Chapter 32: Driving Off the Enemy, Iron Third Lady Grows Jealous

Outside the carriage.

Li Dao’s sudden strike caught the dozen or so men in black off guard.

Once they regained their composure, the leader of the men in black snapped, "What are you waiting for? Charge in! Kill the men and drag the women out!"

"Yes!"

The men in black, snapping back to reality, brandished their blades and rushed toward the carriage. Two of them leaped to the front, standing before the curtain. One exchanged a glance with the other, who nodded, then cautiously reached a hand toward the curtain while holding a blade in the other.

*Bang!*

A thunderous noise erupted the next second.

The roof of the carriage shattered into splinters, and amidst the flying debris, two figures burst out. Li Dao had one arm wrapped around Tie Sanniang’s slender waist, and the two landed on a patch of open ground nearby.

"Where is your hand?!" Tie Sanniang gritted her teeth, her bright eyes glaring at Li Dao.

Li Dao looked down and saw his hand resting perfectly on her supple waist; even through her long dress, he could feel the delicate skin beneath. Facing her interrogation, he didn't move his hand and replied with a deadpan expression, "Then how do you suggest I protect you? By grabbing your hair? Holding you by the throat? Or perhaps lifting you by one leg?"

Upon hearing this, Tie Sanniang imagined those scenarios, and her expression soured instantly.

Li Dao glanced at the approaching men in black and leaned down, whispering into Tie Sanniang’s ear, "If you want to hide your martial arts, then endure it. You’ve managed to endure for so many years; surely you can handle a little physical contact."

Tie Sanniang’s face grew even darker. While his logic was sound, she had never had any contact with a strange man before and found it impossible to adapt.

"Watch out."

Before she could process his words, a sudden force pulled her tightly into a sturdy embrace.

"You..."

She looked up, about to speak, when she suddenly saw two heads fly off to the side, blood spraying through the air. Only then did she realize that the man beside her was protecting her.

"Don't hesitate! All of you, charge! I don't believe he can take us all on by himself!" The leader, seeing their initial failure, shouted orders.

The remaining men in black exchanged glances and charged in unison.

"Be careful!" Seeing this, Tie Sanniang could not help but warn him.

"Don't worry!" Li Dao smiled faintly. As long as these men weren't Xiantian martial artists, they posed no threat to him. Even if there were a Xiantian expert among them, an ordinary one could do nothing to him now.

He moved back and forth among the men in black, still holding Tie Sanniang.

Ten breaths later, Li Dao flicked the blood off his black iron blade. A system notification echoed in his ears:

[Thirteen enemies killed. Attribute points gained: 7.12]

It had to be said that these men in black had some level of cultivation, but unfortunately for them, they were facing someone as unreasonable as Li Dao.

"Trash!" The leader was furious to see all his subordinates dead. He looked at Li Dao and said, "Kid, it’s a pity you’re still going to die here today."

With that, the figure of the man in black turned illusory. "Black Sand Palm!"

By the time Li Dao and Tie Sanniang could see him clearly again, he was right in front of them. One palm, wreathed in black malevolent energy, struck directly at Li Dao’s chest, while his other hand reached out to seize Tie Sanniang.

It was a tactic to kill two birds with one stone. If Li Dao tried to dodge, Tie Sanniang would surely be snatched away; if he tried to protect her, he would undoubtedly be hit by that palm.

Tie Sanniang saw the leader’s move as well. Being incredibly sharp, she instantly understood his intention. Her heart sank. While she did not want to reveal her own martial arts, she couldn't allow herself to be captured. She didn't expect the man behind her to shield her from the blow. Since the attacker was clearly a Xiantian master—given the projection of his true energy—even another Xiantian master would suffer greatly from such a hit, likely facing death or severe injury. Given that they were mere strangers, she saw no reason for him to risk his life for her.

Therefore, she realized she had to rely on herself.

"Mystic Water..."

As she prepared to channel her internal Xiantian energy to counter the attack, her waist was suddenly gripped firmly by a hand. Her eyes widened. *Could it be...*

Facing the incoming palm, Li Dao frowned, making a quick decision.

He tightened his left hand and sidestepped, narrowly dodging the leader’s grasp for Tie Sanniang.

*Bang!*

The next second, the palm filled with black malevolent energy slammed squarely into his back.

"You..." Seeing the impact, Tie Sanniang was stunned.

But Li Dao had no time to spare. Feeling the stinging pain in his back, he struck back without hesitation. There were no flashy techniques—just a solid, heavy slap.

The leader was also taken aback by Li Dao’s reaction. In his mind, any person would choose to protect themselves first. When he saw the opponent’s hand coming toward him, a cold sneer flashed in his eyes.

*A desperate struggle? It’s useless! Black Sand Palm!*

He decisively raised his hand to meet the blow. When their hands collided in mid-air, the leader’s expression changed abruptly.

*Crack!*

A crisp sound echoed as the leader’s arm snapped in the middle. Li Dao’s palm, still carrying residual force, slammed heavily into the leader’s chest.

*Bang!*

The man in black spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying, crashing hard onto the ground. He scrambled to his feet, staring at his broken right arm with a horrified expression. He also realized his right shoulder blade had cracked; the power behind that palm was truly terrifying.

"Cough! Cough!"

He coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth; his internal organs had clearly been damaged. He scanned his surroundings and saw that, following the initial chaos, the Tie family guards were gradually reorganizing and counterattacking. His own men were losing ground.

Looking at the pair in the distance, the leader felt a surge of rage. But his injuries were too severe to continue the mission. After a moment of hesitation, he turned and fled into the mountain woods without looking back.

Seeing the leader flee and their own guards gaining the upper hand, Tie Sanniang turned to the man beside her. "Are you alright?"

Though she didn't show concern on the surface, she had forgotten about the hand still resting on her waist. When he didn't answer, she thought something might be wrong and whispered, "Actually, you didn't need to block that palm for me. You know I had the strength to handle it."

Suddenly, she felt herself pulled away from his embrace.

Tie Sanniang subconsciously looked up and saw a faint smile on his handsome face.

"You..." Her eyes flickered with surprise as she regained her senses. "You’re unharmed?"

Li Dao touched the spot on his back where he had been struck. At first, it had felt slightly numb with a touch of stinging pain, but now he felt nothing. It seemed his transformed skin had blocked most of the palm’s force, and the small amount that had entered his body had been digested by his blood and energy. He had only chosen to block the hit because he had calculated that he had a high chance of success. Had it been a hit that could truly kill him or cause severe injury, he would not have chosen to block it for a stranger, no matter how beautiful she was.

"I’m fine."

Li Dao looked around and noticed some scattered enemies were still fighting, so he prepared to take his blade and earn some more attribute points.

"What are you doing?" Tie Sanniang asked, noticing his movement.

"Going to help them."

"Help them?" Tie Sanniang looked at the disorganized caravan, a cold look crossing her beautiful face. "Don't bother. Let them clean up their own mess."

She had previously thought the Tie family caravan had only minor issues that didn't affect the big picture, and even when her personal maid warned her, she had made excuses for these people, not intending to pursue it. But after seeing today's events, she finally realized how lax the people under the Tie family had become. When the caravan was attacked, the guards were like useless trash. The most terrifying part was that, until now, few had even noticed her, the mistress of the caravan.

Li Dao didn't respond to her words. To others, this might be a thankless task, but to him, these were ready-made attribute points. Kill one, gain one. He wouldn't give that up just because of a woman’s words. For him, women only slowed down the speed of his blade.

"You..."

Before Tie Sanniang could react, Li Dao had already charged into the fray.

She instinctively wanted to use her authority as the mistress to order him to stop, but she remembered that he was only a temporary addition to their caravan, not a subordinate. Moreover, he held a massive secret of hers in his hands.

"Sigh." A complex emotion flashed in Tie Sanniang’s eyes.

"Miss! Miss!" Biyou'er, who had emerged from a box at some point, ran over, looking worried. Seeing her mistress unharmed, she hugged her tightly, sobbing, "It’s so good that you’re okay, Miss."

Biyou'er’s appearance brought a flicker of joy to Tie Sanniang. Although she knew Biyou'er was likely safe after Li Dao appeared, she couldn't help but worry.

Biyou'er seemed to remember something, peeked around, and asked cautiously, "Miss, where is the bad guy? I asked him to protect you."

"He’s dead." Thinking of that man who hadn't been polite to her at all, Tie Sanniang couldn't help but say.

"Ah!" Biyou'er’s expression froze, her eyes reddened, and she fell silent.

Seeing her maid’s reaction, Tie Sanniang sighed softly. "Alright, I was joking. Your 'bad guy' is alive and well." She didn't realize that her own tone carried a hint of jealousy, though she didn't know who she was jealous of.

"Really?" Biyou'er sniffled and asked quietly.

"Really."

"That’s good." Hearing that Li Dao was fine, Biyou'er, who had been sorrowful a moment ago, broke into a silly, genuine smile.

...

On the other side, with Li Dao’s participation, the remaining assassins were quickly dealt with. Some were killed by Li Dao, while others were kept alive, presumably for interrogation. Once they were finished, the guards finally realized Tie Sanniang was still there.

They rushed over in a panic. Seeing her unharmed, they let out a long sigh of relief and knelt on the ground in unison.

"Third Miss, we arrived late. Please punish us."

Tie Sanniang looked at them with cold eyes, though she quickly suppressed it. She said in a husky, melodic voice, "Get up. Let’s pack and return to the Imperial Capital first."

A guard captain raised his head cautiously. "Third Miss, what about the captured assassins?"

Tie Sanniang glanced at the terrified assassins nearby and said decisively, "Kill them all."

"Kill them all?" The captain was stunned.

Before anyone could react, a flash of a blade swept across the necks of the assassins. They all fell dead instantly.

Nearby, Li Dao saw the system notification and smiled with satisfaction; these were basically free attribute points.

"What are you doing?" A guard captain stood up and shouted.

"Kneel down!"

"Did you hear? The Third Miss told you to kneel."

Tie Sanniang looked at Li Dao, then turned back. "I was telling *you* to kneel."

"Ah?" The captain looked confused.

Tie Sanniang said coldly, "These people wouldn't have told us anything anyway, so killing them was the right choice."

"Then... we aren't going to investigate?"

Tie Sanniang didn't answer the guards kneeling before her. She turned her gaze toward the direction of the Imperial Capital.

"Everything will wait until we get back."