Night fell.

Sister Qiao sat under the eaves in a daze.

“Girl.”

Uncle Guo walked over. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

“You’ve been in Little Han Village for several years now. Uncle can tell you’ve always had something weighing on your heart.”

“I…”

“Girl, are you acquainted with the Eternal Sect’s second disciple? Every time you go out, you ask Uncle to inquire about his news.” Uncle Guo said seriously.

Sister Qiao lowered her head. “I knew him once.”

This answer didn’t surprise Uncle Guo. “This is an existence we ordinary people can’t aspire to. Hurry and forget him. Don’t make things difficult for yourself.”

Sister Qiao said with downcast emotions, “I came from southwestern Yang Province to northeastern Lu Province precisely to forget him, but even though the weather here is cold, it’s hard to cool that feeling in my heart.”

“Glug.”

Uncle Guo drank a mouthful of strong liquor and said darkly, “Uncle can understand you. When Uncle was young, there was also a girl I admired. Her talent was better than mine, her realm higher than mine. I could only watch her from afar like a fool.”

Sister Qiao was stunned.

Uncle Guo said, “With time, one forgets.”

“With time, one forgets?” Sister Qiao murmured this phrase, then said, “Uncle Guo, I understand.”

Uncle Guo stood up and left.

Sister Qiao sat under the eaves thinking for a long time, then took out a yellowed paper crane and said, “Brother Qingyang, I wish you become an indomitable powerhouse.”

“Whoosh!”

A gust of wind blew.

The paper crane flew from her hand toward the sky.

Sister Qiao raised her head watching it gradually disappear into the night, her heart aching as she said, “From today, I’ll cut off all feelings.”

…

Outside the village.

The paper crane fluttered down.

Li Qingyang caught it with his palm, feeling dejected. “Did she just want to tear it up?”

“Yes.”

Gongsun Haohai said.

Li Qingyang placed the paper crane in his spatial ring, turned around, and said, “Let’s go.”

“Go?”

Gongsun Haohai looked completely stunned.

He could tell Li Qingyang had been secretly watching that girl called Sister Qiao from the shadows. They definitely had an extraordinary relationship.

Now that they’d traveled all the way from southwestern Yang Province, without even going out to meet her once, he wanted to leave urgently?

“Really leaving?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

“Swoosh! Swoosh!”

The two disappeared outside the village.

Sister Qiao, who had already returned to her room, seemed to sense something and instinctively looked toward the spot outside the village where Li Qingyang had previously stood, murmuring, “Something left. Was it a wild cat?”

…

“Clop! Clop! Clop!”

Suddenly, horse hooves sounded in the darkness, breaking Little Han Village’s tranquility and startling Uncle Guo and others who had already fallen asleep.

“Not good!”

“Bandits are here!”

Chaotic voices rang through the air.

A group of fierce-looking men in black riding tall horses suddenly burst into the village.

They were bandits who roamed northeastern Lu Province year-round. Because righteous sects had recently been cowering in their sects, too afraid to come out easily, they began acting unbridled and committing all manner of evil.

Uncle Guo charged out from his house holding a long spear.

As Little Han Village’s only martial cultivator, he also bore responsibility for the entire village’s security.

“Go to hell!”

The bandit leader dismounted and kicked Uncle Guo flying with one foot, then ordered his subordinates to begin plundering wealth and food.

“Uncle Guo!”

Sister Qiao saw Uncle Guo lying on the ground coughing blood and hurriedly ran out from her room.

“Oh?”

The bandit leader said in surprise, “In this impoverished backwater, there’s actually a girl with decent looks. Men, seize her for me and take her back to the mountain to be the head wife!”

“Yes!”

Several fierce bandits charged over with swords.

“Girl…” Uncle Guo struggled to stand up, pushing Sister Qiao behind him, his face ferocious. “Run quickly!”

“Can’t escape!”

A bandit caught up viciously.

“Whoosh!”

Uncle Guo infused his meager spiritual energy into the long spear and swept it fiercely, but the opponent easily dodged and thrust with his sword.

“Splurt!”

The cold sword pierced through his chest, blood spraying onto the snowy ground.

“Uncle Guo!”

Sister Qiao, having steadied herself, saw Uncle Guo pierced by the sharp sword, her face losing all color as she cried out.

Coincidentally, villagers were also driven out. Seeing the village’s only martial cultivator gravely wounded, despair immediately rose in their hearts.

“Troublesome fellow!”

The bandit withdrew his sword and kicked Uncle Guo flying.

“Bang!”

A pebble flew over, striking his head.

That ten-year-old child picked up another small stone and gripped it, glaring. “Don’t hurt Sister Qiao!”

The bandit turned around, holding his blood-stained sword, walked over, grabbed the little fellow, and lifted him high, saying murderously, “Little brat, you’re seeking death!”

Though restrained, the child fearlessly shouted loudly, “Sister Qiao, run quickly!”

“Run?”

The bandit leader sneered, “A woman this chief has set his sights on—even if she runs to the ends of the earth, it’s useless!”

At this moment, several other bandits had already approached Sister Qiao.

“You… don’t come over!”

Sister Qiao retreated step by step in panic until her back hit the wall with no path of retreat.

“Boss.”

The second-in-command led people out from the villagers’ rooms, cursing, “This village is damn poor. Forget silver notes—there’s nothing valuable at all.”

“Old rule.”

The bandit leader ordered, “Burn it down.”

“What about these people?”

“Take the women and children. Kill all the rest.”

“Understood.”

The second-in-command hurriedly waved his hand.

Bandits threw their torches out one after another, then walked toward the huddled, trembling villagers with swords.

“Whoosh!”

A strong wind blew.

The torches about to touch the houses suddenly extinguished.

“Hmm?”

The bandits preparing to commit murder all looked in the direction the wind came from, suddenly feeling sword light flash before their eyes.

“Splurt! Splurt!”

Blood sprayed, heads flew everywhere.

The bandit leader and second-in-command were shocked, their eyeballs nearly popping out!

Those several bandits about to seize Sister Qiao now froze in place, an invisible pressure making them unable to move even slightly.

People couldn’t move, but thoughts could.

Intense death aura instantly permeated their hearts.

Though these bandits’ cultivation was poor, their instincts were sharp, because an elusive sharp sword swept across their necks, directly and mercilessly harvesting their lives.

This scene happened very quickly. When the trembling villagers gradually calmed down, they discovered that the surrounding ten-plus bandits were all decapitated, fresh blood dyeing the snowy ground red!

The scene was terrifying.

Frightening enough that children dared not look.

Sister Qiao, still in shock, struggled to lift her head. Before her stood a man wearing a red cape, the sharp sword in his hand stained with blood dripping from the tip to the ground.

Although his back faced her, although she couldn’t see his face clearly, she found him incomparably familiar. She couldn’t help but say, “Brother Qingyang!”

That suddenly appearing person didn’t speak, walking step by step toward the bandit leader bound by the pressure, then placed his sword at his neck, saying coldly, “Heaven’s transgressions can be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins cannot be pardoned.”

This voice…

It’s him, it really is him!

Sister Qiao covered her mouth, tears immediately flowing like rain.

“Hero, please… please…”

“Splurt!”

Sword light flashed. The bandit leader’s head flew off, then fell onto the snowy ground, that face forever frozen in terror.

The bound second-in-command saw his boss die just like that. The fear welling in his eyes grew increasingly intense, then after the sharp sword swept past, he was decapitated and went to receive his lunch box.

All the bandits were killed.

Little Han Village’s crisis was resolved.

The man wearing battle robes cleaned the blood from his sword blade and sheathed it dashingly.

He was about to leave immediately when Sister Qiao struggled to stand up. “Brother Qingyang, is that you?”