Chapter 20 Who Calls Her, Zhan... Mengmeng?

Zhan Lan let go of the little girl, and Dugu Yan quickly escaped a few meters away from Zhan Lan.

"Who are you?" Feeling the skill of Zhan Lan, she didn't dare to put down the dagger in her hand.

"Don't worry about who I am for now. The evidence of crime you are seeking is in the secret chamber of this ancestral hall, and only I can help you!"

The dirt-smudged face of the girl lit up with her black-and-white eyes becoming bright. She grew even more curious; the veiled woman in front of her seemed as if she could see right through her.

So scary!

Without a word, Zhan Lan found the tablet at the very edge and turned it slightly, opening the door to the secret chamber.

She quickly stepped inside, with the little girl following closely behind.

Zhan Lan lit a candle to illuminate the secret chamber, where boxes of gold, silver, and jade jewellery glinted in the candlelight, causing eye pain.

Dugu Yan's eyes bulged, filled with loathing.

This corrupt official, he had embezzled so much!

Although Zhan Lan had been very poor in her current life, in her past life, she had seen too many riches.

She casually looked around and then walked next to the Hundred Longevity Map, pressing on the character for "fortune" in the middle of the third row.

Among a pile of ledgers and silver notes, she pulled out three silver notes and took a handful of gold beads, tucking them into her pouch.

"Are you a thief?" the little girl asked, tilting her head.

"The estate of the Minister of the Dali Temple is about to be sealed off. I'm just taking away some of his ill-gotten gains. I wouldn't dare to call myself a thief. I'm a disciple of Ghost Calculator, a fortune teller!" Zhan Lan unabashedly lied without blushing.

Zhan Lan grabbed a handful of gold beans and casually stuffed them into the girl's tattered pocket.

"This Master Huang's karma is deep; whoever sees it gets a share."

The little girl had never seen such a shameless thief.

She touched the gold beans in her pocket and, with her neck held high, she asked, "How did you know I was looking for Old Thief Huang's incriminating evidence?"

Zhan Lan pulled out a ledger from underneath the silver notes and said, "Even if you take the evidence to the authorities, no one will believe you. Minister Huang, the Old Thief, oversees the criminal trials at the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry is responsible for the review. They are in collusion. Only if Xingtian Department catches him red-handed with his personal loot will Old Thief Huang fall from power."

After speaking, Zhan Lan put the ledger back, closed the mechanism, and rubbed the controlling character "fortune" with her finger to make it look older.

Dugu Yan pondered Zhan Lan's words, and indeed, if the evidence were to be sent to the Ministry of Justice, her efforts over these past days would have been in vain.

Moreover, since this woman knew her purpose, she might truly be a disciple of Ghost Calculator.

"Old Thief Huang's luck has run out; let's get moving!" Zhan Lan, holding onto the unwilling Dugu Yan, made her way inward.

At the end of the secret chamber, Zhan Lan turned a porcelain jar, and a secret door opened.

The two went down the hidden passage together.

"You know this place very well," Dugu Yan said with a cold face.

"Because this master has opened the Heavenly Eye, what would a mere mortal like you understand?" Zhan Lan said with a laugh as she touched Dugu Yan's cheek.

"You're bullshitting," Dugu Yan said awkwardly, pushing Zhan Lan's hand away.

Zhan Lan stumbled from the push and smiled helplessly.

This girl, just like in her previous life, was born with Divine Power.

Now only eleven years old, she was already so strong.

Seeing that Zhan Lan wasn't angry, Dugu Yan whispered, "If you can avenge me, I'll owe my life to you!"

Under the candlelight, Zhan Lan's eyes instantly reddened, and her voice choked, "That won't be necessary. Just keep yourself alive and well for me!"

The little girl was visibly stunned; this woman appeared so distinguished, yet she spoke nonsense just like herself.

Moreover, her words felt so natural, as if they had always spoken to each other like this in a past life!

Zhan Lan's thoughts tumbled.

In her past life, Dugu Yan was her Deputy General, her comrade-in-arms, who, refusing to confess to accusations against Zhan Lan on the statement of guilt, led her three thousand brothers in a charge towards the imperial city.

In the end, he was strangled on the very battlefield where he had once fought so fiercely.

Zhan Lan and Dugu Yan first met during the prime of their youth.

That year, General Zhan Lan was seventeen, valiant and strikingly handsome.

Fifteen-year-old Dugu Yan was full of banditry, a notorious bandit of Black Wind Mountain.

She was shorter than Zhan Lan; a small woman who, wielding two copper hammers, defeated all the bandits on the mountain and became the unrivaled female commander.

Zhan Lan captured her three times and released her three times, until Dugu Yan was thoroughly convinced and finally followed the army, bringing a whole gang of bandits with her, hammers in hand.

She willingly became Zhan Lan's subordinate, serving not only as his Deputy General and vanguard officer but also taking care of his daily needs.

If it were not for Minister of the Ministry of Justice Huang Chizhong who had misjudged her father's case, resulting in the extermination of the entire Dugu family,

She would not have been secretly taken up the mountain by her Master.

As she grew up, Dugu Yan was fixated on seeking revenge, boasting to Zhan Lan in the military tent how she had infiltrated the Huang Family alone for more than a month and witnessed their home being raided.

At that time, the one who raided the Huang Family and exterminated them was the Seal Keeper of the Xingtian Department, Mu Yan!

It was also then that Zhan Lan found out about the secret chamber in the Huang Family's ancestral hall, which harbored their embezzled treasures, as well as all of their secrets.

The disappearance of Zhan Heng and Zhan Rui this time was the doing of Huang Chizhong's legitimate son, Huang Lian.

...

"What are you doing here?" Dugu Yan's voice pulled Zhan Lan back from her memories.

"This secret passage leads to the Huang Family's study; I'm going to rescue my brother and sister!"

"Your brother and sister have been abducted by Huang Lian too?" Dugu Yan frowned.

Zhan Lan nodded, estimating the time and guessing, "The people who took them might have already arrived!"

Dugu Yan followed Zhan Lan, half in doubt and half in trust, since she was a fortune-teller, perhaps this time it would be accurate.

If the other party dared to boast, she was willing to see if it was true.

The two of them arrived at the end of the secret passage.

Through a secret door, Zhan Lan first heard the whining of a puppy, followed by the crying of Zhan Rui.

Zhan Lan instantly felt relieved; she signaled Dugu Yan to keep quiet while peering through a hole in the secret door into the room.

"Sister, don't cry. Sister will definitely come to save us and Little Black!" Zhan Heng said in a childish voice, clutching the injured Little Black tightly in his arms.

With a bang, the door was pushed open from the outside, and a man's hoarse voice came through.

"Mr. Huang, are you satisfied with this batch of goods?"

Huang Lian's effeminate voice followed, "These two do seem tender and delicate. Wash them clean before you draw their blood for this young master!"

After speaking, his voice turned cold, with a hint of chill as he said, "Don't you dare abduct people on the streets in broad daylight for me again, even if my father's power can protect you. Don't be so arrogant! Understand?"

The man fawningly replied, "Rest assured, Mr. Huang, our Qingshan Gang will handle it. Next time, we will take action when there are more people around at night."

Zhan Rui kept crying, while Zhan Heng, with his legs tied up, bravely stood in front of his sister and said calmly, "I am Zhan Heng of the General Mansion. You are defying the law; release us at once!"

Zhan Heng's words not only failed to intimidate Huang Lian but also made him laugh.

He sneered as he approached, bending down to pat Zhan Heng's cheek with a smile.

"This child has a good look. Take more of his blood; maybe this young master can have a bold and plump son too!"

Zhan Heng cried out in grievance, "Mengmeng sister, come save us!"

Hearing these words, Zhan Lan's body trembled, and her lips twitched uncontrollably; these brats had actually called her by her nickname in front of others.

Zhan Lan was akin to a heroine in the eyes of Zhan Heng and Zhan Rui. She had taken them both bird-nesting, climbing trees, beating up bullies for them, and today even struck a wicked woman in the street for them.

Mengmeng, heeding the call of her little brother, was timing meticulously—this was illogical. By all accounts, that scoundrel Mu Yan should have arrived!