The burly man, subdued by Youying, still glared angrily, staring fixedly at everyone. His arms were bound behind his back, yet he stood straight, appearing unyielding.
"Speak! Where is your leader?" Youying asked coldly.
The man spat a mouthful of blood, gritting his teeth: "Kill me if you want, don't expect me to betray my leader!"
A strange light flashed in Youying's eyes, then with a flick of her wrist, she threw the man into the defensive formation's inner circle. The man fell heavily to the ground, yet still struggled to rise.
"Charge!"
Youying gave a low shout, her figure ghost-like as she rushed into the bandit group. Lingxiao, Fenghan, Lanxin, Qingyi, Yunyou, Moyan, Liehuo and others followed closely, charging into the formation.
Though the bandits were numerous, under the defensive formation's suppression, their strength was greatly reduced. Youying's sword technique was incredibly sharp, each strike taking a life. Lingxiao's long sword wove through like a swimming dragon, every move lethal. Fenghan, Lanxin, and Qingyi coordinated perfectly, their sword light weaving into a death net.
Yuyi gripped his long sword tightly, following everyone into the battle. His heart beat violently, but his hand movements were unusually steady. A bandit swung a blade at him—Yuyi dodged sideways, his long sword piercing the opponent's chest. Blood sprayed, staining his robes.
The battle lasted a full incense stick's time.
When the last bandit fell, everyone was panting heavily. Fenghan, Lanxin, and Qingyi were most seriously wounded, their bodies covered with blade marks and sword injuries. Yunyou, Moyan, and Liehuo also had light injuries. Even Youying and Lingxiao were covered in blood.
Yuyi looked down at his chest—a long blade mark extended from left shoulder to right waist, blood having soaked through his robes. He took a deep breath, taking a Hemostasis Pill from his storage ring, chewing it in his mouth, then spitting it onto his wound.
Pain came—Yuyi's brows slightly furrowed, but quickly returned to calm. This was his first time being wounded in battle, also his first time personally killing someone. Fear, tension, excitement—various emotions intertwined, but he quickly suppressed them.
Lingxiao walked to Yuyi's side, patting his shoulder: "Well done."
Yuyi nodded without speaking.
Everyone began cleaning the battlefield. Lingxiao was responsible for collecting spoils, registering each bandit's dharma artifacts and spirit stones. Youying sat cross-legged nearby, regulating her breath, recovering consumed spiritual power.
"How's the harvest?" Youying opened her eyes and asked.
Lingxiao finished counting, saying gravely: "Dharma artifacts and spirit stones together, worth about fifty thousand spirit stones. Plus the sect mission reward of two hundred thousand spirit stones—this harvest is quite decent."
Youying nodded, her gaze sweeping over everyone: "Fenghan, Lanxin, Qingyi have serious injuries, need immediate treatment."
Yuyi walked to the three, taking a Spirit Water Flask from his storage ring, cleaning their wounds. His movements were gentle and careful, giving the three a sense of warmth.
"Thank you." Lanxin said weakly.
Yuyi shook his head: "It's only right."
Lingxiao stood to the side, his gaze deep as he looked into the distance. His brows were slightly furrowed, seeming to think about something.
Youying walked to Lingxiao's side: "What are you thinking about?"
Lingxiao turned, saying gravely: "I'm thinking, these bandits' lair should be nearby."
A gleam flashed in Youying's eyes: "You mean, we should press our advantage?"
Lingxiao nodded: "These bandits came out in full force—their lair must be empty. If we attack now, we might wipe out the entire bandit gang in one stroke."
Youying pondered for a moment, asking: "But we've also suffered heavy casualties—do we still have ability to attack?"
Lingxiao analyzed: "That's exactly the key. If we give up now and wait for the bandit gang to regather strength, next time they come, we might not be able to withstand them. But if we attack now, though risky, we can end this once and for all."
Everyone heard Lingxiao's analysis and nodded one after another. Yunyou said: "Lingxiao makes sense—we can't miss this opportunity."
Moyan also agreed: "Right, while they're leaderless now, perfect time to catch them all."
Youying surveyed everyone, making a decision: "Good, we'll split up. Fenghan, Lanxin, Qingyi, Yuyi stay behind to care for the wounded and guard captives. Youying, Lingxiao, Yunyou, Moyan, Liehuo, come with me to the bandit lair."
Everyone accepted orders, beginning to split up.
Yuyi stayed at the original location, caring for injured teammates. He first fed the three Fasting Pills to replenish their strength, then continued cleaning their wounds and changing dressings.
Time passed minute by minute. The sky gradually darkened.
Yuyi sat by the fire, watching the dancing flames, his thoughts drifting. He suddenly remembered something, turning to look at the three subdued bandits.
These three bandits had their acupoints sealed by Youying's special technique, unable to move. But Yuyi knew this sealing technique wasn't impossible to break. If someone knew the technique to open acupoints, they could completely undo it themselves.
Thinking of this, Yuyi stood up, walking before the three bandits.
"You three, do you know the technique to open acupoints?" Yuyi asked coldly.
The three bandits looked at each other without answering.
A cold light flashed in Yuyi's eyes: "Won't speak?"
He drew his long sword, the tip pressing against one bandit's throat: "I'll ask one last time—do you or don't you?"
That bandit trembled all over, his voice shaking: "Yes... a little..."
Yuyi withdrew his sword, turning toward the backpack by the fire. He took a dagger from his storage ring, its cold blade reflecting the firelight.
Lanxin, Fenghan, and Qingyi looked at Yuyi in surprise, not knowing what he intended.
Yuyi walked before the three bandits, crouching down. His movement was very fast—so fast no one could see clearly.
"Ah—!"
The three bandits simultaneously screamed, their voices incredibly shrill.
Lanxin and the others watched in horror—Yuyi had already stood up, the dagger in his hand covered in blood. And the three bandits' hand and foot tendons had all been severed.
"You... what did you do?" Lanxin asked trembling.
Yuyi calmly answered: "Severed their hand and foot tendons. Now they can no longer resist, nor can they escape."
Fenghan and Qingyi looked at each other, their eyes full of terror. They had never seen such ruthless methods, never imagined this seemingly gentle young man would do something so cruel.
Yuyi seemed to notice the three's strange reaction, explaining: "Though their acupoints were sealed, if they know the technique to open acupoints, they could break free at any time. Then, the four of us might not be able to control them."
Lanxin and the others fell silent—they knew Yuyi made sense, but still felt a chill in their hearts.
Yuyi didn't explain further, but turned back to the fire, taking out Hemostasis Pills and spirit cloth, bandaging the three bandits' wounds to stop bleeding. His movements remained gentle and careful, as if the ruthless person from moments ago wasn't him.
"Why bandage them?" Qingyi couldn't help asking.
Yuyi answered without looking up: "Severing tendons was to prevent them from resisting and escaping. Bandaging to stop bleeding is to prevent them from bleeding to death. We're not killers—just ensuring safety."
Hearing this, Lanxin and the others' strange feeling gradually faded. They began to understand Yuyi's approach—though cruel, it was the most effective method.
The night grew darker. Not a trace of light remained in the sky.
Suddenly, the sound of flying horses' hooves came from the distance.
Yuyi stood up, looking toward the sound's direction. Soon, several flying horses appeared in view—Youying and the others returning.
"They're back!" Lanxin cried joyfully.
The flying horses landed. Youying, Lingxiao, Yunyou, Moyan, and Liehuo dismounted. They also bore wounds, but their spirits were high.
"How did it go?" Fenghan asked urgently.
Lingxiao smiled: "Very smoothly. The bandit lair only had thirty-some people—we took it easily."
Youying added: "We also caught the bandit leader."
Saying this, he dragged a person down from the flying horse. The man was burly, his face covered with fierce flesh. Now tightly bound, his eyes were still full of anger.
Yunyou, Moyan, and Liehuo saw the three bandits on the ground and froze. They noticed these three's hands and feet were all bandaged, clearly seriously injured.
"What happened here?" Yunyou asked in surprise.
Lanxin glanced at Yuyi, saying quietly: "Yuyi severed their hand and foot tendons to prevent them from resisting and escaping."
Hearing this, Yunyou and the others all looked at Yuyi, their eyes full of strangeness. They hadn't expected this young man to be so ruthless.
Yuyi didn't explain, only calmly standing to the side.
The bandit leader was thrown to the ground. Seeing his three subordinates' condition, he immediately roared: "You beasts! They already surrendered, yet you're this cruel!"
Lanxin couldn't help retorting: "You slaughtered over twenty women—do you have any humanity?"
The bandit leader was speechless, but quickly regained his anger: "That doesn't justify treating them like this! They only followed orders—they're innocent!"
Youying said coldly: "Enough. Tie them all together, send them to the authorities tomorrow."
Lingxiao walked to Youying's side, saying quietly: "This success is thanks to your command."
Youying shook her head: "No, the first merit should be yours. If not for you seeing the bandit lair was empty, we wouldn't have been this smooth."
Lingxiao was about to speak when the bandit leader suddenly said: "Wait! I have something to say!"
Everyone looked at him—the bandit leader's eyes were full of pleading: "I beg you, spare my three brothers! They're truly innocent, only following orders. I'm willing to bear all the guilt alone—I only ask you spare them!"
Saying this, the bandit leader was in tears: "I swear, if you spare them, they'll definitely turn over a new leaf! I beg you, considering they have elderly parents and young children at home, spare their lives!"
Hearing this, hesitation flashed in Fenghan's eyes. Yunyou, Moyan, and Liehuo also looked at each other, clearly moved by the bandit leader's plea.
Lanxin and Qingyi exchanged glances, both seeing the wavering in the other's eyes.
Yuyi stood to the side, coldly watching all this. His face showed no expression, but a cold light flashed in his eyes.
Seeing everyone wavering, the bandit leader continued pleading: "I know our crimes are grave, death isn't enough. But they truly only followed orders—I beg you, give them a way to live!"
Lingxiao frowned, seeming to also be thinking.
Yuyi suddenly spoke: "Wait."
Everyone looked at Yuyi. He walked before the bandit leader, taking out a Sound Recording Jade Talisman from his storage ring, handing it to the bandit leader.
"Write out all your stronghold's hidden wealth." Yuyi said coldly.
The bandit leader paused, then took the jade talisman and began writing. Moments later, he handed the talisman back to Yuyi.
Yuyi glanced at the talisman's contents, frowning: "Just this?"
The bandit leader nodded: "Just this—all our wealth is here."
Yuyi sneered: "Your stronghold has operated for so many years with huge expenses—how could there be only this much wealth?"
The bandit leader's face changed, defending: "Really just this—we don't have much savings..."
Yuyi interrupted: "Write more."
The bandit leader hesitated, then took the talisman and continued writing. This time, he wrote a full page.
Yuyi glanced at it, saying coldly: "About seventy thousand spirit stones—that's more like it."
Youying took the talisman, looked at it, and said gravely: "All this wealth goes to the authorities."
The bandit leader's face changed drastically, urgently saying: "Wait! I beg you, spare my three brothers! I'm willing to give you all the wealth, just spare them!"
Yuyi looked at him coldly, slowly speaking: "Your true intention is to preserve this wealth for yourself after your fall and rebirth, isn't it?"
The bandit leader's face instantly went pale.
Yuyi continued: "You know your crimes are grave, death is certain. So you want to preserve this wealth so when you fall and are reborn, you can use it to quickly recover your cultivation. And your three brothers can help you guard the wealth, even help you quickly recover your strength."
Everyone heard this and froze.
Yuyi sneered: "Your so-called turning over a new leaf is just lies. You're not genuinely repenting—you're preparing for your fall and rebirth."
The bandit leader's disguise was exposed, his face showing anger: "You... you beast!"
Lingxiao stepped forward, pointing at the bandit leader's mute acupoint. The bandit leader opened his mouth but couldn't make any sound, only glaring angrily at Yuyi.
Everyone suddenly understood, all looking at the bandit leader with vigilance. They hadn't expected this seemingly loyal bandit leader to be so cunning.
Youying said gravely: "Tie them all securely, send to the authorities first thing tomorrow."
Everyone accepted orders, binding the bandits even tighter.
The night grew deeper. The fire's flames gradually diminished. Everyone sat around the fire, each lost in thought.
Yuyi sat to the side, watching the dancing flames, his face showing no expression. Though his methods were cruel, they prevented future trouble. In this cruel cultivation world, mercy often meant death.
Lingxiao walked to Yuyi's side, saying quietly: "You're very sharp."
Yuyi didn't answer, only nodding faintly.
In the distance, a night owl's cry sounded, particularly piercing in this silent night. Tomorrow, they would take the bandits to the authorities, completing this sect mission. And Yuyi's decisiveness and ruthlessness would be re-recognized by everyone.