"This place was originally called Blowing Furnace Mountain, but many years ago, many wanderers gathered here and built a blacksmith's village in the mountain..."

Her black hair cascaded like satin, and wearing a light armor dress, the second young lady appeared valiant today, her words brimming with spirit between her brows.

"They usually earn their living by forging iron. The forging yards and blower rooms built around the mountain's lakeshore occupy vast areas, so this mountain also earned the name of Tatara..." She pointed to the silhouette of the village in the distance at the end of the road ahead, which was still far away but already faintly visible, and said so.

To find out the situation here, to slay the bandits and Demon Ghosts committing evil deeds.

This is what they were going to do next. From now on, she no longer needed to repress her own power, but rather needed to actively use it for combat, to tame it in battle.

Although she did not know if this method would work in the end, it seemed very reasonable, and... at least the girl herself felt it suited her temperament very well and liked it a lot.

Always suppressing the boiling rebellion of her bloodline might sound easy, yet it was truly an arduous process when putting it into practice, especially when the process was repetitive, it was downright exhausting, she had felt somewhat physically and mentally tired over the past two years.

And now she could finally stop repressing herself heartily, she naturally felt invigorated, even her spirit lifted a bit more.

Confronting it, embracing it, mastering it... were strategies that undoubtedly suited this martial family's daughter perfectly.

"Such a large village lives by iron-making, no wonder the old man attaches such importance to it... But did something happen to the village a few days ago?"

Gu Mo scrutinized the mountain path ahead, seeing the flat dirt road winding toward the distant village, with trees by the roadside big enough for adults to encircle them, majestic green peaks, ancient robust pines, dense and lush trees, the morning sunlight just right as it trickled through the trees, scattering dappled glimmers of light.

The village appeared very large, with houses stretching in clusters at the foot of the mountain, fenced in with wooden barriers and doors, much like the original feeling of Thirteen Sakura Village.

Moreover, wisps of black smoke were curling up inside, at a glance, there were three to five streams.

"Indeed, that's why father thought of sending someone to investigate..." The second young lady nodded, but her gaze at the village ahead turned somewhat icy, "However, in today's world, it's often either bandits or Demon Ghosts causing chaos, or both together."

She also saw those plumes of black smoke, and there were still people forging iron in the village, which was evidently unusual.

With a bit of reasoning, it was not hard to imagine the situation, and the martial family's daughter immediately had her pretty face turn frosty, becoming filled with killing intent.

"..."

"..."

The black-haired girl on the other side, with thin lips pressed, was delicately inspecting the village ahead.

She was quiet, yet extremely keen - the heavily oppressive scent of blood, and the smell of burning, but the Demon Qi was somewhat weak, only lingering deep within the mountain. In the peripheral village outside the mountain, only the breath of humans remained, yet it too was stained with the scent of blood and slaughter.

Hidechika was kind-hearted by nature, but that did not mean she was simple, nor naive.

She could roughly guess what had happened, the village had been plundered. Whether Demon Ghosts wreaked havoc with a massacre first, then bandits seized the chance to occupy this treasure land, or... the Demon Ghosts were simply brought in by the bandits, utilizing those monsters to break through the village, trying to reap the spoils themselves.

After all, one should not underestimate human malice; she had seen many such incidents before, mostly focusing on exterminating demons, naturally frequently dealing with Demon Ghost-related commissions.

But often, what seemed like Demon Ghost disturbances on the surface were not always without someone harboring malicious intent behind the scenes.

"Then let's go over there and take a look now..."

Gu Mo withdrew his gaze from surveying the surrounding mountainous environment, gently nodded, softly patted the horse's head, and the group of three horses proceeded with light steps approaching.

As they barely approached the village, not even reaching the main gate, someone with sharp eyes atop a high watchtower in the village noticed them at a glance, immediately attempting to strike the copper gong at their feet to signal a warning, also opening his mouth to shout, yet was pierced through the throat by a sharp arrow just as he opened it.

"Ugh... uh..."

The man's eyes widened, despite his efforts, could only make a deflated sound, his gaze showing bewilderment, fear, despair, and disbelief, struggling desperately but powerless as he collapsed, his body's qi power quickly dissipating with his life's fading away.

Ultimately, this faint commotion naturally didn't draw any attention...

On the rooftops of rows of houses not far away, several sturdy burly figures were squatting there, drenched in sweat, holding tools, repairing the dilapidated roofs under the blazing sun, too busy to even wipe their sweat, naturally not paying much attention to the situation over here.

They probably didn't expect that the "eyes" meant to alert them would be silenced before any sound could be made.

"Not bad archery."

The second young lady's eyes brightened slightly, and she glanced to the side just in time to see someone lowering the longbow in his hand. The fierce arrow just now was fired by him. Although the distance wasn't that far, the ability to draw a bow so swiftly on horseback and score a direct hit was commendable.

"It's okay, it's okay, as long as you have hands..."

Gu Mo said very humbly. He had once practiced bow shooting skills with Master Raiko in the dojo, and had a basic foundation. Picking it up again now was an easy task. Moreover, compared to the hardship and difficulty he felt before, it now seemed as simple as looking at the lines on his palm.

With the comprehensive increase in ability values, even though this body was somewhat inferior to his original self, the muscle power, nerve reaction speed, body coordination, calculation ability, or the sensory acuity far exceeded that of ordinary people.

With the significant improvement in basic attributes, things that once seemed difficult naturally became extraordinarily easy and casual.

As they talked, the three of them had already approached the entrance of the village.

Unexpectedly, there wasn't much guard at the main gate.

Perhaps the motley crew was complacent, or they believed that the sentry tower inside had someone looking down and keeping constant watch, so there was no need to allocate people to handle these matters. As they approached the main gate, the second young lady deliberately slowed her steed, and when she reached the front, she leapt forward—

Easily leaping over the gate, landing inside the village without making a sound. She glanced around, her face icy cold as she drew out the tachi at her waist and walked forward with the treasure blade held upside down.

Hidechika behind her sighed softly, then looked slightly hesitantly at the young man on the horse beside him.

"Let's go in together. Next, it's going to be a bit of a burden for you, Ah Xiu... You have to look after my sister and also protect me." Gu Mo also dismounted calmly, smiling as he teased.

The black-haired girl simply stared at him and then seriously nodded, with a gentle "hmm" in response.

He couldn't help but be slightly taken aback, shaking his head with a bit of a helpless smile.

The two tied their horses to a large tree by the main gate of the village, then followed her in. It was evident that the village had been plundered a few days prior. Some houses had been burned to mere ruins, with patches of dark, congealed bloodstains on many parts of the ground.

No one was in the outer ring of houses, but evidently every home had been broken into, with valuables thoroughly looted.

Bodies...

The villagers' bodies lay strewn about, whether inside the houses or in the passages between them, some even hanging from rooftops, lifeless and bearing knife wounds or killed by arrows... It wasn't clear further inside, but the outer area clearly showed a man-made disaster.

Moreover, the current scorching weather, having lasted for days, meant the bodies' flesh was gradually decaying, the corpses swelling, even maggots breeding, with an overpowering stench... The bandits occupying this village had absolutely no sense, not even considering addressing such issues.

Virtually all manpower had been gathered to carry out tasks they deemed more important.

The second young lady seethed with murderous intent, despite not being a commoner of the Mino Realm, seeing such things anywhere would enrage her immensely. Now, of course, she wouldn't let this group of felons off the hook. She stealthily grabbed a bald brute counting swords in a room full of them, questioned him to confirm the facts—

Then, she directly beheaded the pleading man and began a thorough purge of rebels.

Ultimately, just a disorganized crowd, which could be easily crushed head-on, let alone such ghostly, secretive attacks... Anyway, the "eyes" had been plucked out at the start, leaving the careless bandits without warning, immersed in their delusional dreams.

To seize a blacksmith's village this large, suddenly gaining a batch of fine armor and weapons that hadn't yet been shipped out, held significant meaning in this era of cold weapons, especially during the Warring States period.

Their ambitions swelled instantaneously to near delusion, no longer content with just being a band of wandering robbers. They suddenly realized they could achieve much more... at least that's what they thought, likely dreaming of consuming this equipment and gaining control of the village, then recruiting and bolstering their forces.

Too dispersed, without vigilance, all became overwhelmed by ecstasy, resulting in the original owners silently eliminating them one by one.

Not only was there one watchtower outside the village, but everywhere that might notice a problem, like rooftops, high grounds, the "eyes" were taken out by a lightning-quick arrow, incapable of issuing any alerts, as silently and invisibly, the bandits died one after another.

Just like that, Gu Mo used bow and arrow to pick off targets, while the second young lady cut through enemies with unparalleled ease along the way.

No one could resist them, their teamwork was impeccable.

Yet, the black-haired girl behind them couldn't help but slightly frown, always feeling something was amiss, as if her presence was completely unnecessary now... Clearly, less than a month ago, she was the one protecting someone else.

Why did it seem reversed now...

Clearly, she was the one who came first.