The women seemed to awaken as if from a dream, but their eyes held more fear and panic. It was as if they had lived in hell for so long that they no longer knew how to resist.
"Hmph! Stop struggling!"
Lion Boss's voice, like a demon's, boomed from behind Song Chaoyu. His hand had already touched Song Chaoyu's shoulder. "If they wanted to resist, they would have done so already! Do you know? Three days before you arrived, someone like you begged and cursed here. But they only watched that woman serve all of us in front of me. They were only afraid of becoming the next such woman. Today, I will let them see clearly again what the consequence of resisting me is!"
Disgusting!
Touching this man made Song Chaoyu feel utterly repulsed.
"Whoosh—"
"Ah—"
But in the next moment, an arrow flew, piercing Lion Boss's arm precisely! Lion Boss cried out in pain, then suddenly released Song Chaoyu, shouting vigilantly, "Attackers! Everyone, be on guard!"
But it was already too late!
"Kill them! Take them all down!"
Song Chaoyu heard Ping Jiang's voice from outside. In a mere instant, the seemingly sturdy gate of the academy was broken. Moreover, many people swarmed out from the sides and the back of the academy! As formidable as Lion Boss's men were, they were merely low-level thugs from the water bandit background, truly insignificant. Thus, they were quickly apprehended. This finally brought other emotions and confusion to the eyes of the surrounding people. Many women who had been motionless finally helped each other up, looking at the scene before them with fear.
Song Chaoyu breathed a sigh of relief—Mu Changxi had finally arrived! Although the sky had not yet completely darkened, Mu Changxi's early arrival was due to his concern for her, wasn't it? Song Chaoyu looked towards the main entrance of the academy and indeed saw Mu Changxi's figure! As if performing magic, he had produced his wooden wheelchair from somewhere and was now seated in it. Yet, even this Mu Changxi, bathed in the backlight, appeared to Song Chaoyu like a deity. The corners of her mouth curved into a smile unconsciously.
"Who are you people?!"
Seeing so many people bravely intervening, Lion Boss realized that things might not be so simple. Ping Jiang was not wearing the uniform of an official, and Lion Boss seemed unaware of who the person before him was. Knowing he couldn't win, he changed his tactic, saying to Mu Changxi and Ping Jiang, "Are you heroes from which mountain? Or are you from the government? Don't kill me! We'll split everything we have in Ping'an County with you. No... wait! We'll give it all to you! As long as you don't kill me! Anything is fine!"
In a place so severely affected by disaster, they were still arguing over survival for such matters; it was almost a joke! However, neither Mu Changxi nor Ping Jiang paid any attention to Lion Boss. Ping Jiang's men had already stepped forward, disarmed Lion Boss, and pinned all of Lion Boss's men to the ground. Lion Boss, who had lorded over the waters of Ping'an County for years, was now reduced to a "worm," with no room to fight back.
Mu Changxi pushed his wheelchair to Song Chaoyu's side. After examining her from head to toe, his eyes finally calmed. He asked Song Chaoyu, "Which hand did he touch you with?" Lion Boss's eyes showed fear at this question. Song Chaoyu answered in a low voice, "His right hand." Mu Changxi merely gave Ping Jiang a look, and Ping Jiang understood.
"Ah—"
Amidst Lion Boss's pained cries, his right hand was severed from his arm! For some reason, this Mu Changxi gave Song Chaoyu a sense of unfamiliarity. He seemed... no longer the gentle and cheerful Hanxi. But the gentle and cheerful Hanxi didn't have to go through everything that Mu Changxi had, did he? Staring at the pained Lion Boss, Ping Jiang stepped forward and coldly snorted at him, "You should be grateful that you haven't harmed our madam yet. Otherwise, you might have lost more than just a hand."
Watching these people enter the academy with such trained precision, and quickly dividing the area into several sections, and seeing their sophisticated equipment, Lion Boss seemed to finally realize something and asked, "Who... exactly are you people?!" Ping Jiang stepped forward, forcefully pushing Lion Boss's sweat-soaked head, dripping with pain, to the ground. "Seeing His Highness Prince Chang and Princess Chang, why do you not kowtow?"
"What?!" Lion Boss had never expected that the people before him would be a Prince and Princess! He exclaimed in disbelief, "This is impossible! Prince Chang is indeed coming to Haizhou for disaster relief, but why would he come to our Ping'an County!? Princess Consort... how is this possible, how can this be? You are lying!" In truth, Lion Boss knew it all too well. If the people before him were truly Prince Chang and Princess Consort, then everything he had done to Song Chaoyu was not enough to atone for, even if he died ten thousand times!
Mu Changxi had no intention of explaining anything to Lion Boss. Instead, he surveyed the place and said to the still-stunned crowd, "Do not be afraid, this Prince is here to save you. Your family members are outside. Everyone, do not panic or crowd. You will be able to reunite with your family members by exiting in an orderly fashion."
"Really?!" It was only now that some people seemed to awaken from their "nightmare," their eyes reddening as they stared at Mu Changxi, "Is this true? Can we see our family members? You're not tricking us, are you?"
"No." Mu Changxi nodded at them. "Your family members are outside, and you will see them soon."
"Is it really... Prince Chang?" Someone in the crowd cried, "Someone is really here to manage us, someone is here to save us! It's true!" Shui Yue, who had been standing beside Tiao Hong, also looked at Tiao Hong hesitantly, her expression incredulous, "Who... who exactly are you people?" Tiao Hong then took Shui Yue's hand and pushed her gently. "Shui Yue, hurry! Shui Jing is waiting for you outside! You haven't seen each other for a long time, have you?" This time, a glimmer of light finally appeared in Shui Yue's eyes. She ran towards the outside of the academy, her eyes filled with unprecedented joy, happiness, and relief.