Chapter 370: He Yuxiu, So It Was You

He Yuxiu was captured by the Jiang Xiang Gang of Soda Kiln.

This came as quite a surprise.

Not only did He Yuxiu herself not expect it, the hall master of Soda Kiln didn't expect it either.

He Yuxiu had just gone through a bloody battle, nearly lost her life, and went to a soda stall to find something to eat. The stall was in a remote spot, and the stall keeper was from the Jiang Xiang Gang. Seeing how pretty this woman was, he slipped something into the soda.

He Yuxiu was desperately thirsty and drank over a dozen bottles of soda in one go.

It was also her fault for not having visited Soda Kiln in years—she couldn't taste some of the off-flavors in the soda, and just like that, she was taken down.

Such a beautiful woman—the stall keeper didn't dare act rashly, so he first offered her up to the hall master.

Before the hall master could make his move, he saw her name on He Yuxiu's pocket watch.

This is He Yuxiu?

The eldest young lady of the He family?

The head of the He family?

The hall master could hardly believe it. He compared He Yuxiu's appearance with the photo sent over by the Pass Commissioner.

The looks did match quite well, but some things didn't add up.

First, the age didn't match.

According to the information the hall master had, He Yuxiu was over forty this year, but the person before him looked only around thirty.

He Yuxiu was a beauty of the highest order, and having practiced martial arts for years, her foundation was solid, her body was fit, her mindset was good too—her upkeep was truly exceptional.

But the clothing didn't match either.

He Yuxiu was wearing clothes of low-grade fabric with rough workmanship—how could the head of the He family go out dressed like this?

The hall master had He Yuxiu bound with iron chains custom-made by Master Gongxiu, and interrogated her for half a day. He Yuxiu had a hard backbone and stubbornly refused to admit anything.

She wouldn't admit it, and the hall master had no confidence either, unsure whether he should report this to the Pass Commissioner.

The Pass Commissioner had issued a secret order, telling the Jiang Xiang Gang to watch for news of He Yuxiu. Now that he had captured He Yuxiu, delivering her to the Pass Commissioner would surely be a great merit—possibly earning him a position in the Pass Commissioner's Office, or even an identity in an outer province.

But what if he'd grabbed the wrong person?

If he sent her over rashly and the news leaked, he'd have offended the Pass Commissioner—how would he explain that?

But keeping her locked up indefinitely wasn't a solution either. If the He family came looking, how could he possibly hold them off?

This hall master was greedy for merit but lacked the nerve to match it. He didn't dare act rashly, so he first detained He Yuxiu.

He planned to interrogate her all morning tomorrow, and if He Yuxiu still wouldn't confess, then he'd report the matter to the Pass Commissioner's Office.

The result of keeping her just one more night was that the back courtyard caught fire.

This time it really did catch fire—Li Banfeng set it himself.

The hall master was shocked and quickly sent people to put out the fire. This fire was sparked by Yao Lao's liquor, and despite half a day of fighting it, the blaze only grew fiercer.

Master Gongxiu stepped in.

This Master Gongxiu was not a disciple of the Jiang Xiang Gang. Being friends with the hall master, he usually stayed at the hall and served as the hall master's helper.

Of everyone in the entire Soda Hall branch, the person Li Banfeng worried about most was him. The fortune teller had mentioned that this man's cultivation might have reached the sixth layer.

With sixth-layer cultivation, what couldn't he do—why serve as a lackey for the Jiang Xiang Gang?

There had to be some other reason. This man might have been sent by the Pass Commissioner.

This Master Gongxiu found some simple parts and quickly built a sand-throwing machine.

The machine's principle was simple—just use belts and bucket wheels to throw sand up from the ground.

The craftsmanship was relatively crude; it took over a dozen Jiang Xiang Gang disciples turning the wheel together to get the belts and bucket wheels moving.

But the effect was excellent—the thrown sand quickly brought the great fire under control.

To build such a machine in such a short time—Li Banfeng, hiding in the shadows, was impressed.

While Master Gongxiu was busy over there, Li Banfeng followed the sounds and slipped into the dungeon, took down a few guards, and entered the cell.

Where did this pretty woman come from? She looks somehow familiar.

He Yuxiu thought it was another interrogation and had planned to fight to the death, but after looking for a moment, she also felt like she seemed to recognize this person.

"Li Qi?" He Yuxiu asked carefully.

Li Banfeng smiled and said, "He Yuxiu, how did you end up here?"

He Yuxiu didn't know what to say.

To tell the truth, He Yuxiu and Li Qi had only a very shallow acquaintance.

The reason these two knew each other was through Ma Wu and Qiu Zhiheng; they barely even spoke to each other normally.

Meeting in this place today, He Yuxiu didn't know whether Li Qi had come to harm her or to save her.

"I've given you a laugh," He Yuxiu said, head lowered, saying nothing more.

Li Banfeng circled behind her and began unlocking He Yuxiu's chains.

He Yuxiu asked, "Are you really here to save me?"

Li Banfeng replied, "Just passing by. Consider yourself lucky."

"These chains are heavy and hard—you'd need a good blade to cut them open. Pulling them apart is definitely not going to work."

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "Even a good blade might not cut them open. This craftsmanship is truly rare."

"Then don't waste your effort," He Yuxiu said through gritted teeth. "Get me some water to drink, and you should hurry off. Don't get yourself caught up in this too."

Sensing that Li Qi hadn't moved behind her, He Yuxiu grew anxious: "I told you to go, so go. You can't save me here either. Do you know what cultivation I have? Even an eighth-layer Wu Xiu couldn't break free—what could you possibly do…"

Clatter—the chains came open.

He Yuxiu stared at Li Banfeng, her face flushed red.

How did he open them?

How much strength does he have?

A chain like this is made of two parts: the lock and the chain itself.

The chain is indeed tough — even a scythe couldn't cut through it.

But the lock was opened by the glove.

"Boss, this lock is no ordinary thing — I had to put in quite a bit of effort."

Li Banfeng patted the glove, signaling a generous reward.

He Yuxiu was a little embarrassed: "I, I haven't eaten all day. If I'd eaten my fill, this chain — with a little effort, I could have snapped it in two."

"Mm." Li Banfeng nodded.

He Yuxiu picked up the iron chain and said, "I really can snap it — two snaps and it's done!"

"I believe you. You wouldn't even need two snaps — one would do. Can you fight right now?"

He Yuxiu stretched her limbs a bit. She'd been beaten for a whole day, starved for a whole day, and the poison in her body hadn't been fully cleared. Her current condition really wasn't suited for combat.

Li Qi lowered the brim of his hat: "If you can't fight, find somewhere to hide first. I don't hold grudges overnight."

"Hide?"

He Yuxiu reached out, grabbed a leather whip, and asked Li Banfeng, "Got a smoke?"

Li Banfeng took one out and lit it for He Yuxiu.

He Yuxiu bit down on the cigarette, took the whip in hand, and strode out of the dungeon.

Setting everything else aside, Big Sister He's presence was truly overwhelming. Her face covered in wounds, her clothes stained with blood, every step radiating boldness and sharpness — not a trace of change.

Plop!

He Yuxiu stepped on a trap and fell into a pit.

Li Banfeng quickly pulled He Yuxiu out: "Walk slower. There are traps everywhere here. This is a map — study it carefully. When we get up top later, follow this line."

When they reached the courtyard, the Hall Master and the others were still busy putting out the fire.

He Yuxiu charged straight at the Hall Master. A disciple stepped forward to block her, and He Yuxiu's whip took off half his skull.

She kicked the corpse aside and kept walking forward.

The leather whip flew, sending flesh and blood spraying in all directions. Li Banfeng had never quite figured out the principles of Wu Xiu — this Daoist path truly defied reason.

This leather whip was clearly a soft weapon, yet in her hands it was fiercer than any blade.

After walking a dozen or so steps, a dozen or so corpses lay on the ground. The disciples of the Jiang Xiang Gang were terrified and scattered, running outward.

Every time one ran, Li Banfeng grabbed one, dragged them to a hidden spot, and tossed them into Leaving Leaving Suishenju.

His wife had become rather picky lately — dishes of this caliber didn't catch her eye, so it was just a snack.

If she really didn't want to eat, there were still plenty of magic treasures waiting at home, and some of them had rather unusual properties.

One fought, one captured. Before long, no one was left beside the Hall Master.

He Yuxiu swung her whip and wrapped it around the Hall Master's neck.

The Hall Master's cheeks puffed out, and he spat a mouthful of bloody water at He Yuxiu.

That bloody water was no simple matter — this Hall Master was a fifth-layer Poison Cultivator. For an ordinary person, a single mouthful like that would have been fatal.

He Yuxiu was truly reckless — she didn't even dodge, letting that mouthful of poisonous blood spray all over herself.

She grabbed the Hall Master's head, twisted her wrist, and wrenched his head clean off at the base of the neck.

Only that sixth-layer Master Gongxiu remained in the courtyard, and he panicked.

He Yuxiu was wounded and afflicted with deadly poison. If properly prepared, a sixth-layer Master Gongxiu really could have held out for a while.

But right now, he wasn't properly prepared.

And he also knew there was another person beside He Yuxiu — this person's movements were so fast he couldn't see them clearly, and their strength was no less than He Yuxiu's.

Even if he couldn't see clearly, he still had to look!

If the opponent was a Travel Cultivator, and he managed to use Tianhe Zhi Ji, it would all be over.

While he was thinking, He Yuxiu's whip came lashing at him.

There was no dodging it anyway, so this Master Gongxiu also chose to take the hit head-on.

He didn't take it with his bare head — he was wearing an iron helmet.

When dealing with Tu Yinghong, the phonograph had once quoted a battlefield proverb: "A hundred blades of the Gong Cultivator." It meant that Gong Cultivators weren't good at adapting, but they were very good at grinding you down. On the battlefield, a Gong Cultivator's fine weapons came in endless varieties — when fighting one, you had to end it quickly and not let it drag into a stalemate.

He Yuxiu had no intention of stalling either. One whip strike caved in the Gong Cultivator's helmet.

The helmet took some damage, but the Gong Cultivator was fine.

One whip wasn't enough, so she struck again. The whip in He Yuxiu's hand slammed onto the Gong Cultivator's head.

That Gong Cultivator's helmet was truly hard — though battered and dented all over, he still wasn't injured.

If hitting the head didn't work, she'd aim elsewhere.

But she couldn't break through anywhere else either. The whip lashed from all sides, and the Gong Cultivator parried calmly — he was wearing a full suit of armor.

The chains he had made, He Yuxiu couldn't break free of — this suit of armor was for protecting his life, so naturally it was extraordinarily sturdy.

While He Yuxiu pressed the attack fiercely, the Gong Cultivator pulled a handful of glass beads from his robes and silently tossed them on the ground.

The glass beads rolled toward He Yuxiu's feet. He Yuxiu was poisoned, her mind already a bit hazy, and consumed by rage — she wanted nothing but the Gong Cultivator's life, and didn't notice the ground beneath her at all.

She stepped on a glass bead and crashed to the ground with a thud.

Seizing the chance, the Gong Cultivator leaped over the wall to escape, then suddenly realized something.

Where did that Travel Cultivator go?

A figure flashed past his eyes, and the Gong Cultivator's brain buzzed.

Boom!

The Gong Cultivator exploded into a mess of flesh and blood.

Li Banfeng tossed the Gong Cultivator's remains along with the armor into Leaving Leaving Suishenju, then jumped back inside the wall.

He Yuxiu sat on the ground, her gaze unfocused, her expression scattered — the poison had taken hold.

She lifted the corners of her mouth and forced a smile. "Li Qi, thank you. I don't know how I could ever repay you."

"Of course you have to repay me — a life-saving grace, something that big, you think we can just let it go?" Li Banfeng pulled He Yuxiu to her feet.

The cigarette was finished. He Yuxiu tossed the butt onto the ground and asked Li Banfeng, "Got another smoke?"

Li Banfeng gave her another one.

He Yuxiu struggled to her feet and staggered toward the door.

Li Qi asked, "Shouldn't you find somewhere to treat your wounds first?"

"There's still one more — I can't let that person off." He Yuxiu stumbled all the way into a deep alley.

In the alley there was a vendor selling soda water. Seeing He Yuxiu, his face went green with terror.

It was his soda water that had poisoned He Yuxiu.

He Yuxiu couldn't stand steady, and her hands were trembling a little.

Li Banfeng lowered his voice and said, "Let me handle it."

"I can't let you do it — this one has to be me!"

The soda vendor turned and ran. He Yuxiu caught up in two steps and swung her whip.

The tip of the whip lashed from the top of the man's head all the way down to the ground.

Crack!

The man split clean in two down the middle and crumbled into pieces across the ground.

He Yuxiu's body swayed, and she collapsed beside the stall.

"Clawed my way up my whole life, only to fall at the hands of a few pieces of trash!" He Yuxiu gave a bitter laugh, looked at Li Qi, and said, "I've really given you a laugh this time."

"Not laughing," Li Banfeng shook his head and gave He Yuxiu another cigarette. "Good for you — you're a person with guts."

He Yuxiu shook her head.

PS: That kind of "guts" — she really didn't have it.

(End of chapter)