In the next instant, the ground collapsed. The large bronze cauldrons on both sides immediately toppled over with shattering sounds. The cauldrons actually contained water – “water” that hadn’t frozen in this weather. A large splash poured out with a rushing sound, but it didn’t spread everywhere. Instead, following some unknown trajectory along the ground, it formed two large silver spheres that rushed toward Shepherd Boy from left and right.

Although he didn’t recognize what it was, Shepherd Boy quickly leaped up. Aunt Li behind him also instinctively reached out to pull him back.

At this moment, hissing sounds erupted continuously. The plum trees on both sides of the hall that had previously bloomed fake flowers trembled, launching a net that blocked Aunt Li’s hand and Shepherd Boy’s retreat. A red and white figure flashed, catching Aunt Li’s swift punch intended to break the net with one hand, while grabbing Shepherd Boy’s collar with the other, shoving him forward and delivering a heavy kick to his back.

At this moment, the two gleaming silver spheres were about to converge. Shepherd Boy was kicked right between them and couldn’t help but open his mouth to scream. Under everyone’s gaze, after the silver spheres merged, they enveloped half of Shepherd Boy’s body, then turned into wisps of pale smoke and disappeared in an instant. Shepherd Boy was already clutching his stomach and screaming in agony.

He rolled on the snowy ground, curled up like a large shrimp, his screams so loud they could be heard throughout the entire palace. His body kept striking against the upturned stone slabs, bloodied and bruised, yet he seemed to feel no pain from those impacts. The Lingquan Village people stared in shock at this usually fierce little man. They wanted to rescue him, but remembering Tie Ci’s warning of “one step further means death without mercy,” this time truly no one dared move.

Aunt Li, being coldly stared at by Pingzong, couldn’t help but shout, “We’ll withdraw, we’ll leave! Please save him!”

Pingzong chuckled and said, “Can’t save him anymore. That’s mercury. If he hadn’t opened his mouth, it might have been better – he’d suffer but might not die. But he opened his mouth and screamed, swallowing the mercury into his stomach.”

“Why did you have to kill him! Are you forcing us to fight to the death!”

“What a joke! Weren’t you the ones looting and fighting to the death? Even like this, His Highness still gave you a chance. You brought death upon yourselves – who’s to blame!” Pingzong laughed heartily. “Besides, how exactly did he take that step? Didn’t you all see?”

Aunt Li suddenly fell silent, then slowly looked toward Tong Rushi.

Tong Rushi pressed his lips together and said with forced composure, “Aunt, why do you look at me like that? Shepherd Boy was unwilling on his own!”

Aunt Li said grimly, “Is this how Your Highness treats subordinates who are loyal to you?”

Tong Rushi also grew cold in expression. “Have you all forgotten the solemn oath you made before my grandfather and me? You promised to risk life and death for me, yet now you want to turn against me over this small matter?”

“You…”

“Stop arguing!”

Aunt Li fell silent, looking at the old fisherman who had been injured earlier and had been sitting in the crowd with closed eyes, recuperating.

Among them all, the old fisherman was the eldest, and the Lingquan Village people had always respected him.

The old man tremblingly stood up, using his fishing rod to support himself. He looked at Tie Ci in the hall, then at Tong Rushi, then at Shepherd Boy on the ground whose screams were gradually growing weaker. Finally, he sighed and said, “Your Majesty’s earlier promise – does it still count?”

Tong Rushi’s expression changed dramatically.

From inside the hall, Tie Ci’s voice came clearly, “Absolutely no going back on my word.”

The old fisherman nodded and bowed toward the hall: “Today’s events were wrong of us from the start. We originally thought Your Highness had perished, so we followed to provide support and protect our master, never intending to spill blood before Your Highness’s hall… There’s no need to say more about this now. Since we made promises in the past, we were bound by duty. Now we’ve repaid the kindness from those days. We bid farewell to Your Highness. From now on, all grudges are settled, and we shall not meet again in the martial world.”

Tie Ci said, “Safe travels. I won’t see you off.”

The old fisherman silently turned around.

Aunt Li and Er Xi silently lifted Shepherd Boy’s corpse and followed behind.

All the Lingquan Village people turned around together.

Li Zhi panicked and rushed over to block their path. “Everyone! Everyone! You can’t just leave like this! Even if you won’t act against Tie Ci anymore, you should at least escort His Highness out of the palace! How can you just abandon His Highness here! Have you forgotten the oath you swore!”

“His Highness is a cold-hearted master, and we are not blindly loyal servants,” the old fisherman said. “If you continue blocking us, this old man will have to settle accounts with His Highness for Shepherd Boy’s death.”

“I’ll pay for this life, I’ll pay!” Li Zhi knelt down, tears streaming down his face. “But you must take His Highness away. Don’t believe Tie Ci’s words – he’ll die, he’ll surely die!”

“Li Zhi!” Tong Rushi suddenly shouted sharply.

Li Zhi looked back at him in confusion.

“No need to beg them anymore. No need for you to atone for me. Go with them,” Tong Rushi said coldly. “I want to see if Tie Ci dares break her oath and kill me!”

“Your Highness!” Li Zhi sobbed in the snow.

Once the turmoil passed and people forgot about Tong Rushi, the imperial family had far too many ways to eliminate someone.

But he didn’t dare say this aloud, only kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly.

From inside the hall, Tie Ci’s voice drifted out faintly, “Only now do you remind me of the Tong Rushi from years past.”

Cold, proud, hard, self-respecting and self-regarding.

Tong Rushi gave a cold laugh and slightly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the sky in all directions.

The promised Liaodong masters hadn’t come to assist.

The promised Xiao family control over the officials had failed.

The promised palace infiltrators providing support had shown no activity.

Perhaps these things should have happened, but when all sides failed in their actions, he, trapped in the palace, became the discarded piece.

Originally, he had thought that even though the Tie imperial family had suffered severe damage, even if things didn’t succeed, at the very least he could retreat safely.

Who would have known that Tie Ci hadn’t even stood up or made a move, relying solely on Pingzong and her myriad methods to prevent him and the Lingquan Village people from advancing a single step toward her!

With things having reached this point, having lost everything, only dignity remained.

The old fisherman didn’t look at Li Zhi again and walked around him, the Lingquan Village people silently following.

Boots crunched on the snowy ground as Xia Houchun cheerfully cleared the path.

Tong Rushi stood alone before the hall, his shoulders slightly slumped.

Countless guards surged forward.

He Zi breathed a long sigh of relief and hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, we must quickly deploy troops to the city gates. This minister is worried that those troops from the Shengdu garrison who haven’t entered the city might make a desperate gamble and assault the gates…”

But Tie Ci remained noncommittal, her eyes deep, as if looking beyond the palace walls, beyond the chaotic capital, toward the distant mountain ranges in the suburbs.

At the same time.

In the inner city’s streets and alleys, those Dayan cavalry who had broken into homes, burned, killed, and plundered, their bodies covered in blood and faces fierce, suddenly heard people shouting frantically in the streets: “His Majesty has died!”

“The Crown Princess has also been assassinated!”

“The palace is in chaos!”

“The guards, eunuchs, and palace servants have all fled – even the palace gates are unguarded!”

These Dayan soldiers had been lurking in Da Qian for a long time and were all familiar with the Da Qian language. Hearing this, they couldn’t help but be overjoyed.

The palace was in chaos! The palace gates were open! They’d heard the palace was filled with treasures everywhere, even the latrines were made of gold. Being able to enter the palace would be much better than struggling here to rob poor commoners house by house!

Some were still hesitating, but then they heard hoofbeats in the streets as their companions had already raced out on horseback.

The Dayan soldiers immediately became anxious, afraid that being a step slower would mean missing out. They hurriedly withdrew their raised knives, pulled up their pants they were about to remove, retracted their feet about to kick down doors, turned around, mounted their horses, and also headed for the palace.

The crowds in the streets and alleys gradually converged, all rushing in the same direction.

From afar, they could see the palace gates were indeed open, with not a single guard visible. The square was in chaos with corpses scattered about, and there were signs of damage on the city walls.

The Dayan soldiers were immediately ecstatic.

The palace had indeed been breached!

The opportunity to get rich had arrived!

Hoofbeats thundered, sabers gleamed as the Dayan soldiers became an excited torrent, rushing into the palace gates that were completely open for the first time.

After charging in unobstructed, before them spread a vast, magnificent square and the three rows of main halls that dominated the entire city’s central axis.

The nomadic tribes from the wilderness had never seen such grand architecture and immediately roared with excitement.

Just then, they heard a thunderous sound behind them.

Then someone shouted in Dayan language, pointing behind them.

The Dayan soldiers turned around in shock to see the palace gates slowly closing. Above and below the city walls, on all four sides of the square, countless white-armored soldiers emerged.

A vast white wave surrounded the black cluster in the middle.

Someone roared loudly, “We’ve been tricked!”

The sounds of clashing metal and neighing horses rose up.

Echoing through the world’s most noble and dignified place that had remained peaceful for a hundred years and had always been far from warfare.

And on the various streets of the inner city, those who had survived the blades and nightmares, the civilians who had found shelter in the various shops, walked bewildered into the streets. Their eyes still held shock and pain, but hope had been kindled.

They gazed toward the palace, watching the great fire burning at the Golden Water Bridge. For the first time, they felt no terror at the violence appearing there, but instead felt infinite gratitude in their hearts.

Someone unknown was the first to kneel down in silent prayer. Countless people knelt like a tide on the muddy snow of the long streets, bowing their heads and murmuring toward the palace.

May the world be peaceful, may Heaven protect Da Qian.

…

On the narrow mountain path, the column was stretched into a serpentine formation, winding forward.

Ahead was an even narrower mountain pass where the cliff walls formed a canopy overhead, with only enough space for one person to pass through. For the column to get through, it would inevitably be divided and scattered.

The leader raised his hand, and the column stopped.

Moments later, from atop the cliff canopy came screams of agony and blood splattered on the rocks.

Countless boulders thundered down, smashing at the bottom of the cliff and raising clouds of dust. The falling stones shattered the ground rocks but instead created a somewhat smoother path.

It was still narrow, though.

The leader frowned at the path ahead. Although this was a shortcut and they hadn’t fallen into an ambush, traveling through the mountains was still too slow.

Suddenly, someone came running from ahead waving a white flag, their movements comical but their posture quite agile.

The army immediately formed defensive positions. The leader watched the uninvited guest grimly. Only when the person approached did he notice they wore short, practical clothing perfectly suited for mountain travel. The fabric looked very sturdy with a slight sheen, and they carried a strangely designed pack with many pockets. They wore odd-looking boots that appeared both light and sturdy, with a bouncing gait.

The person approached with an appropriately pleasant smile on an ordinary face. “I am the Shengdu manager of Gui Qizhai, here specifically to guide you all.” They handed over a map with clear lines showing mountains, rivers, and valleys, with one route marked in red ink that gleamed.

The person said, “The roads through Tongtian Gorge are difficult to traverse. This humble one has alternative passages to offer the great army.”

The subordinate generals looked with surprise at this person who volunteered to guide the army. Weren’t they afraid of being taken for a spy and killed immediately?

Someone glanced at the map and said angrily, “This is a spy! I’ve traveled this route before – there are cliffs blocking the way, it’s completely impassable!”

Someone immediately drew their blade to kill this villain who dared to deceive the army to their face.

But the leader raised his hand and said, “Follow him.”

The subordinates were shocked, not understanding why their master would trust this so-called manager so readily. But military orders could not be disobeyed. The great army followed the man’s lead, winding and turning through the mountain forests until they finally arrived before a towering cliff wall.

Seeing the cliff wall blocking their path ahead, the soldiers erupted in commotion.

Blade light flashed like snow, aimed at the Gui Qizhai manager.

But the person merely smiled, pointed at the cliff wall and said, “Having come from afar, please first watch a magic trick.”

Then they saw cracks suddenly appear on the cliff wall.

Silent and soundless, yet as if a giant on the other side of the cliff was wielding a blade, using a giant sword that cut through iron like mud to slice through the cliff wall.

The entire screen-like cliff wall, under everyone’s gaze, decomposed, cracked, and crumbled with earth and sand tumbling down, finally becoming a pile of rubble.

Only then did everyone realize that what appeared to be a mountain was actually just a thin cliff wall that happened to be positioned between two mountains, making it look like a high mountain blocking the path ahead with no way to climb over.

But how had the other party found this extremely thin spot in such a massive mountain body?

Even having found it, what they called “extremely thin” – placed within a mountain body, even the thinnest part would still be over three feet thick. No sword or blade in the world could harm it, and this would still be an impassable route.

What kind of weapon could accomplish this so quickly and effortlessly?

Some remembered that when the cliff wall first showed cracks, they seemed to have glimpsed a flash of white light.

Extremely bright, causing temporary blindness.

When the mountain wall collapsed, the Gui Qizhai guide stood cleanly on the other side of the ruins, smiled at everyone, and pointed into the distance.

Beyond the mountain forest appeared open terrain, with Shengdu visible in the distance.

…