Looking around, Ruoxi saw that the group of burly men in red were not kneeling down to pay homage to the gold plaque with the character "Dragon" held aloft in her hand, and a bad feeling began to rise in her heart.
Presumably, this must be the arrogant, conceited, ruthless, and domineering group that Long Ye has personally trained, whose loyalty to Long En is probably...
However, there was no time to delve deeper. The longer they had to think things through, the more disadvantageous it would be for these unarmed villagers. So, she immediately glared at them and roared, "Get out of here! Don't you recognize this token? Or... or are you all daring to ignore this token and planning a rebellion?"
Just as she expected, the figure who seemed to be the leader instantly revived, mustered his courage, raised his head high, straightened his back, and arrogantly stepped forward to contemptuously provoke Ruoxi in public:
"Oh, I almost got fooled by you, woman. I thought it was someone else! Turns out it's the one Gang Leader Long took back to keep as a mistress the other day, the one with the real name but no real identity! No wonder she has the Gang Leader's token. Looks like she's not bad in bed, serving you well. She even managed to trick you into handing over the most supreme Dragon-branded gold token of the Swift Dragon Society. You..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ruoxi noticed the strange looks she was receiving from everyone around her and immediately retorted angrily, "Don't talk nonsense! Brother Long and I only met by chance. Our relationship is completely innocent, not as sordid as you make it out to be. He entrusted this to me for safekeeping before he left, fearing that you unscrupulous scoundrels might cause trouble and harm the surrounding people. He also entrusted it to me to carry out his duties as the gang leader."
Upon hearing this, the leader lowered his head, hands behind his back, a chilling smirk playing on his lips. He spat at the foot of the stone and forcefully knocked it away, saying, "Hmph, don't waste your energy trying to come up with so many high-sounding reasons for yourself! You've been in the Swift Dragon Gang for quite some time now, treated like a goddess by the gang leader every day, with the best food, drink, clothes, and even personal guards protecting you at all times..."
Just then, the burly guard and the young guard also hurriedly caught up on horseback. They dismounted, panting, and called out, "Miss Ruoxi, Miss Ruoxi, why are you running so fast? We almost lost you! How are we going to explain this to the leader when we get back?!"
In this situation, everything that was left unsaid is already self-evident.
Then, the leader chuckled and continued, "So what if you did it? Since you dared to do it, why are you afraid to admit it? Besides, even though our Chief Long is not here, there is still the Deputy Chief. Does Chief Long not trust his own brothers? Would he trust a mere stranger like you?"
"You...you're spouting nonsense!" Ruoxi was already furious.
Seeing Ruoxi's fury, the two guards quickly drew their swords and stood in front of her, protecting her, and questioned the leader, "What happened? What are you all doing here?"
At this moment, the leader's smile vanished completely. He turned away, his face cold and stern, and addressed all the burly men in red present with a righteous and indignant voice: "'A general in the field may disobey orders from others.' We are avenging two innocent brothers of our Xiaolong Society who died unjustly. Today, let alone this mere Dragon-branded gold medal, even if the Dragon Chief himself stood before us, we would still dare to say the same. Everything we brothers have done is without shame in our hearts and without shame before the Xiaolong Society."
Before the words were even finished, all the members of the Swift Dragon Society present suddenly raised their sharp, large ring-bladed swords, and began to cheer and jeer, "Yes, we are avenging our fallen brothers! We have a clear conscience, we have no shame before the Swift Dragon Society! We have a clear conscience, we have no shame before the Swift Dragon Society..."
The scene quickly spiraled out of control, with some of the people even getting into physical altercations with some of the older villagers, pushing and shoving each other.
Upon seeing this, Ruoxi clenched her fists and glared angrily at the man, her eyes seeming to shoot out a thousand sharp arrows. Then, she extended two extremely powerful fingers, pointing them straight and forcefully into the eyes of the troublemaker, and gritted her teeth as she roared at the leader:
"You... well, you dare to openly disregard Chief Long's orders. It seems that unless I teach you a lesson, you'll never understand who's in charge in the Swift Dragon Society!"
Upon hearing this, the leader suddenly turned around and carefully examined the woman. He seemed to become interested in her instantly, thinking, "She's just a weak woman. Could she possibly have three heads and six arms, or possess some unique skill? Could she possibly rebel against the heavens?"
So, with a slight raise of his hand, everyone around him stopped what they were doing and fell silent. He said in a highly disdainful tone, "It seems this young lady is no ordinary woman. Show me what you've got, so I, your grandfather, can have a good look at you today!"
"I……"
Just then, unexpectedly, dozens of men in red robes, wielding large knives, suddenly surged towards her like a raging sea, slowly walking towards her, as if trying to drown and swallow her.
Looking at all this, for some reason, Ruoxi's mind suddenly became chaotic, and many fragmented images appeared.
She knew that these images were scenes that had appeared in her dreams almost every night in the past.
Yet each of these scenes felt so real, as if I had experienced them myself.
But why did it appear today, even when she was unusually lucid during the day, and as clearly and vividly as ever? It was as if those scenes were replaying right before her eyes.
Those bustling cities and streets, with their dazzling lights and vibrant atmosphere, and the real figures of people, could not possibly be just a mirage.
Otherwise, what are these? Are they the world of the future, or another continent and timeline?
Who is that woman who bravely stepped forward to save a child?
After she tragically fell off a cliff and gave birth to a baby girl, her body and the entire hut were set on fire. Who were the mountain couple who fled to distant lands with their baby girl, and what happened to them?
Who is that old Taoist priest with the air of a hermit, dressed in a blue Taoist robe, shaking a bell in his hand, wandering the streets and alleys of the world?
That imposing figure, cold as ice, looking down on the world, brave and fearless, naturally noble, yet making people feel sorry for him at first glance, that man who spoke softly to her in her dreams time and time again, was he really that important to her?
...
Seeing that Ruoxi was surrounded by the bandits and had no way out, Huan'er helped the old woman and together they shouted at the top of their lungs, "Ruoxi, run! Run!"
Upon seeing this, all the villagers were instantly moved and shouted loudly, "Ruoxi, run!"
However, Ruoxi seemed to have already isolated herself from everything around her, unable to see or hear anything happening around her.
She slowly reached out and covered her ears, then began to shake her head repeatedly. Her lowered eyes seemed to be filled with extreme terror. Suddenly, she closed them tightly, wanting to refuse to continue seeing all the illusions before her.
She felt as if her whole being was being torn apart by these illusions, and her head was about to explode.
She kept repeating to herself, "Who am I? Who am I? Ruoxi, Ruoxi..."
At the same time, the colorful gold and jade bracelet on her wrist had begun to flicker and shimmer.
Gradually, those faint lights gathered into an increasingly powerful purple glow, enveloping her in concentric circles.
But that wasn't all; the purple light seemed to be gathering even greater power, gathering and gathering again...
The burly men in red who had surrounded them were stunned and speechless, retreating step by step in surprise and fear...
Suddenly, the purple light enveloped Ruoxi and slowly rose into the air. She was dressed in red, burning like a brilliant flame, and even the sky above her, which had turned a deep blue at some point, was instantly tinged red.
But it only lingered for a moment, and before people could react, there was a loud "bang," and the purple light suddenly exploded, as if it were an immense force that had been brewing for a long time. Instantly, it blasted all the burly men away, sending them crashing to the ground howling in pain...
Many people in the crowd immediately covered their eyes, seemingly unable to bear watching these horrific scenes.
At this moment, people could clearly see Ruoxi, her beautiful phoenix eyes tightly closed, dressed in red and covered by a pure white veil, standing tall and straight in the purple light. On her forehead, a blood-red mark seemed to be gradually appearing.
Just then, a sound like ten thousand horses galloping suddenly came.
As the sound grew closer, people turned their heads and saw a large white worm with black and white stripes leading a large number of mountain beasts leaping and running towards the crowd.
Each of them was agile and fierce, baring their teeth and brandishing their claws. Every now and then, they would raise their heads and roar angrily to the sky, truly more imposing and powerful than the stampede of ten thousand horses on the battlefield.
Soon, the beast soldiers and generals lined up in front of the villagers, glaring angrily at the group of conspicuous red-clad strongmen, ready to attack.
Seeing this, the burly men in red, trapped between Ruoxi and the beasts, unable to move an inch, turned deathly pale, swallowing hard. Some were so frightened that their pants were already soaked, while others trembled uncontrollably, as if their souls had already left their bodies...
Without exception, every single one of them was severely injured by the power of that purple light, and it would likely take at least half a month for them to recover...
At this moment, Ruoxi, who had already landed on the ground and returned to her original form, looked down at them like a fairy in red descending from the sky, with one hand behind her back, and said: "What? Even now, do you still want to slaughter the village? As long as I give the order, these beasts will pounce on you and tear you to pieces... Now get out of here!"
Upon hearing the commotion, the dozens of tall, burly men on the ground quickly helped each other to their feet and then scrambled away with their tails between their legs, repeatedly shouting in panic, "Witch! Witch! She's a witch..."
With a loud crash, Ruoxi collapsed heavily to the ground in front of the ancestral hall...
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