One wave had barely subsided when another rose.
Before Nanxi could approach the master and servant pair, a group of women in black clothing and ghost masks emerged from the shadows of the forest.
Nanxi counted carefully—about twenty in total. From their marching posture, they were all seasoned veterans.
But strangely, their aura differed greatly from that of jianghu people.
Unlike the carefree, wind-swept freedom typical of jianghu wanderers, theirs was like an extremely sharp spear—piercing, lethal, and solemn.
It was the kind tempered only on the battlefield.
Even more terrifying, each carried a long-handled weapon wrapped in burlap, with one end exceptionally wide.
If he had to guess, those were likely pu dao knives.
His master had once told Nanxi about a faction in the jianghu that specialized in this blade.
It was a deadly weapon against cavalry on the battlefield.
From all these signs…
This group was the Fei Family Army.
The Fei Family Army wasn’t large in the jianghu—only a few dozen members in total—but they were deeply respected by jianghu folk.
Because they were true heroes.
Resisting Zhou soldiers, slaying corrupt officials, protecting the common people, and their legendary escort missions that never once failed.
All these deeds had earned them unparalleled prestige.
His master had told Nanxi this: as long as it didn’t involve his own life, never obstruct whatever the Fei Family Army set out to do.
And indeed, though their killing intent soared to the heavens, they bore no malice toward Nanxi—instead, they showed respect.
The leader of the Fei Family Army bowed to Nanxi first, then said,
“Young brother, please step aside. We have no intention of making things difficult for you. We only seek to settle a grudge with this Feng swine.”
“Please.”
Nanxi did not hesitate. He uttered a “please” and retreated to the side.
The only one worthy of the Fei Family Army seeking vengeance against was that one—the master of Great Liang, the Feng family that had caused all Xia people under heaven to lose faith.
Back then, how divine General Feipeng had been—shattering Zhou forces, reclaiming lost territory, on the verge of reaching the old northern Liang capital. But heaven did not grant the wish.
That fatuous emperor’s decree snatched away the sole hope of unifying the realm.
General Feipeng died, his family exiled, thoroughly chilling the hearts of the northern Xia people.
From then on, they no longer pinned hopes on anything.
After that, when northern Xia people spoke of Liang, they would only spit in contempt.
Compared to those maggots and wastes in Liang, northern Xia people would rather suffer under Zhou’s iron cavalry.
At least before Zhou fully tore off its mask, they could still scrape by with some semblance of life.
In Liang, they were forever mere weeds in the eyes of the fatuous ruler and corrupt scholars.
Uproot them at will, burn them at will.
When levying grain, those vile officials loved to spout hypocritical words about the bond between ruler and people.
Though Zhou treated Xia people as an inferior race, at least there they could still live somewhat like humans.
Unlike Liang—false sentiment and pretense, calling robbery “borrowing.” Hypocrites were far viler than true villains.
Since gaining understanding, Nanxi had read history books thoroughly.
He had never seen such a fatuous ruler or such a ruinous dynasty in all of history.
Thus, toward Liang, he felt no fondness, no expectation.
Had that Daoist woman and nun not harbored lustful intentions toward him, Nanxi wouldn’t have cared about the life or death of this master and servant pair at all.
“Since childhood, I’ve heard tales of the Fei Family Army’s heroic deeds. Seeing it with my own eyes today, you are indeed extraordinarily valiant. Since you have a grudge to settle, this junior will naturally not interfere.”
Raised on the books of Confucius and Mencius, Nanxi did not worship Confucian doctrine, but loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness were deeply ingrained in his heart.
He knew well that virtue was indispensable to being human, so he would never obstruct the Fei Family Army’s actions.
“Thank you for your understanding, young brother.”
After expressing gratitude, the Fei Family Army surrounded the master and servant pair.
As for Nanxi, he began gathering the belongings of the Daoists and nun off to the side while watching how this matter would ultimately unfold.
But most importantly, he wanted to ensure nothing went wrong for the Fei Family Army.
Though their virtue commanded admiration, they were not martial artists—their martial arts were not particularly high, only around fourth or fifth grade.
They were outstanding among ordinary people but could not be called jianghu experts.
However, that was only in terms of individual martial prowess.
What truly made the Fei Family Army strong was their coordinated combat ability, something jianghu people lacked.
They were true soldiers with perseverance, true iron troops who followed discipline.
A military unit of merely twenty was far more fearsome than a single Acquired realm expert.
But that did not mean mistakes were impossible.
And the mistake lay with that old woman.
Nanxi could see it—the qi on her was very strong.
Unassuming and concealed, she was hiding her strength.
Even when those Daoists and the nun were about to strike earlier, she had shown no trace of anxiety.
Her apparent panic had not come from the heart—it was merely an act.
And reality proved Nanxi right.
The Fei Family Army leader said nothing, simply raising a hand in a gesture.
Nineteen figures moved instantly.
Five pu dao knives tore free of their burlap, the broad blades carrying battlefield killing intent as they cleaved downward.
The rest either wielded short blades to block paths or used hook chains to weave nets—their movements clean and vicious, aiming straight for the old woman’s vital points.
The old woman pushed the girl behind her back.
Her withered frame suddenly straightened.
Her sleeves billowed, generating a dense surge of qi out of thin air that forcibly blocked the first three incoming blades.
“Good formation,” she rasped, her voice hoarse. “But too rigid.”
Before her words finished, her movement technique abruptly shifted.
Like a ghost, she slipped through the gaps between the blades, her fingertips flicking out several sharp bursts of finger wind straight at the soldiers’ wrist acupoints.
The Fei Family Army formation changed accordingly.
Hook chains from the flanks immediately filled the gap, iron links crisscrossing to form a web—not seeking to wound, only to trap her figure.
In an instant, blade lights and chain shadows encircled the old woman completely.
Her palm winds howled, deflecting slash after slash.
Wherever her finger winds struck, they forced the opponents to defend.
The two sides seemed evenly matched.
But Nanxi saw clearly—the twenty-person battle formation was tightening like a millstone, steadily grinding away the old woman’s stamina.
No matter how strong a person was, their endurance could not outlast an orderly military unit.
Sure enough, the old woman’s breathing grew heavier, and the protective inner force around her began to fluctuate.
At that moment, her footwork faltered, as if tripped by a hook chain.
Two soldiers in front seized the opening and pressed the attack, blade and hook striking together.
But gray-green powder silently exploded from her sleeve.
The two soldiers bore the brunt, their movements abruptly stiffening as cyan tint spread across their faces.
“Poison?!”
The Fei Family Army leader shouted sternly.
The old woman used the momentum to retreat swiftly, her sleeves continuously firing dense poison needles mixed into the palm winds, scattering in all directions.
The Fei Family Army formation fell into brief disarray.
They did not fear blades or swords, but they were wary of such insidious methods.
“Disperse! Use concealed projectiles!”
The formation scattered instantly, hidden weapons pouring like rain.
The old woman whirled her sleeves into a circle, deflecting most of them, but her face had already paled.
The two poisoned soldiers staggered back, dragged aside by comrades who urgently fed them antidote pills—yet their lips had turned purple.
The situation had temporarily been pulled back to parity.
Though the Fei Family Army had not broken, their offensive had stalled.
The old woman guarded her small patch of ground, poison mist trailing her like a shadow.
With her strength alone, she held the entire unit at bay.
Nanxi weighed the whisk handle he had just picked up.
He knew this old woman had been concealing her true power from the start.
The poison was not improvised—it was her trump card.
The Fei Family Army’s formation could surround and kill an Acquired realm expert, yet they were losing to those four words: “jianghu underhanded tricks.”
The forest suddenly fell quiet, save for the suppressed gasps of the poisoned.
The Fei Family Army faced the old woman across the poison mist, their gazes beneath the ghost masks sharp as knives—yet no one dared advance rashly again.
The old woman wiped the fine sweat from her brow and shielded Feng Anlan further behind her.
The residual poison powder in her sleeves glinted eerily in the sunlight.
Nanxi quietly stepped back half a pace, his fingertips tightening around the copper ring on the whisk handle.
He still could not retreat from the path of heroism.
The standoff was on the verge of shattering.