As the entire group entered the middle of the narrow mountain path flanked by the two peaks, a large crowd of bandits suddenly rushed out from the dense forests in all directions.
In an instant, they completely surrounded the Tianfeng City carriage group and Ye Ling, blocking off all paths of retreat.
For a moment, the scene was chaotic and noisy, filled with a suffocating, menacing aura.
Immediately after, a rough, overbearing laugh echoed from behind the crowd.
“This road was opened by me, and these trees were planted by me! If you want to pass through, leave your life-buying money!”
As the voice fell, a burly, robust man stepped out from the crowd of bandits, followed by two middle-aged men with steady auras. He looked down on the surrounded group from his vantage point.
The moment the bandits appeared, the accompanying guards reacted with lightning speed, their bodies instantly tensing up.
They stepped out of formation in unison, forming layer upon layer of tight defense around the carriage, protecting it so securely that not even a gust of wind could pass through.
The leader of the guards was a young man clad in a black robe. He stepped forward to face the three bandit leaders.
“We are guards under the command of the Tianfeng City Lord, and this is the carriage of the City Lord's estate.”
“You mere bandits dare to block the path of Tianfeng City? Are you seeking death?”
As he spoke, the black-robed guard captain drew the long saber at his waist. Behind him, more than ten guards followed suit, drawing their sabers in unison. Their blades gleamed in a forest of cold steel, radiating a chilling intent.
These guards were all elite experts carefully selected by the City Lord's estate, with cultivations entirely at or above the Houtian Seventh Layer.
The guard captain leading the group was an even more outstanding expert at the Houtian Tenth Layer, possessing impressive combat strength.
Yet, facing the fully armed guards of the City Lord's estate, the three bandit leaders did not show the slightest hint of fear after hearing this. Instead, they threw their heads back and laughed uproariously.
“Hahaha! The one we are robbing is precisely your Tianfeng City carriage!”
As the words fell, the auras of the three bandit leaders suddenly erupted with a resounding boom.
The lead bandit unleashed his aura, revealing himself to be a powerhouse at the Houtian Twelfth Layer.
The two deputies beside him had also reached the Houtian Eleventh Layer.
As for the dozens of bandits surrounding them, even the weakest among them was at the Houtian Sixth Layer.
Such a lineup was definitely not that of ordinary bandits who occupied mountains to plunder. There was clearly someone pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
Seeing this, the guard captain's face instantly turned grave, and he secretly cursed at how troublesome the situation had become.
Just then, a dignified and steady middle-aged female voice sounded from within the carriage. “Who dispatched you all?”
“Do you clearly understand that the person inside this carriage is the daughter of the Tianfeng City Lord?”
As her voice fell, the carriage curtain was lifted, and Aunt Lin stepped out.
Her robust spiritual energy surged outward, revealing her to be a Houtian Twelfth Layer martial artist as well.
The bandit leader's face stiffened upon seeing this, and he cursed inwardly. He had been deceived.
He had not expected this to actually be the carriage of the Tianfeng City Lord's daughter.
But now that all their men had been deployed and the arrow was already on the string, there was no turning back.
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he barked savagely, “Who cares who she is! Brothers, charge!”
Aunt Lin sighed inwardly, realizing that they were in deep trouble. These people were all desperate outlaws.
The enemy leader's cultivation was on par with hers. Once they were locked in combat, she would be pinned down.
The remaining two Houtian Eleventh Layer bandits would surely take the opportunity to attack Zhou Jinyun in the carriage. The young lady would have no way to defend herself, and her life would be in imminent danger.
She quickly glanced at Ye Ling, who was surrounded at the rear of the group.
Aunt Lin immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, “Miss Ye! I will hold down these three leaders!”
“Take my young lady and break out of the encirclement immediately! Rush to Tianfeng City to inform the City Lord and seek reinforcements!”
Before her voice could even fade, Aunt Lin gathered her breath and leapt forward, charging toward the three bandit leaders all by herself.
Hearing Aunt Lin's words, Zhou Jinyun's entire body went stiff inside the carriage. Her heart instantly clenched with intense guilt and anxiety.
She understood that this was the best plan Aunt Lin could come up with in this desperate situation.
However, Sister Ye Fuyue was merely a stranger they had met by chance on the road. She had absolutely nothing to do with this ambush.
"Ye Fuyue" was the alias Ye Ling used while traveling.
Now, she was being dragged into danger for no reason because of her.
The thought of the cold yet gentle Sister Fuyue being dragged into a life-and-death struggle because of her filled her with self-reproach, making it impossible for her to feel at ease.
She bit her lip, abruptly pushed open the carriage window, and shouted at the top of her voice with all her might.
“If you want to kill or torture someone, come at me! Sister Fuyue has absolutely nothing to do with us! She is just passing by!”
“I beg of you, let her go! Just capture me alone!”
At this critical juncture, a clear and resonant sword hum suddenly shattered the silence of the mountain ravine!
A cold, dazzling blue-green sword light suddenly erupted from the scabbard at Ye Ling's waist, soaring into the sky. Its sharp edge swept across the entire valley.
The moment the sword light flashed past, the dozens of surrounding bandits, along with the two Houtian Eleventh Layer deputy leaders who were rushing forward, were all decapitated.
Heads flew into the air one by one, and blood splattered across the ground in a shocking, gruesome display.
Only the lead Houtian Twelfth Layer bandit was left alive.
In the blink of an eye, the entire horde of fierce bandits was completely wiped out.
The bandit leader stood frozen in place. Watching his companions, who had been by his side day and night, perish in an instant, and looking at the ground covered in mangled corpses and pools of blood, his soul was scared right out of his body.
With a loud clatter, the long saber slipped from his hand and hit the ground. His legs turned to jelly, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably, to the point where he could barely even stand.
Meanwhile, Aunt Lin, who had been about to engage in a life-and-death struggle, froze mid-motion. Her eyes filled with extreme shock and joy.
That sword light just now had been incredibly fast. Even as a Houtian Twelfth Layer martial artist, she had been completely unable to track the trajectory of the blade.
But among everyone present, only Ye Ling's aura was ethereal and unfathomable, making it impossible for her to see through her depth.
In an instant, Aunt Lin understood. That astonishing, earth-shattering strike must have come from this seemingly casual and indifferent young woman.
She immediately bowed deeply and performed a solemn salute, her tone filled with deep reverence and gratitude.
“Thank you for your life-saving assistance, Miss Ye!”
“Our Tianfeng City will certainly keep this great favor engraved in our hearts, and we will surely reward you handsomely!”
Inside the carriage, Zhou Jinyun had just been filled with anxiety and guilt, pleading for Ye Ling's life.
Now, witnessing the gruesome scene of dozens of bandits dying in an instant with heads flying everywhere, she was completely dumbfounded.
First, she froze, a trace of instinctive fear flashing through her heart. She felt that such a bloody and murderous scene was truly terrifying.
But in the next instant, the fear completely dissipated, replaced by a surging wave of shock and a burning, passionate yearning.
This was the real world of martial heroes!
At this thought, a brilliant light instantly ignited in the young girl's eyes, her heart filled with boundless admiration.
She hastily lifted the carriage curtain, ran down the steps, and stared intently toward the rear with burning eyes.
The mountain wind blew gently. The Green Scale Horse stood calmly as Ye Ling sat upright on its back, her posture cold and elegant.
Her sharp edge was entirely restrained and composed, and she stood calmly amidst the blood-stained ground.
Ye Ling accepted Aunt Lin's salute as her due, her tone remaining calm and indifferent.
“They surrounded me as well. If my cultivation were not high enough, I would not have escaped death either.”
Then, she gently nudged the horse's belly with her foot. The Green Scale Horse was highly intelligent and immediately understood her intent.
It took a few slow steps forward, stopping right in front of the trembling bandit leader.
Ye Ling looked down at the bandit leader on the ground, then turned her head to speak to Aunt Lin.
“They deliberately ambushed you. This is definitely not a simple bandit raid. There must be someone else pulling the strings behind them.”
“I will leave this man to you. You can interrogate him yourselves.”
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