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"Why are you the only one on night watch?"
The officer leader returned from his patrol to find one of his subordinates, who was supposed to be on guard duty, missing.
"Him? A female prisoner was looking for him. He's probably in paradise right now."
The subordinate gestured towards the small hill, winking suggestively at his superior. Such incidents were not uncommon on the road of exile. Prisoners who wanted to suffer less either had someone powerful specifically ask for their care, or had relatives pay off the officials. If neither was an option, they could only use their bodies as capital to bribe the officers. The Gong family had been raided and exiled. Their former colleagues and protégés were struggling to save themselves, so who had the energy to look after them? The female prisoners were left with only one path. This was why it was considered a good assignment.
The officer leader naturally knew of this unspoken rule.
"How long has he been gone?"
"Just a moment."
"Hmph, abandoning his post!"
"But, at that lad's speed, he should be done by now. He's quick; it won't take much time."
Hearing this, the officer leader's lips twitched, as if he wanted to smile but forced himself to suppress it, maintaining a stern expression. "When he returns, tell him—night watch will be extended by another shichen (two-hour period)!"
However, after waiting for a while, he still didn't see anyone return. Could it be that the lad had actually found some effective folk remedy and cured his hidden ailment? The officer couldn't sit still. Seeing the prisoners sleeping as soundly as dead pigs, he wasn't afraid they would seize the opportunity to escape. He quietly got up and followed in the direction Shen Tang and the other officer had gone. He wanted to listen for any sounds; if the two of them were almost finished, he could go up and take his turn.
As he neared the small hill, he vaguely felt an ominous premonition. The sounds here were too abnormal! There was neither the heavy breathing that would make one's ears burn, nor the excited thudding. There was only the chorus of insect chirps and the rustling of wild grass in the night wind.
"Old Zhou? Old Zhou, where are you—"
He suppressed his unease, quickly stepped forward, pushed aside the dense wild grass, and called out his colleague's name. His voice quickly cut off. He looked down at what he had stepped on—
An arm! By the dim light of night, he barely recognized the male corpse with its unnaturally twisted neck as "Old Zhou," whom he had just spoken of!
"Dead... someone's dead!"
His startled cry attracted the officer leader. The man was thoroughly dead, but the body was still warm and soft like a living person, not having grown cold at all, indicating he had only just died. The officer leader further examined the broken neck and wrist; the marks suggested it had been snapped instantly, indicating extremely terrifying finger and hand strength. However, the corpse showed signs of Martial Courage having been activated, yet its life was taken without even a proper struggle, meaning the assailant's strength must be above that of a low-ranking Gongshi.
"What about that female prisoner? Was her body found?" The officer leader remembered something upon seeing the corpse had been stripped clean.
His subordinate replied, "No, she... she wasn't found. Only Old Zhou."
Officer leader: "..."
A man dead, and a female prisoner missing?
Was it a jailbreak?
A dark expression instantly settled on his face as this suspicion arose.
"You go back and keep a close eye on those prisoners! If you see anyone suspicious, kill them directly!"
"Yes!"
The officer leader followed the tracks Shen Tang had left, and soon he saw a blurry figure running in the darkness. He unhesitatingly drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The arrow left the string, flying straight towards Shen Tang's back. This arrow would undoubtedly kill a female prisoner.
Who knew the female prisoner seemed to have eyes on her back? The moment the arrow was about to strike, she rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding it.
"I didn't expect such a fish to slip through the net!" He rode his horse over Shen Tang's head, tightened the reins, and the horse stood firmly, blocking her path. He said angrily, "Taking advantage of your feminine appearance to infiltrate the female prisoners and then escaping—the Gong bandit plays a clever game!"
The male Gong clan prisoners who were raided, regardless of age, had their danfu destroyed. This was, first, to prevent them from escaping, and second, to prevent them from seeking revenge later. The prisoner before him was alone, with no one to assist. It must have been "Shen Tang" using her looks as bait to lure the man out, and then, seizing his moment of relaxed guard, ambushed and killed him.
But even a low-ranking Gongshi, however relaxed, could not be instantly killed by a mere woman. Looking at the wounds, he concluded that this person must possess a Literary Heart or Martial Courage. Given that women couldn't possibly have them, then the "female prisoner" before him was naturally a man. A male prisoner who had infiltrated the female prisoner group for so long without being discovered. Without a doubt, the Gong clan prisoners must have shielded each other, protecting "him." From all this, it could be inferred that this person held a significantly important position and influence within the Gong clan. If such an important fish slipped through the net, how could he report back?
In a flash, a logical deduction formed in his mind.
Shen Tang climbed to her feet. She spat, clearing the sand from the corner of her mouth. She happened to hear the officer leader's words. What did he mean, she took advantage of a feminine appearance? And called her a "Gong bandit"? Don't take advantage of her current amnesia to arbitrarily assign her a character setting!
"Heh, so what do you want?"
As Shen Tang spoke, she inadvertently pulled at an injury on her cheek, the fine sting making her gasp—she had dodged too quickly earlier, and her cheek had been painfully abraded by the gravel on the ground, burning hot. She knew it was bleeding without even touching it—her gaze remained fixed on the enemy.
"Come back with me, and I'll spare your dog life."
Shen Tang was amused by these words. "Spare my dog life? I think you're just spouting nonsense!" Ugly as sin, yet full of pretty thoughts!
"If we can't agree, then—" The officer leader wasn't angry; he merely focused his energy, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. "Spear, saber, sword, halberd, bow, crossbow, dagger, spear—kill!"
Shen Tang: "...Huh?"
What does that mean? What in the world is he chanting?
No sooner had the question popped into her mind than she saw the longbow in the officer leader's hand transform into a cruciform halberd. The halberd, nearly a zhang (approx. 3.3 meters) long, thrust its chilling spearhead directly at her vital facial points, showing no regard for fair play.
Shen Tang was startled by this sudden change, tilting her head back, moving like a rabbit and hawk, dodging the fatal blow. When it came to weapons, "an inch longer, an inch stronger." The strange halberd, nearly a zhang long, was wielded by the officer leader with a dense, impenetrable flurry of spear shadows, thrusting horizontally or directly, as if an extension of his arm. Shen Tang, however, was bare-handed. In this situation, let alone running for her life, she was simply a living target, and would die of exhaustion.
As for the setting where he chanted a couple of lines and a weapon appeared, nailing science into its coffin—she finally understood how the horse he was riding came to be. Could this world get any more unscientific?
Pfft! The halberd's tip grazed her left arm, burying itself deep in the earth, making her scalp tingle. If her reaction had been a beat slower, that direct thrust would surely have pierced her heart!
"Spear, saber, sword, halberd, bow, crossbow..."
With her life hanging by a thread, she dodged while desperately trying to conjure a weapon, a last resort—even if women in this world couldn't cultivate Martial Courage or Literary Heart, why couldn't she be an exception? As a transmigrator facing a hellish start, she should at least get some basic safety net, right?
Her words were cut short by another thrusting halberd. The officer leader scoffed, "You ants, you overestimate yourselves!"
Shen Tang: "..."
She couldn't recall anyone making her feel this frustrated, except perhaps her editor! As the halberd struck again, in a surge of anger, she grabbed its tip with her bare hands and tugged furiously.
"Haven't you had enough?!"
Nameless rage churned and burned in her chest, tossing a suddenly appearing piece of text back and forth in her mind. Her intuition told her this text might be the key to breaking the deadlock. It read:
[A loving mother's sword...]