“Let’s go. I will take you to the dungeon right now,” Zi Tong said.
“Good!”
Lin Yun agreed at once, then followed Zi Tong as she led him out of the sleeping palace.
They walked through the royal palace for about half an hour before reaching a secluded small hill.
The dungeon was built beneath this hill.
The dungeon inside the royal palace was guarded very strictly, but Zi Tong held the token given by the clan leader, so she smoothly brought Lin Yun inside.
Inside the dungeon.
The dungeon was dark and damp, the environment was terrible, and there was a foul, rotting smell.
In the innermost corner cell, An Yun was completely bound by spirit-locking chains.
At this moment, An Yun’s face was pale. Her eyes were vacant, and she sat motionless, leaning against the wall in the corner of the cell.
For An Yun, the endless darkness and filthy conditions here were not the worst part.
To her, the most painful and helpless thing was the absence of hope, the utter despair.
An Yun knew that while she was here, no one could save her.
She could never return to the human race. She had no future. She did not know how long she would be imprisoned here: a thousand years? Ten thousand years? Or even longer.
Perhaps until she went mad and her consciousness finally collapsed and she died.
Immortals in their ancestral land did indeed possess endless lifespan, but some immortals lived for far too long. So long that everyone they knew in the world was gone, until they could find no meaning in continuing to live. In the end, they went mad and their consciousness dissipated.
For An Yun, these days without any hope were the most terrifying. They made it far easier to fall into that fate.
A person who had lost hope was like a walking corpse. How long could their will hold out?
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed along the corridor outside the cell.
An Yun did not even lift her head. She seemed not to hear anything at all, remaining curled up blankly in the corner.
The footsteps stopped at the door of her cell.
The next moment.
“An Yun!”
A familiar voice rang out from the cell door.
Hearing that voice was like suddenly seeing a light in endless darkness.
An Yun’s delicate body trembled. She immediately raised her head and looked towards the cell door.
The figure that met her eyes was the familiar one: Lin Yun!
“Young… Young Master!”
The instant An Yun saw Lin Yun, she was completely stunned. She felt as if she were dreaming. Seeing Lin Yun here in the dungeon of the elf royal palace?
It seemed so unreal!
At that moment, the cell door had already been opened.
Lin Yun rushed quickly into the cell.
“An Yun, do not worry. Everything will be alright!” Lin Yun hurried to the corner and helped An Yun up.
An Yun, as a female cultivator of extremely high strength, was naturally a great beauty with an outstanding figure and appearance, and she carried the aura of a powerful woman.
But Lin Yun discovered that now, because of the filthy and damp environment, she was covered in dirt. Her inner energy was sealed and could not be used, so she was completely unable to clear the grime with her power.
Moreover, having spent every day here in despair, her entire demeanour had changed dramatically. It was worlds apart from how she used to be.
Seeing An Yun in this state made Lin Yun’s heart ache.
“Young Master, is it really… really you? I… I am not dreaming, am I?” An Yun, now supported, looked at Lin Yun with eyes full of disbelief.
“An Yun, you are not dreaming. I have come to rescue you!” Lin Yun said, while gently reaching out to wipe away the dirt near the corner of her eye.
“Young Master!”
At that moment, An Yun could no longer hold back her emotions. She threw herself into Lin Yun’s arms, tears pouring down like a broken dam. She cried like a child who had suffered great wrong, finally finding someone she trusted.
An Yun might be a powerhouse at the Void Dao realm, but in the end, she was still a woman.
She had not cried when hunted and forced to flee. She had not cried when surrounded and injured by the elves. She had not cried even after being captured and locked here.
But Lin Yun’s appearance released all the countless grievances in her heart. She could hold them back no longer.
“An Yun, you have suffered here,” Lin Yun said softly, gently patting her fragrant shoulder to comfort her.
As for Zi Tong, she stood quietly to one side, watching without interrupting Lin Yun and An Yun.
After crying for a while, An Yun finally raised her head to look at Lin Yun.
“Young Master, I am sorry. I was too overwhelmed just now. I look a mess, covered in dirt. I have made you dirty too,” An Yun said, and tried to pull away from his embrace.
“What nonsense are you thinking? As long as your heart is not dirty, a person can never truly be dirty,” Lin Yun said, holding An Yun close and not letting her pull away.
