It was a blazing day with howling winds. Lin Chong rode his horse along the mountain path, heading south. Having served as a constable in Wozhou for years, he was well aware of the surrounding conditions. He knew that if the Jurchens truly intended to intercept the message, the forces they could mobilize would be considerable. Moreover, considering that even a force like Copper Bull Stronghold had been activated, there was no shortage of local snakes in the grass. He traveled cautiously along the paths near the official road, but before even half a day's journey had passed, he spotted figures flickering in the distant woods.

This mountain path was separate from the official road to the south, relatively desolate and infrequently traveled. Those who chose this route were often heroic figures or bandits with a greenwood background. In similar deserted areas, robbery and murder were not uncommon. The figures ahead clearly had keen eyes, perhaps hunters or scouts with military backgrounds. Just as Lin Chong noticed them, they apparently saw him as well. A moment later, a whistling signal arrow shot into the sky.

Lin Chong steered his horse directly into the woods, dodging two incoming arrows. He leaped onto a tree, seized the scout, and killed him with a single palm strike. At the edge of his vision, he saw figures being alerted and approaching.

These were probably bandits or local villagers who made a living by looting, wielding knives, clubs, and pitchforks, dressed in rags and swarming forward. Lin Chong sighed inwardly and charged out along a diagonal path. In Jin Wang's territory, the terrain was rugged, with scattered trees and shrubs, and rocks intertwined like dog teeth among the bushes. He abandoned his mount and sprinted forward at high speed. Three men charged at him head-on, but he casually swept them aside, sending two of them tumbling to the ground, their heads bleeding. The other was momentarily stunned and could not keep up with Lin Chong's pace.

By the time the main force converged, Lin Chong had already reached a rugged mountain ridge on one side. His steps were agile, and his figure was as light as a leopard. He ran without stopping, and in a moment, the crowd lost sight of him in stunned silence.

The heavenly wind blew fiercely. With his grandmaster skills, he traversed mountains and ridges. Occasionally, he restrained his expression and went onto the official road, hiding among the travelers. However, this slowed him down. By now, he had left the territory of Wozhou. A short distance ahead, he saw yamen runners patrolling the checkpoints, conducting strict inspections.

Having served as a yamen runner for so many years, Lin Chong knew at a glance that these people were deliberately searching. Presumably, officials in nearby yamen had also been manipulated by the Jurchens. Since the bandits of Copper Bull Stronghold had not been completely wiped out yesterday, they had the advantage of carrier pigeons and could detect the defenses ahead of time. He pressed the list in his chest, quietly left the crowd, and detoured into the mountains.

Having been away from various "national affairs" for too long in recent years, he could now sense the tension in the air. Jin Wang's forces were nominally submitting to the Jurchens, but secretly, they had already begun to prepare for rebellion. In the meantime, he wondered how many people had seen enough of the Jurchens' swords and guns and were unwilling to die again.

Once this list was delivered, the conflicts between the two sides would intensify. Whether it was true or false, many forces had clearly been awakened in secret and were beginning to take risks. On the other hand, the anti-Jurchen faction of Jin Wang's forces was probably watching carefully, secretly noting a true list.

And regardless of whether it was true or false, he could only complete this journey properly.

Having clarified these matters in his mind, he did not stop his feet and continued west and then south, crossing two rivers along the way. That day, as the setting sun gradually turned red, he thought of the many sunsets he had seen with Xu Jinhua and their child in recent years. Further back, he also remembered the sunsets he had seen at Liangshan Marsh and in Bianliang.

He walked non-stop that day, covering nearly two hundred miles, and by the early hours of the morning, he gradually arrived near Leping in Liaozhou. Yu Yulin was stationed here, with troops garrisoned for several miles around. The surrounding sentry posts were heavily guarded, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter. There were also small towns built near the military camps because of the army. One cannot break into a military camp at night, so Lin Chong stopped in the nearby mountains, preparing to find a way to enter at dawn.

Since Xu Jinhua's death, he had not rested for several nights. That night, he sat under a tree and closed his eyes, but he still could not fall asleep. As memories surged, pain and emptiness still filled everything. For him, life was no longer a concern, and the clarity in his mind could not dilute the regret. Everything lost was ultimately lost. Only he still faced the consequences of losing everything.

As the stars shifted, when he opened his eyes, there were flickering lights moving in the distant military camp, stretching endlessly. These sparse but endless lights were like the memories that surged forth. The sleepless night was long and difficult, like passing through a long, dark cave. When the sky turned pale in the east, Lin Chong stared blankly for a long time. In the distant military camp, the morning training had already begun.

Lin Chong quietly descended the mountain and walked along the camp. Rather than breaking into the camp, he hoped to happen upon the opportunity to meet General Yu Yulin leaving the camp—he had seen this general from afar in the past—but such a hope was obviously slim. Lin Chong was now dressed raggedly and poorly, but his figure was like a ghost. He wandered aimlessly around the military camp for several laps, and lingered near the camp gate for a long time before finally finding a breakthrough.

It was Li Shuangyou, a vanguard general in Yu Yulin's army, who was quite famous among the people in Jin Wang's territory. Lin Chong had not only seen him twice near Wozhou, but also knew that this general was hot-tempered and upright, with a good reputation for resisting the Jurchens. He was passing through this camp, and seeing that General Li was inspecting the training ground and was about to leave, Lin Chong immediately jumped out from his hiding place and shouted loudly into the camp, "General Li!"

Someone on the nearby arrow tower shouted, "Who goes there!" Li Shuangyou looked towards this side from afar, frowning. He saw a large man outside the camp raising his hand and walking towards the military camp fence: "Black Flag message!"

Lin Chong said a sentence, thought about it, and said, "This matter is of great importance, please inform General Yu Yulin!"

His voice was loud and clear, each word distinct. The people on the training ground made a sound. These days, for the interception of this list, outsiders are not clear, internal soldiers may still have heard a lot. Li Shuangyou had been protected by his guards, but hearing Lin Chong say this, he immediately pushed the guards away, clasped his fists and stepped forward: "Is the messenger a strong man?" Then he said, "Immediately send someone to inform the commander."

Lin Chong knew that this letter was finally delivered. Seeing the other party's attitude, he leaped forward as he walked, tapping his feet several times in a row, and crossed the military camp fence, which was several feet high: "A matter of loyalty." he said.

Seeing Lin Chong's ability, Li Shuangyou cupped his hands in admiration, and his feet no longer came over. Lin Chong stood on the edge of the training ground, waiting for Yu Yulin to arrive. It was still early in the morning, the sky had not become too hot, a few clouds floated in the sky, and a cool breeze came from the training ground, which was extraordinarily pleasant. Lin Chong stood there, his expression was another trance.

I don't know when, the messenger who had been sent to report came back again, and reported to Li Shuangyou that General Yu was coming. Li Shuangyou cupped his hands to Lin Chong: "Strong man, General Yu has arrived, please." Lin Chong came back to his senses, nodded, and followed him forward.

A group of people passed through the soldiers on the training ground. Without realizing it, Li Shuangyou had slowed down and was waiting for him. Lin Chong closed the distance with him. The soldiers nearby were also close to him. His eyes moved slightly, and he noticed the rapid heartbeat. Lin Chong's eyes were bitter, and he sighed.

Li Shuangyou clasped his hands, Lin Chong walked closer, and reached out. His pace was natural, and his hand was also natural. Their arms crossed, Lin Chong grabbed him and rushed forward.

Countless figures spread over.

"Kill this traitor—"

Lin Chong hit the man's neck with a heavy hand, and the person in front fell to the ground with a bang.

Afterwards, he also heard the shouts around him.

Lin Chong pushed Li Shuangyou, knocking the seven or eight people in front into a group, and more people rushed over. In the high-speed running, the other party fought back, and Lin Chong's heavy fist slammed on Li Shuangyou's face, one punch after another, and another punch. The blood and eyes flew out, his feet stepped on the other party's body that had begun to fall, knees, chest, shoulders, Lin Chong's figure jumped up on the heads of the soldiers in front, and then fell down with his elbows, rolling, colliding, the light of the knife and the wind of the gun staggered, like a forest, Lin Chong waved a steel knife, bringing up thick blood, followed by splitting, slashing, big waving, the person in front died, pushed up by the people behind, the advance of the military formation is like a giant wall, the earth, Lin Chong's figure rises and falls in the sea of people...

"Kill this traitor—"

Someone was shouting around...

The mountains and seas of people are constantly squeezing over...

************

It was as if something had waited at the end of time, and at the moment of floating in the sea of people, there was no wave in his heart, even... as if there was a feeling of expectation.

The sharp edge is vertical and horizontal, and he travels among the sharp edges. The heavy arms will collapse people's chests, the shields squeeze up, and he collapses them into circles. The waving of the spears will bring down more people, like drawing the ground as a prison. In the prison, everything is a dead place, but more people will still rush over. Sometimes he jumps out of the crowd, falls down, and there is still a seemingly endless distance in the distance.

The sunlight is shining, the sound of people is noisy, there are fallen corpses on the ground, and there are injured soldiers who are trampled on. Lin Chong steps on people, and the spear snatched from the enemy rushes out a zhang and then gets stuck in people's bodies and breaks. The soldiers remember it, and his body is split with knife marks. The people around him are smashed by him again. He waves the light of the knife, also facing the mountain of knives and guns, and cuts out a sea of blood.

He expects the other party not to be a bad person.

Imagine that in front of these many soldiers, nothing will happen.

This kind of result...

Not good...

Also good...

The fist smashed a person's face, and the knife light slashed on his back. He also remembered something, and his body crawled and collided, shouting out in his mouth.

"The Jurchens are going south—" The thunderous voice spread in all directions under the compulsion of internal force, like the roar of sea waves hitting the shore. "Black Flag message—"

Several people in front fell to the ground with a bang. Lin Chong snatched the steel knife and rushed forward, cutting out a sea of blood in the direction of people's legs. He moved forward against the sea of blood, and the spears stabbed down. Lin Chong's body squeezed, collided, and rolled down the gun shaft, and his knees knocked a person away. He snatched the spear and swept it out.

"Jurchen—" Three or four spears were smashed by him. Lin Chong stabbed the spear out and dragged it back, "Going south—"

"...Black Flag message!"

The voice spread in all directions, and the crowd was pierced out of a gap. Lin Chong collided with it, and then the gap began to shrink. Boiling blood splashed, some of it was his, but more of it was someone else's.

The voice rang out in the fight again: "The Jurchens... are going south! Black Flag message—"

"...Black Flag message—"

"...Black Flag message—"

From far and near, many people heard this voice. The fighting in that camp was still going on. In the mountains and seas of people, in the advance of more than ten zhang, countless knives and guns stabbed over. His whole body was blood red, and he kept fighting back. Every time he went forward, he shouted the same voice.

The Jurchens are going south, the Black Flag message is coming...

In the distance between the camps, a large number of people and horses came. Some people shouted to stop, and some people shouted that this is a traitor, and there is no pardon for killing him. The orders conflicted together, leading to a more chaotic situation, but Lin Chong was in it and could hardly detect it. He was just mechanically shouting in the process of going forward. Somewhere in his heart, he still felt a little ironic.

In his lifetime, he would actually shout out the words Black Flag.

The things on Liangshan reappeared in front of his eyes like a revolving lantern. He would also think of the man named Ning Yi. He killed the emperor. It was really hateful and really amazing.

In the gap of fighting, he saw birds flying in the sky.

A very good weather.

The Jurchens are going south.

The Black Flag message is coming.

He slashed the steel knife on the person in front of him without mercy. Someone fought back, it was too slow, the strength was poor, there were flaws, dodge, not painful...

The Jurchens are going south, the Black Flag message is coming.

Brother Shi will save the child, that's great.

He is the real hero, he will not encounter these things, that's great...

Where the blade went, some people had been scared to the ground. Some people and horses broke into from the side of the camp, and there was a battle on the other side. Lin Chong carried the spear and moved forward all the way. In such a fierce battle, there were actually no enemies in front of him temporarily, so he walked forward and opened his mouth.

The Jurchens are going south, the Black Flag message is coming.

He can't hear this voice himself.

Then there are people in front again, the wall of people tried to block him. Lin Chong was not afraid. He stepped forward, already prepared to fight. Someone separated the wall of people and greeted him in front.

Yu Yulin looked at this red figure slowly approaching. He was covered in blood, with countless wounds on his body. Behind him, the fallen soldiers were lying in disorder, extending all the way. This shocked him for a moment.

"Strong man..."

He took a deep breath: "Strong man, I am Yu Yulin, are you the messenger?"

Lin Chong looked at him suspiciously. He reached out, originally wanting to kill the person in front of him with a punch, but in the end he turned his fist into a palm and grabbed his clothes. The guards wanted to come up, but were stopped by Yu Yulin waving his hand.

Lin Chong looked at him, and took out a small package from his arms. The small package was also stained with blood, and was also slashed with a knife, but because of Lin Chong's deliberate protection, it was the least injured component on his body. Yu Yulin tried to reach out to take it, but the blood man clenched the small package, suspended in the air.

Yu Yulin then took out the military talisman: "I am Yu Yulin, this is the talisman."

The blood man grabbed his collar, stood there for a long time, looking at the talisman for a long time, the clouds in the sky were bright, and Yu Yulin's soldiers were doing a big cleanup and search. People came and went again...

The Jurchens are going south, the Black Flag message is coming.

Finally, he let go of his hand, and then even the hand on Yu Yulin's collar was let go.

In the end, things are always a bit off track, and things in the world are always unsatisfactory, eight or nine times out of ten.

Lin Chong staggered, wanting to help the spear, but the spear was gone, so he turned around and walked staggering. He should go back to find Brother Shi and save Anping.

"May I ask your honorable name, strong man..." Yu Yulin opened the package and took a look, handed it to the person behind him, turned back and asked, the person in front was already a back, "Hurry up and call the doctor." He wanted to catch up, hold him, and ask his name. Jianghu righteous men, did great things, even if they died, they must be famous for him. This is the final comfort to them.

Lin Chong held the gun shaft on a corpse, and then held it with both hands, and his body slid down. He struggled for a while, trying to stand up, but finally fell to the ground on his side, and then rolled over, facing the sky.

People gathered around: "Strong man, your name..."

The person on the ground moved his lips, blinked his eyes, his eyes were blood red, blood slid across his cheeks and fell on the ground.

……

Zhen Niang…

Like the end of time, there is a long, long tunnel...

He stood there, watching many, many people pass by, passing by Xu Jinhua, passing by Mu Yi, passing by the chaotic and restless Liangshan Marsh, there are many friends, there are many passers-by, will be remembered here...

That year's heavy snow, he was carrying a gourd of wine on his spear, walking on the road to the hay farm...

In Bianliang many years ago, he lived a smooth life, full of smiles and expectations...

There is a figure waiting for him there...

Endless regret surged in his heart, but at this moment, they are not important.

That figure is looking at him.

He is holding her hand—

Running away all the way.

**************

Yu Yulin got the message from the Black Flag.

Shi Jin was running on the streets of Wozhou, looking for the whereabouts of the child, waiting to reunite with his brother.

Tan Lu dragged the struggling and crying child forward, suddenly stopped. On the street in front, a huge figure with many people appeared there, looking at him solemnly and silently.

In the southwest, the war against He Deng and other places has begun, and the sound of artillery rang out. A team of eight thousand people has jumped out of the heavy mountains and detoured to Xuzhou. Some people give them way, and some people don't.

In the Central Plains, the hungry ghosts burned the newly occupied city and spread wildly with the breath of despair and destruction.

In the north, Wan Yan Zongfu and Zongbi rode on horses and took the first step to go south. They waved their arms, and there were thousands of flags, hunting.

An unknown soldier died.

There is no more Leopard Head in the world.