Gu An rushed over, his former elegant and gentlemanly demeanor vanishing in an instant, grabbing Xiao Ran's hand and trying to make him let go.

"Brother Gu, you've arrived quickly and just in time!" Xiao Ran rubbed his hand, which had been forcibly pulled away, and grinned slyly, looking nothing like a state lord.

"Brother Xiao, this outfit suits you quite well." Gu An stood in front of Jiang Ruan and sneered at Xiao Ran's long robe.

Xiao Ran didn't care at all. When he heard messy footsteps, he quickly put his mask back on.

"Ruan Ruan, Ruan Ruan, you scared me to death! I heard you killed a high-level zombie, and I was terrified, so I rushed over. Are you alright? Let me see."

Anxia arrived, her eyes were red and her face was pale, clearly she had been crying.

She examined Jiang Ruan from head to toe and breathed a sigh of relief when she found no wounds.

"Xiaxia, don't panic. Did you... have a fight?" Jiang Ruan remembered that An Xia had run out to chase after Hua Yi. She hadn't seen her all day, and her eyes were so red and swollen. Obviously, something was wrong.

An Xia didn't say anything, bit her lip, and shook her head to signal Jiang Ruan not to say anything more. She felt her heart was in turmoil. Hua Yi was actually with that woman, chatting and laughing, even more carefree and happy than when he was with her.

She even saw the two of them hugging each other tightly, and that scene still makes her feel terrible and upset when she thinks about it now.

"Alright, alright, I'll ask him in a bit and get revenge for you. You rest first. I'll prepare some good food and drinks for you. Stay by yourself for a while. We'll go home after we've settled things here, and then you can get some rest."

Jiang Ruan looked at Hua Yi, who looked rather wilted, as he walked in through the door, and gestured for him to go out first.

After calming An Xia down, Jiang Ruan went to find Hua Yi and learned what had happened.

It turns out that the woman was a fellow assassin named Qiu Wan. She had been injured and rendered useless, ending up here. Although she seemed to have some status here, she was actually just Du Song's plaything.

Hua Yi felt a pang of regret. Her former colleague, who was also on the list, offered a few words of comfort. However, Qiu Wan pretended to twist her ankle and lost her balance. Hua Yi helped her up.

And this scene was witnessed by An Xia.

Before Hua Yi could explain, Qiu Wan pushed her again, and they both fell into the water.

The situation quickly spiraled out of control.

After hearing the whole story, Jiang Ruan understood. But in the end, it was Hua Yi's fault. He was An Xia's boyfriend, and no matter the reason, he couldn't meet with his former colleague alone. Moreover, judging from his words, this colleague seemed to have feelings for him.

Then he needs to avoid suspicion even more.

"Hua Yi, you know An Xia is very important to me. I hope you won't put me in a difficult position. If you truly love her, you should cherish her. If you hesitate and hurt her, no matter who you are, I won't be polite. I mean what I say."

Then he left without waiting for Hua Yi to explain.

I ran into Gu An at the door. "You must be tired from your long journey!"

Gu An's eyes were weary, yet his gestures exuded a captivating charm. He smiled slightly and took Jiang Ruan's hand. "I'm not tired. It's you I'm really worried about. I shouldn't have agreed to your suggestion to split up. But thankfully, it's good that you're alright."

Jiang Ruan watched as the golden patterns slowly flowed across Gu An's slender, pale hands, and then noticed the undisguised smile on his face. "Hmm?"

Gu An sensed his question and pointed in the direction they had come from, saying, "It seems we need to move up the time."

His meaning was self-evident.

"The great battle is coming. Sure enough, I knew the Azure Dragon had been a bit restless lately. It's happening ahead of schedule." Jiang Ruan said, taking off the blue hairpin from her head and carefully stroking it. It was the Azure Dragon in disguise. It had been seriously injured last time and had not yet fully recovered, so it had no choice but to take this form to protect itself.

"That's right. After we split into two groups, the side we went on was less prosperous than this side, and sparsely populated. There wasn't even a soul in the very edge, so we concluded that zombies had been there. When we got closer to the center, the pools of green blood that had been hastily covered up further confirmed our suspicions."

Therefore, based on their progress, it should be tonight.

Gu An rushed over because he had guessed this possibility. He had promised to protect Jiang Ruan, and he couldn't go back on his word.

"Aaaaaah..."

The little boy in Jiang Ruan's mind was unhappy. His parents had finally met, but they didn't talk to him. Bored, he rolled around on the ground and mumbled to himself.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?"

The two people's unanimous concern made the little one happy.

“I have witnessed the great battle you mentioned, and I know that a vicious Azure Dragon will appear afterward. Therefore, the war between the Jade Dragons is not something that we mere humans can intervene in. So, Dad, Mom, don’t be reckless. Let the Azure Dragon go. It looks very powerful.”

As if sensing his voice or encouragement, Jiang Ruan felt the hairpin in her hand burning hot. Before she could let go, it disappeared, and when she saw it again, it was inside her own space.

"Azure Dragon, you..."

Jiang Ruan was worried that it would hurt the cub, but to her surprise, it revealed its true form as soon as it entered, leaped into the spiritual spring, wrapped the cub in its arms, and played there.

This scene truly stunned Jiang Ruan.

"You just heard that, didn't you? Not only did our little one speak such a long sentence, but he can also command the Azure Dragon. Our child is truly amazing."

Gu An nodded. Although Jiang Ruan's words were somewhat exaggerated, and he couldn't see what had happened, he only knew that the baby was safe in the space. Seeing Jiang Ruan's expression and hearing what she had just said, he felt a warmth in his heart.

"We heard everything, but we don't have time to consider the Azure Dragon matter. The zombies are besieging the city, moving extremely fast and at a very high level. We must unite to fight them together."

He was right, so Jiang Ruan immediately notified the people she had brought with her and held an emergency meeting with Elder Yuan's men.

"Quiet down. This meeting is urgent, so I'll just get to the point. According to the information brought by Chief Du, the zombies have already attacked, and our west side has fallen. Only a small part of the east side is barely surviving. Apart from the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled who need to be protected, everyone else, go out and fight. Use guns, cannons, and clubs to take them down one by one."

Xiao Ran, wearing Elder Yuan's mask, read out the main contents of the meeting. Below him were the meeting attendees, including Qiu Wan, Chief Du, Li Sheng, and several people from Jiang Ruan's side.

"Elder, we can't fight blindly, we need a plan or something. We need to discuss it. Besides, I'm just a weak woman. Although I have a little bit of superpower, I think I might need someone to guide me. I think Hua Yi is fine. Could you talk to Captain Jiang for me? If he's not suitable, I think that handsome guy is okay too."

Qiu Wan twisted her body, first pointing at Hua Yi, then at Gu An, with a gentle smile.