"Pfft!" Yan'er groaned, spitting out a mouthful of foul blood. Her face contorted in pain. Her heavy body swayed twice before slowly passing in front of Lanxiang, like a falling meteor, flashing a dazzling light as she fell heavily to the ground.
Instantly, everyone in the vast square froze and fell silent, except for Long Ye, who was still glaring angrily at the person hit by the dart he had thrown.
"Yan'er..." After a long while, Lanxiang lay on her side not far from Yan'er, her face pressed against the ground. She stared wide-eyed at Yan'er, who was still tightly bound and lying in front of her, writhing in pain and barely alive. She was stunned by the large patch of blood seeping from Yan'er's shoulder. Seemingly unable to believe her eyes, she stammered, her mouth trembling.
This dart was clearly aimed at him because he had angered Long Ye, so why did it end up sticking into Yan'er's body? A quick flashback in his mind made him realize that Yan'er had forcefully knocked him to the ground, and he hadn't had time to dodge, resulting in him being hit by the dart.
So Lanxiang struggled to her feet and crawled forward two steps to Yan'er's side. She bent down and cried out in astonishment, "Yan'er, silly Yan'er, why were you so foolish? Why did you take that dart for me?"
She had barely finished speaking when she looked up at the group of burly men beside her and shouted, "Let me go! Let me go now! You cold-blooded, heartless wooden men..."
Seeing everyone standing there stunned and not daring to make a move without orders, Lanxiang gritted her teeth and glared at the indifferent people around her. Finally, with tears in her eyes, she leaned down and called out to her, "Yan'er, Yan'er, hold on, you must hold on. Someone will come to save us, they will, you must hold on."
Although she was encouraging Yan'er verbally, she herself was not confident at all. In her anxiety, she looked up to the sky and asked, "God, what's wrong with you? What kind of retribution is this? Why are you taking it all out on me? Why are you hurting her?"
Upon seeing this, the young guard immediately glanced at another burly man in red, who was about the same age as him and seemed somewhat moved by the pitiful scene before him, and shouted loudly, "Release them right now!"
However, when the man looked at Long Ye's eyes, which were gleaming with a cold light like thousands of sharp arrows, he was so frightened that he immediately lowered his head.
Just when the three were in despair, a woman's surprised voice suddenly came from the courtyard gate: "Yan'er..."
Upon hearing the sound, thousands of people in the square immediately turned their attention to that direction.
But the older guard quickly bypassed the woman and rushed in. He ran forward and angrily swung his broadsword, cutting the ropes binding the younger guard and Lanxiang.
The young guard, having broken free of his restraints, hurriedly stood up and exclaimed in surprise, "Master, you're finally back! I..."
"Take them away quickly!" The older guard immediately interrupted him. After giving the order, he flew up to the high platform where Long Ye was, brandishing his sword and fighting against him and several of his confidants in a fight against overwhelming odds.
He leaped and bounded, sometimes dodging, sometimes attacking. With a few punches and kicks, and a sweep of his sword, he knocked his drunken, rice-sucking henchmen off the platform one by one. They were disarmed, lying on the ground, crying and begging for their parents.
Left with no other choice, Long Ye was forced to personally come out and fight.
At this moment, he was using a sharp sword, seemingly struggling, to block the blade of the older guard who was slashing down at him. He turned his head to the crowd below the platform and gave orders: "Why aren't you doing anything yet? What are you all waiting for? I, the leader, will not allow any of these traitors to leave the Xiaolong Society alive."
So, the shrimp soldiers and crab generals below the stage hesitantly drew their swords and raised them high.
Just as she was about to rush out to fight, Ruoxi quickly took out the gold medal with the character "Dragon" from her sleeve and showed it. She took two steps forward and blocked everyone's way, and said loudly with great momentum: "The gold medal with the character 'Dragon' is here. Who dares to make a move? In the name of Chief Long, I order everyone in the Xiaolong Society to immediately seize Long Ye, this wicked villain who is trying to sow discord and incite discord among the members of the Xiaolong Society, and who is plotting treason. Chief Long will deal with him personally when he returns!"
Upon seeing the gleaming gold medal bearing the character "Dragon," symbolizing supreme power within the Swift Dragon Society, everyone exchanged bewildered glances before shouting in unison, "Charge!"
In an instant, a large group of several thousand conspicuous red-clad burly men charged toward the high platform, swords raised and roaring menacingly...
Ruoxi finally breathed a long sigh of relief, put away the gold medal, and then hurriedly ran towards Yan'er and Lanxiang.
The young guard squatted down beside Yan'er, then stood up with a grave expression, looked up at Ruoxi, shook his head, and said, "The dart was poisoned; it has already penetrated her internal organs, and there's no hope of saving her!"
Ruoxi's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at him for a moment. Then, as if still unwilling to believe it, she quickly bent down and squatted down, taking his pulse and checking his wounds while frowning and asking with concern, "Yan'er, how are you?"
Before Yan'er could speak, Lanxiang, who was sitting on the ground holding Yan'er, was so frightened that she couldn't even finish her sentence. Her eyes, brimming with tears, glistened with tiny crystals as she stammered, "Miss Yi, you're finally back. Yan'er, she, she..."
Yan'er lay quietly in Lanxiang's arms, her breath extremely weak. A trail of dark blood stretched from the corner of her mouth down to her collar, yet she still smiled faintly. She held Lanxiang's arm with one hand and slowly raised the other towards Ruoxi with difficulty.
Upon seeing this, Ruoxi quickly reached out and grasped her hand tightly. Yan'er said weakly, "Miss...Miss...you're finally back. Yan'er knew you would come back. Miss couldn't bear to leave Yan'er alone, could she?"
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi's tears, which had been welling up in her eyes, immediately streamed down her face. She then pursed her lips, nodded heavily, and said in a trembling voice, "Yes, yes, I can't bear to part with you. Such a well-behaved and clever little girl, everyone loves her, how could I bear to part with her..."
In truth, Ruoxi didn't understand why her heart ached so much at this moment. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and she abruptly turned her head away. She quietly wiped away her tears with her other sleeve, then sniffed, before turning back to comfort Yan'er: "Yan'er, don't be afraid. With Miss here, Yan'er will be alright. I still want to hear your detailed account of what happened at the Yi Mansion in the west of the city. You know I don't remember anything, do I?"
Yan'er blinked wearily, her eyes brimming with tears. Her voice choked with emotion as she managed to breathe, her voice weak and strained, "Miss... I'm sorry, Yan'er is afraid I can no longer serve you, nor can I tell you about your past in the Yi family. In the next life, in the next life, Yan'er will definitely protect you every step of the way. Yan'er can't bear to leave you..."
"Shut up! I won't allow you to say that. How can you be so dishonest? What next life? Everyone and everything in this life can be forgotten in an accident. Who would remember anything about the next life? Are you just going to brush me off like this? I won't allow you to give up. You must live well, or else, when I die, I'll definitely ask Meng Po for a few more bowls of soup to forget all of you and everything you've done, to forget you completely."
At this point, Ruoxi completely broke down, interrupting Yan'er with tears streaming down her face and her voice hoarse.
Lanxiang covered her mouth, turned her head away, and her shoulders trembled uncontrollably. Even the young guard beside her silently turned away to wipe his tears.
Yan'er stared intently at Ruoxi's face, as if trying to etch her image into her mind one last time. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked, "Miss, is it dark? I can't see anything! I'm so cold!"
Upon hearing this, the three of them were all surprised and simultaneously turned their gaze to Yan'er's face.
A moment later, Ruoxi slowly took the curled-up Yan'er from Lanxiang's arms and hugged her tightly. She looked up at the beautiful sunrise overhead and the birdsong and fragrant flowers all around her, and said to Yan'er, "Yes, it's getting dark. With Miss here with you, are you scared? I'm holding you so tightly, are you still cold?"
Yan'er smiled and shook her head, seemingly more at ease and content than ever before, saying, "Miss, the Yi family is all better now. The young master is no longer the young master he used to be. Yan'er believes that the second young lady will also get better one day. Everything will be alright... That's wonderful!"
As she spoke, Yan'er paused, a hint of unease and worry creeping onto her face. "But Miss," she said, "don't always be so weak and insecure. I've heard it said that when someone dies, a tear shed by their loved one that falls on their skin will turn into a red birthmark, a token to find their soulmate in the next life and continue their destiny. So, Miss, the one with the red birthmark on your face, it's a contract left by someone who loved you in your past life, so they can find you in the next… His Highness Prince Qin treats you so well, Miss, you must be brave and not miss this opportunity. Yan'er, Yan'er…"
Before she could finish speaking, Yan'er breathed her last.
"Yan'er, it's all my fault, it's all my fault..." Upon seeing this, Lanxiang immediately rushed towards her, shaking her small body and crying loudly in frustration.
The young guard turned around abruptly, slammed his fist heavily on the weapon rack beside him, and sighed deeply, "Alas."
Meanwhile, Ruoxi, who was still holding Yan'er's body in a daze, had unknowingly dried her tears.
Just then, a bright light flashed before her eyes, followed by a "hiss" sound, and then a spurt of blood gushed out, landing right on Yan'er's wound...
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