As Jiang Qiao ran, she was still thinking, "This place is in complete chaos, how come I haven't seen any civilians running outside or calling for help? Could it be that they've also taken control of these people?"

However, no one would explain this to her; everyone was busy.

At the end of the mountain road was an ancient village. Before Jiang Qiao could even take a look, she saw several people coming out, carrying and supporting the wounded.

Seeing Song Shutian and his group enter, they quickly shouted, "Go and provide support! Some of our comrades inside are injured!"

Song Shutian stopped in his tracks, wanting to ask the other person about the situation inside.

"We don't know either. We were ambushed before we even got inside. You guys hurry over there and help if you can."

Song Shutian watched the group leave with a puzzled look in his eyes, while Jiang Qiao, who was following behind, had also been sizing them up.

As these people passed by, Jiang Qiao suddenly made her move, throwing a packet of powder at them without warning.

Not only was Cao Mingyuan surprised, but even Liu Zhanyu looked at Jiang Qiao in astonishment as those people slowly collapsed before their eyes.

"What... what's going on? Jiang Qiao, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Before Jiang Qiao could explain, Song Shutian rushed forward and ripped off the clothes of those people.

Jiang Qiao, standing to the side, explained to Liu Zhanyu and the others, "Do you think our soldiers wear rings?"

Upon closer inspection, the two realized that one of them was indeed wearing a ring, and the watches on the other wrists were, if they weren't mistaken, very expensive.

It's not that I doubt the soldiers can afford it, it's just that these things are generally not available for purchase; they all require remittance certificates from overseas Chinese.

But how could these ordinary soldiers all have remittance certificates?

Besides, most of them were rural soldiers, meaning they came from the city. However, the meager allowance they received had to be used by themselves and also sent back home for household expenses.

As for how wealthy they are, they know it all too well. With families to support and children to raise, they simply don't have the extra money to buy such impractical and expensive watches.

Especially when they saw Song Shutian take off the other man's shoes, they understood everything. Their soldiers always wore standard socks, but these people were dressed differently. They could only fake the appearance, not the whole outfit.

"Come on, everyone, lend a hand and tie him up. Old Liu, you stay here and watch over him. When our people arrive, you hand him over to them. I'll go in first to help Master Hou and the others."

Those who were captivated probably never dreamed that Jiang Qiao and Song Shutian would be so perceptive.

The details they hadn't considered, and the things they hadn't had time to replace, were immediately obvious to others.

Therefore, it's not unjust for them to be lying on the ground now, because they encountered a master, so this outcome is normal.

As Jiang Qiao ran, she looked around. Apart from the dead enemies on the ground, she didn't see any civilians. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became. It was impossible for such a place not to have civilians living there. But where had all these people gone?

Song Shutian and his group shared the same idea; he was also pondering this matter, but for the time being, they didn't really have the time to look for these people. They would find out sooner or later.

Upon hearing the sounds of battle ahead, Song Shutian and his men headed in that direction, while Jiang Qiao stayed behind to cover their retreat. She was eager to know what was going on with Hou Diankui and the other man.

Since someone has set up an array here, there must be martial arts practitioners inside. But where are they?

Because she could hear sounds everywhere, she didn't know where the master and disciple were.

The village didn't look very big, and it was surrounded by woods. She suspected that Hou Diankui and his men were hiding in the woods.

Jiang Qiao had no intention of following Song Shutian and the others. Instead, she followed her instincts and ran off in another direction.

She could faintly sense a very strong current of air; if she didn't pay close attention, she would have thought it was just a breeze.

However, there was no wind at all at this time. She hadn't seen any wind along the way, so she felt that this airflow was most likely related to those martial arts figures.

As for whether these people are good or bad, she can only list them as opponents for now. People who help the enemy are definitely not good either. At the very least, their motives are definitely not pure. Good people would never help bad people act as accomplices to evil.

When Jiang Qiao rushed into the nearby woods, she was stunned by what she saw. Hou Diankui was facing an old man, both of them holding out their hands and staring at each other without moving.

Not seeing Chunming, Jiang Qiao took a closer look and saw that Hou Diankui was sweating profusely, and his condition was not much better. However, it seemed that the opponent was in slightly better shape.

Looking at them, Jiang Qiao roughly knew what the two were doing: a contest of internal strength. If she didn't intervene soon, Hou Diankui probably wouldn't last long.

Jiang Qiao held the silver needles in her hand, channeling all the energy in her body into them. With a forceful flick of her wrist, the silver needles flew towards her opponent as fast as lightning.

Jiang Qiao could even hear a soft "poof" sound. Although Hou Diankui didn't know what had happened behind him, he wasn't stupid. Anyone who could attack the other party was most likely one of his own. As for who it was, he didn't even think about it; it must be Jiang Qiao.

The old man was just wondering if he was going to die here today.

He knew his own limitations. Internal energy was not his forte, especially after he was seriously injured back then. No matter how he practiced, he couldn't find a way to break through. Only in the last few days, with Jiang Qiao's help, did he make some progress.

Unexpectedly, he encountered a formidable opponent once he reached the mountain. However, he couldn't bear the shame of admitting defeat outright, nor could he let down his master's training.

So even if he has to grit his teeth and bear it, he has to persevere. At worst, he can go down and join his wife.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Qiao arrived at this crucial moment and took action.

He knew Jiang Qiao's abilities. Seeing that the opponent's attack had been broken, the old man exerted his strength again. Not only did the opponent not dodge the silver needle, but the old man's move also made him vomit blood and fall to the ground with a thud.

Hou Diankui quickly sat down on the ground and meditated. Jiang Qiao went over and forced him to swallow a pill. Then, after inserting silver needles into several places on his body, she went over to help Hou Diankui quickly recover his strength.

"Joe, I won't say thank you—"

The old man closed his eyes, circulated his internal energy, and spoke a sentence.

"Stop arguing, why are we saying all this? Just take your medicine—"

Hou Diankui took the water that Jiang Qiao handed him and swallowed it directly.