It was early morning on the eighth day of the eighth month, and figures were flickering in the north and south of the sour jujube forest. Two groups were secretly heading towards Cross Slope.

　　On one side, General An led the elite troops to lurk nearby, leaving some men to wait in ambush within the forest. On the other side, Shen Huan instructed Zhou Ge to keep a close eye on He Muyu while leading his own team to hide in the shadows.

　　The second miss, however, refused to listen and found a spot she deemed safe to lie in wait. Zhou Ge couldn't stray far and lay down beside her.

　　Everyone knew that the main focus was on the caravan. When the caravan arrived at Cross Slope, that was when they would make their move.

　　After an indeterminate amount of time, their arms and necks ached from the long wait. The number of passersby was increasing, and it was unclear who were genuine merchants and who were disguised as bandits from Fangding Mountain.

　　Suddenly, the second miss thought of something and said to Zhou Ge, "My sister is clever, isn't she?"

　　Zhou Ge looked puzzled. "Clever?"

　　"Silly, conserving energy while waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out."

　　"We're the ones who are tired."

　　"Not the caravan."

　　Once Zhou Ge understood, he remained silent and continued to wait.

　　As everyone was feeling anxious, a caravan approached from the east of Cross Slope. Before they could see the people clearly, they heard two melodies being sung.

　　"Yaaaiyo...yo! The mountain porter dreams big, riding a horse and pretending to be an official, wanting to marry a beautiful lady, but wakes up with a thud."

　　"Hey...heyyo! The porter's friend, the firewood gatherer, also dreams of marrying a beauty, but wakes up to find his firewood stolen by a child, stolen away."

　　"The singer is Huang Qin, the martial arts instructor of our prefect's mansion. Zhou Ge, they're here."

　　As the melodies drew nearer, the caravan also came into view.

　　At the forefront were two black steeds, ridden by a young sword-wielding man and a middle-aged martial artist wielding an iron rod. The young man was recognized by all as Ji Yanshi, who had left to deliver a message. The middle-aged martial artist, Huang Qin, was someone Zhou Ge was meeting for the first time. The second miss introduced him as the personal martial arts instructor of the eldest miss.

　　Behind them, a pristine white horse with not a single speck of impurity or any other color, as if it were one with the snow. The horse was well-built and muscular, with a glossy coat that shimmered in the sunlight. A majestic bell was tied around its neck, and its tinkling sound was crystal clear.

　　On the saddle sat a woman in her early twenties, of average build. She wore a narrow-sleeved blue shirt and light blue trousers, with a sword in her hand. Due to the journey, dust had settled on her trousers.

　　Her facial features were similar to He Muyu's, but perhaps because she was a few years older, her features were more defined. What distinguished her from her sister was her delicate sword eyebrows, and her phoenix eyes under her eyebrows, and her phoenix eyes that emitted a subtle air of fierceness.

　　Behind her, there were four heavily loaded carriages, with two guards flanking each carriage.

　　The second miss introduced this woman to the others as her elder sister, He Muxian.

　　Zhou Ge observed both the person and the sword, and the aura of fierceness emanating from her made him feel a chill.

　　To be honest, He Muxian had brought too few people with her. If it weren't for the information they had received, she would never have imagined that someone would dare to attack her within her own prefecture.

　　As the caravan entered Cross Slope, a light breeze blew, carrying a dense fog that settled close to the ground.

　　When the smoke wasn't too thick, four burly men emerged from the northern slope.

　　Ji Yanshi and Huang Qin reined in their horses and moved to the sides, while He Muxian raised her hand to signal the caravan to stop.

　　She looked at the four men, all wielding the same kind of ghost-headed cleaver, indicating their considerable strength.

　　With her sword held high, the tip of its sheath pointing forward, she asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Who are you fellows?"

　　One of the men took a step back and then peered forward. The sword they were facing was made of steel, and he believed that a talisman could neutralize it.

　　With a smile, he replied, "What kind of people? Living people."

　　"What are you doing here?"

　　"It's obvious, isn't it? To get some round and hard things, some yellow and white things. Look here, we're making a deal. Leave all the valuable things in your carriage, and we'll let you go. Otherwise... hmm hmm... you'll end up cut open and left to dry."

　　He Muxian seldom heard such talk. Whenever her caravan passed through nearby prefectures, they would always give way. She had her martial arts instructor to handle any issues, so she rarely heard such words. Therefore, she found it amusing.

　　She asked a redundant question, "Left to dry? Where?"

　　The man was taken aback by her question. After all, in his years of robbery, it was the first time someone had asked where they would be left to dry.

　　"Uh... on the ground!"

　　"Then it's up to you to prove your worth."

　　With that, she drew her sword, and a cold, bluish light flashed around her. She leaped off her horse and pointed her sword at the man's heart.

　　Seeing their leader take action, Ji Yanshi and Huang Qin also readied their weapons.

　　The four bandits eagerly accepted the challenge and raised their ghost-headed cleavers to meet her.

　　At that moment, the talisman was activated, and the swords and iron rod turned to wood. He Muxian lightly stepped back and deftly threw a four-edged dart at her opponent. The dart was also made of steel, so its effectiveness was questionable.

　　She recalled that this technique was likely the talisman her seventh junior brother had mentioned.

　　Meanwhile, Zhou Ge squinted his eyes as he observed the scene, pondering if he had done enough. He occasionally looked around for Huang Yan but couldn't find him.

　　Little did he know that Huang Yan had already tampered with the talismans. After returning from their previous encounter, he had suggested to everyone that they create new talismans to prevent them from failing. No one had objected, so he had secretly altered some of them. The talismans carried by important figures, such as the leaders of the mountain forts, Qing Hu, Dang Liaoze, and himself, remained unaffected. However, those carried by minor leaders had been altered to deactivate after ten rounds of combat, while those carried by the ordinary bandits were completely fake. The four bandits wielding ghost-headed cleavers were minor leaders.

　　Zhou Ge was unaware of these details and was considering the best time to make his move.

　　Beside him, He Muyu was growing impatient, and her impatience was shared by Shen Huan and General An.

　　As the fog in the battlefield grew thicker, the bluish tint became more prominent. He Muxian raised her voice and said coldly, "Third senior brother, why don't you show yourself now that you're here?"

　　Qing Hu, who was performing the incantation nearby, felt a chill run down his spine when he heard her voice. He gave the leader of the bandits a meaningful look, and Tang Lizhi, the leader, understood.

　　Castellan Tang stepped forward with a few men and blocked the road. Brandishing his cleaver, he taunted, "Miss He, why are you involving yourself in this mess? I've heard that you've sent someone to negotiate with my father. With that attitude, you're asking for trouble."

　　He Muxian sized him up and realized that she had never seen him before.

　　"Whose side are you on?"

　　"I'm from Fangding Mountain!"

　　"I see. So, you're the one who sent people to negotiate with my father? Let me tell you, whether you have support or not, you're making a mistake by getting involved in this. I've heard that you've even set conditions for my father? For that alone, you deserve to die."

　　Four of the bandits charged forward, and one of them shouted, "What can you do about it, Miss He?" As they swung their cleavers, the other three followed suit.

　　He Muxian pondered. With the talismans in play, she needed to use some special techniques to overcome them.

　　"Teacher Huang, Seventh Junior Brother, step back."

　　She tightened her grip on her sword and activated a mechanism on the sword guard. Instantly, a layer of pale bluish ice formed on the blade.

　　Those unaware might think she was using some kind of swordplay technique, but in reality, this ice is a water spirit, and it is incompatible with the water when entering the water.

　　Her grandfather, He Jing, has studied water spirits for most of his life, and found that this spirit will produce a layer of cyan ice when it encounters an unknown metal. The old man fused unknown metal into fine iron to forge a sword for his granddaughter.

　　The sword freezes the ice and fights the thieves; The body of the sword enters the range of the soldier liberation talisman, the inside is wooden, and the outside is not broken.

　　The thieves were taken aback when they saw it, and the four leaders who stepped forward only returned one in less than twenty rounds.

　　Huang Qin sighed secretly: "Can break the dispel weapons talismans, only the He Muxian, and no one else can do it!" ”

　　Ji Yanshi shouted: "Sixth Senior Sister is playing well!" ”