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    Ten miles away from the big willow tree village, on a small hillside. Nearly a thousand people were stationed around the hillside. White simple tents densely covered the slope.

    Inside one of the tents, a fierce argument suddenly erupted.

    Kui Tuo''s face was flushed with anger, his thick beard unable to hide it: "Are you sending me to my death?!"

    He glared at Zhang Ye furiously, wishing he could beat the crap out of this bastard if he had been able to.

    "Take it easy, take it easy." Zhang Ye quickly sidled up to Kui Tuo to carefully placate him.

    This was one of the few capable generals under his command; he couldn''t afford to fall out with him.

    "If I really wanted to harm you, would I give you something as precious as a Zuming Talisman?" Zhang Ye looked at the dull-colored scroll in his hand with a pained expression.

    "It was the higher-ups who ordered me to send someone, I had no choice." Zhang Ye showed a bitter face.

    He felt so useless as a hall master. Constantly pressured by those above and disrespected by those below, he was aggrieved every day.

    Kui Tuo''s expression softened slightly, still shaken by the thought of last night: "Were those things evil spirits?"

    "Yes." Zhang Ye didn''t conceal it: "Our mission this time is to eradicate the evil spirits to ensure the peace..."

    Kui Tuo''s eyes, big as copper bells, stared at Zhang Ye. "We''re a bunch of Jianghu scoundrels from the grey areas, and you''re talking to me about peace and safety for the people?"

    "That''s what they say from above." Zhang Ye shrugged helplessly.

    "So we are just cannon fodder?" Kui Tuo was simple-minded but not stupid.

    He thought of how the Startling Swan Gang had been recruiting generously with incredible offers of reward, and all this time, they were being led to their doom!

    "Not entirely. This mission is actually about training guts and troops."

    "The other halls suffered losses, but not as big."

    "We just got unlucky and ran into a strong one."

    Zhang Ye''s face turned sour. It wasn''t bad luck. They had been set up with a formidable target.

    Fortunately, he was cautious and had given Kui Tuo a Zuming Talisman in advance to drive away evil and avoid calamity. Otherwise, he might have lost his general right there.

    "For the sake of everyone''s lives, we''ll have to diligently practice the Sand Gathering Formation when we return." Zhang Ye emphatically reminded him: "That''s our only hope of survival."

    Kui Tuo''s face turned unsightly, showing a desire to retreat.

    "Don''t even think about running; you can''t escape." Zhang Ye''s face was as grim as if at a funeral.

    He had thought about fleeing as soon as he learned the truth. But he held back.

    Waiting to see if others would attempt to run first.

    Indeed, some Jianghu solo practitioners had been scared witless and ran away overnight. The next morning, he saw more than a dozen mummified corpses.

    Sikou Qing, with not a blink, nonchalantly spoke of giving them a grand burial and compensation, and then it was all forgotten.

    Zhang Ye would bet that this was definitely related to the seventh young lady of the family.

    After that, several more cases of mummified corpses occurred, and those daring to flee instantly became less.

    "Just train obediently. Take advantage of the fact that we haven''t encountered the big one yet." Zhang Ye''s bitterness was evident.

    "No way, even if it breaks the bank, I have to buy a few more Zuming Talismans!"

    He did not want to be the next one granted a grand burial and compensation.

    ...

    In Shanglin Neighborhood, Chen Residence.

    Zhuo Yinghai felt bitter inside. Without allowing self-protection measures and sending people directly to their deaths—who would agree to do that?

    "Envoy, after all, we are here to train the troops. If the losses are too heavy, it will be difficult to recruit later," Zhuo Yinghai tentatively advised. "It doesn''t matter if a few die. I''m just worried it might delay the Envoy''s important matters."

    "Hmm," Sikou Qing nodded noncommittally, then asked, "How many Monster Level evil spirits have we found to date?"

    "Counting Daliushu Village, there are about seven," Zhuo Yinghai breathed a sigh of relief, having managed to talk his way out of it.

    Every encounter with a Monster Level meant almost certain death for those who entered.

    These seven Monster Level evil spirits had swallowed nearly a hundred lives!

    If it weren''t for Sikou Qing''s strange Secret Technique that tagged everyone, making deserters die one by one, the camp down the mountain would have emptied long ago!

    He himself wanted to run!

    "Pause the probing. Starting tomorrow, use these seven evil spirits to practice the Sand Gathering Formation," Sikou Qing ordered.

    "Yes!" Zhuo Yinghai exhaled with relief.

    They would finally not be sent to their deaths in vain.

    The Sand Gathering Formation could gather and amplify Qi and Blood, temporarily restraining evil spirits.

    As long as it was operated correctly and reactions were swift, there would at least not be senseless deaths like now.

    At this moment, an energetic maid suddenly burst in.

    Zhuo Yinghai quickly took a step back to make space.

    This person was from the Shangshi Family and was Sikou Qing''s trusted maid and guard Qi Tingman.

    At a young age, she had achieved great success in Shape Cultivation, not to be underestimated.

    She was currently holding a gray feathered hawk in her hand and quickly walked up to Sikou Qing.

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    "Miss, Gang Leader Jin has sent a hawk message; it must be something important!" Qi Tingman untied the small bamboo tube from the hawk''s ankle and respectfully handed it to Sikou Qing.

    Sikou Qing nodded, took it, and opened it.

    After reading, the killing intent in her eyes surged violently.

    A flash of dark energy whisked across her face for an instant.

    Zhuo Yinghai immediately felt an overwhelming pressure and couldn''t help stepping back two steps, his back instantly drenched in sweat.

    "The audacity!" Sikou Qing couldn''t help but shout in anger, her eyebrows inverted, "Is Jin Wuduan tired of living?!"

    "Miss?" Qi Tingman hesitated; she had never seen her mistress lose composure like this.

    "Yu''er might have been killed," Sikou Qing said with a grim face.

    Not only that, but a child who might possess Daoist Bone was also missing!

    That was a Thousand Mechanism Token which had just slipped through her fingers. Sikou Qing was so annoyed she almost crushed her silver teeth!

    "Tingman, take your people and leave with me at once!" After speaking, she immediately strode out of the tent. "Zhuo Yinghai, lead the rest and follow; you can start the journey back to Nanyang."

    "Yes!" Everyone responded respectfully.

    Watching Sikou Qing''s fading silhouette, Zhuo Yinghai took a deep breath.

    "Finally, no need to mess with the evil spirits and send ourselves to death." He was scared too. What if one day he was thrown into the den of evil spirits?

    "Sikou Yu, that wastrel of a young master, is dead?" A trace of schadenfreude crossed Zhuo Yinghai''s heart.

    Always so high and mighty; now he''d taken a tumble, hadn''t he?

    The waters of Nanyang Prefecture ran deep!