I manage female characters in all the heavens.

Although the Yin Wind Demon Mother is a demon and theoretically unafraid of the sun, due to the influence of the world's environment, her cultivation contains too many yin and evil elements, making her equally susceptible to great damage from the sun's power.

Not only her, but almost all the monsters in this world are like this.

As a tiger demon, her true form is extremely important. Unlike Hong Ji, who is a ghost and can reside in small objects for easy carrying, she is also afraid of the sun and cannot transform into her true form as a mount.

Since Nie Xiaoqian didn't have any spatial artifacts, she was at a loss for a while.

She took out Hong Ji's gold hairpin from her bosom and said to Hong Ji, "Come back first."

Hong Ji responded and transformed into a wisp of red mist, disappearing into the golden hairpin.

Nie Xiaoqian washed the gold hairpin clean and casually stuck it into her hair.

Then she looked at the Yin Wind Demon Mother, her eyes darting around as she made a plan.

She ran to one of her family's carriages, took down a box, and emptied out the calligraphy and paintings that Nie Yan had treasured for many years, but which were now completely useless to her, thus emptying the box.

Nie Xiaoqian pointed to the box and said to the Yin Wind Ghost Mother, "Shrink inside, and I'll pack you up and load you into the car, so you can come with me."

The Ghost Mother of Yin Wind glanced at the box, which was shorter than her own leg, and said with a mournful face, "...Yes, Your Majesty."

The Yin Wind Demon Mother's transformed form was quite tall, so it was obviously not easy for her to fit into this box, but compared to her original body which was over three meters long, it was easy enough.

After a tremendous amount of effort, she finally managed to squeeze herself inside using her amazing flexibility as a monster, leaving almost no space at all.

A tall, beautiful woman was stuffed into a box like this, her clothes inevitably becoming disheveled, her fair and smooth skin slightly exposed, reflecting a captivating luster under the moonlight, giving off an eerie and erotic feeling.

"Nie Xiaoqian" closed the box, put it back in the car, and destroyed the calligraphy and paintings on the ground with a single palm strike to cover up the crime.

She patted the box and whispered, "Stay put and don't make a sound. If my dad and the others find out, and I end up being accused of human trafficking and abuse, you'll have to pay with your life."

"Eh! Yes, Your Majesty!" The Demon Mother was terrified.

Back at the house, Nie Yan was still asleep, as were the servants. No one had noticed the little incident from the previous night.

Nie Xiaoqian tiptoed to her straw mat, lay down, and hugged Qingluo back into her arms.

Qingluo was still asleep, breathing evenly, showing no signs of waking up, but her body was shivering from the cold.

They agreed to sleep together and keep each other warm, but "Nie Xiaoqian" ran away in the middle of the night when it was coldest. Qingluo was already very sleepy because she wasn't woken up by the cold.

Nie Yan woke up just as dawn broke.

He pushed open the door, stretched, took a deep breath of the still relatively fresh morning air, and then began to wake the servants, telling them to pack their things and prepare to continue their journey.

"Hurry up, we need to get to Qingshi Town today, it's dozens of miles away!"

"Yes! Master!"

The servants busied themselves, some packing luggage, some preparing the carriage, and some checking the horses that had been tied up the night before.

Only when everyone had almost finished tidying up did Nie Yan wake up his daughter.

Nie Xiaoqian yawned as she walked out of the room, stretching: "Good morning, Dad, have you eaten?"

Nie Yan was speechless. "Eat, eat, eat! All you know is how to eat!"

He handed his daughter a piece of dry food: "Eat something to fill your stomach first, and we'll find a place to buy hot food on the way."

"Oh." She took the dry food, ate it in a few bites, then asked for another piece and ate it, then gulped down several mouthfuls of water, and immediately felt refreshed.

Nie Yan was quite pleased to see that his daughter, who had been pampered since childhood, could even eat dry rations with such relish. The Po Jun life palace had many disadvantages, but also many advantages. His daughter truly had the demeanor of a chivalrous hero.

The team quickly set off again.

No one noticed that a gold hairpin had been added to their young lady's hair, nor did anyone notice that the contents of a certain box had been changed.

The carriage bumped along the uneven official road, and the desolate and dilapidated scene outside the window remained unchanged, but no one felt uncomfortable.

After listening to Lord Nie's speech last night, everyone felt hopeful about going to the capital and had the strength to continue their journey. Compared to the miserable plight of the refugees on the roadside, they even felt a sense of happiness.

Only the Yin Wind Demon Mother, crammed uncomfortable in the box, could only silently endure the King's task.

How long will this journey take?!

Chapter 171 Today, we'll break through a defensive line.

Nie Yan stood on a hillside outside Hongsha Town, his brows furrowed as he gazed at the billowing black smoke and the faint sounds of fighting in the distance.

The team has been stuck here for two days.

Since leaving Fengshui Village, the team has had a relatively smooth journey under the covert protection of "Nie Xiaoqian".

Although they encountered several groups of petty thieves and wandering ghosts, they were all saved from danger thanks to Nie Yan's proper command and his "astonishing" swordsmanship.

The servants' respect for this master grew day by day, and some even said in private that Nie Yan was "the reincarnation of the Martial Star," which made Nie Yan himself feel a little guilty.

After eight days, the team arrived at a place called Red Sand Town. They had covered nearly a third of the journey, and success seemed to be just around the corner.

But the situation in Hongsha Town instantly extinguished Nie Yan's newly risen confidence.

The team was stuck here for two days, unable to make any progress.

"Master, I've found out." A servant ran back breathlessly. "Hongsha Town has been occupied by rebel troops. The imperial court sent troops to suppress them. The two sides have been fighting around the town for almost half a month."

"The official roads leading north are now completely cut off by the war. Unless we can fly over, we simply cannot get through."

Nie Yan's face darkened further.

Should we take a detour?

He glanced at the map in his hand.

If you bypass Hongsha Town, you'll have to travel at least five or six more days through the mountains, and those paths are even more treacherous, with unruly soldiers and bandits roaming the area, and monsters and demons lurking around.

However, the deadline on the imperial edict was fixed; arriving in the capital even one day late would be considered disobeying the edict.

"Dad, why don't we just charge in and kill them?"

"Nie Xiaoqian" squatted on the earthen slope, holding a foxtail grass in her hand, idly swinging it.

"What rebel army or imperial army? In your eyes, they're all just chickens and dogs. I'll give you half an hour to slaughter them all, and then we can be guaranteed to pass through without any obstacles."

Nie Yan glared at her: "Shut up! That's an army of several thousand men, not a few dozen bandits! Although my swordsmanship has recently reached a divine level, I'm not at the point where I can single-handedly cut through an army of several thousand!"

"Trust me, you can get there," Nie Xiaoqian thought to herself.

Nie Yan gathered several key figures in the team together, including the butler Lao Xu, two clever head servants, and "Nie Xiaoqian".

“Everyone knows the situation.” Nie Yan drew a simple map on the ground.

"We are here now, south of Hongsha Town. To get there, we must first pass through the area controlled by the rebel army, then cross the northern part of Hongsha Town where the imperial army is stationed, and only then can we continue north."

He pointed to a dotted line on the map: "If I reveal my identity as an official of the imperial court to the rebels, I'll be committing suicide. I can only try to sneak through."

"As for the imperial army... I am, after all, the soon-to-be Vice Minister of Rites. If I reveal my identity, they should give me some face."

"Therefore, there is only one difficulty at hand: how to get past the area occupied by the rebel army."

"I disagree."

"Nie Xiaoqian" raised her hand. "Too much trouble. Wouldn't it be faster to just charge straight in? Father, your swordsmanship is so amazing. If you cut down the leader with one strike, the rest will scatter like birds and beasts."

Now I'm not asking you to kill everyone, just kill the leader, is that alright?

Nie Yan's forehead veins bulged: "Shut up! The minority must obey the majority. What about the others?"

You rebellious daughter, do you wish I were dead?!

Butler Xu carefully considered his words before speaking: "I think it would be more appropriate to try to get through this."

The others nodded repeatedly, thinking that if they could get away with it, they would; stabbing someone was still too dangerous.

Nie Yan nodded in satisfaction: "In that case, I have a plan."

"We might be able to disguise ourselves as a supply convoy of the rebel army and get away with it."

Nie Xiaoqian pursed her lips and stopped talking.

So everyone began to prepare.

Nie Yan took several relatively intact military uniforms from a group of rebel soldiers who had tried to rob them but were wiped out by them, and had his servants change into them.

They moved some less important supplies to the top of the vehicle and even stuck a few tattered flags on top of it, making it look quite presentable.

After making all the preparations, the team set off towards Hongsha Town.

It must be said that Nie Yan's experience in officialdom played a huge role in this situation.

When questioned by the team, he always had a reasonable explanation to evade their questions.

Nie Xiaoqian sat in the carriage, not very happy. Everything had gone too smoothly, and there was no fun to be had.

She could tell that the checks on these rebel troops were pitifully lax.

Indeed, after all, they were just farmers who had just put down their hoes, so what military discipline could they possibly have?

This suddenly made it seem as if she had lost her mind when she suggested just charging straight in.

Thanks to Nie Yan's skillful handling, the team passed through six checkpoints without any problems. He became more and more adept at handling the situation and even began to enjoy the thrill of "going deep behind enemy lines".

"After just one last checkpoint, we'll be out of the rebels' territory." Nie Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief and said to everyone, "Everyone, stay alert. Once we get past this checkpoint, we'll be halfway safe."

The caravan continued along the official road, and in the distance they could see the last checkpoint—a simple pass hastily built with earth, stone and wood, lying across the middle of the road.

Nie Yan was already very skilled at handling the situation. With just a few words, he gained the trust of the gatekeepers, who then opened the gate to let him pass.

But just as the group was about to pass through the checkpoint, a deafening sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from ahead!

Everyone immediately looked ahead.

On the distant horizon, a dark mass of cavalry was galloping toward them!

That cavalry unit numbered three or four hundred men, their imposing presence causing the ground to tremble slightly with the sound of their hooves.

The leader rode a tall horse, wearing simple black iron armor and carrying a long spear, looking very imposing.

The soldiers at the checkpoint also noticed the cavalry and became tense, but when they saw the flag of the leader, they all breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ushered Nie Yan and the others aside to line up and welcome them.

"It's General Luo!"

"General Luo is back!"

Nie Yan's expression immediately changed.

General Luo? The leader of this mutinous army?