As soon as Long Ye led his men away in a disheveled and embarrassed manner, the young guards rushed out, clapping and cheering, and then crowded around Ruoxi, praising her repeatedly:
"Girl, I knew it! Just now, with the situation so dire, how could you still be picking flowers in the garden? Turns out, those flowers were poisonous! You were using them to deal with Long Ye! But your trick of switching the real thing for the fake, and capturing the leader first, is truly brilliant! I bet Long Ye is in for a rough time this time!"
"Ha, that resounding slap was absolutely beautiful! Even the onlookers felt the pain! But Long Ye seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it, as if he wanted more slaps. I've never seen such a request in my life. And he even said 'a beating is a sign of affection, scolding is a sign of love'? Bah...bullshit! Only the King of Hell would say 'a beating is a sign of affection, scolding is a sign of love' to him, hmph!"
The young guard rubbed his face, mimicking the actions perfectly, and spoke eloquently as if he were experiencing it firsthand. Finally, he spat hard at the ground to the side and followed Ruoxi's footsteps onto the corridor leading to the back garden.
Seeing this, Ruoxi smiled faintly and said, "Daphne genkwa is a poisonous plant, but it is also a medicinal herb. So people often say that 'every medicine has some poison in it,' which is certainly true. If used correctly, poison can become medicine to cure diseases and save lives, but if used incorrectly, medicine can become a deadly poison that steals people's souls and wastes their lives."
Ruoxi's words were perfectly clear, yet the young guard scratched the back of his head, completely bewildered. Ruoxi looked at him, and a beautiful smile quietly appeared on her lips.
At this moment, the older guard carefully surveyed the surroundings again, finding nothing amiss, and then hurriedly came up from the other end of the corridor. The three of them walked together towards the woodshed. Suddenly, the older guard said with concern:
“Young lady, you’ve really angered the vice leader now. I’m afraid he won’t let this go so easily. Leader Long hasn’t returned yet, and I have a feeling something’s going to happen. In my opinion, we should hurry up and find a way to get this young lady out of the Xiaolong Society. Once she’s gone, I’m sure the vice leader will let you off the hook for Leader Long’s sake.”
Hearing this, Ruoxi walked forward with firm steps, speaking earnestly and seriously: "Send them away, of course we must send them away, but it's not just her, there are two others... no, now there are three, plus the girl locked in the woodshed, that's a total of four lives. Now that Long Ye has been thoroughly enraged, once he recovers, he will surely deal with the four of them first. Besides, didn't you hear the girl in the woodshed say that someone else was stabbed through the abdomen by Long Ye's men? Now, what I'm most worried about is that if we don't treat that person soon, he'll definitely die!"
With this thought in mind, Ruoxi slowed her pace as she spoke, finally stopping and turning to gaze into the eyes of the older guard, her gaze almost pleading. "Even now, you still refuse to take me to that secret prison? This is a rare opportunity, you should know better than anyone that if we miss this chance, it will be almost impossible to trick Long Ye again. These are four lives at stake; 'a gentleman does not stand idly by while someone is dying, and a person who does not act for justice is unworthy of being human!'"
Upon hearing this, the older guard's defenses seemed to crumble, and he raised his voice in frustration, retorting, "But you are a woman, not a gentleman. You can't be that noble. What does it matter if four lives are lost? Do you know how many natural and man-made disasters happen every day? How many wars occur? How many people starve to death? How many people are homeless? Wake up! Who do you think you are? You can't save the whole world!"
However, Ruoxi met his angry gaze without flinching. Just as she was about to say something, the words the old woman had spoken to her in Peach Blossom Village suddenly flashed through her mind. In a moment of desperation, she clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and, as if summoning her courage, blurted out, "Yes, I am indeed a woman, not a gentleman, and I cannot be so great. But I am a descendant of the vampire clan, and as the guardian of the Western Qin Kingdom, it is my mission to protect all living beings on the land of Western Qin. Therefore, wherever I am, I will not let anyone lose their life in vain. I believe that as long as we have the world in our hearts, saving all living beings is just a matter of a single thought."
"What did you say...you said you are...the guardian of Western Qin?" Upon hearing this, the two guards stared at each other in astonishment.
"That day in Peach Blossom Village, you two must have both seen the mysterious power that erupted from my body!" Ruoxi slowly shifted her gaze, turning slightly to look at a weeping willow tree beside the pavilion by the pond, and said solemnly.
"The guardian of Western Qin really didn't die. Could it be that she is truly immortal as the legends say? Then wouldn't her power also be as legendary as the legends say...?" The older guard recalled with a puzzled look and exclaimed in amazement.
"Well? Can I go and see the secret prison of the Xiaolong Society now?" Ruoxi looked into the eyes of the older guard again and urged.
“But if we release them all, how will we explain ourselves when Chief Long returns?” Just as the older guard was struggling with his decision, the younger guard suddenly frowned and asked.
"Before Brother Long left, he entrusted me with his token and key, which proves that he trusts me enough to do so. Otherwise, why would he do this? On the other hand, if I had his token but ignored everything and let Long Ye run rampant in the Xiaolong Society, killing innocent people indiscriminately, then he would really be disappointed and blame me, wouldn't he?" Ruoxi's explanation seemed completely impeccable.
After much deliberation, the older guard sighed deeply, steeled his resolve, and finally said, "Fine, as subordinates, since the gang leader isn't here, we'll obey whoever has the token. Let's go, I'll take you there!"
"But..." The older guard had barely finished speaking when the younger guard seemed to still have some concerns and wanted to say something more.
However, the older guard had already picked up his feet and strode resolutely toward the woodshed in the corner. As he passed by him, he ordered the younger guard, "You stay in the East Garden and guard the gate properly. You are not allowed to come with us."
Upon hearing this, the young guard was immediately enraged. He quickly caught up with the guard and angrily demanded, "Why is this? Why won't you let me go? We should all die together, we should all be punished together. Why am I the only one left here?"
This matter is of great importance. How could the two guards possibly know how much Long En trusts Ruoxi?
However, after spending time with this woman who was stubborn to the core, more so than an ox, he was deeply moved by her kindness, wisdom, persistence, and spirit, qualities that would make most men in the world envious.
In particular, she just said that she was the guardian of Western Qin. No wonder that day, such a weak and frail body suddenly burst forth with such a mysterious and powerful force.
All of this, how could he bear to refuse such an extraordinary woman?
If Long En finds out about this and doesn't pursue the matter, that would be best. But if he is blamed and investigated, it would be better for me to take all the blame myself than for four young, innocent lives to die in vain.
Normally, although he was strict with the young guard in everything, he was also truly dedicated to protecting him and didn't want him to get involved in this mess.
Upon realizing this, the older guard suddenly stopped and placed his rough, calloused hand on the younger guard's tender shoulder, saying mysteriously, "You're usually quite talkative and love to use your glib tongue, aren't you? It seems you've finally come in handy this time."
Seeing the young guard still glaring at him with a defiant look, and then turning his head away again, the older guard spoke to him earnestly, as if bidding him farewell:
"We deliberately left you here so you could help us hold off Long Ye and the others. Someone in the dungeon has suffered a severe sword wound; we don't know how bad their condition is, or if they can even walk. As for the other two, Long Ye ordered them to be deprived of food and water from the moment they were imprisoned; they might even be collapsing from exhaustion. Therefore, you must buy us as much time as possible for treatment and escape. Don't let anyone discover where we are and lead them there. Your mission is crucial to our success in rescuing them. Remember, no matter what anyone asks you, you must always insist on only three words: 'I don't know,' understand?"
Although the older guard's words seemed to make perfect sense, the younger guard couldn't help but throb more and more violently, and finally he suddenly turned away and wiped away his tears with his sleeve.
At this moment, Ruoxi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but have tears welling up in her eyes.
The older guard knew he understood the gravity of the situation, so he patted him hard on the shoulder, pursed his lips, and went forward to open the door to the woodshed, bringing Lanxiang out.
As soon as Lanxiang stepped out of the woodshed, she rushed to Ruoxi's side, helped her up, and said excitedly, "Miss Yi, I..."
"We shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's leave quickly. We can talk about this later!" Ruoxi frowned and interrupted him.
"Okay!" Lanxiang nodded, and the three of them, led by the older guard, entered a dense bamboo grove in the corner of the back garden and hurriedly stepped onto a secret passage leading to the mysterious dungeon.
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