"Miss Ruoxi, so you really can cook! These dumplings are delicious. I've never eaten such good dumplings before. The skin is thin and the filling is plentiful, fragrant and delicious, although they don't look very appealing." The young guard, with his head covered, wolfed down the dumplings while sincerely praising them.

The woman carried two plates of round, glistening dumplings. As she walked over and handed them to the older guard, she said modestly, "You're just too hungry, that's why everything tastes delicious."

"Please eat first, young lady. I'll eat the next batch later," the older guard said, pushing the two plates of fragrant dumplings towards her.

The woman declined, saying, "You two eat first, don't worry about me. If you're not full later, you can cook some more; there's plenty on the table. The ginseng soup should be almost ready. I'll go to the tea room to check. If it's done, I'll send it over to the man who fell into the water right away. The sooner he eats, the sooner he'll be free from suffering!"

After listening, the older guard thought to himself for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "But in the dead of night, do you know where that man is now? Besides, in such a large organization as the Xiaolong Society, it's probably not easy to find a stranger! Why don't you sit down and have something to eat? We'll go with you to ask around later."

"Yeah, yeah, let's go together after we've eaten! I want to see who that guy is. He's so brave! He just darted down like lightning in a flash!" The young guard also stood up and stood to the side, gesturing and cheering.

After a moment's thought, the woman insisted, "Many people in the Xiaolong Society probably already know about what happened today. I can find out by asking around. Besides, only I know what the person who helped me rescue that man looks like. He promised to bring him back and take good care of him. It's getting late. After you've eaten, hurry back and rest. You still have to keep watch in the backyard tonight! I'll take the ginseng soup over and come back right away. Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Knowing the woman's stubborn nature, and fearing further words would be futile, the older guard sighed and said nothing more. He simply placed one of the two plates of dumplings in front of her, saying, "I know I can't persuade you otherwise. Take this plate of dumplings to tide you over. Don't always forget yourself for the sake of others. I won't say any more words of praise. In short, be careful in everything you do."

Upon hearing this, a warm feeling welled up in the woman's heart, so she slowly reached out to take it and said, "Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Actually, even without anyone guarding her backyard, with all the herbs and poisonous plants in her house, no one could do anything to her. It's just that she felt sorry for the two of them, as this meant they wouldn't get any rest day or night.

The night was as still as water, the moonlight as smooth as silk, the spring breeze swept by, and countless petals flew, all the fleeting splendor faded away.

At this moment, in an inconspicuous corner of the courtyard of Long Ye, the vice leader of the Xiaolong Society, a small room was quiet, with only a dim candle flickering in the wind inside emitting a faint light.

Inside the room, a stern-looking man leaned against the headboard, arms crossed and sword in hand. He was so tired that he had unconsciously dozed off. Even in this disheveled state, he still exuded a cool handsomeness and an aura of justice.

Lying on the bed was the pale-faced man who had been accidentally forced into the lake on the mountain during the day and had been unconscious ever since. Now, he was dressed in the red clothes of the Xiaolong Society.

Suddenly, a slow knocking sound rang out.

Although the voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, his excellent sense of awareness immediately jolted him awake.

"Who?" The man, sword in hand, strode to the living room door and asked in a deep voice.

"It's me!" came a soft, weak female voice.

The man, already harboring some suspicions, hurriedly opened the door. But what came into view from the darkness was not the person he was waiting for, but a beautiful woman with a pretty face. Upon closer inspection, she seemed somewhat familiar.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly remembered the woman's character and immediately showed a displeased expression as he resolutely reached out to close the door. At the same time, the woman also quickly reached out and forcefully blocked the door, pleading with him, "Wait, don't close the door yet. I came to see you tonight because I need your help with something!"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you with this!" The cold-faced man didn't even raise his head. He gripped the door frame tightly with both hands, using his tall and imposing figure to block the woman outside the door, and refused in a deep voice.

The woman stood alone outside the door, refusing to budge, and said with a puzzled look, "But I haven't even said what it is yet, how do you know you can't help?"

The aloof man didn't want to waste a single word with her at this moment, not only because of her seductive nature, but also because he didn't want anyone to discover the presence of a woman in this courtyard. Those who served so closely in Long Ye's courtyard were hardly good people. Therefore, without thinking, he blurted out, "No matter what it is, as long as it concerns you, I am powerless to help."

Unexpectedly, no matter what he said, the woman persisted in pestering him, refusing to give up no matter how hard she pleaded. Suddenly, she began wiping away tears again: "Why are you so generous in helping a stranger, yet you shut me, a helpless and alone woman, away? I thought you were different from these bandits and robbers, but it turns out you're just as cold-blooded and ruthless, capable of killing without shedding blood."

She thought that her sincere emotions and tearful outburst would at least earn her some words of comfort and reassurance from the man. Unexpectedly, he suddenly grabbed her hands, which were clinging to the door, and glared at her angrily, yelling, "Stop talking nonsense! If you don't leave now, when people come, you won't be able to leave. You know who the deputy gang leader is, don't you? He'll eat you alive, leaving not even bones... Now get back home! Don't wander around, especially at night! Don't hang around in front of people!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the man forcefully flung away the woman's delicate hands. Only then did she realize that he had been pinching her so hard that it hurt. She quickly reached up and began to knead her hands together.

Suddenly looking up, she saw that the man had already closed the door halfway, so she hurriedly said, "I heard what you were saying outside the window that day?"

Upon hearing this, the man paused for a moment, stopped what he was doing, glanced at her, and said disdainfully, "So what? What does it have to do with you?"

The woman took two steps forward, looking at the man's face with a somewhat somber expression, and suddenly blurted out, "I think I might be the woman he sold to a brothel."

The man immediately looked up and stared at the woman's face, stunned.

The two men stared at each other in silence for a moment before the man asked in a deep voice, "How do you want me to help you?"

After a moment's recollection, the woman took a breath and said, "I just want to verify whether that beastly fellow has three black moles on his chest, because I once saw him with a girl in Wanjiao Pavilion... I must avenge this blood feud. If it weren't for his interference back then, Erlang and I wouldn't be in this state today, nor would we be separated from him forever, and Hongmei's life would have been wasted in vain. If I don't avenge this, I, Lanxiang, swear I will not be human."

Looking at the woman before him, whose expression and words were filled with ruthlessness, he realized how regrettable her fate was. She wasn't the frivolous woman he had imagined. Truly, 'the net of heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it.' Under the clear sky, it seemed that this wicked Long Ye would indeed not escape his fate this time.

With this thought in mind, the cold-faced man gently opened the door again, put one hand behind his back, sighed, stepped across the threshold, and said to him, "Alright, I agree to help you with this. However, you must also agree to one condition: I will examine the three black moles on his chest for you. But you are not allowed to set foot in the West Courtyard again. Not only that, you are not allowed to appear in any of the places he likes to go. Otherwise, all the arrangements will be in vain and destroyed because of you."

Upon hearing this, the woman was both excited and puzzled. She said, "Okay, I promise you. Thank you so much! ... Just now you said 'everything is arranged,' what arrangement? What do you mean by that?"

"You don't need to know this. The less you know, the safer we are for each other. This is the best distance between us," the man whispered in Lanxiang's ear.

As the woman was pondering to herself, the man turned and left her side, putting his hands behind his back and saying to the bright peach tree in front of the door, "Alright, you've achieved your goal, so hurry up and leave!"

Hearing this, the woman obediently turned around silently, but suddenly noticed the herb basket and black veiled hat she had left on the steps by the door. She quickly picked them up and walked to the man's side, saying, "By the way, do you know where the girl who jumped into the lake with you to save people today lives? I didn't know that besides Yan'er and me, there were other women here..."

Before she could finish speaking, the man warned her, seemingly extremely impatiently, "That girl?... Didn't I just tell you, 'The less you know, the less you know about us'..."

Before the man could speak, the woman quickly interrupted him, saying, "'The less I know, the safer we are for each other. This is the best distance between us.' Well, I've already remembered that. What I meant was that these things were left behind by the girl who jumped into the lake to save someone in the mountains today. Why don't you... give them to her for me? I'll leave now."

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman stuffed the two items into the man's hands and turned to go back the way she came.

After taking only two steps, the man quickly dropped what he was holding and chased after him, saying, "Wait a minute, I'll take you out. Don't let anyone see you swaggering around like this. Next time you need to find me, wait until it's just getting dark by the lake. Don't ever come here again, it's dangerous!"

The two whispered to each other as they safely exited the west courtyard archway.

After seeing Lanxiang off, the man shook his head and was about to turn back into the house when he suddenly saw several people pulling and tugging at each other in the distance...