After being reborn, I stole the female lead's cheat ability and raised the empress.

Chapter 220 Haifei Travels Together

Under Li Haifei's leadership, the guards easily wiped out the entire gang of wicked mountain bandits.

After the battle, Li Haifei asked, "Where are you going?"

Zhao Jihua said, "We will travel around."

Li Haifei said excitedly, "It must be a special fate that I'm here with you sisters to eliminate this evil bandit today. I've been wandering the world for many years, just to wipe out mountain bandits. I wonder if I could join you all on this journey?"

Tao Yao looked at the brave and chivalrous woman in front of her with admiration, and looked at Xia Li with a pleading expression.

Xia Li nodded with a smile.

Zhao Jihua agreed, saying, "It is our honor to have Miss Li's help. From now on, we will venture into the world together!"

So, Tao Yao, Xia Li, Zhao Jihua, and Li Haifei embarked on a new journey together, their shadows stretching long in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Since Li Haifei specialized in eliminating evil and upholding justice, they continued to travel along mountain paths to eliminate bandits.

That day, they arrived at a small town and stopped to rest at a tea stall on the street.

The four men were drinking tea when they overheard a conversation between several burly men at the next table.

"Have you heard? Several more caravans were robbed today."

"Oh dear, what a disaster! How did we run into bandits again? Poor thing."

"Alas! The bandits of Black Wind Stronghold are becoming increasingly rampant. They used to only rob those living down the mountain, but now they dare to come into the city and commit all sorts of evil deeds!"

"What? No way? There are soldiers guarding the city, how dare they?"

"It's true! My second aunt's third cousin's nephew's brother-in-law saw it with his own eyes! I heard that the city was in chaos and they looted countless valuables."

"My God! They don't even spare the old, weak, and women in the city. They are utterly depraved."

"Hmph, that's right. This band of bandits is a real scourge on this area. The people have suffered terribly because of them."

Upon hearing this, Xia Li and the others all frowned.

Tao Yao, being the most straightforward, immediately slammed her teacup down and said, "How can we allow such wicked bandits to continue their evil deeds! Sisters, let's go and confront them."

Zhao Jihua nodded gently and said calmly, "Don't rush. Going there rashly might alert them. We need to find out more first."

Tao Xiali blinked her bright eyes and nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle."

Li Haifei silently gripped the sword in her hand, her eyes filled with determination.

So the four of them disguised themselves and set off towards Black Wind Stronghold.

They disguised themselves as ordinary merchants, driving a horse-drawn cart loaded with goods, moving slowly forward.

Along the way, they carefully observed their surroundings, not letting any suspicious activity slip by.

They originally planned to imitate their previous actions, feigning arrest and then breaking through from within.

However, as they approached Black Wind Stronghold, they discovered some clues.

Li Haifei said, "Huh? I think I've seen this layout before in your hands."

Zhao Jihua looked ahead. There was a winding path in front of Black Wind Village, with steep mountain peaks on both sides.

She nodded: "Black Wind Stronghold is located deep in the mountains, with a strategic location that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The person who chose the location must be someone who knows how to deploy troops."

Xia Li: "...Does Sister mean... there's collusion between officials and businessmen here?"

Zhao Jihua: "We cannot rule out that possibility."

Li Haifei said with a grin, "It might even turn out like Wulongzhai!"

Xia Li: !!

She turned to Zhao Jihua and asked, "Have all the remnants of the Third Prince's faction been captured?"

Zhao Jihua's mind was on high alert: "The important ones have basically all been executed, but it's not impossible that some of the smaller fry have escaped."

Xia Li said seriously, "In that case, we should be careful."

The group found a secluded spot to hide the carriage, and then quietly crept up the mountain.

They hid in the woods, observing the situation in the mountain village from a distance.

The gate to the village was tightly closed, and several henchmen patrolled back and forth at the entrance, indicating a high level of security.

Just as they were about to investigate further, they suddenly heard a commotion of voices.

The group quickly hid even more concealed, and then they saw a group of people emerge from the mountain stronghold.

The leader was a burly man with a fierce face, none other than Wang Mazi, the chieftain of Black Wind Village.

He was accompanied by several well-dressed people who appeared to be local wealthy businessmen.

"When will this shipment arrive?" a wealthy-looking man asked.

"Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, it will be delivered to you in three days."

"Is the quality of this batch of goods acceptable?"

"Don't worry, what we give to you bosses is the best! Those women and children are all handpicked, they're sure to fetch a good price," Wang Mazi replied with a beaming smile.

Hearing this, Xia Li and the others were shocked. The other party was actually involved in the business of trafficking women.

Another wealthy merchant hurriedly interrupted, "Hey...we can't use the best; the best has to be offered as tribute to the esteemed officials of our local prefecture."

Wang Mazi immediately bowed and apologized: "Yes, yes, Mr. Wang is right. The local officials have opened the door to convenience for us, and we really should thank them properly—oh, show them some respect."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jihua clenched his fists even tighter.

This gang of bandits even colluded with officials and businessmen to traffic women and children!

How dare they?

This is absolutely outrageous!

The girls wanted nothing more than to rush up and beat these hypocrites to a pulp, but they knew that many more people were involved.

They had no choice but to suppress their anger and continue observing.

The wealthy merchants exchanged a few more words with Wang Mazi before hurriedly leaving.

Wang Mazi then led his henchmen back to the mountain stronghold.

"Sisters, these bandits are truly heinous criminals. We must find a way to eliminate them," Zhao Jihua said through gritted teeth.

“Yes, they are utterly depraved, they must all die!” Xia Li said.

"But this mountain stronghold is heavily guarded, how can we get in?" Tao Yao said with some worry.

Zhao Jihua pondered for a moment and said, "Didn't they just say that a batch of goods will be delivered in three days? I have a plan. We can take advantage of their transaction with the wealthy merchant to infiltrate the mountain stronghold. Then, we can use this opportunity to inflict heavy losses on the stronghold. The children are basically sold to childless families, and the women are most likely used as gifts or to bribe men. So, if the supply is not timely, it will anger the customers. In that case, the people who cooperate with them will definitely send people to investigate. Then, we can send people to guard the inside and outside of the stronghold and follow the clues to capture all these people in one fell swoop!"

Tao Yao asked, "But what if some people are more vigilant and don't send anyone to check?"

Li Haifei smiled sinisterly and said, "Then we'll find a way to get them to actively seek help from those people."