As the sun rose, everything on earth shimmered with countless tiny points of light. Long En stepped out of his room, raising his hands as if to embrace the sunrise and this comforting new day.

In an instant, the birds in the trees in the yard fluttered up and soared into the blue sky with startled cries.

In the light mist, the morning light danced merrily in the courtyard, accompanied by fallen leaves carrying the faint scent of wine, while colorful clouds chased birds as they soared and played freely in the sky.

He left home early today. Even so, the city streets were already packed with people.

The time he was supposed to pick up the jewelry with the shopkeeper was still early, so he decided to join in the fun and see for himself who the female physician sought by the Prince of Qin's mansion was, what kind of stunning beauty she had that made the Prince of Qin so generous and favored.

Or what does the guardian currently being talked about look like, and how different is he from the portrait of the real guardian that Shoubo just gave him?

Although he didn't believe for a second that the guardian was a weak, useless, ugly girl from a mere pharmacist's family, he actually preferred to believe that such a god-like woman must be living in seclusion in some spiritually rich deep mountain forest to cultivate. Nevertheless, he still felt a strange sense of curiosity about such a woman.

After all, the fact that such a woman is now known throughout the entire Lingkong Continent proves that her life has truly been turned around.

However, from afar, before he could even get close enough to see the corner of the missing person notice buried by the sea of ​​people, he was first deeply attracted by the extremely dazzling and seemingly extraordinary figures of two tall men standing behind the crowd.

He couldn't help but slow his pace and carefully examine the two of them from the side.

Of the two men, one wore a purple-red brocade robe and had slender, almond-shaped eyes. Even before getting close, he exuded a faint scent of perfume, displaying an alluring and unrestrained demeanor.

The other man beside him, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, was completely different.

On the surface, he appears to be as elegant as an orchid, gentle as jade, with clear eyes like still waters and a graceful figure like a jade tree. However, deep down, he is completely different from his outward appearance, possessing a heroic and extraordinary spirit, disdain for worldly things, and untainted by vulgarity.

He had naturally made many connections with the numerous nobles and dignitaries in the southern part of the city and even the Western Qin Kingdom. This was precisely the most important purpose of his decision to operate the Drunken Immortal Pavilion here: to get close to and befriend all the resources that could be of use to his future.

But clearly, he couldn't match these two people to anything in his memory. Who were they from? Were they here... also trying to get something from the Prince of Qin's mansion?

Upon realizing this, Long En immediately put on a smiling face and stepped forward, pretending to peek at the notice from behind the crowd, while striking up a conversation, asking, "Friends, why are so many people gathered here to watch the commotion? Has something important happened?"

"Hmph... Can't you read? Can't you read for yourself?" To everyone's surprise, the man in the purple-red brocade robe raised an eyebrow, gave him a cold look, and said disdainfully.

Upon hearing this, Long En was about to turn his gaze away from the crowd ahead and say something to the man in the purple-red brocade robe when he saw the man in the purple-red brocade robe saying to another gentle and refined man beside him, "It seems that the Prince Qin's mansion still has no news about the girl?"

"It seems so." Upon hearing this, the man in the moon-white brocade robe withdrew his gaze and looked at the man in the purple-red brocade robe, replying in a deep voice.

"Let's go!" the man in the crimson brocade robe said. The man in the pale white brocade robe nodded slightly, and the two of them walked together into a teahouse next to the jewelry store.

Seeing that the two had gone to have tea, Long En seemed relieved and smiled. Knowing where they were, there was no rush. He could go and continue the conversation later after he finished looking at the portrait; Long En wasn't the kind of person who would give up easily without achieving his goal.

Having made up his mind, Long En hurriedly turned back to carefully examine the woman's appearance on the notice. He was immediately stunned by how lifelike the drawing was. Although her face was covered with a veil, her delicate features and contours were still clearly visible.

Long En immediately recognized the woman depicted on the notice as Ruoxi, the amnesiac woman he had rescued in the mountains on the day of the heavy rain. She was now waiting for him to return to the Xiaolong Society to take her home.

After a long while, she murmured in astonishment, "The cloud on her clothes... So, this is Ruoxi's true identity... This is truly unexpected!"

After staring blankly at the portrait on the notice for a while, he suddenly looked around cautiously and hurriedly pulled out the portrait of the guardian that Uncle Shou had given him from his sleeve pocket.

He quickly used his large, strong hand to cover the face of the guardian's portrait, just like the woman's portrait on the notice, before carefully comparing it with the portrait on the notice.

Sure enough, rumors are just rumors, and eight or nine out of ten of them are unreliable, no matter how vividly they are spread.

At this moment, after a very careful comparison, he was certain that even if Yi Shangyun did not have that birthmark on his face, he could not possibly be the true guardian.

However, deep down, Long En felt a sense of surprise, because he noticed that the two people seemed to resemble each other in some way. What was going on? Could it be... just a coincidence?

As he slowly and woodenly folded and put away the portrait of the guardian, he wondered to himself: So, Yi Shangyun is Ruoxi, and Ruoxi is Yi Shangyun...

In an instant, a thought that even he himself despised arose in his mind. More than a decade has passed, and in order to achieve great things, must he once again go against his conscience and repeat the same mistakes?

At this thought, he recalled his shameful past when he was young and reckless, and the great empire that was about to become his possession. His mind was instantly in chaos.

Was it shame and self-blame, or sadness, or even fear? All he could hear was a cacophony of voices from the crowd around him, filled with rumors and gossip about the woman, some praising her, some cursing her. But it was as if countless sharp daggers were stabbing into his heart, tearing it apart inch by inch. He was bleeding profusely, struggling to breathe, on the verge of death, and his face turned deathly pale.

After a while, he was distraught and stumbled along, seemingly unable to recall how he had managed to get to the teahouse where the two distinguished men had been.

"Sir, how many are in your party?" It wasn't until the teahouse waiter standing at the door had called out several times, and even his smile seemed to have frozen, that the enthusiastic greeting finally brought him back to his senses.

He immediately closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again, straightened his clothes, and finally mustered his spirits to say calmly, "Just one!"

"One, please come upstairs, sir!" Only then did he follow the teahouse waiter upstairs to the second floor.

After settling in, he ordered a pot of aged white tea and some pastries to accompany it. The waiter hurriedly went to prepare them, and Long En then looked around. At this time, the teahouse seemed to be empty, with hardly anyone there.

Unexpectedly, just as he turned around, he saw through a circular hole in the partition behind him that the two men sitting at the back were none other than those from before—men of extraordinary bearing who seemed unapproachable. Long En immediately turned around, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and secretly rejoiced, thinking, "It seems we really are destined to meet!"

Just as he was pondering this, several waiters quickly brought over all the tea and snacks, setting them on the table while saying warmly, "Your tea and snacks are all ready, please enjoy. If you need anything else, please call me."

Long En smiled and nodded politely at him, and the waiters stepped aside to wait to be served.

Long En was about to reach for a cup of tea when he suddenly heard someone behind him say, "What do you think of the rumors circulating recently that the girl is a descendant of vampires and the guardian of Western Qin?"

Long En had excellent eyesight and hearing; he immediately recognized the voice as coming from the alluring man. Perhaps they were so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't even noticed his presence.

“That’s impossible. If she is, then the Empress Dowager is too, but I’ve never heard her mention this in Dongning. She couldn’t possibly have kept such a significant matter from all of us. Absolutely not.” The other man’s tone was that of the taciturn and gentle man, and his words also sounded very firm.

"So it turns out the guardian of Western Qin is a woman. I'm getting more and more interested in her!" the man who spoke first said with great interest.

"Tch..." At this moment, another man chuckled, seemingly with contempt.

The flamboyant man was silent for a moment, then put down his teacup and suddenly said, "What? It seems you already knew about this?"

The gentle and refined man remained silent, only refilling their nearly empty teacups, seemingly acquiescing to their request.

The flamboyant man's tone then became somewhat provocative, and he asked, "So, the reason your troops have hesitated to set foot in Western Qin is because you fear this mysterious power hidden within the Western Qin kingdom?"

"Your Highness, don't tell me that your Nan'an Kingdom doesn't have the ambition to unify the four kingdoms of this Lingkong Continent! ...Alright, enough nonsense, let's get back to the point. Let's think about how to find the person. If we keep dragging this out, something bad might really happen." The gentle and refined man changed the subject, speaking with concern.

For a moment, the two seemed to fall silent, without making a sound.

Suddenly, the gentle, jade-like man murmured again:

"The true dragon emerges from the sea, the spiritual realm is unified, the phoenix rises from the ashes, reborn from the flames, life is death, and death is life."

"The peach blossoms by the small shop are pink and beautiful, and the willows along the street are green and wispy."

What are your thoughts on these statements?

The flamboyant man paused, then said in a deep voice, "To be honest, when you appeared at the City God Temple that night, I was actually there too."

You're here too?