Barren City of the Northern Frontier

In the dense forest, countless bandits lay hidden, their cold gazes fixed on the prison wagon below.

Whoo—tweet tweet—

The rhythmic birdcall echoed, and a bloodthirsty glint flashed in the bandits' eyes as they emerged from behind rocks, bushes, and trees.

"Brother, lend me your clothes."

A voice sounded behind one of the bandits. Before he could turn around, he was silenced forever.

Zhou Yi changed into the bandit's clothes, circulated his magical power to perform the Bone Shifting Skill, altered his facial features, and then applied an illusion technique, making himself seven or eight parts similar to the dead bandit.

Meanwhile, the imperial guards on the mountain road had already noticed something amiss.

Seeing startled birds fleeing the mountain, Yang Shou, the commander of the imperial guards, waved his hand to signal a halt to the march, ordering scouts to investigate the mountain.

After waiting for a long time without the scouts returning, he concluded that there was an ambush in the mountain.

"Form ranks, prepare for battle!"

The troops led by Yang Shou were elite imperial guards. They quickly gathered the prison wagon and formed a circular formation, ready for battle.

"Hahaha! Heaven is above! I am a protector under the Heavenly King! Today, I will slaughter all of Li Butcher's family and offer them as a sacrifice to the Heavenly King!"

A deafening roar echoed, followed by dozens of boulders flying from the mountain, raining down on the military formation.

"Catapults!"

Yang Shou exclaimed in alarm. Before he could disperse the formation, the boulders were already crashing down.

The boulders hurled from the mountain were unstoppable by human force. They smashed into the crowd, and screams of agony filled the air.

Three or four rounds of boulders shattered the imperial guards' formation.

"Kill! Kill..."

Shouts of attack resounded from both sides of the mountain, with the sound of at least several thousand people.

Yang Shou shouted loudly, "Form ranks, form ranks!"

The imperial guards barely managed to reorganize their formation, only to be met with a rain of arrows, resulting in more heavy casualties.

"Defend!"

Despair flashed in Yang Shou's eyes. It wasn't the number of enemies he feared, but rather other guesses he had in mind.

At least a dozen catapults and organized archers – how could bandits or rebels afford such things? The enemy's deliberate shouting of their origins was clearly just a pretext.

As soon as the imperial guards and bandits engaged in close combat, they noticed something strange.

The elite imperial guards, who trained and honed their bodies every day, found their strength inferior to the bandits' brute force.

Yang Shou used his twelve-foot spear to kill several bandits. From his vantage point on horseback, he could see even more clearly that the imperial guards were already retreating steadily.

"I cannot die like this!"

With the commander already harboring thoughts of retreat, how could his soldiers fight to the death? Whether intentionally or by oversight, there were no bandits blocking the mountain road in front or behind.

Thus, after Yang Shou took the lead and fled on horseback, the imperial guards scattered and fled in both directions.

The bandits' target was the prison wagon, so they didn't pursue the imperial guards, instead brandishing their weapons and slaughtering the prisoners.

The Li family members in the prison wagon were shackled and had no power to resist. They could only watch helplessly as they were massacred.

In the forest, Zhou Yi stood on a tree branch, carrying the young Li Hong.

"We should leave. They'll be checking the corpses soon, and might discover something amiss."

During the imperial guards' and bandits' chaotic battle, Zhou Yi seized the opportunity to rescue Li Hong, leaving a bandit of similar build and with a crushed face in the prison wagon.

"Senior, please wait. I want to watch my family die with my own eyes, so I can remember this hatred even more deeply!"

Li Hong showed no signs of crying or sadness. He listened to the wails and screams of his mother, brothers, and relatives as they died one by one under the bandits' blades.

A moment later, all the Li family members were dead. The bandits opened the prison wagon and laid out the corpses one by one.

Several men in long robes walked out from among the bandits. After counting the bodies, they carefully examined the corpses with blurred and bloody faces, scrutinizing their builds and attire.

"The Jiangnan Aristocratic Families are behind this."

Zhou Yi, having overheard the conversation of the men in long robes, said, "They don't suspect you. They think you suffered severe facial injuries in the chaos."

"Those are my uncle Li Chi, my cousin Li Yi, and my younger cousin Li Liang. They're only a year or two younger than me, and their builds are similar. My brother is meticulous. Fearing that I would be pursued by the Brocade Guard, he sent people to destroy their faces."

Li Hong's voice was calm and unwavering, but his eyes were bloodshot.

"To be honest, I have more faith in your brother. Whether it was the disfigurement or the people who did it, they probably didn't know the purpose of your brother's actions!"

Zhou Yi grabbed Li Hong's collar and disappeared into the forest in a few leaps.

Northern Frontier.

Barren City.

Just the name tells you it's a bitterly cold place.

The Fengyang Kingdom exiled criminals here, near an iron mine where they would dig until they died or a general amnesty was declared.

The sound of hooves echoed, startling the soldiers on duty.

"Halt!"

The soldiers drew their sabers, blocking the path of the two riders who had come at a gallop: "What business do you have in Barren City?"

"Visiting an old friend."

Zhou Yi dismounted, and two silver ingots rolled to the ground: "Oh? Officer, you dropped your silver!"

"Ah?"

The city gate official seemed never to have encountered such a brazen bribe. Even the most shameless officials handed over and accepted silver in secret.

Disgusting, even with his face covered?

The city gate official sneered inwardly, but his movements were swift. He picked up the silver, wiped it off, and stuffed it into his pocket: "Who are you looking for, sir?"

Zhou Yi said, "All I know is his surname is Wei, from Yu Province, arrived around the thirty-sixth year of Chongming."

The city gate official drawled, "That's almost thirty years ago. Who knows if he's even alive? This is going to be difficult!"

Zhou Yi flicked his sleeve, and two more silver ingots fell to the ground.

The city gate official said helplessly, "Go find Liu San in the city. He manages the miners from Yu Province. If he's still alive, he'll definitely be able to find him."

Zhou Yi took out two more silver ingots from his pocket: "Is there any way to see him, arrange some easier work?"

The city gate official felt the silver burning his hand: "You'll have to go to the yamen and find Steward Sun in the household affairs office. If you spend the silver, you can work as a handyman at the yamen."

Zhou Yi continued to hand over silver: "Anything else I should be aware of?"

"Sir, you're so generous!"

The city gate official patted his chest: "I'll take you to handle things. Don't mention finding someone; I can even take someone out of Barren City."

Zhou Yi asked in surprise, "You can take them away?"

"You don't understand. If we couldn't take them away, how could so many people die in the mines every year?"

The city gate official instructed the soldiers under his command to stand guard properly and not let any thieves into the city, then led Zhou Yi and Li Hong into the city.

Inside the city, the walls were broken and crumbling, and weeds grew wildly on the streets. There wasn't a soul in sight. The shops on both sides were empty, and the broken windows and doors creaked in the wind like ghosts.

"This used to be a garrison for the border troops. It was quite prosperous back then, but now that the border troops have gone to Yizhou, all that's left is an empty city..."

The city gate official seemed to feel guilty about taking the silver and took the initiative to act as a guide, recounting the historical changes of Barren City.

"Look at that muster platform. The Duke Who Pacifies the Nation used to beat the drums here..."

"This tavern has the fine wine of Shenjing. The Duke Who Pacifies the Nation would come here for a drink after every victory..."

"..."

Eight or nine out of ten things the city gate official said were related to the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation. Only when you arrived at the Northern Frontier did you realize how great Li Wu's reputation was and how far-reaching his influence was.

Following the city gate official's words, Li Hong seemed to see his father commanding troops on the muster platform and drinking freely in the tavern.

Zhou Yi patted Li Hong on the shoulder and transmitted his voice: "Remember what your brother told you!"

Li Hong nodded slightly, suppressing his emotions.

"Sir, rest assured, before I advance to the Innate Realm, I will change my surname to Zhou."

The effect of silver in Barren City was even greater than Zhou Yi had expected.

With the city gate official's introduction, Steward Sun of the household affairs office was very understanding and directly quoted a price.

"One thousand taels for a living person, an extra two hundred taels to register the household. Honest prices for all, old and young!"