Hidden Water Disciple, Yellow Turban Ruffian

"Oh? An urgent message by Kestrel? Bring it in quickly."

From behind the beaded curtain in the attic, a beautiful, slender, and voluptuous figure emerged.

The disciple delivering the message dared not even glance at her and immediately stepped forward, bowing respectfully, offering the letter with both hands.

The woman behind the beaded curtain took the letter and waved her hand. The disciple quickly retreated outside the door but did not dare to leave.

The sound of rustling paper filled the air. After a moment, a woman's sigh came from behind the beaded curtain, and she murmured.

"I never expected so much to happen in Linyuan City while I was in seclusion. Fortunately, Chu Ge is fine; he even broke through to the Bone Training Realm. His martial arts talent seems quite good."

After reading the contents of the letter, she learned that Linyuan City had been attacked by Corpse Drivers and that her younger brother, Chu Ge, was preparing to leave Linyuan City for Jiangcheng Prefecture.

The Hidden Water Sect was located in Hidden Snow Peak, within the jurisdiction of Jiangcheng Prefecture, about six hundred li away.

After a moment of thought, she beckoned again.

The disciple waiting outside immediately entered.

"Take my waist token and find Steward Yu. Have him send two outstanding outer sect disciples to pick up my brother. He should arrive in Jiangcheng Prefecture within five days."

"Yes!"

The disciple quickly and respectfully took the waist token.

At this moment, a clear male voice came from outside the door, "Junior Sister Chu, you only recently broke through to the Force Condensation Realm, and your cultivation is not yet stable. Why worry about other trivial matters and delay your own martial arts cultivation? Let your senior brother handle it."

The woman behind the beaded curtain's eyes turned cold upon hearing this, and she replied displeasedly, "My own family matters, concerning my own brother, how can they be called trivial matters?"

A tall figure appeared at the door, chuckling, "It was my mistake in speaking. My Lin family has some influence in the prefectural city. When your brother arrives, perhaps I can fulfill my duty as a host and entertain him."

"Thank you for your kind offer, Senior Brother Lin, but there's no need to trouble you. I will handle my brother's affairs myself."

After politely declining, the woman behind the beaded curtain, seemingly unable to bear the persistence of the Senior Brother Lin, exchanged a few more words before finally using cultivation as an excuse to dismiss him.

The Senior Brother Lin, his face grim, left. He paused by the mountain path, frowning, then suddenly let out a light laugh, as if he had thought of something amusing.

"Chu Feixue, you are proud, but I like that noble demeanor of yours. You are noble enough, but I wonder if your brother can withstand temptation!"

The thought of how Chu Feixue had been somewhat polite to him before breaking through to the Force Condensation Realm, only to become cold and distant after achieving it, made him grit his teeth in anger.

Clearly, she had been merely going through the motions to deceive him before.

Now that she truly possessed strength, she couldn't even be bothered to pretend.

"It's also my fault for being too soft-hearted. Now that this little vixen has reached Force Condensation, it's even harder for me to make a move.

But since her brother is coming, perhaps this is an opening. If I can capture her brother as well, it should be quite interesting. My Sun Moon Divine Art might see great progress."

Traveling north along the waterway of the Xue Men River leads directly to the mighty Yangtze River, heading towards Jiangcheng Prefecture.

The nearly thousand-li waterway journey was relatively smooth.

Occasionally, when the wind and waves were strong, the water surface would surge and churn, with rolling waves like ten thousand horses galloping, carrying merchant ships at full speed.

More often, the wind was calm, and there were no bandits to disturb them.

However, after two days, the ship had entered the Yangtze River and was gradually approaching a riverside town within the jurisdiction of Jiangcheng Prefecture.

Under the sunlight, the golden ripples on the river resembled thousands of swimming golden snakes.

Hundreds of ships were anchored here.

Amidst the shimmering water, fishing boats were casting off their mooring lines with the tide, drifting with the waves.

On a fishing boat stood a maiden, her body drenched, with white teeth and red lips. Her face glowed with healthy red light in the sun as she sang a fishing song.

Chu Ge stood by the window, witnessing this scene, feeling his distant thoughts unfurl and his spirits soar. He thought that the Shadow Puppets would have another piece of material. He smiled.

"Do you like the fishing girl? If you do, I'll make one for you another day."

"Hee, hee hee!"

From behind him came a strange giggling sound. A purple-clothed girl with two adorable dimples walked over.

It was the Shadow Puppet, possessed by Little Sprite Qian.

However, Xiao Qian could not speak. Even though Chu Ge had specially made a sound-producing paper box for the Shadow Puppet, Xiao Qian could only make simple sounds.

In the past two days, with Xiao Qian's assistance in cultivation, Chu Ge's Qi and Blood had improved significantly. His imposing aura and tall, sturdy physique appeared even more robust, with muscles beneath his collar as hard and knotted as rocks.

At this moment, seeing the ship docking, Chu Ge instructed Xiao Qian to hide in the box, then put on his cloak and left the room.

He felt that spending two days on the water had been rather boring and dull.

Logically, when traveling in such chaotic times, shouldn't there be encounters with bandits on the road?

To be cautious, he had already made preparations, but the journey had been peaceful.

Perhaps there were few water bandits or pirates who preyed on ships within the Great Zhou.

That day, everyone rested at the town and enjoyed the delicacies of other water towns.

The next day, they switched to carriages and continued on their way with some merchant caravans.

Along the way, they only heard the guards in the caravan mention that the roads had been unstable recently.

Even the official road leading to the prefectural city was still over a thousand li away, and there were frequent robberies by scattered bandits from the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult or the Yellow Turban Sect.

There were also some mountain bandits from other peaks and water villages who had become outlaws.

In such times, it could be said that monsters and demons ran rampant, with all sorts of people gathering.

"It's not peaceful, it's not peaceful, but I haven't seen any trace of those lunatics from the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult. Maybe we'll be lucky and reach the Prefectural City safely this time."

Chu Ge rode his tall horse, witnessing elderly people by the roadside in some surrounding villages digging for something. He guessed they were digging for wild vegetables to fill their stomachs, and he couldn't help but sigh.

During the Great Zhou's prosperous past, such scenes were probably rarely seen.

The caravan continued for another two days. Along the way, they encountered some suspicious individuals from a distance who looked like robbers.

However, upon seeing the caravan's size and the robust figures of Chu Ge and the others, these individuals wisely retreated.

Chu Ge muttered to himself, Bandits aren't stupid either. They know when to back off if someone looks tough.

Yet, after only half a day, he felt the yellow paper in his belt becoming hot and black. The Auspicious Ruyi Charm hanging on the carriage also began to shake violently.

"Chu Ge, you need to be careful."

At this moment, Wang Xiuyun, who was riding beside him, slowed her horse and approached Chu Ge, saying gravely, "Those two groups we saw from afar these past two days, although they retreated, I feel like they were scouting us out beforehand. There might be more trouble coming."

Chu Ge's palm touched the yellow paper in his belt and he nodded slightly, saying, "Xiuyun, you certainly have a lot of experience in the martial world."

He glanced at the shaking charm on the carriage, then calmly shifted his gaze to the distant surrounding mountains and forests, his expression also becoming serious.

The charm was shaking quite violently, and the yellow paper was burning hot. It predicted disaster.

This proved that what was coming next was likely no ordinary bandits.

With the current strength of their guards and the caravan's guards, unless he was willing to reveal his true strength, it would be difficult to pass through.

"Why don't we speed up and rush through this area first?"

Chu Ge looked at Wang Xiuyun and said.

Wang Xiuyun was startled and hesitated.

The caravan also had a master of the Bone Training Realm, as well as several Martial Cultivators of the Muscle Refining Realm.

If they separated and left immediately, and were intercepted and surrounded ahead, it would likely be even more troublesome.

Just as she was about to persuade him otherwise, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from both the front and rear roads, kicking up dust that swirled into the sky like a whirlwind.

Through the dust, several powerful warriors emerged.

They were all clad in leather or animal skins, wearing various ferocious and terrifying Yellow Turban Helmets on their heads. Longbows and quivers were strapped to their backs, filled with arrows, making them look exceptionally fierce.

"Not good! It's the fiends from the Yellow Turban Sect!"

"Quick, quick! Grab your valuables and rush into the forest!"

The caravan ahead panicked first, with shouts erupting.

"It's the Yellow Turban Sect!" Wang Xiuyun's expression also changed instantly, her pretty face turning grim.

Seeing the caravan members, the leader of the group of Yellow Turban warriors let out a yell, raising his whip into the air. It whistled in a circle before falling heavily onto his horse's flank.

"Hiss—"

The strong horse cried out in pain and charged forward like an arrow. His companions quickly drew their bows and fired.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—"

Arrows turned into seven or eight black dots, like deadly locusts, whistling as they flew swiftly.

In the caravan ahead, someone was immediately hit, blood spurting out, a terrifying sight.

As one wave subsided, another began.

Arrows also shot rapidly from the rear. One of them tore through the air with a "whoosh" as it approached.

Chu Ge frowned and quickly dodged.

With a flick of his finger, with a "clack," another arrow was deflected, hitting the carriage behind him, its tail feathers still humming and trembling.

"Ah—!"

A scream suddenly came from beside him.

Chu Ge was startled and looked back, only to see blood gushing from a groom's throat. He made gurgling sounds and died on the spot.

His expression also turned grim. These Yellow Turban Sect members were indeed rebels.

They were completely dishonorable, using the heavy bows and crossbows strictly forbidden by the Great Zhou. They were too brutal.

"Tap, tap—"

From inside the carriage, Xiao Qian seemed to sense the danger and began to move, transmitting a message to Chu Ge, asking if he needed her to possess someone to help.