The woodcutter caught his breath slightly, then said anxiously, "Little Ni and several other children were playing with kites on the grass at the village entrance when suddenly a group of burly men in red, wielding large knives, appeared out of nowhere. They were looking for three people—one man and two women—claiming that those three had killed their brothers and demanding they come forward to pay for their deaths. They also said that someone had seen them fleeing towards our village."
Seeing that the woodcutter was panting and unable to speak, and even his legs were trembling, the old woman quickly helped him to sit down at the stone table in the courtyard with Huan'er. She then instructed Huan'er, "Huan'er, quickly go and get a cup of water."
The woodcutter gulped down his water and continued, "They snatched all the kites from the children's hands, asking if they had seen those three people recently. If they couldn't find them, they wouldn't give them back their kites. The little girl insisted that no one like them had ever been to the village, but they sweared she was lying and tied her to a pillar in front of the ancestral hall. When her parents found out, they went to confront them, and they were tied up too. They were about to set the whole family on fire..."
"Where did these thieves and robbers come from? Is there no law left in my Western Qin Kingdom?" Before the woodcutter could finish speaking, the old woman slammed her hand heavily on the stone table in front of her and said angrily through gritted teeth.
Huan'er, standing beside the old woman with her brows furrowed and head bowed, seemed to be deep in thought. Suddenly, she was startled by the old woman's anger and quickly looked up at her face.
The woodcutter spoke again, trembling with fear: "Not only that, those people also said that if our Peach Blossom Village doesn't hand over those three people today, they will... they will go on a killing spree and slaughter the entire village!"
"With me here, how dare they!" The old woman clenched her fist, which was spread out on the stone table, and glared at him with a solemn expression.
"This group of people seems quite snobbish. Their clothes and appearance don't resemble those of ordinary petty thieves. I'm afraid they're not just joking!" the woodcutter said worriedly.
At this moment, Huan'er, who had been standing to the side, seemed to have finally come to her senses and asked the woodcutter, "What does the person they are looking for look like? Do you have a portrait of him?"
The woodcutter sighed, his face full of bitterness. "If only we had a portrait, at least we'd have something to refer to. But they have nothing. They just insist that those three people must be in our village. Oh, right, they say one of them must know swordsmanship. But nobody has ever seen any of them! Except for Miss Ruoxi, but she's... Our village is just a tiny patch of land, with only a dozen or so households. Everyone knows everyone's ancestors! This is really worrying. This is a complete disaster, a real disaster!"
The woodcutter shook his head and sighed helplessly.
At this moment, Huan'er murmured softly, "The strong man in red...he can wield a sword...could it be that the person they're looking for is..."
Upon hearing this, the old woman's mind was instantly filled with the shocking images of the two burly men in red lying outside the lakeside pavilion that day. As if she suddenly understood, she hurriedly got up and said to the woodcutter, "Quickly take me to the ancestral hall."
However, after Huan'er helped her take only a few steps, the old woman suddenly stopped and said, "Wait, I'm going to get something."
As they were finally approaching the ancestral hall, the old woman, who had been thinking back and forth all the way, suddenly grasped the hand of the maid beside her and instructed her, "Huan'er, no matter what happens later, you must not speak, not utter a single word."
Upon hearing this, Huan'er immediately looked at the old woman's profile, as if she had already guessed something. Tears instantly filled her eyes, and she said excitedly, "Madam, what are you trying to do? No, absolutely not. All of this was caused by Huan'er. You can't take the blame for Huan'er, you can't."
However, the old woman kept her gaze fixed firmly ahead, taking steady steps, and solemnly instructed him with profound meaning: "I am already old and frail, what difference does it make if I live one more day or one less? But your life has just begun. Most importantly, you must promise me that no matter what, you must find Ruoxi and take her to see Master Xuankong at the City God Temple. Ruoxi is the hope and future of our Western Qin land. She must live well, do you understand?"
Huan'er shook her head vigorously, seemingly puzzled, and said, "Why? Why is this happening? Ever since Ruoxi appeared, you've changed completely, Madam. Why do you always say such strange things? Ruoxi is just an ordinary person with flesh and blood like us. Huan'er doesn't understand why you've always treated her like a goddess or a savior from the very beginning."
The woodcutter, drenched in sweat, hurried ahead to lead the way. The old woman, walking resolutely, suddenly took a breath and said, “Now that things have come to this, I might as well tell you everything. In truth, Ruoxi is no ordinary woman. She is a descendant of the legendary vampire clan, possessing a powerful and mysterious force, and is also the guardian of the true Son of Heaven of our Western Qin Kingdom. With her presence, the land of Western Qin can enjoy peace and prosperity, and the people can live and work in peace. Now, do you understand?”
"What? Ruoxi...she is the mysterious power that exists in the Western Qin Kingdom, which has spread throughout the entire Lingkong Continent, making enemy countries tremble with fear and dare not invade? Isn't it already rumored that she has already..." Upon hearing this, Huan'er's eyes widened in shock.
The old woman sighed, "Yes, eight years ago, I was just like you, believing that the Guardian of Western Qin had perished and was no more. It wasn't until Master Xuankong saved me and secretly escorted me to this secluded paradise that he told me the Guardian wasn't dead, but simply lost. He said that one day she would come here in distress, but would forget her identity as the Guardian. He told me to wait patiently here, and when she reappeared with Zimang, he would take her to see him. But before that could happen... it's already... It seems that I and the Guardian were ultimately not destined to be together."
At this moment, the old woman suddenly stopped, took off a string of sandalwood prayer beads from her wrist, and tenderly stroked each of the shiny beads carefully. Finally, she handed them to Huan'er, her eyes filled with tears, and she choked up as she said:
"I don't know if the people of this group today are citizens of the Western Qin Kingdom. If something happens to me later, please take this string of sandalwood prayer beads to the Qin Prince's Mansion in the eastern part of the capital and hand it over to His Highness the current Qin Prince. Tell him... that the owner of these prayer beads has been thinking of him and remembering him every moment for the past eight years, and that he must live well and protect this land."
"The Prince of Qin's Mansion in the east of the city." Huan'er stared blankly at the Buddhist beads in the old woman's hand with tears in her eyes, slowly took them with both hands, and repeated the sentence.
Just around the corner ahead, they could see the ancestral hall. At the corner, the woodcutter waited anxiously for his master and servant to catch up.
Unexpectedly, Huan'er suddenly knelt down heavily in front of the old woman with a "thump," hugged her legs, and cried out in anguish:
"No, Madam, you mustn't be hurt, you absolutely mustn't be hurt. Huan'er caused this trouble, let Huan'er take the blame. Huan'er begs you, you can't go, you can't go! Huan'er didn't understand anything you said, didn't comprehend anything you explained, didn't know what to do, and couldn't do it, absolutely couldn't..."
Huan'er was still just a child. The two, who were nominally master and servant, had been together day and night for many years and had relied on each other for survival. How could they be severed so easily?
Seeing this, the old woman finally bent down with heartache and reluctance to help her up, her movements gentler than ever before. She brushed the stray hairs stuck to Huan'er's face and smoothed them out. Finally, she gazed at her for a moment and said:
“Huan’er, I know you’ve been an exceptionally intelligent child since you were little. I believe you can definitely do it. For the sake of the Western Qin Kingdom, even if you can’t do it, you must do it. This is a sacred mission that every citizen of Western Qin must not refuse. Eight years ago, I thought I couldn’t do it either, just like you, but I still made it through. Although I didn’t get to see the Guardian return, knowing that she’s still alive makes all the sacrifices of these eight years worthwhile.”
Seeing that no matter how she tried to persuade Huan'er, she remained kneeling there, crying and shaking her head, the old woman suddenly raised her voice and shouted at her angrily: "If you want to watch the Western Qin Kingdom gradually turn into a living hell, and want to see me die with my eyes open, then continue to do things your own way."
As soon as she finished speaking, the old woman withdrew her hand, stood up, turned around, flicked her sleeves, and resolutely ignored her. She then hurried forward and followed the woodcutter away.
Huan'er closed her eyes and knelt down, as if she had frozen in place and could no longer get up. Everything around her seemed to be gradually fading away from her, but tears streamed down her face and fell to the ground in large drops.
As soon as he realized what was happening, he hurriedly got up, wiped away his tears, and stumbled towards the ancestral hall.
At the entrance of the ancestral hall, the little girl and her parents were bound hand and foot to three thick stone pillars, unable to move an inch.
Several burly men in red, with bared teeth and ferocious faces, stood menacingly beside the three men, one hand on their hip and legs slightly apart, holding torches and ready to light them at any moment.
The dozen or so villagers, all of whom were weak and helpless, and who were surrounded by a dozen or so households, were all kneeling on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly and begging him: "Grandpa, please have mercy and let them go! They are not bad people, they are not bad people!"
At this moment, a man who seemed to be the leader swaggered forward and shouted at everyone present, "Grandpa will count to ten now. If you don't hand over those three people, I'll burn them to death first, and then I'll cut you all down one by one..."
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