A hundred meters away, the sound of wheels crunching against the road could be heard. Was it the convoy from the Lü family, where one of the main characters, Lü Su, was located? According to the plot, Yi Xiaochuan encountered the Lü family in a wooded area—could it be here?

"What are you looking at, Daoist Priest?" Xiang Yu asked, a hint of suspicion on his face as he noticed Cao Yi's distraction.

"Finally got it right once," Cao Yi replied, smiling as he withdrew his gaze.

Xiang Yu felt a bit awkward; he had corrected him several times, but he still often called him "Mr." like back in Kuaiji.

"You just asked what I was looking at? Something might be happening in the dense woods ahead," Cao Yi said, pointing forward.

Xiang Yu straightened up and peered ahead, noting the eerie silence. "It's quite peaceful."

"Try riding a couple hundred steps ahead," Cao Yi suggested casually.

Without hesitation, Xiang Yu spurred his horse onward, quickly disappearing into the trees.

"Brother Yu, where are you going?"

At some point, Yi Xiaochuan had approached, snapping photos with his phone.

"Just scouting ahead," Cao Yi replied casually.

"Oh," Yi Xiaochuan continued taking pictures, capturing the trees, flowers, and even a cute peace sign pose. If someone didn't know better, they'd think he was on vacation.

Suddenly, faint shouts and sounds of battle erupted, indicating dozens of people were involved.

Yi Xiaochuan quickly turned, shoving his phone into his robe pocket, and pulled out a thick riding whip, ready to crack it against his horse.

At that moment, a fair hand grasped the whip in his grip.

"Daoist Priest, what are you doing?" Yi Xiaochuan exclaimed, surprised to see Cao Yi holding his whip.

"A few petty thieves; Xiang Yu can handle them alone," Cao Yi said calmly.

"I'm just worried he might go on a killing spree," Yi Xiaochuan retorted, pulling back the whip and sharply cracking it, spurring his horse to charge ahead, leaving a cloud of dust.

"Is it wrong to kill robbers? What kind of logic is that?" Cao Yi shook his head, pursuing him.

Before long, they reached a clearing in the sparse forest, where two simple wagons lay horizontally, and various items were scattered on the ground.

An old man and two disheveled, tear-streaked maidens huddled beside one of the wagons, trembling in fear.

Nearby, two bodies lay sprawled on the ground—servants, by their attire.

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A short distance behind the wagons, Xiang Yu was besieged by two or three dozen ferocious robbers, with a dozen bodies lying around, clearly all slain by him.

"In broad daylight, killing and robbing—you all will die today!" Xiang Yu shouted fiercely as he fought.

"If we die, you won't fare any better!"

"Brothers, let's fight to the end!"

"If I lose my head, I'll become a hero in eighteen years!"

With no way to retreat, the robbers roared and charged, ready to fight to the death.

Xiang Yu met them with a disdainful swing of his sword, thrusting, slicing, and smashing, quickly staining himself in blood.

"Let's go all out!"

"Take him down with us!"

Several robbers tackled Xiang Yu to create an opening for their comrades.

As blades were about to strike, Xiang Yu bellowed, flinging the robber off, then swung his bronze sword, slashing through several attackers' necks, spraying blood everywhere.

"Brother Yu!"

Yi Xiaochuan shouted.

Startled, Xiang Yu instinctively turned back, nearly getting struck by a crazed robber.

"Brother Yu, stop killing!"

Yi Xiaochuan drew his sword and rushed into the fray to intervene.

"Is this the legendary saintly fool?" Cao Yi shook his head at the scene.

With Yi Xiaochuan's intervention, the battle quickly concluded, though six or seven spiteful robbers managed to escape.

"Xiaochuan, what are you doing? Why are you helping those murderous robbers escape?" Xiang Yu was visibly unhappy, almost ready to strike Yi Xiaochuan for his actions.

"Isn't it better to give them a chance to redeem themselves? Killing won't change anything," Yi Xiaochuan insisted.

"Give murderous robbers a chance to reform? What nonsense! Step aside," Xiang Yu retorted angrily, striding east toward a nearby creek. He needed to wash off the blood from the slaughter.

Cao Yi, who had been watching, approached.

"Daoist Priest, you're a monk. You judge for us; am I in the wrong?" Yi Xiaochuan asked, looking distressed.

"No, you're not," Cao Yi shook his head.

Yi Xiaochuan looked incredulous. "Daoist Priest, how can you side with Brother Yu?"

Saintly fools wield the ultimate weapon of moral coercion!

Fine, I'll play along.

Cao Yi's expression darkened. "Nonsense. I'm not siding with someone randomly killing."

Yi Xiaochuan was bewildered.

Cao Yi looked in the direction the robbers had fled, his expression softening as if embodying compassion: "Just letting them go won't do; they have no money and will continue robbing elsewhere. You should give them money and counsel them; who knows, they might stop being robbers."

Yi Xiaochuan nodded instinctively, then paused, realizing something felt off.

"Go, bury the robbers' bodies. Don't let them rot in the wilderness."

Cao Yi's compassion deepened.

Yi Xiaochuan took a few steps, then turned back. "Daoist Priest, why aren't you coming?"

"I'll chant sutras for them, so they won't become vengeful spirits. Sigh, they were born of parents too!"

Cao Yi's compassion shifted to sorrow, as if he had lost a loved one.

"Daoist Priest is so kind," Yi Xiaochuan said, filled with admiration.

"Go on, one pit for each."

Cao Yi closed his eyes and began reciting the Sutra of Deliverance.

"What? One pit each? There are dozens of them!"

Yi Xiaochuan's expression soured.

With just one bronze sword, he couldn't possibly dig dozens of pits before dark.

The only response was Cao Yi's chanting.

"Fine."

Reluctantly, Yi Xiaochuan knelt beside the corpses and began to dig.

By the wagons, the younger white-clad maiden, Lü Su, looked puzzled. "Sister, why are they so kind to those robbers?"

The older white-clad woman, Lü Zhi, shook her head. "I don't know. Perhaps they've lost their minds."

"Sister, I want to see the warrior who saved us. I saw he had a lot of blood on him," Lü Su said, rising, her delicate waist fully revealed.

"Alright, we must thank our benefactor properly," Lü Zhi urged.

Lü Su stepped lightly into the woods, walking a few steps before suddenly covering her face and running back.

"What's wrong?" Lü Zhi asked, confused.

"He… he wasn't wearing clothes!"

Lü Su's voice was barely a whisper, her face as red as a beet.

"Ah, then you missed out! I shouldn't have let you go," Lü Zhi said, looking annoyed.