General Li nodded with a smile and said: "By the way, Captain Guan, I heard that the former governor of Blue Sea City was killed by your organization. Is this true?"

  Captain Guan was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Well... yes and no."

  General Li asked, confused: "What does that mean?"

  "Because..." Captain Guan was about to explain when suddenly, from the direction of the stone chamber's entrance, a young man's voice came: "Because the former governor of Blue Sea City was killed by me."

  These words startled everyone present. They all turned to look towards the entrance of the stone chamber, only to see the black iron door slowly opening, and a black-clothed man with a white smiling face mask slowly walking into the stone chamber.

  "Who are you? How did you get here? Where are the guards outside?" The bald, scarred man stood up and shouted at this person. Others also looked at the masked man with surprised eyes.

  "I said, I am the one who killed the former governor," the masked man repeated his previous statement in a low voice.

  At this point, Captain Guan in the stone chamber realized something. He stood up and said loudly: "Everyone, don't be nervous. This is my friend, and what he says is true. The former governor of Blue Sea City was indeed killed by him."

  "What? The former governor was really killed by this person?!"

  "Judging by his voice, he seems quite young, probably only around twenty years old. How did he kill the former governor?"

  The crowd was even more surprised. They whispered among themselves. Then General Li spoke up: "Since this young man is Captain Guan's friend, he is also my friend. Young man, can you take off your mask? Talking to us while wearing a mask is disrespectful. Everyone here is your friend. You don't need to hide."

  "That's not necessarily true," Rulu, wearing a mask, said. "I think many people here harbor ill intentions towards me, even strong hatred. Therefore, I cannot reveal my true face or expose my name. I hope Captain Guan and others can also keep my identity secret and not reveal who I am."

  "Why is that?" General Li asked very strangely. "I think everyone here probably doesn't know you and certainly doesn't have a grudge against you. Please give me a sufficient reason, or I cannot accept your words."

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  "The reason is very simple, because I am the one who attempted to assassinate Prince Su Wen a few days ago!"

  With these words, the originally noisy stone chamber suddenly became quiet. People seemed to have turned to stone, staring blankly at the masked man. After about ten seconds, they came to their senses and began discussing more intensely than before.

  Suddenly, the bald, scarred man, with an angry expression, pointed at Rulu and shouted: "So it was you, kid, who went to assassinate Governor Su Wen. Damn it! If it weren't for the mess you created, those Sanctuary bastards wouldn't have sent so many troops to eliminate us. The current situation is all your fault, and you should take responsibility for it!"

  "Yes, if it weren't for this guy, we wouldn't have lost so many people!"

  "He's the person Governor Su Wen is looking for. Let's capture him and hand him over to Governor Su Wen. Then all our captured people will be saved."

  "Close the door! Don't let him escape!"

  Others in the stone chamber glared at Rulu with hostile gazes. Several people slowly approached Rulu, seemingly wanting to capture him.

  Captain Guan, seeing the situation unfavorable for Rulu, quickly said loudly: "Everyone, calm down first. We can't be sure yet if he is the assassin who attempted to kill Governor Su Wen. Even if he is, we can't capture him and hand him over to Governor Su Wen. If we do that, we'll all fall into Governor Su Wen's trap."

  Kallen also said: "When he went to assassinate Governor Su Wen, he probably didn't anticipate the consequences would be so severe. We can't push all the responsibility onto him. If we want to blame someone, let's blame Governor Su Wen."

  The bald, scarred man said indignantly: "Captain Guan, don't interfere. Even if he is your friend, we can't let him go. So many of us have died these days, suffering such great losses. This matter cannot end like this. Today, we cannot let him leave no matter what!"

  "Yes, don't let him go. Use him to exchange for our captured brothers!" others clamored.

  Faced with the accusations and curses from everyone, Rulu remained very calm. He said in a deep voice: "And you call yourselves rebels against the Sanctuary? Governor Su Wen killed so many of your people, yet you don't blame him. Instead, you want to be his dogs and help him. Think carefully with your brains: is this right?"

  "What? You kid dare to call us dogs? I think you're really tired of living."

  "Whatever you say is useless. Today, even if the emperor himself came, he couldn't save you!"

  The crowd became even angrier. Many people stood up from their seats, drew their weapons, and were ready to attack Rulu at any moment.

  Just then, an elderly but authoritative voice sounded in the room: "Everyone, stop arguing. Put away your weapons and sit down to hear what I have to say. Otherwise, you're not giving me, Li, any face!"

  Everyone looked to the side at General Li, who held considerable weight in these people's hearts. The people in the room forcibly suppressed their anger, put away their weapons, and sat back down to hear what General Li had to say.