“Right, this is what Father asked me to give you.” As Wen Zhao spoke, she took out a scroll from her bosom, but it was wrapped in newspaper. “Father said to only open it when the battle is at its most critical. He will naturally appear to help.”

“Heh, those who should be here are all here. It’s time to wipe you all out in one fell swoop.”

A raspy voice came from the patch of mist across from them that refused to dissipate. Then, one by one, figures emerged from within. The one who spoke was an old acquaintance, a Candlebearer who had escaped from Wu last time by sheer luck.

And on either side of the Candlebearer, more and more people appeared.

There was a bald monk with a staff and a ring of scars on his head, a charming woman with a rusted iron mask covering half her face, a fisherman in a conical hat and raincoat, holding a broken boat oar, and a handsome young man in white robes, carrying a book box and holding a folding fan…

The attire of the opposing side was varied. Jiang Cheng even spotted an old eunuch in the crowd with a plain white face, no beard, squinting eyes, wearing a yellow mandarin jacket and holding a white jade duster.

“What is all this? How come there’s even a beggar?” Fatty asked, astonished, staring at an old beggar on the opposite side who was wearing a patched robe, barefoot, and so thin that he was practically skin and bones.

The moment Fatty looked at him, the old beggar immediately turned his gaze to Fatty’s position. After a moment, he grinned, revealing several missing black and yellow teeth, and stretched out a coarse pottery bowl with a chipped edge, as if begging for food.

“Don’t look at his bowl!” The hot-tempered Old General Yan Can slammed his stone cudgel in front of Fatty. Even though there was nothing in front of him, Fatty heard the sound of something breaking.

Retracting the stone cudgel, Yan Can stood tall in front of the others and said in a cold voice, “That beggar’s methods are very wicked. He’s not begging for money, he’s begging for your life.”

“Begging for life?” Fatty couldn’t help but be shocked. He didn’t expect to almost fall for it from so far away.

“Hahaha, Amitabha, these fine heads, I’m afraid I’m going to break my precepts again today!” The large monk, carrying a ten-foot-long staff, slammed it heavily on the ground, stroking the ring of scars on his head as he laughed wantonly.

With a “snap,” a slender folding fan suddenly opened, revealing a painting, but the artwork was truly terrible. Jiang Cheng stared at it for a long time before he could barely make out that it was a peony.

“Brother Monk, you’re mistaken. These crude men can be killed, but these pitiful sisters must not be harmed. They are all my darlings.”

The white-robed scholar, who wasn’t bad-looking, slowly stepped forward. His captivating eyes scanned the crowd as if searching for prey, and finally settled on Lin Wan’er’s face. He smiled seductively, “Wan’er, long time no see. How have you been?”

Lin Wan’er didn’t even look at him, completely treating him like air.

“What’s going on? Do you guys know this person?” Fatty asked in a low voice.

Number 13 sighed impatiently, “This person calls himself the Peony Prince, but people in the martial world call him the Human-Skin Scholar. He can’t take his eyes off women. He’s a lustful ghost who has ruined countless innocent families over the years.”

“He used to be on the Night Watcher’s wanted list. Mister used himself as bait to lure him out, and it’s said that Mister gave him a good beating back then. But because the superiors wanted him alive, they spared his life.”

“Right, this person is extremely malicious and never leaves anyone alive. The bodies of the victimized girls are gruesome. He would skin those victims afterwards, complete human skins. So people in the martial world gave him the nickname Human-Skin Scholar.”

“But this person also has some skills. He was one of the best among the disciples of that generation.” Number 13 explained in detail.

Seeing that Lin Wan’er ignored him, the Human-Skin Scholar became even more energetic. His fiery gaze landed on the others, and he spoke even more vulgar words, “Wan’er, I want you. These few aren’t bad either. Oh my, there’s even a blind girl. Wouldn’t it be a unique experience to throw her on the bed? Tsk, tsk, the ancients spoke of the blessings of many wives. Now, five women serve one husband. Hahaha, even Cao Aman isn’t as carefree as I, the Peony Prince!”

“Damn it! I’m going to cut off his tongue later!” Fu Fu was young and hot-blooded, and couldn’t stand hearing these words. She was furious, but Number 13, who understood her, knew that Fu Fu was most angry that the Human-Skin Scholar had commented on almost all the young women here, except for her.

“Oh, let this old one say a word. Why do you, Peony Prince, only know how to bully women?” The old eunuch with pale makeup seemed unable to bear it any longer. He curled his lip, gave the Peony Scholar a contemptuous look, and raised the duster in his hand respectfully, “If I may say so, what women? They are all fleeting clouds. When the new world is established, our first task will be to find the late Emperor’s descendants scattered among the people. When the new emperor ascends the throne, all of you will be ministers who have supported the dragon, and you will be rewarded with official positions. Wouldn’t that be recorded in history?”

“That’s the real deal! How can this world do without an emperor? With an emperor, this old one will have a backbone!” The old eunuch’s strange voice made everyone uncomfortable, as if ants were crawling on them. “Heh, what women? This old one has seen too many dirty things in the harem. Women are a scourge!”

Unexpectedly, the Human-Skin Scholar didn’t give the old eunuch any face, and raised his eyebrows, “Go, go, go. What do you old eunuchs know about women? Do you have the right to speak?”

“Take a look yourself when you pee. You don’t have anything down there!”

The old eunuch trembled with anger, and a touch of blood red seeped into his pale face. He raised the duster and was about to strike at his lower body, “This old one… This old one will castrate you!”

The farce quickly ended, because the bald monk stood up. He seemed to have a high status among this group.

“Who is this person?” Jiang Cheng asked, looking at the monk. Every move this person made seemed to trigger energy fluctuations.

“Precept-Breaking Monk Peng Yi.” The Old Man with the Full Beard still had that slow tone, “Very few people recognize this person now, but he was infamous among the disciples a hundred years ago. This person is decisive in killing and extremely cruel. He ambushed us not long after we arrived in this world, and four good men have already died at his hands.”

“The door in his body is also related to bloodlust. Every time he kills someone, his killing intent becomes stronger, making him even more difficult to deal with. Look at the ring of scars on his head.”

Jiang Cheng saw that four of the scars on the Precept-Breaking Monk’s head had turned bright red, and the four scars looked like four blood-red eyes.

After a moment, the Precept-Breaking Monk strode forward, and with a grim smile, he slammed the staff heavily on the ground, causing the ground to tremble. “Grandpa Precept-Breaking Monk is here. Who wants to die first?!”

“Damn it! Are you really bullying us as if we have no one?” The hot-tempered Old General Yan Can grabbed his stone cudgel and was about to deal with this bastard who dared to challenge them.

But someone beat him to it. Wu walked out, slowly drawing his knife on the way. As the knife came out inch by inch, the whole scene quieted down. The knife now seemed to be soaked in blood, and the intense killing intent suppressed everyone present, making it difficult for them to breathe.

With a “clang,” the Precept-Breaking Monk pulled out the staff that was deeply embedded in the ground, then silently retreated, all the way back to his team. “Brothers, I’ve been thinking about it, and I, the Precept-Breaking Monk, am not one to hog all the credit. Let’s all go together and seize the glory of the first kill, wouldn’t that be great?”

This sudden change really shocked Jiang Cheng. He didn’t expect the legendary Precept-Breaking Monk to be this kind of person. He looked at the Old Man with the Full Beard in confusion, but the Old Man with the Full Beard noticed his gaze and turned his body slightly, trying to face Jiang Cheng with his back as much as possible.