Chapter 372: The thousand dao city 41.

"I know. I still do not like it."

Ji Ruyan smiled softly.

Mo Yuxin looked at the captured attackers.

One of them wore a ring with a small gold mountain insignia.

Another had an Azure Cloud token.

A third carried a concealed sword technique manual marked with the Heavenly Sword seal.

Su Yubing’s expression became serious.

"They deliberately included traces from several sects."

Mo Yuxin nodded.

"They want every investigation to point everywhere."

Ji Ruyan looked at the captured men.

"Then who sent them?"

One of the attackers suddenly laughed.

"You think you have won because you caught us?"

Mo Yuxin looked at him.

The man continued, "By tomorrow, the whole city will know the Battle Maiden Sect attacked a Golden Mountain convoy."

Ji Ruyan’s face changed.

Mo Yuxin understood immediately.

The bait had been reversed.

The conspirators had known about the trap.

They had deliberately allowed the shipment to proceed so they could create an attack scene that would look like Battle Maiden Sect had started a conflict.

The captured men had expected to die afterward.

Their role was never to escape.

Their role was to be caught.

Mo Yuxin looked at Su Yubing.

"Smart."

Su Yubing nodded.

"Annoyingly smart."

Mo Yuxin smiled slightly.

"I still prefer our plan."

"What is our plan?"

"Break theirs."

Su Yubing smiled.

"That sounds familiar."

A messenger arrived before they returned to the sect.

He was pale and out of breath.

"Senior Ye! Senior Mo! Something happened at the Golden Mountain supply depot."

Ji Ruyan immediately asked, "What?"

The messenger swallowed.

"A large convoy was attacked. Several people are dead."

Silence.

Su Yubing asked, "Who attacked them?"

The messenger looked down.

"They found a Battle Maiden Sect insignia at the scene."

Mo Yuxin’s eyes became cold.

This was it.

The final excuse.

The conspirators had successfully created exactly the incident they needed.

The masked attackers had planted evidence.

The Battle Maiden Sect had been framed.

And this time, the victim was a powerful major sect with enough influence to demand immediate action.

The messenger handed Ye Qinglan a sealed document.

She opened it.

Her expression did not change.

But her fingers tightened around the paper.

She read the declaration aloud.

"Golden Mountain Sect formally declares the Battle Maiden Sect responsible for the attack on its convoy."

A second document followed.

"Heavenly Sword Sect supports a joint investigation and military enforcement if the Battle Maiden Sect refuses to cooperate."

A third.

"Azure Cloud Sect agrees."

Then the messenger hesitated before handing over the fourth.

Ye Qinglan opened it.

Her face became still.

"Cangming Palace will support the enforcement action."

Four factions.

Exactly as Mo Yuxin had predicted.

The news traveled through Thousand Dao City faster than any official message should have been able to.

By sunset, crowds were already gathering outside the Battle Maiden branch.

Some shouted for punishment.

Some demanded that the sect surrender.

Some simply watched.

The city guards established a perimeter.

The sect’s gates remained closed.

Inside, disciples prepared quietly.

No one cried.

No one ran.

Ji Ruyan stood before the younger generation.

"We do not know how long this will last."

She looked at them.

"But we know one thing. Nobody will make us abandon each other."

Su Lian stood beside her.

She quietly took her hand.

Ji Ruyan squeezed back.

Across the courtyard, Ning Shuyue and Luo Qinghe were checking medical supplies.

Bai Ruxue and Tang Yuer were unloading the last shipment from the hidden storeroom.

Tang Yuer looked at the huge pile of boxes.

"You bought all of this?"

Bai Ruxue nodded.

"Everything I could."

"How much did it cost?"

Bai Ruxue avoided her eyes.

Tang Yuer stared.

"Bai Ruxue."

"It was necessary."

"How much?"

Bai Ruxue named the amount.

Tang Yuer went silent.

Then she stepped forward and hugged her.

"You are ridiculous."

Bai Ruxue sighed into her shoulder.

"You already knew that."

"Yes."

Tang Yuer held her tighter.

"And I love you anyway."

Bai Ruxue closed her eyes.

"I love you too."

The sect gathered that night for one final meeting before the expected attack.

Ye Qinglan stood at the front.

Mu Qingru stood beside her.

Ji Ruyan and Su Lian were in the first row.

Ning Shuyue and Luo Qinghe stood near the medical station.

Bai Ruxue and Tang Yuer stood near the supply room.

Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing were near the back.

Ye Qinglan looked at everyone.

"We have two choices."

The room became silent.

"We can surrender our spirit veins and accept the accusations. We may survive physically, but our sect will slowly disappear."

She took a breath.

"Or we can defend ourselves."

No one needed to ask which one they preferred.

But Ye Qinglan continued.

"I will not ask anyone to fight because I am afraid to lose this sect. I will ask you to fight because this is your home, and because if we surrender every time someone threatens us, there will eventually be nothing left to defend."

Ji Ruyan stood.

"We defend."

Su Lian stood beside her.

"We defend."

One by one, the other disciples rose.

The sound spread through the hall.

"We defend."

"We defend."

"We defend."

Mo Yuxin looked at Su Yubing.

Su Yubing smiled.

She took her hand.

"You know what happens next."

Mo Yuxin nodded.

"Yes."

Outside the walls, the first drums began.

One.

Two.

Then dozens.

Before the meeting ended, Ye Qinglan asked everyone to remain for another few minutes. She walked through the hall slowly, stopping beside each group of disciples. She did not give them a grand speech. Instead, she asked simple questions. Who had family in the city? Who needed medicine? Which formation team had enough people? Which younger disciples had never fought in a real battle? The answers were written down. Nothing was left to guesswork. Mu Qingru reorganized the watch rotations while Ji Ruyan divided the younger disciples into combat teams that matched their strengths instead of simply grouping them by cultivation level. Su Lian took the formation maps and marked three emergency escape corridors,

TO BE CONTINUED.