Beneath a sky sparse with stars, a rider’s silhouette raced across the dark mountain ridge.

Cutting through forest and wilderness, skirting a lake, galloping across rutted, muddy ground — whenever the light of a patrol appeared ahead, he veered into deeper darkness, avoiding the checkpoints. The rider never stopped.

At midnight, crows wheeled above the edge of the forest, and in an instant were left far behind. The rider drove his horse down a slope, loose stones scattering beneath its hooves — and halfway down, the horse’s leg suddenly buckled, sending both horse and rider tumbling down the mountainside together.

The moon hung like a faint eyebrow overhead as the silhouettes of horse and man rolled, tumbling down into the ravine below. In the mountain gully at midnight, the view fell silent — only a distant village showed a faint point of light, while crows fluttered their wings in the treetops above.

A long while passed like this.

A human shape rose unsteadily from the gully, swaying. He turned to check on the horse, which lay motionless in the darkness, then wiped the blood from his head and sat down on a nearby rock, feeling through his belongings.

He checked over several items, then applied a rough bandage and staunched the bleeding as best he could. Without a horse now, his silhouette set off running toward the distance in the dark.

In the night sky, only the crescent moon, thin as an eyebrow, drifted quietly westward. The man’s silhouette pressed steadily eastward, cutting through forest and wilderness, skirting a lake, running across rutted, muddy ground — and whenever the light of a patrol appeared ahead, he veered into deeper darkness. Sometimes he stumbled and fell in the open fields, then climbed back to his feet, staggering onward, still pushing east.

Time passed, minute by minute. For a long while at first, the color of the sky remained almost unchanged; then, gradually, even the stars and moon began to dim. At the darkest depth of the night, a strange fish-belly pale began to spread across the eastern horizon. The running man fell to the ground once more, but still climbed back up, staggering onward — and a small village had already come into view ahead.

The village lay desolate — no crowing of roosters or barking of dogs could be heard; even if there had once been any, they had long since been eaten in the days past. Taking advantage of the last remaining darkness, he slipped into the village, felt his way to the third mud-brick courtyard, climbed with great difficulty over the earthen wall, and then knocked lightly and rhythmically on the door.

Someone peered out from inside, and then a man opened the door and steadied the swaying figure before him. The man helped him inside, sat him down in a chair, and poured him some tea. The visitor’s face was covered in scrapes and abrasions, his whole body in a wretched state, his arms and lips trembling. Even as he shook, he drew out a tightly rolled slip of paper hidden in his belt and said something.

The man who had opened the door held the cup of water to his lips; he reached up and took it with both hands, and only then did the man take the paper from him, unfolding it quickly and checking the writing and the seal against something.

“I need to get into the city,” the man who had opened the door said, then turned toward the inner room. “Let me get you some medicine first.”

He quickly brought out some wound medicine. The messenger sat in the chair, both hands cradling the cup, apparently utterly exhausted, unmoving. The man leaned over and gently shook him — the teacup slipped from his hands and shattered on the floor.

The messenger blinked, momentarily dazed, and the man helped him into the inner room, laid him down on the bed, and pulled the covers over him. Then he reached out and closed the man’s eyes. After that, he changed into the robes of a scholar and hurried out the door.

The sky had only just begun to lighten. The middle-aged scholar ran along the narrow path, and before long reached the main road, ahead of which stood a small county town with modest walls. The gates had not yet opened, but guards were already atop the tower. He waited a while at the gate, and when it opened, tried to enter — the guards, seeing his obvious haste, deliberately made things difficult for him, and it was only after he handed over a few coins that he was finally allowed through.

This small county town had suffered the ravages of war only the year before; the vegetable market on the western side of the city lay in ruins. The scholar made his way to an alley at the far end of the market and knocked on a door. The man who opened it bore a scar across his face and had a fierce, dangerous look about him — clearly no ordinary man — but upon seeing the visitor, he still let him in. The scholar exchanged a few words with the scarred man at the doorway, then left again and went to knock on another door in the middle of the market.

This one was a butcher’s shop, and the man who opened it was somewhat stout in build. The three of them gathered together, and the scholar produced the message that had come through. “…That pair of children has been found… the Jin dogs are already on the road…”

“…Descendants of the loyal and virtuous — what are we waiting for…”

“I have people on my end…”

“Make sure they’re reliable…”

“…Then it’s settled — we split up and act…”

After the scholar, the scarred man, and the butcher finished their discussion, each went his own way. Before long, the scholar found a certain residence within the city, delivered the news, and hurried back with a carriage, preparing to leave the city. The butcher, meanwhile, brought back several men from the martial world and a team of armed escorts. A party of over thirty people, guarding a young man and woman in a carriage, made their way out of the county town. The guards at the gate wanted to question and stop them, but since the butcher and the escort leaders held considerable local influence, they let the group through without much interrogation.

Around noon, a small contingent of Jin cavalry entered the county town and began sealing off the city for a thorough search; by afternoon, they had confirmed what they suspected. The son and daughter of the great Confucian scholar Dai Mengwei had originally been secretly hidden and settled within this county town — but that very morning, they had already been escorted away, one step ahead.

Orders and search parties for their capture were dispatched at once, while the group of several dozen led by the scholar, the butcher, and the escort chief pressed rapidly northward with the two young people.

After the turning point in the southwestern campaign, in the third month, the great Confucian scholar Dai Mengwei and General Wang Zhainan had secretly cleared the way for the Chinese Army, allowing over three thousand of its troops to drive straight to the foot of Fancheng. Once the plot was exposed, the whole realm came to know of it.

Dai Mengwei and Wang Zhainan had previously submitted to the Jurchens, and some of their relatives had fallen under Jurchen control as a result — much like Si Zhongxian, who guarded Jiange, and Yu Gusheng, who had submitted to the Jurchens. In wartime, there was never a way to have it both ways. In choosing to play along outwardly while secretly resisting, Dai Mengwei and Wang Zhainan had effectively also chosen death for these family members and relatives. But because they had held something back from the very beginning, some of their relatives had already been secretly sent elsewhere before their surrender to the Jurchens — so a portion of their bloodline had, in the end, managed to survive.

The young people now being escorted away were precisely the son and daughter that Dai Mengwei had secretly kept safe. The scholar, the butcher, and the escort chief guided them steadily northward — though in truth, there were not yet many places left for them to go.

Once Dai Mengwei and Wang Zhainan’s betrayal came to light, Wanyan Xiyin dispatched his disciple Wanyan Yuchi to strike directly at Xicheng County, while surrounding troops simultaneously moved to encircle Wang Zhainan. The spearhead of Tushan Guard was not something Dai and Wang could hope to resist. Though word of their deeds had stirred the common folk, the greenwood fighters, and even some Han troops and local militias to rise up in response, truly safe places, for the moment, remained few and far between.

As evening drew near, the scarred man also caught up with the group from behind, bringing with him six oddly varied companions — among them even an old woman and a young girl. Each of them bore fresh blood on their hands, having dealt with several pursuers along the way; one of the scarred man’s own men had also died in the process.

It was said, in the world of the martial arts, that monks, Daoist priests, women, and children among the greenwood were often the most formidable and hardest to deal with — precisely because such figures often possessed unique skills that were difficult to guard against. Someone in the group recognized the scarred man and murmured a few words, and the others soon understood: this scarred man was known as the region’s foremost “debt collector,” a man whose followers were mostly hired killers who took money to take lives.

In these ten-odd chaotic years, everyone had fought for their own survival, and men like these — killers for hire — were especially notorious for recognizing no ties of kinship or loyalty. Yet no one had expected that even they would join this cause.

The group of over forty pressed northward, and by evening finally stopped in the nearby mountains, gathering together to discuss which direction to take next. At this point in time, most places were in turmoil. Xicheng County, where Dai Mengwei still held sway, was bound to fall sooner or later; and going there now would very likely mean running straight into a Jurchen encirclement. The Chinese Army’s main forces were a thousand li away, and getting the two young people there would mean crossing vast stretches of territory under Jin control. As for heading east or south, delivering the pair to Liu Guangshi was equally uncertain — no one could say for sure how General Liu might treat them.

After much discussion, someone mentioned that word had reached them of Elder Fu Lu somewhere to the north, and the group decided to head north first to rendezvous with him before deciding on further plans.

By now the sun was setting in the west, and the group rested in the mountains. The Dai siblings had also come down from the carriage, thanking everyone for their kindness and support. The scholar’s daughter, refined and gentle in appearance, felt a pang of sorrow upon noticing the old woman and young girl among their escorts, and went to ask after them — only to discover that the “young girl” was in fact a dwarf whose body had simply never grown, while the old woman was a mute skilled in handling insects and poisons, who at that very moment held a venomous snake in her hand, grinning at her with an unsettling look.

Being a young lady of good breeding, she had never seen anything like this before, and immediately retreated several steps in fright, not daring to approach these seemingly ordinary-looking killers again.

That night passed without incident. The next day, the group continued on their way, but by nightfall, an attack came suddenly. Those who struck were another band of greenwood men, likewise paid for the job, drawn by the bounty and having thrown in their lot with the Jin. Under a rain of fire arrows, dozens of them suddenly burst out from around the camp, clashing violently with the group.

Some fought back, others tried to move the carriage to safety. In the forest, a mad ox with a torch tied to it, driven forward by the attackers, charged through the crowd, startling the horses. Amid the horses’ shrill neighing, the carriage tumbled down a slope beside the road, and in the chaos both defenders and attackers came charging madly down the incline after it, hacking and slashing as they went.

The Dai siblings scrambled out of the overturned carriage in a panic, disoriented in the darkness, momentarily unable to tell which way was which. The young master stumbled about aimlessly, while the scarred man, the most skilled fighter among them, charged forward with his blade, cutting down one attacker and driving back another in the span of a moment, shielding the young master behind him. The young lady, however, let out a cry for help as someone hoisted her onto his shoulder and ran off into the woods nearby.

“Old woman! Girl! Baiye—” the scarred man bellowed, calling for his nearest companions. “Save her—”

Some of the attackers, seeing they had seized the Dai daughter, immediately gave chase into the woods, and several of the defenders rushed in after them as well — among them the old woman, the young girl, and a young killer armed with a short blade who moved swiftly in pursuit.

A chase and struggle broke out amid the trees, and before long several men lay dead. The old woman and the dwarf girl each had their own distinctive methods of killing, but their physical limitations meant they couldn’t sustain a long chase. The young killer known as “Baiye” — White Night — had exceptionally sharp eyesight, able to see clearly in the dark, which was how he had earned the nickname. He raced through the forest in pursuit, killing two men along the way, but as he saw his companions thinning out around him, he slipped into the darkness and, in an instant, vanished without a sound.

The group that had seized the Dai daughter fought and fled by turns, and no one could say how much time had passed before a steep slope suddenly appeared ahead of the forest. The man carrying her on his shoulder, unable to stop in time, tumbled down the slope along with her. The other three rushed up, hoisted her onto their shoulders again, and fled in a different direction along the mountainside.

By this point they had already run and chased for a considerable distance. The three men ran on for a while longer, and once they judged there were no pursuers left behind them, they finally stopped in a wooded clearing to rest a moment. The Dai daughter had been thrown down twice and was covered in scrapes, and at one point had even been knocked unconscious from being struck during her cries — but now she had come to. Once set down on the ground, she quietly tried to slip away, but one of her captors noticed and struck her hard across the face.

“This little bitch — still trying to run—”

“Teach her a lesson!”

Amid their voices, another slap came down. The Dai daughter burst into tears — and at that very moment, a figure suddenly lunged out of the darkness, driving a short blade into one man’s back from the side. A scream rang out in the forest, followed by the clash of weapons and sparks flying.

“Kill him—”

“I knew someone would be following—”

“Take him down—”

“Kill the girl—”

The shouts came in a frantic, thunderous rush. Before the Dai daughter’s eyes, figures clashed and blurred together, blood spattering across her face. Someone fell. A figure stepped in front of her, seeming to say, in a low voice: “Go.” His tone was so quiet she almost thought she’d imagined it — but more voices rose from that direction: “It’s Baiye!”

“We’re all just doing a job for pay! Why fight to the death—”

“How much is Old Eight paying you! That head’s worth a thousand taels—”

“Split the money down the middle, and you can have the girl first—”

“F*** you—”

Blood sprayed through the darkness, some from the kidnappers, some from the killer himself. A low voice sounded again from ahead: “Go!” Only then did the Dai daughter react — she scrambled up from the ground and ran forward into the darkness. Glancing back, she saw one figure fallen to the ground, while three others continued fighting on.

She ran for a while through the forest, then, after a moment, turned back around. The clearing where the fighting had taken place was thick with the smell of blood; all four figures now lay on the ground, blood pooling everywhere. The Dai daughter burst into tears — and the moment she cried out, one of the fallen figures suddenly stirred. “I told you to run. Why did you come back?”

The Dai daughter sobbed and rushed over. “I don’t know the way… What’s wrong with you…”

The killer, wounded by several blades, pulled a small bundle from inside his robe and said weakly, “Medicine…” The Dai daughter fumbled clumsily to apply the medicine for him.

Perhaps because of a life spent living on the edge of the blade, most of the several wounds on the killer’s body had avoided vital points. After the Dai daughter applied the medicine, she cut strips of cloth from the clothes of the nearby dead to use as bandages, clumsily binding his wounds. The killer leaned against a nearby tree, and a long while passed without him dying. Eventually, with the Dai daughter’s support, he even managed to stand, and the two of them, both stumbling, made their way further into the distance.

It was a strange night. Moonlight filtered down through gaps in the trees, casting a cold, pale glow. For the first time in her life, the Dai daughter found herself leaning on a man for support — a man who had lost so much blood she couldn’t guess how much, who seemed as though he might die or collapse at any moment. But he did not die, nor did he fall. The two of them simply walked on, staggering forward, on and on, until at some point they came upon a hidden mountain cave and stopped before it. The killer leaned against the cave wall and closed his eyes to rest quietly.

If pursuers had come after them then, there would have been nothing they could do. Throughout the following day, the Dai daughter remained constantly anxious about the killer beside her, who seemed as though he might die at any moment as he leaned there. She sat on the other side, watching him quietly, and whenever she saw his chest rise and fall faintly with breath, her heart eased a little. Around midday, he woke once, wordlessly pulled a piece of dried meat from his belt and handed it to her. The Dai daughter went and found a nearby stream, carrying back some clean water in a leaf for him to drink.

Most of the time, the killer sat as still as if he were already dead, while the Dai daughter watched his breathing closely. Another night passed this way, and he still had not died — his movements grew slightly more frequent, and only then did the Dai daughter finally relax somewhat. The two of them rested another day and night in the cave; the Dai daughter went out to fetch water and changed his bandages.

Come the early morning once more, she quietly slipped out of the cave and went to the nearby stream. Having finally set her mind at ease, she was at last able to tend to herself a little. She washed her face in the stream water, tidied her hair somewhat, took off her shoes and stockings, and washed her feet by the water’s edge. In the flight of that first night, her embroidered shoe on the right foot had long since been lost, and she had walked the mountain roads all night in nothing but a cloth sock, which now ached somewhat.

Sunlight spilled golden from the eastern sky into the forest. The Dai daughter sat quietly on a rock, waiting for her feet to dry. After a while, she gathered up her skirts and stood on the rock, and turning her head, discovered that not far away, the killer who had saved her was walking toward her — and had already seen her without her shoes and stockings on.

He was making his way forward, steadying himself against the trees. In the sunlight, the two of them exchanged a glance; the Dai daughter, clutching the hem of her skirt, froze for a moment, unable to move. The killer lowered his head, then raised it again, glancing her way once more before turning and walking off toward the other end of the stream.

Not long after the Dai daughter returned to the cave, he came back as well, carrying a large armful of cattail reeds. The Dai daughter sat hugging her knees by the cave wall and said softly, “My name is Dai Yueyao. What’s yours?”

He did not answer. After a moment, he only said, “We set out this afternoon.”

He busied himself with the cattail reeds, adding a few strips of cloth, and after a while had fashioned a crude, homely pair of straw sandals, which he placed before her and had her put on.

That afternoon, they set out.

The killer no longer let her lean on him for support. The two of them walked on, one ahead, one behind, at a slow and steady pace. By the second day, they reached a nearby village, where he stole two sets of clothes for them to change into. A day after that, they rested briefly in a small county town nearby, and he bought her a new pair of shoes. Dai Yueyao kept the crude straw sandals, carrying them with her.

She couldn’t quite say why she kept those ugly little sandals. The two of them had exchanged very few words along the way — she didn’t even know his name. Someone seemed to have called out a name that night when they were being hunted, but she had been too terrified to remember it. She could only tell herself that this was simply a matter of gratitude, of wanting to repay a debt owed.

The two of them traveled together for several more days after that, and his wounds had by then fully healed. He even stole some money and got hold of a carriage, and they continued north. Several days later, they passed through what seemed like an empty valley, and on the far side found a great gathering of several hundred people. There, she found her elder brother, and the killer found the scarred man. The leader of this group of several hundred was none other than the legendary Elder Fu Lu — even a young lady of good breeding like Dai Yueyao had heard the name of this venerable elder who had resisted the Jin.

The scarred man led them in, and they met the white-haired old man, who then introduced them: “This is Miss Dai.” “And this is Baiye.” Dai Yueyao thought to herself — so that was the name. She had heard it that night, after all.

They didn’t get to speak further, as her brother had already come to lead her away. The group rested in the mountains that night, and two more bands arrived one after another that same evening, all gathered here to rise up against the Jin. Dai Yueyao could sense the joy that filled the mountain camp — but for the moment, what weighed on her mind was not these deeds of heroic men.

The next morning, having rested well and eaten breakfast, she decided to seek him out and formally express her thanks. Following this path, she made her way to a great awning on the mountainside where the various leaders had gathered, and saw him standing behind the scarred man. There were quite a few people around; some greeted her with a bow, and she stood off to the side, unsure how to approach.

Over by the awning, someone was addressing the crowd.

“…The current situation has both good and bad sides… The southwest may have crushed Zonghan’s army, but by today, Zonghan’s forces have already withdrawn from Jiange and joined up with Tushan Guard, and Jiange itself remains in Jurchen hands. As everyone knows, the mountain road from Jiange into the southwest is narrow, and when the Jurchens withdrew, they set fires and continuously destroyed the mountain paths. Though the Chinese Army in the southwest crushed Zonghan, their manpower situation isn’t looking good either — if they try to force their way through Jiange, they’ll likely have to sacrifice many more Chinese Army soldiers…”

“…In other words, the situation we’re facing now is General Qin’s twenty thousand men having to stand against nearly a hundred thousand troops under Zonghan and Xiyin, plus one puppet army after another lending them aid…”

“…But we haven’t been without progress either. The uprising led by Elder Dai Mengwei and General Wang Zhainan has stirred the hearts of many. In less than half a month, four or five armies have responded and turned to our side — General Chen Wei, General Xu Daji, Elder Li Lincheng, and others. Some have already joined up with Elder Dai’s group, others are still on their way north! Fellow heroes, before long we too will be heading that way. I believe this realm still has no shortage of hot-blooded men — our numbers will only continue to grow, until we crush the Jin dogs and reclaim our rivers and mountains—”

The words above rang out firm and resolute, but Dai Yueyao’s gaze was fixed on the killer known as Baiye standing behind the scarred man, and she took in little of what was being said. Just then, a sudden commotion of confused voices erupted from outside.

“Caught him—”

“Damn it, the little bastard—”

“You never can tell what’s in a man’s heart!”

“We’ve been set up—”

A chaotic clamor of voices rose up, and no one quite knew what had happened. Dai Yueyao looked outside as well, and after a moment, saw a crowd surging toward them — and in the middle of the crowd, being dragged along under guard, was none other than her own brother, Dai Jincheng. His face was bloodied at the mouth and nose from being beaten. Someone, spotting Dai Yueyao, called out, “Don’t let the other one get away!”

Several fierce-looking men started moving toward her. Dai Yueyao instinctively backed away. The people under the awning still didn’t understand what was happening, and someone stepped forward, saying, “What’s going on? Can’t we talk this through properly? Where’s this little girl going to run to?”

Dai Yueyao saw a figure step forward silently, standing in front of her. It was him. His hand had already moved to rest on his short blade.

Dai Jincheng was shoved toward the center of the hall. Someone stepped forward and showed a few items to Fu Lu and the man who had just been speaking. Then someone said, “This little bastard’s been leaking information to the outside!”

“Passing along intelligence — probably not the first time either! Everything about our gathering here has been exposed!”

An uproar swept through the crowd, and everyone turned fierce, hateful stares on Dai Jincheng, surrounded in the middle. No one could have imagined that after Dai Mengwei raised the banner of resistance against Jin, his own son would be the very first to betray them. And Dai Jincheng’s betrayal wasn’t even the most terrifying part — if this had even been done with Dai Mengwei’s blessing, then what fate awaited the very Han army units now being rallied to join up with Dai Mengwei?

Someone drew a blade, and others began closing in around Dai Yueyao. Fu Lu stood frozen for a long moment, then in the next instant his body flashed forward, appearing before Dai Jincheng in an instant. In a low, heavy voice he demanded: “Speak! What is the meaning of this?!”

Advanced in years, his martial skill had reached a transcendent level, and that single roar shattered the nerve of everyone present. Dai Jincheng, already gripped by fear in his heart, flinched back two steps at the shout — and out of that very terror, burst into a fit of manic laughter.

“Hahahaha… hahahahaha… A ragtag mob like you — how could you ever match someone like the Jurchen sage Gushen! Betraying Jin, raiding Xiangyang and Fancheng, raising the banner of righteous rebellion — do you think you’re the only ones who thought of this? They dug this pit for you all last year, and every single one of you jumped straight in… What did you expect! I didn’t want to die alongside the rest of you — is that so wrong—”

Dai Yueyao’s face went instantly pale. Beside her, the scarred man shouted, “Baiye, get out of the way!”

The figure in front said, “This has nothing to do with her, does it.”

“Who knows!”

“Damn it, spawn of a traitor’s dog—”

Dai Jincheng, his face twisted, kept backing away. “Hahaha… That’s right, I leaked the information, you fools! General Wanyan Yuchi is already on his way here! None of you are getting away! I’m the only one who can help you turn to the right side! All of you — the Jurchens need capable men right now, if you help me, you can all live… You all want to live, I know it — all you need to do is kill this old fool Fu Lu, and the Jurchens will settle for his head alone—”

He backed toward the edge of the crowd, and someone shoved him forward. Fu Lu looked at him. “Are you a traitor, or is your whole family full of traitors?”

“You’re the traitors! The Black Banner are the real traitors!” Dai Jincheng jabbed a finger at Fu Lu and the others, spittle flying from his mouth as he screamed. “The late emperor of our Wu Dynasty was killed by that demon surnamed Ning — and there’s nothing any of you can do about it! When His Excellency Qin proposed the campaign against the southwest, every last one of you dragged your feet! Are you even people of the Wu Dynasty anymore? If the Jurchens and the southwest destroy each other, our Wu Dynasty might get another chance to rise. Or if the Jurchens crush the Black Banner, having marched so far from home, they’ll have to go back eventually, and our Wu Dynasty could win a few more years to breathe, to plan slowly, to rise again someday—”

“You’re the real traitors! Idiots! Brainless, uncouth fools! Let me tell you something — since ancient times, the strategy has always been to befriend the distant and attack the near! With distant powers, you maintain relations, you court them! Against the enemy close at hand, you strike, or he’ll strike you first! What’s the worst possible thing for our Wu Dynasty? It’s the Black Banner defeating the Jurchens, you stupid pigs! Do you have any idea — if the Black Banner grows too powerful, our Wu Dynasty really will cease to exist—”

Blood and spittle mixed together at his mouth and nose. “My father studied the sages’ teachings! He understands what it means to endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden! To endure hardship for the sake of vengeance! I’ve studied the sages’ teachings too! I understand what it means to serve family and nation! As long as the Black Banner isn’t destroyed, the Jurchens cannot be allowed to fall — otherwise who’s going to fight the Black Banner? You? You brainless mules — everything I’ve done has been for the sake of our Wu Dynasty—”

Amid this hysterical shrieking and raving, a warning cry rose from the distant mountains, and someone came sprinting toward them — in the distance, Wanyan Yuchi’s cavalry had already been spotted. A heavy silence fell over the great hall beneath the awning. Fu Lu looked around at everyone, his deep voice carrying outward: “There’s still a chance! Since this little dog’s plot was uncovered ahead of time, it only proves the Jin dogs’ scheme hasn’t fully succeeded yet. Let us fight with everything we have today, and move north with all possible speed, to warn those who have risen up and turned against the Jin of this plot. As many of these heroes as we can save — let us save them!”

Dai Jincheng shouted as well, “You’re already surrounded! There’s no way out! Following me is the only path to survival!”

Once he finished speaking, Fu Lu’s gaze had already locked onto him, and his palm struck out like a thunderclap. Dai Jincheng’s entire body crashed to the ground, every bone in his body, from head to toe, shattered in an instant.

Around Dai Yueyao, men bearing blades and spears pressed closer. The killer in front of her said, “Maybe this has nothing to do with her!”

The scarred man came forward with his blade as well. “As long as she’s alive, someone will hold out false hope.” The killer froze for a moment.

A blade flashed from behind, and he swept Dai Yueyao behind his back with his arm — the blade cut into his own arm instead. The scarred man closed in, and Baiye suddenly swung his blade upward. The scarred man’s eyes turned vicious. “Traitorous scum.” His blade plunged straight into the killer’s chest.

Baiye’s own blade froze in midair. Behind him, the young woman gripped the back of his robe and murmured softly, “So your name really is Baiye.” A long blade had already been driven into her back from behind.

Blood flowed and spread. The two of them, leaning against each other, died quietly together.

Not long after, Wanyan Yuchi’s forces swept into these mountains, and what met them was a mountainside ablaze with unyielding blades—