Fire roared, battle cries echoed, and the scalding heat had been left far behind, leaving only exhaustion and excruciating pain. Search: \(¨Complete¨ Book¨ Station¨) to read high-quality literature for free. Burns and cuts, blood still flowed, draining his strength and blurring his vision. Still, the night lay ahead as Zhu Wu staggered forward, clutching his blade.

Of the original pair of swords, only one remained. His hand bled, trembling with each step. The most excruciating pain came not from the cuts and thrusts of the battle, but from the burns on his head and back. The blisters had burst, sending waves of agony far exceeding that of ordinary wounds. This pain had initially focused his awareness, but the prolonged duration, coupled with the exhaustion of fighting and running, was scattering his mind.

The only thing that sustained him was the stark realization of being on the brink of death. If he fell now, even if his wounds didn't kill him, the pursuing government soldiers would surely take his life.

He himself had no idea how long he had been running through the mountains. The sky was still dark and murky. In places with better visibility, he could see the flames on the other side of the ravine. Only then could he vaguely recall the battle that had just occurred.

Unlike the day before, when two hundred men managed to break through the encirclement of two thousand government soldiers, this sudden battle offered little opportunity for resistance or escape. When Ning Yi led the government troops out of the woods, the two sides instantly engaged in a fierce melee. However, the dozens of Liangshan warriors were already wounded and exhausted, and the battle quickly became one-sided.

Zhu Wu and the others barely had time to assess the situation before realizing there was no hope. They turned to flee, but as the soldiers surged forward to encircle them, they were quickly drawn into a desperate struggle. "Little尉迟 (Yuchi)" Sun Xin, like Lü Fang, was cut down before their very eyes.

Before this, Zhu Wu had never imagined such a thing could happen.

He understood that when facing a cunning enemy, every step had to be considered for hidden traps. When Lu Junyi and the others broke through, he had wondered if it was a trick. But when the other side called out Lu Yuanwai's name, it somewhat allayed his suspicions. Their subsequent escape and cautious exploration were all aimed at avoiding being pursued. But in the end, that figure had appeared before them in the darkest hour, and he could not understand the reason behind it.

Less than a day had passed since the last battle, when his brothers were captured. Even if someone had defected, it wouldn't have happened so quickly. How could this be the result of a mere half-day's planning?

Yet, the enemy's appearance unequivocally proved the gap between the two sides in terms of strategy and planning. If the first incident was simply due to the other side's caution, inadvertently discovering their scheme, this time it was entirely based on actively digging a pit and setting a trap. While he was still considering how to follow along, use their plan against them, and find a way to rescue people, the other side had directly turned the tables and set a trap to lure them in.

The suddenness and intensity of the changes forced them to accept the situation without much thought.

It was only now that some things became clearer to Zhu Wu.

He had originally clung to the hope of following along because the government and the greenwoods had always held this attitude toward Liangshan. Killing half and capturing forty or fifty of the two hundred men was already a great victory. The remaining fugitives would surely be more vigilant, making further captures a case of diminishing returns. For most enemies, this achievement was already commendable, and they would no longer focus on capturing or pursuing every single person. Although the other side differed from the government, they were still constrained by their identity. A scholar with a Son-in-Law status, no matter how cunning, was perceived as being somewhat weak.

But when Ning Yi reappeared before them, it finally made him realize that this person was completely different from the conservative government, and even different from most of the greenwood heroes. Even though he had already achieved a praiseworthy victory, his intention was still to kill everyone, leaving no one alive. This made Zhu Wu suddenly realize the significance of that event: he...now had a blood feud with them.

Liangshan had blood feuds with many people. Perhaps after experiencing it so much, they had become numb. But for ordinary people, this kind of feud was a tangible thing that could be seen.

Liangshan had over forty thousand men. For ordinary people, defeating two hundred of them and spending a lot of effort to hunt down the remaining forty or fifty was pointless. Only this person wanted to kill all the enemies in his sight. The small grievance concerning Xi Junyu and the "Su Family," which was originally just a vague concept for them, had now, with that figure pressing down on them, become a real threat.

Xi Junyu might have really kicked an iron plate that he shouldn't have...

If they had realized this a little earlier, perhaps things would have been much better. But now, everything could only be paid for with their lives. Zhu Wu had even tried to rush forward and shout, "Have the guts to fight one-on-one!" But what awaited him was not only Ning Liheng's nod of agreement but also a rain of arrows that flew towards him as he waved his hand.

The encirclement on the mountain was probably only two or three hundred men, but when they rushed up this time, even Zhu Wu and the others had little chance to break through. They fought their way through, separated by the arrows, surrounded by swords and spears. In the end, it was the fire arrows that had been shooting since the beginning that gave Zhu Wu a lucky chance.

These fire arrows had caused some casualties to the Liangshan warriors and, in the subsequent fighting, had illuminated the surrounding environment. Conversely, the encircling government soldiers came from the darkness, making it difficult for them to quickly determine the direction of the breakthrough. The forty or fifty tired and wounded Liangshan warriors were quickly cut down in the chaos.

Then the fire began to spread, and it was only when the scale gradually increased that it caused the same problem for both sides. This was perhaps Ning Liheng's only miscalculation. When Zhu Wu broke through the raging fire in an almost suicidal manner, he heard the other side shout, "Who told you to shoot fire arrows...catch those bastards!"

Everyone was separated in the flames. Zhu Wu saw Chen Da's figure being engulfed by the government soldiers, and Lu Junyi and Yan Qing were surrounded on the other side, holding back dozens of people, already covered in blood, still shouting, "Run!" But the last time Zhu Wu looked, he saw someone stabbing Lu Junyi in the chest with a knife, and Yan Qing's desperate roar like a trapped beast faintly came from afar...

Only Zhang Shun, who was also seriously injured, and a subordinate were still escaping with him. They had met after breaking through the encirclement in different directions. Zhang Shun was skilled in martial arts and had found him. The subordinate was covering his stomach, supporting himself with Zhang Shun's help.

The hope they had seen, the bright future, was completely annihilated this time...

Since going up to Shaohua Mountain, he had never suffered such injuries, never experienced such failure and darkness. Just a few days ago, everything should have been foolproof. Many days before that, he had met the young man Xi Junyu on Liangshan, who told him about the unfair treatment he had received. Such things happened too often, and he had never taken them to heart. Some things, like misfortune, were like invisible threads that could not be cut, which had appeared several years ago and suddenly crashed down on him at a time when he was completely unprepared.

His mind was muddled, but his body was still relying on instinct, trying to escape along the best route. They walked out of the forest, climbed onto a mountain ridge, and the darkness faded for the first time. The sky in the distance showed a glimmer of dawn, and the light was in the air ahead, slowly rotating with the dust. The subordinate who had been following Zhang Shun finally bled out and fell. Zhang Shun dragged him up, and soon after, pushed the body off the cliff.

"We have to go back..." Zhu Wu said weakly. Zhang Shun patted him on the shoulder. He was almost about to fall.

"We have to go back...back to Liangshan...to tell them about this..."

The sun gradually came out, and they walked on the mountain ridge, not knowing how many people had survived, not knowing what would happen ahead, until two days later, they met Yan Qing, who looked like a dead man, on the way back...

This is a story for later.

The morning sun pierced through the trees, shining down on the forest, which was still burning with small fires and filled with smoke. The morning mist, dust, and fire combined to give a slightly sticky feeling. There were more blood and corpses in the forest. The battle was over, and the soldiers were cleaning up the mess, counting heads and adding a finishing blow.

Ning Yi and the others walked past the edge of the field and went up a small hill after leaving the forest. "How many people got away?"

"Four or five, probably."

"That's about right." Ning Yi nodded. "Arrest warrants, we still need to ask the various checkpoints to help check. But they should be able to escape back. I believe in their abilities, they can do it."

"There's only one question." Wen Ren Bu'er came over. "That Zhu Wu is not simple, why didn't you kill him?"

"Sometimes, the actions of smart people are easier to guess than those of idiots." Ning Yi replied, then tilted his head. "Let's go, let's go back. I still have to say thank you."

They walked through this forest, went down the mountain, and stopped several carriages by a rugged mountain road. Ning Yi got into one of them, and when he opened the curtain, the light shone on the figure in the carriage. It was Lu Junyi, whom Zhu Wu believed was already "dead." He seemed to be looking down, but when he saw Ning Yi, he straightened his posture, his gaze not exactly friendly.

This was the first official meeting or conversation between the two since Ning Yi threatened him in the cabin the day before. Ning Yi's gaze, however, was friendly, even overly friendly.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, you acted very well. Also...thank you." Ning Yi went over, took his hand proactively, and then patted the back of his hand. "Brother."

His attitude was sincere, not sarcastic, and this "brother" was not flattering, but it clearly startled Lu Junyi, who had probably never seen such an unprincipled act. Ning Yi then sat down on the side of the carriage, tapped the wooden board next to him, and told the driver to start. "Let's talk as we go, Lu Yuanwai. You can say anything you're wondering about. I'll state my position here."

Lu Junyi looked at him for a moment, straightened his back, and said, "Okay, I do have something I'm curious about."

"Speak."

"I only nodded and signed, and you just let me go on purpose. If I don't cooperate with you, and just treat what you said before as nonsense, what can you do to me!" The strangest thing in his mind at this time was this. After he nodded to Wen Ren Bu'er last night, Wen Ren Bu'er told him what to do, without adding any constraints.

"Don't say that, trust people and don't doubt them, I believe in your Yuanwai's character." Ning Yi smiled, quite sincerely, but Lu Junyi looked at him and clearly didn't believe it. After all, no one would believe this kind of thing. Ning Yi smiled for a while, and then restrained himself, looking at the other person lightly.

"First, I believe that you are really forced to do this, and you have grievances in your heart, so you can take a gamble. This is the truth. If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have approached you at all. Second, if you come to our side, I can overthrow the entire Liangshan, much easier. If you don't plan to break with Liangshan, I'd rather you make your attitude clear today, than you mess up my plans from behind when I really attack Liangshan. This is also Yuanwai's certificate of loyalty. What Yuanwai does today doesn't have much impact on me. Only if you suddenly defect in my plan, will it affect my future plans."

"Then if I just take people and run away today, you really don't mind? Where does your confidence come from..."

"It's not a matter of confidence or lack of confidence, some things must be done." Ning Yi looked at him with a smile. "Since I'm going to take action, my goal is the forty thousand people of Liangshan. Do you really think these two hundred people are very important to me? Whether I kill them today or kill them tomorrow, they are all going to die. If you regret it today, and take them back to Liangshan, at least I know you will never sincerely help me. For me, confirmed news is actually good news."

"Haha." Lu Junyi laughed. "It's not that simple, is it? How many people have you turned against us? If I don't hand over this certificate of loyalty, will you still be able to find where everyone is hiding? Who is your person? Chen Da? Zheng Tianshou? I don't think it's Yan Shun..."

"Shh." Ning Yi held up his finger. "These are the secrets...After all, it's a little hurtful to talk about these things. Yuanwai, let's talk about what you want to hear. You are already dead on Liangshan. This time you go north on the ship, it will be difficult to clear your identity immediately, but don't worry, I will arrange for you to meet with Prime Minister Qin, and recommend you directly to him. At that time, he may try your martial arts and military strategy. Seize this opportunity, and everything will be fine. As for the lawsuits, we will take care of them after Liangshan is destroyed. I am basically a vengeful person, but I am fair in matters of gratitude and grievance. Since you have stood on our side, I will not harbor resentment towards you. Of course, you will see these in the future, and the best thing is that we should not work together, so you don't need to pay too much attention to me."

Being able to personally meet the Right Prime Minister Qin Si Yuan was, after all, a rare thing for a Yuanwai like Lu Junyi, who had an identity and power in Daming Prefecture but no status. Ning Yi threw it out lightly at this time, and his face changed slightly. He was a capable man. As long as he could gain the appreciation of Qin Si Yuan, even if Ning Yi really wanted to go back on his word and break the agreement, he would have to think twice. And before bringing down Liangshan, Ning Yi would naturally not kill him. Before that, the promise to meet the Right Prime Minister would have to be fulfilled.

He thought for a moment, and then suppressed his feelings and said, "It's not necessarily that there's no resentment, is it? If you really trust me, why do you want me to pretend to be dead? Wouldn't it be better for me to go back to Liangshan." Although these words were a rebuttal, the meaning of confrontation was minimal, only like a complaint.

Ning Yi shook his head. "That's not resentment, but ability. Yuanwai, to be honest, you are absolutely not suitable to be a spy. Xiao Yi Ge is the real genius. After you told him in a hurry on the battlefield, he was immediately able to cooperate with you 'being killed'. The way he shouted it out, in many ways, you are not as good as him. Since he is your confidant, you can trust him in the future. I only say these words to you now. People must recognize where their abilities lie. You better think about what happened before. You are dead, Xiao Yi Ge will return to Liangshan and will definitely be reused. I cooperate with him, better than cooperating with you, whether you admit it or not."

Lu Junyi himself was an extremely proud person. If it were in the past, he would probably have beaten Ning Yi, but after so many things had happened, he would naturally not be able to attack Ning Yi at this time, but his face still remained unconvinced. Ning Yi dusted off his sleeves and stood up.

"That's it, I'm leaving first. In the future, if there is anything, you can talk to me or Wenren. You're okay... Welcome to abandon the darkness and turn to the light."

Ning Yi knocked on the carriage, and when the carriage stopped, he opened the curtain and went down. Lu Junyi sat there, thinking about everything that had happened these days, and looked at the light coming in from outside the carriage. In the many things he had experienced before, he had never seen such a strange person who acted like this...(To be continued. Please vote for recommendation, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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