Auntie, Qin Sirong

Ye Erniang reacted quickly, supporting the injured Old Man Yue, and immediately used her Qinggong to escape. After a few leaps, they vanished from sight.

Qin Shuang didn't pursue them. He leaped forward and appeared before Helian Tieshu. With a raise of his hand and a move of his foot, he unleashed the Heavenly Frost Fist, instantly killing Nurhachi, Tan Qing, and Sun Sanba, completely intimidating the people of Western Xia's First Rank Hall.

Helian Tieshu no longer had his previous imposing demeanor. His eyes darted around, and he asked Qin Shuang nervously, "What do you want?"

Qin Shuang spread his hands and said, "Bring me the antidote for Sorrowful Crisp Breeze, and I'll spare your life!"

"Do you promise?" Helian Tieshu asked, half-believing.

"The Dragon Guard always keeps their word!" Qin Shuang said, looking at Helian Tieshu without room for doubt. "Besides, do you have any other choice but to trust me?"

Helian Tieshu's face turned from green to white, but he eventually fumbled in his robes, pulled out the antidote, and handed it to Qin Shuang.

Qin Shuang wasn't worried about Helian Tieshu playing any tricks or giving him a fake antidote. In the current situation, Helian Tieshu had no other way to survive but to cooperate.

Qin Shuang tossed the antidote to Cheng Lingsu, letting her identify it before detoxifying everyone.

The antidote for Sorrowful Crisp Breeze was incredibly foul-smelling, but it was very effective. The group only needed to smell it to recover immediately.

Once Jiang Xiaoyu regained his mobility, he immediately went to Qin Shuang's side and couldn't help but ask with confusion, "Brother Shuang, why were you so happy just now?"

Heng Feijing also moved closer, looking displeased, seemingly upset that Jiang Xiaoyu didn't believe his deduction.

"Was it that obvious?" Qin Shuang hadn't expected Jiang Xiaoyu to ask about this. He rubbed his nose sheepishly and said, "I thought that after killing so many Imperial Guards this time, even if we found Ni Pusa, it would at best cancel out the merits and demerits, making this mission a waste! Who knew we'd be so lucky that the people from Western Xia's First Rank Hall ran right into us? We caught Western Xia spies infiltrating Great Shang. You tell me, this is a great achievement, right? Heh heh!"

As he spoke, Qin Shuang calmly walked behind Wen Fangda. Ignoring his pleas, he held Wen Fangda's jaw with one hand, tilting his head slightly. With his other hand, he gripped the Hatred Severer and slowly, steadily, drew a cut across his neck. Blood splattered onto his orange-patterned black brocade uniform, looking like an inkstone submerged in ink, leaving no trace.

Qin Shuang repeated this three more times, slitting the throats of Wen Fangyi, Wen Fangwu, and Wen Fanglu in turn. Then, he ordered the Dragon Guard members who had recovered their mobility, "Kill the Imperial Guards who surrendered to Western Xia just now. Detoxify the rest and let them go!"

"Just let them go like that?" Jiang Xiaoyu said from the side with some reluctance.

"In the end, they are all citizens of Great Shang. They were just following orders. The fact that they held their ground and didn't surrender in that situation shows they are men of integrity. There's no need to trouble them further!" Qin Shuang explained to Jiang Xiaoyu. He then looked at the surviving Imperial Guards and said, "Regarding today's events, report back truthfully. The one who killed your Centurion is Qin Shuang of the Mystic Tiger of Chaoge, from the Yu Unit of the Divine Department, of the Dragon Guard in Chaoge City, Great Shang."

The sun shone brightly on the pleasant afternoon, as if draping the entire world in a golden veil. The clouds seemed to have melted under the sun's warmth, leaving only a vast expanse of blue in the sky.

The trees lining the official road had leaves that sparkled under the sunlight, each one full of life. A gentle breeze blew, carrying the soft rustling of leaves, the most beautiful music of nature.

Qin Shuang, Ding Ning, Jiang Xiaoyu, and their group traveled towards Chaoge, some on horseback, others by carriage.

The warm sun, the gentle breeze, the relief of successfully completing their mission, and the surprise of capturing Western Xia spies mingled together, slightly easing the regret and sadness over the loss of nine members of their team.

After this battle, Qin Shuang felt an urgent need to improve himself and the martial arts of his entire team. He wanted to strengthen everyone's abilities and no longer wished to see anyone else sacrificed or left behind.

Just as Qin Shuang was contemplating how to convert the merits of this mission into resources for everyone's cultivation, a "whoosh" sound of a signal flare shot into the sky from the woods beside the official road. Black by day, white by night, it was the unique distress signal of the Dragon Guard.

"Little Fish, come with me. Xiao Ding, Brother Hu, take people to guard Ni Pusa and the caravan. Notify the scouts to return and maintain vigilance!" Qin Shuang gave verbal orders while flying towards the location where the signal flare was fired.

From a distance, he saw three agile and rustic swordsmen attacking a woman in red. Their sword moves were continuous, each strike targeting the opponent's weaknesses.

They were using the Taibai Swordplay, renowned for its seamless sword intent, where the sword follows the intent, and the sword precedes the intent!

Qin Shuang knew that many Dragon Guard members had studied under the Taibai Sect, so he naturally assumed these three were from the Dragon Guard. What puzzled him, however, was why they were using a distress flare when they clearly had the upper hand.

However, as Qin Shuang got closer, he saw that the woman in red was around twenty years old, with a beautiful face and a resolute and determined expression. Her movements were elegant, carrying an aura that Qin Shuang was all too familiar with. It was his aunt, Qin Sirong!

"Save her!"

Qin Shuang rushed forward immediately, drawing his saber and blocking the attacks of two Taibai Sect swordsmen. Jiang Xiaoyu, of course, also recognized Qin Sirong and shielded her with the Absolute Defense skill from the Five Absolute Divine Arts.

Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Huai Mie, and Huai Kong, five people in total, attacked. In less than ten moves, they captured the three Taibai Sect swordsmen.

"Shuang'er?" Qin Sirong, seeing that it was indeed Qin Shuang, was surprised and delighted. "I only sent a distress signal as a last resort, trying my luck. I never expected to find our own people nearby, and it's you!"

"Auntie, what happened?" Qin Shuang blurted out, then realized Huai Mie and the others were looking at him strangely for calling such a young woman "Auntie," and felt a bit awkward.

"Our team previously accepted a mission to assassinate a military commander of the Northern Yuan allied nations outside of Liaozhou. After succeeding, we were pursued by martial artists hired by the enemy. The five of us scattered and fled. Not long ago, I was caught by these three, Shi Bingguang, Shi Bingwen, and Li Gang, known as the Three Heroes of Taibai. If you hadn't arrived in time, I would have been in mortal danger," Qin Sirong said, still shaken.

"What Three Heroes of Taibai? The Taibai Sect is a dignified and righteous sect, and its disciples travel the jianghu with renowned reputations. How can these three lackeys serving foreign races be worthy of the title 'hero,' let alone tarnish the name 'Taibai'!" Jiang Xiaoyu said indignantly. "If the Taibai Sect knew what they did, they would be ashamed to have them as fellow disciples!"