Women disguised as men went to the battlefield and the emperor bowed down in submission.

Lin Ruoshui said, "No, my leg just hurts."

Prince Lu recalled how Ling Ye's leg had been broken and said, "Those who do wrong should be punished. You won't blame me, will you?"

Lin Ruoshui said, "How could that be? This is what I deserve. I am only grateful for your mercy."

Prince Lu clung to him again, saying, "After tonight, we'll be safe. Once we find a safe place, I'll comfort you properly."

Lin Ruoshui lowered her head, seemingly smiling shyly, but in reality, she hated him to the core.

She naturally fed the shelled melon seeds to Prince Lu, and threw the shells out of the carriage.

Prince Lu ate the melon seeds with great relish, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Ling Ye found Baili Heng in time. Upon seeing Ling Ye, Baili Heng dismounted and embraced Ling Ye tightly.

With tears in his eyes, he said, "Yingying, thank goodness you're alright! I was so worried about you!"

Ling Ye was being choked by Baili Heng until he couldn't breathe. He said, "I'm Ling Ye, can you stop being so mushy?"

Upon hearing that it was Ling Ye, Baili Heng was so angry that he almost lost his composure. He really wanted to point at Ling Ye and curse him.

Baili Heng asked emotionally, "Where's Yingying? Why didn't you switch her back?"

Ling Ye said, "Yingying asked me to come and deliver this letter to you. I need to go see her later."

Veins bulged on Baili Heng's forehead as he grabbed Ling Ye's arms and shook him, asking, "Where is Yingying? How is she? Take me to see her!"

Ling Ye said, "He was taken away by Prince Lu and Daoist Lingxiao."

Upon hearing this, Baili Heng's mind went blank, and he experienced a ringing in his ears.

He scolded Ling Ye, "How could you leave her alone in such a dangerous situation! Are you even a man?!"

Ling Ye said, "There are now 30 Gu people lying in ambush at the North Gate. Yingying sent me to inform you, and I've delivered the message. I'm going back to find her now."

Baili Heng said, "I will go with you!"

Ling Ye said, "You should try to eliminate the 30 Gu people first. If anything happens to the number one army in the world, I believe you won't be able to explain it to Yingying."

Baili Heng looked troubled. After thinking for a moment, he said earnestly, "You must take good care of her! Nothing can happen to her!"

Ling Ye said, "Stop being so wishy-washy, I know!" After saying that, he vanished in front of Baili Heng.

Baili Heng looked north with worry. He decided that if he saw Lin Ruoshui again, he would protect her every step of the way.

Baili Heng said to the guards, "Go and summon Sun Jian and Li Heng from the Special Forces."

The guards obeyed and left. Not long after, Sun Jian and Li Heng arrived before Baili Heng.

Baili Heng said, "There are 10 Gu people lying in ambush in the North City. We must deal with them as soon as possible. Sun Jian and Li Heng, you two prepare enough explosives, cannons, natural gas, hot air balloons and other firearms and rush to the North Gate. I will prepare a large amount of oil 500 meters from the North Gate. Once the Gu people escape the encirclement, I will light the fire wall to prevent the Gu worms on the Gu people from spreading throughout the city."

Baili Heng made all the arrangements and rode at full speed toward the north gate.

Ling Ye followed the trail of sunflower seed shells and caught up with Prince Lu's entourage.

He didn't show himself, but followed closely behind.

Ling Ye sensed a familiar presence behind him and stopped to ask, "Xiu Yi?!"

Xiu Yi appeared behind him, and Ling Ye asked, "When did you start following me?"

Xiu Yi said calmly, "Just now!"

Ling Ye said, "You've only come now? It seems your strength is quite average."

Xiu Yi's eyes flashed with murderous intent as she said, "I'm not killing you because you're still useful; otherwise, I would have made sure you died a horrible death."

Ling Ye smiled wickedly and said, "I love seeing that look on your face—you can't stand me but you can't get rid of me."

Xiuyi didn't want to talk to him anymore and secretly followed closely behind Prince Lu's entourage.

When Lin Ruoshui learned that Lingxiao Daoist was still a virgin, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep. She was thinking about how to break his virginity so that he would never be able to control Gu people again.

She glanced at Prince Lu, who was fast asleep in the carriage, and a plan formed in her mind. Then she smiled lewdly.

Lingxiao Daoist stood on the North Gate and sneezed loudly. He looked at the 10 Gu people gathered below the North Gate with a confident expression.

He held a whisk and a sword, chanting incantations. The army of Gu people seemed to be activated, letting out roars that echoed across the sky.

The people in the city kept their doors tightly shut, living in constant fear.

Special forces deployed 200 meters from the north gate, with 10,000 soldiers facing off against 100,000 Gu people.

Lingxiao Daoist looked down at them and said with his inner force, "Haha, you are too overconfident. Ten thousand people want to fight against my army of 100,000 Gu people. It is truly a ridiculous joke. Call all your two million soldiers here and fight again, otherwise don't blame me for bullying the weak with numbers."

Li Ha said, "Old Taoist priest with scraggly hair, do you really need 200 million people to deal with things like you who are neither human nor ghost?"

Lingxiao Daoist said disdainfully, "You, a rough man, dare to spout nonsense again. In a moment, I will make you one of my Gu people, and then I will make you wish you were dead."

Hearing their conversation from 500 meters away, Baili Heng was filled with worry. It was impossible for the soldiers of the First Army under Heaven to fight 100,000 Gu people head-on; they would suffer heavy losses. Their only hope lay in the firearms of the special forces.

The soldiers behind Baili Heng were discussing among themselves: "Even with firearms, they might not be able to win against 1 Gu people with only 10 men."

"Yes, the disparity in troop strength is too great. If we can't resist the Gu people, won't we all be doomed?"

"Keep your voice down, don't let the new emperor hear! If we really can't hold out, even if we die, we have to die like men."

Lingxiao Daoist arrogantly believed that his 10 Gu people were invincible and that no one could defeat them.

Lingxiao Daoist laughed wildly, saying, "Come on, today is the day your number one army in the world dies. Let this old man see your skills, hahaha..."

Before his laughter had even faded, a deafening roar shook the entire city wall. A powerful gust of air, carrying dust and debris, flew everywhere.

Lingxiao Daoist was instantly blown into an afro, his beard was singed into curly hair, and his Daoist robe was torn in countless places by the blast fragments, revealing most of his thin buttocks.

He was so angry that he glared and roared, "Which blind fool dared to bomb me?"

However, all that responded to him were bursts of laughter coming from below the city walls.

With one hand on his hip and the other pointing at himself, pitcher Sun Pengyu said, "It's your grandpa!"

Lingxiao Daoist rubbed his chilly buttocks and said, "You..." Before he could finish speaking, the hot air balloon behind him exploded with a series of "booms!" The shockwaves sent Lingxiao Daoist flying, crashing outside the city wall.

Special forces soldiers, armed with the most advanced weapons, with resolute eyes and cold faces, unleashed their full firepower, treating the Gu people as if they were rats or cockroaches, utterly annihilating them.

The Gu people let out a shrill scream, but the special forces gave them no chance to retaliate, bombarding them relentlessly until all of them were eliminated.

After the battle, the special forces soldiers carefully inspected the battlefield. They made sure that every Gu person had been killed, leaving no survivors.

Baili Heng waved his hand to his subordinates and said with emotion, "No need to light the fire. I never imagined that in just half a year, their combat power would have become so formidable that no one on the entire continent can match them."

Lin Ruoshui and Prince Lu's party traveled at full speed for fifty li before arriving at the inn. They were exhausted.

Exhausted, Prince Lu had no time for flirting and went to bed early.

Lin Ruoshui lay down fully clothed, pondering: "If all goes well, Baili Heng should have already dealt with those 10 Gu people. If Lingxiao Daoist is still alive, he should arrive here by noon tomorrow at the latest."

Thinking of this, Lin Ruoshui curled her lips into a forced smile. She thought to herself, "Old Daoist Ling Xiao, you must come! I've prepared a big gift for you that will make you feel so good you'll fly away."