Even though the world changes a thousand times, it will eventually settle down, just like the dawn breaking.
As the first rays of dawn were about to fall, two mist-shrouded green mountains on the southern outskirts of Xiqin City nestled between a tranquil lake. In the distance, a small boat swayed faintly on the water, emitting a flickering, extremely weak light.
On the lakeshore, in a dilapidated pavilion surrounded by overgrown weeds, a thinly dressed little girl sat with her head tilted to one side, leaning on the stone table, her legs dangling limply. It seemed that she had been crying so hard that she was too exhausted to support herself and had unknowingly fallen asleep with tears still on her face.
As the sky turned red and the fog dissipated, a young monk appeared, holding two oars and slowly paddling towards them.
The swaying boat soon came to shore, and an elderly woman, who, though no longer young, still possessed a charming and extraordinary air, stepped off, carrying a light bundle on her shoulder.
She slightly raised her head, turned to face the rising sun, and revealed a beautiful smile. Perhaps because of the sunlight, her usually aloof face seemed to be gilded by the sun, making her look like a deity.
After bidding farewell to the young monk, the old woman gracefully strolled up the gleaming stone steps and entered the pavilion on the shore. With a kind and gentle demeanor, she slowly reached out her hand and patted the sleeping little girl's shoulder with a soft laugh, saying, "Huan'er, Huan'er."
"Madam, Madam, you're finally back! Huan'er missed you so much! You worried me to death!" With this joyful, tearful murmur, the little maid in the pavilion slowly opened her eyes from her sleep.
Suddenly, he sat up abruptly, then cowered back down timidly, staring intently at the two burly men in red with gleaming broadswords at their waists. He asked in alarm, "Who are you? What do you want?"
It turned out that everything that had just happened was a dream. The hand on her thin shoulder was not the old lady she had been longing for, but two people who were now standing in front of her with gaping mouths, baring their teeth, grinning wickedly, and acting like bandits.
Upon hearing the commotion, the two burly men in red immediately flanked Huan'er, sitting on either side of her. They laughed lewdly at her, and one of the short, stout men said, "You little girl, do you really want to know who your grandfather is? Your grandfather dares to tell you, but I wonder if you dare to listen?"
As he spoke, he casually fiddled with Huan'er's clothes on her arm.
Huan'er instinctively dodged to the side, though she was terrified inside, she still pretended to be calm and said, "What are you doing? Stop it right now, or I'll call for help!"
"Call for help? Hmph... This is the middle of nowhere. Besides a few of us from the Swift Dragon Society who are unfortunate enough to get up early and have to forage for food, who else would dare to come here looking for trouble at the crack of dawn? Today, even if you shout until your throat is hoarse, no one will come to save you." The short, fat man in red then pretended to look around before speaking.
"What? The Snapdragon Society? What is that? Where is it? I've never heard of it before!" Huan'er asked in surprise.
"What? You've never even heard of the prestigious 'Xiaolong Society'? Then where did you come from, some godforsaken place? Today, Grandpa will teach you a lesson." At this moment, the two burly men in red exchanged glances, seemingly even more surprised than Huan'er.
In the past, when people passed through this area to rob, they would be terrified at the mere mention of the Xiaolong Society's name. But this girl, judging from her eyes, seemed to know absolutely nothing about the Xiaolong Society.
Then, the short, stout, and burly man ordered another burly man in shiny black and red clothes standing next to Huan'er, "Come here, tell this little girl a good story about our valiant and mighty 'Xiaolong Society'!"
So, the burly man who had been given the order cleared his throat and said arrogantly and seriously, "Alright, little girl, now perk up your ears and listen carefully. Now, I'll tell you about the glorious achievements of the invincible gang in the world, the 'Falcon Gang.' The Falcon Gang is located in the mountains and rivers south of Western Qin. What we do every day... that is... hahaha... rob money and women, resist the imperial court, and commit all sorts of evil deeds. Hahahaha, hahahahaha!"
"The Xiaolong Society... resisting the imperial court... are you... a rebel army?" Huan'er's eyes widened in shock, as if they were copper bells.
"Oh my, what a clever little girl! She picks things up right away. She's truly 'teachable'!" the short, fat, and burly man interjected, feigning a learned air.
“Brother, it’s ‘a promising young man’!” Another burly man went around behind Huan’er and whispered to the short, fat man, “correct him.”
Unexpectedly, this commotion seemed to instantly dispel Huan'er's panic, and she couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Seeing this, the short, fat, and burly man suddenly looked embarrassed. He then immediately stood up, raised one foot, bent his knee, and stomped hard on the stone bench where he had just been sitting. He then drew his broadsword from his waist, held it in front of Huan'er, and shouted at her menacingly, "What are you laughing at? What are you laughing at? Be serious! Can't you see that we grandpas are here to rob you? Hurry up and hand over all your valuables!"
Seeing this, Huan'er seemed to become anxious again, and stammered, "I...I came out to look for my old lady. I left in such a hurry that I didn't bring anything valuable with me."
"What? Madam? She sounds like she comes from a wealthy family. Her family must be very rich, right?" The short, fat, and burly man said with delight.
"Oh, no, no, no, there's only my mother and me in our family, living together in two thatched huts that can at least keep out the wind and rain. It's not what you think," Huan'er said, waving her hands repeatedly.
"Oh? Only the two of you women..." Huan'er had intended to dispel the burly man's wicked thoughts, but to her surprise, the burly man seemed even more interested in her after hearing this.
Seeing the burly man's suddenly lecherous and intrigued look, Huan'er asked in surprise, "What are you doing? Why are you looking at me like that?"
The short, stout man didn't answer Huan'er's question. He just stared at his brother for a while, then scratched the back of his head, spat at the ground, and then laughed and said, "Brother, didn't you hear what this little girl said? She only has two women in her family."
"So what?" another burly man asked, still not understanding.
“Two women and two men? That’s perfect…” The short, fat, and burly man held the knife upside down, then bent his two thumbs and compared them, grinning lewdly.
“Hehe… what you mean, big brother…” Another burly man then leaned over and grinned mischievously, as if he understood.
The short, stout, and burly man immediately retorted angrily, "Hmph, who would want to live a life of constant danger if they could have everything done for them?"
“But what if the gang leader…” another burly man said, seemingly extremely worried.
The short, stout man sneered, "Hmph... rebelling? It's not that easy. Since ancient times, it's always been 'dying before achieving one's goal,' how many have succeeded? Besides, even if we were lucky enough to succeed, what good would it do with our current lowly status and identity? At worst, we'd still be disguised soldiers carrying swords and fighting for our lives. I've had enough of this kind of life. Rather than continuing like this, I'd rather settle down and be a peaceful commoner for a year or two, have a few chubby babies, wouldn't that be wonderful!"
As he spoke, his gaze lingered blankly on Huan'er.
“Brother is right. I’ve wanted to quit for a long time. From now on, I’ll follow you wherever you go.” Another burly man was also persuaded and chimed in.
At this moment, the short, fat, and burly man suddenly came to his senses, looked at Huan'er's innocent face with ill intent, and reached out to put his hand on Huan'er's shoulder.
Huan'er, who had just overheard the seemingly serious conversation between the two, was instantly terrified by the hand and the strange look in the eyes, and screamed, "Help! Help!"
While shouting for help at the top of her lungs, Huan'er quickly got up and ran towards the outside of the pavilion.
Unexpectedly, another burly man standing by the stone steps of the pavilion saw this and quickly and easily stretched out a foot, tripping Huan'er and causing her to fall heavily to the ground. After falling, Huan'er rolled and slid down the stone steps, seemingly suffering a serious injury. She could not stand up and could only slowly struggle to crawl forward.
The short, stout man caught up in no more than a few steps, crouched down beside Huan'er, grabbed her hair tightly, and forced her to look up at his狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face. He then slapped Huan'er's thin face several times with his other hand, before roaring at her with a hideous expression, "You brat, trying to run? Go ahead and run for me! Run! Why aren't you running anymore?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the short, stout guard forcefully flung his hand away from Huan'er's hair bun, which he was holding. Once Huan'er was freed from his clutches, she still struggled to crawl forward, unwilling to give up, but she could no longer make a sound.
Just then, the short, stout man, watching the small, still-childish body struggling to crawl forward, slowly rolled up his sleeves.
A moment later, he strode after her and quickly grabbed Huan'er's leg, dragging her towards the reeds by the lake.
"Let me go, let me go! You beasts, aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?" Huan'er struggled wildly with all her might.
Soon, the short, stout man dragged Huan'er to the target location, rolled her over and let go, then slowly began to undress...
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