Chapter 779: Three Camps to Sweep Away the Bandits

Hong Ying, carrying A Yi on her back, rushed into the camp. Before they could find their designated area, a vast contingent of soldiers suddenly charged towards them from the front.

Just looking at their formation, its edges seemed to stretch endlessly. The thundering sound of their footsteps made Jiu'er's chest ache violently.

A Yu had mentioned that ten people could form a "Thousand-Man Power Formation." How many people were before them now? Roughly ten thousand, perhaps?

Jiu'er felt a pang of fear, but Hong Ying remained exceptionally composed. She noticed a crucial detail: the soldiers' armor was disorganized.

"They must have rushed into battle; they shouldn't be able to form a proper formation!" Hong Ying strode directly towards the enemy lines, shouting to A Yi, "Blast them!"

A Yi, with an excited smile, kneaded a pack of explosives and threw it.

This time, she threw it very far. The explosive detonated behind the enemy forces, the ground trembled, and a large cloud of blood mist instantly rose. Thousands of soldiers were instantly killed, and countless were wounded. Splattered flesh and blood rained down like a shower. The front-row soldiers fell into disarray: some retreated, some stopped, while others still gritted their teeth and charged forward.

Observing them shoving and trampling each other, Hong Ying understood.

"They're all rookies, never fought a battle!" Hong Ying suddenly changed direction, not charging into the formation itself, but avoiding the blast radius of the explosives. A Yi, in perfect sync, threw explosives at different parts of the formation. Roars of explosions erupted one after another, and the formation of over ten thousand soldiers instantly turned into a sea of blood.

The first enemy contingent was almost completely wiped out. Hong Ying continued rushing into the camp when an iron chariot, over two meters high and eight meters wide, charged towards them. Hong Ying was startled. "Is that a *Wuchong Fubei*?"

Most people wouldn't recognize it. A *Wuchong Fuxu* was an ancient type of war chariot equipped with various weapons like halberds, repeating crossbows, cleavers, and incendiary oil. By the time Hong Ying joined the army, such chariots had long been extinct; she had only encountered descriptions of them in ancient military texts. A Yi didn't know what a *Wuchong Fuxu* was, but she could infer that it was a first-rate weapon.

"Yingying, be careful—"

Without A Yi's reminder, Hong Ying immediately dodged the war chariot, using her "Unimpeded Travel" technique to pass through the training ground's wall and reach the workshop area.

As they passed the workshops, Jiu'er counted five in total. Her mother had once said that, according to Shang Dynasty custom, one workshop was allocated for every ten thousand people. How many people were truly in this camp?

As she pondered, another contingent of soldiers approached from the front, also numbering roughly ten thousand. This group of soldiers was relatively calmer. They stood still, nocked arrows onto their bows, and waited for Hong Ying to approach. A Yi immediately threw explosives at this contingent. After a series of roars, the bombs detonated, turning the surrounding workshops into rubble.

Some soldiers were injured; some had two of their three heads blown off. But these soldiers all remained standing. One soldier was disemboweled by the explosion, his internal organs spilling onto the ground, yet he still stood. Jiu'er quickly scanned the scene. A Yi had thrown two packs of explosives, but perhaps no more than a hundred soldiers had been killed. The bodies of those who died were not mangled; they seemed to still be standing.

How could their physiques have become so formidable? Was it simply because they maintained their formation?

"Fire!" a military commander ordered, and arrows rained down. Hong Ying and Jiu'er used their "Step" and "Carefree Travel" techniques to dodge together. After a volley of arrows, Jiu'er was hit by two, and A Yi's body was covered in scrapes from arrows. One arrow pierced Hong Ying's shoulder, and another struck her head, but was blocked by the tip of her spear.

Hong Ying was battle-hardened, and injuries on the battlefield were nothing new to her, but the speed and force of these arrows still surprised her. Was this the Thousand-Man Power Formation?

A Yi continued throwing explosives. The enemy sustained some casualties, but whether wounded or dead, all remained standing within the formation; not a single one fell. Jiu'er, proficient in formations, realized this wasn't just about physical resilience. As long as these people kept standing, the formation wouldn't break apart. As long as they maintained their formation, the Pirate Suppression Army's combat strength would not diminish in the slightest.

If even A Yi's explosives couldn't bring them down, what other methods were there? Jiu'er couldn't think of a way!

"Yingying, let's go around them."

Hong Ying gritted her teeth. "What are you talking about? What did we come here for? Where would we go around?" They came here to eradicate the Pirate Suppression Army; they were right in front of them. What would be the point of going around?

A Yi, fearless, continued laughing wildly as she held the explosives. "Sis, we're not going around, we'll blast them all to death!"

Jiu'er looked back; the *Wuchong Fuxu* was pursuing them. On the roadsides, several war chariots of different forms approached simultaneously. Jiu'er couldn't name them, but Hong Ying recognized them all. One chariot featured an adjustable praying mantis blade array, its blades extendable in length and constantly changing shape. This was a "Praying Mantis Blade Fubei," incorporating many techniques from blade cultivation. Another chariot was covered in heavy armor, concealing a full load of arrows. This was a "Repeating Crossbow Grand Fuxu," secretly imbued with arrow cultivation techniques. Several other chariots were significantly smaller, with relatively simpler equipment. They carried three spears and one halberd. These were "Spear-Halberd Light Chariots," with hidden martial cultivation characteristics. These vehicles excelled in maneuverability and could exploit weaknesses in larger war chariots.

Hong Ying sensed intense danger. These war chariots were all first-rate weapons; once they formed an encirclement, there would be almost no way to break through.

The military commander ordered, "Fire arrows!"

The soldiers fired arrows again. Hong Ying, enduring the arrow rain, used her "Pathbreaker" technique on the enemy forces. She knew that to disrupt the enemy's formation, "Pathbreaker" was the best method she could think of at the moment. Several soldiers in the front row contorted their faces, losing their lives in an instant. They were dead; with Hong Ying's technique, "Pathbreaker" was enough to tear their bodies apart. Yet their bodies remained largely intact; even if their chests were ripped open, their feet still stood firmly on the ground.

"Pathbreaker" failed to break their formation. The Thousand-Man Power Formation could actually block Hong Ying's technique in such a simple manner.

Some soldiers in the back row couldn't quite stand steady. If they moved even slightly, they would quickly look down at their feet and immediately return to their original positions. There was something under their feet! Jiu'er, sharp-eyed, saw it clearly: what was under their feet was not a weapon, nor a mechanism, but a marking. Hong Ying was right; these people truly were rookies! They had to rely on markings to form their ranks, otherwise they wouldn't be able to find the correct positions in the formation. This was why the Pirate Suppression Army had to undergo concentrated training: the Thousand-Man Power Formation had extremely strict requirements for soldier positioning.

While contemplating, Jiu'er picked up arrows from the ground. During this, she was hit by six arrows consecutively. Although she had a puppet body, she was now severely wounded. She stumbled and picked up many arrows. Hong Ying didn't know the meaning of her actions and couldn't spare the effort to help her at that moment.

After the arrow volley, the military commander ordered, "Activate mind arts!" The soldiers prepared to use mind arts. So many people using mind arts together could blast the brains out of the three of them! Jiu'er suddenly threw the collected arrows into the enemy formation. The arrows stuck into the ground, completely unable to harm the enemy. Hong Ying also didn't know the meaning of Jiu'er's action.

The enemy forces were also unclear about Jiu'er's intention and all looked down at their feet. The arrows indeed hadn't harmed them, but they saw the markings near their feet—markings that should have been under their feet. How did the markings appear? This meant their positioning was wrong.

The soldiers hurried to adjust their positions. As they placed their left foot on a marking, another marking appeared on the right side. The markings that they could originally cover completely, now, no matter what, they couldn't cover them tightly.

While everyone was adjusting their formation, Jiu'er shouted, "Blast their damn asses!"

A Yi threw an explosive. The first pack detonated in the front row of the enemy formation; several hundred soldiers fell to the ground. The second pack detonated in the back row of the enemy forces. Rookies also had different levels. There was a clear difference between the soldiers in the back row and those in the front. A large number of people immediately fell to the ground, and the formation was instantly scattered by the blast. The third pack detonated in the center of the formation. Mutilated limbs and severed bones, along with waves of blood, surged towards them. A Yi wiped the blood from her face and burst out laughing. A contingent of the Pirate Suppression Army was transformed into wet, sticky piles of flesh and blood on the ground.

"Jiu'er, what trick did you just use?" A Yi helped Jiu'er up from the ground.

Jiu'er, gasping, said, "Our father, back then, must have fought like this."

"Our father—" A Yi seemed to realize something. "I guess I shouldn't have just kept throwing explosives."

Hong Ying quickly picked up A Yi and Jiu'er and fled. They absolutely couldn't get entangled with the remaining first-rate weapons. And there were still many un-mobilized soldiers left; they absolutely couldn't be let go.

A Yi, hugging the explosives, smiled even more brightly! Rookies had different levels. As for the soldiers who still hadn't fully mobilized, they would kill as many as they could find. Hearing A Yi's laughter, those soldiers also wanted to laugh. With smiles on their faces, they struggled to think about one thing: they had to form their ranks; they needed to get their formation ready quickly and absolutely could not stand in the wrong place.

Boom! They heard the explosion, watching clumps of flesh and blood fly before their eyes.

Qiao Yi was still awaiting news from Haocheng. Que Yuhan, the Vice Minister of War, reported, "My Lord, Dingye City has been attacked, and the Azure Vanguard Battalion has suffered severe damage."

"How much damage?" Qiao Yi trembled. The thing he worried about most had still come to pass.

"Still investigating." The Ministry of War dared not give a number, but Qiao Yi already had a rough estimate. These people were of the royal clan. If tens of thousands of royal clan members died, what would be the consequences?

"Immediately dispatch reinforcements to Dingye City. The Sharpened Blade Battalion and the Forged Fire Battalion must be on full alert." Que Yuhan was about to transmit the order, but Qiao Yi was uneasy. "I'll go to the Ministry of War with you!"

Qiao Yi followed Que Yuhan onto the street, where a chill made him shiver. Que Yuhan said with concern, "My Lord, it's cold tonight, please put on another layer of warm clothing." Qiao Yi looked around. This chill was unusual; it wasn't simply due to the cold weather.

A man knelt by the roadside, head bowed, saying, "My Lord, General Fenwu has returned to report."

General Fenwu? Qiao Yi remained outwardly calm. His mind was entirely preoccupied with the Pirate Suppression Army, and for a moment, he couldn't recall the person before him. Que Yuhan, however, remembered. He had been involved when Qiao Yi was enfeoffed with land in Haocheng.

"General Liu, why have you returned to Chaoge instead of staying stationed in Puluozhou?" As he spoke, Que Yuhan cautiously glanced at Qiao Yi, wondering if General Liu had been dispatched on a special mission by Qiao Yi and if he had just asked something he shouldn't have.

General Fenwu, Liu Bufei. Qiao Yi remembered this person. He had originally appointed thirteen local deities to Puluozhou, with Liu Bufei as their leader. Liu Bufei had returned to report. In Que Yuhan's view, his unauthorized return to Chaoge constituted defiance of military orders. In Qiao Yi's view, defying military orders was not the main point. The key was that, according to Qiao Yi's inference, Liu Bufei had already been killed by He Jiaqing. Could his inference have been wrong?

Qiao Yi asked, "General Liu, what matter brings you back to Chaoge?"

Liu Bufei's expression was blank, and he continuously shook his head. "Lord Qiao, your humble subordinate does not remember who General Liu is. I do have something to report, but I have forgotten what it was."

He said he didn't remember who General Liu was. Forgetting the matter was already unacceptable; could he even forget his own surname?

Que Yuhan frowned. "General Liu, military matters are not a joke. Think carefully before you speak."

Liu Bufei remained blank.

Qiao Yi asked, "First, tell me, where do you come from?"

Liu Bufei thought for a long time before replying, "I come from the Great Smelting Furnace."

Que Yuhan was greatly alarmed. "Why do you speak of the Smelting Furnace? General, if you have important matters, please elaborate at the Ministry of War. You absolutely must not speak nonsense here."

Liu Bufei shook his head. "I'm not speaking nonsense. I just came out of the Smelting Furnace. I was in the Smelting Furnace for a very long time—"

Qiao Yi used his "Peeker" technique. He found that Liu Bufei was not lying, and his inference was also correct. The Liu Bufei before him was not a living person; he was a wandering soul. Because he had been tempered in the Great Smelting Furnace, he appeared more substantial than ordinary wandering souls.

Que Yuhan was horrified. "General Fenwu, are you saying you were murdered?"

Liu Bufei looked blankly at Que Yuhan. "No one harmed your humble subordinate. Your humble subordinate only remembers having something to report, so I returned to Chaoge. But upon reaching Chaoge, I didn't know what to report. After lingering on the street for a moment, I entered the Smelting Furnace..." He had very few memories left. Before his death, his soul had clearly been severely wounded by someone. For an incomplete wandering soul like him, if he were tempered in the Great Smelting Furnace for a longer period, it was estimated that all his consciousness would be completely lost.

Que Yuhan looked at Qiao Yi, whose expression was solemn. After a moment of thought, he issued an order to Que Yuhan: "The matter of reinforcing Dingye City shall be handled by the Minister of War. You are to immediately gather men and follow me to Jiuchong City."

In Jiuchong City, beside the Great Smelting Furnace, He Jiaqing cautiously approached a lotus leaf on the furnace. Under He Jiaqing's control, this lotus leaf couldn't close properly, allowing many wandering souls to seize the opportunity to escape the furnace. The Great Smelting Furnace had countless mechanisms. Manipulating the furnace was beyond the capability of Old Train, Small Face, or He Jiaqing, even if all three combined their efforts. Even with the three of them cooperating fully, actually touching the lotus leaf presented severe dangers.

The leaf He Jiaqing chose was fine; it wasn't large, but its position was ideal, offering room for action. Old Train's craftsmanship was impeccable. Whether using a saw or a knife, he applied them at the most precise locations, with perfectly controlled force and speed. When they encountered mechanisms they couldn't avoid, Small Face would sprinkle oil on them, helping the other two slide past.

But the leaf had already been cut down, and with only this last step remaining, He Jiaqing's hand hesitated. He sensed an invisible force still controlling the leaf. Old Train also reminded He Jiaqing, "Be extremely careful. Make one wrong move, and all three of us will end up in the lotus core."

"We have to wait for the right moment to pull the leaf out," He Jiaqing said, sweat streaming down his face. He could discern some patterns, but he wasn't sure exactly when the opportune moment would arrive. Time ticked by, minute by minute, and the wind from the lotus core was about to turn towards them. Old Train sensed danger. The danger didn't just come from the lotus core; it was likely someone had already noticed the abnormality in the Great Smelting Furnace. If that person led an army, they would be difficult to resist, as Chaoge possessed countless first-rate weapons.

He Jiaqing knew they couldn't wait any longer. He looked at Old Train and Small Face. "Seniors, I'm making my move."

Small Face asked, "How confident are you?"

"Thirty percent," He Jiaqing answered truthfully.

"Go ahead!" Small Face was a bit flustered. He pulled a bitter vegetable from his pouch and shoved it into He Jiaqing's mouth, telling him to chew and eat it. The vegetable was too bitter, making He Jiaqing's jaw tremble.

"Is this Old Woman Ku's vegetable?"

Small Face nodded.

Old Train chuckled, "So, you two are truly getting close now?"

Small Face sighed, "When it comes to important matters, she still gives me the vegetable." Small Face had originally intended to save this bitter vegetable for their retreat, but the current situation was critical, so he had to take it out early.

In Bitter Vegetable Village, Old Woman Ku was cooking when she suddenly felt a sensation in her heart. She put down the pot she was holding, carefully selected a vibrant green bitter vegetable, and rubbed it for a moment. The leaves turned yellow, and this bitter vegetable quickly withered.

He Jiaqing's brow relaxed, and he chuckled aloud, "Seniors, the timing is perfect. Now I'm eighty percent confident." He pulled out the lotus leaf without triggering any mechanisms. Small Face and Old Train both breathed a sigh of relief. With one leaf gone, the Great Smelting Furnace no longer closed tightly. As it exhaled, more wandering souls escaped from the lotus core.

Old Train held the lotus leaf in his hand. "This is what we planned. This leaf must be given to the Peddler." He Jiaqing had no objection. This task had been accomplished. Old Train and Small Face were about to retreat when they saw He Jiaqing reach for another leaf.

Small Face's small eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

Old Train was also surprised. "You want to take another one?"

He Jiaqing said, "Seniors, the first leaf was a success, and we've gotten the hang of this. Taking another one shouldn't be too difficult."

Small Face angrily said, "Are you crazy or something?"

Old Train also got anxious. "If we don't leave now, we won't be able to get out!"

He Jiaqing had already grabbed the leaf. "Seniors, I don't want to go back empty-handed. If I can pluck this leaf, we'll split it three ways!"

Seeing the lotus core about to turn, Small Face was drenched in sweat. "I'm telling you, we only succeeded just now thanks to my wife's luck. We might not have that luck now!"

He Jiaqing was very confident. "I think the effect of that bitter vegetable hasn't worn off yet. My mouth is still bitter, so luck is still on our side!"

Cold sweat poured down Old Train's face. "He Jiaqing, you're really greedy, damn it!"

Hong Ying, carrying A Yi and Jiu'er, sprinted wildly out of the camp. Behind them, a group of soldiers on iron horses pursued relentlessly, followed by a line of war chariots. A Yi was badly wounded, Jiu'er was on the verge of death, and Hong Ying was covered in bloodstains, both her own and the enemy's.

The enemy's speed wasn't slow, but ultimately they couldn't outrun Hong Ying. A Yu frantically shouted into the hook, "The entrance location has changed; run south!" Hong Ying quickly changed direction, and guided by A Yu, finally brought the two back to the entrance.

Inside the entrance, seeing her two daughters, A Yu's heart ached terribly. Jiu'er smiled, "Mother, it's alright; it's just a puppet body." A Yi quickly closed the entrance and started the machine; she was rushing to save Li Qi.

"Mother, Jiu'er performed a great service this time. She found a way to break the Three Thousand-Man Formations."

A Yu helped Jiu'er clean and apply medicine. "Can the Three Thousand-Man Formations truly be broken?"

Jiu'er nodded. "Yes, by using the Foolish Cultivation Formation, we can disrupt the enemy's positioning. As long as their positions are messed up, their formation can be broken. Father must have done it this way back then."

A Yu snorted coldly. "Didn't that good-for-nothing father of yours die at the hands of the Pirate Suppression Army? Does he still have formation-breaking techniques?"

A Yi said, "Our father was able to fight the Pirate Suppression Army for so long, he must have had some methods."

"What 'our father,' that's *your* father!" A Yu said angrily. "Don't mention that scoundrel to me. Just thinking about him makes me furious."

"Don't be angry, Mother," Jiu'er gasped with difficulty. "We killed over forty thousand people; it can be considered revenge for Father."

"Over forty thousand?" This number surprised A Yu somewhat.

Hong Ying said, "I didn't count precisely, but there should be around forty thousand. Most of them were rookies; as long as their formation was slightly disrupted, they wouldn't know how to fight. There were still over two thousand veteran soldiers left. These people were too difficult to fight; they were still chasing us just now. As long as their formation wasn't completely chaotic, they could recover themselves and even coordinate with first-rate weapons. *That's* what a real Pirate Suppression Army looks like."

A Yu applied medicine to Jiu'er without saying much more. Jiu'er said, "Mother, this camp has fifty thousand people, but Li Qi's camp only has twenty thousand. Why such a big difference?"

Hong Ying was also worried. "What kind of soldiers did Li Qi encounter?"

"He probably encountered elites. Although you acted out of necessity, you might have harmed Li Qi," A Yu said, not elaborating much. Zhao Xiaowan hadn't responded, so there were some things she couldn't guess.

A Yi turned the valve to the maximum. "We've already been exposed, so there's no need to be so careful. Let's quickly find a way to get Li Qi back!"

The exit moved forward at full speed. In less than twenty minutes, A Yi found their previous position. Standing on the hillside, A Yu looked into the camp. She could see firelight and smell gunpowder, but she couldn't hear many sounds of battle. A Yu focused her gaze, her eyes constantly reddening. After a moment, she saw large numbers of soldiers, arrayed in neat formations, awaiting orders in the camp. Many barracks had been destroyed, but the enemy's casualties weren't too high. They were searching all around the camp, clearly looking for traces of Li Qi and others.

"Mother, how is Li Qi?"

Jiu'er asked A Yu. A Yu asked Zhao Xiaowan through the hook, but Zhao Xiaowan gave no response. Hong Ying guessed the situation somewhat. Without thinking, she charged directly down the hillside. A Yi called A Yun and pointed to the control panel. A Yun understood and nodded to A Yi. A Yi followed Hong Ying, also charging towards the camp.

A Yu exclaimed, "A Yi, where are you going? Come back!"

A Yi refused to return. She had promised Li Qi she would fight the Pirate Suppression Camp with him. A Yu looked at the Pirate Suppression Camp again, vaguely seeing Li Qi's figure. Li Qi seemed to have run out of options.

Li Banfeng ran into the alley between the workshops and the armory, setting down his wife and Jiang Ling'er. Before this, Zhao Xiaowan had received news from A Yi's side that the battle had started prematurely. Before she could react properly, the soldiers in the camp had already begun to mobilize. If they had waited for the enemy to form their ranks, it would have been too late to detonate the explosives. Li Banfeng detonated them prematurely, killing over three thousand people. The remaining seventeen thousand-plus soldiers had formed their ranks. This battle would be difficult.

Li Banfeng first charged and slaughtered, then hid and dodged, and was now forced into this alley. His wife was injured, and Jiang Ling'er's condition was still manageable. Li Banfeng concealed his wounds, not wanting them to see.

A squad of over a hundred people pursued them into the alley. Li Banfeng stared at the end of the enemy contingent and charged forward with a "Stepping Through Ten Thousand Rivers" kick. The technique of this kick was executed perfectly, not inferior to Hong Ying's. Out of over a hundred enemy soldiers, including dead and wounded, a total of twenty-plus fell. The others remained standing, their formation unbroken.

The Pirate Suppression Army that Hong Ying encountered was called the Azure Vanguard Battalion; they had not fought battles and hadn't received much training. Li Banfeng was facing the Sharpened Blade Battalion, the elite core of the Pirate Suppression Army. They had undergone long-term training and participated in wars against Fang Rui. Although their combat strength couldn't compare to the Pirate Suppression Army the Peddler faced back then, these soldiers were completely different from the rookies Hong Ying encountered.

Seeing Li Banfeng surrounded, Zhao Xiaowan exhaled steam and sang loudly, "A sea of blood surges with crimson waves, a lone rider breaks through ten thousand peaks! A spear pierces the Big Dipper, freezing stars fall; a horse treads the southern sky, purple lightning rages! Hu bu bu bu!" Her clear singing, combined with the sweeping steam, caused the enemy formation to slightly scatter. Jiang Ling'er continuously fired steel needles, attached with threads, strangling over a dozen people within the formation. Li Banfeng moved fluidly, his form disappearing once, then reappearing with concentrated thought, pushing his techniques to the limit, killing over twenty more. More than a hundred Pirate Suppression soldiers, over half of them casualties, temporarily retreated from the alley.

But outside the alley, over ten thousand more Pirate Suppression soldiers were encircling them. Jiang Ling'er had run out of steel needles, and the spools of thread were empty. Zhao Xiaowan had several bleeding wounds on her body. Having only recently resurrected, her physical body was quickly failing.

Danger approached. Li Banfeng activated his "Insightful Spirit Sound" to listen carefully. The large army outside seemed stationary, but the sounds of machinery and axles colliding were incessant.

His wife said, "They must have sent first-rate weapons."

The Sharpened Blade Battalion had extremely rich combat experience. Not only were their soldiers brave and skilled in battle, but their commanders were also adept at adapting. Facing a formidable enemy like Li Banfeng, they didn't intend to just throw lives away. They wanted to wear the enemy down slowly.

Li Banfeng opened the Portable Dwelling and said to Zhao Xiaowan, "Wife, take Ling'er and go home first."

Zhao Xiaowan looked at Li Banfeng. "Where are you planning to go?"

Li Banfeng said, "I'll go check other areas, to see if there's still a chance to defeat the enemy."

Zhao Xiaowan pulled Li Banfeng's hand. "Husband, come back with me. As long as there's life, there's hope. The element of surprise is gone, and this battle has no chance of victory now. You can't act impulsively."

With his wife saying this, Li Banfeng's mind wavered. He returned to the Portable Dwelling, using his mind to control it to leave the battlefield first. If he really couldn't fight anymore, he could retreat safely. If he still could fight, he could always return to battle.

Li Banfeng was about to return with his wife when he suddenly heard the Portable Dwelling say in his ear, "A Qi, stay a bit longer. I have something to tell you."

What important matter had to be said now?

"Wife, you go home. I'll be there soon."

"Husband, don't be stubborn!"

"Don't worry, I can leave whenever I want."

After sending his wife and Jiang Ling'er into the Portable Dwelling, Li Banfeng heard the old man's voice, "A Qi, I seem to be unable to get out."

Li Banfeng was startled. "You can't get out? Are you lost? Don't you have a compass map?" In Li Banfeng's impression, the Portable Dwelling didn't have the concept of being unable to leave.

"The Three Thousand-Man Formations have changed. The formation those people outside have arranged is specifically designed to trap opponents. I tried several times just now, and I really can't break through."

The Three Thousand-Man Formations can trap even the Portable Dwelling? Those soldiers couldn't even see the Portable Dwelling, nor did they know of its existence, yet they could still trap it? Li Banfeng finally understood why the Peddler had such a difficult time fighting the Pirate Suppression Camp back then.

"A Qi, when you go home later, try to throw the key into the enemy's formation. After you get home, use the Connected Cave Chamber to link with the house in Calabash Village and send everyone there. Not just your wife, but everyone else in the family. Lai Wuju isn't a good person, but she'll definitely be useful in the future; you must take her with you. Some old furniture in the house, more or less, has developed spirits of their own; try to take as many as you can."

Li Banfeng said, "And you?"

The Portable Dwelling said, "I don't know if the Connected Cave Chamber can pass through the Three Thousand-Man Formations. I'll charge outwards from within the enemy's formation, trying to get closer to Calabash Village, and find a way to help you connect to the house in Calabash Village."

"Then what?"

"Then..." The Portable Dwelling was silent for a moment, then said, "Brother, you must live. Your wife is right: as long as there's life, there's hope."

Li Banfeng lowered his head. The wound on his arm could no longer be hidden; blood dripped onto the ground. The first-rate weapons were getting closer. The Portable Dwelling urged, "A Qi, it's time to go!"

"Go, I'm going now." Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat. A halo of light spread from the bloodstains, and shadows appeared beside Li Banfeng.

"A Qi, what are you going to do?"

Li Banfeng didn't answer. He put the key into the inner pocket of his suit. The Portable Dwelling urged, "Hurry and go! Even I can't get out, what else do you intend to do?"

"Portable Dwelling, no matter where I go, you must come with me. We'll go together."

Li Banfeng, with a group of shadows, charged out of the alley.