In the valley permeated with the stench of blood, flickers of light danced. All that the crowd could see at this moment was the black figure on the hillside. She appeared and advanced, slaying Qiu Mengtang with a force that swept away everything in its path. The speed was so fast, the methods so ruthless, that no one could react at all. Only the body, suddenly shorter in the midst of battle, was shocking. As the blood gushed upward, and the advancing figure stepped over Qiu Mengtang, the bandits, who had suffered a crushing defeat and were on the verge of collapse, had no intention of charging forward. They were merely stunned by the death of Little Xiangma, and subconsciously retreated.

The figure did not stop, but after killing Qiu Mengtang and his three men, slowed down slightly, then continued to step forward. Yu Yulin gripped his steel spear tightly, but the dark shadow was not heading towards him. The person's pace seemed slow but was actually fast. In the blink of an eye, they had walked several zhang, and then their speed increased even further, stepping over the grass and corpses in the valley, moving towards the distance as if shrinking the ground to inches. Only when they were about to reach the edge of the valley, a bandit, perhaps indebted to Qiu Mengtang, suddenly rushed up with a knife: "I'll avenge the Chieftain!"

The figures made contact in an instant, and with a *puff* sound, the bandit who had charged forward with his knife flew backward, his hands holding the knife and his head flying into the night sky. The figure's speed did not stop at all, like an ominous black bird, heading towards the distant darkness.

Until the figure disappeared, the valley remained silent, and then someone spoke in a low voice.

"Blood...Blood Bodhisattva..."

Nearby, some bandits were so frightened that they collapsed on the grass, devoid of strength.

In the past couple of years in Mount Lüliang, the most prominent name was Blood Bodhisattva, the Chieftain of Qingmu Stronghold. Even though not many people had actually seen her, her sudden appearance and the things she had done made it clear that it was her. Her killing like this clearly showed her dissatisfaction with Little Xiangma, which was why she took action. Although Little Xiangma was dead, there were still hundreds of lackeys in the valley. Who knew if Qingmu Stronghold would launch a large-scale retaliation in this situation? After all, soldiers against soldiers, kings against kings. Her killing Qiu Mengtang was already a clear signal.

Yu Yulin put away his steel spear. At this moment, he realized that his hands were trembling slightly.

Appearing in this way, directly beheading the strongest person in everyone's eyes at the first moment, suppressing the entire valley until no one could breathe, and then leaving calmly. Although the definition of Grandmaster-level experts in the Jianghu was often arbitrary, anyone who could achieve this level was undoubtedly a true Martial Arts Grandmaster.

He was already considered a strongman among martial artists, and he had also seen the world through leading troops in battle. However, in one night, he first encountered the Heart Demon who destroyed Liangshan, and then faced an expert like Blood Bodhisattva directly. For a moment, even he felt a little palpitation and fear. When did Mount Lüliang become such a dangerous place?

************

"...She's establishing her authority!"

The valley stirred for a while, then quieted down a little. The bandits were collecting Little Xiangma's body, at a loss and frightened. In front of the bonfire, Lou Shuwan's face was cold as she said decisively.

"Qiu Mengtang attacked someone Qingmu Stronghold was escorting. She may have been nearby and found out about this, so she took action! Just look at the direction she appeared and left; she didn't attack General Yu. This time, she came specifically to kill Qiu Mengtang, and there may be other things involved."

Standing to the side, Tian Shi, who had been admiring the night scene, turned around and said, "Maybe she didn't dare to get into a protracted battle. There are so many people in the valley that even a Grandmaster like Zhou Tong wouldn't come out ahead if a real fight broke out. She kills and leaves, anyway the deterrence is enough. Perhaps next, the people of Qingmu Stronghold will swallow Little Xiangma's territory. We've already been dragged into this. What makes you think we haven't broken face?"

"Because there's no need at all," Lou Shuwan said. "Authority itself is very fragile, especially since she's a woman, and Little Xiangma didn't respect her much. I said before not to create extra trouble, but... sigh, in any case, Little Xiangma is dead, and her authority is back. Why would she want to start a war with Tiger King from afar! We're here to do business, not to fight!"

Yu Yulin threw a piece of firewood into the bonfire: "But that Heart Demon Ning Yi came under her name, and maybe the two have a personal relationship. We may have offended this Blood Bodhisattva."

"When it comes to personal relationships, there are different kinds," Lou Shuwan still said coldly. "Even a nodding acquaintance is a personal relationship. Qingmu Stronghold doesn't throw around relationships carelessly, but... with his Heart Demon title, it wouldn't be a big deal to find a casual acquaintance. They're top figures in the Green Forest. It's not surprising that they've met before. But business is business. She's the chieftain of a stronghold. When you open the door to do business, there's room for negotiation. The most important thing is, we just entered the mountain. Are we going back because of this?"

"Miss Lou is right, but Third Master's worries are reasonable. It's always good to be cautious and see all the possibilities clearly."

Lou Shuwan did not refute: "Then the biggest possibility is that she came to establish her authority, and since Qiu Mengtang has been killed, her purpose has been achieved. The next thing we should do is go back immediately and take over Qiu Mengtang's stronghold."

She paused: "Qiu Mengtang is dead. His men will definitely be in chaos. We came under the Tiger King's banner, so it will be easy to take over. First, stabilize the situation. Once we have people in hand, we'll have bargaining chips. We'll still go to Qingmu Stronghold as usual. I know you're great heroes and can't lower your faces. I'll handle all the apologizing and negotiating. Even if I have to die, I'll die first. What do you say?"

Lou Shuwan's words were straightforward and direct. Tian Shi said, "It's not like that..." Before, everyone had kicked a steel plate trying to show off in front of Lou Shuwan. It was impossible to say they felt good about it. But Lou Shuwan usually had resourcefulness, and at this time, Tian Shi and Yu Yulin could see that she had regained her composure. What she said was indeed reasonable, so they no longer refuted.

"What about that Heart Demon Ning Yi? What exactly is his background? Miss Lou, what kind of past do you have with him? Can it be resolved? Can you tell us about these things? If we go to Qingmu Stronghold, we might have to deal with him..."

Lou Shuwan's face turned red, then white. She was silent for a moment, and finally spoke: "I... I don't know what power he borrowed to destroy Liangshan. I knew him in Hangzhou. He was the husband of one of my sisters, a Son-in-Law. They came to Hangzhou for a visit... I know he has some skills... Later, when an earthquake occurred, Fang La took advantage of the opportunity to seize Hangzhou. My family was left in Hangzhou City, and had to rely on Saint Duke. When I met him again, he was a prisoner captured by Fang La's men. I heard that on the escape route, he caused Saint Duke's men a lot of trouble..."

The woman organized her words, speaking not fast, but trying to clearly express her impression of Ning Yi. This effort was also difficult for her. Tian Shi and Yu Yulin listened, their faces changing in the firelight. They had just been defeated, and now they listened to Lou Shuwan's account, they were quite skeptical, looking at the woman's slightly embarrassed face, thinking: The Heart Demon is this kind of person? Are you kidding me?

They also thought: Martial arts heroes may appear refined on the surface. How can you, a woman with long hair and short insights, see through him? The Heart Demon has a relationship with the imperial court, and he must have opposed Saint Duke in Hangzhou. He was captured by Saint Duke Fang La or Fang Qifo who wanted to recruit him. Thinking this way, Saint Duke or Fang Qifo had fought with this Heart Demon in Hangzhou? Battles between grandmasters like this are mostly earth-shattering, but unfortunately, they didn't have the chance to witness it. After Saint Duke's rebellion failed, it wasn't even rumored...

The two thought like this, not without regret for the annihilation of such martial arts events.

In fact, there were still some clear rumors in the Jianghu about the Heart Demon's reasons for destroying Liangshan. At least, Ning Yi himself had arranged for people to publicize that the reason was that the Liangshan bandits had killed half of his wife's family. However, these rumors could still maintain a complete shape at the time, but after being passed around in the Jianghu, they mostly changed.

Tian Hu's side didn't have much contact with Liangshan's side, and they mostly didn't care about the truth when listening to these Jianghu anecdotes. There were many statements similar to the Heart Demon fighting the Liangshan heroes, or even breaking into the Liangshan Gathering Hall alone and fighting Song Jiang, Lu Junyi, and others until the sky turned dark. Some people would even add fuel to the fire: "Let me tell you, I know Song Jiang. Although he is righteous, his martial arts are not the highest. Those who can fight the Heart Demon are Lu Junyi, Guan Sheng, Qin Ming, and Lin Chong. Liangshan's righteousness speaks of Jianghu morality. There is no siege in the Gathering Hall, but that Heart Demon's martial arts are really high. He just killed them one-on-one..."

They don't know what kind of past they had, but on this matter, they can only believe this woman halfway...

Tian Shi and Yu Yulin listened to Lou Shuwan's words and thought like this.

************

"Achoo, achoo--"

In the night wind, Ning Yi rubbed his nose: "Tsk, it's smoky, really uncomfortable... Did the people in the back catch up?"

Walking along the way, Zhu Biao nodded: "They have returned to the team."

"After all, we're in unfamiliar territory, so don't get separated again... Let's talk about the elm cannon. I still feel that its power isn't very great, but the gunpowder is more inclined to glow, and its deterrent power is still enough at night. Plus the sound, it will definitely startle any horse team. Just now, two of our own horses were scared away, haha, good," Ning Yi said in a low voice, "After all, who can stand such a loud noise at night, haha..."

The battle in that mountain depression didn't last long after Yu Yulin and others were defeated. Ning Yi and others' purpose was not to kill people, but after the killing stopped, they still stayed in place for a long time before setting off.

The most important things after the battle were to treat the wounded and collect the bodies of the men. Although all the members of their side were experts in this great battle, there were still a few people who died or went missing. Although Ning Yi himself was an unscrupulous capitalist and a bloodsucker, he still had some psychological obstacles to the deaths of his own people. After winning, he couldn't talk about being too happy.

Of course, since last year, the Ning family had suffered too many assassinations, and the deaths of those who protected the house were not the first time. While doing his best to settle the few corpses he could find, he also divided a team to search for horses in the surrounding area. In that charge of Qiu Mengtang and Yu Yulin, there were as many as seventy or eighty knights in the front. Now, with one shot of the cannon, all the horses had run away. Wu Chao produced very few horses, and most of them were draft horses. This time, recovering most of those runaway horses, given that Bamboo Remembrance was not short of money, could be considered a big profit.

The power of the landmines had been verified in actual combat, and the elm cannon had become more stable, but even if it didn't fire much, it still exploded one. Ning Yi also asked the people around him to record the data as much as possible: from which angle it was fired, how it was fired, how much actual lethality there was, whether the light and sound were more frightening, or how many people were really killed... and so on.

After a short rest, the group broke camp and set off, preparing to go to a valley in front for another rest. Zhao Si now knew how powerful Ning Yi was, and even vaguely knew the other party's nickname "Heart Demon"—he had heard of this name that was said to kill people like flies—so he no longer dared to put on the appearance of being "able to handle" things.

The terrain in the valley in front was indeed a good natural camp. When Ning Yi and others passed by, there was even a small house on the hillside, which, although old, was generally intact.

"...We often take this road back to the stronghold. In front is a hunting house. Sometimes hunters live there, and we also stay there when we pass by. Although it's simple, at least it can block the wind and rain. Young Master Ning can rest there tonight. It's better than being in the wilderness."

"Then thank you, Master Zhao Si."

"Hey, Young Master Ning can just call me Zhao Si. Zhao Si can't bear it, can't bear it..."

During such a conversation, the group walked to the front of the small house, only to see that someone inside had lit a lamp, and the person's silhouette was reflected on the old window.

"Someone arrived first..."

The light moved for a moment, and was placed on the table in front of the window. Zhu Biao, Zhao Si, and others silently moved forward, protecting Ning Yi. In the room, the figure seemed to have lowered the hood of their cloak. After a moment, the old wooden door creaked open slowly in front of everyone.

A figure appeared before everyone's eyes. She walked out of the door. Zhao Si took a step closer, and then suddenly knelt down: "Chieftain... This..."

He turned his head to remind the others of something, but Ning Yi had already walked past him, and a sigh escaped his lips: "Ah..."

In the dim yellow light of the night, Ning Yi walked to the person in front of him, stopping one step away, separated by a flight of stairs. Zhao Si heard him say, "Blood Bodhisattva." There seemed to be a hint of playfulness in his tone.

"Ning, the Man-Butcher."

The woman who made Zhao Si kneel involuntarily, replied in this way under the eaves in the night. Because Zhao Si had only joined after Qingmu Stronghold expanded, he had seen the "Chieftain" fighting and raging in the past. It was only at this time that he looked up and saw for the first time that the woman, whose martial arts were so high that they were frightening, had such a clear and joyful smile on her face...

At that moment, the surrounding warm light gathered on the two people who were looking at each other.