"What? Huan'er, how could you be so foolish? How could you leave a blind woman alone at home? If anything were to happen to her, I would become a sinner in this Western Qin!" the old woman said excitedly.

"Then...what should we do? Ruoxi herself said that after she woke up this morning, she felt that she had regained some of her sense of light, so I...that's why..." Huan'er said in a panic.

"Hurry back, quick!" the old woman said, struggling excitedly to stand up.

Huan'er rushed forward and pressed her hand down, looking bewildered and at a loss, saying, "Madam, please don't be agitated. Ruoxi is very lucky; I believe she won't..."

"Slap..." Before Huan'er could finish speaking, the old woman, panting heavily, still delivered a heavy slap, which landed unexpectedly on Huan'er's already scarred and tender face.

Then, clutching her chest, she angrily rebuked him, "Huan'er, Huan'er, you've been with me for more than just a day or two. So many years have passed, and now you're becoming more and more disobedient. Do you just ignore what I say? Since your wings have grown so strong, what are you still doing following me? Go away, go away! I never want to see you again, go!"

"Madam..." In an instant, Huan'er seemed to instinctively reach out and cover her face, pursing her lips tightly. All the grievances in her heart surged up at once. Not knowing how to relieve them, she could only turn around abruptly and lean on the railing by the pavilion, silently wiping away her tears.

At this moment, the man who had been standing beside the two men, constantly expressing his astonishment, seemed to finally understand what had happened between them.

He glanced at Huan'er, who was weeping bitterly, then quickly stepped forward to the old woman's side, bowed respectfully, and comforted her, saying, "Madam, you may not know this, but Huan'er encountered two bandits while searching for you. If I had arrived any later, she might have lost her virginity. Huan'er is inherently pure and kind, but it is precisely because she and you have been together day and night for so many years, relying on each other for survival, that this precious bond between mistress and servant has caused her to lose her composure in her haste. Besides, no matter how big a mistake she has made, she is still just a child. How could you bear to send away such a thoughtful and loyal maid? I heard you say that you came here mainly because you were worried about the other blind woman in your household who would be left unattended. Well then, as the saying goes, 'If you're going to help someone, help them all the way.' Let me escort you two back home immediately. What do you think, Madam?"

"What? Huan'er almost..." Upon hearing this, the old woman suddenly realized that something was wrong with Huan'er's face. So, she hurriedly tried to get up and go to Huan'er's side to check her injuries, but the man quickly reached out to help her up.

Upon seeing this, Huan'er rushed towards the old woman and knelt down with a thud, tightly hugging her legs and wailing, "Madam, Huan'er knows she was wrong, Huan'er really knows she was wrong. But, even if you hit Huan'er, even if you scold Huan'er, Huan'er only begs you, no matter what, please don't send Huan'er away. Madam is Huan'er's only family in this world, Huan'er will stay with Madam for the rest of her life, sob sob sob..."

Upon hearing this, the old woman frowned deeply, tears streaming down her face, and reached out her trembling hands to gently touch the finger marks on Huan'er's swollen, chubby baby face. Then she gently lifted Huan'er's face and asked with trembling lips, "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt. As long as you're alright, Madam, I'll do anything you ask. I'm not afraid of anything." Huan'er looked up at the old woman's face with innocent eyes and smiled through her tears.

The old woman gently helped her up, smoothed her disheveled hair, and then pulled her into a tight embrace, as if trying to soothe all the fright she had suffered that day.

After a long while, Huan'er came to her senses and stood up straight. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and happily introduced to the old woman, "Madam, thanks to Brother Lu today, Huan'er was able to escape danger."

"Today, my servant and I should indeed thank this young master Lu for saving our lives. I bow to you!" the old woman said, and then she was about to kneel down to bow to him.

The man quickly reached out and helped her up, saying hurriedly, "Madam, you have given me such a great courtesy. It's nothing. 'Helping those in need' is just a small thing, nothing to brag about."

Then, the man stood tall, gazing out of the pavilion, his eyes filled with a somber, lingering sadness as he silently said, "However... these are turbulent times for Western Qin. Unless there is something particularly urgent, it would be safer for you two to stay at home. 'Under tyranny, there are always brave men.' The various kingdoms of Lingkong are already eyeing Western Qin with covetous intent, and now, internal strife is erupting everywhere. I wonder when Western Qin will be able to enjoy peace and prosperity again?"

"That day is coming soon..." The old woman followed his gaze and looked at the body of a strong man in red on the ground not far from the pavilion, and said meaningfully.

Upon hearing this, the man turned around in surprise and stared at the old woman with an incredulous expression.

At this moment, Huan'er suddenly felt a sense of unease and stammered, "Brother Lu, didn't you just say you had important matters to attend to? Won't we... be a burden to you?"

The man suddenly woke up upon hearing the sound, looked into her eyes and smiled, saying, "Oh, it's nothing. Anyway, I'm just following my father's orders to search for someone. I might as well ask around along the way while I'm taking you home; perhaps I'll find some news."

As soon as he finished speaking, accompanied by a very loud whistle from the man, a brown horse galloped out from a grove of trees.

The man helped the master and servant onto the horse and seated them properly. He then stepped onto the horse himself, and guided by Huan'er, the three of them galloped off towards Peach Blossom Village, raising clouds of dust.

Meanwhile, Taohuadian Village was already in complete chaos.

After carrying Wang Er back home in the dark last night and explaining the precautions for administering the medicine as instructed by Ruoxi, the middle-aged woodcutter, along with a few neighbors, braved the rain and darkness with torches and ventured into the mountains to search for the hillside where Ruoxi had rolled down.

Unexpectedly, they only found the pine tree that had rolled down with Ruoxi, which was charred and looked terrible, but Ruoxi was nowhere to be found.

Left with no other option, the group discussed their options deep in the mountains. Using the accident site as a base, they split up and searched the area for most of the night. Some who had never been to the mountains before nearly got lost and couldn't find their way back. Others suffered minor injuries such as sprained ankles, and so on…

As night fell and rain began, making things difficult, the middle-aged woodcutter searched the area around the scene of the incident, looking for the nearly blind woman. He walked as far as he could during that time, but still found nothing.

I figured that even if it had been attacked by a wild animal, it would have left some clues.

Left with no other choice, the group had to temporarily give up, dejected, and descend the mountain. They gathered more people in the village that night, not daring to sleep for fear of missing the appointed time. Together they anxiously waited in the ancestral hall for the first faint ray of light to appear in Peach Blossom Village, which was also the earliest in the Western Qin Kingdom, so they could go back into the mountains to search for their loved ones.

Finally, dawn broke, but this night seemed to be the longest night ever in the memories of everyone in the village.

Just as everyone was preparing to set off together from the village ancestral hall to go up the mountain, Wang Er suddenly rushed over, blocked the entrance of the ancestral hall, and, with his hands on his hips, pleaded breathlessly, "Let...let me go find Miss Ruoxi too! She went up the mountain because of me and encountered such a disaster..."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woodcutter, though finding it quite unusual for such words to come from Wang Er at this time, still had to resolutely and sternly stop him, saying, "Wang Er, what are you doing? Hurry up and go home to rest and recover. Have you forgotten all the things Miss Ruoxi told you? It was because she got into this situation to save you that you should listen to her and get well soon. Only then can you repay her for what she did for you, right?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Er raised his arms and spun around, showing them to everyone. His face beaming with joy, he said, "Look, I'm healed! I'm healed! I'm really healed! Please believe me, I can do it! Please, take me with you! The 'Living Bodhisattva' was absolutely right. That woman, she truly is a benefactor in my life. That day, when I found her by the river at the village entrance, I almost secretly carried her to the mountains and buried her alive. If it weren't for the old lady's intervention, yesterday… I, Wang Er, would certainly have died."

“But you…” Despite his words, the middle-aged woodcutter was still extremely worried about whether Wang Er’s body was really capable of handling the intensity of climbing the mountain, given that it had only been a short night of rest.

Before the middle-aged woodcutter could finish speaking, Wang Er suddenly knelt down before the crowd, repeatedly kowtowing and pleading earnestly, "Please, take me with you! I really can, I really can..."

Seeing this, the middle-aged woodcutter seemed unable to bear it any longer and didn't want to hear another word from him. So, gritting his teeth and steeling his resolve, he roared at him, "Wang Er, stop talking! If you continue to pester us like this, you'll only delay our search for and rescue of Miss Ruoxi. We won't take you with us, so give up on that idea and go home to recover. 'We'll find her alive or dead,' no matter what, we will definitely bring Miss Ruoxi back, so don't worry!"

Then, the middle-aged woodcutter waved his hand and called to the crowd, "Everyone, follow me and ignore him."

So, almost all the able-bodied young men in Taohuadian Village bypassed Wang Er's body blocking the door and marched into the mountains in a grand procession.

And Wang Er...