If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

The residence of Li Tingxuan, Vice Minister of War.

The study was filled with the aroma of tea.

Li Tingxuan sat behind his desk, a report clutched in his hand. The thin sheet of paper felt as heavy as a mountain. His knuckles were slightly white, and the veins on the back of his hand stood out.

The report contained few words.

The "Ghost's Bane" squad was wiped out.

Three bodies were found at the scene. Four characters were also carved on the wall.

Welcome!

Those four words were like four red-hot iron nails, piercing into Li Tingxuan's eyes. He could almost see Zhou Yang's contemptuous face and hear his grating laughter.

This man, who should have died. This man, whom he casually pushed off the chessboard as a sacrifice. Not only is he alive, but he's become even more ruthless. He even dares to turn the tables and declare war on the Ministry of War.

"Smack."

The celadon teacup was crushed to pieces. The shards mixed with the tea, splashing all over him. But he didn't notice.

A fishy, ​​sweet taste suddenly surged into my throat.

"puff--"

A mouthful of blood splattered onto the desk, staining the report and the official seal before him. The blood flowed slowly along the lines of the seal, like an ominous premonition.

"Zhang Juzheng!" Li Tingxuan's voice was hoarse and tinged with blood.

The door was pushed open, and a thin, middle-aged man strode in. He was Zhang Juzheng, the Vice Minister of War and Li Tingxuan's most trusted confidant. His expression changed slightly when he saw the broken porcelain shards on the ground and the bloodstains at the corner of Li Tingxuan's mouth.

"Sir, you..."

"Zhou Yang isn't dead," Li Tingxuan interrupted him, his voice barely audible. "He killed Guijianchou's men. He also left a message."

He threw the blood-stained report over there.

Zhang Juzheng caught the document, glanced at it quickly, and his brows furrowed instantly. He looked at Li Tingxuan, "This man... is extremely arrogant."

"Arrogant?" Li Tingxuan laughed, a laugh more like a grimace. "He's mocking me! Mocking our Ministry of War! He's telling everyone that I, Li Tingxuan, can't even handle a nobody!"

He stood up and paced restlessly in the study.

"We can't wait any longer." Li Tingxuan stopped, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "I don't want him in prison, nor do I want him to disappear without a trace. I want him dead! Dead in the open, a glorious death, so everyone can see what happens when you oppose me!"

Zhang Juzheng bowed and remained silent for a moment.

"My lord, this matter should not be publicized. Zhou Yang is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; to take action against him would be tantamount to slapping Qin Shuang in the face. Without a legitimate reason, it would be difficult to explain to His Majesty."

"I don't want a title! I want him dead!"

"Please calm down, Your Excellency." Zhang Juzheng's voice remained calm. "We can create pretexts. But the ones who will harm him cannot be from our Ministry of War. We must use someone else's sword."

Li Tingxuan stared at him.

Zhang Juzheng lowered his voice and leaned forward a few inches.

"Wang Zhen, the deputy commander of the Beijing garrison, wanted to misappropriate a batch of military equipment to repair his private residence a few days ago, but you stopped him. He owes you a favor," Zhang Juzheng said slowly. "The Beijing garrison is about to conduct a thorough investigation of the military equipment in the southern warehouse. This is a good opportunity."

Li Tingxuan's eyes lit up.

"Inspect the weapons and ammunition..."

"Yes." Zhang Juzheng nodded. "Zhou Yang is a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It's perfectly reasonable for him to cooperate with the investigation. There are always some 'unexpected' things on the way to the Beijing Garrison. For example, assassins, or... stray arrows."

"The repeating crossbows of the Beijing garrison are no ordinary arrows." Li Tingxuan's breathing became heavy. He thought of those powerful military crossbows. A single volley of fire would turn even a master of internal martial arts into a pincushion.

"Wang Zhen will arrange everything. When the time comes, Zhou Yang will be executed on the spot for 'refusing inspection and disobeying orders, and attacking soldiers.' No one can say anything wrong." Zhang Juzheng's plan was flawless.

Li Tingxuan looked out the window; the gloomy sky mirrored his mood.

"Okay." He squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth, "That's how it'll be. Tell him that after it's done, I'll pretend I never saw that batch of weapons."

"Yes."

Zhang Juzheng bowed and withdrew, and the study door closed again.

Li Tingxuan sat back in his chair, looking at the bloodstains on the official seal, his eyes gradually returning to their coldness.

Zhou Yang, this time, let's see how you survive.

……

Zhou Yang's room in the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Qin Shuang pushed open the door and entered, her footsteps very light.

Zhou Yang was wiping his embroidered spring knife. The blade gleamed coldly under the lamplight, reflecting his calm face.

Qin Shuang didn't speak. She walked to the table, picked up a teacup, and then put it down. Throughout the entire process, she didn't look at Zhou Yang even once.

But her fingers tapped lightly three times on the table.

Two short ones, one long one.

This is their agreed-upon code. The highest level of alert.

Zhou Yang stopped wiping the blade. He looked up at Qin Shuang. Qin Shuang's expression was somewhat grave.

"Speak," Zhou Yang said, putting the knife aside.

"The people from the Ministry of War," Qin Shuang said in a low voice, "Li Tingxuan is very angry about the 'gift' you left behind."

"Oh? How angry are you? Did you vomit blood?" Zhou Yang asked casually, his tone tinged with amusement.

Qin Shuang glanced at him. "Almost."

"That's not enough," Zhou Yang said, pursing his lips.

"He didn't intend to use official channels," Qin Shuang continued. "His confidant, Zhang Juzheng, secretly left his residence today to meet with Wang Zhen, the deputy general of the Beijing garrison."

"The Beijing Garrison?" A hint of interest flashed in Zhou Yang's eyes.

"Yes." Qin Shuang nodded. "They've set a trap. The pretext is to inspect the military equipment in the southern warehouse of the Beijing garrison, and they want you to go there to cooperate with the investigation. Wang Zhen will set up an ambush on the way."

"What did you use?" Zhou Yang asked directly.

"Military repeating crossbow."

Zhou Yang smiled.

"Li Tingxuan really is an impatient person. He just got slapped and he's already thinking of pulling out a knife to stab someone." He stood up and walked to the map on the wall. His finger slowly traced across it.

"The southern warehouse of the capital garrison... south of the city, near the city wall, with open terrain. It's surrounded by high walls on all sides, with barracks behind them. It's an excellent ambush location." He pointed to the map. "They will use repeating crossbows to block all exits. Once inside the encirclement, we'll be sitting ducks."

"You can't go," Qin Shuang said firmly. "It's a dead end. They never intended for you to leave Nanku alive."

"A dead end?" Zhou Yang turned around and looked at her. "That depends on whose perspective you're looking at it from."

He paced back and forth, as if considering a deal.

"Vice Minister of War, Deputy General of the Capital Garrison... these two positions carry considerable weight," he muttered to himself. "If they both died 'accidentally,' the capital would certainly be in an uproar, wouldn't it?"

Qin Shuang's heart sank. "What do you want to do? Don't do anything reckless. This is the Ministry of War, the Beijing Garrison, not some martial arts sect."

"I know." Zhou Yang's expression remained calm. "Therefore, I have no choice but to wade into these muddy waters."

"You're insane!"

"No." Zhou Yang shook his head, his eyes revealing a calmness Qin Shuang couldn't decipher. "This is business. A highly profitable business."

He looked at Qin Shuang and suddenly smiled.

"Commander Qin, don't you always say I'm too greedy? This time, I'll show you what a real 'money-grubbing hermit' is."

The next day, the sky was overcast.

Zhou Yang wasn't wearing the flying fish uniform of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; he was only dressed in a plain blue cloth robe. He didn't ride a horse but instead rode in a slightly worn mule cart.

The driver was Old Zhang, his old partner who had come all the way from Jianghuai with him. Inside the carriage sat two other men. One was called Da Niu, and the other Er Gou; both were trusted confidants he had handpicked from the Northern Garrison Command, taciturn but with clean and efficient hand movements.

There were only four people.

A mule cart carrying four people slowly made its way towards the Beijing garrison in the south of the city.

Throughout the journey, Da Niu and Er Gou kept their faces tense, their hands always on the hilts of their knives. Zhou Yang, however, seemed completely unaffected, leaning against the car wall and even dozing off.

When they arrived at the gate of the South Warehouse of the Beijing Garrison, they were indeed stopped by a group of soldiers.

The leader was a squad leader, with a fierce face and an impatient look in his eyes.

"What are you doing? Don't you know we're checking weapons here?" he gruffly reprimanded.

Old Zhang jumped out of the car, smiling obsequiously, "Sir, we are from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and we have been ordered to assist in the investigation."

The squad leader glanced at the mule cart sideways, his gaze sweeping over the inside of the cart.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard? I can't tell." He sneered. "Show me the tally."

Zhou Yang then slowly lifted the carriage curtain, took out a waist token from his pocket, and casually tossed it over.

The badge rolled on the ground, and the squad leader looked down and his face instantly changed. It was a pure black iron badge with only one character on it—"Embroidered."

The waist badge of a captain directly under the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The squad leader, sweat beading on his forehead, quickly picked up the waist token and returned it with both hands.

"I was unaware of the presence of Commandant Zhou. I apologize for any offense I may have caused."

Zhou Yang took back the pass, his face expressionless. "Since you know we're here on official business, why won't you let us through?"

"Yes, yes," the sergeant replied repeatedly, quickly making way for him. "Please come in, Captain. Our Deputy General Wang is waiting for you inside."

The mule cart slowly drove into the South Warehouse gate.

The tall courtyard walls blocked out most of the sunlight. The courtyard was piled high with various wooden crates, covered with tarpaulins for rain protection. The air was filled with a mixture of the smells of iron and tung oil.

It's very quiet.

It's too quiet.

Apart from the sound of their mule cart wheels, there was no other sound. Not even a bird chirped.

Da Niu and Er Gou had already gripped the knife handles.

Zhou Yang remained leaning against the car, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

The mule cart walked to the center of the yard.

The squad leader suddenly stopped and quickly retreated to the back of the barracks.

"Squad leader! You..." Old Zhang had just shouted one sentence.

A piercing mechanical noise suddenly rang out without warning.

"Buzz—"

The sound wasn't coming from one direction.

Instead, they came from all directions.

From the rooftops of the barracks at the front and back, and from the tops of the high walls on both sides, they instantly merged into one. It was like countless venomous bees flapping their wings at the same time, the sharp sound piercing one's eardrums.

Zhou Yang suddenly lifted the carriage curtain and stood up.

He looked up.

All around, on the rooftops and behind the walls, stood soldiers clad in standard Beijing garrison armor. Each carried a black repeating crossbow, its dark muzzle aimed at the mule cart in the center of the courtyard.

A man who looked like a general stood on the wall; it was Wang Zhen, the deputy commander of the Beijing garrison. He wore a cruel smile.

"Zhou Yang, your death is near!"

He didn't give Zhou Yang any chance to speak.

"put!"

At a command.

The next moment, a rain of arrows descended.