Breaking Free From Shackles

By the next morning, Yan Nu had once again depleted all his True Qi from training.

His injuries were already half healed. Though the surface wounds looked gruesome, the internal injuries had almost completely recovered.

However, after hanging for a day, he felt hungry, his eyes fixated on the wild grass by the roadside.

Just then, a Martial Artist passed by. Yan Nu quickly called out, "Uncle, could you give me something to eat? Thank you."

The passing Martial Artist was stunned. Do I know you?

A Lowborn on the verge of death from whipping, displayed for three days, meant to be left to die, was now asking him for food? How ridiculous!

"Hahaha, you big dummy, do you want a Last Meal?"

Yan Nu had never heard of a Last Meal and retorted, "Is a Last Meal tastier than grass?"

"Grass? You eat grass?" The passing Martial Artist burst into laughter.

Yan Nu nodded, "I'm just so hungry..."

The passing Martial Artist, feeling playful and wanting to tease the fool, saw some grass by the roadside, casually pulled up a few stalks, and shoved them into Yan Nu's mouth.

"Here, here, I'll treat you to some grass!"

Unexpectedly, Yan Nu chewed vigorously, as if it were delicious. "Thank you, Uncle. Do you have any more?"

"..." The passing Martial Artist was taken aback for a moment, then grinned crookedly. "You really are a starving ghost, eating anything!"

"You want to eat grass, huh! I've got plenty! I'll feed you! Eat yourself to death!"

He found more grass and stuffed handfuls into Yan Nu's mouth, forcing him to swallow.

"No! Don't!"

Uncle Hong happened to be walking with the Steward and saw Yan Nu being force-fed grass. Uncle Hong rushed forward and grabbed the Martial Artist's leg.

"Yan Nu, spit it out quickly!"

"Spit out what? Eat it all!" Steward Liao commanded with a smile.

"Steward! You can't do this! You promised me that if Yan Nu admitted his mistake, you'd spare his life," Uncle Hong pleaded urgently from the side.

Steward Liao ignored him, merely chuckling. "Yan Nu'er, I didn't expect you to still be alive. You're really resilient... Come on, don't spit it out, swallow it all!"

"Okay!" Yan Nu was very obedient, chewing a few times before swallowing it all.

"Hahahaha! Continue!" Seeing Yan Nu obediently eating grass, Steward Liao couldn't help but laugh heartily, then waved for people to continue feeding him grass.

Eating a little grass might not kill a person, but a stomach full of it certainly would.

Handfuls of grass were stuffed into Yan Nu's mouth, and he accepted it all, eating every bit.

Towards the end, Yan Nu stopped chewing and simply swallowed it whole.

"Here, swallow it! More! There's plenty!"

"Eating a stomach full of grass, you'll be a dead ghost satisfied."

The passing Martial Artist fed him grass frantically, while Yan Nu seemed to be feasting.

"Stop..." Uncle Hong said with a mournful face. He had told Yan Nu to be submissive and pleasing yesterday, and he hadn't expected Yan Nu to actually obey... but in such a way.

He shouldn't listen to everything, you silly boy! Can a person live after eating a stomach full of grass?

He could only hope to quickly beg the Steward to release him, and then see if he could vomit it out.

Uncle Hong wiped away his tears and said, "Steward Liao, he's eaten the grass. Please show some mercy and let him go."

"Let him go?" Steward Liao leaned down to look at him. "I never promised you that... I just came to see if he was dead."

"What!" Uncle Hong was finally enraged. "You... why are you so cruel! He's just an imbecile!"

"I'm cruel?" Steward Liao said coldly. "Demons and monsters are everywhere in this world. Leave the city, and you won't travel fifty miles before becoming monster food!"

"People in the fort were eaten by monsters just the day before yesterday, and more went missing last night!"

"The truly cruel ones are the monsters! The Hu Barbarians!"

"If it weren't for them, this world would be peaceful, and I wouldn't be stuck in this broken Fortified Manor, managing a bunch of Lowborns all day!"

"None of you are easy to deal with. Do you think I make you work day and night to store water and train soldiers for nothing? The Hu Barbarians are coming!"

"Wherever the Tu Fa Clan passes, there are corpses everywhere. In the battle at the Ji River, the Jin army was utterly defeated! Now Qingzhou's gates are wide open. The fate of the world rests in the hands of us powerful clans! You should be grateful to have a place to live and a night of peace! And you dare call me cruel?"

Uncle Hong was left dazed by Steward Liao's tirade.

He didn't understand much about the fate of the world, but he knew that there was war and chaos outside. The common people could only hide here, relying on the powerful clans to survive.

Yan Nu had already eaten a stomach full of grass and wouldn't survive. Why should he anger the Nobles further?

So, Uncle Hong trembled, not daring to retort.

However, Yan Nu, overhearing the mention of the Ji River battle, his eyes lit up, and he asked with immense anticipation, "Steward! Steward! In the battle at the Ji River, did my Grandpa survive?"

"Is he coming back soon?"

Yan Nu thought of his Grandpa returning from the army and felt happy. But Shen Leling's words last night still bothered him, so when he heard the Steward mention the Ji River battle, he quickly pressed for details.

However, Steward Liao had no idea who his Grandpa was.

"Huh? What is it? What do you mean, Grandpa?"

Uncle Hong's face was dejected. Knowing Yan Nu wouldn't survive, he said, "Your Grandpa was one of the militia soldiers the Fort Master sent to support the Governor of Qingzhou last year."

"Ha? Ahahaha!" Steward Liao was stunned, then burst into laughter.

"Weren't those white-haired soldiers already dead?"

His laughter made Yan Nu's smile freeze.

Steward Liao looked at Yan Nu mockingly. "You're still waiting? Those white-haired soldiers were sent to their deaths by Gou Xi as soon as they arrived!"

"The soldiers from the various noble families all died north of the Ji River. It was precisely by using them as cannon fodder that Gou Xi managed to escape safely to the south bank and had time to burn all the boats..."

Speaking of this, Steward Liao grumbled indignantly, "That dog Gou Xi is truly useless. He held the advantageous terrain, and his 200,000 troops couldn't defeat the enemy's 30,000! He still has the nerve to spread rumors and deceive people! If one person could really slay ten thousand men, the Hu Barbarians would have swept across the land long ago!"

Yan Nu couldn't believe it and shouted, "Are you lying to me? You and Uncle Hong didn't say that!"

"Oh?" Steward Liao glanced sideways at Uncle Hong.

"I'm sorry... Yan Nu, I lied to you. I shouldn't have told you that you'd get news if you met the quota... It's all my fault, I harmed you." Uncle Hong lowered his head, filled with regret.

He had told a lie to conceal a piece of information, leading to the current situation. He had thought Yan Nu would never reach the quota in his lifetime, but Yan Nu, being simple-minded, had actually achieved it.

At this moment, Yan Nu's eyes were wide open, staring fixedly at Steward Liao.

"Dead, and you can no longer eat, no longer laugh, no longer miss, no longer protect the one you love..."

His Grandpa's face lingered in his mind. This was the person he loved.

From the time he could remember, he had been with his Grandpa. It was Grandpa who taught him to farm, to protect, to wander, and to return home... taught him principles, taught him how to live.

Even though they worked desperately, they never had a good day, but Grandpa always said that hardship would pass quickly, and things would get better next year.

They had waited for the rebels, waited for the government, waited for the imperial court, waited for the noble families, waited for Immortals... No matter how much pain they endured, he met it with a smile.

As long as Grandpa was there, Yan Nu was willing to wait forever!

But reality never allowed it.

"Eee..." Suddenly, he opened his mouth and whimpered with a foolish smile.

This inexplicable smile made Steward Liao's heart palpitate. "Is he crazy?"

Uncle Hong also looked at Yan Nu blankly.

At this moment, Yan Nu's eyes were red, and his laughter was mixed with choked sobs.

He remembered Grandpa saying: If one day I die, don't cry then. Be brave and live on strongly.

Yan Nu had always remembered that Grandpa loved his smile the most.

So Yan Nu opened his mouth wide, desperately trying to smile. He wanted Grandpa to hear, he wanted Grandpa to see.

However, the brilliant smile that used to come so easily, even when he was beaten to the brink of death, was impossible to produce now.

The more he couldn't smile, the more anxious he became.

He maintained a grinning posture, but only stiff sobs could be squeezed from his throat: "Eee... Eee..."

Uncle Hong trembled and said, "Steward, give Yan Nu a quick end."

"So noisy, kill him!" The reason Steward Liao targeted Yan Nu so much was that he couldn't stand his constant smiling.

Their group of nobles was always frowning, under immense pressure. Why should Yan Nu, a commoner, be so happy and smiling every day?

At this command, a Martial Artist drew his saber and slashed.

"Thwack!" The Martial Artist's steel saber chopped into Yan Nu's neck.

Yan Nu's neck tilted, and then nothing happened.

The Martial Artist stared at the blade in shock. He hadn't expected the blade to stop! This was his neck, how could it be blocked?

To be precise, it was blocked by the wound!

After all, Yan Nu's body was covered in bloody wounds from the whip lashes.

As a result, the saber strike made a sound like a dull blade hitting flesh.

"What are you doing? Does it look good to block your neck? Hurry up and kill him!" Steward Liao urged.

The Martial Artist swallowed and tried another angle, still unable to cut through!

Now, Steward Liao also noticed something was wrong. Indestructible?

At the same time, Yan Nu stopped whimpering.

"I won't wait anymore." He stared intently at Steward Liao, his eyes blood red, as if there was no one left worth waiting for.

Steward Liao trembled as he looked at Yan Nu, whose eyes were as red as if they were about to spew fire.

"Thump!" Suddenly, a loud noise.

Yan Nu's right arm swung forward fiercely!

The chain tightened, and the connection between the chain and the iron pillar made a loud noise.

Then Yan Nu retracted his arm, gathered strength backward, and after a rattling sound, struck out again!

"Dong!" This time the loud noise was even bigger! Even the towering iron pillars vibrated!

Then came the third strike, the fourth... too fast! Too heavy! Yan Nu was desperately punching, no, more accurately, swinging a sledgehammer!

The method of infusing True Qi into external objects to unleash power... this was the only move he knew!

One hammer! Two hammers! Three hammers! Four hammers!

"Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!"

Each hammer strike was heavier than the last, each sound louder than the previous! It was like being struck in the heart! The connection point between the iron pillar and the chains could no longer bear the strain!

Steward Liao retreated in horror, and Martial Artists from afar, hearing the commotion, rushed over.

"How is this possible? Where did he get such strength! Shouldn't he be on the verge of death?"

No one had expected that Yan Nu, who appeared to be dying, still possessed such power and such abundant True Qi!

Then why didn't he use it before? Why did he have to endure two hundred lashes? All this time, Yan Nu had been like a fool, letting others bully him without complaint, yet he possessed such astonishing strength.

Little did they know, Yan Nu had always remembered Grandpa's words: If they hit or curse you, never fight back, but if they try to kill you... you must run! Anyone who blocks you, kill them!

It was only now that Yan Nu had finally lost all attachment to this place.

"Ah!" he roared, his muscles tensing, blood surging!

The Hammer True Qi within his body surged and boiled, even the vortexes in the Xuanji and Huagai acupoints spun madly!

Both types of True Qi exerted their power together, and with a deafening roar.

"Bang!"

The chains were finally broken by him!

Yan Nu swung the chains shackled to his right arm, then swung his arm in a wide arc, smashing them fiercely against the iron pillar on his left.

"Bang!"

The chains were made of fine steel, but the pillars were not. Tea Mountain Fort wouldn't be so wasteful as to erect pure steel pillars in the execution ground.

This blow, like a heavy hammer, smashed the connection point between the chains and the iron pillar.

Yan Nu broke free from his shackles!

He strode forward, two six-foot-long chains still looped around his wrists! Dragging them on the ground!

"Quick! Stop him!"

By now, the execution ground was surrounded by hundreds of Martial Artists!

Steward Liao retreated into the crowd in terror. Although he possessed some exquisite martial skills, he hadn't seen much actual combat. And Yan Nu's current aura was too terrifying!

Yan Nu was like a bloodied figure, wearing only torn trousers, his bare feet leaving bloody prints with every step.

He surveyed his surroundings, realizing he was trapped.

"Don't block me..." Yan Nu said, each word deliberate and serious.

However, the response was: "Kill!"

Martial Artists, their True Qi erupting, their sword strikes heavy, attacked from all directions.

Yan Nu immediately leaped into the air, swinging his chained arms to sweep his surroundings, creating sounds like wind and thunder!

"Clang clang clang!"

"Pfft pfft pfft!"

Sounds of metal striking metal, sounds of flesh being struck.

Within six feet of the chains, those who were hit died, and those who were grazed were sent flying!

Yan Nu spared no True Qi, unleashing his full power with every move. He had no fancy techniques, no regard for subtlety! It was all just one word: smash!

Smash them to pieces!