Outside Rudong City’s markets, there was a small and ordinary noodle shock.

The shop’s owner was called Zhang Sanliang, a vegetable farmer a few years ago. However, later on, after saving up a bit, he set up this shop. This forty something year old man was honest, normally of few words, only drinking two or three when he did drink, the noodles he served also just happened to be three taels. [1]

“Forget it, I’m done.”

Just like before, he was properly kneading the dough, but suddenly, he instead slammed the dough on the counter, shouting in a bit of an angry manner.

“What are you suddenly getting angry out of nothing for?”

His wife was a middle-aged woman who wore a cotton-padded jacket with patches added, her sleeves rolled up while boiling noodles. She was given a fright, at this time scolding in annoyance.

“Who knows what kind of major event will happen again? What if we start fighting again, if there are Great Mang barbarians who slaughter their way over again… Making noodles day in and day out, what is the meaning in this?”

Zhang Sanliang looked at the dough in front of him with an overcast expression, as if this dough was the Great Mang Army that left all of them with unease, that left them all so fretful.

When all of the street neighbors who were waiting for their noodles suddenly heard him say these words that sounded like he wanted to suddenly close shop, they immediately felt unhappy, starting to shout that they wanted to eat, that for better or for worse, he should first finish cooking all of their noodles before closing shop, right?

“Even if we are all going to die soon, for better or for worse, you should still let others die full!”

“I finally gathered a few coppers, yet is it that hard for me to even eat a bowl of birthday noodles? It’s been so long since I had a bowl of vegetable noodle soup!”

There were people who tapped their tables in anger, starting to curse.

Everyone in this shop was extremely fretful.

Yunqun’s southern spring rainy season had already passed. After no rain for a few days, Rudong City’s streets became a bit dusty… almost everyone in Rudong City was extremely fretful.

This early morning, there was news from the military and City Supervisor Manor that a major event was going to happen. Only, even when everyone in Rudong City was trying to figure out just what kind of major event was happening, they couldn’t at all. The only thing that was said was that this information came back from the front lines’ border pass, that if you are going to leave Rudong City today, then you’ll regret it.

During the past year, even if Rudong City didn’t experience any direct battles, all of the common people also already fully endured the bitterness of the war.

Many people left Rudong City out of fear of the previous possible defeat, leaving much of the farmland unharvested.

Many businessmen’s businesses were extremely poor.

Many small businesses like Zhang Sanliang’s who only wished to peacefully live his life and didn’t wish to become homeless and miserable just felt like they couldn’t even eat or sleep at peace, constantly tossing and turning… suddenly feeling like this type of life lacked taste and meaning.

…

Right now, on Rudong City’s city walls, there was an ordinary city defending soldier dressed in black armor named Liu Zhongtian.

He was originally also someone like Zhang Sanliang, an ordinary Rudong City resident.

His ancestors had always been long-term hired farm laborers. After Yunqin was established, only in his father’s generation, were they finally able to purchase some fields, considered having some of their own property. This type of peaceful lifestyle wasn’t easily earned for his family, which was why his father gave him the name Liu Zhongtian, hoping that he could properly continue farming, continue living a good life like this. [2]

Only, after continuous battles and numerous people continuously dying, many troops passed through Rudong City, yet few returned. They would hear where Great Mang’s troops reached today, where they should flee towards tomorrow… Just like Zhang Sanliang, Liu Zhongtian felt like this type of life lacked meaning, thus, while he still felt like he had some strength, through some connections, he joined the military.

If there really were some Great Mang troops or bandits who could suddenly make their way to Rudong City, then he might as well just fight to the end.

Right now, the slightly dark skinned, hand covered in calluses Liu Zhongtian was precisely thinking this.

However, in the end, he didn’t see any troops, nor did he hear any news that the front lines began to fight again.

Under this midday sunlight, he only saw a group of people appear on the official path.

There was a mysterious disturbance on Rudong City’s city gate tower.

It was because all of the soldiers on the city gate towers could tell that these people were different from ordinary people. Even from far away, they could sense the fatigue of that group, as well as a type of indescribable sharpness.

There were quite a few soldiers who withdrew from the front lines to this city, some still recovering, some already becoming military instructors of local armies, some will become some military officers of troops, lead some new recruits without much experience back onto the front lines. Among these, there was no lack of people who previously withdrew from Thousand Sunset Mountain, experiencing over half of South Tomb Province’s defeats and several battles in Meteor City. There were even those who participated in East Scenery City and Harmony Splendor City’s great battles.

These people had met many high ranking officers in the front lines, and they also saw some powerful cultivators fight in the front lines.

As the outlines of the people on the official path became more and more clear, these people’s breaths all became rushed, their chests starting to burn fiercely.

These people, for the current entire Yunqin, were all serious criminals.

Only, they had all personally watched these people fight.

They watched these people disregard their own suffering, disregard life and death, watched them fight for the sake of Yunqin even when they were exhausted to the point where they almost couldn’t even stand steadily… These people who gave no thought for even their own life and death, how could they be serious criminals?

…

The feeling of fretfulness by Zhang Sanliang’s noodle shop became stronger and stronger.

Zhang Sanliang cursed in gloominess, speaking about how this world only forced honest girls into prostitution, it didn’t force anyone to make noodles.

There were people who shouted even more gloomily ‘big bro, I really just want to properly eat a bowl of vegetable noodles’.

There were some people who entered the shop afterwards, wanting some noodles. They thought that past customers provoked the boss, so they began to shout loudly, asking questions.

This shop was almost about to break out into a brawl.

Right at this moment, outside in the streets, someone shouted, “Young Sir Lin came back, he is outside the city!”

With just this shout, everyone in this entire noodle shop seemed to have suddenly become frozen, not moving.

“Wenren… Wenren Cangyue… was captured by Young Sir Lin and the others!”

Then, there was another voice that was shaking, filled with indescribable emotions that sounded.

“Wenren Cangyue has been captured!”

Then, these sounds seemed to have erupted throughout this entire city.

Everyone in the shop exchanged a look.

Suddenly, no one wanted to eat noodles anymore.

Everyone no longer felt fretful.

Everyone opened their mouths, as if they wanted to release a certain mood within them.

A pa ta noise sounded.

Zhang Sanliang was the first to run out of the noodle shop.

He was the one most familiar with the shop’s doorstep. However, he instead tripped on the doorstep, almost falling down.

This heavy stepping sound was just like an alarm, completely waking up everyone who was stupefied inside this shop.

Everyone released a loud cry, frantically running outside.

Every single street had people running through it.

Everyone in the city seemed to be running.

Most people didn’t know which city gate Lin Xi was outside of. However, right now, they already didn’t have to ask anything, they only had to follow the stream of people in the streets.

There were some people who were in too great of a rush, in their hands some bread that was half finished.

Some people, because they ran too quickly, lost one of their shoes, yet didn’t notice anything at all.

Inside Rudong City Supervisor Manor’s military camp, there were many veterans who were currently recovering from their injuries.

There were some whose rank wasn’t low at all.

There was one elder among them who was missing an arm.

When he heard the news of Lin Xi capturing Wenren Cangyue, this elder began to roar with laughter.

“Spectacular! Marvelous!”

This elder continuously spoke words of praise, laughing loudly.

He momentarily forgot to control his body’s aura. With a crash noise, even his bed collapsed, all of the medicines around him also scattering everywhere.

…

Lin Xi stopped in a vacant area outside Rudong City’s southern gate.

This was originally a place where carriages stopped at when many merchants waited to pass through the checkpoint. As time went on, the ground was pressed extremely level, extremely sturdy.

Now, few merchants passed through Rudong City, less than a tenth of before. That was why this place seemed exceptionally empty, exceptionally large.

Right now, the people who followed Lin Xi didn’t only include Zhantai Qiantang, Shi Qian, Nangong Weiyang and the others, they included Leng Qiuyu and Hua Jiyue as well.

“I won’t enter the city.”

Lin Xi looked at the highest ranking officers in Rudong City in front of him, saying with a low voice. “I know that all of you were brought out by General Gu from Dragon Snake Mountain Range. For Central Continent City, I am a serious criminal, so I won’t bring you all any trouble. I wish to see Meng Bai.”

After respectfully asking if Lin Xi had any other requests, these Rudong City highest ranking officers withdrew into the city, setting up a cordon by the city gate entrance. Then, they instead opened up all of the city gate towers, allowing the people who rushed over from along the streets to get onto the city walls, see Lin Xi and the kneeling Wenren Cangyue in front of him.

Wenren Cangyue was still alive.

When he knew that Lin Xi and the others’ decisions had no chance of changing, he completely fell into despair and closed his eyes, no longer uttering any sounds.

Right now, his face lacked the slightest trace of color, his body badly mangled. However, the might he accumulated over these years, that type of natural iron-blooded aura, still made ordinary people feel a mysterious nervousness.

All of these Rudong City people who gathered on the city walls were so angry their entire bodies began to shake.

Their lives felt so meaningless, as if they were in imminent crisis, all of this was because of this traitorous general.

Many people’s teeth grinded to the point where they released noises, tears flowing from their eyes. It was because their families were all sacrificed under the Great Mang war led by this person.

Meng Bai who was dressed in a thin cotton-padded jacket appeared at the city gate entrance.

He walked out from between the black-armored soldiers who separated, walking towards Lin Xi and the others.

No one said anything.

Only when Meng Bai walked up to them did Lin Xi look at this fatty whose steps were almost floating, saying quietly, “You’re so skinny.”

Saying these words to a fatty seemed extremely laughable.

However, when everyone looked at this fatty whose cheeks were a bit swollen, they instead all wanted to cry.

After Meng Bai entered the academy, he had always been growing fatter. However now, he was indeed much slimmer than before.

“I just knew that you would be able to do it, you’d definitely do it.”

There was a bit of sweat on Meng Bai’s forehead, his body feeling a bit cold from the wind, pulling in his body. He gave Wenren Cangyue a look, and then looked at Lin Xi, saying this.

Lin Xi felt a bit of pain as he looked at this good friend of his, but also felt proud for him.

“Without you, there is no way we could have accomplished this.”

“We can finally get our revenge.” He took a step out, hugging Meng Bai. He patted Meng Bai’s back, saying this quietly.

“We are friends.” Meng Bai said this quietly.

Lin Xi was a bit stunned.

Meng Bai then continued. “So I won’t say thanks.”

Lin Xi thought back to the first time this fatty walked over in Summer Spirit Lakeside, how he looked when he asked him if he was a bumpkin. He began to feel a bit of bitterness inside, but also felt warmth.

“I know what you are trying to say.”

Meng Bai finished his hug with Lin Xi. He looked at Lin Xi, Jiang Xiaoyi, Gao Yanan and the others at Lin Xi’s side. “For all of us, this is an extremely important day. It is because after Jadefall City, all of us have changed, none of us could go back. If he doesn’t die… even our meals will be tasteless, our sleep won’t be peaceful.”

“I know you want me to personally kill him.”

Meng Bai stopped for a moment. He looked into Lin Xi’s eyes, and then said quietly, “However, I don’t want to divide up some of your glory… I dare kill him, but we still have many enemies. Our Green Luan Academy needs to gather more glory in your hands. In the past, I might have been timid to the point where I wouldn’t even dare kill anyone. In the past, I have always thought to myself, if I dared to kill, then everything would be good… However, now, I understand that the greatest bravery and courage isn’t from killing, but rather daring to face myself, daring to do some things for the sake of victory and my friends.”

“Just kill him.”

“Just let everyone still believe that I am more cowardly than even a mouse, someone who doesn’t even dare kill my own mortal enemy. Perhaps it might give others a type of misconception, thus bringing us a bit of use.”

Meng Bai looked at Lin Xi, Jiang Xiaoyi and the others, seriously saying this.

Then he began to tremble.

As if he was scared, he began to shake, and then stepped backwards.

Then, he turned around, as if he was a coward who didn’t dare kill the enemy, he ran crazily while wailing.

“Idiot… is it that fun to pretend to be a coward?”

Lin Xi knew that Meng Bai was pretending, he even felt like there was no meaning to Meng Bai’s act at all. Only, his eyes instead became a bit blurry.

He looked at Meng Bai’s rear figure, now knowing that Meng Bai already became staunch and powerful. However, if there was a choice, he really wanted Meng Bai to forever be that carefree cowardly fatty by Summer Spirit Lakeside, that little fatty who only wanted to waste time and always had some food to eat in his pockets.

He took a deep breath.

Then he drew the longsword on his back.

“The one whose back was turned to Yunqin, the traitor is finished here!”

He once again took a deep breath. He thought about those moving and tragic memories, then looked at the city in front of him, at the even further picturesque mountains and rivers. He fiercely exhaled.

Green and cold sword radiance scattered down. His voice suddenly stopped, a head flew.

Blood gushed from Wenren Cangyue’s neck out with pu pu sounds.

Then, the entire world around Rudong City seemed to have entered absolute tranquility.

1. Sanliang can mean two or three, it can also mean there taels, taels here can either be a unit of currency or a unit of weight equal to 50 grams

2. Zhongtian means to farm