After the Battle

A moment later, Yang Yi sat upright in a chair in the main hall of the stronghold, listening to Lu Qianshan's report.

"My lord, we killed seventy-six Black Wind Stronghold bandits in this battle. A dozen or so probably escaped."

There had been no way to wipe them all out. Once the Black Wind Stronghold bandits saw the tide turning against them, they scattered in all directions. It was only because Yang Yi's side had so many Lan Blood martial artists that they had achieved such results.

"How were your casualties?" Yang Yi asked.

"A few brothers died, and over a dozen suffered light injuries," Lu Qianshan replied. Most of the dead had been killed by the enemy's siege crossbows. Golden Saber Hall had prepared quite a few pieces of armor, but against siege crossbows capable of killing Lan Blood martial artists, they had still found it difficult to withstand them.

Once they had truly charged into the stronghold for close combat, their casualties had instead been minimal.

That was also thanks to Yang Yi moving quickly enough. His fierce strike that shattered the gate had not only shaken the enemy's spirits, but had also denied them many chances to fire the siege crossbows.

Otherwise, once they had fallen into a drawn-out stalemate, those few siege crossbows alone would not have been easy to deal with.

"Clean up the battlefield. The three of you Lan Blood martial artists can keep half of the spoils. Distribute the rest among the men. As for the brothers who died, give them double the usual Golden Saber Hall compensation!" Yang Yi waved a hand.

"Thank you, my lord!" Lu Qianshan was moved to tears.

The Golden Saber Hall men were not of much use to Yang Yi, but they were Lu Qianshan's foundation. So many had died today that he had already been prepared to bleed heavily. Now, with Yang Yi's words, he could naturally save quite a bit of silver.

After Lu Qianshan went off to handle the aftermath, Qin Siniang said, "Yang Yi, Cloud Leopard has most likely already sent people to Black Wind Stronghold for reinforcements."

Today, they had first ambushed Duan Hong at Stone Manor, then gathered Golden Saber Hall and come here. There had been a half-hour gap in between.

If Cloud Leopard had even a little sense, he would have sent someone to Black Wind Stronghold to explain the situation.

"I know. But Black Wind Stronghold isn't close to here. Even if they send reinforcements, it will take time." Yang Yi nodded. "By the way, what exactly are the strengths of Black Wind Stronghold's other leaders? Do they have any True Blood martial artists?"

After fighting several battles, Yang Yi had gained a rough understanding of his own strength. Below True Blood, he could handle anyone as he pleased. But he had never encountered a True Blood Realm martial artist before, and had no idea how strong they truly were.

"The other leaders of Black Wind Stronghold are all at Lan Blood. Only their chief, Hu Zhang, entered True Blood two years ago!" Qin Siniang naturally knew this intelligence well.

Shen Qian nodded from the side as well. "I heard about it two years ago too. Black Wind Stronghold was arrogant for quite a while afterward."

"So this Hu Zhang only entered True Blood not long ago?" Yang Yi seemed lost in thought.

"That wouldn't be wrong..."

"I understand." Yang Yi nodded.

If that was the case, there was no need to fear him. Yang Yi was confident that with his current strength, even if he could not defeat a True Blood martial artist, he would certainly be able to escape alive from one—especially since Hu Zhang had only been in True Blood for two years, which did not make him particularly strong within that realm.

If the other side did not come, so be it. But if he did, Yang Yi truly wanted to clash with him!

"Send someone back to Qiao Family Fort to deliver a message to the young lady. Tell her what happened here and let her be happy... Forget it, I'll write to her myself." Yang Yi suddenly changed his mind.

Shen Qian smiled. "The young lady probably never expected us to wipe out the Black Wind Stronghold outpost and retake this place so quickly!"

It truly was something impossible to have anticipated. Through the previous mission, Qiao Yaoyao had indeed thought very highly of Yang Yi, even letting him lead this time. Yet she had only expected Yang Yi and the others to plot things out slowly after arriving. Who could have known that they would succeed without wasting any time at all?

Once the news got back, Qiao Family Fort would likely be shaken.

Aside from the gate, the stronghold's many defensive fortifications had not suffered much damage. Now that Lu Qianshan had moved in with Golden Saber Hall, there was no need to worry about its defense.

Shen Qian admired Yang Yi more and more. If Yang Yi had not subdued Lu Qianshan, then even if they had taken the stronghold now, the three Lan Blood martial artists alone would have had plenty to worry about.

A short while later, Lu Qianshan returned. "My lord, everything has been arranged. It is already late tonight, so the gate will have to be dealt with tomorrow."

Yang Yi was writing a letter.

Though the people in this stronghold were all bandits, they had brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. They had likely been left behind by the Qiao Household.

"Understood." Without raising his head, Yang Yi wrote a few more characters before looking at Lu Qianshan. "Is there anything else?"

Lu Qianshan gave a sly chuckle but said nothing.

Shen Qian immediately understood. "Yang Yi, if there is nothing else, Qin Siniang and I will go rest first."

After traveling day and night from Qiao Family Fort to this place, then fighting battle after battle, even an iron-forged body was beginning to fail them.

"Go on." Yang Yi nodded.

"You should rest early too," Qin Siniang said with concern.

After Shen Qian and Qin Siniang left, Yang Yi finally spoke. "Go on. What is it?"

Lu Qianshan said, "Would my lord like some women to attend to you? I keep some women at my residence. If my lord has need of them, I can send them over."

"That's all?" Yang Yi glanced at him.

Lu Qianshan smiled apologetically.

"No need. Enjoy them yourself. Put more effort into the night patrol tonight." Though there was unlikely to be any problem, there was no harm in being cautious.

"Rest assured, my lord. I will patrol personally and ensure there are no oversights!" Lu Qianshan had kicked the horse's leg instead of flattering it, and hurriedly declared his loyalty.

Yang Yi waved him away.

After another while, he finally put down his brush and examined the letter's contents. Once he was sure there were no issues, he folded it, called for Lu Qianshan again, and handed him the letter. "Find someone reliable to deliver this to Qiao Family Fort and give it to Young Lady Qiao."

"Yes!" Lu Qianshan accepted the order.

Only then did Yang Yi rise, stretch his limbs, and head outside, intending to find somewhere to sleep.

"My lord, do you need to rest?" A Golden Saber Hall disciple standing at the door saw him come out and asked respectfully.

"Mhm."

"My lord, please follow me. The hall master has reserved the best room for you." As he spoke, the Golden Saber Hall disciple led the way.

Though the stronghold had quite a few rooms, some were good and some were poor. Now that everyone had newly moved in, Lu Qianshan had already assigned them, so there was no need to fight over them.

Naturally, the largest and best room had been reserved for Yang Yi.

Seeing that Lu Qianshan had even arranged such a small matter, Yang Yi was quite satisfied.

This underling truly had no backbone, but he was very good at handling affairs.

They soon arrived outside a room. Yang Yi pushed open the door and entered.

Candles had already been lit inside, so it was not too dim.

He walked straight to the bed, looked at the slightly raised blanket, and revealed a thoughtful expression.

Then he reached out and lifted the blanket. A curvaceous figure immediately entered his sight...

Someone was lying on the bed.

She wore only close-fitting underclothes and lay slightly on her side. Her chest was full and rounded, gleaming like jade beneath the candlelight, enough to stir one's heart.

Her eyes were shut, and her breathing was steady, as though she were asleep.

Yang Yi stared at her for a moment, silently pulled the blanket back over her, shut the door, and walked outside.

The Golden Saber Hall disciple who had led him there had not left. Lu Qianshan had instructed him to wait here after bringing Yang Yi over, so that if Yang Yi needed anything, someone would be ready to handle it at once.

"My lord?" The Golden Saber Hall disciple stared at Yang Yi in astonishment.

Yang Yi sniffed, feeling something sticky. He reached up to wipe it—and his hand was covered in blood...