Chapter 86

“Grandfather, what do you mean by that?” Ding Chuyong asked, stunned.

“Our Ding family lets them go, but the Xu family certainly won’t,” Ding Banghong sneered.

“The Xu family? Isn’t the news about letting them go sealed? And didn’t they choose to slip away deep in the night precisely to avoid leaks?” Ding Chuyong grew even more confused.

“That’s why, Chuyong, your martial talent is good—you may yet rise to the rank of Clan Elder. But sometimes, you need to think harder here.” Ding Banghong tapped his head. “Just because our Ding family promised to seal the news, does that guarantee it will be sealed?”

“Besides, even if our Ding family seals the news, how can we be sure none of Liang Jingtang’s many family members will leak it?”

“Think about it—if the Xu family sends men to ambush Liang Jingtang’s people on the road, what will Liang Jingtang’s reaction be when he hears? And what about the others who’ve pledged loyalty to us?”

At first, Ding Chuyong dismissed his grandfather’s reprimand, but as he listened further, his expression changed.

“If Liang Jingtang hears this, he’ll hate the Xu family with every fiber of his being—he’ll fight fiercely. As for the others, seeing Liang Jingtang’s example, they’ll dare not demand their families leave first. To protect their loved ones, they’ll fight to the death, no room for Jiaoxing .”

Ding Banghong glanced at Ding Chuyong. “You’re not entirely foolish! But speaking of ambushes—your Uncle Bangning should’ve returned by now. Why hasn’t there been any word? Could it be he’s been chasing them nonstop after the Ji family broke through?”

Ding Banghong gazed beyond the city walls, watching the distant rolling hills like silent beasts crouched in the night, a flicker of alarm and worry crossing his face.

“Could it be that after wiping out the Ji family, he was tricked by the Xu family?” Ding Chuyong blurted out.

“Tricked by the Xu family?” Ding Banghong’s face darkened slightly, but he quickly shook his head. “Unless Xu Zhiyuan himself intervenes, no one in the Xu family can hold your Uncle Bangning.”

“Under the current situation, Xu Zhiyuan dare not leave the Xu family. If our three families rise up, overwhelming in numbers, without him to hold the line, the Xu family will fall.”

“Perhaps Xu Zhiyuan saw right through our plan—and took a desperate gamble!” Ding Chuyong suddenly seemed to grasp it, pressing on.

Ding Banghong’s expression turned grim.

East City Gate.

A cavalry unit also slipped out of Li City under cover of night.

The guards at the East City Gate were Xu family troops.

The next morning, dawn.

Da Yi Mountain, over a hundred miles beyond Li City.

Blood stained the mountain path.

The escort guards, Biaoshi , and masked martial artists were loading corpses onto carts.

The corpses were unmistakably those of the Xu family troops who had left through the East Gate the previous night.

“Our benefactor’s planning is flawless—the Xu family indeed ambushed them!” A masked man rode up beside Xia Daoming, praising him.

“You’re certain no one escaped?” Xia Daoming asked.

“Rest assured, Benefactor—none got away!” the masked man replied.

“Good. Have your men get inside the carts. We keep moving. Find a spot along the way to bury the bodies.” Xia Daoming ordered.

“Yes!” The masked man bowed and departed.

“Daoming, I swear his back looks familiar!” Liu Xiao Qiang, riding beside Liu Qiaolian and now recovered enough to mount a horse, watched the masked man’s retreating figure with a puzzled frown.

“No way—he’s a man with concubines and maids galore, looks refined and scholarly—and he still frequents brothels? Seems like honest, chaste men like me are rare these days!” Xia Daoming stared at the masked man’s back, sneering.

“Pfft!” Liu Qiaolian covered her mouth, laughing softly.

“Lian’er, I’m serious! Ask my senior sister—haven’t I always been properly listening to music and watching dances at Yaohua Pavilion?” Xia Daoming immediately said.

“I can vouch for that—your master is truly one of the rare few who can sit among beauties without being stirred!” Liu Xiao Qiang said earnestly.

“Cough! Cough!” Xia Daoming felt inexplicably guilty.

Her praise was simply too high!

“By the way, who is that man?” Liu Xiao Qiang quickly brought it back up.

“Ji Shouli,” Xia Daoming whispered.

It was the arrangement he and Zhuo Xingji had made that night in the ruined ancestral hall.

There were too many family members.

Even with Xia Daoming’s strength, he couldn’t protect them all.

So after he and Zhuo Xingji left the “den,” a portion of the Ji family’s combat-ready elite, after a brief rest of half a day, also slipped out of the “den” and lay hidden outside Li City, ready to rendezvous with Xia Daoming’s group.

“Him?!” Liu Xiao Qiang was stunned.

“That’s right—him! Looks can be so deceiving!” Xia Daoming sighed dramatically.

Liu Xiao Qiang shot him a sideways glance.

Total non sequitur!

She was shocked that the Ji family patriarch treated Xia Daoming like a servant—yet he was still ranting about the patriarch’s brothel habits.

At noon, the cavalry halted on a long-abandoned mountain trail.

Ji Shouli led a group into the woods.

Soon after, they returned carrying large and small bundles.

These were the treasures Xia Daoming and Zhuo Xingji had hidden after killing Lin Zhaomou’s party during their return to Li City.

With so many people—mostly elderly, children, and women—the journey was naturally slow.

Five days later, at dusk, the cavalry finally reached a secluded valley nestled deep in the mountains, easy to defend.

Xia Daoming saw Ji Yuanzhen, silver-haired and bearded, with Ji Wenyue, stepping out from the valley’s narrow entrance flanked by sheer cliffs—and finally exhaled in relief.

With all family members safely relocated, he could now fight without restraint.

“Benefactor!”

“Big Brother!”

Ji Yuanzhen and Ji Wenyue rushed forward, faces alight with emotion.

Xia Daoming instantly sensed the surging blood and martial energy within them.

Ji Yuanzhen had fully recovered—and had ascended to the Eighth Rank. Ji Wenyue had reached the Sixth Rank.

“Huh, you two...” Xia Daoming’s face lit up with delight.

“Benefactor, you’ve traveled far—please enter the fortress first and rest. We’ll report everything to you later!” Ji Yuanzhen bowed.

“Then I’ll follow Old Master’s orders.”

Xia Daoming suppressed his joy, nodded, then turned to Liu Xiao Qiang and a senior escort captain from Xingyou Escort, giving them instructions to assist Ji Shouli in settling the families. He and Liu Qiaolian, carrying the most vital belongings, followed Ji Yuanzhen and Ji Wenyue into the fortress.

Xingyou Escort was a family-run organization; its escort captains and guards were mostly Zhuo clan members and relatives.

For this relocation, the chief escort captain was Zhuo Tianli, Zhuo Xingji’s paternal uncle, a Fifth Rank martial master past fifty.

Originally, Zhuo Xingji had ordered him to obey Xia Daoming, this young upstart—and Zhuo Tianli had been somewhat resentful.

But along the way, Xia Daoming’s killings and arrangements quickly earned him both respect and fear.

Now that they’d reached their destination and saw the Ji family patriarch treating Xia Daoming with such deference, calling him “Benefactor,” Zhuo Tianli’s awe deepened.

So when Xia Daoming gave an order, Zhuo Tianli rushed to obey without hesitation.

PS: The next few days are critical for the Three Rivers ranking battle. Please readers, try your best to follow along daily—don’t hold off. Thank you.