"Don't worry, I'm just going to take a look. There are many people in Huaiyuan, and it's impossible to slaughter all the villains."
As Qiu Dafu spoke, he and Zheng Hong left the hall together.
Jiang Liu chased after him, "Da Fu, I'll go with you."
Qiu Dafu's taut lips curved into a faint smile: "Stay at home and wait for me to come back."
He was not afraid of the robbers, but he was afraid that the person he cared about might be in danger.
"I'd better not go, I'm afraid..." Jiang Liu shook her head, wanting to say something more, but her mother pulled her behind her. "Liu'er, it's already this late, don't make your mother worry anymore."
Qiu Dafu comforted him, "Everything will be alright."
Zheng Hong patted his chest and assured her, "Miss Jiang, don't worry, we're just going to take a look."
Yun's attention was entirely on Qiu Dafu. Watching him interact with Jiang Liu, she fell into a brief moment of contemplation, but was pulled back to her senses by Jiang Lian tugging at her sleeve.
Outside the government office, the prefect stood with his hands behind his back. Although he was being held hostage by villains, there was no fear in his eyes.
Beside the prefect was a young man wearing a mask.
Apart from the robbers, everyone else around were civilians who had just been driven there.
The people looked listless and huddled together.
Some of them were trembling, some had their heads bowed, and some were secretly wiping away tears.
Upon seeing the prefect, they all knelt down to pay their respects.
"This humble subject greets Your Excellency the Prefect..."
When Qiu Dafu and Zheng Hong arrived, they were just getting up from their ancestral worship.
They quietly blended into the crowd, looking no different from ordinary people.
"Get up, all of you. I am unworthy of such a great gesture from you." The prefect bowed and helped the elderly man at the front to his feet.
The masked man at the head of the group coughed lightly, and the previously restless crowd quieted down.
He then looked at the prefect, signaling for him to speak.
The prefect pursed his lips tightly.
He felt the gazes of the people around him and was filled with guilt.
His attitude was unusually cold when he looked at the criminal.
The prefect's arrogant attitude angered the masked man. He glanced at his subordinates on either side, and with a whoosh, two of them drew their blades and wrapped them around the prefect's neck.
"explain!"
The prefect raised his eyes and surveyed the crowd of people.
"Fellow villagers, righteousness is of paramount importance!"
"My forces are weak and I have unfortunately fallen into enemy hands. This is due to my incompetence, that I am no longer able to serve my great nation of Dongjin!"
"Shut up!" the masked man shouted, "Your Excellency, watch your words!"
Qiu Dafu and Zheng Hong discreetly blended into the crowd, and their expressions differed upon hearing the prefect's remarks.
Qiu Dafu had a bad feeling!
Zheng Hong sighed softly, "Why are these villains banging drums and gongs to hastily gather a crowd of people?"
Qiu Dafu lowered his voice and replied softly, "Persuade them to surrender!"
Zheng Hong: "Could it be that the prefect has been bribed by them?"
"No!" another male voice rang out, and Qiu Dafu felt a weight on his shoulder as an arm pressed down on it.
Jiang Lian arrived just in time to overhear their conversation.
Qiu Dafu turned around and looked Jiang Lian, who was dressed in purple brocade, up and down. He opened his mouth but didn't say anything.
Zheng Hong thought of Jiang Lian as a frail scholar and said in a low voice, "Third Young Master, it's dangerous here. You shouldn't have come."
Jiang Lian: "My father is old. As a son of the Jiang family, how can I back down!"
The prefect paused slightly as he spoke from the position ahead.
He lowered his eyes slightly, then finally raised them and swept them over the crowd in front of him.
"I know my sins are grave and I cannot face you, my trusted subjects. I can only... atone with my death!"
After saying that, taking advantage of the villains' unpreparedness, he snatched the long knife from one of them and forcefully stabbed it into the masked man's chest.
Before you die, find someone to take you down with you.
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