideways.

Zhou Yun did not hesitate and followed closely behind.

However, when Zhou Yun actually stepped into this so-called "secret room," he couldn't help but gasp.

This was no secret room!

This was clearly a tomb for the living!

By the light of the fire starter Wan'er had lit, Zhou Yun saw the whole picture of this place.

It was too small.

It was truly too small.

The entire space was rectangular; the height was the same as outside, but the width and length were extremely cramped.

At most, it was only three square meters.

There was no bed, no table or chairs, not even a slightly level floor.

There was only a large water vat that took up a considerable amount of space, which was very eye-catching.

"Water?" Wan'er squeezed forward and came to the side of the water vat.

She was a little puzzled.

In such a secret room, even if water had been stored in advance, it would soon spoil.

If so, what was the purpose of this large water vat?

Until she brought the fire starter closer...

"This is... a Clear Water Bead?" She let out a low cry.

She saw a bead emitting a faint, ghostly blue light lying quietly at the bottom of the murky water.

"So that's it." Wan'er nodded. "Although this Clear Water Bead is not some rare treasure, it can automatically absorb water vapor from the air, condense it into water, and ensure the water quality doesn't spoil for years."

"This should be the important reason why she was able to hold on for this past year."

Zhou Yun nodded silently, but his gaze shifted from the water vat to the other side of this narrow space.

There was a pitch-black waterway about a foot wide, leading to who knows where, and the faint sound of flowing water could be vaguely heard.

Presumably, this was the place where the "excretion" problem was solved.

But besides that, between the water vat and the waterway, there was only a narrow patch of empty ground covered with bedding.

Zhou Yun measured it.

The length of this empty space was not even one and a half meters.

In other words...

Over this past year, this fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, who was at the age of growing tall, couldn't even straighten her legs when sleeping every night!

Zhou Yun turned around and looked at Nuan Nuan, who was standing at the entrance, feeling uneasy.

He finally understood why he had found her outside earlier.

Anyone who stayed for a long time in this coffin-like, cramped place where even turning over was difficult would go crazy.

Her sneaking out was perhaps not for anything else.

It was merely to... be able to straighten her legs and have a peaceful sleep.

"This..." Seeing the layout inside the secret room, Lei Lie let out a long sigh,

"This... was all prepared for you by your father before he passed away, right?"

Nuan Nuan lowered her head and nodded slightly.

Lei Lie's expression became exceptionally complex.

He looked at this daughter of an old acquaintance, then looked at the Granary behind him, and couldn't help but exclaim:

"Brother Xia was foolish!"

"He was upright and incorruptible all his life, but I didn't expect... that at the end of his life, he would actually, for the sake of private affection, commit such an act of guarding and stealing..."

Before Lei Lie could say the word "stealing," Nuan Nuan's body jolted violently.

Her already pale little face instantly turned devoid of any color, as if the last trace of Life Qi had been drained from her.

This was the deepest thorn in her heart.

Her father's lifelong reputation had been destroyed in an instant because of her!

"Enough." Just at the moment when that hurtful word was about to be spoken, a gentle and calm voice interrupted Lei Lie's words with unquestionable authority.

Zhou Yun looked at Lei Lie and said earnestly: "A father's love is as heavy as a mountain. In the final moments of his life, what that Granary Keeper Xia had in his heart was no longer cold ledgers, but his only daughter."

"How deep is this love for his daughter? It is truly moving."

Hearing this, Nuan Nuan, who had been trembling under Lei Lie's accusations, had her tears burst like a dam.

With a "waa."

She could no longer control herself, her knees went weak, and she knelt heavily before Zhou Yun, crying out:

"Sinner... this sinner knows she was wrong!"

"Please punish me, City Lord! It's all my fault... I am the one who tarnished my father's reputation... Please punish Nuan Nuan!"

Looking at the girl weeping bitterly, Zhou Yun stretched out his hands and firmly and powerfully helped her up from the ground.

"Look at me." His voice was not loud, but it carried a power that soothed the heart.

Nuan Nuan raised her head through misty, teary eyes and met those eyes that were as clear as water.

Zhou Yun slowly said: "One year, three hundred and sixty-five days."

"As the daughter of the former Granary Keeper, you were in this Granary filled with supplies. Yet you only ate less than thirty-two catties of old chaff, merely maintaining the lowest level of survival."

"Besides that, you didn't touch a single thread, a single needle, a single weapon, or a single piece of armor in this Granary."

"When the granaries are full, people know etiquette. When they have enough food and clothing, they know honor and shame."

"Propriety, justice, integrity, and honor are things that only people who are well-fed have the qualification to discuss."

"If a person cannot even maintain the most basic survival and is about to starve or freeze to death, what right or wrong is there to talk about?"

"Therefore."

He looked at Nuan Nuan and gave the final verdict, word by word,

"This City Lord believes..."

"You, are not guilty!"