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Upon seeing this, some decided to abandon the idea of seeking medical help at Salvation Hall and turned to leave.

Swish!

The sharp tip of a spear was aimed directly at the man’s throat.

“What… what do you mean by this?”

“No one is allowed to leave!”

“Why can’t we leave? We haven’t done anything wrong!”

Others noticed this scene and couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.

“Yeah, why aren’t we allowed to leave? This is Salvation Hall, not a prison!”

“We came here for medical treatment. Isn’t Salvation Hall established by the royal family and the Guardian Princess? What’s going on here?”

“This is the orders of a high-ranking official.”

The soldier pointing his long spear at the man’s neck remained expressionless.

“A high-ranking official? Which official? Is he higher in rank than the Guardian Princess? Does he have more authority than the Crown Prince?”

The people were not satisfied with this response.

“It’s the orders from the Magistrate of Shuntian Preference.”

“Then the Magistrate must obey the Crown Prince! We want to see the Crown Prince!”

“We want to see the Guardian Princess! She will surely help us!”

The soldiers surrounding the crowd paid no attention to their demands.

A sense of foreboding began to grow in everyone’s hearts.

Suddenly, someone’s eyes widened, and he made a desperate dash for the exit.

A sharp metallic clang resounded.

The spear, gleaming with silver light, stabbed into his abdomen.

If the man hadn’t stopped in time, his belly would have been punctured, leaving him pale with fear.

The soldier angrily shouted, “Stay put! The Magistrate gave the orders, and anyone who dares to defy them will be thrown into the dungeon!”

However, these words did not deter the crowd; instead, they further inflamed their emotions.

They had an instinctive feeling that something terrible had happened, which was why these soldiers appeared here, surrounding them and preventing them from leaving.

Someone shouted loudly, “People have been talking lately about an epidemic in the city. They must suspect that we all have the plague and are afraid we’ll spread the disease to others. They’re trying to trap us here! We can’t sit here waiting to die. Run, everyone! If we don’t run now, we’ll be stuck here waiting for death!”

When this statement was made, the whole crowd erupted into a commotion.

Throughout history, plagues had always been extremely dreadful infectious diseases, enough to make one’s complexion change at the mere mention of it.

They heard rumors recently that a plague might have broken out in the city, but most of them held on to a sense of wishful thinking.

But now, with the presence of these government officials here, what did it signify? It indicated that the earlier rumors were probably true!

And among them, who knew how many were already infected by the plague, and how many were just suffering from common ailments like the flu?

With the soldiers preventing them from leaving, trapping them here, even if they hadn’t been infected with the plague yet, there was a high likelihood of getting infected in the time to come.

Many people immediately rushed towards the exit.

The soldiers hadn’t anticipated this sudden rush and were caught off guard. They hastily raised their spears to defend themselves, but outnumbered and with the streets outside crowded with people, the hundred or so soldiers couldn’t hold them back.

Gu Qingluan witnessed this scene and her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t have time to find the person causing the panic. She quickly raised her voice and said, “Everyone, stay calm! I’m Gu Qingluan! Don’t panic! I will help you!”

Her voice echoed through the streets, and everyone present heard her words.

The excited crowd displayed expressions of ecstasy.

“All, is it the Guardian Princess? Has the Guardian Princess arrived?”

Those who had been trying to rush out stopped in their tracks and looked up to find Gu Qingluan’s figure.

A leader among the soldiers glanced towards the carriage parked at the outskirts and, upon seeing Gu Qingluan standing outside the carriage, he let out a sigh of relief and then walked toward her.

He bowed before Gu Qingluan and said, “This humble official, Li Yun, pays his respects to the Guardian Princess.”

“Master Li, there’s no need for excessive courtesy. Did the Magistrate send you here? What were his instructions?”

Li Yun lowered his hands and relayed the Magistrate’s instructions to her.

Inside the city, there were suspicions of a plague outbreak, and as this area was mostly inhabited by the impoverished, living in crowded slums or dilapidated houses, many of them had already shown symptoms like cough and fever. Once they left this place, the consequences would be unimaginable. That’s why the Magistrate immediately dispatched people to seal off this location.

Gu Qingluan expressed her understanding, saying, “The Magistrate has considered this matter thoroughly. I will do my best to cooperate.”

Li Yun let out a long sigh upon hearing this.

He initially worried that Gu Qingluan might act recklessly in pursuit of the support of these poor people, regardless of the consequences.

He had been narrow-minded.

Gu Qingluan raised her head to look at the crowd.

Her presence had somewhat calmed the initially anxious people.

“Guardian Princess, you arrived just in time. These soldiers are saying they want to trap us here, not allowing us to leave anywhere. You must intervene on our behalf!”

Gu Qingluan centered her qi and spoke, her voice carrying, “Everyone, please don’t be hasty. The Magistrate’s actions are for our own good.”

“How can you say it’s for our own good? It’s clear they’re afraid we’ll infect them! Guardian Princess, you must speak with a clear conscience!”

“Shh, don’t talk nonsense. The Guardian Princess is entirely devoted to our well-being and won’t act like those officials.”

The crowd started arguing amongst themselves.

Seeing their heightened emotions, Gu Qingluan was concerned that it might escalate into violence, so she spoke up to interrupt them. “Everyone, please calm down and listen to me.”

“What are you going to say? Aren’t you trying to trap us here to die? Don’t trust her, if we hadn’t believed her, we wouldn’t have come to Salvation Hall, and we wouldn’t be surrounded by soldiers!”

The speaker’s voice was muffled but loud enough for most to hear.

Gu Qingluan had earlier noticed a few voices that seemed provocative and had been paying special attention.

Upon hearing this comment, she quickly locked onto the source with her divine sense. She leaped into the air, and golden threads shot from her fingertips, piercing through the crowd.

Swish!

In an instant, a person was entangled by the golden threads and lifted off the ground. Gu Qingluan pulled the person towards an open space..