After successfully rescuing everyone from the mysterious dungeon, the older guard carried the man on his back, with Wang Er helping him along the way. The group followed behind, hurriedly retracing their steps through a dense bamboo grove in the back garden, and quietly returned to Ruoxi's courtyard in the backyard.
Besides Lanxiang, Ruoxi carefully examined the other three again, then frowned and said, "You are all very weak, so rest here and make sure you recover your strength. Once you've regained your strength, I will escort you all away from the Xiaolong Society. With me here, I won't let anyone hurt you again. However, for the sake of secrecy, please don't leave this courtyard to avoid unnecessary trouble!"
After everyone dispersed, Ruoxi returned to her room first. Standing at the door, she glanced at Yan'er, who was lying quietly on the bed, and then walked over to Lanxiang, taking her hand and instructing her, "There are no maids here, so I'll have to ask you to take good care of them for the time being."
Lanxiang nodded vigorously and accepted it gladly.
"Miss, I..."
At this moment, Yan'er struggled to sit up upon hearing the sound. Just as she was about to speak, Ruoxi quickly placed two slender, warm fingers on her lips, silencing her completely, and said:
"Shh... From now on, you'll have plenty of time to talk to me, and I'll listen carefully to everything. But you need to rest now, otherwise you'll develop health problems later, and you'll be the one suffering. Since you've said that I'm your young lady, shouldn't you listen to what your young master says? Hmm?"
Upon hearing this, Yan'er pursed her lips and finally closed her eyes, seemingly somewhat relieved.
So, she and Lanxiang sat and stood beside Yan'er, smiled at each other, and nodded to indicate they would leave. After leaving her own room, she went to another room and gave the older guard instructions on how to take care of the cold-faced man and Wang Er. After making all the arrangements, Ruoxi, looking exhausted, walked out of the room, wanting to get some fresh air.
So she interlaced her fingers, stretched out her arms over her head, and tried to raise her already slender body even higher, only to find that a spring breeze had turned into a spring rain.
For some reason, she always loved rainy days like this, whether it was a light drizzle or a downpour. Perhaps she simply felt that only at such moments did the world seem to be at its cleanest and most tranquil.
Who knows? Perhaps, in a previous life, or even a life before that, some more romantic story unfolded in this same rain?
Perhaps when she was born into this world, her hand trembled, and she accidentally spilled some of the Meng Po soup, so she was a little short on memories. As a result, her mind was filled with too many fragmented pieces, and she couldn't distinguish which lifetime they belonged to. She wanted to forget, but couldn't; she wanted to wake up, but couldn't remember.
"Sigh..." With this thought in mind, Ruoxi sighed heavily, then slowly walked to the eaves and reached out to catch the pure, rootless water.
A secluded courtyard, a gentle breeze and fine rain, a graceful lady, all amidst the verdant willows and vibrant flowers, a small bridge over a flowing stream, artificial hills and fish in a pond—it's a breathtakingly beautiful scene, like a beautiful woman veiled in mist and rain. Such a scene, so dreamlike and enchanting, what more could one ask for?
So he sat down against the pillar in front of the door, thinking he could finally enjoy a long-awaited moment of relaxation and listening to the wind and rain, temporarily casting aside all the recent troubles, chaos, heaviness, and unease in his heart. Unexpectedly, just as he was enjoying his moment of tranquility, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps.
Before she even saw him, she could hear the young guard, though clumsy, approaching her from the archway. Upon seeing Ruoxi, he cried out in a panic, "Miss, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened! The deputy leader has led a group of men to Peach Blossom Village, and he's declared that this time, no matter what, he'll take the lives of everyone in the village!"
"What? How long have they been gone?" Upon hearing this, Ruoxi immediately stood up and asked, her face pale.
"It's been more than an hour," the young guard said anxiously after a moment's thought.
"That Long Ye is truly incorrigible. Now that he's enraged, he'll surely vent all his resentment and anger on those unarmed villagers." A very bad premonition arose within him.
After a moment's thought, he instructed the young guard, "I must go to rescue them. Quickly prepare the horses!"
"I'll go with you." The older guard had emerged from the house sometime earlier and stood silently behind her, saying this.
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi quickly turned around, the two looked at each other for a moment, and finally nodded to her, letting out a soft hum: "Mm."
With this thought in mind, Ruoxi took a deep look at the young guard beside her and earnestly instructed him, "If they recover their strength later, they don't need to wait for us. You should find a way to get them away from the Xiaolong Society first, in case Long Ye tries to trick them and brings people back to cause trouble. If they ask, just tell them that I will find a way to go to the capital to find them later, and that they can leave without worry."
"You all went to the village to rescue people, how come you left me behind? Leading them to escape from the Xiaolong Society is a matter of life and death, I can't do it!" Upon hearing this, the young guard looked at Ruoxi, then glanced at the older guard, and then muttered angrily as he turned his back to the side.
Ruoxi hurriedly chased after him, looked into his eyes, and encouraged him, "You can do it! Didn't you do very well just now? I heard that many of the troublemakers that Long Ye sent back later were all fooled by you."
"That's...of course, how could they be a match for me?" The young guard had barely finished speaking when he snorted, crossed his arms, and raised his head proudly.
In fact, two of the men Long Ye later sent had witnessed the mysterious power emanating from Ruoxi's body in Peach Blossom Village. Therefore, the young guard simply made up a few stories, and the men fled in panic like frightened birds. This was why Long Ye was so enraged and decided to take advantage of their unpreparedness by launching a surprise attack on Peach Blossom Village, catching Ruoxi off guard.
Seeing this, Ruoxi smiled and praised them while seizing the opportunity to say, "Yes, yes, yes, you are the best! But since you also know that human life is of paramount importance, what difference is there between those dozens of old and young people in Peach Blossom Village and these four people?"
"I……"
Just as the young guard was about to argue further, Wang Er hurriedly came out and said to Ruoxi with conviction, "Miss Ruoxi, I want to go back with you too. I, Wang Er, grew up eating food from every household in Taohuadian Village. Every family there is my home; every person there is my closest relative. I have an obligation to protect them."
Hearing this, Ruoxi turned around and looked closely at his face. It seemed that he had recovered a lot, so she said, "Alright, let's go back together!"
So the three of them, while talking, stepped out the door, mounted their horses, and galloped away on their own.
Although Yan'er closed her eyes, she couldn't fall asleep. So she went out with Lanxiang to look for Ruoxi. Upon hearing the young guard's words, Yan'er rushed out of the courtyard like a madwoman, chasing after the three horses at breakneck speed, crying out in heart-wrenching sobs, "Miss, come back! Don't go! Come home with me! Please come back, Miss..."
As she chased after her, she suddenly lost her footing and fell heavily to the ground with a thud, splashing mud all over herself. Lanxiang seized the opportunity to catch up and quickly bent down to help her up, checking her ankle while asking with concern, "Yan'er, are you alright? Is your foot hurt?"
Yan'er, still heartbroken, stared sadly in the direction where the three had disappeared around the corner. She sobbed, "Miss, you lied! You said you'd listen to me. But all these days, I've had so much to say, so much longing for you, Miss. And you haven't even heard a word from me! How could you leave like this again without saying goodbye? Miss, come back! I beg you, please, please come back, Miss… Waaah…"
Seeing this, Lanxiang couldn't help but look at the three departing figures, and said to Yan'er with heartache, "Yan'er, don't chase after them. Your young lady is no ordinary woman. No one in this world can stop her. Let's hurry back and prepare to leave this place, so we don't become a burden to her!"
Upon hearing this, Yan'er refused to listen to a word, turning to Lanxiang and roaring angrily. She then burst into tears, as if she were about to faint: "No, Yan'er doesn't care about being a descendant of vampires or a guardian of Western Qin! Yan'er only knows that she is Yan'er's little mistress! Miss, please come back! Don't leave Yan'er alone! Yan'er won't leave, Yan'er will die rather than leave this place! Yan'er will wait for Miss..."
Seeing this, Lanxiang couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat. She pulled Yan'er into her arms, her eyes instantly filling with tears. She rested her chin on Yan'er's forehead and said, "Yan'er, good Yan'er, poor Yan'er..."
Under the night sky, countless stars twinkled, and a full moon hung high in the heavens. In the vast universe, even the most arrogant and naturally gifted sons of heaven seemed to pale in comparison to a speck of dust.
At this moment, following the directions of the most detailed map in the Western Qin Kingdom, King Xuanyuan Han of Qin rode at full speed, traveling day and night, and finally arrived at the village where this ten-mile peach forest was located.
With its vast sky and expansive land, nestled against mountains and beside water, and brimming with spiritual energy, this was indeed a paradise he had forgotten.
The moon rises, the water ripples, like a wall, like a beautiful woman, yet at this moment he cannot muster the heart to appreciate the vibrant peach blossoms. Because he is already filled with excited anticipation, even fantasizing about how he will punish and pamper her if he truly sees her later. He will definitely take her back, lock her in the deepest recesses of his palace, order the strongest ropes in the world to bind her to his sight at all times, never allowing her to leave his sight again.
As he pondered, the corners of his eyes subtly turned up, and a handsome smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.
Just then, a flickering firelight appeared faintly in the distance, and the village was filled with the barking of dogs...
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