"Don't mind these things. I'm used to dressing like this. I heard General Li is here too and has something important to discuss with me?"
"Yes, General Li is a busy man. He had originally planned to leave a few days ago, but stayed specifically to meet you. Come with me; General Li and others are waiting for us," Captain Guan said, then led Rulu deeper into the mountain area.
After a while, the two arrived at a large, secret stone chamber in the mountain. The chamber was spacious and well-lit, with long tables and chairs arranged inside. About ten to twenty people sat at the tables, and a few dozen more stood in the open space of the chamber. Rulu surveyed these people and found that most of them were familiar faces. Kallen, A-Bing, other small rebel leaders, and General Li were all there.
"I'm sorry to have kept everyone waiting. This is Rulu; I believe everyone already knows him," Captain Guan said to the people in the chamber. Then he turned to Rulu and said: "Rulu, because everyone was curious about your identity, I told them your name. You don't mind, do you?"
Rulu spoke in a composed tone: "Actually, I had not intended to reveal my identity to everyone, but since everyone already knows, it doesn't matter. However, I want to make it clear that I do not plan to reveal my true face. If anyone feels offended by this, I will leave immediately."
Hearing Rulu's words, the people in the chamber were a bit surprised. The bald, scarred man stood up with a hearty smile on his face and said to Rulu: "It's no problem. I've heard that you've been hiding in Blue Sea City, avoiding capture by the Sanctuary. It's right to be cautious. Come, sit down; we've been waiting for you for a long time."
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
But Rulu did not sit down. He looked at General Li in the chair of honor and said: "General Li, what do you think?"
General Li chuckled and said: "If it were someone else, I would not allow this, but you're different, young Rulu. Please, sit down." As he said this, General Li gestured to the seat directly opposite him.
"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony." Rulu immediately sat down in the seat opposite General Li. The others also took their seats. When everyone was seated, Captain Guan said: "General Li, you said you had important matters to discuss with Rulu and specially called us here as well. Now that we're all here, what did you want to discuss?"
General Li smiled and said: "There's no hurry for that. First, I want to express my gratitude to young Rulu here. I learned from Captain Guan and others that thanks to your help, Rulu, we were able to successfully rescue our captured comrades and safely withdraw from Blue Sea City. Without your help, we wouldn't have been able to return here safely. On behalf of everyone here, I express our gratitude to you."
Rulu waved his hand and said: "No need for formalities, General Li. The incident was caused by me, so it was only right that I helped you. Besides, I had promised you before that I would rescue all your captured comrades. I was merely fulfilling my promise to you."
General Li's face showed an approving smile as he said: "Young Rulu, although you're not very old, you're so modest and responsible. That's truly commendable. But you helped us, and it's only right for us to express our gratitude. Please don't decline this, young Rulu."
Rulu said: "Since General Li insists, I'll accept your gratitude. However, there's one thing I feel I've let you all down on, and I must apologize to everyone present."
"Oh, what is that?" General Li asked somewhat curiously.
Rulu said: "Actually, during the incident in Blue Sea City, I had already captured Governor Su Wen and had the opportunity to kill him. But for certain reasons, I let him go. I had promised you that I would kill Su Wen to avenge your fallen comrades. In this matter, I failed to keep my word."
"I see." General Li stroked his beard and said thoughtfully: "So, for what reason did you spare Governor Su Wen?"
