A junior officer of Quzhao jumped down from a tree seven or eight meters high, his gleaming blade slashing straight toward Jiang Jin's head.
The smile on his face hadn't even faded before a repeating crossbow was aimed right at him. The woman didn't even look up as she fired the arrow.
Swish.
He heard the faint sound of the arrow piercing the air. He wanted to dodge, but suspended in mid-air, it was impossible. A cold sensation spread across his chest.
It didn't hurt much, as his extreme fear and reluctance completely overpowered the physical pain.
Thud.
The officer crashed to the ground, scattering dead leaves all around.
Thwack.
The arrow, which had only been halfway embedded in his chest, sank in completely, its bloody tip protruding from his back.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to look up at the woman who had shot him and stepped aside, now standing a short distance away. He couldn't understand how she had spotted him.
Yun Chengxuan, having already dealt with several men, rushed over and slashed his sword at the dying Quzhao officer's waist. How dare you ambush my aunt? I'll chop the shit out of you!
Jiang Jin: ...
Fang Wu hid behind a thicket of trees, peering through the gaps at the Jinyang Army in the distance, who were as fierce as wild wolves. He listened to the screams echoing intermittently through the dense forest.
He never expected the Jinyang Army to be this formidable, always able to easily discover their hiding spots.
Their formations also seemed to follow a specific strategy, maintaining an orderly balance of offense and defense, ensuring that his men, whether outnumbering them or not, never gained the upper hand.
Watching the Jinyang Army's encirclement shrink tighter and tighter, he gritted his teeth and shouted, Let's go, break out with me!
With that, he took the lead and charged out of the thicket, rushing toward the nearest Jinyang soldiers.
A burly man and the Quzhao soldiers didn't say a word, quickly following close behind.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Dozens of arrows rained down on them. Fang Wu blocked left and right, deflecting the arrows, but the soldiers behind him lacked his skill, and many were hit and fell to the ground.
Just as Fang Wu was about to reach the Jinyang archers, a dark shadow suddenly flashed before his eyes, and a gleaming blade slashed down at him.
Startled, Fang Wu hastily raised his sword to block.
Clang.
Sparks seemed to fly. Fang Wu felt a sharp pain in the web of his hand and almost lost his grip on his weapon. He rapidly retreated.
Zhou Sui pursued him closely, executing a horizontal slash toward Fang Wu's waist and abdomen.
Fang Wu parried as he backed away, but with a sharp clang, his sword snapped in two!
Slash.
Zhou Sui's momentum didn't falter. The sharp edge of his blade cleaved into Fang Wu's waist, and blood sprayed into the air like a fountain.
The burly man's eyes nearly split open in rage. General!
He was about to lunge forward when a petite woman dashed out in front of him.
Shuangjiang flashed him a wide grin. Your opponent is me.
The burly man swung his axe, bringing it down toward Shuangjiang. You are courting death!
Shuangjiang was completely fearless, raising her blade to meet the strike.
Bang.
Upon impact, the burly man felt a crushing weight like a mountain bearing down on him. Unable to hold onto his axe, it went whistling through the air as it flew from his grasp.
His hands went completely numb, and in that moment, he couldn't muster an ounce of strength.
Shuangjiang's blade slashed down once more.
Squelch.
Warm liquid sprayed all over Shuangjiang, but she paid it no mind, swiftly moving on to engage the other Quzhao soldiers.
In stark contrast to the bloody battle here, hundreds of miles away from Mount Yuqiu by a small lake, dozens of emaciated men and women in tattered clothes were using wooden ladles to scoop water into wooden buckets.
The lake water was murky, and much of the muddy bottom was already exposed.
A man suddenly smashed his wooden ladle into the lake, splashing up countless drops of muddy water.
He angrily rebuked a few men and women scooping water nearby. What right do you people from Yunzuo Village have to come here and fetch water? This lake belongs to our Yunyou Village.
The villagers of Yunzuo Village who were singled out looked up at him. Why does this lake belong to Yunyou Village? Our Yunzuo Village clearly has a share in it too.
What does this lake have to do with you? It is closest to our village, so naturally, it is ours, the man shouted indignantly.
The Yunzuo villagers didn't coddle him. Hah, just because it is close to you makes it yours? Have some shame. The land here is shared by all three of our villages; it has been passed down from our ancestors like this.
Alright, stop arguing and save your energy. If you ask me, we should just give all the water to Yuzhong Village. Otherwise, the crops of all three villages will die of thirst. It is better to save at least one.
The man sneered coldly. Heh, why don't you say all the water should go to our Yunyou Village? Why should we protect your Yuzhong Village...
Sitting under a large tree in the distance were three old men, equally dressed in rags.
They were the village heads of the three villages: Han Ping, Han Da, and Han Yi.
The three of them watched the farce by the lake with indifference, their eyes wooden and filled with sorrow.
After a long time, Han Ping, who was sitting in the middle, sighed. At a time like this, what is there left to fight about?
After saying this, his back hunched even more. The heavens are not giving us a way to survive. It hasn't rained in months, and this lake is about to dry up. Our crops haven't even sprouted yet.
Decades ago, their three villages were actually one. Under the leadership of the village head at the time, they had fled up the mountain to escape disaster.
It was remote here, free from the ravages of war, but the land was barren.
And precisely because the land was barren, the villagers often quarrelled over land disputes. Over time, the village split into three.
Normally, the water in the mountains was sufficient. There was mountain spring water enough for the people of the three villages to drink and use, as well as a small stream to irrigate the crops.
However, with no rain for months, the stream had completely dried up. There was still a little mountain spring water left, but it had dwindled to a trickle, not even enough for everyone to drink, let alone water the crops.
They had no choice but to come to this lake to fetch water for their fields. But the lake wasn't large to begin with, and due to the drought, the water level had dropped significantly. Now, even the lakebed was exposed.
If it didn't rain soon, the water in this lake wouldn't last more than a few days, and their crops would die too.
Sitting on the left, Han Da spoke mournfully, We still need to think of a way. We can't go on like this, or we might all starve to death.
They were almost completely isolated from the rest of the world on the mountain, relying entirely on self-sufficiency.
Because the land was poor, even with favorable weather, the crops they worked themselves to the bone to grow all year weren't enough to keep their bellies full.
Fortunately, living in the mountains, they managed to scrape by on wild fruits, wild vegetables, grass roots, and tree bark.
But this year's drought meant that not only did their fields yield no harvest, but the trees and wild vegetables in the mountains were also affected.
At this rate, let alone wild fruits and vegetables, even many of the trees in the mountains would die of thirst this year.
A wave of sorrow washed over the three of them. The lives they were living now were hardly any different from savages, without enough clothes to cover their bodies or enough food to fill their stomachs.
What can we do? There is not a single soul in these mountains. Even if we wanted to become bandits, there is no one to rob, Han Yi said, leaning his back gently against the tree trunk.
How about the young and strong men from our three villages go deep into the mountains together to try our luck? We might be able to hunt down some big game, he suggested.
