"Commandery Prince, ahead is Ping City."

Ying Rushi, riding on horseback, suddenly awoke, as if a drowning person gasped for breath.

The forests raced backwards, the wind howled past her ears, and beside her were heavily armored cavalry wearing Evil Ghost Masks.

It took her a full three breaths to remember that she was on the road to Ping City, and what she was about to do next was to execute the massacre order at the Ping City Military Town.

Every member, guest, relative, servant, and tenant of the Bu Liugu Clan and the Gai Lou Clan—leave no one alive—kill on sight!

Thousands would die, perhaps. Reflecting on this number, Ying Rushi surprisingly felt little. Just yesterday, she had seen corpses in the thousands, the Evil Ghost Hundred Guards slaughtering street by street until the bodies piled up and filled the roads, the spilt blood dyeing the earth dark red, and the once-prosperous county town quiet, with only crows rising and falling.

From daybreak to nightfall, Ying Rushi did nothing but lead the Evil Ghost Hundred Guards into one mansion after another. The Bright Flame Treasure Saber, bestowed by His Majesty, had never been drawn, for there was no need. The ferocious Evil Ghost Hundred Guards had already slain every living being ahead of her. The wealthy offered treasures to beg for mercy, the beautiful exposed themselves for favor, children wailed and pleaded, servants knelt and kowtowed, but the only response was the executioner’s blade.

No one fought over wealth,

No one violated women,

Nor did anyone show mercy.

Simple, pure, efficient, cold-blooded.

At times, Ying Rushi felt that inside the masked armor, there were no living beings, only a legion of ghosts devoid of self.

From day to night, and night to day, Ying Rushi received new orders: command the Shanwen Camp’s Baibao Guards to slaughter the Bu Liugu Clan and the Gai Lou Clan in the Ping City Military Town and set off immediately.

Leaving Nocturnal Heaven County Town, Ying Rushi noticed the Shanwen Camp cavalry hunting outside, nearly every cavalryman’s spear carried a head. As they rode abreast, they became a moving monument, with blood trickling down their spears and congealing into dark red on the horse’s manes, the bloody stench causing Ying Rushi to feel nauseous.

She thought leaving Nocturnal Heaven County Town would be better, but Ying Rushi found the stench not only persistent but increasingly intense. The rotting reek, blood’s iron tang, the foul odor of excrement and urine, the cloying sweetness of burning bodies—all these foul smells mingled into a scent named ’death’.

So Ying Rushi urged her horse forward, trying to leave the stench behind, to distance herself from the death-ravaged Nocturnal Heaven City, to shut her eyes and pretend she couldn’t see the unfolding tragedy and despair. Gradually, the smell normalized, the wails faded from her hearing, and her nerves relaxed. Perhaps due to a day and night’s exhaustion, she found herself absent-mindedly covering most of the journey.

Ping City’s walls appeared on the horizon, and Ying Rushi felt a twinge of hesitation, her horse’s speed slackening slightly, but the Evil Ghost Cavalry behind showed no sign of slowing, driving her steed to quicken once more.

Amidst the avalanche of snow, not a single flake could halt this disaster, especially not when it was the judgment descended by a Celestial God.

Suddenly, Ying Rushi spotted a little girl with a bamboo basket on the road, likely from a nearby village, out to gather pigweed to help make ends meet. She let out a long yell: "Move aside!"

The little girl, upon hearing her, stood frozen instead of dodging, turning to face them. Faced with heavy cavalry that could pulverize her, her dirty little face showed no fear, only childlike curiosity.

Pressured, Ying Rushi had no choice but to gallop ahead, scooping the girl onto her horse, and slapped her backside three times, leaving the girl wailing loudly: "You’re a bad person! You’re bullying me!"

Ying Rushi, lowering her voice, scolded: "Haven’t your elders taught you to yield to officers? I wonder if you’ll dare walk the main road again!?"

"I’m not afraid!"

"You’ll be trampled to death, still not afraid?"

"If you do evil, Miss Jiang will punish you all!"

Looking at this stubborn yet brave little girl, Ying Rushi was moved. Though Gai Louxian occasionally mentioned Ye Si Jiang Shi would emerge to correct the atmosphere, Ying Rushi thought it was merely chivalrous whim. She hadn’t expected that even a random girl encountered on the road would firmly believe in justice because of Jiang Shi’s deeds... something never existent in Nocturnal Heaven City, yet realized early in Ping City.

Ying Rushi rode to the roadside and set the girl down, "Quickly go home and tell your family not to go to Ping City today, hurry."

The girl glanced at her, then ran down a side path without looking back, the basket bumping, disappearing soon.

Rude little brat... Ying Rushi sighed in relief, relaxing her whole body. As the Evil Ghost Cavalry caught up, she raised her whip to continue the journey. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

As Ping City grew clearer in her view, Ying Rushi, for some reason, once more caught a nauseating stench, sharp and lingering.

"Save me..."

"You executioner, lackey!"

"I’m in pain, I don’t want to die!"

"Mother!"

"Do you think saving a little girl clears your conscience?"

A chilling despair pierced through Ying Rushi’s chest.

She slowly lowered her head, seeing her hands as if lifted from a sea of blood, where every inch of skin stained red; her boots seeming to have trampled countless rotting corpses, filthy blood and flesh clinging, leaving dark stains.