「Greenwater Bay, Lu Family Mansion, Dungeon, eleven o’clock at night.」
Lu Xiaolan sat in the prison cell, opposite Lu Dongliang’s younger brother, Lu Dongjun.
"Xiao Lan, first tell your second uncle, how did you get to the He Family Old House?" Lu Dongjun looked at Lu Xiaolan with a kind smile.
Lu Xiaolan shook her head. "I only want to talk to my dad. Why won’t he come to see me?"
Lu Dongjun sighed. "Xiao Lan, your dad heard some rumors and has misunderstood you. I came this time to help you clear up these misunderstandings."
Lu Xiaolan turned her head away, not wanting to engage with Lu Dongjun.
Lu Xiaolan’s mother, Zhuo Yuling, entered the cell. Frowning at her daughter, she scolded, "Xiao Lan, don’t be impolite. You must answer whatever your second uncle asks you, honestly and thoroughly."
"Mom..." Seeing Zhuo Yuling, Lu Xiaolan’s eyes reddened.
"Good child, Mom believes you. Tell your second uncle everything; speak the truth." Zhuo Yuling then draped a coat over Lu Xiaolan.
The dungeon guard felt this was against regulations, but he couldn’t say much when a mother was simply draping a coat over her daughter.
Lu Xiaolan sobbed, adjusted her tone, and then said to Lu Dongjun, "He Jiaqing and I took a train together. I was originally in the same carriage as him. However, as soon as he boarded, he claimed he had something to do and left. He never returned to the carriage. When I went to look for him, I found quite a few members of the He Family on the train. Their cultivation levels were all above the Fifth Layer, and they were obviously there to protect He Jiaqing. With the train attendants pacing back and forth, I simply had no chance to kill He Jiaqing, so I had no choice but to use my backup plan and derail the train."
This was one of Lu Dongjun’s main concerns. "What method did you use to derail the train?"
Lu Xiaolan paused for a moment before saying, "About fifty minutes after the train departed, it was supposed to pass through a switch track. One track would allow it to continue normally, while the other was an abandoned railway line that had been decommissioned not long ago. The worker responsible for operating the switch that night was a trusted subordinate I had placed there three years ago. I ordered him to direct the train onto the abandoned track. The rail broke, and the train went off the rails. While the train crew was busy rescuing people, the He Family members didn’t react quickly enough. I seized the opportunity to find He Jiaqing and struck him hard."
Lu Dongjun looked astonished. "You audacious girl! Not only have you offended the He Family, but you’ve also offended the Outside Provinces. How dare you tamper with a train?"
Lu Xiaolan looked up at Lu Dongjun. "Whether or not I’ve offended the Outside Provinces can be set aside for now. However, the matter of offending the He Family needs to be thoroughly clarified. Second Uncle, let me ask you: if Dad asked me to kill He Jiaqing, why would he then be afraid of offending the He Family? Since we’ve already fallen out with them, why is he making me the scapegoat?"
Lu Dongjun pursed his lips and said, "The situation was different at the time. Back then, everyone thought He Haiqin was on the verge of death. Who could have known he would suddenly recover..."
With tears in her eyes, Lu Xiaolan said, "So, just because the He Family had an unexpected turn of events, it’s all my fault? Isn’t the Lu Family supposed to be taking control of the entire Puluo State? Pushing a woman forward to take the blame—is that the extent of the Lu Family’s capabilities?"
Lu Dongjun was speechless.
Zhuo Yuling rebuked, "Xiao Lan, don’t talk nonsense!"
After a moment of silence, Lu Dongjun continued his inquiry, "Then why did you end up at the He Family Old House?"
Lu Xiaolan wiped her tears. "He Jiaqing didn’t die; I didn’t expect him to be so resilient. After I ambushed him, he had already lost consciousness, but he was woken up by a phone call from Li Banfeng. He’s very skilled. In just a couple of moves, he broke the hooks I had placed outside. Later, I don’t know what Magical Treasure he used. He just pushed me once, and I was sent flying. I flew for a long time. By the time I stopped, I had reached the He Family Old House. I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t escape. The old house had a House Spirit. I was trapped there for months, surviving by eating cats, weasels, and rats."
As she spoke, Lu Xiaolan couldn’t help sobbing again.
Zhuo Yuling interjected, "Dongjun, have you ever seen such a Magical Treasure?"
Lu Dongjun shook his head. "No, I haven’t. I suppose my elder brother hasn’t either. Xiao Lan, did you fly back following the railway line?"
Lu Xiaolan shook her head. "The train had already gone onto the wrong track by then; that section of railway was a dead end. I did not fly back following the railway line."
Lu Dongjun found this even more perplexing. "If you didn’t fly back along the railway line, how did you cross the various Border Lines?"
Without special means, Border Lines are impassable.
Lu Xiaolan shook her head and said, "I don’t know. I really don’t know."
"Xiao Lan, tell your second uncle the truth: where did the Mysterious Red Life Lotus go?"
"It’s in Li Banfeng’s hands."
"Why did it end up in his hands?"
Lu Xiaolan recounted the events. "The day before leaving school, He Jiaqing borrowed my necklace. It’s a Magical Treasure capable of generating a layer of fake skin. This fake skin can mimic the build, appearance, and voice of an acquaintance.
"Using my necklace, He Jiaqing disguised himself as Li Banfeng and stored the Mysterious Red Life Lotus in the university’s campus supermarket.
"After he borrowed the necklace, I secretly followed him. I saw this with my own eyes.
"The campus supermarket’s storage lockers are very special. There are Magical Treasures inside them—very high-level Magical Treasures. That storage locker cannot be broken into by force. As for what kind of Magical Treasure it is, or who left it there, I’m not sure.
"He Jiaqing’s ploy was very ingenious. Only he knew the Mysterious Red Life Lotus was hidden in the campus supermarket, and only Li Banfeng’s face could open the locker."