The sudden loud noise startled us all.

Upon hearing the sound, Jiang Man was the first to speak: "It's an explosion!"

"Man-made!"

I quickly added, "Ping'an Village doesn't even have electricity, and the only material they use to start a fire is firewood. There are no explosives, so it wouldn't cause such a commotion!"

Miao Xiaoxian's expression hardened: "There was an explosion, it came from the direction of the village!"

"Quick, go back and check!"

I realized something was wrong, so we all grabbed the tow rope in Jiang Man's hand and sped up.

When we were still a few hundred meters away from the town, we could see billowing smoke and heard bursts of gunfire, including pistol shots and even submachine guns firing in rapid succession.

"Holy crap, why are there gunshots now?"

Upon hearing the gunshots, the monkey was completely stunned: "What the hell is going on? Is someone attacking Ping'an County?"

"Something's happened in the village!"

Upon seeing the scene, Miao Xiaoxian went berserk and ran at top speed toward Ping'an Village.

"Little Fairy, don't do anything reckless, stay with us!"

I shouted at Miao Xiaoxian, but she didn't stop at all.

Seeing Miao Xiaoxian's actions, I shouted to the others, "You all stay and take care of the wounded, I'll go check on them!"

As soon as she finished speaking, I ran out as well, and Jiang Man made Manjing follow me.

I glanced to the side and saw Qu Ruilin beside me. I was a little surprised: "You were just hesitating, how come you decided to cooperate so quickly?"

“I’m not wavering, I just want to ensure Shengnan and the others’ safety. Now that an accident has happened, keeping them outside the village is actually the best option.”

After answering my question, Qu Ruilin asked in return, "What do you think caused that gunshot?"

"I don't know. Perhaps someone broke a taboo of Ping'an Village, which triggered the conflict between the two sides?"

I thought about it and felt that this argument was somewhat untenable: "Even if these people fired in self-defense, they didn't need to cause an explosion!"

As we ran towards Ping'an Village, the gunfire became increasingly sparse. When I was only a few dozen meters away from the town, the gunfire had completely stopped.

We were located directly behind the village gate, and to get in through the gate, we would have to go a long way around.

The walls here aren't very high. I used my running start to leap up, grab the protrusions on the wall, and quickly climb up the wall.

As soon as I showed my face, a middle-aged man from the village, wielding a large machete, roared and charged at me.

"Bang!"

Seeing his movement, I immediately dodged to the side, and the blade struck the city wall, smashing a three-finger-deep gash.

Seeing the middle-aged man raise his knife again, I quickly backed away, saying, "Uncle, let's talk this out. What happened? Why are you trying to kill me?"

"Go to hell!"

The middle-aged man, undeterred, attacked again with a slash.

Seeing that the man had gone mad, I dodged the trajectory of the blade and landed a hook punch on his pylorus. As he curled up, I slammed an elbow into his back, taking him down in one round.

Before I could even catch my breath, the steps leading up to the city wall were teeming with people. At least twenty men, women, and children from Ping'an Village, all armed with various weapons, rushed toward us.

Seeing their appearance, Qu Ruilin also shouted, "Hey! What are you doing! We entered Ping'an Village with the clan chief's permission!"

Manjing picked up the middle-aged man's knife and stepped in front of me, saying, "Brother, you retreat first, I'll hold them off!"

"We can't leave. We have to find Miao Xiaoxian. She's our only hope!"

Looking at the approaching crowd, I drew my machete from my waist: "You can hurt people, but don't kill anyone!"

After I finished speaking, I was the first to rush into the crowd.

Although we don't know exactly what happened in Ping'an Village, judging from the attitude of these people, something serious must have occurred.

Now the clues to the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace are within reach. If something happens to Miao Xiaoxian, all our previous efforts will be in vain.

Therefore, I must find Miao Xiaoxian and protect her safety.

Faced with the rushing crowd, I did not intentionally hurt anyone; I simply used my knife to parry the incoming weapons.

Although the people of Ping'an Village have not received any training, they have excellent physical fitness due to their year-round labor.

Seeing that I couldn't break through by dodging alone, I had to change my strategy. I kicked one of the men in front of me in the chest, knocking him down, and then turned my blade and used the back of the blade to knock back two more men.

Get out of the way!

Just as I was about to break through the encirclement, a burly man pushed through the crowd, raised a weeding guillotine in his hand, and violently slashed at me.

"when!"

In my haste to parry, I raised my knife to block, but it was immediately cut in two.

That burly man possessed superhuman strength and relentlessly pursued me.

Seeing that this burly man was difficult to deal with, I took out a throwing knife as I retreated, ready to make a move.

"Stop!"

Just then, Miao Xiaoxian's voice suddenly came from behind the crowd: "Folks, this is a misunderstanding, they are not bad people!"

The burly man who attacked me turned around and glared at Miao Xiaoxian: "Miao Xiaoxian, how could you speak on behalf of an outsider?"

"I'm not taking sides with outsiders; they've been with me since last night, and they're not bad people!"

Seeing the agitated crowd, Miao Xiaoxian loudly explained, "Please remain rational. Our top priority is to find the real culprit and treat the injured, not to escalate the conflict here!"

"Bullshit! None of these outsiders are any good. They're the ones who caused this trouble. We can't let these bastards get away with this!"

The burly man roared angrily, "Fellow villagers, follow me and kill them! Clean up Ping'an Village!"

"That's enough, all of you!"

Seeing the restless crowd, Miao Xiaoxian ran directly between our two sides and shouted at them, "Look carefully! I am no longer that wild girl who relied on the charity of others and was bullied by everyone! I am now the Holy Maiden of Ping'an Village! The clan leader and all the elders are not here right now, so I am the highest-ranking person in Ping'an Village! Now, as the Holy Maiden, I order you to leave! Anyone who dares to disobey will be punished according to the clan rules when the clan leader returns!"

In this feudal village, clan rules were of paramount importance.

Upon hearing Miao Xiaoxian's threat, the villagers' arrogance vanished instantly. Seeing that everyone else had left, the burly man glared fiercely at Miao Xiaoxian: "I will report today's events truthfully when the clan chief returns!"

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the frenzied villagers disperse, and then asked Miao Xiaoxian, "What happened in the village? What was that explosion just now? And why were these villagers so frantic?"