Qingshi Town Gate.
A two-person-high stone wall protects the town's buildings and constitutes the last line of defense against foreign enemies. The stones on the wall have been worn by the wind and sand of the years, revealing a vicissitudes of life. The city gates are tightly closed, and archers holding longbows stand on the top of the city, their sharp eyes sweeping around, alert to the enemy's traces.
Zhang Yong stood on the top of the city wall and paced back and forth, his brows furrowed, and deep anxiety welled up in his eyes.
Beside him, soldiers stood with spears in their hands, their backs straight. No matter how the outside world changed, their eyes were fixed on the front.
"Commander Zhang Yong, we have found Miss Xia Wei."
Zhang Yong's expression brightened after hearing his subordinate's report: "Quickly invite Miss Xia Wei over."
Soon, Xia Wei, carrying a Mo Dao on her shoulder, was respectfully invited to the top of the city wall.
Seeing that she was small in stature but was carrying such a heavy and domineering seven-foot Mo Dao, the nearby soldiers were shocked and whispered about her origins.
"I remember her. She's Xia Wei. A few days ago, she was the one lifting the tripod in the training grounds... I didn't expect that in just a few days, her strength has improved by leaps and bounds. I'm afraid even Commander Zhang Yong wouldn't be her match."
"Wait, that knife... that's the spiritual weapon sword in the hands of the shrimp-headed man, a mid-stage third-order demon beast!"
"Captain Qi Feng of the Monster Hunting Team died at the hands of the Shrimp-Headed Man. Now that this knife is in Miss Xia Wei's hands, doesn't that mean that Miss Xia Wei killed a Stage 3 mid-stage monster?"
"When did such a cultivator appear in Qingshi Town? If she is willing to lend a hand, I'm afraid the Hengshan bandit won't be able to show off his power here."
Xia Wei heard the crowd's exclamations, but her expression was calm, not showing any joy at all.
Zhang Yong stepped forward to greet her and praised her, "I haven't seen you for a few days. Miss Xia Wei has become even more powerful. She is truly a hero. Qingshi Town is facing a catastrophe. The Hengshan bandits are leading their forces to attack. On behalf of the people of this town, I implore Miss Xia Wei to help and save the innocent people trapped in this dire situation!"
Xia Wei said coldly, "There's an irreconcilable blood feud between me and that bandit from Hengshan. I'm willing to do my part to defend against them."
Zhang Yong was overjoyed: "With Miss Xia Wei's help, our hope of resisting the Hengshan bandit has increased. The Hengshan bandit has the strength of a late third stage. In a one-on-one fight, no one can match him. Only when everyone works together and fights to the death can we achieve final victory."
Xia Wei asked again, "I heard the townspeople say that if we hold Qingshi Town for three days and three nights, we'll be able to wait for reinforcements from the river patrol general. Is that true?"
Zhang Yong sighed, dismissed the nearby soldiers, and whispered, "To be honest, those words of appeasement to the townspeople were just a delaying tactic. The river patrol commander's reinforcements will take at least seven days to arrive. By then, everything will have been settled. In this battle, we can only rely on ourselves."
Xia Wei was shocked: "Then why did you deceive the townspeople?"
Zhang Yong shook his head. "How can you call it deception? It was clearly a lifeline for the drowning men, a hope they believed to be real. If I hadn't said that, the army would have been demoralized and morale would have been low before the Hengshan bandits arrived. Before the battle even began, they would have lost their courage to fight, and in the end, more people would have died."
"The truth is cruel, and not everyone has the courage to face cruelty. Sometimes false lies are easier to accept."
A whisper that only Xia Wei could hear sounded in her ears. Behind her, Ye Jie spoke slowly.
Xia Wei didn't answer, but pondered Ye Jie's words for a while before asking, "So, there won't be any reinforcements for this battle?"
Zhang Yong's expression was gloomy. "It's not that there's no hope. I've sent out letters for help to all possible places. Only a few wandering knights responded. They should arrive within a few days. However, relying solely on the strength of those knights, it's better not to hold out any hope."
As he was speaking, a fast horse came running from outside the city. On the horse's back, a seriously injured and dying scout was spitting blood, and it was obvious that he would not live long.
"He was the scout who went to gather information not long ago. How could he..."
"Open the city gate quickly and let him in!"
The soldiers exclaimed, and hurriedly opened the city gates, bringing the dying scout back to the city. Zhang Yong hurried forward and asked, "What did you find out? Tell me!"
The scout grabbed Zhang Yong's collar, muttered incoherently, spitted out more and more blood, tilted his head, and stopped breathing.
"You..." Zhang Yong was annoyed. A closer look revealed a pitch-black palm print on the scout's chest. It had shattered his heart meridians. It was a miracle he managed to survive. "It's the Heart-Smashing Devil Palm... He ran into the Hengshan Bandit. Damn it! I only sent him to gather intelligence from the periphery. Now, what did he see?"
The soldiers were all dejected. The scout who had just gathered the news died in front of everyone before he could report the precious information. It was truly lamentable.
Xia Wei also followed. In her eyes, the world looked different.
Zhang Yong stood on the left side of the scout's corpse, and on the empty right side stood a dark and skinny figure. It was her master Ye Jie.
Ye Jie stretched out his slender palm and tapped the scout on the forehead, muttering: "Soul return."
The scout opened his eyes wide and suddenly sat up from the ground. Seeing Zhang Yong right beside him, he hurriedly said, "Commander, I brought back important information!"
However, no matter how the scout called out, Zhang Yong turned a deaf ear to his shouts, and everyone else acted as if they didn't see him and ignored him.
"What's going on..."
The scout's heart trembled violently. Before his doubts lasted long, he heard a whisper in his ear: "You are dead. They can't see you."
Following the sound, the dark ghost came into view. The scout's expression was gloomy. "Is that so... I took a blow from the bandit Hengshan. I think I'm going to die. It's a pity that the information I risked my life to bring back has gone with me to the underworld."
"Actually, there is a way that allows you to convey the information to them." Ye Jie reminded.
"Really? I hope my death can be more valuable, rather than just dying meaninglessly. Those important information must be passed on to the commander no matter what." The scout said in surprise.
"Of course." Ye Jie used local materials and quickly helped the scout achieve his wish.
Xia Wei observed the two's actions and, after she was ready, she warned everyone, "Wait, look, what's that in his arms?"
Everyone leaned over, and Zhang Yong reached out and took out a small piece of torn cloth from the scout's arms. There was fresh blood on it that had not yet dried, and eight bloody words were written on it: "Level 3 Peak, Ruined Temple, Baby".
Seeing this, everyone's expression brightened with joy. It was clearly intelligence the scout had risked his life to bring back. However, after carefully considering the implications, they couldn't help but gasp.
"Peak of the third level? That bandit from Hengshan has actually reached the peak of the third level?"
"In Qingshi Town, Commander Zhang Yong is the only one with the strength of the third level, and he is only in the early stage of the third level. What should we do..."
"The difference in strength between the peak and early stages of the third stage is truly immense. Even if we combined our combined strength, we wouldn't be able to harm the bandit Hengshan..."
"Can we really resist the bandit Hengshan? He is so powerful that I'm afraid the only way left for us is death..."
Seeing the terrified expressions on everyone's faces and the demoralization of the army, Zhang Yong made a decisive move and put away the cloth. He then scanned the crowd with an unquestioning gaze and said, "That's not what he meant. He meant that a peak-level third-level reinforcement is about to arrive. Also, pass down the order: anyone who discusses this matter without permission or shakes the morale of the army will be killed without mercy!"
Everyone was silent, but the panic in their eyes could not be concealed no matter what. Under the tremendous pressure, many people gagged and vomited in public. Everyone looked confused and frightened.
Xia Wei, who was standing aside, also understood the severity of the situation and whispered to Ye Jie, "That bandit from Hengshan has actually broken through to the peak of the third level. What should we do now?"
Ye Jie took a deep breath. "An opponent at the peak of the third level is simply not something you can match now. The shrimp-headed man you defeated with all your might wouldn't even be able to withstand a single blow from the current bandit Hengshan. If it were you before, I would have advised you to flee quickly. Staying here would surely lead to your death. But the situation is different now. You now have the Crazy Wave Sea-Splitting Sword, a residual move from a Heavenly Level technique. With your remarkable talent, as long as you unleash the full power of this residual move, you might be able to fight the bandit Hengshan."
Xia Wei's eyes blazed with fighting spirit: "Master is right. Even if he's at the peak of the third level, so what? This time, I'm going to make sure that bandit Hengshan never returns."
Ye Jie placed the scout's soul into the soul-calling banner, letting him rest in peace. He then said to Xia Wei, "Do you remember what I taught you? When looking at things, you should always see the whole picture and not be blinded by a single detail. The scout clearly wrote eight words, so why did you only focus on the first four and ignore the last four?"
These words made Xia Wei's eyes light up, and she immediately proposed to Zhang Yong:
"No matter how powerful that bandit Hengshan is, he's only powerful alone. The babies he abducted are now housed in an abandoned City God Temple. I know where that temple is. When Hengshan attacks the city, the defenses behind it will be vulnerable. We might as well deploy a surprise force to rescue those babies while he's distracted."
Hearing this, Zhang Yong suddenly understood and clapped his hands, saying, "Exactly! Attacking the point where the enemy must defend themselves will not only help the situation and relieve the pressure of the attack, but will also crush the enemy's momentum in one fell swoop, greatly boosting our troops' morale. I never thought that Miss Xia Wei, at such a young age, has such foresight and is so familiar with the art of war. I truly admire her."
Xia Wei smiled faintly and glanced at Ye Jie who was waiting quietly on the side. If it weren't for her master's reminder, she would have been so blinded by hatred that she wanted to fight to the death with the Hengshan bandit immediately. How could she have thought of these things?
At this moment, a commotion was heard from the soldiers in the distance. Zhang Yong frowned and said, "What happened? We are facing a powerful enemy, why are you making such a commotion?"
Soon, several loyal men brought a skinny man who was tied up. "We found that he had dropped his weapon and tried to escape over the barrier."
"What..." Zhang Yong's eyes darkened. The man was actually a deserter.
"Commander, please spare me! I was just impulsive... That bandit Hengshan has the strength of the peak of the third level. If I don't escape now, the only end is death." After being captured by everyone, the deserter regretted his decision and begged repeatedly.
Zhang Yong drew his sword from his waist. "So you're going to flee the battle, leaving the elderly, the weak, the women, and the children in the city who need your protection to the attacking enemy? This is truly shameful and deserves military punishment!"
As he said this, he was about to chop off his head.
Xia Wei couldn't bear it and advised, "Why kill him? Why not give him a chance, let him continue to take up arms and fight. Facing the Hengshan bandits who are attacking, one more person means more strength."
Zhang Yong paused, hesitant. He pondered for a moment before sheathing his sword. "Since Miss Xia Wei pleaded for you, I will spare your life. However, in future battles, you must be at the forefront!"
He then said to the crowd, "Pass the order! Anyone who dares to escape will be beheaded in public!"
The frail deserter who had escaped the disaster thanked Xia Wei profusely: "Thank you, Miss Xia Wei. I will never forget this kindness."
Xia Wei waved her hand, and after everyone left, she heard a familiar sigh.
Ye Jie looked at the deserter's back and reminded Xia Wei, "If we don't kill him, it won't be enough to deter the others. Seeing an opportunity, more people will flee before the Hengshan bandits arrive. By then, morale will be low, and defeat is inevitable. Although you saved that deserter, it wasn't the best choice in the long run. Sometimes, you need to sacrifice some to save more..."
"It doesn't matter if I run away." Xia Wei shook her head, her eyes blazing like two bright flames, radiating determination and strength. "I will kill the bandit Hengshan with my own hands. I will save them all."
"As the old saying goes: With great power comes great responsibility. I'm very pleased that you have such awareness." Ye Jie said with emotion, "If you want to defeat the Hengshan Bandit, empty talk alone won't do. You must seize the time and practice the Wild Wolf Sea-Splitting Sword before the Hengshan Bandit arrives."
After a pause, Ye Jie sighed, "How easy is it to challenge a higher-level opponent? Even if you are the reincarnation of an immortal, if you don't have the benefit of martial arts and only rely on your innate magical powers, you will most likely be defeated against the Hengshan Bandit. Time is running out, so you'd better learn the martial arts quickly."
Xia Wei nodded and asked Commander Zhang Yong for a quiet room. After sitting down in the quiet room, she placed the Mo Dao flat on her knees and listened attentively to Ye Jie's explanation of the essence of the martial arts.
As time passed, Ye Jie's tone of voice when reciting the exercises remained as calm as ever. However, this time, Xia Wei was no longer as comfortable as before. Instead, her brows were furrowed, her teeth were clenched, and her expression was full of anxiety and uneasiness. She failed to make any progress for a long time.