Song Bao saw that no matter how much he pleaded, the woman refused to spare him and even charged forward with her sword's energy. He could only quickly draw the long staff from his waist to block.
With a clang and a shower of sparks as the weapons collided, Song Bao was sent flying. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he looked up at the woman before him in disbelief.
Who exactly was this person? Why was her martial arts style so strange? To be so young and possess such profound inner strength!
Song Bao shook his trembling hand, his other hand stealthily reaching for something at his back. As Su Muqing charged forward again, he waved and threw a packet of powder.
Su Muqing had naturally noticed his subtle movement. As she saw his hand swing, she quickly raised her left hand to cover her mouth and nose.
Then, with a flourish of the short sword held in her right hand, she sidestepped and lunged forward, slicing off Song Bao's arm, which he had extended after scattering the powder and before he could retract it.
"Ah!" It took a while for Song Bao to react after his arm was severed. Then came a heart-wrenching scream.
He probably realized that he was destined to die today and did not beg for mercy again. Instead, with a look of fierce hatred, he picked up the long staff that had fallen nearby and swung it forcefully at Su Muqing with his other hand.
Under the influence of the intense pain, Song Bao's perceived exertion was, in Su Muqing's eyes, like a slow-motion replay. She caught the swung staff and swiftly slashed her sword again.
"Aaaah~" This time, Song Bao screamed out quickly.
In just this short time, both his arms had been cut off, turning him into an armless man. He writhed on the ground, howling incessantly, enduring suffocating pain.
Su Muqing had initially intended to give him a quick death. However, when she inadvertently looked towards the ox cart and saw the group of women trembling in fear, she raised her hand and sent a burst of palm wind towards him. With a crack, a noticeable bulge appeared on Song Bao's spine.
Even after being struck like this, this second-in-command still wasn't dead. He was still emitting gasping breaths.
After waiting for a while longer, seeing Song Bao on the verge of death from the torment of pain, Su Muqing then hurled a large thunderclap at him, blasting him until he was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, his entire body scorched black. Only then did he truly breathe his last.
The entire process was quite brutal! Horrifying to behold! Even Huo Xin couldn't help but glance at Su Muqing a couple more times. He hadn't expected this young lady to be so ruthless and decisive, acting swiftly and killing with clean precision. She was someone capable of great things.
After dealing with the bandits, Old Third was the first to lead his men to sort through the supplies and horses, checking how much they had gained this time. All of it would be transported back to the cave.
Lu Yuzhi couldn't help but want to facepalm when he saw Old Third acting so familiar with the process of looting. He had previously been a stern and upright personal guard, but now his methods were becoming increasingly deviant, more like a bandit than a true bandit!
Su Muqing released the women who had been tied up. Considering that they were not far from the prefecture city, she planned to distribute some grain to each of them, allowing them to escape on their own.
After thanking Su Muqing and her companions, some of the women took the distributed grain and returned the way they came, searching for their relatives.
The remaining dozen or so women said that their families had already been killed by these bandits, and their hometowns were suffering from famine. They now had nowhere to go.
So, a group of them knelt and kowtowed to Su Muqing, even offering to sell themselves, willing to be servants or maids, all for the sake of a stable place to stay.
Su Muqing didn't know whether to agree. She knew that there were already nearly two hundred people in the cave, and dozens of Huo family soldiers were still on their way.
However, seeing that most of them were not very old, she feared that if she didn't take them in, they wouldn't get far before meeting a similar fate.
Su Muqing thought for a moment, and finally her heart softened. Forget it! One more or one less, it wouldn't make much difference. Saving one was saving, saving a group was also saving. As long as these people lived well and didn't cause her any trouble, she would take them in! She considered it as strengthening Houxi Village.
Once the arrangements were mostly complete, Lu Yuzhi instructed Huo Xin to handle the aftermath. He had no intention of properly handling the remains of the bandits. He ordered his subordinates to pile all their corpses together casually, inscribing next to them that they were all wicked bandits, and considered it done.
Then, the group, carrying the supplies and livestock plundered by the bandits, along with the remaining women, set off in a grand procession, once again embarking on the journey back to the cave.
Thus, the bandit stronghold, Fierce Tiger Stockade, which had operated for decades, committing crimes in multiple prefecture cities, with a total of over two hundred people, was completely wiped out.
Fierce Tiger Stockade completely disappeared from the martial world.
Su Minghui felt that since the bandits had been eliminated, the stronghold should no longer be called Fierce Tiger Stockade. So, he asked Xu Fu for help in coming up with a new name.
Xu Fu, in turn, went to find Su Muqing. Su Muqing considered herself terrible at naming things, so she called together the key individuals for a brainstorming session.
Finally, they unanimously decided to rename Kanzi Mountain to Righteousness Mountain, and Fierce Tiger Stockade to Righteousness Mountain Manor. They also changed the name of Houxi Village to Righteousness Village.
All obstacles had been cleared. The people of Righteousness Village were also renewed, preparing for a new beginning!
In late August, the remaining dozens of Huo family soldiers also arrived, finally providing significant security for Righteousness Mountain Manor. Su Muqing and the others also made preparations, intending to depart for the Heavenly Radiance Country the following day.
On the dawn of the first day of September, Su Muqing, Su Cuiping, Lin Rongrong, and the Little Milk Package, along with Lu Yuzhi and his ten guards – a total of fifteen people – set off on the road to the Heavenly Radiance Country.
Su Muqing and the others lay in a modified large horse carriage, while Lu Yuzhi and his men rode their horses on the sides. The Little Milk Package, not having traveled in the middle of the night for a long time, was too excited to sleep. He babbled continuously, pulling at the hair of the three girls, urging them to get up and play with him, not allowing them to sleep. Seeing the three girls with eyes so heavy they could barely open, Lu Yuzhi took the Little Milk Package, secured him to his chest, and took him for a ride on horseback. He didn't fall into a drowsy sleep until dawn.
After traveling all night, heading west out of Songlin County, around ten in the morning, the group stopped at a dilapidated temple to eat and rest.
Leng Ren and the others wanted to eat instant noodles. They had eaten them twice before and had all fallen in love with the taste. However, they knew that these were sent to Su Muqing by her master from a distant land and were surely very valuable, so they felt too embarrassed to ask.