Yun Ruoxi

Li Jinshui and the other two crept deeper into the woods.

They'd learned their lesson this time. They didn't dare take the main road, instead picking their way through thorny undergrowth and trees so dense that not a ray of sunlight could get through.

Monkey led the way, Er Gou walked in the middle, and Li Jinshui brought up the rear. The three of them were like startled rabbits, stopping and holding their breath at the slightest rustle.

After nearly half an hour, the woods grew quieter and quieter.

Too quiet.

Li Jinshui frowned and was about to call Monkey to a halt when—

"Ahhh—!!!"

Er Gou let out a scream and suddenly dropped downward!

Li Jinshui reacted in a flash, grabbing the back of his collar and yanking him away from the edge of a pit.

Er Gou fell to the ground, his face white as paper and his whole body trembling.

At his feet was a deep pit covered with dead leaves and branches. Several sharpened stakes stood upright at the bottom.

"A trap..." Monkey crouched to look, his expression changing too. "If there's a trap, that means..."

Before he could finish, more than a dozen figures suddenly appeared in the surrounding bushes!

"Don't move!"

"Hands up!"

"Do you speak Great Zhou or Di?! Answer!"

Their voices were urgent and fierce. Blades and spears pointed at the three of them as they formed a circle around them.

Li Jinshui's muscles tensed all over, his hand already resting on his sword hilt—

But the next moment, he froze.

Their clothes...

Ragged military uniforms, smeared with blood and mud, but he knew that style all too well.

Great Zhou soldiers.

Were they on his side?

"Great Zhou!" Monkey was the first to react, raising both hands and shouting, "We're from Great Zhou! We came from North-Rejecting City!"

The men hesitated, but they didn't lower their weapons. They only glanced at one another.

A burly man who looked like their leader stepped forward, sizing up the three of them. His gaze lingered longest on Li Jinshui.

"From North-Rejecting City? Which unit are you with?"

Li Jinshui let go of his sword hilt. "Third Battalion, Squad Jia. I'm Ten-Man Commander Li Jinshui."

The burly man's eyes lit up. "Li Jinshui? The Li Jinshui who got chased by someone in the Pulse-Opening Realm and still made it back alive?"

Li Jinshui's mouth twitched.

What the hell kind of fame was that?

"That's me."

The burly man immediately sheathed his blade and waved to the others behind him. "They're ours! Put them down, put them down!"

Only then did the men relax and lower their weapons. One by one, they looked relieved to have escaped disaster.

"Brother, sorry, so sorry!" The burly man hurried over and grabbed Li Jinshui's hand, his eyes reddening. "We're from the Logistics Battalion. We've been on the run for two days. We've been hiding from everyone we see, and thought anyone we came across was a Di soldier..."

Li Jinshui pulled his hand free and asked, "You've been hiding here? How many of you are there?"

The burly man lowered his voice. "Seventeen. And there's one more—"

He glanced around, leaned close to Li Jinshui's ear, and dropped his voice even lower.

"That female guest officer in purple is here too."

Li Jinshui's pupils contracted slightly.

Yun Ruoxi?

She'd made it all the way over here?

"Take me to see her."

The burly man nodded and led the way.

The group crossed the woods and walked for the better part of an incense stick before reaching the foot of an extremely secluded cliff.

The cliff face curved inward, forming a natural cave. Branches and vines covered the entrance completely.

They pushed aside the branches and went inside. There was plenty of room within, and more than a dozen people lay scattered about. They were all Great Zhou soldiers, every one of them wounded.

And on a rock at the very back lay a familiar figure, half-reclining.

Her purple clothes were tattered and soaked with blood. Her hair hung loose, and her face was so dirty that its original color was impossible to make out.

But there was that icy air about her, and those eyes that still looked down on everyone even in her weakened state—

Yun Ruoxi.

She was badly hurt.

Thick bandages wrapped her chest, blood still seeping through them. One leg bent at an unnatural angle, clearly broken. Her face was white as paper, her lips drained of color, and she'd grown visibly thinner.

But even so, when she saw Li Jinshui enter, her gaze remained just as haughty.

"It's you."

Her voice was hoarse and weak, but not a trace of her arrogance had faded.

Li Jinshui stood in front of her, looking down at her with an impassive face.

"Lady Yun."

Yun Ruoxi stared at him in silence for several breaths, then spoke.

"They said you're the strongest among them."

Li Jinshui said nothing.

At the peak of the Inner Strength stage, he was indeed the strongest one there. The rest were at the seventh or eighth layer of Body Forging, and a few were so badly injured they were on the verge of death.

Yun Ruoxi continued, "From now on, these people are under your command."

Li Jinshui raised an eyebrow.

Command them?

Why should he?

He glanced at Yun Ruoxi. In this condition, whether she'd even survive was anyone's guess.

Yet her eyes still looked at him as if he were a servant.

He opened his mouth, about to say something.

But the words died on his lips.

He remembered that the woman before him was in the Pulse-Opening Realm.

No matter how badly she was injured, no matter how close to death she looked, she was still in the Pulse-Opening Realm.

Did she have some trump card that would take them both down?

Some secret technique that could drag someone to the grave with her?

If he said no and she launched one last desperate attack—

A chill ran down Li Jinshui's back.

He nodded, his voice as calm as if he were commenting on the weather.

"Fine."

Yun Ruoxi seemed not to have expected him to agree so readily. She froze for a moment, then the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

"At least you know what's good for you."

She closed her eyes and paid him no further attention.

Li Jinshui stood there, watching her for two breaths, then turned and walked out.

When he reached the cave entrance, he glanced back.

Yun Ruoxi leaned against the rock with her eyes closed, her face deathly pale, her chest rising and falling faintly as if she might stop breathing at any moment.

He looked away and walked out.

But inside, he was cursing up a storm.

What's with the grand act? You're injured this badly and you're still putting on airs? If I weren't worried you had some trick up your sleeve, I'd have turned around and walked out already.

Outside the cave, the dozen or so soldiers watched him anxiously.

Li Jinshui swept his gaze over them.

Some were wounded, some were crippled, all were gaunt with hunger, and their eyes were full of fear and confusion.

He sighed.

"What are you all standing around for? Those who need bandages, get bandaged. Those who need rest, get some rest. I'll find us something to eat tonight."

The men hesitated, then began moving as if they'd finally found someone to look to for guidance.

The burly man came over and asked quietly, "Commander Li, what do we do now?"

Li Jinshui looked toward the woods outside the cave.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows across the ground.

"First, we stay alive. We'll figure out the rest later."

He felt the panel in his arms.

His points were still at 15.

He needed a chance to kill a few more squads.

But that woman lying inside...

He narrowed his eyes.

Pulse-Opening Realm, badly wounded, and with a nasty temper to boot.

He'd better keep an eye on her.