Sitting down with Lanxiang, who was resting after spraining her ankle, Ruoxi couldn't help but secretly recall the scenes that had just unfolded...

Unable to contain her sadness, she silently took out the double-swallow sachet that Yan'er had dropped from her sleeve, held it in her hands and stared at it for a long time, as if she could see the voice and smile of that chattering little girl again, whose appearance was now hard to describe as either timid or bold. She smiled faintly at the sachet.

Coming to his senses, he finally came to his senses, took a disappointed breath, and slowly opened it.

"Since these are things she always carries with her... could these be the most precious items in Yan'er's life?" Ruoxi stared blankly at the two bracelets lying quietly in the sachet, and muttered to herself in surprise.

"Ruoxi, what are you looking at?" Lanxiang, who was wiping the fine sweat from her forehead, heard Ruoxi's murmur and turned to look at her pensive face. Then she moved her body slightly closer to Ruoxi and looked curiously at the light purple sachet in her hand.

Unexpectedly, Ruoxi reached inside and pulled out the two bracelets, intending to examine them closely with Lanxiang. Just as they were beginning to appear, Lanxiang tilted her head and spotted the sandalwood bracelet with the orchid carving—a bracelet she knew all too well. With lightning speed, Lanxiang snatched the bracelet from Ruoxi's hand and examined it closely. Seeing this, Ruoxi looked completely bewildered.

After a moment's thought, Lanxiang said to herself with a look of delight, "Isn't this sandalwood bracelet with orchid carving the one I accidentally lost? I never expected it to be with Yan'er. She must have picked it up for me, but before she could give it to me, she..."

Upon hearing this, both of them lowered their heads simultaneously, falling into a sorrowful silence.

A moment later, seeing Lanxiang take out a handkerchief and carefully wipe the bracelet again and again, treasuring it so much, Ruoxi teased, "Seeing how happy you are to have it back, and how much you cherish this bracelet, it must have a very special meaning to you, right? Could it be... a gift from your lover?"

Upon hearing this, Lanxiang slowly raised her head, glanced at Ruoxi, smiled faintly at her, and then turned back to continue wiping the dust off the bracelet, saying leisurely:

"This bracelet was my mother's most treasured possession. She always wore it close to her body and never took it off. She only took it off and gave it to me when she was about to pass away. Now, carrying it with me is like having my mother still by my side, never having left. I remember that when my mother had nothing to do, she would often sit by the window, holding it and staring at it in a daze. I asked her about it many times, but she would never say anything except sigh and secretly shed tears behind my back. But I know that she must be thinking of that person, and this bracelet must be a deeply unforgettable memory left to her by that person."

As Lanxiang spoke, her brows furrowed, and after a long silence, she suddenly became agitated, saying indignantly, "I hate that man to the core. If I ever encounter that ungrateful, heartless man again, I will kill him with my own hands. If it weren't for his appearance, I wouldn't have been called an unwanted, jinxed child, and my mother wouldn't have been despised as an unwanted, worthless woman, a slut. We, mother and daughter, were both despised and discarded. Perhaps my mother would have lived a peaceful life, a life that, while not wealthy, was comfortable. Her life wouldn't have been so short and miserable, ending without ever seeing that heartless man again until her last breath."

Lanxiang clutched the sandalwood bracelet with orchid carvings tightly in her hand, gritting her teeth as she spoke fiercely.

Seeing this, Ruoxi slowly placed her hand on the orchid fragrance, which was now tightly clenched and seemed to be trembling, and tried to slowly open it. She took out the bracelet and spread it out in her palm, examining it for a long time.

This bracelet must have taken a lot of effort. It was repeatedly polished, oiled, and buffed until every surface was as lustrous as rhinoceros horn, resembling both a bronze mirror and a piece of fine jade.

After thinking about it for a moment, Ruoxi became a little puzzled: "'Orchid fragrance'... the orchid pattern carved on this bracelet must symbolize you, right? Could it be that person carved it by hand? Perhaps, his departure was also due to some kind of hardship?"

Seeing Lanxiang standing there motionless, her cheeks puffed out, still seething with anger, Ruoxi shook her head and said, "You won't kill him!"

"I would... why wouldn't I?" Lanxiang finally came to her senses and retorted to Ruoxi without hesitation.

Ruoxi smiled faintly and gently pinched her cheek, then picked up the bracelet in her palm with two fair fingers and showed it to her, saying, "If you really hate him, why would you take it out every day to caress and polish it, taking such good care of it, knowing full well that it belongs to him? Given your volatile temper, you probably already tricked your mother into giving it to you without her knowing, while she was still alive. You could have chopped it up, cut it, burned it, or refined it. Even if you had a million ways to dispose of it, would it still be alive now?"

"I...I'm too lazy to talk to you, give it back! If you don't believe me, I'll destroy it right now in front of you!" Lanxiang instantly exposed the secret she had carefully hidden deep inside since childhood, leaving her speechless for a moment. Feeling guilty and furious, she uttered a harsh remark and hurriedly reached out to snatch it back forcefully.

Seeing Lanxiang's furious and embarrassed expression after her thoughts were exposed, Ruoxi was about to let go and return the bracelet to her when she suddenly saw the dense phoenix tail pattern inside the bracelet. She abruptly put the bracelet down and stopped Lanxiang, saying, "Wait... let me take another look."

"What's wrong?" Lanxiang asked, noticing that Ruoxi had suddenly become serious and was examining the bracelet on her own. She leaned over and looked at it with her, asking in confusion.

Ruoxi frowned and remained silent, turning the bracelet in her hand and pondering for a long time before finally asking Lanxiang, "Was there originally a pair of these bracelets?"

Upon hearing this, Lanxiang's expression suddenly turned solemn. She slowly rose, limped a couple of steps to the side, placed her hands on the tree trunk, turned her back to Ruoxi, thought for a moment, nodded slightly, and said in a deep voice, "Grandma said that these bracelets were originally a pair of dragon and phoenix bracelets, both featuring orchids. In addition to the orchid pattern, one bracelet had a phoenix tail pattern inlaid on its inner circle, while the other had a dragon pattern, symbolizing the dragon and phoenix protecting the orchids together."

As she spoke, Lanxiang suddenly lowered her head, her shoulders trembled, and she gave a cold laugh, saying, "What an ironic metaphor! Protecting the orchid together... shouldn't it be abandoning the orchid together?!"

Before she could say anything more, Ruoxi quickly stood up and continued to ask, "Then what about the dragon-patterned bracelet?"

Lanxiang sighed softly and said, "Grandma said that on the day that person left, he had an argument with my mother, and in front of her, he threw the dragon-patterned bracelet into the river. That's why my mother would secretly cry over this lonely phoenix-tail bracelet all day long. Now that the dragon-patterned bracelet is gone, the dragon and phoenix bracelets that protect Lanxiang will never be reunited."

"No... the dragon-patterned bracelet is still here." At this moment, Ruoxi finally understood everything and stared blankly at the babbling water in a stream in the woods.

"What did you say?" Upon hearing this, Lanxiang immediately turned around and looked at him.

Ruoxi composed herself, then took a few steps forward to Lanxiang's side, took her hand, and asked, "Lanxiang, what do you think of the leader of the Xiaolong Society?"

"Which Dragon Gang Leader are you talking about?" Lanxiang asked, puzzled.

“Of course it’s Chief Long En. You can tell what kind of person Long Ye is at a glance. Does anyone need to tell me?” Ruoxi said.

Lanxiang hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Actually, I can't really say. I feel like he's a good person, but not quite. He seems to have the air of a gentleman, but when I think of his despicable subordinates, all I feel is hatred. If it weren't for them, Yan'er wouldn't have died so tragically, and so many innocent people wouldn't have been hurt. I hate him!"

Seeing Lanxiang's burning anger, Ruoxi advised, "Lanxiang, although you're usually a bit carefree, you're still a reasonable person. You know in your heart that this isn't Long En's intention, but rather the ambitious and treacherous Long Ye deliberately stirring up trouble. You shouldn't blame him for all of this. Although he also bears responsibility for neglecting supervision of the Xiaolong Society, and may harbor some resentment, I believe he's not inherently bad. Given time, with gentle guidance, he'll eventually understand."

Lanxiang was completely confused and became a little irritated. She quickly grabbed Ruoxi's wrist and said, "Ruoxi, what are you trying to say? Didn't you just say that the Dragon Pattern Bracelet was still there? Where is it? Why are you talking about the Xiaolong Society and Long En and Long Ye?"

Ruoxi pursed her lips, exhaled a deep breath, and stared intently into Lanxiang's eyes, saying seriously, "Lanxiang, actually... I once encountered a very special situation and had no choice but to go to Brother Long's study. In a cabinet in Brother Long's study, I saw a rectangular box wrapped in red silk standing alone in the corner..."

Before she could finish speaking, seeing Ruoxi stammering and seemingly trying to be mysterious, Lanxiang shook her arm forcefully and said impatiently, "Ruoxi, what exactly do you want to say? Why are you suddenly being so hesitant? Just say what you want to say."

Ruoxi paused for a moment and said, "In that box, there was a sandalwood bracelet with orchid carvings that looked exactly like yours. I glanced at it out of curiosity and saw that the inner circle was inlaid with a circle of dragon patterns."

"What? You mean..." Lanxiang seemed unable to believe her ears at all. She immediately released her hands from Ruoxi's wrists and took several steps back until her back hit the tree trunk behind her. Only then did she stop and stand there in a daze.