Beneath a night sky sparsely sprinkled with stars, the silhouette of a knight raced across the dark mountain ridge.

He traversed forests, skirted lakes, and sped over muddy, uneven ground. When he saw the patrol fires ahead, he veered into the deeper darkness, avoiding the checkpoints. The knight pressed on without pause.

Crows took flight from the edge of the woods at midnight, but were quickly left behind. The knight spurred his horse down the hillside, sending gravel flying beneath its hooves. Halfway down, the horse's hooves suddenly sank, and the steed and its rider tumbled down the slope.

Under the crescent moon, the silhouettes of the horse and rider rolled head over heels. The mountain gully fell silent, save for a distant village, where a single light seemed to glow, and crows beat their wings in the treetops.

A long while passed.

The figure of a man emerged from the gully, staggering. He glanced back at the horse lying in the darkness, then wiped the blood from his brow. He sat down on a nearby rock and began to search his person.

He examined several items, then performed a rough job of staunching the bleeding and bandaging his wounds. He was horseless now. In the darkness, the silhouette of the man set off running toward the distance.

The crescent moon hung silently in the night sky, moving slowly westward. The man’s silhouette moved eastward. He traversed forests, skirted lakes, and sped over muddy, uneven ground. When he saw the patrol fires ahead, he veered into the deeper darkness. Sometimes he fell in the wild, but he always climbed back up, stumbling on, still running east.

Time ticked by, second by second. For a long, drawn-out period, the color of the sky barely changed. Gradually, even the scattered stars and moon began to fade. In the darkest moment of the deep night, a strange, fish-belly white began to tint the eastern horizon. The running man fell to the ground, but still he rose, stumbling forward. A small village appeared in the distance.

The village was desolate, devoid of crowing cocks or barking dogs -- or if there had been any, they had been eaten in days gone by. He slipped into the village under the last vestiges of darkness, found the third earthen house courtyard, laboriously climbed over the earthen wall, and then gently knocked on the door, using a specific pattern.

Someone peeked out from within. Then, the man inside opened the door and helped the staggering figure in. The man guided him into the room, sat him on a chair, and poured him tea. The messenger’s face was covered with abrasions, his body a mess, his arms and lips trembling. He fumbled in his belt and produced a tightly rolled piece of paper, saying something.

The man who had opened the door placed the cup to his lips. He reached out and took it, and then the man took the paper, quickly unfurling it and comparing the text and seals to those in his memory.

“I need to get to the city,” the man who had opened the door said, then went into the inner room. “I’ll get some medicine for you first.”

He quickly retrieved the medicine. The messenger sat on the chair, holding the cup in both hands, seemingly exhausted, not moving. The man leaned over and gently shook him. The teacup fell to the floor and shattered.

He paused for a moment, then helped the messenger into the inner room, placed him on the bed, and covered him with the quilt. Then, he reached out and smoothed the man’s eyes closed. He then changed into scholar’s robes and hurried out.

The sky was just beginning to lighten. The middle-aged scholar ran along the small path, soon reaching the official road. Ahead was a small county town with a low city wall. The gate had not yet opened, but the guards on the city tower had already arrived. He waited at the gate for a while. When the gate opened, he tried to enter, but the guard, seeing his hurry, deliberately made things difficult for him. He had to waste a few copper coins to get in.

The small county town had suffered from the ravages of war the previous year. The vegetable market in the west of the city was a mess. The scholar went to an alley at the far end of the market and knocked on a door. The man who opened the door had a scar on his face and a fierce look in his eyes. He was no benevolent person, but when he saw the visitor, he let him in. The scholar and the scarred man exchanged a few words at the door, and then the scholar left, going to another door halfway through the vegetable market.

This was a butcher’s shop. The person who opened the door was a slightly fat butcher. The three men gathered, and the scholar took out the message he had brought. “…The children have been discovered… The Jin dogs are on their way…”

“…Descendants of loyal subjects, what are we waiting for…”

“I have someone on my side…”

“Remember, they must be reliable…”

“…Then let's do this, we’ll act separately…”

After the scholar, the scarred man, and the butcher had discussed this, they each went out. Before long, the scholar found the location of a residence in the city. After passing on the message, a carriage quickly arrived, preparing to leave the city. The butcher brought several Jianghu (江湖) people and a team of bodyguards. The group of more than thirty people protected a young man and woman in the carriage, heading toward the outside of the county town. The guards at the city gate wanted to ask questions and stop them, but the butcher and bodyguards were influential in the area, so they were released without much questioning.

At noon, a small troop of Jin soldiers entered the county town and began to search the city. By the afternoon, they had determined that the children of the great Confucian scholar, Dai Mengwei, who had been secretly hidden in this county town, had been escorted away earlier that morning.

The documents and troops for the pursuit were immediately dispatched. At the same time, a team of dozens of people, led by the scholar, the butcher, and the head bodyguard, were escorting the two people quickly north.

After the turning point in the war in the southwest, in March, the great Confucian scholar Dai Mengwei and General Wang Zhai Nan secretly opened the way for the Huaxia Army, allowing more than 3,000 Huaxia soldiers to advance straight to the foot of Fancheng. The matter was exposed, and the world knew.

Dai Mengwei and Wang Zhai Nan had previously surrendered to the Jurchens, and some of their relatives had fallen under Jurchen control. Just like Si Zhongxian, who guarded Jiange, and Yu Gusheng, who surrendered to the Jurchens, there was no perfect way in war. Dai Mengwei and Wang Zhai Nan chose to feign compliance, and in doing so, they also chose the deaths of these family members and relatives. But because they had made some reservations from the beginning, some of their relatives had been secretly sent to other places before their surrender, and some of their bloodline could be preserved.

The young people being protected were the children that Dai Mengwei had secretly saved. The scholar, butcher, and head bodyguard escorted them all the way north, but in fact, there were not many places to go for the time being.

After Dai Mengwei and Wang Zhai Nan's betrayal was exposed, Wanyan Xiyin sent his disciple Wanyan Yuchi to strike directly at Xicheng County, while the surrounding armies had already surrounded Wang Zhai Nan. The soldiers of Tushan Guard were not something that Dai and Wang could contend with. Although the city, the underworld, and even some Han soldiers and local braves were inspired by the deeds of Dai and Wang and rose up in response, there were not many truly safe places at the moment.

Near dusk, the scarred man also caught up from behind, bringing with him six strange people with different appearances, including even an old woman and a little girl. Each of them had blood on their hands, having eliminated several pursuers along the way. One of the scarred man's subordinates had also died.

It was said in Jianghu that monks, Taoists, women, and children in the underworld were mostly troublesome, because such people often had their own unique skills that were difficult to guard against. Someone in the crowd recognized the scarred man and said a few words, and others understood that the scarred man was the biggest "debt collector" in the nearby towns, and his subordinates were mostly assassins who took money to take lives.

The world had been in chaos for more than ten years, and everyone was fighting for their own lives, especially those who took money to take lives, who were famous for being ruthless, but who would have thought that they would also join this group.

The group of more than forty people traveled north, and by evening, they stopped in the nearby mountains and gathered to discuss where to go. At this moment, most places were not peaceful. Xicheng County was still in Dai Mengwei's hands, but it would fall sooner or later. Moreover, if they went there now, they would likely be surrounded by Jurchens. The main force of the Huaxia Army was thousands of miles away, and they would have to cross a large area controlled by Jin soldiers to send them there. As for going east or south to send the children to Liu Guangshi's side, it was difficult to be sure how General Liu would treat them.

After some discussion, when someone mentioned that they had heard news of Senior Fulu in the north, everyone decided to go north first to meet Senior Fulu and then discuss further.

At this time, the sun was setting, and the group was resting in the mountains. The Dai family's children had also come down from the carriage and thanked everyone for their kindness. Dai Mengwei's daughter, who was dignified and beautiful, looked sad when she saw that there was also an old woman and a little girl among those accompanying them. She went over to ask them about it, only to find that the little girl was actually a dwarf who had never grown, and the old woman was a mute who was good at driving away insects and using poison, holding a poisonous snake in her hand and smiling at her eerily.

She was a young lady from a respectable family and had never seen such a sight before. She was immediately frightened and took a few steps back, not daring to approach these seemingly ordinary killers.

The surrounding situation was fairly peaceful that night. The next day, everyone continued their journey. That night, an attack suddenly came. A wave of underworld people, who were also paid to do the job and eager for the reward, suddenly attacked from around the camp. With the rain of fire, they suddenly rushed out from around the camp, in a lineup of about dozens of people, and suddenly fought with the people in the camp.

Some people fought, and some people protected the carriage and moved. In the forest, a mad cow that had been set on fire by the attackers rushed out, knocking over people and startling the carriage. Amidst the horse's long neighing, the carriage rolled down the slope beside the road. For a time, the guards and the pursuers frantically rushed down the slope, slashing and killing each other.

The Dai siblings crawled out of the carriage in a mess, disoriented in the darkness and unable to figure out the direction. The Dai young master staggered around, and the scarred man, who had the highest martial arts skills, held his knife and killed one person and forced another back, protecting the young master behind him. The Dai young lady shouted for help and was carried away, running towards the forest on the side.

"Old woman! Girl! Bai Ye!" the scarred man shouted, calling for the nearest subordinates, "Save her!"

Some pursuers saw that they had grabbed the Dai young lady and immediately followed her into the woods. Several guards also rushed in, including the old woman, the dwarf girl, and a young assassin with a short knife, who quickly followed.

There was a chase and fight in the forest, and several people died before long. The old woman and the dwarf girl each had their own unique ways of killing people, but after all, they were limited by their bodies, and they did not have the stamina to chase after them. The young assassin, who was called "Bai Ye", had excellent eyesight and could see in the dark, which was how he got his nickname. He ran and chased in the forest, killing two people along the way. Seeing that his companions were getting fewer and fewer, he hid in the darkness and disappeared without a trace.

The group who snatched the Dai young lady killed and ran all the way, and it was unknown how long it had been. Suddenly, a slope appeared in front of the forest. The person carrying the woman could not stop in time and rolled down the slope with her. The other three rushed up, picked up the woman again, and ran along the hillside in another direction.

At this time, the chase had gone quite far. The three ran for a while, and estimated that there were no pursuers behind them. They stopped in the forest to rest. The Dai young lady had been thrown twice and had abrasions on her body. She had even been beaten unconscious for shouting along the way, but she had now woken up. After being put on the ground, she secretly tried to escape. One of the kidnappers discovered her and slapped her.

"This slut, she dares to escape!"

"We have to teach her a lesson!"

Amid the voices of the others, another slap landed. The Dai young lady cried out, and at that moment, a figure suddenly pounced out of the darkness. A short knife was inserted into the back of a man from the side. There was a scream in the forest, followed by the sound of weapons clashing, with sparks flying.

"Kill!"

"I knew someone was here!"

"Finish him!"

"Kill the little bitch!"

The shouts were as rapid as thunder. Shadows flickered before the Dai young lady's eyes, and blood splattered on her face. Someone fell, and a figure stood in front of her, seeming to say, "Go." Because the tone was not high, she was still wondering if it was a hallucination. More voices rang out over there: "It's 'Bai Ye'!"

"We're all just paid to eat! Why are you risking your life?"

"How much did Lao Ba give you! This head is worth a thousand taels!"

"Split the money in half, you can have the woman first!"

"I fuck you!"

The blood that splattered in the night was from the kidnappers as well as the assassin. In front of her, there was another low "Go!" The Dai young lady finally reacted, climbed up from the ground, and ran into the darkness ahead. When she turned back, she saw a figure lying on the ground, and the other three figures were still fighting.

She ran for a while in the forest, and after a moment, she turned back. The forest where they had fought earlier was full of blood, and all four figures had fallen to the ground, with blood all over the ground. The Dai young lady cried. As soon as she made a sound, a figure on the ground suddenly moved: "I told you to run, why did you come back?"

The Dai young lady sobbed and ran over: "I don't know the way, what's wrong with you..."

The assassin had been stabbed several times. He took out a small package from his arms and said weakly: "Medicine..." The Dai young lady frantically put medicine on him.

Perhaps because of his long-term life of licking blood from the knife's edge, most of the knives that had been stabbed into the assassin's body had avoided vital points. The Dai young lady put medicine on him, and then cut the clothes of the dead nearby as bandages, and clumsily bandaged him. The assassin leaned against a nearby tree and did not die for a long time. He even stood up with the help of the Dai young lady, and both of them staggered to a more distant place.

This was a strange night. The moon shone its cold light through the gaps in the trees. The Dai young lady was being supported by a man for the first time in her life. The man beside her did not know how much blood he had lost, and it felt like he could die at any time, or that it would not be surprising if he fell down at any time. But he did not die and did not fall. They just staggered and walked, continued to walk, and kept walking. They did not know when they found a hidden cave, and stopped in front of the cave. The assassin leaned against the cave wall and quietly closed his eyes to rest.

If pursuers came, they would be helpless. For the next day, the Dai young lady was still worried about the assassin in front of her. He was leaning there and could die at any time, so she sat on the other side and quietly stared at him. His chest rose and fell slightly with his breathing, and she felt a little more at ease. At noon that day, he woke up once, slowly took out a piece of jerky from his waist and handed it to her. The Dai young lady went to a nearby stream, used leaves to bring back some clear water, and gave it to him to drink.

Most of the time, the assassin was still sitting as still as if he was dead. The Dai young lady stared at his breathing. Another night passed like this. The other party did not die, and there were a few more movements. The Dai young lady was finally relieved. The two rested in the cave for another day and night. The Dai young lady went out to fetch water and changed his medicine.

It was early morning again when she quietly left the cave and went to the nearby stream. After finally feeling relieved, she was finally able to take care of herself a little. She washed her face with the stream water and tidied her hair a little. She took off her shoes and socks and washed her feet by the water. In the escape the previous night, her embroidered shoes on her right foot had long disappeared, and she had walked on the mountain road all night in her cloth socks, which were now a little painful.

The sunlight poured down from the eastern sky into the forest with golden colors. The Dai young lady sat on the stone and quietly waited for the water on her feet to dry. After a while, she stood up on the stone, holding her skirt. When she turned her head, she saw that not far away, the assassin who had saved her was walking towards here and had already seen her without her shoes and socks.

The other party was walking forward, holding onto the trees. In the sunlight, the two looked at each other. The Dai young lady grabbed the hem of her skirt and did not move for a moment. The assassin lowered his head, but then raised it again and glanced over here before turning around and going to the other side of the stream.

The Dai young lady returned to the cave not long after. The other party also came back, holding a large handful of cattails in his hand. The Dai young lady sat with her legs hugged by the cave wall and said softly: "My name is Dai Yeyao, what's your name?"

The other party did not answer, but after a moment, he said, "We'll set off this afternoon."

He fiddled with the cattails and added a few strips of cloth. After spending some time, he made an ugly pair of straw sandals and placed them in front of her, asking her to put them on.

They set off in the afternoon.

The assassin did not let her support him anymore. The two walked slowly, one after the other. The next day, they found a nearby village. He stole two sets of clothes for them to change into. A day later, they rested temporarily in a nearby small county town. He bought her new shoes. Dai Yeyao saved the ugly straw sandals and carried them with her.

She could not say why she wanted to keep these straw sandals. They had not said much along the way. She did not even know his name - someone seemed to have called out that night when they were being chased, but she was too scared to remember - and could only tell herself that this was the idea of ​​being grateful.

The two traveled together for a few more days. The other party's injuries had already healed, and he even stole money and got a carriage, and they traveled north all the way. After a few days, they passed through a seemingly deserted valley. On the other side of the valley, they found a large group of hundreds of people gathered. She found her brother, the assassin found the scarred face, and the leader of these hundreds of people was the legendary Senior Fulu. Even a young lady like Dai Yeyao had heard of the name of this anti-Jin senior.

The scarred face led them all the way in, met the white-haired old man, and then introduced them: "This is Miss Dai." "This is Bai Ye." Dai Yeyao thought, this is the name, that night, she had heard it.

They were unable to say anything more, because her brother had already led her over. The group stayed in the mountains for one night. That night, two more groups arrived one after another, gathering to fight against the Jin. Dai Yeyao could feel the joy of everyone in this mountain, but at the moment, what she was concerned about was not these men's deeds.

The next morning, she rested and had breakfast, and decided to find the other party and express her gratitude. She searched all the way to the large cool shed on the mountainside where the leaders were gathered. She saw the other party standing behind the scarred face. There were quite a few people, and someone greeted her with a bow, so she stood aside, not wanting to go over.

On the side of the cool shed, someone was speaking to everyone.

"...The current situation has its good and bad sides... Although the Southwest has defeated Zong Han's army, Zong Han's army has withdrawn from Jiange and joined the Tushan Guard. Jiange is still in the hands of the Jurchens. Everyone knows that entering the Southwest through Jiange is a narrow mountain road. When the Jurchens withdrew, they set fires and constantly destroyed the mountain roads. Although the Huaxia Army in the Southwest defeated Zong Han, their manpower is not optimistic. If they want to seize Jiange by force, I'm afraid many Huaxia Army soldiers will have to sacrifice..."

"...In other words, the situation we are facing now is that General Qin's 20,000 people must face Zong Han and Xiyin's nearly 100,000 troops, plus the help of a branch of puppet troops..."

"...However, we are not without progress. Dai Mengwei, Duke Dai, and Wang Zhai Nan, General Wang's uprising has encouraged many people. In less than half a month, there have been four or five troops responding and rebelling, including General Chen Wei, General Xu Daji, and Duke Li Lincheng. Some of them have already joined forces with Duke Dai and others, and some are still on their way north! Heroes, we will also be going there soon. I believe that there are still people with blood in this world, and there will definitely be more than just these people. Our people will definitely become more and more until we defeat the Jin dogs and restore our mountains and rivers--"

The words above were powerful and sonorous. Dai Yeyao's gaze was on the assassin behind the scarred face, who was called Bai Ye, but she didn't hear much. At this moment, there was suddenly a chaotic sound from outside.

"Caught them--"

"Damn, little bastard--"

"You can know a person's face but not their heart!"

"We've been tricked--"

A chaotic sound came over, and she didn't know what had happened. Dai Yeyao also looked outside. After a moment, she saw a group of people rushing over. In the middle of the crowd, being escorted away was her brother, Dai Jincheng, who had been beaten until his mouth and nose were bleeding. Someone saw Dai Yeyao and said, "Don't let the other one run!"

Some fierce-looking people came over. Dai Yeyao leaned back. People inside the cool shed didn't know what had happened. Someone came out and said, "What's wrong? Can't you speak properly? Can this little girl run away?"

Dai Yeyao saw a figure come over silently and stand in front. It was him. He had already put his hand on the short knife.

Dai Jincheng was pushed to the center of the hall. Someone stepped forward and showed something to Fulu and the person who had just spoken. They heard someone say, "This little bastard, he's leaking information to the outside!"

"Betraying us, this is not the first time, the information about our gathering here has been exposed!"

Everyone was in an uproar. People stared at Dai Jincheng, who was surrounded in the middle, with fierce eyes. No one expected that Dai Mengwei had raised the banner against the Jin, but his son would be the first to betray him. And Dai Jincheng's betrayal was not the most terrible thing. If Dai Mengwei had even instructed it, then what would happen to the Han army, which had now been called to join Dai Mengwei?

Someone pulled out a knife, and some people surrounded Dai Yeyao. Fulu was stunned in place for a long time. The next moment, his figure had already arrived in front of Dai Jincheng, and he said in a deep voice, "Speak! What's going on?!"

He was old and his martial arts had reached a refined state. This shout was soul-stirring. Dai Jincheng was already scared in his heart. In this loud shout, he suddenly bowed his body and took two steps back. In his fear, he burst into a crazy laugh.

"Hahahaha...hahahahahaha...A bunch of you rabble, how can you be the opponents of the Jurchen's Gu Shen! Rebellious Jin, attacked Xiangfan, held up the banner of righteousness, do you think only you would think this way? People have already dug a hole for you last year, and everyone is jumping into it... What's going on! Can't I just not want to die with you?"

Dai Yeyao's face suddenly turned pale. The scarred face next to her shouted: "Bai Ye, move aside!"

Someone in front said: "It's not her fault, right."

"Who knows!"

"Damn it, the traitor's children--"

Dai Jincheng retreated with a distorted face: "Hahaha... That's right, I'm sending information, you bunch of idiots! General Wanyan Yuchi is already coming here, you all can't escape! Only I can help you rebel! You! As long as you help me, the Jurchens are employing people, you can all live... you all want to live, I know. As long as you kill this old thing Fulu, the Jurchens only want his head--"

He retreated to the edge of the crowd. Someone pushed him forward. Fulu looked at him: "Are you a traitor, or is your whole family traitors?"

"You are the traitors! The Black Banner is the traitor!" Dai Jincheng pointed at Fulu and others, and his mouth sprayed saliva because of the loud shouting, "The first emperor of Wu Dynasty was killed by that Ning devil, you can't do anything! At the beginning, when Prime Minister Qin said he wanted to conquer the southwest, all of you were dragging your feet! Are you still Wu Dynasty people? The Jurchens and the Southwest are both losers, so our Wu Dynasty has a chance to rise again, or the Jurchens defeat the Black Banner, they are going back after their long expedition, our Wu Dynasty can still have a few years to catch its breath, and it may not be possible to rise again--"

"You are the real traitors! Stupid donkeys! Crude people without brains! I'll tell you, since ancient times, make friends with distant countries and attack nearby ones. You have to interact and win over the distant forces! You have to attack the nearby enemies, otherwise they will attack you! What is the worst thing for my Wu Dynasty? It's the Black Banner defeating the Jurchens, you stupid pigs! Do you know that if the Black Banner becomes bigger, my Wu Dynasty will really be gone-- "

The blood and saliva mixed together in his mouth and nose: "My father read the books of sages! He knows what it means to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens! He knows what it means to build national strength for future revenge! I read the books of sages! I know what it means to have a country and a world! If the Black Banner is not destroyed, the Jurchens cannot be defeated, otherwise who will fight the Black Banner? Will you go, you stupid donkeys—I am all for the Wu Dynasty——"

In this hysterical roar, a warning sound came from the distant mountains. Someone ran over quickly, and a cavalry force led by Wanyan Yuchi had already been discovered in the distance. An oppressive atmosphere enveloped the hall of the cool shed. Fulu looked around, and his thick voice spread out: "There is still a chance! Since this little dog's conspiracy has been discovered by us in advance, it only shows that the Jin dogs' plan has not been completely successful. Today, we will fight with all our strength, and we must go north as quickly as possible to warn the righteous and rebellious people of this conspiracy. Save as many of these heroes as we can!"

Dai Jincheng also shouted: "You have been surrounded! There is no way out! Follow me, it's the only way to survive!"

After he said this, Fulu's gaze had already locked on him, and a palm struck out like thunder, Dai Jincheng's entire body slammed to the ground, and his entire body, from head to toe, was broken inch by inch.

On Dai Yeyao's side, people holding knives and guns were forcing their way over. The assassin in front of her said: "Maybe it's not her fault!"

The scarred face also came over with a knife: "If she lives, people will still have luck on their minds." The assassin was stunned for a moment.

A knife light stabbed from behind, and he hugged Dai Yeyao behind his back with a backhand, the knife light pierced into his arm, the scarred face approached, Bai Ye suddenly swung the knife and slashed up, the scarred face's eyes were fierce: "You’re biting the hand that feeds you." A knife stabbed into his chest.

Bai Ye's knife stopped in mid-air, the woman behind him grabbed the clothes on his back and said in a low voice: "So your name is Bai Ye." A long knife had already been stabbed in from her back.

Blood flowed out, they snuggled together and died quietly.

Soon after, Wanyan Yuchi's soldiers stepped into this mountain range, and what greeted him was also the unyielding sword light all over the mountains——

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