"Hehe, Big Brother doesn't know about reconstituting a physical body?" Seeing Ye Jingyu's rapidly shifting expression, the little girl's silvery voice chimed out once more...

"How does she know about reconstituting a body? Forget it. Today, for Shixuan's sake, I won't kill you. But you cost me two Thousand-Year Origin Pearls; I won't let you off that easily..." the young woman snorted coldly...

"Thousand-Year Origin Pearls?" Ye Jingyu was stunned again; he had never heard of such a thing...

"Yes, Big Sister just healed your injuries, but your body was too weak, so I used one Thousand-Year Origin Pearl and one Two-Thousand-Year Origin Pearl to replenish your vitality. But that Two-Thousand-Year Origin Pearl was mine," the little girl in the Purple Moon Blade said with a slight pout, like a child boasting of a good deed...

Upon hearing that they had saved him and considering the surge in his own strength, Ye Jingyu vaguely guessed that it must be the effect of those so-called Thousand-Year Origin Pearls...

He was a man who repaid kindness and exacted revenge. Since they had saved his life, even if her words were arrogant, he couldn't say much. He immediately performed a fist-and-palm salute to the young woman...

"Thank you, Miss, for saving my life. I apologize for any offense I caused earlier; please forgive me..."

"Hmph..." Seeing Ye Jingyu's sincere apology, the young woman only snorted coldly...

"If Miss has any orders, please command me..." Since she had saved his life, and he had consumed two seemingly valuable Origin Pearls of hers, he naturally couldn't ignore any request she had...

"We need to gather the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus. It only grows on the highest peak, Heaven Snow Peak, in the Heavenly Dipper Mountain Range, and it is extremely rare. Even with our abilities, it would be difficult to find. You just need to find us one Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, and we will consider the debt settled," the young woman said coldly, not bothering with pleasantries, clearly still annoyed by Ye Jingyu's teasing earlier...

"Miss, rest assured, Ye Jingyu will exert his utmost effort. May I ask for your honorable name?" Ye Jingyu agreed without hesitation. His life was saved by them; if he couldn't fulfill this small request, what kind of person would he be? As for the situation on the battlefield, he understood that even rushing back now would be too late. It was better to help them find the Snow Lotus, settle this matter, and then return...

"My name is Hei Ming Shixuan, and Big Sister is Hei Ming Yingjie," the young woman didn't speak, but the little girl in the scimitar said with a smile...

Hei Ming Shixuan, Hei Ming Yingjie? The Hei Ming family? Such a strange surname, one he had never heard of before?

"Wake up your mount and let's go..." The young woman spoke faintly, not sparing Ye Jingyu another glance, and turned toward the flat-bottomed boat on the river...

Just like before, she stepped directly onto the water's surface, step by step. This sight left Ye Jingyu dumbfounded...

This... this... this was not something an ordinary martial artist could achieve. Even a Martial Saint couldn't walk on water so smoothly! This completely surpassed the scope of martial arts...

It was only then that Ye Jingyu noticed that the small boat was simply suspended in the middle of the river, untethered to anything, yet it wasn't drifting downstream with the current...

Only when Hei Ming Yingjie stepped onto the small boat did it finally begin to drift slowly downstream...

Ye Jingyu hurried to Ni Bo's side and found that the little fellow had merely exhausted his strength and fallen unconscious... Realizing that Ni Bo must have desperately carried him here, he was filled with emotion. He didn't wake him up but instead hoisted him onto his back and ran downstream along the river...

Seeing Ye Jingyu lift Ni Bo with such ease, a flicker of astonishment crossed Hei Ming Yingjie's eyes, somewhat shocked by Ye Jingyu's terrifying strength... But it was only fleeting...

The sound of splashing water echoed from the river, punctuated occasionally by the little girl's silvery laughter. Hei Ming Yingjie stopped singing, gazing silently ahead, her purple eyes constantly shifting, contemplating who knew what...

As for Ye Jingyu, he hopped along, keeping pace just behind the small boat. Since Hei Ming Yingjie hadn't invited him aboard, he naturally didn't dare ask. Moreover, even if invited, he didn't believe such a small boat could bear the weight of both him and Ni Bo...

As Ye Jingyu followed the two Hei Ming sisters downstream, within the forested area near the eastern side of the Heavenly Dipper Mountain Range, at least a hundred large trees had been felled. Iron Army soldiers, clad in black tunics, used axes to chop the logs into suitably sized timber, beginning the construction of row after row of temporary shelters...

Luo Xiaofeng's order was to completely eliminate the Iron Army. Ye Jingyu certainly couldn't allow this army to be exposed to the world again; how to conceal them became his biggest concern... The million jin of grain extorted from Xiao Geng was enough to feed the Iron Army for a long time. The remaining issue was housing... Bringing so many people back to Shu Yun Nation was impossible; they naturally had to remain temporarily in the Heavenly Dipper Mountain Range. Zhuge Yishi was tasked with first clearing a suitable residential area for the Iron Army... Although the Heavenly Dipper Mountain Range was dangerous, for over four thousand people staying only on the periphery and not venturing deep into the mountains, there wasn't much worry, except perhaps discovery by scouts from Shu Yun Nation... However, this was a time of war, and they wouldn't stay long, so they didn't dwell on it...

"Mister Zhuge, so much time has passed, yet there is still no news of Young Master. Could something have happened to him?" At this moment, Zhuge Yishi sat on a massive boulder. Before him rested a simple table covered with Xuan paper, upon which he was sketching something. Lin Xiaoyi, dressed in a greyish-white long robe, approached carrying a bowl of clear water, offering it to Zhuge Yishi, then respectfully inquired... His own strength was not great, and Ye Jingyu had arranged for him to be here...

"Don't worry. Your Young Master is a person of great fortune; he will be fine," Zhuge Yishi said casually, seeming completely unconcerned...

"But..."

"Urgent report, urgent report..." Just as Lin Xiaoyi was about to say more, hurried voices echoed from the jungle...

Then, a weary Iron Army soldier in armor rushed forward, led by a junior officer, arriving before Zhuge Yishi and immediately kneeling to pay respects...

"Reporting to the Strategist, General Ye led the brothers to completely annihilate the Ao Shi Battle Group... but they encountered an unknown army of over fifty thousand. General Ye personally led two thousand brothers to engage the enemy to cover the retreat of the others, and his whereabouts are now unknown," the soldier reported. He and Ying Xiaoxiao had clearly seen everything on the battlefield from the cliff, but due to the distance, they couldn't clearly discern Ye Jingyu's fate...

Upon hearing the first sentence, many surrounding figures showed excitement, but after hearing the whole report, many eyes filled with respect and worry. They respected Ye Jingyu's spirit in personally leading troops to delay the enemy to help his subordinates retreat... As for Lin Xiaoyi, his face was completely etched with anxiety. He cared nothing for tactics or retreat strategies; he only cared that his Young Master returned. Now that Ye Jingyu was missing, he was on the verge of tears...

Only Zhuge Yishi frowned, murmuring calculations to himself. After a moment, a faint smile touched his lips...

"You don't need to worry. General Ye is blessed by fate; this misfortune will turn into a blessing. He will be fine. Notify General Ying to quickly receive the returning brothers. Everyone else, keep up the effort; we cannot let our hero return to find no shelter," Zhuge Yishi instructed. Hearing his words and seeing his confident smile, the messenger soldier, though inwardly puzzled, acknowledged the order and turned to leave...

Lin Xiaoyi stared directly at Zhuge Yishi, his eyes filled with bewilderment...