The Gongsun Family's Business

Burdened by the three women's weakness, and with the occasional lone Xuanlan Wolf Demon launching attacks, Wei Xuanfeng's group could not move quickly. After more than two days of travel, they had only reached within ten-odd li of Kang City.

Yet these ten-odd li were not easy to cross.

The four of them had to traverse a small mountain before they could return to Kang City.

Once they entered the mountain and reached the depths of a dense forest, Wei Xuanfeng suddenly stopped.

"Old Wei, why'd you stop?" Fox Murong whispered by his ear.

"Someone's here. And they don't come with good intentions."

"Don't tell me we're that unlucky—we ran into bandits..."

The area around Kang City was all mountains. Some down-and-out martial artists, seeking a way to survive, naturally chose to take to the hills and become bandits.

Had it not been for the mess involving Yang Xuyan and Elder Mo, the best battlefield experience for a newcomer like Wei Xuanfeng would have been wiping out bandits.

"If they really are bandits..." Wei Xuanfeng looked at Jiao Yu. "Boss, how about I carry you all and run?"

Of the four, two had trouble moving, while one was practically crippled.

With only Wei Xuanfeng himself able to fight, he truly feared something might happen to the three women.

"Run?" Jiao Yu's willow brows shot up. "Your boss can't afford to lose that much face!"

"Boss, don't try to act tough..."

But before Wei Xuanfeng could finish, Jiao Yu had already taken the lead and strode ahead...

From the way she carried herself, she seemed to be saying, Whoever dares kill me, come at me.

But Wei Xuanfeng knew that, in her current state, she might not even be a match for a Soft-Boned Rabbit Demon.

"Ah, Boss really is all breasts and no... forget it. You two, get yourselves moving."

Wei Xuanfeng spoke to Wen Shihan and Fox Murong.

Over the past few days, whenever they encountered Xuanlan Wolf Demons, Wei Xuanfeng had always been the one to act.

So as not to burden him, the two women would tie themselves to him...

Wen Shihan said nothing. She took out the chain of her meteor hammer and, in a few swift motions, bundled herself up like a "parcel." Then, with practiced ease, she slipped into Wei Xuanfeng's arms, her long legs locking around his waist like an octopus's tentacles.

Fox Murong followed suit, tying the end of the rope on her shoulder to the one on Wen Shihan's. Wei Xuanfeng felt for the knots and secured their ankles, arranging it so that the two pairs of legs lay one above the other, each pair wrapped around one person.

Wen Shihan and Fox Murong's trouser legs had long since been shredded beyond recognition. Since Wei Xuanfeng could not see, he could only feel his way up their smooth bare legs to tie the rope ends.

As for where he touched, and where he brushed against...

Once everything was settled, the two young women were like two slabs of "human flesh armor," pressed tightly against him and hanging securely from his left and right shoulders.

Though this method robbed him of much of his agility, it protected them as thoroughly as possible.

Wen Shihan and Fox Murong each hung from one shoulder, their arms crossed over one another. The posture—especially on Wen Shihan's side—was truly not convenient to look at too closely.

Fortunately, after all these days, the three of them had grown used to the awkwardness of rubbing and pressing against one another.

Breathing in the two natural, subtle fragrances, Wei Xuanfeng's fighting spirit instead blazed ever fiercer.

"Boss, wait for us!"

With his embroidered spring saber in hand, he hurried after Jiao Yu.

"You brat, you're taking advantage of those two gi—watch out!"

The instant Jiao Yu turned her head, she saw several black shadows racing toward Wei Xuanfeng.

Their terrifying speed tore through the air with sharp howls, and they were about to strike Wei Xuanfeng in the blink of an eye.

"Don't worry, Boss!"

Wei Xuanfeng remained utterly calm, casually flicking up his embroidered spring saber.

A flash of cold light streaked through the air, and six concealed weapons clattered to the ground.

Weighing the arrows by their heft, he judged that the archer's cultivation was limited, and his heart eased.

Unwilling to weave through the forest with two women on his back, he raised his voice and called out.

"May I ask which friends are present? Would you care to show yourselves?"

After a brief pause, a shrill whistle rang out through the forest. Six men emerged one after another from the bushes on either side, all with black cloth covering their faces and simple sabers in hand.

The leader stepped forward from the group and cupped his fists. "Brother, fine saber work. We meant no offense just now."

Halfway through his words, Wen Shihan and Fox Murong happened to turn their faces toward him.

The bandit leader's gaze fell upon the two women's faces, and he froze completely, swallowing the rest of his words.

Just moments ago, he had merely thought the three of them looked ridiculous huddled together. Now, he wished more than anything that Wei Xuanfeng would drop dead on the spot!!

How had such boundless good fortune with women fallen into the hands of a brat like this?

"Offense..." Wei Xuanfeng smiled. "Do you even know how to rob travelers? Your first line should be: 'This mountain was opened by me, these trees were planted by me. If you wish to pass this way, leave behind your toll money!'"

Wen Shihan and Fox Murong could not help pursing their lips. They had not expected him to snatch that bandit line right into his own mouth.

The bandit chief looked at the two women's sweetly smiling faces, and the bones throughout his body went a little soft. Yet when he saw the undisguised contempt in their eyes, the little comfort in his heart instantly turned cold. Wei Xuanfeng's earlier teasing resurfaced in his mind, and he immediately sobered up.

"Brat, you're tired of living! Your saber skills look decent, so I'll give you a way to live! Leave behind the three women and the silver, and I'll let you go."

"I have silver, but I can't give it to you. As for them," Wei Xuanfeng said with a smile, "they're all my women, so I definitely can't give them to you either."

The two women had been watching the show, but now both secretly trembled.

Fox Murong pinched his back several times in a row.

As for Jiao Yu, she shot him a fierce glare, yet did not speak up to refute him.

"Since when did the renowned Beauty Jiao become the woman of an unknown nobody like you?" The bandit chief snorted. "Brat, if you know what's good for you, let them go and get lost. Anger me, and you'll get no good end."

"You know me?" Jiao Yu demanded, knitting her brows.

"A fiery beauty like you—who in Kang City doesn't know of you?"

"If you know my name, you still dare rob me?"

"Ordinarily, I naturally wouldn't." The bandit chief gave a lewd grin. "But now... beauty, that brat has worked you so hard your legs have gone weak. What is there for me to fear?"

As soon as the words fell, the surrounding bandits all sized up Jiao Yu and the other two women in unison, drool nearly spilling from their eyes.

Today was their first time coming down the mountain, and they had run into Wei Xuanfeng's group. At a glance, the bandit chief had seen that these people's steps were unsteady and their internal strength utterly empty!

Jiao Yu flew into a rage and was about to act.

"Boss, leave everything to me." Wei Xuanfeng cut her off.

"Brat, you're fucking arrogant!"

The bandit chief, humiliated into fury, raised his saber and hacked straight at him.

Wei Xuanfeng gave a cold snort. Neither dodging nor evading, he met the blow head-on with his Embroidered Spring Saber.

More than ten paces separated them, yet in the span of two breaths, he had already closed in. Though he struck later, his blade arrived first, its momentum swift as lightning.

The bandit chief had not expected his saber to be so fast. In panic, he raised his sword to block. Wei Xuanfeng's lips curled as he poured sixty percent of his internal strength into the blade.

The two weapons collided. A heart-rending force traveled through the weapons and pierced straight into the bandit chief's organs. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot and staggered backward.

Only then did the other bandits react, rushing in with raised sabers to surround him. Wei Xuanfeng spun and unleashed two Whirlwind Slashes in succession. Not only did he twist apart all four blades that came near him, he also cleaved down the heads of four men who had failed to dodge in time.

Blood sprayed down like rain. The remaining five men's eyes reddened as they charged forward without fear of death.

The bandit chief had yet to dispel the internal force that had invaded his body, and stood where he was, still struggling to catch his breath.

Wei Xuanfeng gave them no chance to form an encirclement. Relying on the keen edge of his Embroidered Spring Saber, he struck first. Saber-light spun like a wheel as he hacked at the men behind one blow after another.

The bandits knew full well that the long saber was sharp, but they could not withstand an assault as swift as a ghost. Instinctively, they raised their weapons to block, intending to borrow the force to retreat and make room for their companions to close in around him.

Unfortunately, every one of Wei Xuanfeng's strikes carried the full strength of his body. Five crisp clangs rang out in succession. Their weapons all snapped, and the men fell in turn.

Fox Murong's eyes could not keep up with the battle. Hearing five sounds merge into one, she knew the victory had already been decided.

Wen Shihan had sharp eyes and saw clearly that every one of Wei Xuanfeng's strikes broke a weapon and killed a man in one seamless motion.

Nine mountain bandits at the Martial Master realm had not even caused half a decent bit of trouble before they all died beneath his saber.

So this was the Martial Master realm...

Even Jiao Yu had to admit in her heart that it had been clean and decisive.

Turning an ambush into a counterattack in the blink of an eye, every strike taking a life without the slightest drag—after the whole fight, not even a bead of sweat had appeared on Wei Xuanfeng.

He flicked the remaining blood from his blade and slowly walked toward the bandit chief.

Seeing him approach, the bandit chief staggered backward. He had watched helplessly as his men were dealt with like vegetables beneath another's blade, and together with the shadow of his defeat in that earlier exchange, his courage had long since shattered.

Wei Xuanfeng advanced unhurriedly, every step steady and firm.

"G-good sir, don't kill me... We... we might even be related..." the bandit chief stammered, his voice trembling.

"Huh?" Wei Xuanfeng had been ready to end it with a single stroke, but paused at those words.

"R-really," the bandit chief said, his throat seeming stuffed with sand. "My master is also a demon slayer of the Demon Suppression Directorate. Maybe... maybe you know each other..."

"Who is your master?"

"The Gongsun Family's Gongsun Su."

The instant those three words entered her ears, Fox Murong's little face turned icy.

"Old Wei," she said flatly, "kill him."