Nangong Lingyun laughed softly, and said, "We haven't seen each other in years, you have grown up. If I had met you on the streets, I wouldn't have recognized you at all."
He was about to take his leave when he looked at Tang Shuang and changed his mind. He asked, "You were pretty close to Ning'er, weren't you? Would you know if she had any friends outside? Or did she ever talk to you about places she wanted to go to?"
The smile on Tang Shuang's face stiffened. She shook her head and answered, "No, I don't know anything. She didn't have many friends and was mostly practicing cultivation on her own. Then after she lost her cultivation and was unable to gather soul force energy, she locked herself in her room for days and wouldn't talk to anyone. It was like she became an entirely different person."
Tang Shuang was visibly worried as she continued, "It has been quite some time since she has gone missing. We sent people to look for her, but there was no news. I'm just afraid… c-could it be that she was so upset about losing her cultivation that she decided to…"
She bit her lip worriedly as if trying to stop herself from saying about the grim possibility out loud. As if frustrated at herself for suggesting such thoughts, she hastily tried to comfort Nangong Lingyun. "Brother Lingyun, I'm just worried, that's all. I didn't mean to think that way."
Nangong Lingyun frowned slightly, and said, "I understand. I have some matters to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave now." He nodded at Tang Shuang and walked off.
Tang Shuang watched as he walked further away into the distance until he was out of sight. The worry on her face disappeared and was now replaced by a peculiar smile. She lightly glanced at the magnolia tree by the wall, then turned around and walked away.
Meanwhile, Tang Ning was crouching in a dimly-lit corner as muffled cries surrounded her. She felt perplexed and uneasy at the sounds of crying.
She had not seen it coming.
That morning before dawn, Tang Ning had quietly left the monastery, as she thought about leaving the old monk behind and returning to Spring Cloud City. However, on her way, she was jumped by a man from the shadows. The man pounced on her, put a sack over her head, and quickly carried her away.
She was brought to a dungeon, where there were about 20 other captives. Some of them were normal civilians, while the rest were cultivators with Qi refinement Level 1 or 2. Other than two or three middle-aged men, most of them looked around 10 to 20 years old.
The ones who had been crying were some of the younger girls.
Perhaps fear and anxiety had caused everyone to be a little short-tempered. One of the middle-aged men couldn't bear the crying and wailing anymore. He got up, walked over to the crying girls, and without any warning, kicked one of them hard.
"Stop crying like mourning at somebody's death! If you cry once more, you're dead meat."
The girl who was kicked and fell over, sat up again, holding her knees. She did not dare make a sound this time and sat there, biting her lips, as if to stop herself from letting out her cries out loud. She couldn't stop the tears rolling down her face.
The rest of the captives were intimidated by what they witnessed and immediately fell silent. The dungeon was dead silent except for the irregular, heavy breathing of restlessness and uneasiness of people.
Tang Ning looked at the middle-aged man as he was sitting quietly in the dark. She shifted her gaze away from him and went into deep thought. "What is happening? Why have they brought me here? Who are these people?"
The captives were of different profiles and backgrounds, making it difficult for Tang Ning to figure out what they were being brought here for.
The sound of footsteps broke her train of thought. Tang Ning heard someone unlocking and opening the door to the dungeon cell. One of the middle-aged prisoners plucked up his courage and demanded, "Who are you? Why have you locked us up here? You… Ahhh!"
In a split second, Tang Ning saw the gleam of a cold, metallic blade flash in a sweeping motion, as blood splattered everywhere, and the man's decapitated head rolled on the ground. The captives shrieked and retreated to the corners of the cell.