"Brother Shen, I’ll explain to you later. First, help me gather these things."

Chu Ming walked over to a person dressed in black, stripped off his clothes, and then searched him.

Shen Yu looked at Chu Ming, took several deep breaths, and then came to his senses to help gather the items from these people.

In no time, the two had collected quite a bit, including silver, silver notes, and cultivation techniques.

Chu Ming picked up a letter, which he had previously taken from a guard. The contents were brief, indicating that the guard’s son was held hostage, forcing him to act tonight.

As for the mastermind behind it, no specific information was found.

Furthermore, these people had no trace of blood stench or Blood Evil Qi, indicating they weren’t sent by the Blood Evil Sect.

Shen Yu looked at the consistently calm Chu Ming and suddenly felt unfamiliar with him, but then found him familiar again.

This kid Chu Ming seemed to have always been like this.

Shen Yu recalled past events and began to realize that Chu Ming might be even more mysterious than he had perceived.

At least this ability to instantly kill a dozen martial artists was something he couldn’t have imagined.

"I guess it’s the Wan Family," Shen Yu could see that Chu Ming was searching for something: "The Wan Family is a merchant, engaging in trade, with no honesty among traders, and holds a grudge against you..."

He actually had another guess, which involved those jealous of Chu Ming’s talent, or related to the Inspectorate, Governor’s Office in Jingyan County, or even that County Governor Baili Xinghua.

But in Shen Yu’s opinion, the latter shouldn’t collude with bandits like the Black Wind Stronghold.

Wan Family, huh?

Chu Ming’s gaze deepened as he donned a clean black garment.

"What are you going to do?" Shen Yu asked, startled.

"Rescue someone."

With a swipe of his palm over his face, Chu Ming’s appearance changed instantly, then he covered his face with a black cloth.

He trusted Brother Shen enough to reveal his strength, but that didn’t mean others were trustworthy.

"Is this a disguise technique?!" Shen Yu was astonished as he watched the face change almost in a blink.

Shen Yu knew Chu Ming could disguise, but he had never seen nor heard of instant disguise.

"Yes, it’s the disguise technique."

[Sword Gourd Spirit] dispersed, leaving no trace, as Chu Ming walked to the side of a carriage, swiftly pulling the horse out of the pit, astonishing Shen Yu again.

"Brother Shen, come up."

Shen Yu complied.

Chu Ming rode the steed, taking Shen Yu back to the location about a hundred meters away from where the fights with several refining organ experts occurred.

The sound of collision between gold and iron resounded from afar.

"Chu Ming..." Shen Yu hesitated before saying, "Commander Meng and Ye Hong are in the Refining Organ Realm, Black Pockmarks and his men are too, you..."

He didn’t know the strength of those whom Chu Ming had just killed and couldn’t gauge Chu Ming’s exact prowess, thus feeling worried.

In Shen Yu’s view, it would be remarkable for Chu Ming at his age to have cultivated to the Strong Bone Realm.

"Rest assured." Chu Ming lightly tapped the tips of his toes, his body flashed, and he leapt onto a tree, "Brother Shen, wait here for me."

He had already investigated the surroundings and confirmed there was no danger.

"..." Shen Yu wanted to persuade further, but Chu Ming was already gone in a blink.

...

On the other side.

Meng Zhen fought alone against two opponents; his realm wasn’t as advanced as Black Pockmarks’, so fatigue gradually set in.

Meanwhile, Ye Hong and Li Xingbai fought evenly, neither yielding to the other.

"Time’s almost up, retreat!"

Suddenly, Black Pockmarks roared and swung his axes, splitting through Meng Zhen, his large figure surprisingly agile as he retreated up the tree trunk.

Chen Shuo and Li Xingbai followed closely behind.

"Don’t chase, go find Chu Ming and Old Shen quickly." Ye Hong wanted to pursue, but Meng Zhen called him back.

However, as soon as he spoke, a corpse fell from a tall tree.

Thud!

The two fixed their eyes on it, pupils instantly constricting.

The corpse was the other Refining Organ expert who had teamed up with Black Pockmarks to assault Meng Zhen.

In just a few breaths, how could this person suddenly die?

Rustle—

Thud—

While the two were in doubt, another corpse plummeted down.

Meanwhile, Black Pockmarks’ voice, filled with terror, echoed from not far away: "Who are you?!"

Meng Zhen and Ye Hong were startled, hastily chasing after the sound.

Just a few steps later, they saw atop a tall tree, Black Pockmarks battling a masked individual.

It wasn’t a battle; it was complete overpowering.

This level of skill...

In awe, Meng Zhen watched as the black-clad person’s prowess equated to Commander Huo’s strength.

Are there such experts in Xirong County?!

"Don’t kill me, I’ll give you as much silver as you want."

Black Pockmarks began to beg for mercy.

In a short moment, he was struck on the chest by a palm from the black-clad person, immediately spitting blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.

The impressive black-clad person struck again, causing Black Pockmarks to fall limply from the tree, crashing to the ground, raising a dust of leaves.

Chu Ming stood up high, gazing downward, then vanished into the darkness after a glance.

Meng Zhen and Ye Hong chased after, but they soon completely lost the target and simultaneously found Chu Ming and Shen Yu mounted on a horse.

"Brother Chu, Old Shen, are you alright?" Meng Zhen landed on the ground.

"No issues." Shen Yu looked at Chu Ming with a slightly strange expression, speaking hesitantly.

"Commander Meng, Lord Ye, Dahe Village..." Chu Ming pointed to the nearby Dahe Village, still lit with blazing flames.

"I’ll go check." Ye Hong looked anxious and rushed to Dahe Village.

With the three Refining Organ experts, including Black Pockmarks, slain by a mysterious masked individual, it was unlikely there’d be more such experts soon. Only then did Ye Hong dare to venture into Dahe Village to rescue people.

"Let’s go see too." Meng Zhen tied the three Refining Organ experts’ corpses together, then dragged them along, guarding Chu Ming and Shen Yu as they entered Dahe Village.

At this point, Dahe Village showed no trace of the Black Wind Stronghold bandits, nor did Pan Cheng and the others who had entered the village before.

Buildings burned down, severed limbs, blood flowing like rivers.

Chu Ming felt guilty, knowing these common people were caught up in the chaos because of him...

Approaching the village center, Ye Hong stood there angrily, with a few heads on stakes before him.

Pan Cheng was dead, Xiahou Zhen was dead, five guards were dead—his trusted aides—dead here.

No words, his chest burned with rage.

Meng Zhen walked over, patting his shoulder, speaking in a grave tone, "Lord Ye, now is not the time for sorrow and anger."

Nearby, many surviving villagers huddled in corners in terror.

From these survivors, it was clear that Black Wind Stronghold’s target wasn’t to loot Dahe Village, but to use Dahe Village as bait.

Ye Hong arranged Pan Cheng and the others’ bodies, tightly gripping his weapon, staying silent.

Meng Zhen sighed, quietly searching through Black Pockmarks and his associates.

He had seen countless scenes of such purgatory, with countless brothers from Tiger Armor Army fallen on battlefields.

Sorrow and rage were futile; what truly mattered was managing the aftermath and avenging.

He extracted a bag of silver from Black Pockmarks and looked inside, confirming it held thirty thousand taels.

Chu Ming could have easily grabbed this silver when he killed Black Pockmarks, but he didn’t.

"Commander Meng, give this money to the villagers," Shen Yu said, his mood subdued.

"Yes." Meng Zhen had the same intention.