In the inn’s corridor, the blood of the Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers formed a small stream, dripping steadily through the cracks in the wooden floorboards to the floor below. Blood droplets landed on the downstairs floor with a pitter-patter, as if it were raining inside the building.

Once the blood had stopped dripping, the inn finally fell silent.

It was like a torrential summer downpour ceasing, revealing a clean, perfectly serene sky.

Chen Ji stood wearily in the fading light, leaning on his Whale Blade; the tower-like Heavenly Strategy Army soldier slumped in the shadows, his face ashen, silently gasping for breath against the wall.

He clutched his chest, as if to slow the flow of blood.

At this moment, victory and defeat were starkly manifest, yet Chen Ji felt no joy as he looked at the bodies sprawled across the corridor.

In the silence, the soldier laboriously lifted his head: “Can I see the sword seed?”

Chen Ji paid him no mind, simply waiting quietly for his life to ebb away.

The soldier coughed up some blood, then weakly scoffed, “Stingy fellow… Don’t think having the sword seed is a good thing. From the day you began your cultivation, you’ll live your entire life under the towering shadow of the Mountain Master. The Mountain Master will surely come for you.”

Chen Ji quietly asked, “Does the Martial Temple hold a high position in the Jing Dynasty?”

The soldier’s eyes gradually lost focus: “That’s the Martial Temple…”

Chen Ji then asked, “Have you met Lu Jin?”

The soldier’s eyes flickered: “Is Lord Lu’s name one you are permitted to speak…?”

With that, the light completely faded from his eyes. A stream of ice energy surged from his body and flowed into Chen Ji’s Dantian.

Chen Ji felt a touch of disappointment at the quantity of ice energy. After witnessing Prince Jing’s surging ice flow, everyone else’s seemed remarkably insignificant.

For the Mountain Lord’s Path to progress, it seemed countless influential figures had to perish.

The next moment, the heavy sword on the ground was consumed by a scorching blaze, decaying inch by inch. The fire, bright as a searing sun, illuminated the dim inn as if it were broad daylight.

The sound of a sword being unsheathed reverberated through the skies above Guyuan.

The sound didn’t come from him; it resonated directly from the sky.

Chen Ji looked up in astonishment. He had heard this sound before when he killed Wang Chongli, the King of the Thousand-Year Army, and now it echoed again.

A pure sword intent burst forth from the ashes of the heavy sword, flying towards the patterns on Chen Ji’s waist… The invisible sword qi within the second pattern actually forged a new sword seed, using this pure sword intent.

Wait, a second sword seed?

Chen Ji recalled his childhood nightmares; even Xuanyuan seemed to have only wielded one sword seed.

With a thought, both sword seeds flew out from the patterns and hovered silently before him, like two identical black bamboo leaves.

He lifted the tattered part of his clothing and looked down. The first pattern had turned from black to light brown, and the constrained molten flow within it was completely gone. He wondered if there was any chance it could be restored.

At that moment, footsteps approached from behind, and Chen Ji retracted the sword seeds.

Xiao Man cautiously picked her way through the gaps between the bodies, peeking around as she searched: “Young Master? Young Master, are you still alive…?”

Chen Ji turned to look, meeting Xiao Man’s gaze. Xiao Man exclaimed with delight, “Young Master, you’re alive!”

But before Chen Ji could speak, she suddenly panicked, hastily turning and walking in the other direction, as if she had lost her head and needed to find it.

However, the corridor was circular, and as she walked, she soon found herself on Chen Ji’s other side again. “Ah!”

Just as she was about to turn and flee again, Chen Ji called out, baffled, “Why are you running? I’m not a ghost!”

Xiao Man stopped, looking down and picking at her fingernails.

Chen Ji asked, puzzled, “What exactly is wrong?”

Xiao Man hesitated for a long time: “Young Master, can Wuyun understand me?”

Chen Ji realized, looking at Xiao Man with a wry smile, “Yes.”

Xiao Man hesitated even longer: “Then can you also understand what it says?”

Chen Ji smiled, “Yes.”

Xiao Man hastily explained, “When I searched your clothes and looked for your silver earlier, it was because I was worried Madam Liang would take it again, not because I wanted to steal anything; and the cave cucumbers on your table, I only ate one. Those things are very precious, and I was afraid they’d spoil if I didn’t eat them…”

Her voice grew softer and softer, her confidence waning. “So you knew everything, didn’t you? No wonder it kept staring at me and wouldn’t let me touch it.”

Chen Ji waited silently for her to finish speaking before finally saying, “Thank you.”

Xiao Man froze on the spot: “Huh? What are you thanking me for, Young Master?”

Chen Ji said softly, “Thank you for being willing to come and save me.”

Xiao Man quickly waved her hands: “It’s what I should do. I promised Auntie I’d protect you… Oh, by the way, Young Master, a white light flashed in the corridor just now, did you see it? And there was the sound of a sword being unsheathed from the sky. Was that connected to you?”

Chen Ji’s heart subtly tightened.

Wuyun, perched on a beam above Xiao Man’s head, meowed, “She knows too much.”

At that moment, the sound of roof tiles shifting came from above, and the two people and one cat looked up simultaneously.

On the roof, Zhang Xia pressed her ear against the tiles, listening anxiously to the sounds beneath. Seeing her, the others followed suit, lying down beside her to listen.

Zhang Xia’s brows furrowed increasingly. Moments ago, she could still hear shouts and the clash of metal from below, but now, everything had ceased.

Qi Zhenzhuo propped himself up and quietly asked, “Have the Heavenly Strategy Army left?”

Zhang Xia didn’t answer, her heart sinking deeper. The fighting would only stop completely if one side had lost and died. But considering the difference in numbers, there was no way Chen Ji could have won.

She stood up and walked towards the crack: “I’m going down to look.”

Qi Zhenzhuo hurried to block her path: “Miss Zhang Er, I am an official. I’ll go.”

Zhang Xia considered for a moment: “Alright.”

Qi Zhenzhuo went to the crack and cautiously peered in, but he could only see the body of a Heavenly Strategy Army soldier lying by the doorway.

He pulled back, sat on the edge of the crack, and took a deep breath. His whole body was trembling, and he hesitated to descend.

Zhang Zheng angrily said, “Look at you, cowering! Are you going or not? If you don’t go, I will!”

“I’ll go!” Qi Zhenzhuo gritted his teeth and jumped down through the crack.

Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng immediately bent down beside the crack, listening quietly to the sounds within.

Just then, Qi Zhenzhuo’s voice suddenly came from the crack: “Ugh!”

Zhang Xia peered in and saw Qi Zhenzhuo standing at the entrance of Room Heavenly Character A, vomiting uncontrollably.

In the corridor, Qi Zhenzhuo held onto the doorframe, throwing up stomach acid and bile. When the vomiting subsided, he looked up at the bodies strewn across the corridor and immediately began to dry heave again.

It was too gruesome; one had to walk very carefully in this corridor just to avoid stepping on the bodies.

Footsteps approached from nearby. He strained to lift himself and look, and saw Chen Ji slowly walking through this corridor of purgatory, his Whale Blade in hand, blood still dripping from its tip.

Qi Zhenzhuo stumbled backward in fright: “You… you…”

Chen Ji frowned: “Where are the others?”

Qi Zhenzhuo composed himself and hastily explained, “They’re still up there. Did you kill all these people? Did you wipe out all the Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers in the inn? Ugh…”

Chen Ji ignored him, walked past him, and entered Room Heavenly Character A.

Zhang Xia was peering out from the crack. Upon seeing Chen Ji, she was instantly delighted: “You’re alright! I thought you…”

She turned her head, took a deep breath for a moment, and wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve before turning back and continuing, “It’s good that you’re okay.”

Chen Ji stacked tables and chairs beneath the crack: “Come down quickly. The defense line at Xumei Alley won’t hold much longer. Once the Heavenly Strategy Army crosses Xumei Alley, this area will quickly fall. Reinforcements are nowhere in sight, so we need to move to the grain and oil shop immediately.”

Zhang Xia responded, then led everyone from the roof down one by one. As soon as they reached the doorway, they all reacted like Qi Zhenzhuo, bending over and vomiting uncontrollably.

The mutilated bodies of their own kind were a tremor from the deepest part of the soul. The sight of the corpses instantly created a powerful cognitive dissonance, flooding their minds with fear and revulsion.

Everyone was vomiting, except for Chen Ji, Xiao Man, and the Crown Prince.

Chen Ji turned to look at the Crown Prince. Although the Crown Prince’s face was also pale, he was far better than the others. A thought struck Chen Ji: either the Crown Prince’s mental fortitude far surpassed that of an ordinary person, or he had already witnessed such horrific scenes and had passed the desensitization period.

The Crown Prince, seeing Chen Ji look at him, said in a dry voice, “I underestimated the Right Imperial Guard before. If I can return to the capital alive this time, I will definitely submit a memorial recommending you for your merits.”

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said, “Protecting Your Highness is my duty. You don’t need to be concerned.”

With that, he carried his Whale Blade and surveyed the corridor, pondering how to get so many people downstairs. As he passed Chen Wenxiao, Chen Wenxiao recoiled in terror: “Don’t come near me!”

Xiao Man’s eyes darted about. She quietly approached Madam Liang and said loudly, “Madam!”

Madam Liang turned and saw blood on Xiao Man’s clothes, then fell to the ground in terror: “You… what are you doing?”

Xiao Man stepped forward, knelt beside Madam Liang, and stared directly at her: “Madam, you will return all the properties Auntie left to my young master, won’t you? Gufulou outside Donghua Gate, Yujingyuan in the Eight Great Hutongs, Chen’s Grain and Oil Shop, the Silk Shop outside the Bell and Drum Tower, and the three hundred and twenty mu of fertile land in Changping. Not a single one can be missing, alright?”

Madam Liang hastily agreed: “Yes, I’ll return them! As soon as we get back to the capital, I’ll return them immediately!”

Xiao Man’s eyes darted again: “Only these? If my young master marries a high-ranking family’s legitimate daughter, shouldn’t you also help provide some betrothal gifts? I think Tianbaoge next to Gufulou is quite good. I know Tianbaoge belongs to the Chen family, and the property deed is with you!”

Madam Liang repeatedly agreed: “Tianbaoge too!”

Xiao Man stood up, satisfied, then turned and looked mischievously at Chen Liqin, Chen Wenxiao, and Wang Gui.

Just as she was pondering how to seize the opportunity to punish these people, she heard Zhang Xia call out, “Xiao Man, come help.”

Xiao Man quickly replied, “Coming!”

While everyone else was vomiting, Zhang Xia was the first to regain her composure. She led Xiao Man in collecting bedsheets and duvet covers from every room, then taught Xiao Man how to twist them into ropes and tie them together with fisherman’s knots, lowering them from the “cliff” where the stairs used to be.

Everyone slid down the rope to the lower floor. Xiao Man remained last, and when she looked up, she saw Wuyun perched on a beam, staring intently at her.

Xiao Man waved at it and whispered, “Let’s go quickly!”

Wuyun gazed at her for a moment, then suddenly leaped down from the beam and jumped into her arms.

Xiao Man froze. She looked down blankly at Wuyun in her arms: “You’re finally willing to let me hold you?”

She had tried countless times before, sometimes quietly approaching when Wuyun was asleep, sometimes secretly reaching out when it was eating, but she had never managed to touch Wuyun.

Before, she couldn’t understand why, but today she realized that all her little actions had been observed by Wuyun.

“You don’t blame me anymore?” Xiao Man suddenly recalled Chen Ji’s previous words and immediately added, “…Nine Heavens Responding to Primordial Thunder, Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable?”

Wuyun looked at her indifferently, then tilted its head towards the rope: *Stop wasting time, let’s go.*

Xiao Man was immediately overjoyed. She placed Wuyun on her head, gripped the rope tightly with both hands, and slid down.