The Second Mission

Shen Qian knew something of Yang Yi's background. After speaking, he explained, "The Bloodbane Pill is specially made to target Lan Bloods like us. We have to take the antidote once a month, or our blood and qi will wither away, and in the end we'll turn into pus and die."

That was also why Lü E had spared them and gone to the trouble of bringing them back.

They were two Lan Bloods, after all. They could still be of some use.

As for whether they could seek someone else to detoxify them... different Bloodbane Pills had different formulas, and thus different antidotes. Only the Qiao Household had the antidote to its own Bloodbane Pill.

"The situation is about to descend into chaos." Zhuang Laosan let out a long sigh. "The Liu Lineage suddenly joined forces to attack the Qiao Household, and Shadow Tower is involved as well. I heard that the True Bloods of the various families have fought several times recently."

Of the three realms of cultivation, there were only a handful in the Blood Dragon Realm, and they would not act lightly. Those in the True Blood Realm were the mainstay.

Even when conflicts and disputes arose in the past, True Blood Realm cultivators rarely fought for real.

Yet in only a few short days, battles at that level had already occurred several times. It showed just how grim the situation was.

Once the serious matter was brought up, Qin Siniang lost her teasing mood as well, her expression turning grave. "The Qiao Household seems to have abandoned quite a few outlying territories."

She and Zhuang Laosan had been with the Qiao Household for quite some time, so they naturally had some contacts and channels through which to gather intelligence.

Right now, the Qiao Household was effectively fighting one against two. In terms of sheer scale alone, they could not compare to their enemies. If they wished to survive, they could only shrink their forces and defend themselves.

That was also why she had urgently sent word that day to recall Yang Yi and the others.

When the incident in Clearwind City occurred, several other Qiao Household businesses had also come under enemy attack and suffered considerable losses. With Qiao Yaoyao's intelligence, how could she not understand what sort of situation the Qiao Household was about to face? She immediately made the necessary arrangements.

Fortunately, the Qiao Household's True Bloods had suffered no losses. Even Qiao Junche, who had gone to Clearwind City, had only sustained minor injuries before retreating safely.

"I'm afraid our idle days are gone for good." Zhuang Laosan drank a cup of wine. "We'll probably receive missions very soon."

At those words, everyone's hearts grew heavy.

Even when they had gone out on missions before, they had not been overly dangerous. But this time, the situation was completely different. Once they left Qiao Family Fort, no one knew whether they would return alive.

But an army was raised for a thousand days to be used in one. They had been fed and housed well, never lacking cultivation resources. Now that the Qiao Household needed them to weather hardship together, they naturally could not refuse.

The mission indeed came swiftly.

The very next day, Yang Yi received a summons from Qiao Yaoyao.

When he arrived at Xiude Hall, he spotted two familiar figures at a glance.

They were Qin Siniang and Shen Qian, who had visited him just yesterday.

Seeing him arrive, both Qin Siniang and Shen Qian's eyes lit up. They secretly thought that this was settled.

"Miss." Yang Yi bowed.

"Attendant Yang." Qiao Yaoyao looked somewhat weary. "You three have only just returned from a mission, and you should have had time to rest properly. But you must have heard something of the current situation."

Yang Yi and the other two nodded.

"Everyone in the fort who can be deployed has already been deployed, so I still need the three of you Attendants to carry out a mission!"

"Please tell us, Miss," Yang Yi said solemnly.

"Two days ago, Falling Moon Market was attacked. One Lan Blood Attendant of my Qin Household died in battle, while another returned severely wounded. Falling Moon Market was taken, so I need you to go there and seize it back!"

"Who is the enemy? What are their forces?" Yang Yi asked.

Since this mission involved only him, Qin Siniang, and Shen Qian, he would naturally be the one taking the lead. Qin Siniang and Shen Qian presumably had no objections to that.

Since that was the case, he had to make the intelligence clear.

"Black Wind Stronghold. Though Black Wind Stronghold has six or seven Lan Bloods, their forces are also scattered at present. Only two are stationed at Falling Moon Market now. With your strength, you should be able to take it by surprise and seize it."

Black Wind Stronghold...

What a narrow road for enemies to meet. Yang Yi had come to Qiao Family Fort because of Black Wind Stronghold in the first place.

Although Iron Eagle and his group had already been killed by him and Qiao Wuwang, this grudge could not simply be written off.

Had he not encountered Qiao Wuwang that day, Yang Yi might truly have taken his uncle's family and hidden deep in the mountains.

Still, Black Wind Stronghold actually had six or seven Lan Bloods. That was quite formidable. The several families in Clearwind City only had two each.

"What happens after we take it? Do we need to return, or stay behind to guard it?" Yang Yi asked as thoroughly as possible.

"You'll need to hold it for a period. It is currently the season when Jade Marrow Mushrooms mature, and also the critical time for purchasing Jade Marrow Zhi Powder. You need to guard it, as this concerns next year's supply of Myriad-Treasure Dew."

Jade Marrow Zhi Powder was one of the important raw materials used to make Myriad-Treasure Dew. Falling Moon Market's output accounted for roughly thirty percent of the Qiao Household's share. If it were lost, the Qiao Household's Myriad-Treasure Dew production next year would fall by thirty percent.

That would undoubtedly be a tremendous loss.

Seeming to know what Yang Yi was worried about, Qiao Yaoyao added, "Don't worry. Once the time is about right, I'll have you return."

Yang Yi nodded. Then there would be no problem, so long as it did not delay his cultivation in the Yin-Yang Pool.

"When do we leave?" he asked.

"The sooner, the better!"

"Then we'll return to make some brief preparations and set out."

His decisive manner clearly satisfied Qiao Yaoyao. The young miss earnestly reminded him, "Yang Yi, you are in charge of this mission. Falling Moon Market is important, but preserving yourselves must come first. If things cannot be done, do not force it."

"The two of you as well!" Qiao Yaoyao looked toward Shen Qian and Qin Siniang.

"I am willing to die for the Qiao Household!" Shen Qian suddenly clenched his fist and struck his chest, his gaze resolute.

Yang Yi and Qin Siniang both glanced sideways at him.

After returning to Bamboo Garden and packing his things, Yang Yong and Yang Ya came in.

"Second Brother, you're going out again?" Yang Yong asked.

"Yes, I have a mission to carry out." Yang Yi answered casually.

Yang Ya took the things from Yang Yi's hands and packed them for him. The little girl's face was filled with worry, yet she pressed her lips together without saying a word.

She was naturally gifted and intelligent. Clearly, she had heard something from the rumors of the past few days.

"Why do you have to go out again?" Yang Yong was worried as well. Though they ate and lived well in the Qiao Household, there was one bad thing about it: they had to live at others' mercy, and missions came up at the drop of a hat.

"Big Brother, cultivate properly at home. When you have time, help Uncle and Aunt more." Yang Yong was dull by nature; it would do him no harm to interact with outsiders more often.

Yang Ya handed the bundle to Yang Yi and said softly, "Second Brother, be careful in everything. We'll wait for you to come back."

"I know." Yang Yi placed a large hand on Yang Ya's little head, then pinched her cheeks. "Eat more. It'll be better once you put on some more flesh. I'll be back in a few days."

Yang Ya pursed her lips, unhappy that Yang Yi was treating her like a child.

There was not much more to say. Once he had packed up, Yang Yi left Bamboo Garden.

A black horse was already waiting outside Bamboo Garden, arranged by the Qiao Household. He swung himself onto its back, seized the reins, pressed his legs together, and spurred the horse away.

On the previous mission, he had shared a horse with Qin Siniang. She had sat in front of him each time, and on the way back, Yang Yi had tried riding for a while under her guidance.

Riding by himself now was naturally no problem.

After all, for a Lan Blood like him, this sort of thing was not particularly difficult.

The Martial Peak True Person short drama launched on Red Fruit today. Those interested can go take a look.