"Yes, let's go quickly. Don't scare ourselves. We may not get such a good chance to come back next time."
"Okay."
Just as those people were about to walk into the house, the leader of the martial arts alliance suddenly jumped out, and the people around slowly turned on the lights.
"You dare to come back. It seems I've been too lenient with you on weekdays. You even dare to break the rules I set at the beginning."
Those people stared at the suddenly-appeared man in surprise and were in a daze for a long time.
The leader was completely stunned.
"Alliance leader, why are you here?"
"Humph, I'm not the only one here."
As he spoke, Shi Muyuan and Cui Qizhou also led their people out slowly.
"Where on earth did you take my elder brother? What did you do to him?"
When those people saw Shi Muyuan, their faces turned pale, and they instinctively tried to run away. However, the place was surrounded by the people arranged by the alliance leader. Even if they had wings, they couldn't escape.
"Confess everything you've done. Otherwise, I'll clean up the traitors in the alliance today."
Those people knew that the alliance leader always meant what he said. Since he could say such things today, it proved that he was really angry and wanted to kill them.
Compared with Shi Muyuan, they were more afraid of the alliance leader.
"Alliance leader, we had no choice. Our relatives have suffered so much. We finally got a chance to live a better life. We were just blinded by profit for a moment. Please be magnanimous and spare us."
"Spare you? I've already set the rule that we'll never have any contact with the people from the court. But now you've broken this rule. Tell me, how should I punish you?"
As he spoke, he took out a dagger. When those people saw it, they couldn't help trembling.
They thought of those who had died under this dagger and were so scared that they almost wet their pants.
"Alliance leader, we won't dare to do it again. You know we're timid. Please don't use this thing on us."
"If you know, then confess everything quickly. Don't wait until I'm really angry. By then, it'll be too late for you to regret."
When things got to this point, as long as those people weren't stupid, they knew what decision to make.
They glanced at each other and confessed everything thoroughly.
After hearing the whole story, Shi Muyuan was so angry that she almost fainted. Fortunately, Xiao Xiao beside her held her up all the time.
"Empress Dowager, don't be angry with yourself. It's not worth it. The most urgent thing now is to find the whereabouts of the eldest young master."
Shi Muyuan came to her senses and clenched her fists.
"You stupid idiots! You just do whatever others tell you to do. Don't you have your own brains? Do you know who you've hurt? Aren't you afraid of revenge from the whole court? By then, even if you have a lot of silver, no one will dare to associate with you."
Those people were scared after hearing this. At first, they hadn't considered so many things. They had only been after the money. Now, looking back, they realized what stupid things they had done.
They regretted it deeply and kept kowtowing on the ground to admit their mistakes.
"Empress Dowager, we know we were wrong. At that time, we just wanted money and didn't think too much. Now that you've said this, we realize how wrong we were. Please give us another chance. We'll never dare to do it again."
"If you know you're wrong, then quickly take me to find my elder brother. After I confirm that he's safe, I'll settle the score with you."
After she said this, those people nodded in agreement.
However, when they led Shi Muyuan back to the hiding place, they found that the person on the ground had disappeared without a trace, leaving only a pool of blood.
They stared at the pool of blood, completely stunned.
"How could this happen? We left the person here, and we even tied him up with ropes. He shouldn't have been able to run away."
"You said you left the person here. Where is he now? So you were just playing tricks on me?"
A glint of coldness flashed in Shi Muyuan's eyes. Xiao Xiao beside her was about to draw her sword and take action. Fortunately, the alliance leader stepped forward at this time.
"Empress Dowager, please calm down. There may be some hidden truth in this matter. I know these two people quite well. Although they're greedy for money on weekdays, they wouldn't dare to lie when it comes to important matters. The blood on the ground is quite fresh. Maybe the eldest young master managed to break free from the ropes and escaped first."
After hearing this, Shi Muyuan became even more worried.
"Elder brother has never been here before, and he was seriously injured. If he's discovered by someone with evil intentions, he may even lose his life."
The alliance leader wiped the sweat off his forehead. He hadn't said those words to make Shi Muyuan more worried.
"Empress Dowager, please don't be in a hurry. You've misunderstood me. What I meant was that the eldest young master may have been rescued by someone. Why don't you go back and wait first? I'll send others out to look for him."
"Really?"
Facing her expectant eyes, the alliance leader suddenly didn't know what to say.
He could only turn his head away, looking a bit unnatural.
"Empress Dowager, please rest assured. The eldest young master is a lucky person and will surely be safe."
"Okay, I'll trust you this time."
Just as the young girl finished saying this, she fainted from the stress, which panicked everyone around her.
...
"The Empress Dowager is fine. She's just suffering from pent-up emotions and hasn't had a good rest, so she fainted. She needs to be well-nourished and have a good rest. She'll recover soon."
"Thank you, doctor."
The man returned to the room. The person on the bed had already woken up. The first thing she said was about her elder brother.
"How is it? Where's my elder brother? Is he okay?"
Hearing this, the man sighed, poured a glass of water, and handed it to her.
"Empress Dowager, you should worry about yourself first."
"What's wrong with me?"
"The doctor said you fainted because you hadn't had a good rest and had pent-up emotions."
Shi Muyuan listened to this in a daze and found that she still didn't understand. But this wasn't the most important thing.
She lifted the quilt and staggered out of bed.
"I'm fine. I'm just a bit uncomfortable. I'll feel better after a good sleep. The most important thing is the whereabouts of my elder brother. I'm really worried about him."
Seeing this, the man got a bit angry and helped her back to the bed.
"The Empress Dowager should have a good rest. Don't worry. Since I've promised to bring the eldest young master back safely, I'll never break my promise."
"National Preceptor, don't try to comfort me. There was such a large pool of blood on the ground. Even a person in good health would die. My elder brother must be in a bad situation now. Maybe he's waiting for me to save him somewhere."