I'm already invincible, and you're telling me I just logged in?

"Xu Yan, let's leave here first."

The secret room was filled with weapons and armor, an astonishing quantity, clearly not the kind of wealth a bandit should possess.

There are even large stockpiles of grain.

No wonder these bandits were able to so easily defeat the combined forces of the police and government troops; they must have some powerful force backing them up.

Shen Shuangning's expression was extremely solemn.

She never expected that Xu Yan's accidental trip would lead him to a major case of treason.

This is not something they can interfere with.

The most important thing right now is to leave immediately and pretend you didn't see anything.

Once discovered, it will surely lead to death.

Xu Yan nodded noncommittally.

The two quickly exited the secret chamber, pressed the mechanism, and the stone door closed again.

After returning to the cave, an accident occurred.

"Miss, you must leave quickly!"

These bandits had many severed heads hanging from their waists; each of them was an elite soldier.

Even the worst among them has the cultivation level of the eighth level of the Cave Meridian.

They followed the trail, clearing out any remaining suspects, but unexpectedly ran into three people in the back mountains.

And they were all women.

Ye Yuntang did not choose to escape alone.

She could never do what Qin Feng did, abandoning her companions with a clear conscience.

Ye Yuntang plucked the pipa with her five fingers, and a burst of internal force shot out, knocking back a bandit who was trying to launch a sneak attack several steps.

Just as she was providing support from a distance, a dark figure suddenly rushed over and snatched the pipa from her hand.

Although her internal energy attacks are fast, she is ultimately not good at close combat.

The pipa was quickly knocked away, and then someone kicked it hard to the ground.

"Oh, this young lady is quite pretty. Looks like she can be kept and sold for a lot of money."

Stepped on the ground, Ye Yuntang groaned, but did not give up. She suddenly pulled out the hairpin from her temple, ready to fight back.

However, her intentions were discovered.

The man stepped on her hand again.

Seeing this, Xu Yan and Shen Shuangning exchanged a glance.

If the bandits had simply killed them, they might have chosen to leave.

But if we leave someone alive, and they find out something, we'll be in big trouble.

The next moment, the two of them simultaneously burst out of the shadows.

The two suddenly joined the battle, catching the bandits who were trying to tease Ye Yuntang and his companions off guard.

The man stepping on Ye Yuntang quickly dislocated her arms and turned to give orders to the others.

"I'll take care of that woman with the knife; you guys kill the other one."

In Tianlang Village, even if a woman is missing an arm or a leg, she is still more useful than a man.

"It's the boss!"

Upon hearing the noise, the bandits raised their torches and surrounded Xu Yan.

However, in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xu Yan had killed everyone.

With the terrifying power of the brass knuckles, even an ordinary Transcendent Realm cultivator couldn't withstand a single ordinary punch from him.

After dealing with these henchmen, Xu Yan turned to help Shen Shuangning: "Uncle-Master, take a break, leave it to me."

Shen Shuangning took a few steps back, her expression grave: "Be careful, this person has mastered a high-level defensive martial art, making him extremely difficult to deal with."

She had very little internal energy left, and she was slightly out of breath when she spoke.

The next moment, Shen Shuangning opened her eyes, then regained her composure.

Okay, let's pretend I didn't say anything.

Xu Yan threw a punch, and the gang leader was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

"You...you...Kaiyuan Realm?"

The gang leader fell to the ground, struggling to stay upright as he shuffled backward, pleading, "Spare me...spare me!"

"Spare my life, and I'll tell you a tremendous secret and bestow upon you an immense achievement!"

Xu Yan did not respond; he and Shen Shuangning had already learned the secret the other party mentioned.

We must not leave any survivors now.

After dealing with the leader, Xu Yan shut down the "Harmony of Man and Nature" technique.

The effects of the datura herb had not yet worn off, and his internal energy was almost depleted; a hint of weariness lingered in his eyes.

Xu Yan squatted down and searched the leader's body. He found no martial arts manuals, only a few bottles of pills.

After collecting the body, he looked through the other corpses; they were all poor people with nothing of value.

On the other side, after the two assassins dealt with the remaining bandits, they quickly arrived at Ye Yuntang's side.

"Miss!"

"I'm fine..." Ye Yuntang sat on the ground, her face pale and her voice sounding very weak.

The pain from dislocated hands was unbearable for her.

Shen Shuangning held the torch, shook her head, and gave a light scoff.

"Why didn't you just stay home and wait to get married? You had to run around trying to catch criminals and make things difficult for yourself."

She couldn't understand why these scions of noble families, who were born with resources a hundred times better than her, still had to squeeze into the police force and compete with the lower classes for those meager resources.

"If it weren't for you!" One of the confidants was about to erupt when Ye Yuntang interrupted him, "Don't say anymore..."

She tried to get up, but found that her internal energy was exhausted, the medicinal effects of the datura herb had not dissipated, and she could not exert any strength in her legs.

Seeing this, the trusted aide could only help her up and prepare to go out of the mountains to seek medical help.

The two had practiced martial arts since childhood, but they were not proficient in bone setting.

Shen Shuangning looked at Xu Yan, who was tallying his spoils, and said, "Didn't you learn some bone-setting techniques? Aren't you going to help that young lady?"

Xiao Qi was often malnourished and thin, and he was frequently dislocated when sparring with other disciples.

Therefore, Xu Yan learned some bone-setting techniques from a doctor.

Xu Yan shook his head after hearing this: "Uncle-Master, men and women should not touch each other."

"Should people not touch each other?" Shen Shuangning sneered after hearing this.

Ye Yuntang was helped to her feet, lowered her eyes, and hesitated before speaking, "Young Master..."

The two assassins beside him had exhausted most of their internal energy and had to use their strength to suppress the poison from the datura plant in their bodies. They probably wouldn't be able to leave the mountain tonight.

Although dislocated arms are not considered a serious injury, the waves of pain were unbearable.

Ye Yuntang looked up at Xu Yan and pleaded softly, "Young Master, could you please help me?"

Hearing the other person's plea, Xu Yan frowned: "Don't you think this is impolite?"

Ye Yuntang gently shook her head: "It's nothing, young master is just healing my injuries."

Having said that, Xu Yan could only ask her to sit down under the tree.

Although Ye Yuntang comes from a prestigious family, she is not as arrogant as Qin Feng and Wu Xun, which makes her less disliked.

Xu Yan placed his hands on Ye Yuntang's arms, glanced at the twisted joint by the firelight, and said in a calm tone, "It will hurt a lot. You'd better think of something else to distract yourself."

Ye Yuntang's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she asked softly, "Why did you keep staring at me tonight, young master?"

After she came out of the pool, she noticed that Xu Yan would stare at her from time to time.

But this gaze wasn't possessive like my cousin's, nor did it harbor covetousness like others'; rather, it was one of longing and reluctance.

It's as if there's something about her that's very important to him.

Ye Yuntang had seen that look in her mother's eyes before she passed away.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

Ye Yuntang was quick-witted. She stared intently at Xu Yan and thought for a long time before finally remembering where she had seen him before.

The next moment, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her right arm.

"Hmm!"

The moment her joints returned to their proper place, Ye Yuntang seemed to hear the sound of her bones snapping back into their slots.

Immediately afterwards, the excruciating pain caused her to lean forward, her forehead nearly colliding with Xu Yan's face.

After both arms recovered, Ye Yuntang's chest rose and fell slightly.

She laboriously raised her hand, took out the jade pendant from inside her clothes, and looked up at Xu Yan, who had stood up.

"Young master, this jade pendant should be yours, shouldn't it?"