The forest was deathly still. Xianglan dared not move a muscle, her body trembling so violently that the leaves of the low bushes beside her rustled. She shifted slightly and suddenly touched something. Looking closely, she realized it was a hand. Following the arm upward, she met the face of a corpse—eyes wide open, expression wretched and terrified. Xianglan turned pale with shock, clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream and biting her handkerchief to keep her teeth from chattering.
Lin Jinlou lay motionless in the snow, his mind clear. Earlier, he had spotted the character "Lu" engraved on an arrow shaft. Lu Shaotang’s troops were skilled archers, and since his downfall in Jiangnan, he had sought refuge with the Second Prince in the capital. The Second Prince had long coveted the crown prince’s position, and with the crown prince away from the capital and defenses weakened, tonight was the perfect opportunity to stage a rebellion. The Imperial Guards, traveling light without heavy armor, had been slaughtered in this forest, their souls now wandering as wild ghosts. Lin Jinlou felt a surge of relief—he had already sent his subordinate to deliver a message. Otherwise, the rebels’ ambush with arrows would have inflicted heavy casualties, and any attempt to break through to report would have been perilous. Yet he cursed under his breath: outnumbered and in grave danger, with Xianglan in tow, his options were limited. His priority was to find a way to get her out safely.
After a moment of silence, Xianglan felt her heart leap into her throat, the tension unbearable. Suddenly, arrows whistled through the wind, thudding into tree trunks. These were fire arrows, glowing like tiny lanterns, flickering in the northwest wind and faintly illuminating the forest. Seeing only a dozen or so fire arrows, Lin Jinlou deduced the rebel forces were not large. With only two men left by his side, he knew they couldn’t take on a hundred, but each Lin Family Army guard was worth ten ordinary soldiers—victory was still possible. Quietly, he picked up a fallen yanlingdao and hurled it forward. The blade clattered onto the open ground, and an arrow instantly struck near it, the fletching quivering.
Not far off, Lu Shaotang sat astride a tall horse. The Emperor had been rigorously investigating the Second Prince’s clandestine ties with officers of the Five Armies, forcing the prince to seize the moment—with the Emperor critically ill and the crown prince absent—to launch his uprising. Lu Shaotang had been tasked with ambushing the Imperial Guards here. After the skirmish, the cavalry had headed for the Five Armies’ camp in the capital’s outskirts, while he left forty or fifty men to mop up and await reinforcements. To his surprise, emerging from the dense woods, he spotted flames at the forest’s edge and immediately ordered arrows loosed.
Growing impatient, Lu Shaotang sent a dozen men to investigate. Lin Jinlou tightened his grip on his sword, watching as the rebels drew nearer to Xianglan’s hiding spot. With a sudden roar, he leaped up, seized one rebel, and flung him violently. The man crashed into a tree, impaled by an arrow embedded in the trunk. After a few convulsions, his head lolled. Chaos erupted as the two other Lin Family Army guards sprang into action, engaging the rebels. Soon, twenty more rebels surged forward.
Trained in martial arts from childhood and hardened by countless battles, Lin Jinlou fought with divine ferocity. His broadsword moved like lightning, a relentless force that quickly felled the rebels. The survivors, awed by his prowess, hesitated to advance.Lu Shaotang was greatly alarmed, thinking to himself, "What manner of celestial being has descended in the dead of night, to be so formidable?" He then ordered his archers to shoot flaming arrows for illumination, and was shocked to discover that the one encircling them was none other than Lin Jinlou. Gnashing his teeth, he sneered coldly, "Good, good, good! I was just lamenting having no chance to settle scores with you, and today you’ve barged into hell uninvited!" He commanded his archers, "Loose your arrows!"
An archer hesitated, saying, "The arrows are merciless—we don’t know if they might hit our own men..."
Lu Shaotang cast a cold glance at the archer and waved his hand, signaling him to speak no more. Suddenly, he drew the saber at his waist and, with a "thud," slit the archer’s throat. The man collapsed stiffly to the ground without even a grunt.
The crowd was stunned. Lu Shaotang raised his saber high and shouted, "Loose the arrows! Loose the arrows! Loose the arrows!"
At his command, arrows flew like rain, and for a moment, agonized cries filled the air before falling silent.
Only the howling wind, carrying the whistle of arrows and swirling snow, remained.
Lu Shaotang still had over a dozen men left, all archers. He ordered them to draw their bows fully and cautiously led them forward on horseback. The closer they advanced, the clearer the scene of carnage became—corpses strewn haphazardly, piled upon one another, with rivers of blood flowing. Suddenly, a dark cloud obscured the bright moon, and a blood-soaked figure rose from the heap of bodies, like a demon from a hellish battlefield, striking terror into all who beheld him.
The archers, startled, trembled and loosed over a dozen arrows that whistled toward the figure, enveloping him completely. Yet the bloodied man grabbed two corpses and used them as shields, the arrows thudding into the dead bodies. Lin Jinlou’s voice roared, "Lu Shaotang, if you have the guts, come and fight me to the death!" With that, he flung the corpses toward the rebels with a powerful sweep of his arm, knocking several to the ground. Such astonishing strength left them in awe and fear. Seizing the rebels’ momentary confusion, Lin Jinlou charged forward, striking with elbows, fists, palms, and feet, swiftly felling several more. The archers, skilled only in long-range combat and ill-suited for close-quarters fighting, quickly descended into chaos.
Lu Shaotang shouted, "Do not panic!" But in the dim moonlight, blades and spears swung wildly, and the air filled with curses, screams, and warnings.
After cutting down seven or eight more men, Lin Jinlou felt his strength waning. He thought to himself, "I’ve been wounded by arrows and cannot fight much longer. Better to lure them into the forest so Xianglan can escape. Life and death are fated—if she is destined to survive, she will make it." With this in mind, he yelled, "Lu, you dog of a traitor! If you have the nerve, follow me and let’s see what you’re made of!" He then turned and dashed into the woods.
Lu Shaotang would not let him escape and urged his horse forward, leading his men in pursuit.The sound of hoofbeats faded into the distance. Xianglan trembled uncontrollably as she crawled out from behind the bushes, her face already streaked with tears. Staggering to her feet, she wiped her tear-stained face roughly, feeling utterly wretched and terrified. The howling northwest wind filled her ears, yet she had no idea where to go, only wishing to flee this living hell as quickly as possible. Just then, several agonized screams echoed from the forest, and her thoughts shifted: "Lin Jinlou could have escaped alone with his men, but he stayed to fight for my sake, luring the enemy into the woods. When he ran past earlier, his steps were unsteady—likely wounded by the merciless blades and spears. If I abandon him now, what kind of person would I be?" For some reason, her heart swelled with overwhelming emotions, and a profound sorrow seized her. Tears flowed even more freely, and she wiped them again with her sleeve. She resolved, "I'll follow quietly. In a critical moment, I might be of some help. One should repay a drop of kindness with a flood of gratitude—I'll do my best, even if it means repaying with my life." Shivering, she unfastened her cloak, turning the black lining outward and concealing the bright red wool within. Clutching a blanket in one hand and holding a warming pan, she picked up a blade from the ground and hugged it to her chest before darting into the dense woods.
By then, Lin Jinlou was embroiled in a fierce battle, his eyes bloodshot with killing intent, his savage nature unleashed like a tiger breaking free from its cage and descending the mountain. With his left hand, he wrested a single saber from an opponent; with his right, he raised and swung it, cleaving through the man's skull as easily as slicing melons and vegetables, killing him instantly. Lu Shaotang let out a frenzied cry, mingling panic and hatred.
Lin Jinlou fought like a madman, his single saber dancing like silver shards, its eerie glint flashing as swiftly as a phantom. Blood sprayed everywhere, and in no time, the rebel soldiers fell one after another, heads severed from bodies, chests torn open, and limbs hacked apart.
Seeing that the rebels had drained much of Lin Jinlou's stamina, Lu Shaotang rode forward on his horse, raising his blade. With a resounding "clang," the two weapons collided. Lu Shaotang, positioned high above, held the advantage of terrain, and the impact sent a numbing shock through Lin Jinlou's hands, forcing him back several steps. Lu Shaotang struck again, and Lin Jinlou blocked four or five blows in succession, retreating steadily until his back hit a tree. With a "pfft," he spat out a mouthful of blood, his body too weakened to support itself. His legs turned limp, barely able to hold him upright, and he slid down the trunk, collapsing to the ground.
Just then, the clouds parted, revealing the bright moon. Moonlight filtered through the forest branches, and Lu Shaotang saw the feathered arrow embedded in Lin Jinlou's chest, his breath labored like an ox, his entire body drenched in blood. Lu Shaotang threw back his head and laughed heartily, his chest swelling with triumph. Dismounting, he strode over to Lin Jinlou and looked down on him from above, saying, "Didn't expect this, did you? Today, you'll die by my hand. Soon, I'll chop off your dog's head and use it to make a stool."
Lin Jinlou gasped for breath, his body twitching intermittently from the excruciating pain. With a "pluck," he yanked the arrow from his chest, blood spurting out. A faint, cold smile touched his lips as he said, "You killed three of my personal guards today."
Lu Shaotang raised an eyebrow. "So what? Are you planning to complain to the King of Hell after you die?"
Lin Jinlou shook his head slightly, his voice icy. "These three men followed me to suppress bandits and resist invaders, risking their lives to protect our homeland. Today, you killed them. As their master, I will kill you to avenge them."Lu Shaotang stared at Lin Jinlou with a bewildered expression, scrutinizing him from head to toe several times. Seeing him so disheveled and weak, he found Lin Jinlou's words utterly fantastical and couldn't help but burst into scornful laughter. After laughing, he raised the large blade in his hand and stabbed it twice into Lin Jinlou's left and right shoulders with a "thud, thud," gritting his teeth and snarling, "Like this, how can you kill me? How dare you kill me? Back then, you drove me out like a homeless dog—did you ever imagine you'd end up like this today?"
Suddenly, Lin Jinlou leaped up and lunged at Lu Shaotang, crashing into him full force. The two tumbled to the ground in a roll. Struggling to his feet, Lin Jinlou staggered backward a few steps before losing his balance and collapsing into the snow, gasping violently for breath.
Lu Shaotang stood up, trembling all over, and looked down in disbelief. A feathered arrow was embedded squarely in his heart! Blood gushed out steadily. He glanced at Lin Jinlou, then at his chest, mustering his last ounce of strength to pull the crossbow bolt from his waist and raise it. By then, Lin Jinlou had exhausted all his energy and couldn't move a muscle, not even lifting a hand to wipe the blood from his lips. He thought to himself that he would likely die here today and closed his eyes.
A heavy thud sounded.
Lin Jinlou opened his eyes. He saw Lu Shaotang kneeling on the ground, his throat making gurgling sounds. The crossbow bolt clattered to the ground, but he couldn't utter a single word. With wide, staring eyes, he pitched forward and collapsed, a large blossom of blood spreading across the snowy ground. Xianglan stood behind Lu Shaotang, holding a large blade in her hands, trembling like an autumn leaf in the cold wind.
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