A fat, dark-skinned beggar, being the tallest and most physically imposing and thus the most threatening, became the unanimous target of several beggars who joined forces to attack him. A young beggar, seizing the moment when he wasn’t paying attention, gritted his teeth and suddenly picked up a stone, smashing it viciously toward the back of his head.

The fat man heard the sound of wind and wanted to dodge, but somehow his footing slipped, and the stone crashed down mercilessly.

With a wild roar, the fat, dark man staggered. Fortunately, he was tall, while the beggar was shorter than him. Moreover, the attacker’s resolve wavered at the crucial moment, causing his aim to be slightly off. The stone struck below the back of his head, immediately splitting the skin and causing blood to flow freely.

The fat man immediately became dizzy and toppled forward, falling to the ground. He reached back with his hand and felt it covered in fresh blood. He became frantic, let out a great shout, and tried to get up. However, the other beggars, seeing that they had finally brought one down, decided to go all out. They grabbed whatever weapons they could find and rained blows down on him. Amidst the flying blood, the fat man screamed in pain. Though thick-skinned and tough, he couldn’t withstand such continuous beating. His body ached, and he couldn’t get up for the moment. Covering his head, through the rain of stones and stick shadows, he suddenly caught sight of a pair of legs in front of him.

The disabled young man was sitting in front of him, fending off attacks from several other people.

When people are pushed to desperation, they can do anything.

Survival, in the most critical moments, is almost instinctual.

“If killing one person means I can live, right?!” With a wild roar, the fat man didn’t bother getting up. He rolled along the ground, grabbed a sharp stone, and aimed it at the disabled young man’s forehead.

Qin Chang Ge’s gaze flickered.

She reached out and held back her son who was about to rush forward.

The stone was sharp, faintly stained with blood and dust. In the chaotic melee where screams and curses rang out together, and stones and clubs flew everywhere, it struck toward the vital point silently yet with murderous intent.

Suddenly raising his head!

From beneath the young man’s dirty, disheveled hair, his gaze suddenly flashed like cold lightning.

That gaze was as sharp as a sword, brighter than a blade.

It was also like a great handful of ice and snow that, in winter’s most desolate wind, was ruthlessly splashed out without mercy.

Cold to the bone marrow.

At such close distance, with a disabled body, surrounded by attackers, and no space to dodge.

It seemed certain death was inevitable.

That gaze swept past like silk, yet instantly became calm.

He suddenly rolled over, flipping away from beside the stone.

Extremely agile, like a water bird that leaps into water just before a hunter’s arrow arrives, drawing a smooth arc in the air, a gesture both decisive and fierce.

This roll immediately avoided the vital points, but his legs directly met the sharp stone that his opponent was smashing down with all his might.

The teeth-grinding sound of breaking bones rang out.

The fat man was stunned. That sound of bones shattering, still incomparably clear amid the clamor, struck like lightning into his muddled consciousness, making his heart pound violently even though he had become fearless and was ready to stake everything.

Blood splattered and flew everywhere, with several drops getting into his eyes.

His vision turned blood-red, and he went to wipe it in shock.

But his hand was blocked.

As bones cracked and blood bloomed brilliantly, the disabled young man tilted his head, extended his right hand, and hooked two fingers!

The sound of a crushed throat.

Lighter than the bone-breaking sound, softer than the bone-breaking sound, yet more cruel, fierce, and heart-stopping than the bone-breaking sound.

A scream suppressed in the throat was swallowed by surging blood foam before it could escape.

The thin young man, already expressionless, gripped the fat man’s throat with two deep, bloody holes, slowly dragging his limp body over.

All the beggars stopped fighting.

They stared blankly as the fat man convulsed and spasmed under his grip, being dragged over like a rotten sack by his throat, his body leaving a long trail of blood in the mud, winding like a snake.

They watched blood foam gush like a spring from those two piercing holes, amazed that a person’s body could produce so much blood foam, enough to seemingly drown the fat man who had become a bloody figure.

They watched the thin, mud-covered young man whose gaze behind disheveled hair remained calm, as if what he gripped wasn’t a human throat, wasn’t a life that had been strong and vigorous just moments ago.

It was merely a chicken or a dog.

The autumn wind swept up maple leaves that were about to fall but hadn’t yet dropped from the tree. Bright red leaves drifted into another patch of bright red, gently rippling in the thick, accumulated pool of blood, their color becoming even more eerily brilliant.

The horizon’s clouds were deep red, reflecting on the young man’s blood-stained lips. Yet those lips showed not a trace of trembling or fear, remaining as calm as if carved from stone.

Black smoke rose from the stone pit, the acrid smell of burning human flesh filled the air, and leaves crackled and popped in the firelight. This moment was quiet to the point of being eerie.

“Run!”

As if awakening from a nightmare, someone suddenly shouted. The beggars who had been stunned by this cold, cruel killing snapped awake and immediately dropped their makeshift weapons, scattering in all directions.

Yu Zixi had been standing with hands behind his back, smiling and watching. Now he chuckled softly and said quietly: “Kill.”

Jin Wu remained expressionless and waved his hand.

Flying arrows fell like rain, pouring out in a torrent.

Toward the backs of those weaponless beggars.

Amidst the screams, countless bodies were struck by sharp arrows, pierced through, then carried forward by the violent surge of internal organs and flesh fragments that burst through their bodies, spraying blood and gore everywhere. Some were pinned to the ground while still alive, writhing and struggling like snakes with severed tails, tearing their bloody wounds even larger. Others had arrows pierce through the backs of their heads, milky brain matter mixing with dark red blood, flowing together to form hot, reeking streams on the ground.

When Qin Chang Ge heard that word “kill,” she hesitated slightly and reached out to cover Xiao Rong’s eyes, but Xiao Rong pulled her hand down himself.

Pressing his lips together, the four-year-old child quietly watched the bloody, one-sided slaughter, his face showing not a trace of horror.

Amid the screams, he asked softly: “Why is it okay to kill people like this?”

“Because absolute power is held in the hands of those in superior positions, while the weak have no room to struggle for survival.” Qin Chang Ge didn’t intend to explain much about the cruel agreement of the life-and-death document. The law of the jungle—perhaps ordinary people don’t need to know the bloody and cruel implications it contains, but for Xiao Rong, for herself, this was something they must face directly and put into practice.

Xiao Rong’s extraordinary origins and the bitter feuds between the founding emperor and empress destined the path he would walk to be neither the comfortable normalcy of ordinary people nor the natural succession of a prince raised in the deep palace. What he would experience was a more iron-blooded road than anyone else’s. Softness, cowardice, impetuosity, indecision—the kinds of flaws ordinary people could have—he could not possess, because they would all become sharp fangs on his path forward, becoming killers that would seek opportunities to bite away his chances of survival someday. Therefore, Qin Chang Ge didn’t hesitate to use bloodshed to awaken her young son’s clear understanding of the world’s harsh realities. Her only concern was whether Xiao Rong might feel nauseous.

She was very satisfied with her son’s performance.

“Then why don’t we save them?”

“Because we can’t save them,” Qin Chang Ge explained patiently, “we’re not strong enough yet.”

“If we’re not strong enough, we must just watch?”

“Yes.” Qin Chang Ge smiled with almost cold cruelty, “Not to mention these beggars who have nothing to do with you—even if it were Uncle Qi or Uncle Rong facing such a situation, if you had no way to rescue them, you could only watch.”

“What if it were you?” Xiao Rong turned to look at Qin Chang Ge, his dark eyes blazing bright and compelling. “If it were you facing such a situation, would I also just watch?”

“Yes,” Qin Chang Ge answered without hesitation, “remember this—if one day I’m in danger and you can’t save me, then don’t try to save me.”

Xiao Rong fell silent. Qin Chang Ge sighed, feeling that such a topic was too heavy for a four-year-old child. She couldn’t help but bend down slightly and smile: “Rong Rong, I’m very happy that in your heart, my position is no less than Uncle Qi and Uncle Rong who raised you.”

“You are my mother,” Xiao Rong didn’t look at her, but his tone was firm as steel, “I know.”

After a pause, he added: “Would you be sad?”

“Hmm?”

“If I don’t save you, you’d be sad.” Xiao Rong pressed his lips together with certainty in his tone. The small child showed faint compassion on his face.

“If you foolishly rushed out to save me and needlessly threw away another life, that would make me sad,” Qin Chang Ge laughed, “I’d be so angry I’d crawl out of the ground to beat you up.”

Nodding, Xiao Rong seemed thoughtful: “So I must become strong.”

He pointed at the blood-soaked hellscape: “If I’m strong, I can save the people I want to save. I can make them stop bullying a disabled person. I can find an expert to force this effeminate man to sign that document, beat him until he’s looking for his teeth on the ground, and let him taste what it’s like to be killed at someone’s whim.”

…

Qin Chang Ge raised her head and her gaze collided with Yu Zixi’s half-smiling eyes.

Curling his lips at her, Yu Zixi’s gaze slowly moved down to rest on Xiao Rong’s face. He smiled and said: “Should I eliminate this future great hero who will find an expert to beat me until I’m looking for my teeth on the ground and kill me at whim, to prevent future trouble?”