Chapter 48: Saving People!

Arriving beside that pile of messy carriages, Ruan Xing brought Cui Yurong to find a half-collapsed carriage box tilted on its side, and carefully, trying her best not to damage its original appearance, she crawled inside.

Fortunately, Ruan Xing was a child and Cui Yurong was a thin, frail young girl; the two of them huddled together without taking up much space.

The two hid for nearly two hours, and having heard no movement at all in the surroundings, Ruan Xing said, "Let's go, let's head back to the city to take a look."

For the journey of over five miles, the two dared not walk along the main road, following instead a small forest path shielded by trees, and did not reach the city gate until nearly dawn.

Cui Yurong's face was covered in beads of sweat, likely not just from exhaustion but also from pain; she had never walked such a long distance before, yet she refused to utter a single complaint, pressing her lips together in silence, lost in thought.

The city gate had not yet opened, and Ruan Xing, fearing that delay would lead to complications, went up to pound on the gate, took out a few banknotes, and slipped them through the crack in the gate to the guards on duty, "Big Brother, have mercy. My sister and I have traveled all night, we are exhausted and hungry, please let us in to find a shop to rest our feet!"

"Easy, easy." The guard accepted the banknotes, opened half a crack in the gate with a chuckle, just enough for the two to squeeze through, "Hurry in, I have to close it again once you're inside."

"Many thanks, Big Brother."

After Ruan Xing finished thanking him, she pulled Cui Yurong into the city gate, with Cui Yurong following behind her; just as Cui Yurong's body had passed through the half-open crack of the city gate, the guard who had been chuckling a moment ago suddenly pulled out the long sword at his waist with an expressionless face and, without any warning, slashed at Cui Yurong.

Cui Yurong let out a cry of pain, fell to her knees, opened her mouth but could not speak, and then went still.

Damn it! Ruan Xing only then remembered that the guards at the gate were also affiliated with the Patrol Security Division; they were actually all in the same gang.

If Cui Yurong had stayed honestly on the mountain with the horse bandits for three days, they wouldn't have killed her in order to smear her reputation, but since Ruan Xing had brought her into the city, she had to die.

Ruan Xing waved her hand, unleashing several streaks of White True Qi, killing the few guards as if to vent her anger; the guards sent out a signal for help before they died, and she stood where she was, waiting without moving a muscle.

Breaking free from the memory, Ruan Xing shook her head with some helplessness; she had failed again this time.

However, fortunately, the reason she brought Cui Yurong back to that place to hide was not only because it was safer to hide in the shadows of the light, but more importantly, she needed to know what the goods were.

Most were medicinal herbs, some of which she had seen illustrations of in "Hundred Herbs Detailed Explanation," while others she could not recognize at all; the rest were daily necessities like silk, tea, and grain. She would just make do with buying some to put on a front and see if she could manage to blend in.

【Simulation in progress】

Six years old, you are six years old; you use the 【Speed】 Talisman, traveling day and night, and arrive at Huaining City before dark.

After buying two carriages and some medicinal herbs and daily necessities in the city, you hire two coachmen to drive the carriages to the back gate of the National Teacher Palace. After the side gate opens, a young man welcomes you into the National Teacher Palace. You pretend to be the Cui family's second young lady, Cui Yuqiong. The other party does not suspect you but complains about why you came so late, then asks you for the pass token. You do not know what a pass token is; the young man realizes you are an impostor, takes a few steps back, and you die.

【Simulation ended】

After seeing the memory, Ruan Xing felt a toothache; why was a pass token needed? She had originally thought that if she could blend in, she wouldn't go to save Cui Yurong.

The situation this time was actually not bad; she had successfully stepped into the gate of the National Teacher Palace and hadn't died, only to be exposed at the end for not having a pass token. Otherwise, she could have at least mapped out the National Teacher Palace this time.

But she had no way to take the pass token from Cui Yurong through the Simulator, because once she had the thought of seeking death, she could not choose option two.

Damn it, she was already at the Acquired Realm, why did she still have to suffer this kind of grievance? Ruan Xing was a bit unwilling, gritting her teeth and saying: "Again! I don't believe that only you can kill me, and I can't kill you!"

……

"Cui Yurong!"

The young girl was surprised and vigilant, "Who are you?"

"Never mind who I am, I'm here to save you. Do you remember how many horse bandits there were in total who intercepted you?" Ruan Xing said while skillfully sliding down the low slope to touch the carotid artery of the unconscious man.

Although the young girl did not know Ruan Xing and felt it was absurd and unbelievable for a little girl to suddenly appear and say she was going to save her, she still answered her question, "Twelve people. They are all very powerful. My caravan had forty-five guards, all at the External Strength Perfection realm, yet before them, they were like chopping melons and vegetables, with no power to fight back."

It was hard to say if it was good news or bad news; in the last simulation, they were both captured at the low slope, and that time they only encountered six people. It seemed those people had split into two groups to search separately.

Ruan Xing pried open the man's mouth, fed him a Pill, and clamped his chin to force him to swallow.

"What did you feed him?" the young girl asked uneasily.

"A medicine to stimulate potential; he'll have energy in a moment," Ruan Xing replied casually.

This was the medicine she had once used on the Assistant Commissioner; it could stimulate the human body's potential, and even someone at the end of their rope could have a brief moment of recovery, but they would die immediately after that time passed.

If this guard could wake up, he might be able to help later.

Ruan Xing let go of the man's head, and the young girl hurriedly went over to tend to him carefully.

Ruan Xing sprinkled some grayish-brown medicinal powder into the campfire, which made a faint crackling sound in the flames and rose into a thin blue smoke, quickly dissipating into the air.

She took out a small porcelain bottle containing a translucent white liquid, took a sip, and handed it to Cui Yurong, "You two take a sip too; this is the antidote to the Smoke Bomb."

Although Cui Yurong was puzzled, she did as she was told, "What is this for?"

"I forgot to tell you just now, you shouldn't have lit the campfire; it exposed your position, and they will be here to catch you soon." As Ruan Xing spoke, she tied a thin string under some trees, fifteen centimeters from the ground.

The sky was dark, and the layers of branches and leaves blocked the already dim moonlight; if Cui Yurong hadn't watched Ruan Xing tie the string with her own eyes, she wouldn't have even seen that there was a string there.

Before Ruan Xing had finished her work, the dull sound of hooves hitting the wet, soft mud grew closer, and six men riding horses with masks covering their faces appeared from the shadows of the forest, slowly surrounding them.

The two groups were silent, with only the rustling of the wind and the chirping of insects in the forest.

Ruan Xing drew the Short Sword she carried, pointing it forward. The man covered in a black mask seemed to find it somewhat laughable, letting out a laugh of unclear meaning.

Ruan Xing let out a roar, "Sword, come!" The next moment, a streak of White True Qi appeared from behind the masked man without warning. The man could not dodge in time and had to take the hit, but he had True Qi Body Protection, so there was only a deep wound that reached the bone on his back, and the scene of his body being split in two did not happen. He said in a hoarse voice, "Be on guard."

Sword, come struck and retreated, immediately hiding its form.

The suddenly appearing mysterious enemy made the 'horse bandits' panic; this kind of mysterious and unpredictable movement made it impossible to predict the direction from which the opponent would appear. But after hearing the black-masked man's voice, they quickly changed their formation, no longer surrounding them, but instead pairing up in groups of three to watch each other's backs, attacking from front and back.

However, before they could finish changing their formation, one of their horses was tripped by the thin string, and it fell to its knees, "There's a tripwire!"

Before the man's voice had faded, Ruan Xing's other hand was already touching the base of the nearest tree, her True Qi surging violently, "Break!"

A series of explosions rang out, and the 【Break】 Talismans wrapped around the thin string were triggered one after another. The horses closest to the string were instantly blown to pieces, and the people on their backs inevitably suffered heavy injuries.

Cui Yurong was already below the low slope, and the blood and mud mixed together to almost bury half her body, but she held the man in her arms tightly, not daring to move except for her heavy breathing.

Ruan Xing, having anticipated this, had covered her face with the cloak behind her. Once the aftermath passed, she picked up her Short Sword and went up to harvest, "Sword, come!"

Sword, come responded quickly. The heavily injured 'horse bandits' were not only in extreme pain but also weak and powerless, making it impossible for them to parry.

The black-masked man felt a wave of dizziness and a feeling of powerlessness in his limbs. After barely blocking one of Ruan Xing's sword strikes, he could not withstand the second. The sharp Short Sword pierced through his lower abdomen and then rooted itself in the tree trunk behind him. He uttered his weak and angry last words: "You... are not a member of the Cui family..."

Ruan Xing pulled back the Short Sword, the surge of adrenaline making her heart pound. These enemies, against whom she could barely last a few moves in a head-on fight, had been killed by her just like that? There were no survivors on Sword, come's side either. Ruan Xing took a few deep breaths to calm her emotions and called for Cui Yurong and the man to get up and work, "Move the bodies to the bottom of the slope, light a fire, and once it's lit, we'll leave here immediately."

There were still six 'horse bandits' left; she didn't know when they would arrive.

Cui Yurong did not have much strength, and seeing the severed limbs all over the ground made her legs go weak with fear, but she knew this was not the time to be squeamish. Suppressing her instinctual fear, she grabbed a half-corpse soaked in blood and dragged it to the bottom of the low slope.

The man who had been protected by Cui Yurong also woke up and silently helped move the bodies.

Sword, come was much faster than the two of them; with a lift and a flick, the corpses were thrown over.

Once they had all finished moving them, Ruan Xing threw some dry branches and leaves on top and ignited them with the campfire.

Ruan Xing patted the dust off her hands, "Let's go."

Sword Lai hid within the air, and the three of them advanced in the direction of the Capital; after walking for less than a quarter of an hour, they heard that familiar, dull sound of horse hooves again.

Ruan Xing gripped her Sword, holding a Talisman in her hand, prepared to meet the enemy.

……

Her thoughts returned to the present, and Ruan Xing let out a long breath; she still hadn't won this time, and after using the power of the Talismans and Sword Lai's sneak attack to kill one "horse bandit" with all her might, she was killed by the combined efforts of the others.

They didn't think about capturing her alive this time, probably because they didn't think she was a member of the Cui family, and capturing her alive was more troublesome anyway.

There was no helping it; the Patrol Security Division in the Capital was indeed different from those in small rural towns, not to mention that Qianling Guards were everywhere, and each one had rich practical combat experience; Ruan Xing couldn't even win in a one-on-one fight, let alone six against one, unless she was given sufficient time to prepare.

Or if she could use the 【Speed】 Talisman to quickly return to the Capital with Cui Yurong... unfortunately, there were only a few dozen 【Speed】 Talismans in total, and she had used them all up while traveling, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to shorten a day and a half's journey into a single day.

She thought the Monkey Skin 【Guard】 Talisman was too heavy, so she left it for Hu San; what a joke, who goes out carrying over a hundred pieces of Monkey Skin on them? She only wore one on herself; anyway, she could use Simulation, and she could avoid most dangers.

She didn't even take the three books, as she could look through them in her memory at any time, and the old man's cave was quite safe; except for her and Sword Lai, no one could enter it alive, so she felt at ease leaving the books and the forty thousand taels of silver notes there.

Then she could only stack the attempts to see if she could find a way to survive; Cui Yurong was the only path she had found so far to safely enter the National Teacher Palace, and she had to at least try every direction before talking about giving up.

Sighing, Ruan Xing silently recited to start the Simulation.

……

Ruan Xing grabbed the man's hand as he was moving a corpse, and the latter looked at her in confusion.

"Put this on." Ruan Xing used her Short Sword to pick up the black mask from the corpse, "Change into his clothes, and take this Dagger."

The man quickly understood her meaning, dropped the corpse in his hands, and began to change clothes without any hesitation.

Cui Yurong had a look of wanting to say something but stopping, seemingly unwilling to let the man sacrifice himself to cover their retreat, but after a long silence, she turned away and stopped looking at the man.

After more than half of a quarter-hour, the two were still caught up by the dull sound of horse hooves; she hadn't expected the man to hold them off for less than ten minutes, but Ruan Xing keenly noticed that one of the "horse bandits" had an injury on his shoulder.

Before the horses had even steadied, Ruan Xing had already waved her hand and thrown out several 【Break】 Talismans; although these Talismans were powerful, their range was not large, and retreating seven or eight feet would at most result in a graze, otherwise Ruan Xing wouldn't have thought about using tripwires to connect the Talismans.

Moreover, it consumed a lot of True Qi; Ruan Xing had already consumed most of hers at the tripwire and hadn't recovered yet, and now with a few more Talismans thrown, her True Qi was soon running low; with the True Qi currently in her body, continuously activating fifty of them in a short time was already her limit; seeing that the 【Break】 Talismans were far less damaging to the six "horse bandits" behind than they were in the forest, Ruan Xing hardened her heart and pulled out the Triangle Flag at her waist.

She hadn't used this Flag to collect human souls before because she felt it was too ruthless; killing someone was just a matter of a head falling to the ground, but taking a soul meant that even after death, the person would not have peace.

She waved the Flag at the enemies a few times, and before the opponents could react to what had happened, they lost consciousness one by one and tumbled off their horses.

True Qi could only protect the body, but it could not protect the soul, so Ruan Xing's soul extraction went very smoothly, but by the time she extracted the fifth soul, her arm was already sore and weak, and her vision was turning black.

Using the Flag only required a movement of the mind and did not consume True Qi, but she had no Spiritual Power, so what exactly was the power required to use the Flag?

Ruan Xing didn't know; it was just that when she collected the last soul, her legs could no longer support her body, and everything before her eyes was blurry and she couldn't see anything.

She felt Cui Yurong support her, letting her head rest on her shoulder, and the other's worried voice came to her ears, "Are you okay?"

"Not very good." Ruan Xing chuckled softly, reached out, and pulled the hairpin from Cui Yurong's bun, "See you next time."

(End of chapter)