Five hours had passed since Old Feng had taken the batch of medicine. Shi Xinxin didn't know what Old Feng could have done with those things during such a long time.
Old Feng had persisted with this crazy plan for so many years; he would definitely not let go of any possible opportunity.
For a moment, Shi Xinxin felt a sense of collapse within her heart.
As her mental defenses teetered on the brink of breaking, Shi Xinxin's body trembled slightly, her fingertips seeming to shake with the violence in her heart.
Suddenly, Shi Xinxin startled, clearly sensing the presence beside her and the palm resting on her slender shoulder.
He said nothing, but his actions were enough to offer Shi Xinxin all the comfort she needed.
Her eyelashes fluttered as Shi Xinxin took a deep breath, her hands and feet growing cold.
Beside her, as if not at all surprised by this outcome, Yan Hao’s face showed no excessive astonishment.
His gaze was fixed intently on the furnishings inside the room. If anyone were looking at him now, they would likely see a blaze of anger in his eyes.
"I'm fine. The urgent matter now is to find his whereabouts."
Shi Xinxin quickly regained her composure. Sheng Chenjin had given her immense strength, bit by bit mending the broken pieces within her heart that had been on the verge of collapse.
Sheng Chenjin went along with her sentiment, "Okay. No matter what, I will always be with you."
He was telling her not to be afraid.
Shi Xinxin's mind immediately cleared. Thinking that he was also a protagonist in this matter, yet he could still comfort her here.
She raised her eyes and looked closely at Sheng Chenjin, a slow smile forming on her lips.
Sheng Chenjin's eyes widened slightly. "Why are you smiling? Is there something on my face?"
Shi Xinxin shook her head, swallowing back the prickling in her eyes, a relaxed smile playing on her lips. "I was just thinking, you're also a protagonist in this matter, how can you be like a carefree person, not sad or excited at all."
Knowing that he was feigning calmness to pacify her, Shi Xinxin could no longer hold back. She didn't care about the tense situation, and smiled, her eyes crinkling.
Sheng Chenjin felt a jolt in his heart, experiencing shyness from being looked at like this for the first time in his life.
He quickly turned his head away to conceal it. "You said we need to find Old Feng as soon as possible. Let's hurry outside now."
He didn't forget to pull Shi Xinxin along with him.
Shi Xinxin turned to glance at Yan Hao, seeing his gaze still wandering towards the room behind the iron door. She called out, "Senior Brother?"
In her heart, she was somewhat puzzled.
How did Yan Hao know about this dilapidated pharmacy? And how did he know Old Feng was here?
These questions had existed in Shi Xinxin's mind from the beginning. She had intended to ask on the way, but seeing that Yan Hao had no intention of speaking, she remained silent.
However, the further they went, the more her confusion and doubts deepened.
Looking at Yan Hao's current emotions now, and recalling his extremely unwell appearance earlier, Shi Xinxin's doubts grew even stronger.
But Yan Hao didn't give her time to think too much.
He turned around calmly, the expression on his face from before having vanished, returning to the composed demeanor Shi Xinxin was familiar with.
"What, aren't you leaving yet?" He looked slightly worried. "Old Feng has always been someone who moves locations at the slightest disturbance. We need to speed up."
Shi Xinxin's questioning gaze swept across his face for a second.
She quickly withdrew her gaze and her doubts from her heart.
"We really can't delay any longer. Let's get out of here quickly." Shi Xinxin retraced their steps.
Seeing that her emotions were largely stable, Sheng Chenjin followed her, feeling relieved.
Neither of them noticed Yan Hao's expression gradually worsening.
When Shi Xinxin was halfway down the secret passage, she saw darkness ahead.
A vague sense of unease welled up in her. She strode forward, saw what was in front of her, and her heart sank.
"It's over. It seems he has discovered our trace." Shi Xinxin knocked on the wall. A few crisp sounds echoed from outside, clearly indicating that someone had locked the wall from the outside.
She tried pushing the wall in the opposite direction again, but someone had already blocked it on this side, making it impossible to move the wall even with three adults pushing together.
A cold sweat had already broken out on Shi Xinxin's back.
"Stay calm. When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten itself out. There will definitely be a way to escape." Sheng Chenjin steadied his mind and took out his phone to contact someone, only to find that it had lost signal.
"It seems he was fully prepared this time, even blocking the signal in this area." Sheng Chenjin patted the wall in front of him and kicked it. Apart from a shower of dust falling from the wall, there was no other movement.
They had temporarily lost a way to escape. But the most important thing now was to stay calm. Shi Xinxin steadied her mind and calmly tried to contact someone on her phone.
As Sheng Chenjin had said, the signal here was completely blocked, and the top right corner of the phone only showed a blank space.
Not letting go of any opportunity, Shi Xinxin held her phone, attempting to contact for help through other apps.
Steady footsteps gradually approached from behind. Shi Xinxin bent down and squatted in place, seeing Yan Hao.
"Senior Brother, we're locked in here." Her voice wasn't low, but in the quiet atmosphere, Shi Xinxin's mood was evidently subdued.
Yan Hao glanced at the thoroughly blocked wall, hesitated for a few seconds, and said, "Follow me."
What did he mean? Shi Xinxin stood up, and then watched Yan Hao walk familiarly deeper into the secret passage.
The doubts that had been suppressed moments ago resurfaced at this instant.
She followed Yan Hao's footsteps. Sheng Chenjin protected her from behind.
The further Shi Xinxin followed the person in front into the depths, the more she discovered the anomalies.
Yan Hao navigated this place with practiced ease, as if... he had lived here before.
At this point, all the thoughts in her mind were like a tangled ball of thread she couldn't unravel. Shi Xinxin couldn't understand how Yan Hao could have been here?
She had entered the sect only a few months after Yan Hao. If Yan Hao had lived here for a long time, she wouldn't have been unaware.
Another point was that before Old Feng's plan was exposed, he had always treated them with a kind and amiable persona. How could he have allowed Yan Hao to come to such a place?
The doubts in her heart grew. Shi Xinxin couldn't suppress her inner curiosity and asked, "Senior Brother, how are you so familiar with this place?"
Yan Hao's back stiffened.
His reaction seemed to confirm her suspicions. Shi Xinxin immediately asked again, "You've been here before, haven't you? Or perhaps you've been here for a long time..."
This time, Yan Hao's answer was quick and seemed rushed, brief. "No, don't overthink it."
After speaking, he continued forward, but his pace had clearly quickened.
Shi Xinxin pressed her lips together.