Dream of the Red Chamber: After being exiled, I went on a killing spree in Liaodong.

My life wasn't meant to end; it's up to fate.

One more person can escape!

Thinking that his men had been traversing these mountains and forests for so long that they knew the terrain so well they could walk with their eyes closed, breaking through shouldn't be difficult.

Upon receiving the order, the private soldiers, on the verge of collapse, turned and fled without a word, even throwing away their weapons.

They firmly believed that as long as they entered the dense forest and relied on their familiarity with the terrain, they could easily shake off the imperial army.

Unfortunately, they encountered the White-Clad Soldiers.

This king of mountain warfare is a master at defeating those who flee through the jungle.

The white-handled spear was created by Qin Liangyu to suit local conditions. It was made entirely of white ash wood, making it extremely tough; the spearhead had a bladed hook, which could be used for chopping or pulling; the butt of the spear was cast with an iron ring, so that when swung, it was like a dull hammer blow, capable of smashing bones and cracking skulls.

Even more deadly is that dozens of poles are connected and interlocked with hooks and rings, which can be used to build a ladder, allowing people to climb over cliffs and mountains as if walking on flat ground.

Mountain warfare? That's a complete game-changer!

The result was that no matter how the private soldiers took shortcuts, crawled through bushes, or leaped across valleys, there was always a white-barreled spear that would pierce their throats from the shadows.

The fiend wielding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade followed closely, reaping heads along the way without batting an eye.

Jia Yi glanced coldly at the fleeing enemies, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

This rabble is just here to give away experience points.

With the aid of the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique), his speed far surpassed the limits of ordinary people. They ran for their lives, but he merely pursued them leisurely, like a cat playing with a mouse.

Just then, the commotion ahead subsided slightly, and several figures became particularly conspicuous.

Leading the group was Zhang Huai, who was surrounded by more than a dozen personal guards as he fled hastily into the depths of the dense forest.

"General, there's... a guy following behind." A guard turned around and suddenly whispered.

Everyone looked closely and saw a person walking slowly through the woods in the distance—it was Jia Yi, all alone, his sword still sheathed.

"Just him alone?" someone sneered. "He ran so far and you still dared to chase him? He must be crazy."

Exhausted from days of fleeing, the sight of the enemy general approaching alone only fueled his ferocity.

"Brothers, let's take him down and boost our morale!"

The men grinned maliciously, turned their weapons, and tried to surround and annihilate him.

As the night breeze rustled through the treetops and the firelight flickered, Jia Yi slowly raised his head, his eyes sharp as knives.

"Kid, kneel down now and call each of us 'Grandpa,' and if I'm in a good mood, I might spare your life!"

"Hahaha--!"

A burst of laughter erupted, like street thugs surrounding a lone scholar. Even Zhang Huai grinned, a mocking smile playing at the corners of his eyes.

In their eyes, it would be a piece of cake for hundreds of people to surround and kill a lone teenager. It wouldn't even take them the trouble to crush an ant.

"Wow?"

Jia Yi slowly raised his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips. His gaze swept over the rabble like a blade. "How long has it been since anyone dared to say something like that to me?"

"What, were all the people you met before mute?" someone chimed in, their tone flippant.

"Hahaha!!!"

He burst into another fit of laughter, as if he were the joke itself.

But Jia Yi simply shook his head slightly, his smile undiminished: "Speaking of which... who's backing you up? To be able to raise so many private soldiers right under the nose of the capital, you've got some nerve."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air suddenly froze.

At the foot of the capital, surrounded by the emperor's personal guards, who would dare to hide troops? Once exposed, even confiscation of their property and extermination of their entire clan wouldn't be enough to cover the consequences!

"kill--!"

Zhang Huai's eyes suddenly turned cold. At his command, three personal guards sprang up, their swords drawn, the cold light aimed directly at Jia Yi's throat!

A combined attack from the three of them would be enough to kill a top-tier fighter.

Zhang Huai turned around and prepared to slip away, thinking about which side path he could take to make a clean getaway later.

"Pfft!"

I heard a dull thud as a sharp weapon pierced flesh behind me.

He smirked, about to say, "Run this way—"

But his subordinate suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Boss...look..."

His voice trembled, filled with fear.

Zhang Huai turned around—

In that instant, my blood almost froze.

Jia Yi, who should have been lying in a pool of blood, was standing there smiling, his robes neat and his hair perfectly styled.

His three most elite personal guards lay sprawled on the ground, blood gushing from their necks, their eyes wide open, dying with unfulfilled grievances.

"……Hold."

Zhang Huai's pupils contracted sharply.

"Kid...you've got some skills." He gritted his teeth, his voice strained. "Everyone—get out! Chop him into mincemeat!"

"kill!!!"

More than a hundred people surged in like a tide, their swords flashing and shadows weaving a web of death.

But the next second—

The wind picked up.

A green shadow flashed through the crowd, so fast that only a fleeting afterimage remained.

When Lingbo Weibu was used to its fullest extent, he moved like a ghost through a forest of knives. Before his enemies could even touch the hem of his clothes, their throats were broken, their wrists snapped, and their heads rolled on the ground.

One knife, one person; swift and decisive.

"Damn it! This is a master!" Zhang Huai's face turned pale. Seeing his men falling one after another without any power to fight back, he turned and ran without saying a word!

The moment he turned around, all his arrogance vanished, leaving only his survival instinct.

By the time the remaining people realized what was happening and tried to kneel down and beg for mercy—

late.

Jia Yi's broadsword had already swept out, blood gushing into the sky, dozens of people were cut in half at the waist, their intestines spilling all over the desolate road.

"Aaaaaah—!!!"

A mournful wail pierced the sky.

Zhang Huai was terrified and ran even faster, tearing off his armor as he ran, wishing he could skin himself alive in exchange for his life.

"Brother," a gentle voice suddenly rang out from ahead, "do you need any help?"

Zhang Huai suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Ahead, Jia Yi stood with a sword on his back, his smile gentle, like a boy next door.

If it weren't for the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand dripping blood, its tip dragging on the ground and leaving a long trail of blood, he would have thought he had encountered a kind passerby.

He turned his head stiffly, looking back the way he had come—

Corpses lay strewn across the fields, blood flowed like rivers, and all the brothers of yesteryear were reduced to mangled limbs and broken bones.

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead like a rushing stream, soaking his back.

"thump!"

His knees slammed into the ground with a dull thud.

"Great hero, spare my life!!! I have an elderly mother to care for, and a wife and children to raise. Please have mercy on me!" Zhang Huai kowtowed repeatedly, his face covered in tears.

"Heh." Jia Yi chuckled lightly, his voice as soft as the wind. "You have an elderly mother, a wife and children... but what about those villagers who were slaughtered?"

He knew this matter might not have anything to do with the good-for-nothing in front of him. But he wanted to bluff—to bluff out the person behind it all.

"My lord, you've been wronged!" Zhang Huai cried, his heart breaking. "We are truly the private soldiers of Prince Zhongshun. At most, we rob merchant caravans, and we never take lives! How could we dare to indiscriminately kill civilians!"

He gritted his teeth in hatred: "If I find out who did it, I'll slaughter their entire family as a sacrifice to the heavens!"

"Oh?"

Jia Yi raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"Is it Prince Zhongshun again?"

He chuckled softly, as if fate had played a cruel joke on him.

How come I always seem to step on this prince's tail wherever I go?

"Great hero...you...know the prince?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Huai's eyes lit up, and he struggled to crawl forward a few steps, his eyes blazing with hope.

"Hmm." Jia Yi nodded, his smile deepening. "He—he's always been thinking about killing me."

The hope on Zhang Huai's face froze instantly.

Alarm bells rang in his head: Holy crap! It's my enemy!

"Fuck you!!" He suddenly sprang up, a short blade flashing from his sleeve, aimed straight at Jia Yi's heart!