Who Sent You?

The leader stared at the approaching shadowy figure, finally gritting his teeth and growling:

"Withdraw!"

The bandits felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and the cavalrymen hurriedly turned their horses around. But as soon as they turned, Shen Jingchuan's Big Black had already charged more than twenty feet away. The Whirlwind Horse was already nearly half as fast as an ordinary warhorse, and in the blink of an eye, it caught up with the rear of the column.

The leader was the last to turn his horse around. The thunderous sound of hooves behind him startled him, and he whirled around to find Shen Jingchuan's spear already thrusting towards him. He swung his sword and slashed diagonally behind him.

Shen Jingchuan lowered his wrist, and the shaft of the tiger-head gold-inlaid spear deflected the knife with a clang.

The two horses closed the distance by several feet. As the force that had deflected the spear was pulling back, he flipped his wrist, and the iron hilt of the spear slammed down with a powerful gust of wind, striking the leader's helmet.

With a muffled thud, the leader fell straight off his horse without uttering a sound, his helmet dented in.

Shen Jingchuan didn't stop, spurring his horse forward to continue the chase. With each rise and fall of his spear, the cavalrymen behind him were knocked off their horses one by one.

Lin Qingyao followed closely behind on her Treading Snow, making it easier to attack from behind. Her short sword flashed, targeting the opponent's ribs and neck.

The official road was flanked by dense forests, leaving the cavalry nowhere to maneuver. They could only run straight ahead, but they were no match for the Whirlwind Horses. Within a few dozen feet, most of them had been overtaken.

Two men, sensing danger, hurriedly dismounted and tried to flee into the woods. They had only taken two steps when they bumped into Lin Shan and Lin Yue, who were rushing over. The two brothers thrust their spears forward, and with two sharp thuds, knocked the two men to the ground.

When the last cavalryman screamed and fell from his horse, none of the dozen or so enemy riders managed to escape.

The battle cries gradually subsided, leaving only the soft sound of wind whipping up dust as it swept across the official road.

Shen Jingchuan carried the tiger-headed, gold-inlaid spear and rode Big Black back. Big Black was still immersed in the excitement of the battle, raising its head and letting out a long, resonant neigh that shook the treetops.

Little Black came running over, its glossy mane swishing, and circled around Big Black. Treading Snow followed beside it, its breath still carrying lingering white vapor.

Seeing that the fighting had stopped, the escorts and escorts in the distance drove forward slowly in their escort carriages.

Lin Shan immediately gave the order: half of the men would stand guard over the caravan, while the other half would search the woods on both sides with bows and arrows to check for any remaining ambushes.

The remaining men began to clean up the battlefield, gathering the corpses and seriously wounded soldiers to the roadside.

Shen Jingchuan dismounted, propped his spear on the ground, reached into the leather bag beside the saddle and took out a few apples. He first handed one to Big Black, and then fed Little Black and Treading Snow.

The three horses lowered their heads and gnawed away, their restless ferocity gradually subsiding. Lin Qingyao also dismounted from Treading Snow, pushed off her face shield, her face still flushed, and gently stroked the horse's mane to soothe it.

At this moment, the Lin Household's carriage arrived. The curtain was lifted, and Bai Ruoli, supported by Qinghe, got out first, followed by Xiaoyue.

The two immediately noticed the bloodstains on the official road. Shen Jingchuan and Lin Qingyao were covered in bloodstains. Bai Ruoli's face turned pale instantly, and she lifted her skirt and ran towards Shen Jingchuan. Xiaoyue was even faster and ran straight to Lin Qingyao's side.

Xiaoyue circled Lin Qingyao halfway around, her fingertips tugging at her sleeve, examining it closely, her voice filled with urgency:

"Young lady, are you hurt? Why are you covered in blood?"

Lin Qingyao shook her head at her, her tone relaxed:

"It was all splashed on by the enemy, I'm fine."

Upon hearing that her young mistress was alright, Xiao Yue'er stared at Shen Jingchuan, looking him up and down.

Bai Ruoli had already run to Shen Jingchuan's side, looking up at the bloodstains on his armor and the back of his hands, her eyes reddening, and she said urgently:

How are you? Are you hurt?

Seeing this, Shen Jingchuan deliberately stretched out his blood-stained hands in front of her, intending to scare her. However, Bai Ruoli did not flinch at all. Instead, she grabbed his wrists and examined them over and over, her fingertips trembling slightly.

Shen Jingchuan was taken aback for a moment, then withdrew his hand and gently comforted him:

"It's nothing, it's all someone else's blood, I didn't even get a scratch."

As she spoke, she bounced twice on the spot, then turned around:

"Look, it's all intact."

Bai Ruoli was still worried, so she went around behind him and looked at the armor carefully again. Only after confirming that there were no holes in the armor did she breathe a long sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Lin Qingyao curled her lips slightly, let out a soft snort, and her tone carried a hint of unspoken sourness:

"Oh, look at you, little sister. She's got her eyes glued to Young Master Shen the moment she gets here. I'm a grown man standing here, and I haven't even caught a glimpse of her."

As she spoke, she rolled her eyes slightly.

Bai Ruoli blushed and quickly walked over to Lin Qingyao, taking her arm and saying softly, "Sister, what are you saying? I was just... just worried about my husband. How are you, sister? Are you alright?"

Seeing this, Lin Qingyao chuckled and pinched Bai Ruoli's cheek, "Alright, I was just teasing you. Look how impatient you are."

At this moment, Shen Jingchuan saw Lin Shan and Lin Yue each escorting an injured thief to a large tree in the distance. Behind them, several bodyguards and porters dragged four more wounded men and threw them to the ground, their hands tied behind their backs, groaning on the ground.

Shen Jingchuan stood to one side, the bloodstains between his fingers already half-dried by the wind, the heavy smell of blood mixed with the dust filling his nostrils.

He frowned, took two bottles of mineral water out of his bag, and handed them to Lin Qingyao beside him.

"Give me a hand, pour it slowly." He bent down, cupping his hands in front of him.

Lin Qingyao took the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and the cool water flowed slowly down the bottle opening.

Shen Jingchuan rubbed the blood off his hands with the running water, then scooped up water and wiped his face, washing away the bloodstains splattered on his cheeks and chin before straightening up and casually flicking the water droplets from between his fingers.

Shen Jingchuan told Lin Qingyao to wash up over there, and then walked over to the prisoners.

"We've searched them all; they didn't have any identification token on them," Lin Shan said in a deep voice.

Those seriously wounded on the battlefield were all killed, and six of the less seriously wounded were spared.

Lin Yue, being the most impatient, stepped forward and kicked the first thief in the face. The man groaned in pain, and blood immediately flowed from his nose.

He stepped on the man's chest, slammed his spear into the ground, and demanded sharply, "Speak! Who sent you?"