Ruan Hongjin saw this, his face drastically changed, "Retreat!"
Dammit, was Li Xiangju such an idiot to not investigate the enemy’s strength beforehand?
Having a Half-step Innate is one thing, but there’s actually an Innate Martial Artist.
If you want to die, don’t drag me into it!
At this moment, Ruan Hongjin wished he could kill Li Xiangju, but unfortunately, he had no chance, as Li Xiangju was already at the forefront and had his throat slashed by Yu Qingyi’s sword.
Li Xiangju was now lying on the ground, consciousness fading, his eyes dimly staring at the bright sky.
"Marchioness, leave a survivor!" Yang Zhenshan shouted.
Yu Qingyi was rather enjoying the slaughter, killing the underlings one by one, which even Yang Zhenshan almost couldn’t bear to watch.
Finally catching on, Ai Benhou hastily called out to his Personal Followers: "Quick, quick, capture these bandits."
The group of Personal Followers no longer cared about any formation and rushed forward to capture and kill the bandits.
The battle concluded swiftly; from when Yang Zhenshan had the caravan stop to Yu Qingyi sheathing her sword, it took less than fifteen minutes.
"Phew~~" Yu Qingyi let out a deep breath, winking at Yang Zhenshan, "This concubine was brash, I ask the Marquis to punish me!"
Yang Zhenshan rolled his eyes, punish my ass.
"Marchioness is mighty, I am in awe; please go rest now!"
He said with utter seriousness.
Behind him, Yang Wanqing sat in the carriage, covering her mouth, giggling, and both Red Cloud and Qingxia were smiling.
Yu Qingyi walked back to the carriage, handed her long sword to Qingxia, who hastily took out a handkerchief to clean the blood from the sword.
Yang Wanqing helped her onto the carriage, uh, helping her seemed somewhat superfluous, but Yu Qingyi seemed accustomed to having someone assist her.
Sitting inside the carriage, Yu Qingyi straightened her clothes and seeing no bloodstains, she relaxed her expression.
"Grandmother is so awesome!" Yang Wanqing looked at Yu Qingyi with stars in her eyes, resembling a little fangirl of Yu Qingyi.
Yu Qingyi said with a smile: "You will be just as formidable as your grandmother in the future!"
Killing is a sin, but for Yu Qingyi, killing today was a form of relaxation, also a venting, a release of emotions.
Years of diligent cultivation, and today she was able to showcase it, her mood lifted considerably.
Having broken through to the Innate Realm, she felt an irrepressible restlessness, and after venting today, that restlessness dissipated, replaced by an unprecedented peace.
Yang Mingcheng also felt quite exhilarated, but he still felt somewhat unsatisfied.
Yu Qingyi acted too quickly; he didn’t kill many bandits himself, as most were slain by Yu Qingyi.
The interruption was brief, and soon Ai Benhou’s Personal Followers had cleaned up the battlefield. They disposed of the bodies in a vacant lot by the road, burning them before continuing the journey with a few captives.
The caravan proceeded, and Ai Benhou tried to speak several times but hesitated, finally unable to hold back he asked, "The Marchioness is also an Innate Martial Artist?"
"Yes, she just recently broke through to the Innate Realm!" Yang Zhenshan openly replied.
In fact, there was nothing to hide, Yu Qingyi’s breakthrough to the Innate Realm was not something shameful.
Ai Benhou remarked with a certain admiration, "I didn’t expect the Marchioness to be a female hero among women!"
With a pleased look, Yang Zhenshan said, "Of course, my wife was once a Sect Leader of a sect."
"Sect Leader?" Ai Benhou was somewhat puzzled.
"My wife was the Sect Leader of the Sky Blue Sword Sect!" Yang Zhenshan explained simply.
Ai Benhou realized, "No wonder the Marchioness possesses such cultivation!"
The caravan slowly moved on, exiting the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, entering the flat plains.
The official road was smooth, and their speed increased, but they would definitely not reach Nanhua City today.
They stopped for the night at a garrison situated beside the official road.
The so-called garrison was actually a market town.
Originally a Hundred Households responsible for the Southern Border vanguard due to its proximity to the official road and the south foot of Yunwu Mountain, many passing caravans chose to rest nearby, thus creating business opportunities. Initially, it was only military households selling mountain products, but over time, a market town formed.
The market town had dozens of shops, tea houses, taverns, and inns.
Everyone rested in the town for a night, and by the next day before noon, they reached Nanhua City.
Duke Xing, Qu Changkong, accompanied by various officials from the Southern Border Town, came out ten miles from the city to welcome them. Although Yang Zhenshan no longer held a position in the Southern Border Town, he was now a First-class Marquis of Da Rong, and other than the Duke Xing, all other town officials ranked lower than Yang Zhenshan.
Qu Changkong came to welcome his future in-law, while the other officials were there to make a good impression on Yang Zhenshan.
Despite Yang Zhenshan not currently holding an important official position, those who were well-informed knew he was a trusted minister in Emperor Yanping’s heart.
Especially recently, as Yang Zhenshan had just led the Four Seas Navy to annihilate the pirates of the Four Seas Navy.
Seeing the caravan approach, Qu Changkong laughed loudly before Yang Zhenshan could dismount, "Brother Yang, I’ve long admired your great name!"
"Lord Duke, I have also long revered your great name, upon meeting today, truly remarkable indeed!" Yang Zhenshan flattered.
"Quit the formalities, Lord Duke; from now on, we are family. Allow me to call you brother freely, why be so courteous with me?" Qu Changkong was excessively passionate.
His laugh made his old face bloom like a chrysanthemum.
"Haha, then I won’t be polite, Brother Qu!"
"That’s the spirit! Haha~~" Qu Changkong laughed heartily.