Just as Xuanyuan Han was filled with confidence and anticipation for the wonderful reunion that was about to take place, a faint, flickering firelight appeared ahead, illuminating the entire sky above the village, accompanied by a cacophony of barking dogs.
For some reason, his heart suddenly trembled, and he felt a strange, inexplicable feeling.
Just then, the guard who had been scouting ahead on horseback hurriedly returned, dismounted, and rushed forward, kneeling on one knee with his head bowed and fists clasped, reporting: "Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan's already deep eyes became even more unfathomable as he stared intently at the guard before him.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang hurriedly dismounted and stepped forward, sternly rebuking him: "What on earth is happening up ahead? Why are you in such a panic?"
The guard then slightly raised himself and reported, "Your Highness, General, our investigation confirms that the small village ahead is indeed called Peach Blossom Village, with only a few dozen villagers in total. Before dusk, a group of burly men in red, claiming to be from the Swift Dragon Society, suddenly arrived. The leader said he was the vice leader of the Swift Dragon Society named Long Ye. They...they arrested all the villagers and took them to the village ancestral hall, saying that these villagers were accomplices of some witch who harms people, and that they...they wanted to execute them all."
Before the guard could finish speaking, Cheng Liang roared in fury, "Insolence! It's the Xiaolong Society again! How dare they spout such nonsense in broad daylight! What kind of witch is this?"
The guard thought for a moment, then, feeling equally incredulous, timidly reported, "I initially thought this was just a fabrication by these thieves, a mere charade. But who knew they would describe it so vividly? They say that a couple of days ago, a woman named Ruoxi was lifted into the air by a powerful, mysterious purple light, which also attracted ferocious mountain beasts from the vicinity..."
After listening to the guard's vivid account, Cheng Liang was completely stunned. He then slowly turned his gaze to his master behind him.
In the darkness, Xuan Yuanhan, dressed in a black outfit with his dark hair tied back, was filled with rage. His gaze, sharp as torches, fell upon the tall, black steed that, even in the darkness, appeared exceptionally gleaming, as if he were a god descending from the heavens. He gripped the reins, listening intently and pondering carefully. Finally, he asked in a cold voice, "Have you found any news about Yi Yao Nu?"
Upon hearing this, the guard's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head again, shaking his head slightly.
Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuanhan's body suddenly trembled, his face completely losing its previous radiance, and his eyes instantly turned cold and sharp. However, he still suppressed a bad premonition in his heart, stared at the village in front of him, and coldly asked Cheng Liang beside him: "Has the Xiaolong Society sent back any news?"
"We haven't received any news yet. I'm worried that the ruse we used that day might have been exposed by those cunning thieves. Has Wei Ning... been exposed?" As Cheng Liang spoke, he frowned and lowered his eyes, looking somewhat worried.
Xuan Yuanhan breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up and suddenly noticed a towering, majestic mountain range in the distance to the south. He glanced at it casually and said casually, "The area beyond that mountain... should be the territory of Nan'an, right?"
At this moment, Cheng Liang suddenly snapped out of his reverie, looked up at the direction it was pointing, and seemed to suddenly remember something. He immediately took out a map and examined it. Sure enough, his master's memory was quite good. Looking at the high mountain that stretched between Taohuadian Village and the border of Nan'an, he suddenly realized:
“That’s right. The border of the Nan’an Kingdom lies on the south side of the mountain. Therefore, Peach Blossom Village is undoubtedly part of the territory of our Western Qin. We have not crossed the border. In that case, the Xiaolong Society dares to openly cross the border and come to our Western Qin to cause trouble and provoke us. We can no longer tolerate this, Your Highness!”
As soon as Cheng Liang finished speaking, he stared blankly at Xuan Yuanhan's face.
In the vast darkness of night, Xuanyuan Han, his face solemn, gazed longingly at the lonely distant mountain and solemnly declared: "Those who offend Western Qin will surely be punished!"
"Yes!" Cheng Liangsui immediately understood and obeyed the order. He then signaled the guards who had returned from scouting to lead the way quickly, and the group hurried towards the place in the village where the firelight was coming from.
At this moment, in Taohuadian Village, on the same empty square in front of the ancestral hall, there was an unprecedentedly noisy and lively night.
Now that Ruoxi is no longer around, the leader who previously tried to massacre the village has become significantly more unscrupulous.
In the center of the vast square, thirty or forty burly men from the Xiaolong Society, each wielding a blazing torch and as fierce and imposing as wolves and tigers, had surrounded dozens of villagers, young and old, within an impenetrable wall of human flesh, leaving no chance for any of them to escape.
The burly leader, holding a torch in one hand and a gleaming broadsword in the other, sat with his legs slightly apart on a grand chair placed in front of the ancestral hall. Long Ye, who was glaring menacingly at the villagers, nodded. Having received his instruction, Long Ye turned and stepped forward, arrogantly addressing the trembling, unarmed, and trembling mass of kneeling people before him, saying:
"Tonight is the death knell for all of you, young and old, from dozens of people in your village. But you must understand, this is not our fault. Blame that witch. Originally, we only wanted to find the man and two women to avenge our innocent brothers who died unjustly. But that witch is too despicable. She dared... she dared to poison our deputy leader, forcing us to go on a killing spree here to vent our anger."
As the man spoke angrily, he suddenly stopped, glanced at the terrified crowd before him, and arrogantly declared, "Grandpa advises some of you to behave yourselves and stop making futile struggles. So what if you have the imperial credentials of the Western Qin royal family? This place is isolated from the world, far from the emperor's reach. I'm afraid that the muddle-headed and tyrannical Emperor Jing of Western Qin has long forgotten about you people. Who would even know that a bunch of lowly commoners like you still exist in this world?"
After a pause, the man turned and pointed to the direction where Long Ye was behind him, saying, "Oh, right, that vixen even stole my Xiaolong Society's Dragon-character gold token to bluff people last time. So what if it's a Dragon-character gold token? Open your dog eyes and let grandpa see for yourself. The man sitting right at the entrance of the ancestral hall right now is the one who rules this place. In this world, only our Vice Leader Long's word counts. Remember this well, even if you're about to die, never cross him in your next life. This time, grandpa wants to see who else can save you. Hmph... Come on..."
Before the man could finish speaking, a woman's sharp voice suddenly rang out from the crowd: "Ruoxi is not a witch! You bandits and robbers, what have you done to her?"
"Ruoxi? That vixen? Hmph... After you lowly commoners are sent away, it will soon be that vixen's turn. Don't worry, you'll see her again soon." The leader looked at the crowd and said with a contemptuous tone.
In the crowd, the woman seemed to finally be unable to contain her anxiety any longer. She suddenly stood up and angrily said to him, "You're talking nonsense! How could Ruoxi poison someone for no reason? It must be you! You offended her first, and that's why she retaliated. She's not a witch; she's the kindest girl in the world!"
Hearing the voice, the man quickly glanced into the crowd and spotted the woman with her hair styled in neat double buns, who was glaring at him angrily. He glared at her and roared, "You little brat, what are you saying? Are you tired of living?! Men, drag her out here! I'll make an example of her and show you what I'm capable of. I'm not here to scare you this time!"
"Sister Huan'er, Sister Huan'er."
"Miss Huan'er, Miss Huan'er..."
Seeing that the two burly men in red had indeed obeyed orders and started to come in to rescue people, all the people who were imprisoned immediately stood up and shouted, shielding Huan'er behind them and surrounding her. They started pushing and shoving each other with the burly men in red, and the wall of people instantly turned into chaos.
"Don't move! If you don't want to die so soon, shut up and squat down!" Seeing the situation getting out of control, the leader immediately raised his large knife and swung it wildly into the crowd, nearly slicing off the head of a baby being held in a woman's arms.
"Ah!" the woman exclaimed, then obediently squatted down and hugged the baby's head tightly.
Just then, the thirty or forty burly men in red surrounding the crowd also began to raise their knives and slowly approach the villagers in the center, issuing threats and demonstrations. Upon seeing this, the villagers were quickly suppressed again.
After Huan'er was dragged out and tied up, a burly man forced her to kneel in front of the leader.
The leader slowly stepped forward, gently lifting her chin with his broadsword. He held it close to her face, shining the torch from his other hand on her cheek, and suddenly chuckled, saying, "Oh, so it's you! Grandpa remembers you. You're the culprit who killed our two good brothers. This time, Grandpa will settle this score with you for my two brothers. Come on, keep this little girl for now. We can give her to the brothers to play with later before killing her. Don't waste such a precious thing!"
"Thank you for the reward, Chief!" As he spoke, two burly men stepped forward, grinning wickedly, and tried to drag Huan'er away.
Huan'er looked at the two men in terror, shouting and cursing at them as she struggled desperately in their grasp: "What are you doing? Let me go, let me go, you bandits and robbers..."
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