General Li smiled and nodded, then said, "By the way, Captain Guan — I've heard that the former Governor of Blue Sea City was killed by your organization. Is that true?"

  Captain Guan was taken aback. He thought for a moment, then said, "Well... yes and no."

  General Li was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

  "Because—" Captain Guan was about to expin when, from the direction of the stone chamber's door, a young male voice cut in: "Because the former Governor of Blue Sea City was killed by me."

  The moment those words nded, everyone present was stunned. They turned toward the door all at once, and watched as the bck iron door slowly swung open and a bck-cd man wearing a white smiley-face mask walked calmly into the chamber.

  "Who are you? How did you get in here? Where are the guards outside?" The Bald scarred man shot to his feet and bellowed at the newcomer. The others stared at the masked man with wide, startled eyes.

  "I said I am the one who killed the former Governor." The masked man repeated his words in a low, measured voice.

  At this, Captain Guan seemed to realize something. He stood up and called out loudly, "Everyone stay calm — this is a friend of mine. And what he says is the truth. The former Governor of Blue Sea City was indeed killed by him."

  "What — the former Governor was really killed by this man?!"

  "He sounds young from his voice — probably only around twenty. How did he manage to kill the former Governor?"

  The people in the chamber grew even more astonished, murmuring to one another in hushed tones. Then General Li spoke up: "Since this young man is a friend of Captain Guan's, he is a friend of mine as well. Young man, would you be willing to take off your mask? Speaking to us while wearing that thing is rather disrespectful, you know. Everyone here is your friend — there's no need to hide yourself."

  "That may not be so." The masked Rulu said. "I believe many people here harbor ill will toward me — some may even despise me deeply. For that reason, I cannot reveal my face or expose my name. I hope Captain Guan and the others can also keep my identity secret and not disclose who I am."

  "Why is that?" General Li said, clearly puzzled. "I would think no one here knows you, let alone has any quarrel with you. Please give me a sufficient reason — otherwise I cannot accept what you're saying."

  "The reason is simple: I am the one who attempted to assassinate Prince Suwen a few days ago."

  The moment those words left his mouth, the noisy stone chamber fell utterly silent. People froze as if turned to stone, staring bnkly at the masked man. About ten seconds passed before they snapped back to their senses — and then erupted into even more heated argument than before.

  Suddenly, the Bald scarred man turned red with fury, jabbing a finger at Rulu and roaring: "So it was you, you little bastard, who went and tried to assassinate Governor Suwen! Damn it — if it weren't for your reckless stunt, Sanctuary's thugs wouldn't have sent so many troops to hunt us down. This whole situation is your doing — you need to answer for it!"

  "That's right — if it weren't for this guy, we wouldn't have lost so many people!"

  "He's the one that Governor Suwen is looking for. We hand him over, and all our captured people go free."

  "Shut the door — don't let him escape!"

  The others in the chamber gred at Rulu with open hostility. Several began moving slowly toward him, apparently intending to seize him.

  Captain Guan saw that the situation was turning against Rulu and called out urgently, "Everyone calm down first. We can't even confirm yet that he's the one who tried to assassinate Governor Suwen — and even if he is, we cannot hand him over to the Governor. If we do, we all walk right into Suwen's trap."

  Kallen added, "When he went to assassinate Governor Suwen, he may not have anticipated the consequences would be this severe. We can't pce all the bme on him. If you want to bme someone, bme Governor Suwen."

  The Bald scarred man said furiously, "Captain Guan, stay out of this. Even if he's your friend, we can't just let him go. We've lost so many people these past few days — suffered such enormous losses. This cannot simply be left at that. There is no way we're letting him walk out of here today!"

  "That's right — don't let him go! Hand him over in exchange for our captured brothers!" the others shouted.

  Faced with the accusations and angry shouting, Rulu remained completely calm. He said in a steady voice, "And to think you call yourselves people who resist Sanctuary. Governor Suwen has killed so many of your people, yet rather than bming him, you want to act as his dogs and do his work for him. Use your heads and think — is that really the right thing to do?"

  "What?! You little punk, you dare call us dogs? Looks like you have a death wish."

  "Nothing you say will make any difference — even if the heavens themselves came down today, they couldn't save you!"

  The people in the chamber grew even more enraged. Many rose from their seats, drawing their weapons, ready to attack Rulu at any moment.

  Just then, an aged but commanding voice rang out through the room: "Everyone stop this noise. Put your weapons away, sit down, and hear me out. Anyone who refuses is showing no respect whatsoever for me, General Li!"

  All eyes turned toward General Li. He carried considerable weight in the hearts of those present. The people in the room forced down their anger, put away their weapons, and settled back into their seats to hear what General Li had to say.