Upon hearing this, Ye Qing's expression turned cold immediately, and he said in a deep voice, "Didn't you just tell me that famed instruments can't be bought here? How come now you say you can help me buy a few? Were you lying to me earlier!?"

Seeing Ye Qing's expression, Monkey was also startled, quickly waved his hands and shook his head, nervously saying, "Big Brother, Big Brother, you… you don't get angry, don't get agitated, listen… listen to me explain slowly. This… it was indeed impossible to buy famed instruments before, but… but in the past few days, the situation has been a bit… a bit different. I don't know why, but in the past few days, the market… market suddenly… suddenly has some famed instruments circulating, every day… every day there are two to three famed instruments appearing in the market, the South Ridge Sect is unable to control them in time. I… I have a lot of acquaintances here, I… I can contact someone to help… help you buy a few…"

Ye Qing felt a jump in his heart and quickly asked, "Why is the situation different these past few days?"

"I don't know either, anyway these days, every day famed instruments are for sale in the market, no one knows where they are actually coming from." Monkey replied.

"Have the South Ridge Sect people noticed this matter?" Ye Qing asked.

Monkey said, "Of course they've noticed, and they've even bought a lot back, ordinary people can't buy them. Big Brother, if you truly want some, I… I'll try my best to help you get a few. I think we… we better not provoke the South Ridge Sect, they're not to be trifled with."

Ye Qing chuckled and said, "Monkey, immediately have your brothers investigate the origins of those famed instruments in the market."

"Ah?" Monkey was stunned for a moment, then said, "Then… then what about you? Are you… are you still going in?"

"I've come all this way, not go in and take a look, wouldn't that be a waste of my legs!" Ye Qing laughed.

"Oh my god, I've said so much, why won't you listen?" Monkey said anxiously, "The South Ridge Sect, they're truly not to be provoked!"

"Whether they can be provoked is something you'll only know after you've done it." Ye Qing stood up and said, "Zi Yu, you and him wait here, I'll go in and take a look first."

Huangfu Ziyu grabbed Ye Qing's hand and said, "Be careful!"

"I will." Ye Qing smiled slightly, stood up and looked at the manor halfway up the hill in the distance, said, "I am not who I used to be, coming and going from this manor is not a difficult task anymore."

Huangfu Ziyu lightly nodded with a smile, Monkey beside her, watched Ye Qing walk away helplessly turned to Huangfu Ziyu: "Big Sister, you're… you're just going to watch him take the risk?"

Huangfu Ziyu's face turned cold, glared at Monkey sharply, and said in a deep voice, "How dare you speak like that? Who's your big sister!"

Monkey shivered in fear and quickly said, "No… no, that… that little sister then…"

"Shut up!" Huangfu Ziyu grabbed the wooden box and aimed it at Monkey's chin, said coldly, "Don't babble, if I hear you say another word, I'll smash your head in first!"

Monkey opened his mouth but really didn't dare make a sound. Compared to Ye Qing, he feared Huangfu Ziyu more, he still remembered how Huangfu Ziyu used the table to knock down three people earlier.

Five kilometers may not be a short distance for ordinary people. But for Ye Qing, this distance was nothing, it didn't take long for him to arrive outside the manor.

Walking all the way here, Ye Qing indeed saw quite a few obvious and hidden sentries outside the manor. It seems, just like Monkey said, the guards at this South Ridge Sect manor are indeed quite strict. At least, it's not easy for any ordinary person to enter here. And this fits Ye Qing just fine, the more heavily guarded a place is, the more secrets there are, Ye Qing was eager to see what secrets the South Ridge Sect was hiding here.

Easily bypassing those guards, Ye Qing arrived under the manor's courtyard wall. A wall three to four meters high, Ye Qing just casually flipped over it.

The guards inside the manor are even more severe than those outside. Frankly, the guard situation here was even more severe than Wan Yan Manor, people were coming and going all over the yard.

Ye Qing crouched on top of the wall, carefully observed for a moment, seized the moment as a group of guards just passed by, he jumped down from the wall. He landed silently, his movement technique was very fast, these guards didn't even feel someone behind, and still continued patrolling forward.

Avoiding these guards, Ye Qing quietly wandered along the rockery around the manor once, roughly grasping the manor's interior situation.

The manor covers a large area, with a great number of guards inside. However, the most heavily guarded areas are only two places, one is the warehouse deepest within the manor, and the other is a small building near the northern side.

The strict guard at the warehouse was something Ye Qing could understand. However, that small building, not particularly noticeable within the entire manor, was also heavily guarded, which piqued Ye Qing's curiosity.

Ye Qing had come inside, without any clear idea of where to explore the South Ridge Sect's secret. Now sensing a problem with this small building, he immediately ventured inside to see what was going on.

The small building was in a secluded location, shrouded in darkness, with only one window on the second floor still lit, indicating someone was inside.

Ye Qing climbed up to the second-floor window from outside, peering through a gap in the curtains to clearly see the room's interior.

It seemed to be a study, with someone sitting at a desk with their back to Ye Qing, writing something. Ye Qing couldn't see what she was writing, but he could see clearly that it was a woman. Even with her back to Ye Qing, her graceful figure was something no man could possess. However, peculiarly, she was dressed in men's clothing, giving her an indescribable heroic spirit.

A woman dressed in men's clothing, practicing her calligraphy in such a room, with such strict guards outside—what was going on?

Ye Qing stayed outside watching for a while, trying to find some clues. But the woman remained at the desk practicing calligraphy the whole time, not moving an inch. Furthermore, there were no other sounds inside the small building, suggesting she was the only one living there. Although curious, Ye Qing realized that continuing to wait would yield no valuable information, and he might as well go and find someone else to investigate the manor further.

Ye Qing flipped down from the window, landing silently on the ground. The instant his feet touched down, a sudden realization struck him. He immediately leapt upwards, rising more than two meters high.

As Ye Qing leapt up, the seemingly calm ground abruptly sprang open, with four shadows springing up at once, four glints of cold light simultaneously striking at Ye Qing. These four individuals displayed exceptional speed and power, and their attacks were elusive and unpredictable; had an ordinary person landed here, they likely would have already been taken down by these four individuals!

Ye Qing was better off; when he landed, he sensed something unusual about the ground's softness, prompting his immediate leap. His timely reaction, propelling him to such a height, granted him some time. Those four people launched themselves outward like shooting stars, but Ye Qing simultaneously flung four small stones, hitting each of the four attackers, causing them to fall back to the ground, unable to even crawl up.

Having dealt with these four individuals, Ye Qing hadn't even landed when a sudden gust of wind blew from behind. Suspended mid-air with nothing to push against, Ye Qing could only thrust a palm backwards, his palm force clashing with the gust behind, allowing him to shift half a foot to the side, narrowly evading the assault from behind and landing safely on the ground.

However, as soon as he steadied himself, another gust of wind came from behind. Without thinking, Ye Qing utilized the Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper stepping technique, executing three consecutive steps to avoid the gust, and turning around in the process, he finally saw the person attacking him from behind—it was the same woman practicing calligraphy inside earlier.

This woman, dressed in black male attire, had unusually fair skin, a face as round as a full moon, and a straight nose. Were she a man, no doubt countless women would fall for her. As a woman, she also had the power to enchant countless men.

Even in this ambiguous attire, making her gender hard to discern, undeniably, she possessed a deadly allure to both men and women!

Seeing Ye Qing dodge her successive sneaky attacks, the woman seemed genuinely surprised, speaking in a low voice: "Who are you?"

Ye Qing glanced at the four men he had just knocked down on the ground, then at the woman, and replied in a low tone: "Who are you?"

"You don't recognize me?" The woman seemed taken aback, glancing at Ye Qing with furrowed brows, "Without even recognizing me, you dare to intrude into the South Ridge Sect's manor—you're truly courting death!"

"So you're saying that knowing you would make it permissible to trespass into the South Ridge Sect's manor?" Ye Qing retorted.

Not expecting Ye Qing's reply, the woman hesitated awkwardly for a moment, then suddenly gritted her teeth and declared: "No matter who you are, trespassing into the South Ridge Sect's manor with ill intentions deserves death!"

Saying this, she suddenly tossed a short sword into the air, her right hand striking its hilt with force, sending it towards Ye Qing like an arrow off the string.

Given Ye Qing's current strength, in a face-to-face confrontation, the woman's attack posed no threat at all. As the short sword approached, Ye Qing casually flicked it aside.

"I don't like fighting women, so I'll be going now!" With a dismissive shout, Ye Qing turned to leave.

"Come back here!" The woman shouted in a low voice, her right hand twitching, causing the short sword Ye Qing had deflected to change direction, continuing its pursuit of Ye Qing.

"What's going on?" Ye Qing was greatly astonished, quickly flicking the short sword away again. However, the sword seemed to have a mind of its own, each time returning to continue attacking him, as if fixated on him.