He'd rather run than be turned into a cannon fodder for the broken engagement.

To get to the Eastern Capital, this journey is at least five thousand li.

Leng Huan rushed to Dongling City overnight and hired a three-horse carriage at a high price, which doubled the speed and allowed her to travel a thousand miles a day. If you ask her why she didn't just ride a horse, she can only say that she didn't want to be too bumpy or eat dust!

The Foundation Establishment cultivation is much more powerful than the Qi Refining cultivation. At least one's divine sense can cover a radius of ten miles, which is called having sharp ears and eyes. However, Leng Huan remained seated in the stable carriage and did not release his divine sense.

So when she heard the clanging of swords and spears coming from ahead, she suddenly opened her eyes.

With a clang, the men surrounded by bandits looked panicked. One of the young men was slashed in the arm, and his weapon was forced to fall onto a pile of rubble.

"Brother! Watch out!!"

The girl beside him, who was caught off guard, screamed. The next second, the sword in her hand flew out and plunged into the soil with a thud.

The thief, however, intended to strike with deadly force, raising his knife to slash at the wounded young man's neck. The blade, gleaming and stained with blood, appeared to the fallen young man like a deadly scythe!

The older woman frowned upon seeing this and shouted, "Stop!" She tried to rush to the rescue, but she was also entangled by the two thieves. Two large knives were pressed down on her. She raised her sword to block, and with a "clang," her sword broke in two!

The young man rolled on the spot, and the thief swung his knife at the spot where he had just been, splitting the rock in two!

But while he dodged that blow, he couldn't avoid the thief's swift slash. Seeing that the young man was about to die on the spot, the two sisters screamed in agony.

"elder brother!"

"Do not!!"

"when--"

In a flash, a strangely shaped iron shield flew out from nowhere, blocking the attack and sending the thief flying!

Everyone was stunned, especially the thief. A burly man who was about to grab the girl quickly looked around warily and shouted, "Who goes there?!"

"Who's over there!?"

"Whoa..." A carriage pulled by three spirit horned horses slowly emerged from the mountain pass. Everyone turned their heads and saw a young man in black, about the same age as the young man who had just escaped death, slowly open the carriage door and jump down.

-

"Who are you? Why are you meddling in other people's business?!"

Seeing that he was alone and looked frail, seemingly nothing to fear except for his excessively handsome face, the bandit leader immediately turned his blade and pointed it at Leng Huan, saying, "You've been meddling in other people's business, don't blame us for being impolite!"

Leng Huan didn't answer. She raised her eyes and glanced at the three people who had encountered the bandits. They were all in the middle stage of Qi Refining, while there were seven or eight bandits in the late stage of Qi Refining. They were numerous and powerful, no wonder they had ended up in this situation and were almost killed. But the two girls were not injured. She narrowed her eyes.

"Senior, save us!" The youngest girl was terrified and cried out to Leng Huan for help. In this desolate wilderness, they didn't know who else to ask for help besides Leng Huan.

The girl was terrified and cried her eyes out. Leng Huan glanced at her; since she was on her way, he couldn't just stand by and watch her die. He'd already done his job, after all.

Leng Huan felt that she was acting out of a sense of justice and to help those two beautiful girls, and that she was not a lecherous old man.

"it is good!"

"watch out!"

One voice answered the little girl, the other challenged the thief.

Leng Huan flicked her wrist, recalling her frying pan. Activating her lightness skill, she leaped forward like a rabbit and a falcon before the thief could react. She raised her hand and smashed the pan onto the thief's head with a "bang."

The pot of pot contained extraordinary power, amplifying her spiritual energy. The thief collapsed to the ground with a "plop" before he could even utter a sound.

The little girl quickly got up and ran to help her older siblings up. She swiftly and decisively dealt with one of the thieves, and the leader of the thieves, seeing that she was up to no good, shouted "Retreat!" and turned to run away.

"Stop!" Leng Huan's brows furrowed, and he poured spiritual energy into the frying pan, spinning it as he threw it. Instantly, a huge black shadow flew out, seemingly with its own consciousness, chasing after the fleeing thieves and smashing them down one by one.

The three rescued people: "..."

"..." The effect was immediate. Leng Huan raised her eyebrows. It didn't require much spiritual power to activate. This frying pan could be used for both ranged and melee attacks, and it could also be used as a protective shield. Hehe, she liked it very much!

A frying pan can take on ten opponents at once. A remarkable achievement.

It's not expensive anyway, I'll practice a few more next time!

-

"Senior, are you also going to Dongdu?"

Fearing the thieves would seek reinforcements, they quickly treated their injuries and set off together.

"Hmm, you're going to Dongjun?" Leng Huan sat on the roof of his carriage, which was reinforced with arrays and restrictions, making him as steady as a mountain.

"Yes, senior." The young man sat on the lower part of Leng Huan's carriage, meditating to recover from his injuries. When it was almost time, he respectfully answered the question.

"We came from Dongling City on our way to visit relatives in Dongjun. We never expected to encounter such misfortune, but thankfully we met you, senior!"

"Oh, I see. Those thieves wanted to kill you so they could kidnap your sisters. It seems they wanted to rob you of your money and your virtue as well?"

"Senior, you may not know this, but I heard that damned bastard say they want to pick out good-looking people and sell them to Dongjun to be used as furnaces for a life of luxury... Bah!"

A furnace or cauldron? Leng Huan's eyes narrowed. Was this another kidnapping and trafficking of Qi Refining cultivators?

She thought about it carefully and realized that three years had passed. Hadn't the problem been solved yet?

The young man was reasonably good-looking; otherwise, he would have been a target of kidnapping as well.

"What's your name?" Leng Huan touched his chin with a subtle expression.

“Senior, my name is Liu Cheng. I come from the Liu family of Dongling. I am on my way to congratulate the Qi family in Dongjun. My mother is from a collateral branch of the Qi family.”

Leng Huan's eyes flickered slightly: "The Qi family? Do you know the eldest daughter, Qi Ruxing?"

Because Leng Huan was his savior and was already a Foundation Establishment expert at a young age, Liu Cheng admired her greatly. He couldn't discern Leng Huan's specific realm based on his own cultivation level, but judging from her actions, Liu Cheng could roughly guess that she was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Upon hearing that Leng Huan knew Qi Ruxing, he was immediately overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I know, I know! Qi Ruxing is our distant cousin, but the young lady is of noble status and not someone we can easily meet."

"Senior, do you also know Miss Qi?"

Leng Huan blinked. "I guess we've met once before."

"I never imagined that you've actually met Miss Qi before! We're on our way to the Qi family for her wedding banquet!"

A wedding banquet? Leng Huan was stunned. That aloof and beautiful woman was getting married?

"Oh, when is the wedding banquet held?"

Liu Cheng touched his sling arm and looked up at Leng Huan, "Senior, the wedding banquet is in two days."

-

Dongjun City remained prosperous. Leng Huan looked at the passersby, bustling about. It seemed that no one noticed the man-eating beast hidden beneath this prosperity.

She never expected that after several years, she would be able to set foot in this city again. It felt like the kidnapping incident was just yesterday.

Time flies, no wonder people say that cultivation knows no time. You can stay on the mountain for three years, but the mortal world keeps rolling forward. Ah, no wonder cultivators need to undergo trials. Once their cultivation is sufficient, they still need to cultivate their minds!

After returning the carriage, Leng Huan parted ways with the Liu family and went to an inn alone.

Recently, two prominent families in Dongjun have become related by marriage, and many more people from the city have come to offer their congratulations, filling all the inns to capacity.

Remembering that Qi Ruxing had given him travel expenses, Leng Huan decided to stay for a couple more days after attending the wedding.

Looking towards the brightly lit and bustling place in the distance, Leng Huan decisively took a step forward.

-