The captain let out only a short, miserable scream before being flung far away, collapsing like a dead dog on the ground, no longer moving.
The others were so shocked by this that they abruptly stopped, exchanging glances. Fear was clearly written in their eyes.
“Attack! Let’s fight her!”
With the arrow already on the string, there was no turning back. They had already offended this woman—if they didn’t take her down today, things would only get worse later.
Their faces twisted viciously as they raised their sabers and charged at Ren Jingshu.
At this point, all their filthy thoughts were gone. They only wanted to eliminate this threat as quickly as possible.
“Another group of men tired of living.”
Ren Jingshu showed no mercy, swinging the iron shackles in her hand as she charged forward.
Since she could no longer hide her strength, she might as well kill a few more.
It felt as if she had returned to the apocalypse, battling zombies once again. The shackles in her hands moved so fast they left afterimages.
She swung left—the chain wrapped around a blade, and with a sharp pull, the weapon flew out of its owner’s hand.
She swung right—the chain smashed into a soldier’s head with a dull thud.
“Ah—!”
“Ah—!”
“Ow!”
Cries rang out one after another as the soldiers collapsed to the ground. In no time, bodies were scattered everywhere.
The fight ended quickly. With a final scream, the last man fell.
Ren Jingshu stood alone in the center, gripping the bloodstained shackles. Around her, not a single survivor remained.
“Bang!”
A loud sound snapped everyone out of their daze.
The man who had gone to fetch the wooden cangue had dropped it to the ground. His face was pale with terror as he staggered backward.
Others trembled as they touched their faces—only to find them sticky.
Looking at their hands, they saw bright red blood.
“Ah—!”
Another maid beside Second Aunt, named Chunhong, stared in horror at her palm. Mixed in the blood were bits of red and white matter.
That was…
From their bodies…
Ren Jingshu glanced at Chunhong and gave her a faint, ambiguous smile.
Chunhong felt as though someone had grabbed her throat, and her scream died instantly.
“This thing doesn’t look too bad.”
Ren Jingshu stepped forward and picked up the wooden cangue.
“N-no! You’re women—you don’t need to wear something like that! I’ll take it back right away, right away…”
The soldier who had brought it was nearly scared out of his wits. Luckily, he had hesitated earlier and lagged behind the others—otherwise…
He glanced at the corpses on the ground and felt a chill shoot from his feet to the top of his head, freezing him in place.
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, over twenty riders on tall horses escorted a carriage as they approached.
Inside sat a handsome young man, lounging casually against the cushions with an air of carefree arrogance.
He wore a dark blue robe embroidered with silver cloud patterns at the collar and sleeves. His black hair was simply tied up with a wooden pin. Despite the plain attire, his noble bearing was unmistakable.
“Xiao Linzi, do you hear something?”
The young man straightened slightly, listening carefully.
“My lord, I don’t hear anything…”
Xiao Linzi pressed his ear to the carriage wall but caught nothing.
“Tianshu, go take a look.”
The young man glanced at him and spoke calmly.
“Yes, my lord.”
Tianshu leapt from his horse without another word and headed up the slope.
The convoy continued moving steadily, as if nothing had happened.
Soon, Tianshu returned silently and slipped into the carriage.
“My lord.”
“What’s going on?”
The young man opened his half-closed eyes.
“It’s the exiled women of the Ren family. They seem to have had a conflict, which led to a fight.”
Tianshu recounted everything he had seen.
“The Ren family…”
The young man’s expression turned strange as he murmured softly.
“As expected of General Ren’s daughter—a tiger father would never raise a dog daughter.”
Xiao Linzi curled his lips in disdain.
“She’s just a noble young lady—how can she be so ruthless? What nobleman would dare marry her? What if she twists his head off in the middle of the night?”
The young man said nothing, merely casting him a cold glance. Xiao Linzi immediately shut his mouth.
Heh—why was he worrying? He was just a eunuch after all.
“Who knows how General Ren and the others are faring…”
The young man frowned in thought.
“When we left the city, I heard they had been taken to the imperial prison. They’ll likely be interrogated before being sent to Lingnan,” Tianshu replied.
“The journey to Lingnan is long and dangerous, filled with mountains and hardships…”
The young man fell silent again.
After a moment, he said lightly, “We have no urgent matters. Let’s stop by the mountain ahead and rest for a while.”
Tianshu nodded and went to make arrangements.
“After all, they are General Ren’s family. Send someone to keep an eye on them—make sure nothing happens.”
Tianshu acknowledged the order and assigned a guard named Qisha to watch over the Ren family.
On the hillside, Ren Jingyan leaned against her sister, tears streaming down her face.
“Elder Sister, it’s so good you’re alright… You don’t know how scared I was when I heard what they said…”
“Silly girl, how could anything happen to me?” Ren Jingshu gently stroked her hair. “If something did, who would protect you?”
Her heart softened.
In her previous life, she had been an only child. Her parents had her late in life and cherished her dearly. But before she could repay them, the apocalypse had arrived.