This Is Too Absurd

"He really couldn't be judged by ordinary Lan Blood standards, but this... this was simply too absurd." Second Uncle Qiao still could not believe it.

What happened in Clearwind City had been reported verbally to Qiao Yaoyao by Lü E. Second Uncle Qiao only knew the general course of events and the outcome, so naturally he did not know that even Lan Bloods such as Song Can and Zhao Buyou had been no match for Yang Yi's single punch.

Qiao Yaoyao had deliberately concealed part of it. No matter what, Yang Yi had been recommended into the stronghold by Qiao Wuwang, so he was naturally on her side.

Thus, compared to Second Uncle Qiao's doubts, she had basically believed it already.

"Send someone to Falling Moon Market to verify the situation," Second Uncle Qiao suggested.

Qiao Yaoyao nodded. "Verification is certainly necessary. But if Falling Moon Market truly is as Yang Yi reported, Black Wind Stronghold will never let this rest... Tie Shan, send word to Attendant Zhou Hai. Have him keep a close watch on Hu Zhang's movements. If anything unusual happens, report back at once!"

When Qiao Yaoyao had sent Yang Yi to Falling Moon Market, she had never expected him to move so quickly. She had thought that even if Yang Yi and the others succeeded, it would take some time. In that case, the conflict at Falling Moon Market would only be between Lan Bloods for the time being.

With Yang Yi's abilities, he would have been more than capable of handling it.

But now that Falling Moon Market had been seized and Black Wind Stronghold had lost two chieftains, how could Hu Zhang possibly let it go?

Once he received the news, he would definitely make a move.

Therefore, Hu Zhang's whereabouts had to be closely monitored. At present, the enemy's and their own True Bloods were all keeping an eye on one another. The one watching Hu Zhang was a Grade-A Attendant of the Qiao Household named Zhou Hai.

As long as Hu Zhang did not go to Falling Moon Market, Yang Yi's side would not be in any danger.

Dawn was about to break, and the moonlight faded away.

Yang Yi carried Qin Siniang and the others' weapons as he leaped out of the pit. He returned the three weapons to their owners, yawned, and said, "Let's head back."

Though this night had not allowed the three weapons to absorb Moonlight Essence to their limits, they were not far off.

The reason the Moonlight Saber and Moonlight Sword had been completed in a single night was because of the accumulation of the previous ten years. In that regard, Qin Siniang and the others' weapons were somewhat lacking.

Yang Yi did not intend to do this again. The main reason was that, after these two nights, another crack had appeared on the Source Crystal. It meant ten days of repairs had gone down the drain.

Besides, doing this also drained his mental energy to a certain extent.

For now, Qin Siniang and the others' weapons were sufficient. There was no need to nitpick over trifles.

Upon returning to Stone Manor, he fell into bed and slept.

The next two days passed without incident. Aside from cultivating the Body Tempering Technique and the Azure Sea Tide-Rising Saber, Yang Yi sought guidance in swordsmanship from Shen Qian and Lu Qianshan. His days were full to the brim.

Two days later, someone arrived from the Qiao Household.

They brought Qiao Yaoyao's letter, along with a pair of Messenger Birds.

Messenger Birds were a type of bird no bigger than a palm. They could fly a thousand li in a day and were used to deliver messages.

With them, sending word to the Qiao Household in the future would be much more convenient.

Clearly, Qiao Yaoyao had specially sent them over because of the merit he had earned this time.

Yang Yi had someone settle the visitors in before opening the letter.

Elegant, graceful handwriting came into view. There was nothing particularly special in the letter's contents. It was merely praise for his good work this time, followed by words of encouragement.

At the end, it mentioned Hu Zhang. It informed him that the Qiao Household had a True Blood watching Hu Zhang's movements, so he need not worry too much, and so on...

After reading the letter and pondering for a moment, Yang Yi called out, "Someone, bring me brush, ink, and paper!"

He wanted to write a reply.

Once he had finished, he took out a Messenger Bird, stuffed the letter into the message tube beneath its leg, and raised his hand to release it.

Several more days passed in a blur.

Qiao Household, Xiude Hall.

Qiao Yaoyao held her forehead as she looked at the letter before her, a headache coming on. "What is this boy trying to do?!"

Ever since Falling Moon Market had been equipped with a pair of Messenger Birds, Yang Yi had sent a letter nearly every day. The problem was that these letters contained nothing substantial. Either he was sending her greetings, or asking about Uncle Yang's family. Not once did he mention longing, yet his longing overflowed between every line.

Tie Shan stood beside her in silent restraint.

Though Qiao Yaoyao had asked the question, how could she not understand Yang Yi's intentions?

Judging from his letters, he missed his family and wished to return. But in truth, that brat was probably thinking about the Yin-Yang Pool...

After all, she had personally promised him that before.

Yang Yi was afraid she might forget, so every day he subtly reminded her once.

But how could she forget?

In fact, the situation at Falling Moon Market had stabilized. The Qiao Household's trade caravan was already on the road, and she had been preparing to have Yang Yi return to enter the Yin-Yang Pool.

It was only that someone was still using the Yin-Yang Pool at present, so he needed to wait a few more days.

"Enough, enough..." Qiao Yaoyao had been bombarded into submission by those diligent greetings. If someone unaware of the truth saw this, they might think Yang Yi had taken a fancy to her and was writing her love letters every day.

Though that would not exactly be unacceptable, she was still the Qiao Household's eldest daughter. Matters of marriage had to be treated with care.

"Have him come back. Once he finishes cultivating, he can go over there later!" Qiao Yaoyao made up her mind and was about to write a reply when someone suddenly rushed in from outside.

"Report! Eldest Miss, a message has come from Attendant Zhou Hai!"

Qiao Yaoyao's brows furrowed. Instinctively, she had a bad feeling. She hurriedly took it and examined it, then her expression changed drastically. "Zhou Hai has been seriously injured!"

In recent days, aside from the beginning, when the various True Bloods had fought several fierce battles and each suffered losses, the True Bloods had continued to clash, but all with restraint.

Zhou Hai and Hu Zhang were both True Bloods and had originally only faced each other from afar. Since Yang Yi's letter arrived from Falling Moon Market and Qiao Yaoyao instructed Zhou Hai to keep watch on Hu Zhang, this Grade-A Attendant had challenged Hu Zhang once every day and contended with him. Though Zhou Hai was stronger, he had no good way of dealing with Hu Zhang.

This morning, Zhou Hai had challenged him as usual. Yet while he was clashing with Hu Zhang, a True Blood from the Liu Lineage suddenly emerged. Outmatched, he was injured.

"Falling Moon Market!" Qiao Yaoyao quickly realized the severity of the situation.

Zhou Hai's injury was secondary. The real issue was that Hu Zhang was now unconstrained. That man had surely already gone to kill his way toward Falling Moon Market.

She did not dare hesitate. She hurriedly picked up her brush and wrote a brief letter, stuffed it into the message tube beneath a Messenger Bird's leg, and released it.

I hope it gets there in time! she prayed silently.

The Qiao Household already had fewer Lan Bloods and True Bloods than its enemies. Now Zhou Hai had been injured as well. If anything happened on Yang Yi's side too, the situation would only worsen further.

She knew this was not Zhou Hai's fault. The enemy had greater strength and more powerful fighters, making it easier for them to deploy troops and shift their forces. Had the Qiao Household not abandoned nearly half its territory and drawn in its defenses, it would have long since been unable to hold on.

Even so, the clan's situation was still swaying on the verge of collapse, far from optimistic.

At the root of it all, the Qiao Household lacked manpower and had no means capable of settling everything with a single hammer blow. The enemy had undoubtedly seen this, which was why they advanced neither hurriedly nor slowly, preparing to nibble away at the Qiao Household bit by bit.