That person chimed in, saying that during the Jin dynasty, a certain high-ranking official had a concubine who was careless and ended up being steamed to death. He then dressed her up in fine clothes and placed her on a large platter, making it seem as if she were still alive. The host and guests then devoured her together.

  "It's clear that our Central Plains' two-legged sheep (note) are the most delicious!"

  He concluded.

  The yellow-haired commander burst out laughing and pointed at the girl's forehead with his battle knife: "Let's start skinning from here - little girl, are you afraid?"

  His knife was stained with blood, had turned purple-black, sticky and smelly, must have sent thousands of innocent souls to the underworld.

  Another girl beside her tightly grasped her sleeve and shouted with a trembling voice: "My meat is tenderer, eat me instead! Spare my sister!!"

  She rushed up to the knife tip and was pulled back by her sister.

  The sister on the left, with a knife point on her forehead, stood still, looking at the fierce thug in front of her, without flinching or begging for mercy.

  Her voice was calm and clear in the darkness before dawn:

  "Why should I be afraid? You beasts will eventually die on the land of China, and never return to the grasslands. It is you who should be afraid!"

  A moment of silence.

  The Tartar soldiers also understood Chinese, and at this moment they couldn't think that this girl would have such audacity.

  In the Central Plains, they had seen timid sheep begging for mercy and emperors and high officials who were afraid of death, but they had never seen a little girl dare to speak like this.

  The yellow-haired commander was stunned for a long time, and after laughing loudly, he said: "After getting into the pot later, I want to see if your bones are hard or my firewood is fierce?"

  "A clear voice suddenly rang out: 'I'd like to see, is your neck hard or is my sword fast?'"

  He raised his head and saw a bright light, like stars shining brightly, rushing towards him.

  He wanted to shine, but was powerless.

  That sword light is too fast.

  He felt a chill on his neck and knew something was wrong. His massive body leapt up in anger, but all he saw was blood splashing everywhere before he finally fell to the ground.

  He felt light and his vision was blurred and upside down, seeing only a headless body leaning against the fire.

  It was myself all along...

  This was his last thought.

  Lin Chen jumped down from the wall and took the leader's life with just one sword.

  The soldiers let out a loud shout, picked up their nearby weapons and rushed forward.

  Before they could form a circle around him, Lin Chen suddenly dodged and weaved, his figure moving so fast it was almost ghostly. After a few flashes of sword light, only three corpses with broken arms and legs were left on the ground.

  Her movements were too fast, causing everyone to become disorganized because of her and unable to work together to kill the enemy.

  There were hundreds of centurions shouting in unison, meaning to form up according to the marching formation.

  The soldiers finally calmed down, some retreated to fetch nearby weapons, others charged forward with wolf-tooth clubs and copper rods, and several long spears were thrust in. The people in the back row also equipped themselves with bows and crossbows.

  When the long and heavy weapons came from all sides, Lin Chen only made a slight movement, as if he had already stopped moving, becoming a fish on the chopping board.

  At that moment, she swung her long sword out, the sword energy bursting forth like a raging flood, sweeping in all directions, unstoppable.

  A burst of mournful cries, fresh blood and flesh flying together, those closest to the blast were blown away, either losing their heads or being split in two, thick blood and flesh falling like rain, the scene was like that of a Buddhist hell.

  Lin Zhen's body was suspended in mid-air, her summoning intent exhausted, but before her eyes were countless arrows flying towards her like a swarm of locusts. At this moment, she had no foothold, and in the blink of an eye, it would be extremely perilous.

  She coldly laughed, pulled down the ribbon at her waist, and with a slight swing, it was like a living dragon flying phoenix. A piece of dark light flashed and rolled, those black arrowheads were swept away layer by layer, and when they fell to the ground, they made a clear ringing sound.

  She landed just in time, and those arrows fell neatly to the ground. Lin Chen took a great risk, his hands moving even faster. All he saw was her using her agility to its limits, and the soldiers only saw a flash of movement among the crowd before their throats were cut off. The opponent's moves were swift, accurate, and ruthless, like a demon walking through the battlefield, killing with ease.

  These fierce warriors, who had never been afraid of even the most ferocious enemies, now felt a sense of fear in their hearts for the first time as they witnessed this ruthless and meaningless slaughter of their comrades.

  The remaining people started to retreat, seeing that the devil was not chasing after them. They shouted and ran in different directions. This fight and killing happened again in silence, and the surroundings were already bustling with people. Lin Chen knew that he could not stay here for long and finally decided to leave.

  She looked at the pale-faced twin sisters, saw them constantly retching, and after sizing up their surroundings, she realized that this scene was already like hell.

  The ground was covered with a thick, sticky blood plasma, and scattered around were pieces of human remains, some broken into several sections, with strange shapes. Some skulls had ferocious faces, with teeth exposed. Under the feet of the twin sisters were also a pair of eyeballs, which frightened them so much that they didn't dare to move.

  Lin Chen only then remembered, this was also his first time killing someone.

  So many corpses and the smell of blood made her stomach cramp, she suppressed the discomfort, walked over and pulled a girl with one hand: "Are you following me or staying here?"

  "Go with you."

  The surrounding shouts and rapid footsteps sounded, Lin Chen knew it was not easy to stay for a long time, pulling the two sisters from the wall alley to rush - she grew up in the capital since childhood, this address has been passed down through generations, she is very familiar with.

  The bluestone-paved alleys, at the time when the dawn is just revealed, are still trapped in a deep and gloomy darkness. The surroundings are as quiet as death, as if all things on earth have fallen asleep.

  The girls could only hear their own breathing in the darkness, exceptionally clear.

  Underfoot are century-old stone slabs, no longer smooth as a mirror on ordinary days. They appear and disappear like magic at the intersection of yin and yang.

  They ran very fast and have already left the scene far behind.

  Lin Chen suddenly felt a great danger approaching himself.

  ****

  On the empty ground filled with fresh blood, a Tatar youth wearing an ermine cloak looked at the cruel and tragic killing scene, his face unchanged.

  His cloak had a wolf-shaped totem embroidered on it, all in gold thread, with deep and intricate outlines, as if carved with a knife.

  "The opponent strikes quickly... with a short stature."

  He observed the splashing arc of blood and said faintly.

  "Prince..."

  "Come as quickly as possible, you will be innocent."

  He pardoned his subordinate and turned around, facing the dark path behind him:

  "It's up to you now."

  Three figures flitted by like ghosts disappearing into the alleyway.

  ****

  Three running girls, however, were not silent.

  I know you.

  "Hurry up and don't talk."

  "I've seen you at the Lin's house."

  “……

  "Do you still remember, our empress dowager also came from a branch of the Lin family. That time we went to the Lin family for a visit, you were so small and hid by the wall..."

  "Don't mention the Lin family!!!!!"

  A fierce rebuttal echoed in the alleyway.

  The younger sister of the twin girls was frightened and on the verge of tears due to her midnight terror.

  A pair of crystal-like delicate hands wiped away her tears.

  "Sorry... I scared you guys."

  A low and obscure voice, filled with apology and pain.

  "Do you still remember?"

  My little sister's voice is soft and timid.

  "I don't remember things from when I was little."

  Lin Chen's footsteps quickened as he recalled when he was six years old, climbing on the wall and trying hard to poke his head out to see what the world outside the small courtyard looked like.

  She fell down from under the wall, cowering and being kicked by the wicked servant.

  "Despicable life..."

  At that time, it was two little girls who came to help her up.

  "These two little princesses really are 'compatible' with this girl!"

  The housekeeper sneered beside her, not taking the daughter of the fallen-out-of-favor concubine seriously.

  Lin Chen raised his head and gazed at the sky.

  The Dawn Star is already shining on the horizon.

  She knew that without these two burdens, she could easily break free.

  But her world has no ifs, only a drop of kindness repaid with a gushing spring.

  She drew her sword, and a flash of silver light cut down the withered branch of the osmanthus tree by the alley, splitting it into fragments that flew back towards her.

  Behind him, two whips flew in like snakes.

  Note: "Two-legged sheep" is a euphemism. In times of disaster, panic and war, there were cases of cannibalism. Therefore, people who could be eaten were called "two-legged sheep".

  A certain subject was deemed useless by education reform experts, greatly reduced, resulting in a surplus of teachers, necessitating personnel cuts. The office is in an uproar, like the slaughter after a city's fall. Today I finally believe that scholars are useless, with no blade to throw at the enemy, only a pen remains. Alas, the majestic Chinese mother tongue has become a burden today.