The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

[Ao Ge is so cute.]

[With an excited heart and trembling hands, I can't believe "The Legend of Long Ao" is airing so soon!]

[Hey, why is Chen Guan everywhere? Looks like he has a pretty big role in Dragon Pride Gaiden.]

[After all, it's a side story. Even if it were a standalone story, it would still be part of the main plot, so it's normal for Chen Guan to be included.]

[The spin-off of Long Ao is here, when will the spin-off of our Su Su air?]

However, these viewers seem to be from the side stories.

"The Legend of Long Ao" is the information Chen Guan obtained from the comments section.

By this point, the protagonist should have become Long Ao.

Perhaps one day, he too will be able to see the unofficial history of Chen Guan?

"Let's go."

Chen Guan had already learned the details from Hong Xing, but the process had been slightly altered, namely the appearance of Long Ao.

Moreover, Long Ao seemed to have known all along that he was coming to Jiangcheng, and probably had his own inside information.

A specific vehicle stopped in front of them, which Long Ao had arranged in advance. Looking at the increasingly familiar scene, Long Ao took a deep breath, his expression complicated.

He led the coffin into a narrow alley paved with bluestone slabs, and deep inside the alley, an inconspicuous black lacquered wooden door was tightly closed, with two rusty bronze lions on the door knocker.

The seemingly rusty bronze lions nodded at him and hummed softly twice. Long Ao smiled and patted the heads of the two little creatures. He remembered that these two bronze lions used to play with him when they were little.

The tension in his heart dissipated somewhat, and Long Ao raised his hand to knock on the door.

Slow footsteps came from inside the door. With a creak, the door opened a crack, revealing the face of an old woman with wrinkles but unusually bright eyes.

When she saw Long Ao, she was stunned for a moment, then her face lit up with genuine joy: "Young Master? You...you're back? Master was talking about you yesterday."

"Wang Ma." Long Ao nodded, his tone unusually gentle. "I'm bringing a friend back to stay for a few days."

Wang Ma was one of the people Grandpa had saved. She was just an ordinary person without spiritual power. Because she had nowhere else to go, Grandpa kept her there. Long Ao was naturally familiar with her.

Wang Ma quickly opened the door and stepped aside to let the two of them in.

Behind the door lies a hidden world, a small, clean and tidy courtyard house. Several pots of carefully tended orchids are placed in the courtyard, and the door to the main room opposite is open, through which one can vaguely see the antique furnishings inside.

"The old man is in the study," Wang Ma said softly, pointing to the study.

Long Ao gestured to Chen Guan to wait a moment, then walked towards the study, stopped outside the door, and cleared his throat: "Grandpa, I'm back."

There was silence for a few seconds, then a deep, resonant voice said, "Come in."

Chen Guan stood in the courtyard outside. Wang Ma brought a rattan chair and asked him to sit down. After thanking her, Chen Guan put down the coffin and sat down.

When Wang Ma saw the coffin that suddenly appeared, she didn't react much. Although she was just an ordinary person, she had been by Grandpa Long Ao's side for many years and was used to all sorts of strange things.

On the other side, Long Ao stood in the study.

The study was small, with a beechwood bookshelf that reached the ceiling occupying two entire walls, just as I remembered it. The air was filled with the scent of aged ink, and behind the rosewood desk by the window sat an old man.

The old man had gray hair, which he combed meticulously, and was wearing a faded blue Tang suit.

It was Long Ao's grandfather, Long Ye.

He once guarded China for decades, was decisive in killing and had a formidable reputation. Although he has not made any moves in a long time, his influence remains.

Long Ye held an open dossier in his hand, but his gaze was not on it; instead, he stared straight at his grandson who had entered the room.

"You're willing to come back?" Long put down the file, his voice indifferent.

Long Ao stood in front of the desk and simply replied, "Grandpa."

"Sit down," Long said, pointing to the chair in front of the table.

Long Ao sat down and got straight to the point: "Grandpa, I came back this time because of Chen Guan."

He stared intently at his grandfather, who was both familiar and unfamiliar to him.

Long Ye tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "They've already told me that Jiangcheng is a mess and it's time to clean it up properly."

He abruptly changed the subject, his gaze flashing like lightning as he looked at Long Ao: "But what about you? You're just keeping an eye on this matter to keep your friend company."

Long Ao met his gaze: "Yes, Chen Guan is my friend."

He paused, then added, "Moreover, the Blood Clan has been entrenched in Jiangcheng for many years, and their actions are becoming increasingly rampant. I can't stand it."

I can't stand those people, and I can't stand... my own grandfather.

"Can't stand it?" Long also seemed helpless: "Long Ao, you've always been stubborn since you were little, and you can't tolerate any nonsense. That's good, but it can also easily lead to trouble. This world is neither white nor black, but rather a gray area. Some sacrifices are unavoidable."

Long Ao frowned: "What sacrifice?"

Long didn't answer directly, but instead picked up another thin report from his side and pushed it in front of Long Ao.

"Look at this. Last month, in the old district of the South City, the Patrol team discovered seven civilians who were deeply contaminated and on the verge of mutation. It was irreversible. If left unchecked, once they were completely mutated, it would cause casualties in at least a small community, and the contamination could spread."

Long Ao quickly skimmed the report, his face darkening: "And then? They..."

"Before I arrived, the squad leader of the patrol team stationed in the area made the decision."

Long Ye's voice was completely calm: "Seven infected people were dealt with in one go. Seven people were sacrificed, but at least three hundred people were saved, and a possible disaster was prevented from spreading."

The air in the study seemed to freeze. Outside the window, in the courtyard, orchids swayed gently in the breeze. The faint sound of Wang Ma's footsteps faded into the distance, making the room even more deathly silent.

Long Ao's knuckles turned white as he gripped the report: "Without trial, without even trying every possible treatment, just like that... gone? Those are seven lives! Not just numbers!"

"We tried." Long Ye looked at him calmly, ignoring his anger: "The three accompanying doctors did their best, but it was ineffective. In that situation, every minute of delay increased the risk. That squad leader made the most rational choice within his scope of duty, which was also the most beneficial to the majority."

"Most advantageous?" Long Ao's voice rose. "Who gave him the power to decide who should live and who should die? Grandpa, do you also agree with this approach? For the sake of the majority, can the minority be sacrificed without question? Even if that minority is innocent?"

Long Ye remained unmoved: "Long Ao, I've lived for so many years and seen too many choices. Sometimes, you don't have a perfect option; you can only choose between bad and worse."

"Protecting more people is a heavy responsibility that those in this position must bear. Acting on emotions will only make the casualty figures even higher."

He stood up, walked to the window, turned his back to Long Ao, and looked at the largest orchid in the courtyard: "Do you think that squad leader is cold-blooded? Perhaps, but it is precisely because of countless such cold-blooded decisions that Jiangcheng has not become a dead city in one crisis after another. Some prices must be paid by someone."

"Even if the person who bears the consequences is my friend?"

"Yes."

"Even if it's me?"

no answer.

After a long pause, the old man slowly spoke: "Long Ao, that's not how you calculate things. No matter how much value an individual has, on the scales of life, sometimes it can't compare to the survival of the group."

"Even your grandfather is the same."