After walking for nearly ten minutes, the three of them exited the woods and arrived in front of an open area.
This open area, located in the center of Bai Hu Mountain, spanned several hundred meters, devoid of tall trees.
Thus, as Qin Yi, Xue Qiao'er, and Li Xiuwu approached, they saw a man sitting there, his clothes tattered, his body filthy, resembling a beggar.
The man held a duck leg in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, eating and drinking heartily.
Xue Qiao'er stopped, glancing at the red dot on her phone screen, then at the beggar. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed.
Moments later, before she could say anything, the beggar placed the wine bottle on the ground, pulled a mobile phone from his ragged pocket, and waved it at Xue Qiao'er.
He grinned and said, "Little beauty, are you looking for this?"
Seeing this, Xue Qiao'er's expression darkened. "Zhang Yun's phone. Where have you taken them all???"
It turned out that the red dot on Xue Qiao'er's phone was the location of Zhang Yun's mobile phone!
Instantly, upon seeing the beggar holding Zhang Yun's phone, Li Xiuwu immediately shouted, "Fan Zhiqi, you've been exposed. Surrender quickly!"
The beggar, hearing his words, froze for a moment as he sat there.
Then, he took a sip of wine and slowly stood up. "As expected of the Order Hall. I didn't expect you to discover my identity so quickly!"
"Since you know we are from the Order Hall, why don't you honestly hand over the women you've abducted in Hai City during this time!"
Li Xiuwu stepped forward and said sternly, "Hand them over, and then obediently return to the Order Hall to accept your punishment. Perhaps you can still have a way to live!"
"Ha, haha..."
Hearing his words, Fan Zhiqi shook his head and burst into laughter.
Li Xiuwu asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Fan Zhiqi stopped laughing and replied, "I'm laughing that after I've been quiet for a few years, even people like you dare to threaten me! It's truly laughable!"
"Don't think you can scare me just because you're from the Order Hall. The name of the Order Hall can frighten ordinary people, but it can't frighten me, Fan Zhiqi!"
"Let me tell you the truth. Those girls are all alive, and they are right here on this Bai Hu Mountain. But as for their exact location, you'll only know if you can defeat me first!"
"Arrogant!"
Li Xiuwu's imposing aura erupted, and his body turned into a sharp arrow, charging towards the opponent.
"Brother Li..."
Xue Qiao'er tried to stop him, but it was no use.
Seeing this, Qin Yi sighed inwardly and couldn't help but shake his head.
From the beggar's demeanor, it was clear the man was not simple. Li Xiuwu's rash charge was unlikely to succeed.
As expected, the moment this thought crossed Qin Yi's mind, he saw Fan Zhiqi toss aside the duck leg he was holding.
*Whoosh.*
The duck leg flew like a bullet, hitting Li Xiuwu.
Instantly, Li Xiuwu's charging figure flew backward.
Like a kite with a broken string, he arced through the air and crashed heavily onto the ground.
With a muffled 'thud', dust flew up, and a large pit appeared in the ground.
"!!!"
Seeing this, Xue Qiao'er trembled. She rushed to the pit and pulled Li Xiuwu out.
At this moment, Li Xiuwu was in a terrible state, blood oozing from his nose and mouth, his eyes rolled back. Though not unconscious, his consciousness was completely blurred.
"Brother Li, Brother Li..."
Xue Qiao'er called out to him several times, but he did not respond.
Qin Yi walked over and, seeing Li Xiuwu's慘狀 (miserable state) and the deep pit he had created, was also shocked.
Fan Zhiqi had used a mere duck leg to cripple Li Xiuwu like this...
This Fan Zhiqi was no ordinary person!
After performing a simple emergency first aid on Li Xiuwu and ensuring he was not in mortal danger, Xue Qiao'er looked at Fan Zhiqi with deep apprehension in her eyes.
She then whispered to Qin Yi, "This Fan Zhiqi was formerly one of the top five experts in the northern martial arts world. We were careless today..."
"I'll cover you. You take Brother Li and escape first. Once you're out, contact the Order Hall and have them send more powerful reinforcements!"
Saying this, she didn't care about Qin Yi's expression or response and handed Li Xiuwu over to him.
Immediately after, Xue Qiao'er drew a soft sword from her waist and attacked Fan Zhiqi.
Xue Qiao'er's speed was much faster than Li Xiuwu's earlier. In the blink of an eye, her soft sword was before Fan Zhiqi.
However, Fan Zhiqi simply tilted his head and easily dodged her fierce thrust.
The next second, Fan Zhiqi flicked out a finger, tapping against the soft sword.
*Clang.*
His finger struck the blade, causing the soft sword to vibrate with a hum.
Under this vibration, Xue Qiao'er's movements were affected, and her speed slowed by two points.
Fan Zhiqi seized the opportunity and struck out with a palm. Xue Qiao'er, unable to dodge in time, was hit squarely on the right shoulder.
"Ah!"
Xue Qiao'er cried out in pain and flew backward, landing near Qin Yi.
After landing, Xue Qiao'er spat out a mouthful of blood. Seeing that Qin Yi was still standing in his spot and had not taken Li Xiuwu to escape, she yelled in anger and desperation, "Qin Yi, what are you doing! I told you to take Brother Li and go!!!"
Before Qin Yi could say anything, Fan Zhiqi flashed and appeared close to them.
"Leave? You've already come. Do you think you can leave today?"
"Fan Zhiqi, we are all members of the Order Hall. If anything happens to us, the Order Hall will definitely not let you go!" Xue Qiao'er threatened verbally.
However, Fan Zhiqi was completely unfazed by her threat.
Fan Zhiqi even used his greasy hands to tidy his messy hair. Looking at Xue Qiao'er's exquisite face and fine figure, he said, "Little beauty, don't worry. You're so beautiful, I won't kill you!"
"I'll let you live, and live well, to be my wife! Heh heh, having a beauty from the Order Hall as my wife, it sounds exciting!"
Xue Qiao'er's face flushed red with shame and anger.
"Qin Yi, take Brother Li and go!"
She roared at Qin Yi again, gripping her soft sword, ignoring her injuries, and forcefully charged at Fan Zhiqi once more.
However, before Xue Qiao'er could even stand up and charge out, she felt a large hand wrap around her waist!
She instinctively stopped and looked back, only to see Qin Yi's arm around her waist, preventing her movement!
Xue Qiao'er's body stiffened, and her face rapidly heated up, turning red!
Qin Yi paid no mind to her expression, his hand still around her waist, showing no sign of retracting.
He spoke calmly, "You are no match for him. Let me handle it!"
Xue Qiao'er had been repelled after only two moves when she charged earlier. The gap in their abilities compared to Fan Zhiqi was clearly immense!
If she were to charge again now, it would be utterly pointless, serving only to get herself beaten.