Fan Peiyao frowned in thought, then murmured quietly, "Is anyone across from us?" Li Mu Chan shook his head. Fan Peiyao’s delicate eyebrows furrowed even tighter, and she muttered to herself, "Taibai Fortress has truly changed its ways; they can actually restrain themselves?" Li Mu Chan smiled.

"No one is across from us, but there are people right next to us." "Hm—?" Fan Peiyao started, then realized. "They're ambushing us from this side?" "They're coming," Li Mu Chan said, his gaze turning west.

"Who goes there, sneaking around?" A sharp shout rang out, and two middle-aged men in white shirts floated gracefully over the treetops, landing on the branch of an opposite pine tree, their eyes gleaming like swords. "Who are you?

We're just playing here, what business is it of yours?" Fan Peiyao’s delicate face darkened, and she preempted them. The middle-aged man in white said proudly, "Taibai Fortress is planting trees here.

Idle folk, move aside." Fan Peiyao snorted, "Taibai Fortress? Preposterous...

does this mountain belong to your Taibai Fortress?" "It does," the middle-aged man in white nodded proudly, then impatiently waved his hand. "Enough talk, hurry up and leave...

I'm a patient man; anyone else would have already dealt with you." Li Mu Chan said gently, "Respected sirs, we're just resting here for a moment; we'll leave shortly." "No," the burly man shook his head, his face grim. "If you don't leave now, don't blame us for being impolite." "Hm—" An old man floated down behind Fan Peiyao and said coldly, "Scram—" Their six retainers possessed deep internal energy.

Having concealed their auras and used the branches to hide their presence, the two middle-aged men in white hadn't noticed them at all. The other middle-aged man in white glanced at the old man, then his gaze fell back on Li Mu Chan and Fan Peiyao, and he chuckled.

"Oh, someone with standing, just perfect." He turned and said, "Shuangzi, we've run into fat sheep. Let's just take them." "Old An, isn't that inappropriate..." the first middle-aged man in white hesitated.

The other man laughed. "This is pie falling from the sky; why refuse it?...

You won't find this shop once you pass this village." "...Fine then, let's take care of them while we're at it," the middle-aged man in white sighed and nodded. "Heh heh heh..." Another middle-aged man sneered triumphantly, staring at Fan Peiyao, a strange smile on his face.

"This little girl is quite pretty. A pity, perhaps we should spare her life." "Old An," the middle-aged man in white frowned, displeased.

"What time is it? If the Boss finds out, you'll have hell to pay." "It doesn't matter; we'll hide her in the woods, and the Boss will never know," the other middle-aged man chuckled.

The middle-aged man in white shook his head. "Stop fooling around and don't delay the main business." The other middle-aged man chuckled sinisterly.

"Shuangzi, only you and I know about this. If others don't know, just help me this once.

I'll give you my whole share later, alright?" "This..." the middle-aged man in white hesitated. "It's settled then," the other middle-aged man laughed, turning to glare at Li Mu Chan.

"Kid, you only have yourself to blame for not being a woman. The scenery here is nice; resting your bones here isn't such a bad thing." Li Mu Chan smiled, shook his head, and sighed.

"Heaven's will can still be averted, but self-inflicted misery is inescapable. You only have yourself to blame for your corrupt heart." He turned to look at Fan Peiyao and saw that her expression was calm, showing no anger.

He secretly praised her; it was truly rare that she wasn't disturbed by such vile talk. Anyone else hearing those words would have long since drawn their saber and attacked.

Seeing Li Mu Chan look over, Fan Peiyao calmly asked, "Master, how should we deal with these two?" "Kill them," Li Mu Chan replied. "Wouldn't that alert the snakes?" Fan Peiyao hesitated for a moment.

Li Mu Chan laughed. "The snake has already left its hole; does it matter if we startle it now?" "That's true," Fan Peiyao suddenly understood, smiling.

"Should we signal now?" Li Mu Chan shook his head. "Wait a little longer; it's not time yet.

If we act now, we'll only scare them away; we won't be able to keep them here." "Understood," Fan Peiyao nodded, turning around. "Elder Ren, please dispatch these two." "Yes, Miss," the two old men nodded solemnly.

One of these old men was chubby with a perpetual smile; the other was lean and gaunt, his expression wooden and stern, like a block of ice, chilling to behold. The stern-faced one was Elder Ren.

He turned and said, "One each." "Coming right up!" the round, chubby elder responded with a grin. The two of them simultaneously launched themselves forward, darting toward the two men opposite, and in mid-air, they suddenly flicked their sleeves.

With two sharp whistles—Chi! Chi!—two streaks of dark light shot straight toward the two middle-aged men in white.

The two men in white were startled and quickly shifted sideways, finally breathing a sigh of relief, having narrowly dodged the projectiles. It had been a near thing.

Just as they were about to curse loudly, a fierce gale swept over them. The two men scrambled to dodge again, but the palm winds clung to them like maggots on bone, one strike following another, engaging them relentlessly.

The two elders were incredibly swift in their movements; their palm techniques were both fierce and fast, constantly shadowing the two men in white, leaving them no opportunity to retaliate. However, these two middle-aged men in white were no slouches either; otherwise, they wouldn't have been sent to scout the situation.

They were constantly on the defensive but managed to hold their ground, not yet collapsing under the pressure. In the time it took to pass fifty exchanges, the four were engaged around a single pine tree, maneuvering silently, palm winds whistling, the pine tree trembling, and needles occasionally raining down.

Li Mu Chan and Fan Peiyao watched intently while listening for the sound of distant hoofbeats. Fan family's escort was drawing closer, but the two elders still hadn't secured a victory.

Li Mu Chan shook his head. "Send two more." Fan Peiyao's face flushed, feeling embarrassed.

She had assumed her two retainers would be enough to handle them, but they had encountered tough opponents, resulting in a stalemate, and she hadn't achieved her goal yet. "No need, I'll do it," she snorted, drawing her sword.

Her small boots kicked off, causing the pine tree to shudder as she shot out, her body merging with the blade, transforming into a white rainbow that pierced directly toward the fray. "Ugh…" One of the middle-aged men in white was struck by the sword, letting out a muffled groan as he tumbled down.

With a dull thud, he hit the ground below, kicked his legs a few times, and died instantly. Fan Peiyao's swordsmanship was exquisite.

Her technique of unity between body and sword was swift yet silent. The man she struck was the one who had been lusting after her moments before.

Li Mu Chan inwardly smiled; despite her outward composure, she was ultimately angered, and this strike vented her fury. Fan Peiyao gently flicked her sword, took out a handkerchief, wiped the fresh blood from the blade, and slowly returned it to its sheath.

She floated back to Li Mu Chan's side. The other elder joined in, and the two elders attacked together.

The remaining middle-aged man could no longer hold on. He took a heavy blow, landed hard on the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood, and couldn't even move when he tried to scramble up.

Fan Peiyao looked at the injured man and waved her hand. "Spare his life." The two elders exchanged a look, nodded, and retreated a step, landing on a nearby pine tree.

By this time, the sound of hoofbeats was growing louder. They could see the shadow of the escort caravan approaching slowly along the distant official road, yellow dust rolling up, a large banner flapping in the wind, embroidered with a prominent character: "Fan." Fan Peiyao stared fixedly nearby, her breathing growing tight.

Li Mu Chan frowned. He saw two more middle-aged men floating in, clad in white shirts, arriving silently, skimming the treetops, their lightness skill even more refined than the previous two.

He gently tugged Fan Peiyao's sleeve. She had been entirely focused on the escort, ready to signal instantly if anyone from Taibai Fortress showed themselves.

She quickly turned toward Li Mu Chan, saw the look in his eyes, and followed his gaze to see the two new arrivals. The two middle-aged men looked stern.

They stopped while still far off, cautiously observing Li Mu Chan and Fan Peiyao, and then noticed their two companions on the ground. One of them immediately let out a long howl.

Li Mu Chan shook his head but made no move. If he had wanted to stop it, he would have acted already.

Fan Peiyao’s face changed drastically. She quickly shouted, "Six Elders, kill them!" As she spoke, she merged body and sword, shooting out like a white rainbow piercing the sun, unleashing two silvery torrents.

Even before the sword arrived, a sharp killing intent preceded it, extremely fierce. The two men swayed aside, splitting apart to evade the strike.

Although Fan Peiyao's sword was fast and silent, both men had seen it, and moreover, their lightness skill was very high. With this distraction, the howling ceased.

The six elders appeared, surrounding the two newcomers, and attacked without a word, resuming the fight. For a time, they were locked in a melee.

Three elders against one man meant the two men in white were quickly dealt with. But just then, another group arrived—about ten or so men—skimming the treetops, quickly closing the distance to the others, and surrounding the six elders.

This group consisted of fifteen or sixteen men, filling the surrounding branches, staring menacingly. "Master, what should we do?" Fan Peiyao asked, her delicate eyebrows tightly drawn.

Li Mu Chan sighed. "It seems plans change faster than expected.

Give the signal; we'll hold them off." "We have no choice but to," Fan Peiyao snorted, helpless. Things had come to this; they couldn't stick to the original plan; they could only react as the situation demanded and advance the timeline.

A long howl erupted, like a crane crying to the heavens, soaring into the clouds. The escort caravan across the way immediately quickened its pace, charging toward them, as if the sound of the cry signaled danger, prompting them to try and flee.

Li Mu Chan slightly closed his eyes, observing with his Void Eyes. Two miles away, the cavalry and infantry of the Flying Cavalry Camp simultaneously moved out, galloping forward at incredible speed.

The cavalry especially swept over the land like a gust of wind, shaking the ground as if an earthquake struck. However, with the distant caravan thundering forward, it created the illusion that they were the source of the disturbance, further confirming the belief that the caravan was escorting something precious.

The dozen or so men in white surrounded the six elders. One shouted loudly, "Kill—" Immediately, the two groups clashed.

Yet, no one came to attack Li Mu Chan and Fan Peiyao; they assumed the young pair posed no threat and ignored them for the moment. After her long cry, Fan Peiyao stopped moving and simply watched quietly.

The dozen or so men in white were all masters, and the six elders were also masters. The two groups fought, resulting in a stalemate.

Li Mu Chan shook his head and turned to say, "Miss Fan, you underestimated Taibai Fortress." Fan Peiyao's delicate face grew heavy. "Yes." She hadn't expected Taibai Fortress to have so many masters.

The six guest elders were originally supposed to surround their leader, but now they were the ones being surrounded. Under these circumstances, their scheme wouldn't work at all.

If she didn't intervene, the six guest elders wouldn't last long and would soon be defeated. If this continued, they would fail before the leader of Taibai Fortress even showed himself, and by the time the army and the escort arrived, it would be too late.

She turned. "Master, please help us." Li Mu Chan nodded, took down his Cold Jiao Bow, strung an arrow, drew the bow to a full moon, and then released.

A dark streak shot out with a faint chi sound, like silk tearing. The sound only followed the projectile, demonstrating its incredible speed.

It instantly reached the back of one of the middle-aged men in white. A spray of blood followed the dark streak.

The man's shoulder was pierced, and his body was simultaneously sent flying. Li Mu Chan continued to shoot, arrow after arrow, with lightning speed yet seemingly effortless, as if plucking grass roots.

With a light draw of the bow and a release, a dark streak invariably struck a man down. Fan Peiyao opened her bright eyes wide, watching Li Mu Chan shoot.

She knew the immense power of the Cold Jiao Bow; even using her internal energy, she found it taxing to draw it fully. Yet, he drew it so easily, barely seeming to exert himself, as if merely stretching after a long rest, radiating an air of casual ease.

Li Mu Chan’s archery movements were fluid, like flowing water, so graceful and natural that she found it captivating, momentarily lost in the sight. "That's enough, Miss Fan," Li Mu Chan said with a smile, putting away the Cold Jiao Bow.

"Hm? Ah," Fan Peiyao immediately blushed, quickly turning her gaze.

She saw that all the dozen or so men in white were scattered on the ground, and the six elders were looking over in astonishment. Previously, they had greatly underestimated Li Mu Chan, believing that even if a military archer had skill, arrows held little sway against martial artists.

No matter how good the archery, if the opponent possessed superior lightness skill, hitting them was impossible. If they got close, arrows became useless, and they would simply be slaughtered.

Thus, they had been quite arrogant toward Li Mu Chan. But these were all seasoned veterans.

Although they were arrogant internally, they hadn't shown it. Seeing Li Mu Chan's incredible archery now, they were greatly shocked.

They conceded that if they were facing such archery, escaping would be nearly impossible; it was unparalleled in speed and accuracy, leaving no room to evade. "They are finally coming out," Li Mu Chan said, pointing below.

Fan Peiyao looked down and saw a group of people rushing out of the woods to intercept the escort caravan. These individuals were all astonishingly fast, swarming the caravan like a swarm of ants.

The caravan consisted of about twenty people, but this new group numbered nearly a hundred, and every single one of them possessed considerable skill, with several top-tier masters immediately killing several members of the escort. Fan Peiyao grew anxious and quickly said, "Master, please act quickly!" Now, she trusted Li Mu Chan's archery implicitly, placing her hope entirely on his skill.

It was too late to rush over and offer aid from this distance.