Chapter 44: Help to the End

However, that woman was full of vigilance toward him and asked about his background.

He could understand that. He explained how he had heard that the bandits were coming to loot the village.

"Were those few arrows just now shot by you?" the woman asked.

"Exactly!" Ye Liuyun replied.

"Where is your bow?" the woman obviously didn't believe him.

Ye Liuyun had no choice but to take out the Ice Moon Bow from his Storage Ring and shoot an arrow, after which she believed him.

She glanced at Ye Liuyun's Storage Ring, obviously very curious.

At that moment, an old man rushed over and thanked Ye Liuyun. "I am the Village Chief of this place. Thank you, sir, for saving our whole village's lives!"

After saying that, he bowed deeply to Ye Liuyun to show his gratitude, then added: "But sir, you had better leave quickly! Otherwise, when the bandit chief arrives, we will be unable to resist."

Ye Liuyun never expected that after helping out, he would actually be driven away.

At least let me rest for a night before leaving!

"What cultivation level is the bandit chief?" Ye Liuyun asked.

"True Origin Quadruple! You're no match for him!" the woman said lightly.

"Have someone guide me to the bandits' lair. You don't need to send your people in with me. I will go in alone and settle things. If I can't settle it, you can flee afterward." Ye Liuyun told them.

Since I've already taken action, I must help them to the end. Otherwise, helping only halfway would actually leave these people homeless!

The woman was also startled, and she asked him again for confirmation: "Are you sure you want to help us go against that bandit chief?"

Ye Liuyun nodded and said, "Mm! Help them to the end!"

Having said that, he turned back onto his horse, waiting for someone to show him the way. The villagers certainly did not want to leave their homeland, so they were all willing to let Ye Liuyun give it a try.

Finally, the woman gritted her teeth and decided: "Alright! I'll take you there!"

"Just have someone who knows the way take me there!"

"It's fine! You don't need me to fight, right? I'll take you to the place and then come back." the woman said.

"Alright then!" Ye Liuyun also agreed, after all it's just about showing the way.

Seeing her lift her foot to leave, Ye Liuyun asked, "Does the village have no horses?"

"How could this little village have such luxuries!" Zhu Wushuang gave an embarrassed laugh and continued walking forward.

Ye Liuyun immediately jumped down from his horse.

"Let me give you this horse! My speed is still fine; if you're not too fast, I can catch up."

Saying that, he threw the reins to the woman.

The woman wasn't polite, she mounted the horse and rode off.

After riding far away, she stopped, dismounted, and handed the reins back to Ye Liuyun.

"I am Zhu Wushuang. Thank you, sir, for your great kindness! I may have offended you just now; please forgive me."

"The villagers don't know the gap in True Essence Realm, so they let you go on this adventure. But Wushuang cannot harm a benefactor! So sir, you had better just leave! After I return, I will have the Village Chief lead everyone to move out immediately."

Upon hearing that, Ye Liuyun was also taken aback, and he thought much more highly of Zhu Wushuang.

This woman appears cold toward others, but her heart is still very kind.

He then smiled and said, "I appreciate Miss Wushuang's good intentions; it seems I didn't save the wrong person."

"However, I won't gamble with my own life. Rest assured, I am confident I can fight someone at True Origin Quadruple."

"This..." Zhu Wushuang obviously didn't believe it, so she wasn't swayed by Ye Liuyun's words.

"It seems you want me to prove it to you again?" Ye Liuyun smiled and released the Black Python from his ring.

Upon sensing the Black Python's aura, Zhu Wushuang immediately became happy.

She then embarrassedly said, "Please don't hold it against me, sir! I was genuinely worried you'd get hurt just now."

"Let's go!" Ye Liuyun said, handing the reins back to Zhu Wushuang.

On the road, the two also started chatting.

"I don't see any experts in your village; how did you provoke these bandits?" Ye Liuyun asked.

Zhu Wushuang sighed and said, "How dare we provoke them? We normally pay them protection money every month. However, their third stronghold chief came to our village, acted outrageously, and I killed him in a fit of anger, so they came for revenge."

"Do they rely on looting you for a living?" Ye Liuyun wondered. "It seems such a small village couldn't possibly produce enough money to support so many bandits!"

Zhu Wushuang explained, "Of course not! They mainly earn money by capturing ferocious beasts and selling them to the Beast Taming Pavilion in the prefectural city. Nearby small villages also can't afford much protection money."

Not long after, the two arrived at the bandits' lair. Ye Liuyun had Zhu Wushuang hide while he went to deal with the bandits.

Zhu Wushuang, however, insisted on fighting alongside him, saying she could at least help him deal with some minor lackeys.

Ye Liuyun thought it over, saw no major problem, and agreed.

Ye Liuyun released his Divine Sense to scout the bandits' lair thoroughly. The lair resembled a manor, capable of holding nearly a hundred people.

But at the moment, there were only thirty-something bandits inside.

He first took out his bow and arrows, shot dead all four hidden sentries, then walked straight toward the lair.

Most of the bandits inside were not asleep; they were waiting for the raiding bandits to return.

"Boss, why hasn't the second-in-command come back yet?" a lackey asked.

"He should be back soon! There's also a woman to be escorted back, so it might be a bit slower!" said a one-eyed middle-aged man.

This man had a face full of flesh, his body brimming with killing intent; at a glance you could tell his hands were stained with blood!

"He won't be coming back!" a cold voice suddenly rang out, startling the bandits.

The one-eyed leader was also startled, and he instinctively picked up the large knife placed nearby.

The other bandits also all grabbed their weapons, preparing for battle.

At that moment, the figures of Ye Liuyun and Zhu Wushuang appeared before the bandits.

"Who are you, with a Body Refining Eighth Level cultivation, daring to break into our Black Cloud Stronghold?" the one-eyed man was originally nervous, but upon seeing Ye Liuyun's cultivation level, he relaxed instead.

Just two Body Refining Eighth Level martial cultivators—still not enough for him to kill.

The other bandits, seeing that there were only the two of them, also began shouting without restraint.

"Keep the women, kill the men!"

"You're the one who'll die! Go down and reunite with your comrades!" Ye Liuyun couldn't be bothered to listen to the bandits' foul language; he directly released the Black Python, letting it entangle Du Yan.

He then drew his blade and began slaughtering those bandits.

The bandits didn't even have a single True Origin Triple cultivator; before him they naturally had no match. They rushed forward, and he killed as many as came.

His sword intent now was worlds apart from before; that overbearing sword intent, when unleashed, made people lose even the will to resist.

Zhu Wushuang basically had no need to act; it simply wasn't her turn.

After dealing with those lackeys, Ye Liuyun had the Black Python cover his flank, and he wanted to test the combat power of a True Origin Quadruple.

Ye Liuyun unleashed all his energy, even his bloodline power bursting forth, and clashed with Du Yan.

Both wielded blades, but their sword techniques were worlds apart. Du Yan's sword technique, under Ye Liuyun's sword intent, was completely suppressed, unable to exert any strength.

Even he himself hadn't expected that he could actually fight Du Yan to a draw.

However, for Ye Liuyun to kill him was extremely difficult; after all, the gap in cultivation realms lay there.

In the end, he only managed to kill Du Yan by launching a sneak attack with his Soul Sword.

Having disposed of Du Yan, Ye Liuyun let out a long sigh. "Looks like having more skills is still beneficial. There's always something that can catch one off guard."

Ye Liuyun decided that henceforth he would not lightly use his Soul Sword technique except in a life-or-death crisis; instead, he would keep it as a trump card to deliver a lethal blow at critical moments.