Shi Lei was already in a semi-comatose state, but at this moment he recognized that armor, and both his body and mind suffered a blow. Shi Hui—he was his confidant!
Thus, he became even more dazed and felt even colder.
Zhao Hanzhang withdrew her gaze from Shi Lei, confirming that the young man before her was not anyone from Shi Lei’s army, but just a refugee.
However… Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze swept over the people gradually gathering around, and she silently thought: He’s a very influential refugee.
She never dared to underestimate any refugee. In this era, it was perfectly normal for heroes and ambitious figures to emerge from among the refugees.
Shi Lei, being carried behind her, was the most typical example—he had been a slave and had also been a refugee.
Chen Wu was a refugee leader, and even Zu Ti could be considered a refugee leader, since they had all directly organized teams from refugee populations.
If these refugees were gathered along the road, they wouldn’t be fearsome—a stronger person could easily replace the leader. The fear was if these people were all from the same village, then the young man’s position wouldn’t be so easily replaced.
Zhao Hanzhang gripped the blade in her hand tightly, unable to determine which situation he belonged to for the moment, and could only try to delay for time and gather more information.
Upon hearing Zhao Hanzhang mistake him for Shi Lei’s army, the young man not only wasn’t angry but actually became proud, raising his chin and saying, “That’s right, I am General Wu under General Shi’s command!”
Shi Lei nearly coughed up blood. He didn’t have such a foolish general. Why waste words with Zhao Hanzhang at this moment—just attack directly!
No, wait, that wasn’t right. He was now on Zhao Hanzhang’s side. She couldn’t die. If she died, he wouldn’t survive either.
The young man finally regained his confidence. He stepped forward menacingly, pointing his blade at Zhao Hanzhang and saying, “Take off that armor.”
Fu Tinghan pursed his lips and stepped forward, but was blocked by Zhao Hanzhang extending her hand. With some fear showing on her face, she lowered her head. Without hesitation, she directly tore off her arm guards—appearing very decisive, but her movements were slow.
While removing them, she asked the young man, “The general is formidable. Are all these people your troops?”
The young man sneered, “That’s right, I have a full three thousand troops here. You two have offended me—do you still think you can leave unscathed?”
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze swept over the people behind him, raising her first question: “Three thousand? But it looks like only about three hundred people.”
The young man’s face darkened, and he shouted, “You doubt me? Second Brother, call all our people over!”
“No, no, no,” Zhao Hanzhang quickly stopped him. “I believe you, I believe you. It’s just that I’m inexperienced and spoke without thinking, offending the general.”
She said, “If you want the armor, I’ll remove it for you right away.”
Zhao Hanzhang took off all the armor and handed it over.
Shi Hontu and the two soldiers were somewhat indignant, glaring angrily at the young man.
The young man was pleased to be looked at this way, especially after seeing Fu Tinghan’s displeased expression. He laughed even more heartily, then pointed at Zhao Hanzhang: “And the blade—bring it here.”
Zhao Hanzhang obediently handed over the blade, and the young man had his cousin go forward to receive it.
Including those who had received the arm guards, waist armor, and chest armor, there were four people in total, all the young man’s brothers.
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze swept across their faces, and her mood grew heavy. She most hated encountering this kind of family-based power—difficult to subvert, difficult to replace.
After the blade was received, the young man’s gaze fell on Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan’s hands clasped together. He became even more excited, looking at Zhao Hanzhang with malicious intent: “I want the clothes on your body too. Take them off!”
Fu Tinghan could no longer restrain himself. He pulled Zhao Hanzhang behind him, his gaze ice-cold as he looked at the young man. “You want to humiliate us?”
“So what if I humiliate you?” The young man spat viciously at him. “A man without balls, only hiding behind a woman. Pampered and coddled—first time seeing such a scene, right?”
The young man sneered, “If you won’t do it yourselves, I don’t mind helping you.”
He waved his hand, and over a dozen people approached with ill intentions.
Seeing this, Shi Hontu couldn’t worry about Shi Lei anymore. He threw him on the ground and immediately moved toward Zhao Hanzhang.
Yu Fang and the young soldier immediately followed, joining Fu Tinghan and Fu’an to surround Zhao Hanzhang in the middle.
Shi Lei, thrown on the ground, along with the Shi family soldiers holding his legs: …
Through Fu Tinghan, Zhao Hanzhang’s anxious gaze met that of an old man sitting by a fire not far away.
That old man’s temples were frosted white, appearing about the same age as Fifth Great-Uncle. His gaze was shrewd, looking toward them with some pain.
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze swept over quickly, discovering that among those who had stood up with the young man, some had also surrounded the old man in the middle, with some positioned even closer to him.
Two middle-aged men sat with the old man, turning their heads aside but occasionally glancing this way.
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze suddenly calmed. She looked at the old man intently, then pulled Fu Tinghan back. She slipped out sideways, and their positions instantly switched.
Fu Tinghan looked helpless, while the old man gazed at her in surprise.
The young man’s gaze swept over their formation, finding it rather amusing. “These people are your guards? Crippled and wounded, with just these few people you dare resist me? Hahaha…”
The young man pointed at Shi Lei, who had already been laid on the ground, and the two soldiers quietly edging backward, asking, “Should we count those three as well?”
Those two Shi family soldiers immediately waved their hands, calling out, “We’re not with them.”
Having said this, they turned and ran.
The young man didn’t stop them, letting them flee, then looked at Zhao Hanzhang with a half-smile.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t feel much about it—she just wondered what Shi Lei was thinking.
Shi Lei weakly covered his belly with his hand, touching a handful of sticky wetness, his heart completely unmoved.
Zhao Hanzhang turned her head slightly to glance at Fu Tinghan, then stepped forward, bowing her head very humbly: “The general has misunderstood. My husband didn’t mean that—he just didn’t react for a moment.”
The young man was slightly surprised. After looking back and forth between her and Fu Tinghan, he said, “You two are husband and wife? That makes it even more interesting.”
He laughed heartily, stabbing his blade into the ground and leaning on it as he said gleefully, “How about this—let your husband undress with you?”
Hearing this, the people around immediately jeered, waving their blades, swords, wooden clubs, hoes, and sickles as they laughed and chanted, “Strip! Strip! Strip!”
Zhao Hanzhang was silent for a moment, then stepped forward two paces, lowering her head: “Please forgive us, General.”
The smile on the young man’s face instantly vanished, and he asked with a dark expression, “What, you’re unwilling? Or is… your husband unwilling?”
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Fu Tinghan like a blade.
Fu Tinghan had been very quiet since earlier. Even being stared at with such a gaze, he remained expressionless, only watching coldly.
The young man was enraged, his face flushing red.
Seeing the young man’s reaction, the surrounding people immediately pressed closer to the group.
Zhao Hanzhang hurriedly stepped forward two more paces. After quickly assessing the distance between both sides, she moved another step, then fell to her knees with a thud as the young man looked over.
Shi Hontu and the others’ eyes widened instantly. Never mind them—even Shi Lei, lying on the ground pretending to be dead, opened his eyes wide and suddenly became alert.
Only Fu Tinghan watched expressionlessly.
Zhao Hanzhang raised her head to look at the young man, urgently saying, “General, my husband is a scholar. Scholars always have their peculiarities. I observe that the general is a magnanimous person—please spare my husband’s life.”
She even inched forward on her knees one more step, now kneeling right in front of the blade. “General, your forehead is full and prominent—clearly you’re destined for great prospects. My husband is willing to serve you loyally. He can read and write, and his arithmetic is extremely capable. Since you follow General Shi in conquering the realm, you should know that in a general’s residence, besides the general himself, the most indispensable person is a scholar.”
The young man’s heart stirred, becoming thoughtful. In just this moment of distraction, Zhao Hanzhang, who was kneeling, felt for the short blade at her calf. With a swift motion she stood up, reversing her grip on the short blade and transforming it into a thrust. With a squelch, she stabbed upward from below into the young man’s throat. Blood immediately spurted onto the other half of her face. Zhao Hanzhang smiled as she continued the sentence: “Because scholars can kill invisibly.”
The young man’s eyes bulged wide. The hand gripping his blade wanted to pull it out to counterattack, but couldn’t manage it. He released the blade, one hand clutching at his throat, the other grasping Zhao Hanzhang’s right shoulder, trying to push her away.
Zhao Hanzhang ignored the pain from her right shoulder, her face expressionless as she slashed the short blade horizontally, severing his throat. She watched as he fell, his eyes refusing to close in death…
The people standing behind the young man were all stunned by this sudden attack. Only when the blood spurted out did they react. The young man’s eldest brother cried out in anguish, “Third Brother!”
The moment Zhao Hanzhang struck, Fu Tinghan rushed forward, shouting loudly, “Seize weapons!”
The five people first rushed forward to snatch weapons from their hands before beginning to kill the enemy.
Zhao Hanzhang was even faster than them. By the time they had obtained weapons, she had already switched her short blade to her left hand, pulled out the blade the young man had stabbed into the ground with her right hand, and swung it at the shouting eldest brother.
In terms of combat experience, how could these people compare to the battle-hardened Zhao Hanzhang?
The eldest brother hastily tried to block, but Zhao Hanzhang’s blade cut into his arm. His weapon fell to the ground, and then she pierced his heart with one thrust!
Fu Tinghan and Shi Hontu also killed two people. All around, the crowd became agitated, with more and more people surging forward.
Zhao Hanzhang had already made a mental list of who to kill. Fu Tinghan was connected to her in spirit. With three to five blade strokes, the six of them killed all those who had come forward to receive the armor and blade, plus two young men who had been standing behind the young leader.
After killing them, and before more people could rush forward, Zhao Hanzhang turned back and severed the young man’s head with one stroke. She then raised his head high, declaring, “Who dares come forward!”
Zhao Hanzhang stood in the middle looking like a blood-soaked demon, her face covered in blood, holding a dripping blade in one hand—clearly vicious and malevolent. The crowd was momentarily suppressed and temporarily halted their advance.
Zhao Hanzhang then carried the head toward the fire.
Seeing this, the young men immediately moved closer, glaring at her with threatening momentum.
The shocked old man finally recovered his senses. He hurriedly rose with his son’s support, his pupils constricting as he watched Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang carried the head forward with a smile, presenting it to him: “Old sir, I’ve brought you this head.”
—