Li Zhenyue lowered his head and looked at the broken blade drenched in Cao Hongshen's blood.
Then he raised his eyes toward the body split cleanly in two not far away, his Adam's apple bobbing for a long while.
It was as though every ounce of strength had been drained from him, and his back slowly caved in.
He knelt where he was and bowed deeply in Xiao Jin's direction, pressing his forehead against the cold muddy ground. His voice was hoarse and dry.
"Li Family Head Li Zhenyue... is willing to lead the entire clan in submission to the Imperial Court."
"From this day onward, every member of the Li Family shall be the general's foot soldiers. Wherever your blade points, we will not shrink even from ten thousand deaths."
The hundred-odd surviving soldiers behind him fell silent for a moment before kneeling one after another, casting aside their weapons as their armor loosened and slipped, like withered grass snapped by an autumn wind.
Xiao Jin sat still upon his horse, lowering his gaze at Li Zhenyue kneeling in the mud. A fleeting appraisal passed through his eyes, as though he were judging whether an item freshly bought was worth keeping.
At his side, Cao Hongshen's blood slowly seeped into the crimson patterns on the Nine Nether Baleful Suppression Demon Blade, deepening its dark-red gleam by another shade.
"Kill one man."
Xiao Jin spoke calmly, neither loudly nor softly, yet every person present heard him clearly.
"And take in another dog."
He sheathed the demon blade at his saddle, his movement still casual, as though that strike just now had merely brushed dust from his clothes.
"Li Zhenyue, you are smarter than Cao Hongshen."
"Only the living can serve their master. The dead can only feed the blade."
Xiao