Chapter 204: Ye Qingxian's Anger, and Her Thoughts on Ning Mu!

This time, we are laying siege to Fenglei Stronghold.

It can be considered as offering courtesy before resorting to force.

The three-day deadline passed, yet the other side did not know how to seize the opportunity, choosing instead to put up a desperate resistance.

Then, there is no choice but to annihilate them.

Liu Qingmei led a troop to occupy the Salt Well at Luoxia Slope; under the orders of Zhu Yaluan, Zhou Dacheng, the Second Stronghold Master of Yunxiao Stronghold, led three thousand skilled men to attack from the southeast end; Ning Mu personally led the Stranger Blade squad to launch a frontal assault, with several hundred men brought by Huang Yutang following behind as support.

For attacking a small mountain stronghold, this arrangement was already foolproof.

What's more, there were experts like Liu Qingmei, Liuli, and Ye Qingxian accompanying them.

Wei Youqing and her disciple Pi Yalu did not come.

Firstly, the two of them are currently not subordinates of Ningyang Stronghold, but disciples of Jixia Academy; secondly, the stronghold also requires defense—if the leader of this Fenglei Stronghold were proficient in military strategy and launched a sneak attack to swap bases, wouldn't the loss outweigh the gain?

Following the death of Zhai Dali.

The battlefield instantly turned into a one-sided situation.

The subordinates of Fenglei Stronghold all scurried about in terror; those who could not escape shouted for mercy, dropped their Wuji, and squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands.

"Collect the weapons, clear the battlefield, detain the captives, and send them to mine salt tomorrow!"

Ning Mu waved his hand and tossed the Ten Thousand Might Flame Dragon Spear in his hand directly; Ye Qingxian, who was riding a horse at his side, raised an eyebrow and reached out to catch it.

He vaulted down from the back of his old steed.

Ning Mu strode directly into the main assembly hall.

Meanwhile, Wang Tong and the others had long since dropped their weapons and were being detained by members of the Stranger Blade squad.

After entering the hall, Ning Mu cast his gaze around, surveying the area.

He had not forgotten the request of the little fox, Youyou.

Currently, only Su Yueqiao, this one fox, had been discovered; the other fox was hidden somewhere unknown, and if it were not found in time, once it escaped, there was no guarantee it would not seek revenge for Su Yueqiao.

Therefore, the most urgent task was to find that fox demon hiding somewhere unknown.

"Search for me! Transport all gold, silver, treasures, grain, and supplies back to the Mountain Stronghold to be settled by the Stronghold Master Tong, and escort all the concubines to Luoxia Slope."

Ning Mu gave the order.

The members of the Stranger Blade squad immediately began their indoor search.

On the drill ground outside, the situation was already under control by Huang Yutang and the others who had arrived.

Ning Mu and Ye Qingxian also entered the backyard.

"This fellow really knows how to enjoy himself!"

Watching one beautiful woman after another walk out under the escort of the Stranger Blade squad, Ning Mu could not help but let out a sigh.

These women had terror and numbness in their eyes, as if they had long since grown accustomed to this fate of being ordered about.

Moreover, the number was not small; a single room was packed with four or five of them.

After searching a few rooms, the courtyard was instantly filled with these women, each of them barely covered in rags.

And just as Ning Mu's voice fell.

Ye Qingxian, who had been silent at his side while observing the pitiful women, suddenly rolled her eyes.

"Six of one, half a dozen of the other; you aren't much better yourself."

The voice was very soft, and also very flat.

However, this earth-shattering remark immediately caught Ning Mu's attention.

He turned his head, looking with surprise at Ye Qingxian, whose expression was indifferent and whose eyes were withered and devoid of light.

This woman had always had a cold temperament, and she had been unyielding even when at Cangjian Villa.

Ever since coming up the mountain, she had maintained her hatred due to the massacre of her clan, barely saying a word; only in front of Liu Qingmei would she speak a few more sentences.

Furthermore, she never spoke any idle words unrelated to herself.

For her to suddenly come out with such a remark, it was hard not to be surprised.

Ning Mu smiled immediately; instead of responding directly to Ye Qingxian, he stopped a woman who was being escorted past the two of them.

"What is your name?"

"Er... Wu Er'ya."

The woman stopped, her expression suddenly filled with panic and unease, and her sallow little face was covered in a look of terror.

"Are you Zhai Dali's concubine?" Ning Mu asked again.

"No... no!" Wu Er'ya shook her head like a rattle-drum immediately.

Then, without waiting for Ning Mu to ask, she cleverly knelt on the ground and cried out, "I, I was snatched and brought up the mountain. Noble one, please, I beg you to let me go. I was originally going to marry Brother Hai, but, but I was abducted and brought up the mountain on the way to the wedding, and Brother Hai was killed by them!"

"How did Zhai Dali treat you?"

"He..." A flash of terror crossed Wu Er'ya's eyes; she seemed to recall some terrifying event, shrinking back and not daring to continue.

"He has already been killed by me; just say whatever you have to say."

Ning Mu waved his hand, dispelling the doubts in Wu Er'ya's heart.

Hearing this, not only Wu Er'ya, but all the women who had been held captive were shaken.

The Great Stronghold Master Zhai was dead?

For a moment, some felt fortunate, some sighed, but others revealed despair.

Wu Er'ya began to weep, kneeling on the ground and crying bitterly, "Benefactor, you are my benefactor! Thank you, benefactor, for saving me!"

"That Zhai... Zhai... that man was simply not human. It wasn't enough that he ruined my purity; every day he made us take turns serving him. If we were slightly disobedient, we would be beaten to death, or rewarded to those subordinates to be humiliated together. And, and we were even sent to the stables to be defiled by those beasts until we were humiliated to death. Even, even every time he went to the latrine, he made us serve him from the side, and we had to drink his, his..."

Speaking to this point, Wu Er'ya was overcome with shame and indignation, unable to continue; she only covered her mouth and wept.

Ye Qingxian, standing to the side, frowned deeply as she listened, and a rare trace of anger was brewing on her face.

Despicable!

How could there be such a detestable person! If it were merely seeking carnal pleasures, it might still be understandable; after all, coming from a background as a bandit, plundering women from good families for amusement is nothing rare.

But.

To beat them to death at every turn, or even let subordinates gang-rape them, and even let beasts defile them...

This is simply too excessive!

Ye Qingxian, being a woman herself, naturally felt deep sympathy and was filled with uncontrollable rage.

"Alright, take her away."

Ning Mu waved his hand, signaling the members of the Stranger Blade squad to take Wu Er'ya away.

Afterwards.

He turned his head to look at Ye Qingxian and said with a calm smile, "Young Lady Ye, do you know now how I am different from him?"

"If you say I am just as bad as him, then I fear Young Lady Ye would not be able to escape my clutches either, but the reality is quite different. Should your preconceived prejudice against me be corrected?"

A faint smile hung on the corner of Ning Mu's mouth.

Ye Qingxian was startled upon hearing this, and her face immediately darkened.

This guy specifically stopped a woman just to prove his difference to her? But it is true.

Although Ning Mu started as a stable hand, thanks to the favor of Liu Qingmei, he changed his status overnight, yet he did not lose himself because of it; instead, he has his own set of principles to establish himself in this world.

Although he is a bit of a playboy, and even snatched away his own sister-in-law.

But it cannot be denied that, resentment aside, this guy treats the women in his inner courtyard, and even the maidservants among them, with genuine affection.

Unlike someone like Zhai Dali, who treats the plundered women entirely as tools for his own pleasure, bossing them around and beating or killing them at will.

But whenever she thinks about how this guy, in the capacity of a disciple, took advantage of her brother being critically ill and dying to carry his beautiful master—her brother's wife—into the bedroom, and even performed a scene of Phoenix Seeking Phoenix before her brother's sickbed, she cannot help but feel her teeth itch with hatred.

It is just that now, saying all this is useless.

Her brother has passed away, and the Ye Family is no more.

Yet her former sister-in-law is devoted to this guy, loyal to him with the strength of a Divine Origin realm expert. What else can she do?

Ye Qingxian knitted her brows thinking about these things, pondering whether she should apologize to Ning Mu for the words she had just blurted out.

But at this moment.

Ning Mu had already stopped paying attention to her and was instead staring at a member of the Stranger Blade squad, reprimanding him.

That Stranger Blade squad member had wandering hands.

He was actually secretly molesting these miserable women.

In this public setting, those few women being molested also dared to be angry but dared not speak, having to endure the grievance.

It happened to be spotted by Ning Mu.

"Your hands are so unruly. I don't even do that when I'm out there; have you lost your mind to lust?"

Ning Mu glared at that Stranger Blade squad member.

That man was so scared he was already kneeling on the ground.

Ning Mu raised his eyebrows and pondered for a moment, then looked at the group of women and said, "Everyone, I don't know how many of you were coerced by Zhai Dali and how many followed him voluntarily. Now I will give you two choices."

"First, each of these men before you can choose one of you to take back to live a life together. If you are chosen, then congratulations, you can escape the sea of bitterness and follow us back to the stronghold!"

"Second, if they don't take a fancy to you, or if you are unwilling to go with them, then you will only have the same treatment as the captives outside: go to the well and dig for ore!"

Ning Mu raised his eyebrows and announced the fate of these women.

Hearing these words, the women all looked at each other, and some secretly sized up the heroic men holding Stranger Blades in front of them.

As for the Stranger Blade squad members, upon hearing this, they all grinned.

They were all disaster victims before, living a life where they didn't know if they would survive the day; let alone women, even having enough to eat was a problem.

Now it is better.

Following the Stronghold Master, not only can they eat their fill, but they can also step into cultivation.

The only shortcoming is not having a woman to accompany them.

And now, the Stronghold Master allows them to choose a woman they are satisfied with from among these delicate ladies to take back to warm their beds.

This could not help but make them all excited and restless, their eyes glowing green like hungry wolves.

How could they be picky? These women were all as delicate as jade; in normal times, let alone carrying them back to their own beds, even just catching a glimpse from afar would be enough to make them have sweet dreams for days.

At this time, Ning Mu also looked at these restless Stranger Blade warriors.

"Brothers, I'll say this first: if you choose one, you must treat her well. You must show the responsibility of a man. Being a playboy is fine; as long as you have the ability, it doesn't matter if you marry ten or eight, but you cannot abandon them after starting, and you must not beat or scold them or give them a hard time. Otherwise, the stronghold laws will not be lenient. Do you understand?"

"Understood, thank you for your great kindness, Stronghold Master!"

Immediately, the group of vigorous men with nowhere to vent their energy shouted in unison, full of excitement.

Next, they began to make their selections from among these inner dependents of Fenglei Stronghold.

And it was this shout of theirs that immediately made Ye Qingxian, who was to the side, frown.

Then.

She was seen tapping her feet and rushing toward a room that had already been searched.

Ning Mu noticed and hurriedly followed.

"Monster, die!"

Ye Qingxian was seen raising her sword, her head tilted upward, staring at the crossbeam above.

The loud shout from the Stranger Blade warriors just now had caused this little monster hiding on the crossbeam to reveal its tracks, and it was instantly locked onto by Ye Qingxian.

"Awooo~ awooo~"

Sensing the killing intent, Su Zuozuo, who was hiding there, immediately became afraid and instinctively let out fox cries.

Ning Mu's eyes lit up.

Compared to Su Youyou, who was pure white all over, the fox in front of him was different; it was pitch black all over.

If not for the few white teeth revealed by that baring of fangs, it would have been difficult to even notice it hidden in the shadows.

Was this just Su Youyou's older sister or her aunt? Immediately.

Ning Mu hurriedly spoke up to stop Ye Qingxian: "Stop."

Then, Ning Mu looked at Su Zuozuo, who was on guard atop the rafters, and said: "Little demon, do you recognize Su Youyou?"

Upon hearing this, Su Zuozuo, who had already assumed a combat stance on the rafters, was momentarily stunned.

Immediately after, she spoke in human language.

"You know my younger sister? Where is she? Did you capture her!" Su Zuozuo became instantly anxious.

Ye Qingxian frowned, her face full of caution.

She did not know that Ning Mu was keeping a fox demon as a pet.

After all, although she lived in the backyard, she was the only woman in the backyard not qualified to go up to the second or third floors.

"She is at my home, very safe, and instructed me to come find you. You must be Su Zuozuo, right? Come down, I won't hurt you. You should understand that if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to do it myself; this swordswoman could take your life with a single strike. There is no need for tricks, don't you think?"

Ning Mu looked at Su Zuozuo, who was on guard on the crossbeam, and immediately calmed and appeased her.

Hearing this, Su Zuozuo's fox-like eyes flickered a few times, flashing with doubt and unease, but in the end, she jumped down from the rafters.

"Follow me, no one will hurt you. If you run around, your life will be hard to guarantee."

Looking at Su Zuozuo, who had landed on the ground and was crouching more than ten paces away, glaring vigilantly at him and Ye Qingxian, Ning Mu said.

Ye Qingxian frowned, but she still followed suit and returned her sword to its scabbard.

Having found Su Zuozuo, a small matter was resolved.

That fox demon outside, who had been beaten back to her original form by Liuli, should be the aunt of Su Youyou and Su Zuozuo.

Arriving at the council hall.

Ning Mu sat on the tiger-skin armchair to rest.

The maid Chunzhi, who had followed, hurriedly brought over a water pot.

At the same time.

Several subordinates were seen carrying the fox's corpse into the council hall using Wuji.

"Stronghold Master, this is a great demon; there is a demon core inside its body!"

Huang Yutang reported.

Meanwhile.

Liuli, who had been patrolling outside, also arrived in the hall.

Entering the door at the same time as her were Wang Tong and a group of Mountain Stronghold leaders.

The fox demon corpse, which had been carried on the Wuji, was suddenly dropped to the ground as the Wuji were withdrawn.

"Aunt!"

At this moment.

Behind Ning Mu, Su Zuozuo, who was hiding behind the tiger-skin armchair, shouted anxiously upon seeing the corpse of Su Yueqiao.

And the fox demon corpse in the hall, almost at the very last instant of hitting the ground.

Suddenly.

It erupted with a burst of intense light, causing the surrounding subordinates to turn pale with shock and retreat instinctively.

The next moment.

Su Yueqiao was seen in her original form, her four hooves pawing the ground, revealing a ferocious and vicious glint as she bared her fangs at Ning Mu.

"Zuozuo, attack and subdue this person! Only then will you and I have a chance to live!"

(End of chapter)