Melee

"Hong Ling, sit down and don't make a sound."

Hong Ling covered her mouth, her shoulders trembling as she shrank into the corner of the carriage like a startled quail.

Cui Xijun lifted a corner of the Soft Smoke Gauze and looked outside, seeing only the magnificent mountain scenery ahead of the carriage.

The disturbance occurred toward the rear of the convoy.

Shouts of battle, screams, the clashing of blades... all sorts of sounds blended into a chaotic mess, yet she could see nothing.

Cui Xijun tried pushing the carriage door, only to find it wouldn't budge.

At some point, the door had been jammed shut, making it impossible to open.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Outside the carriage.

Archers in the dense forest on both sides of the narrow path were firing arrows incessantly.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Dense arrows fell like rain, arriving in the blink of an eye.

The guards and servants at the rear of the convoy screamed continuously as they were struck by arrows and fell one after another.

The unfortunate ones were turned into hedgehogs by the volley of arrows before they could even let out a cry, becoming corpses instantly.

Cai He crouched in the thicket, his eyes locked onto the convoy within the ambush zone.

After several waves of arrow rain, Cai He looked toward the rear of the Cui Family convoy.

However, as far as his eyes could reach, the end of the mountain path was empty.

The Liu Family's carriages had not appeared at the designated location.

As the leader of the group, Cai He seemed to sense something, and a wave of wild joy surged across his face.

He had been licking blood off the edge of a blade for over a decade; he knew the nature of those noble families all too well.

If they had followed the original plan and waited for the Liu Family to signal before attacking, once they finished off the Cui Family guards, the Liu Family's private soldiers would have struck them from behind.

By then, none of them would have been able to escape; the Liu Family would certainly have silenced them.

That was why he had made preparations in advance, felling trees to block the convoy and create chaos.

They would simply loot the valuables from both the Cui Family and the Liu Family and leave.

This was the plan they had made from the very beginning.

He just hadn't expected that plans couldn't keep up with changes.

The Liu Family hadn't followed them at all!

The veteran brothers beside him were already looking his way, and Cai He knew he couldn't hold them back any longer.

He stood up immediately and roared, "The Liu Family has no honor, so we won't wait either. Move now, loot everything, and leave no survivors!"

"Yaohe!"

A dozen men drew their blades from their waists and charged out of the dense forest, rushing into the Cui Family convoy like tigers descending from the mountains.

The shouts of battle shook the heavens.

A Mortal Shedding realm guard raised his shield and charged toward Cai He.

Cai He casually slashed horizontally; the blade struck the shield, splitting it in two.

The guard was sent flying along with his shield, slamming into the rock wall three zhang away, his head lolling as he instantly lost his breath.

Another guard attempted a flank attack.

Cai He backhanded his blade, the spine of the sword smashing into the guard's shoulder blade. The bone shattered on the spot, and the guard collapsed, sinking half a head shorter into the ground.

He moved forward unhurriedly, as if taking a leisurely stroll.

No techniques, no stances—just one strike per person.

To him, these Mortal Shedding martial artists were no different from cats or dogs; they were all just one strike away from death.

Yin Xiaoran, standing at the rear of the carriage, saw this scene, and his expression shifted slightly.

This vicious bandit was actually a Dragon Elephant martial artist!

He gripped his blade tightly and, without hesitation, charged toward Cai He.

Bang!

The two blades collided, sparks flying everywhere, the ear-piercing sound of the clash making eardrums ache.

The hard ground beneath their feet shattered simultaneously, and the shockwave rippled outward from the center of the two men.

The surrounding gravel was swept away by the invisible air wave, clattering against the rock wall like a rain of stones.

Cai He glanced down at the web of his hand, where fresh blood was seeping from a wound.

He twitched the corner of his mouth, his expression turning solemn as he cast aside his previous contempt.

Yin Xiaoran brought his second strike down; before the blade even arrived, the wind of the blow had already scattered the gravel on the ground.

Cai He rolled to the side, then spun his twin blades, shearing forward with the force of a thousand catties.

Yin Xiaoran raised his blade to parry.

The impact of a strike delivered with the power of the Dragon Elephant realm was like a giant wave crashing against the shore, surging through the blade and numbing his arms.

He unleashed the full force of his strength.

Cai He retreated several steps before steadying himself, the ground beneath his feet shattering inch by inch, leaving a trail of deep, sunken footprints.

He looked up, his face brimming with murderous intent, and lunged forward again without a word.

His twin blades moved faster and faster, every strike lethal, every move a killing blow.

Yin Xiaoran spotted an opening and brought his blade down.

Cai He dodged to the side, the edge grazing his chest, and he seized the chance to flick his wrist in a counter-strike.

Yin Xiaoran did not retreat but advanced instead, taking the blow head-on with his shoulder.

Puchi.

A mist of blood sprayed from the gash, blooming like a flower in the air.

Yin Xiaoran pressed forward, using the opportunity to trade injury for injury, slashing into Cai He's arm.

Following this, neither man cared for their wounds, trading blow after blow like two savage beasts locked in a death match.

The precious blades, forged from tempered steel, were notched and scarred by their violent power, iron filings raining down between them.

Within moments, the blades in both men's hands were reduced to scrap metal, the edges shattered and useless.

Almost simultaneously, they discarded their broken weapons and clashed with fists and palms.

Every collision of fist and palm carried the weight of a thousand catties.

The air was compressed into dull, explosive booms, sounding like thunder.

The gravel on the surrounding ground crumbled continuously beneath their feet, shards flying in every direction.

A stray palm wind swept against the wall of the carriage behind Yin Xiaoran, leaving a shallow dent in the Zhenyue Heavy Wood panel and sending wood chips flying.

Bang!

Both men took a hit from the other and flew backward.

Yin Xiaoran slammed into the carriage and slumped down.

He tried to stand, but found he had no strength left, forced to kneel on one knee to block the carriage.

When he opened his mouth, blood foam bubbled from between his teeth, dripping down his chin.

It mingled with the blood flowing from his shoulder blade, pooling into a dark red puddle on the ground.

Cai He was in better shape than him, having sustained no fundamental injuries.

He swallowed the sweetness rising in his throat, forcibly calming his roiling insides, then wiped the blood from his mouth, his gaze icy.

By now, the shouts of the guards had grown sparse.

Someone begged for mercy, but the plea was cut short by a blade, and the scene fell completely silent.

The guards were all dead or wounded, and those lucky enough to survive lay on the ground, no one left to stop them.

Cai He stood by the carriage and turned his head to look toward the other side of the mountain path.

The Liu Family should be arriving soon.

He did not want to be trapped here by the Liu Family, so he ordered, "Grab it and go. Leave no survivors."

Inside the carriage, Hong Ling was already crying in terror; she tugged at Cui Xijun's sleeve, trembling all over, "Third Miss, what do we do?"

"Don't panic." Cui Xijun pulled her close, letting her lean on her shoulder, and whispered, "Don't cry. No matter what happens later, don't make a sound."

Hong Ling covered her mouth, large tears falling, but she did not make another sound.

Cui Xijun drew a Skirt-Pressing Blade from her calf, gripped it in her palm, and hid it behind her back.

Just then, Cai He outside the carriage suddenly caught the faint scent of rouge.

His footsteps faltered as if he had sensed something, and he looked down at the back of his hand.

He discovered that the veins on his hand seemed to have come alive, writhing frantically like earthworms burrowing beneath his skin.

Deep in the forest, Chen Ye raised his crossbow.

The dull thud of the bowstring snapping back erupted.

The arrow flew from the string like a lightning bolt.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow flew straight toward Cai He's position, striking with lightning speed and pinpoint accuracy at the back of his neck.