He Yunxiao's first battle truly terrified the three female leads.

While rationally speaking, He Yunxiao, with his ninth-grade cultivation, would most likely be fine, matters of the heart are inherently irrational.

Just as dawn broke, He Yunxiao caught up with the heroines' caravan and climbed into the carriage. Xiaoxiao excitedly called out first, "He Yunxiao!"

He Yunxiao waved to her, telling her to control her emotions. If she kept taking the initiative from Ruobao like this, she would definitely get a taste of Ruobao's wood-chopping knife.

"Yunxiao, you're back," Fan Ziruo said, adopting the airs of a legitimate wife.

"Hmm. You're worried, aren't you?"

"A little. I'm afraid you'll be reckless," Fan Ziruo said with a smile.

He Yunxiao took Ruobao's hand in front of Xiaoxiao and Sister Jiang. Although holding hands was something he and Ruobao often did, this was the first time they had done it in front of the other female leads.

He Yunxiao watched Xiaoxiao's reaction with trepidation.

Sister Jiang, there's no need to worry. The only variable left is Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao frowned as she looked at He Yunxiao's hand, her eyes full of resentment. Then, as if Fan Ziruo were some kind of monster, she turned her head away without looking back and refused to look at her again.

He Yunxiao breathed a sigh of relief. Although Xiaoxiao had a bad attitude, at least she didn't lose her temper on the spot, which was an improvement.

Fan Ziruo was an observant girl. She glanced at Jiang Wuyou, who always wore a smile, and Chu Xiaoxiao, whose expression was unpredictable, and whispered to He Yunxiao, "Yunxiao, don't do this in front of others..."

He Yunxiao patted her hand, "Ziruo, there are no outsiders here."

Fan Ziruo's eyes sharpened!

He Yunxiao quickly explained, "This is my good brother's sister, we're family, we know each other very well. This is Jiang Wuyou, you know, I redeemed her from Chunfeng Tower, she..."

Jiang Wuyou volunteered, "Young Master was worried that Madam might not adapt well to the new place, so he specially brought Wuyou from the Marquis's residence to serve her."

Fan Ziruo's eyes swept past the naive Chu Xiaoxiao and lingered on Jiang Wuyou for a long time.

"Judging from what you're saying, young lady, you're the one taking care of your husband's life in the Marquis's mansion?"

A cold sweat broke out on He Yunxiao's back.

"Husband" has even appeared! Is Ruobao using my "no outsiders" comment as a convenient way to assert her dominance over the other female leads? A smile hiding a dagger! Her true intentions are revealed! Typical Ruobao!

Xiao Xiao's eyes looked a little off!

He Yunxiao: Xiaoxiao, calm down. Calm down.

Jiang Wuyou seemed oblivious to Fan Ziruo's sharp gaze, and continued to speak gently, "Yes. Wuyou takes care of the young master's daily life and meals at the Marquis's residence. Although Wuyou was previously a courtesan, after being redeemed by the young master and brought into the Marquis's residence, I am now the young master's maid. I am also the madam's maid, so please do not look down on Wuyou."

He Yunxiao secretly exclaimed that Sister Jiang was invincible!

Youbao's "retreat to advance" tactic rendered Ruobao's punches useless. Not only that, she clearly defined their positions, explicitly telling Ruobao that she was a "maid" and wouldn't threaten Ruobao's "madam" status. Youbao appears gentle and unassuming, but she's actually a master of palace intrigue! And a master of deflecting attacks with minimal effort.

Upon hearing Jiang Wuyou's words, Fan Ziruo, being a smart person herself, naturally understood what Jiang Wuyou meant.

Although the "official wife" has the power to make decisions within the household, she ultimately needs the approval of the head of the family. Therefore, Fan Ziruo looked at He Yunxiao and asked for his advice.

He Yunxiao didn't offer any suggestions. As long as everyone didn't fight, he would just do whatever the female leads said.

"Ziruo, let Wuyou take care of you. I brought this especially for you."

Since the head of the household had spoken, Fan Ziruo had no choice but to follow suit, saying, "Ziruo thanks her husband."

"It's alright." He Yunxiao breathed a sigh of relief. At least Sister Jiang's position was secured with Zi Ruo for now. As for the other female leads, they could deal with them slowly and patiently.

"By the way, where are we? How much longer until we reach the Chu Family Army's stronghold?" He Yunxiao asked, seizing the opportunity to change the subject.

Fan Ziruo said, "Young Master, you can ask Uncle Sun."

He Yunxiao looked embarrassed.

"I forgot about them."

Xiao Xiao: "By the way, where's my brother?"

He Yunxiao: "Also in the back."

...

The process was slightly bumpy, but it was almost noon when He Yunxiao and his group finally arrived at the Chu family army's camp as promised.

Black Tiger Mountain Stronghold!

Wu Jian went ahead to give the notice, leaving Sun Qiang alone with He Yunxiao and Chu Fan.

Upon seeing the wooden gate of Black Tiger Mountain Stronghold, He Yunxiao froze, and Chu Fan also froze.

Behind the village gate, men dressed in hemp clothes, animal skin clothing, and leather jackets were busy going back and forth. Some were chopping firewood, some were slaughtering pigs, and some were preparing to beat gongs and drums.

"Uncle Sun, is this the Chu family army?" A big question mark appeared above He Yunxiao's head.

Is this all the Chu family army that recaptured Hexi Commandery back then? Is this all?

Aren't they just a bunch of bandits?

Sun Qiang gave a shy smile and coughed awkwardly twice. "Ahem, there's a reason for this. You've all traveled all day, so let's eat, sleep, and rest for the night. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

He Yunxiao recalled Wu Jian and Sun Qiang's actions. These two didn't seem like bandits. How could they be hanging out with bandits?

However, the welcoming ceremony at Black Tiger Stronghold didn't seem fake...

He Yunxiao looked at Chu Fan, thinking that with the protagonist around, nothing serious would happen. So he said, "Alright, let's listen to Brother Sun and eat first."

The carriage that Ruobao was riding in was quickly led away by Ma De to a different location, and the three female protagonists got off the carriage.

Chu Xiaoxiao, Fan Ziruo, and Jiang Wuyou, the three female leads, each have their own unique charm, but all are top-tier beauties, among the most beautiful in the world.

The three women stood at the entrance of Black Tiger Stronghold, like three searchlights in the night, dazzling and radiant. Some of the lowly soldiers in the stronghold, unaccustomed to such sights, initially mistook the women for fairies descended from heaven, standing there dumbfounded, lost in their own world, like soulless wooden figures.

This operation was originally intended to help Ruobao recapture the Chu family army. As Fan Yu's daughter, she naturally had to be in the center position.

Therefore, Ruobao took the main center position, He Yunxiao and Chu Fan took the secondary center positions, and Jiang Wuyou and Xiaoxiao stood next to He Yunxiao and Chu Fan respectively.

Chu Chu had already woken up, but because Chu Fan was present, Xiao Xiao was still in control of her body.

A group of about a hundred men from the Short Swords Army entered the gate of Black Tiger Mountain Stronghold under the leadership of Fan Ziruo.

...

Large round tables were carried to the open space by the village soldiers, where a hundred short-sword soldiers and countless bandits drank strong liquor together at the village gate. (Biquge)

The sight of a dense crowd raising their glasses and downing them in one gulp was quite spectacular.

He Yunxiao's main character team naturally shared the high position with the village chief.

On He Yunxiao's side, Ruobao was the leader, while on Black Tiger Mountain Stronghold's side, a bearded leader was the leader. Sun Qiang and Wu Jian were also at the table, but at the back.

The chieftain's surname is Zhang and his given name is Hu. He was previously a vanguard general under Chu Tianzhu and had a cultivation level of nine rank.

Zhang Hu's face was flushed and his eyes were moist. He said loudly, "Miss Fan! Zhang Hu toasts you! Consider it a toast to General Fan!"

Ruobao's health had always been poor, and she herself was of a refined nature, preferring light and simple food and unable to drink alcohol, so she had to use tea instead of wine when toasting with Zhang Hu.

Unexpectedly, her ordinary act of "substituting tea for wine" caused several men around Zhang Hu to frown frequently.