Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Xue Wuying's face instantly turned ashen. At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that his decision was wise. If he had been a step later, he might have been blasted into dust as well.

Composing himself, he pretended to help the others up, saying, "Get up and let's talk. I understand how you feel after what happened."

Actually, I was also at fault. I should have been more cautious. By the way, didn't Ren Guangtian and his men inform you in advance about the imperial army's deployment?

Upon hearing this, one of the disciples immediately knelt down at Xue Wuying's feet and burst into tears.

"Sect Leader Xue, my father is dead. Those imperial lackeys are so vicious; they beheaded my father in front of the entire city!"

And my mother, all she did was kill a few lowly people to make medicine, and for that trivial matter, she was beaten to death by those lackeys.

My younger brother and sister were shot dead just for arguing with those soldiers. It was so brutal, so unjust! Waaah—"

He is Ren Guangjiang, the son of Ren Guangtian, who was previously an inner disciple of the Tianxuan Sect.

Upon hearing this, Xue Wuying's lips twitched slightly.

The imperial court is ruthless; it either doesn't take action at all, or it severs a person's family lineage.

It seems that the Empress is determined to wipe out all the sects.

He quickly knelt down to comfort him, saying, "Child, don't cry. We will definitely avenge this."

"Once we see the Celestial Venerable, we will surely march back to Jinling and tear that tyrant to pieces."

But Ren Guangjiang continued to pound his fists on the sand, making hoarse sounds.

"Sect Leader Xue, you didn't see it. Our entire Tianxuan Sect was blasted into dust before we even had a chance to face each other."

The sect's protective formation was as flimsy as paper; it couldn't withstand those sharp firearms at all. My fellow disciples, when they encountered those government troops wielding fire pokers...

"It's like, it's like they've been turned into sieves! It's awful, so incredibly awful! Living people, gone in the blink of an eye!"

Inspired by Ren Guangjiang, the other disciples also couldn't help but cry.

Seeing this, Xue Wuying felt very bad. Just as she was about to say a few more words of comfort, Shen Lang, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

"So how did you guys get away?"

Ren Guangjiang looked up at Shen Lang, only to see that Shen Lang's face was dark and his eyes were calm, revealing no emotion.

"We escaped with our lives by fighting to the death against the government troops."

"Oh? How did you manage to escape from the various passes guarded by government troops and get here?"

Ren Guangjiang said, "As disciples of a sect, we do have some ability to avoid the eyes and ears of government troops."

"Is it?"

Shen Lang's eyes instantly turned cold.

"The government troops have countless spies, and the Jingwei Division is even more omnipresent. How can you expect to escape so easily?"

"What do you mean?"

Ren Guangjiang sensed the hidden meaning in Shen Lang's words and lost his temper.

"Heh heh, I suspect you're spies sent by the imperial court, putting on a pitiful act for me here."

Upon hearing this, everyone, including Xue Wuying, was stunned.

"You bullshit!"

"impossible!"

Ren Guangjiang and Xue Wuying said in unison.

"Who are you? Why are you framing me?!"

“Brother Shen, I guarantee with my integrity that they are absolutely not from the imperial court.”

Shen Lang's eyes turned cold as he stared intently at Xue Wuying: "What the hell is your personality worth? Don't forget how the Qingyi Sect was wiped out."

Who colluded with the imperial court has yet to be verified, and they've already forgotten about it all in such a short time!

After Shen Lang shouted that, Xue Wuying hesitated for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Ren Guangjiang struggled to his feet, pointed at Shen Lang's nose, and cursed, "Where did you come from, you bastard, daring to wrong me? If it were before, I would have chopped you into eight pieces and thrown you to the dogs!"

puff-

Before Ren Changjiang could finish speaking, Shen Lang severed his neck with a dagger.

"Uh--"

Clutching his bleeding neck, Ren Guangjiang slowly knelt down, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked at Shen Lang.

Xue Wuying never expected Shen Lang to be so ruthless.

They just killed him without saying a word?

"No wonder the Empress believed the rumors so easily. Clearly, whether the rumors are true or false, her decisive and ruthless nature means she can't let him live, can she?"

Ren Guangjiang collapsed by the river, letting the blood drain from his neck, and he stopped breathing in the blink of an eye.

Then Shen Lang looked at the remaining people and said, "You should go and keep him company too."

Before the others could speak, Shen Lang flashed away.

Xue Wuying felt a gust of wind pass by her ear, and when she looked again, she saw that the riverbank was already covered with five cold corpses.

They all delivered a clean and swift blow to the throat.

Finally, after Shen Lang sheathed his sword, Xue Wuying spoke: "Why did you kill them all?"

"What's the point of keeping them alive?" Shen Lang retorted. "Are we just waiting for the imperial court to come after us?"

Xue Wuying: "That's not what I meant, but I know all these people, and they would never betray the sect."

"The more impossible someone is, the more suspicious they are. You don't even have this much awareness. The destruction of the Green Robe Sect is your own fault."

Shen Lang clutched his chest and sat down on a rock on the riverbank.

"Even if, as you say, they are all innocent, what if the government troops deliberately let them cross the river to investigate our whereabouts? Have you thought about these questions?"

Xue Wuying fell silent; he truly hadn't considered that this was possible.

Now, hearing Shen Lang say it, it seems there's some truth to it.

"It's better to kill the innocent than to let the guilty go free; right now, we can barely protect ourselves."

If you bring along a few people of uncertain identity as a burden, who can guarantee that you'll be safe along the way?

"Let's get out of here, it's not safe anymore."

After Shen Lang finished speaking, he gestured for Xue Wuying to continue forward, but then he rubbed his hand on the rock beneath him for a while.

Xue Wu didn't notice Shen Lang's subtle movements. He glanced at the corpses and could only helplessly lead the way.

……

For several days in a row, Shen Lang and Xue Wuying headed towards Qingzhou.

Compared to the prosperity of the South, the North is relatively inferior in terms of both population and economy.

The war plunged the southern states into an endless cycle.

Warlords, bureaucrats, sects, and foreign enemies—all sorts of forces made their appearances, and the closer one got to Qingzhou, the more pronounced the oppressive atmosphere became.

On the tenth day, Xue Wuying and Shen Lang had already entered the territory of Qingzhou.

Upon arriving here, Xue Wuying finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at the plaque bearing the three large characters "Pingyuan County," Xue Wuying said proudly, "Alright, Brother Shen, this is the territory of Qingzhou."

"Once we reach Blackwater City and meet the Celestial Venerable, it will be time for us to launch a counterattack against the imperial court."

Shen Lang said nothing and silently followed Xue Wuying into the gate of Pingyuan County.

"Help! Robbery!"

As soon as we entered the city gate, we heard a loud and impassioned shout.

A burly man with a full beard was seen running swiftly towards the city gate, carrying a money bag.

Behind them, an old woman wept bitterly, lying on the ground and begging for mercy.

Just then, a heroic voice rang in everyone's ears.

"To dare to rob an old woman in broad daylight, how shameless!"

The next second, a girl in a yellow shirt descended from the sky, unleashing a series of kicks that subdued the burly man in the blink of an eye and successfully snatched the money back from his hands.

Seeing that the burly man had lost the ability to move, the girl in yellow snorted coldly, then walked over to the old woman with the money bag in her hand.

"Grandma, please keep the money safe."

After saying that, he stood up, smiled, and turned to leave.

"Ok?"

Upon seeing this, Shen Lang couldn't help but murmur in confusion, seemingly lost in thought.

Xue Wuying, standing to the side, revealed a mysterious smile and introduced Shen Lang, "That woman is a disciple of the Jade Maiden Sect, named Yun Siyue."

"Hey, Brother Shen, after such a long and arduous journey, aren't you planning to treat yourself?"

Shen Lang frowned: "What do you mean?"

Xue Wuying: "Don't be fooled by Yun Siyue's glamorous public persona and her unapproachable image."

Actually, at night, this so-called chivalrous woman was quite wanton, and her skills in bed were incredibly impressive.

"Hahaha."

Shen Lang chuckled a few times upon hearing this, then patted Xue Wuying on the shoulder: "I really envy you bunch of beasts sometimes."

I'm almost driven mad with worry, but you're so carefree, even after losing your son, you still have the mind to think about those things in your crotch.

Xue Wuying's expression changed instantly: "Alright, Brother Shen, you are of noble character and lofty ideals. We Jianghu people cannot compare to you."

"You have a very accurate understanding of yourself, so can we find a place to stay for now? I'm very tired."

"Humph."

Since they couldn't agree on anything, Xue Wuying snorted coldly and immediately walked forward.

Behind him, a cruel smile appeared on Shen Lang's lips.