Oppression

Before the sky had fully brightened, Li Jinshui was jolted awake by a series of heavy footsteps.

He opened his eyes, his muscles tensing instantly.

A burly figure blocked the entrance of the barracks, his face obscured by the morning light behind him. Yet, the fierce aura radiating from him pressed down like a massive boulder, making it hard to breathe.

Wang Tiezhu.

He had arrived at some unknown hour, standing in the doorway like an iron tower. His blade remained sheathed at his waist, but the killing intent in his eyes was so thick it seemed ready to spill from his sockets.

Li Jinshui sat up slowly and draped his coat over his shoulders, his movements unhurried.

He saw Er Gou huddled on the adjacent bunk, his face deathly pale, not daring to even draw a full breath.

"Are you Li Jinshui?" Wang Tiezhu's voice sounded like stones grinding against the ground, every word heavy with weight.

"I am."

Wang Tiezhu stepped into the barracks, closing the distance with every stride. He unleashed the pressure of his peak Ninth-Level Body Forging blood-qi without reservation; the air in the room seemed to solidify, and even the dust dared not drift.

"You killed my brother."

It was not a question. It was a statement. A verdict. A charge already set in stone.

Li Jinshui stood up and met his gaze.

He was half a head shorter than Wang Tiezhu and slighter in build. Yet, standing there, he did not retreat or dodge; his gaze was as flat as a winter lake, hiding unfathomable depths beneath the ice.

"I didn't kill him."

"Bullshit!" Wang Tiezhu slammed a palm onto the bed frame. With a sharp crack, the wood split into two long fissures, and splinters flew everywhere. "I've checked! The day my brother died, you were right next to him! He was a Squad Leader, and you were a newcomer. He gave you trouble while he was alive, so you held a grudge and struck from the shadows during the chaos of battle!"

He stepped closer as he spoke, his spit landing on Li Jinshui's face.

"You think you did it cleanly? You think no one saw? Let me tell you, I've been killing people on the battlefield for twelve years. I can see through anyone's intentions at a glance! It was you!"

The barracks fell into a deathly silence.

Er Gou and the others stopped breathing altogether.

Li Jinshui raised his hand and slowly wiped the spit from his face.

He looked at Wang Tiezhu, enunciating every word: "What you found is true—he did give me trouble. But the day he harassed me, the entire Squad Jia saw it—I did nothing and walked away. The day he died, I killed thirty-seven Di People on the city wall, with two hundred pairs of eyes watching. How your brother died, I didn't see, I don't know, and it has nothing to do with me."

He paused, his voice even flatter: "Squad Leader Wang, your brother is dead, and you are hurting; I understand that. But you cannot simply grab someone and call them the murderer just because you are in pain."

Wang Tiezhu stared at him, his eyes fierce enough to tear him apart.

Yet, he could find no fault in Li Jinshui's words.

Evidence?

He had none.

There was only suspicion, only hatred, and the agony of losing his brother—a pain with nowhere to vent, forcing him to find someone to bear the blame.

"You say you didn't kill him, do you have proof?" Wang Tiezhu's voice was so low it sounded like it was squeezed through his teeth.

"No."

"Then what the hell are you talking about!"

"But you say I killed him, do you have proof?"

Wang Tiezhu was left speechless.

Li Jinshui continued: "People die on the city walls every day. By your logic, is everyone still alive a suspect? You come after me today, who will you come after tomorrow? Who about the day after? If you investigate everyone in the Third Battalion, how long will that take?"

The air in the barracks felt frozen solid.

The muscles on Wang Tiezhu's face twitched, and his fists clenched until they creaked.

He knew Li Jinshui was quibbling. In his heart, he was certain this was the man who did it. But he truly had no evidence. No witnesses, no physical proof—only a rage building in his chest that was ready to explode.

After a long time, Wang Tiezhu spoke, his voice raspy and unrecognizable:

"Fine. You have no proof to prove you didn't kill him, and I have no proof to prove you did."

He took a step forward, looking down at Li Jinshui, smashing out every word:

"But this matter cannot just end here."

"Starting today, you will take over the patrols for the entire Third Battalion for one month. You will head out every day, from dawn until dusk, without stopping, without asking for leave, and without finding anyone to take your place."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of Er Gou and the others shifted completely.

Patrol duty.

That was the most dangerous task outside of the Death Squad Camp.

Small groups of Northern Di cavalry were elusive and specialized in slaughtering isolated patrol teams. Being sent out every day for a month meant the probability of encountering an enemy raid was almost certain. Even if one didn't die by the blades of the Di People, the exhaustion alone would break a man.

This was an attempt to work him to death.

"Squad Leader Wang!" Er Gou couldn't help but speak up, "That's too harsh! A month of daily patrols—who could survive that? You are—"

"Shut up!" Wang Tiezhu glared at him, his gaze so fierce it seemed ready to kill. "One more word, and you're going with him!"

Er Gou's face turned deathly pale, and he dared not speak again.

All eyes were fixed on Li Jinshui.

Anger? Resentment? Defiance?

He should have been angry, should have felt resentment, should have resisted.

Yet, there was nothing on Li Jinshui's face.

He stood there, looking at Wang Tiezhu, his eyes like two deep wells, the water within dark and bottomless.

Then he spoke, his voice as bland as plain water:

"Fine."

The single word was light, like a falling leaf.

But as it landed in the barracks, it left everyone stunned.

Wang Tiezhu was stunned as well.

He had expected Li Jinshui to argue, to resist, to trade insults or blows—that would have given him an excuse to strike on the spot. Even if he were punished later, he would have settled the score with this brat to avenge his brother.

Yet, Li Jinshui had simply agreed.

Calmly, as if agreeing to some trivial matter.

"You... you agreed?" Wang Tiezhu was momentarily at a loss for words.

"I said fine," Li Jinshui repeated, his voice just as flat. "Does Squad Leader Wang have anything else? If not, I need to wash up; we have roll call at the hour of the dragon."

He turned, picked up the towel hanging on the wall, and dipped it into the cold water of the basin.

The splashing sound was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent barracks.

Wang Tiezhu stared at his back, his chest heaving violently.

He wanted to say something more, but nothing came out. The other party refused to engage, and his punch felt like it had landed on cotton, leaving his chest aching with frustration.

Finally, he nodded fiercely: "Fine. Remember what you said. One month, not a single day less."

He turned and strode away.

The sound of his footsteps faded into the distance.

No one in the barracks dared to move or make a sound.

Li Jinshui wrung out the towel and wiped his face. The water was bone-chillingly cold, yet there was no expression on his face.

Er Gou finally couldn't hold it in anymore, his voice trembling: "Squad Leader... why did you agree? A month of patrol duty... this is meant to kill us! Let's go to the Camp Commander and report him! He has no proof, what right does he have to treat us like this?"

Li Jinshui hung the towel back up and picked up his leather armor to put it on.

"No need."

"But—"

"I said no need."

He tied the armor straps and turned to look at Er Gou.

Er Gou met those eyes and suddenly couldn't speak.

There was no anger in those eyes, no fear, not even exhaustion. There was only a vast calm, like the water in a deep pool, hiding something beneath the surface that no one could see.

"Pack your gear, roll call is at the hour of the dragon," Li Jinshui said.

Er Gou opened his mouth, then swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

At the hour of the dragon, the parade ground.

When the drums for roll call sounded, Li Jinshui appeared in the ranks right on time. He was dressed neatly, his saber properly equipped, looking as refreshed as if he had just had a good night's sleep.

Leading the three remaining men of Squad Jia, he collected the patrol token and marched out of the camp.

At the camp gate, Wang Tiezhu stood on high ground, staring at his retreating back.

A veteran beside him whispered: "Chief Wang, this kid... is not right. A normal person would have exploded by now after being treated like this. His reaction... is too steady."

Wang Tiezhu narrowed his eyes.

He also felt something was off.

But he couldn't imagine what Li Jinshui could possibly do. At the seventh level of Body Forging, facing his own peak ninth level, there was a two-stage gap. If it really came to a fight, ten Li Jinshuis wouldn't be enough for him to kill.

"Keep an eye on him," Wang Tiezhu said in a low voice. "I want to know everything he does every day, who he talks to, how many bowls of rice he eats."

"Yes."

Eagle Beak Ravine.

Li Jinshui led his squad across the familiar rocky beach.

The wind was strong, whipping dead grass and gravel against their legs, stinging sharply. Er Gou and the others followed behind him, looking tense and glancing around, terrified that Di soldiers might crawl out from some crevice in the rocks.

Li Jinshui, however, walked with a steady gait.

One could even say he walked with composure.

He pulled up his panel and took a look:

``` [Technique: Iron Shirt (7th Layer 0/40), Wolf Killing Seven Forms (Entry 30/50), Tiger Walk (Not Started 1/20)]

[Realm: Body Forging 7th Layer]

[Points: 27]

He raised his head, gazing toward the vast, boundless mountains in the distance.

Patrol duty.

Leaving the camp every single day.

To others, this was a life-threatening, bitter chore, but to him—

This was an opportunity delivered to his doorstep.

Killing enemies on the battlefield was too chaotic; heads were easily stolen, and points were scattered. But patrol duty was different. Small squads of Di soldiers, ten or twenty strong—if he encountered them, he would annihilate them all, and the points would be entirely his own.

One month.

As long as he killed a few more groups of Di soldiers, the 8th or 9th layer of Body Forging would no longer be a dream.

By then—

Wang Tiezhu, you wanted to finish me off.

But do you even know that you personally sent me to the place I wanted to be most?

The wind grew stronger, whipping his hem and making it snap loudly.

Er Gou leaned in, asking cautiously, "Squad Leader, which direction shall we search?"

Li Jinshui withdrew his gaze and looked ahead.

"Head deeper."

"Deeper? But it's more dangerous in the depths—"

"Afraid?"

Er Gou froze for a moment, then gritted his teeth and shook his head. "Not afraid! Wherever Squad Leader goes, we go!"

Li Jinshui did not smile; he simply nodded.

"Then let's move."

He stepped forward, his boots crunching against the gravel, creating a faint, rhythmic sound.

The three men behind him followed closely.

In the mountain ravine in the distance, the howling of wolves could be heard faintly, one after another—long, mournful, and shrill, as if calling out for something.

Li Jinshui listened to the wolf howls, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

No one saw it.

The arc vanished as quickly as it had appeared, so fast it seemed like an illusion.

Yet, it had truly existed.

That night, Li Jinshui returned to the barracks, lay on his bed, and stared at the pitch-black ceiling.

From the next bunk came the soft snoring of Er Gou. In the distance, an old soldier was talking in his sleep, mumbling curses at someone.

He closed his eyes.

In his mind, the fierce face of Wang Tiezhu emerged, along with those eyes that burned with the desire to kill him.

Then came another face—Li Jinbao, his "good" cousin. That face was smiling, smug and triumphant, saying, "Brother, don't blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not being born into the right family."

And Li Houde, his "good" clan leader. That face, slowly sipping water from a coarse ceramic bowl, not even lifting an eyelid as he sold him out.

One face after another emerged in the darkness, only to fade away one by one.

He felt no rage.

He simply counted in silence—

One, two, three, four...

His fingers slowly curled inside the quilt, clenching tight.

The wind rose outside, causing the window lattice to rattle softly.

One month later.

He would return.

By then—