Eternal Life Begins with Learning

A quarter of an hour was enough time for everyone to make their choice.

A humiliating death that would implicate their families.

Or obey military orders and gamble on a future?

It was not a difficult choice to make.

With a single command, the Inspectors surged into the dense forest like a tide, without exception.

The mountain path was narrow, the dense forest quiet and still.

The Inspectors, who had held a loose formation outside the forest, were quickly scattered by the terrain within.

At He Ping’s shouts, the scattered Inspectors regrouped into their units. Operating as teams, they fanned out on both sides of the mountain path, heading toward Qili Village.

’No footprints?’

Amidst the vast, white snow, Chu Mu gripped his Long Saber, his brow furrowed as he surveyed the white blanket covering the mountain forest.

’That last volley of arrows couldn’t have materialized from thin air. Someone must have been moving around.’

’The forest is covered in snow; any movement should have left tracks.’

But as far as he could see, there were almost no tracks.

The deeper they advanced into the forest, the fewer tracks they found. He could faintly make out signs of tracks being deliberately concealed, but as they pressed on, everything had been erased by the wind and snow.

’They ambushed and killed an Official Army force that greatly outnumbered them, then retreated calmly while covering their tracks.’

In Chu Mu’s mind, this group’s threat level skyrocketed.

"Stay with me. Don’t wander off."

Chu Mu turned to Xu Yuan behind him and gave the instruction, then turned his gaze to the surrounding teams of Inspectors.

Great rewards make for bold men.

There were quite a few who, like Chu Mu, wanted to seize this opportunity.

And like Li Gang, there were just as many who were single-mindedly focused on clawing their way to a better future.

Everywhere he looked, teams of men clutching sharp weapons were searching their way up the mountain path through the forest.

From the foot of the mountain to Qili Village, the total distance was only about seven li.

Clearly, at their current pace, it wouldn’t be long before they reached Qili Village.

And once they reached Qili Village, things would surely get much simpler.

Only a few hours had passed since the Inspectors were killed.

Any sane person would know the consequences of killing an official.

Fleeing was the only option. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

But how far could they have run in just a few hours?

Especially in the dead of winter—what would they eat after fleeing deep into the mountains?

Carrying enough supplies to survive would have taken even more time.

"Everyone, be careful. If the Rebels are trying to delay us, there will definitely be more surprise attacks with arrows."

Chu Mu stopped and looked at the Inspectors following him.

His team was mostly composed of new recruits; the few remaining veterans had been completely wiped out in the last attack.

Their team leader, Li Gang, was so intent on earning merit that he had already charged off to who-knows-where.

Therefore, the remaining members of Chu Mu’s team were all new Inspectors, just like him.

They were basically a bunch of dead weight, so it was no wonder Li Gang had vanished.

After giving his warning, Chu Mu ignored their reactions and turned his gaze back to the dense forest.

The entire column of Inspectors was advancing along the path in a triangular formation, and his team was positioned at one of the outer corners.

’If I’m right and the Rebels are just trying to buy time, then my position is extremely dangerous.’

As if to confirm his suspicion, an Inspector just ten paces ahead of him suddenly collapsed with a soft THUD.

An arrow had pierced straight through his head. Blood stained the snow, the patch of red a jarring sight.

"Ambush!"

The cry rang out, and the once-quiet forest erupted into chaos.

Chu Mu’s pupils contracted. In that instant, he pushed all emotion aside and instinctively looked in the direction the arrow had come from.

He saw a figure leap down from the treetops and sprint through the dense woods. Obscured by the trees, the person vanished within a few breaths.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH...

That first arrow was like a signal. Suddenly, volleys of arrows rained down from all directions.

Out of nowhere, an indescribable sense of crisis washed over Chu Mu.

In his peripheral vision, a black dot was hurtling straight for him.

Chu Mu swung his saber on instinct. The force of the impact traveled up the blade, a sensation he felt to his core.

The arrow, snapped in two, landed on the snow. The eerie sheen on its tip reflected clearly in Chu Mu’s eyes.

A chill ran down Chu Mu’s spine. His throat felt tight, as if blocked by something, and his breathing grew ragged.

’A moment ago... he was almost a dead man!’

Xu Yuan hurried over, crouching as he looked at Chu Mu. "Brother Mu, are you alright?"

"I’m fine. Just be careful!"

Chu Mu took a deep breath, his gaze locking onto the fleeing man.

’He’s... thirty paces away at most.’

Ahead of him, a few of the bolder Inspectors had already given chase.

Without hesitation, Chu Mu gripped his Long Saber and took off after the man.

’A few dozen paces isn’t that far.’

After this latest attack, the Rebels who had revealed their positions had clearly lost their greatest advantage.

Some Inspectors with bows and crossbows returned fire, their arrows and bolts whistling through the air. Others doggedly pursued the fleeing figures, eager to claim a head and win a better future.

After sprinting a dozen paces, Chu Mu stopped dead in his tracks and shouted, "Watch out, there’s someone in the trees!"

As snow cascaded from the branches above, a figure leaped down with the grace of a dragon.

An arm’s-length hunting knife plunged directly into an Inspector’s body. Blood bloomed as he collapsed heavily to the ground.

The Inspector’s eyes were wide, the light within them visibly fading, leaving only a look of indescribable terror permanently etched on his face.

The figure moved with deft agility, the hunting knife, several feet long, moving in his hand as if it were an extension of his own arm.

In the space of a few breaths, the Inspectors at the front of the chase fell one by one into pools of their own blood.

Only then did Chu Mu finally get a clear look at the attacker.

He was just a boy, looking even younger than Xu Yuan.

He wore a Beast Hide jacket, and his face still held a boyish immaturity. His eyes were clear, yet they contained a streak of ruthlessness that was completely at odds with his age.

The boy stared at Chu Mu. Instead of retreating, he shot forward like an arrow from a bow, charging straight at him.

Abruptly, that same indescribable sense of crisis enveloped Chu Mu once more.

CLANG!

The clash of blades rang out, an ear-piercing shriek that exploded through the forest like a death knell. The bloodstained hunting knife became a tempest, raining down blows that completely overwhelmed Chu Mu.

In just a few breaths, Chu Mu was forced back a dozen paces. A row of jagged nicks now marred the edge of his Long Saber.

"After him!"

"Hurry, don’t let him escape!"

Shouts echoed nearby, and the storm of clashing steel came to an abrupt stop.

By the time Chu Mu could react, the boy was already moving like a phantom cat, weaving through the dense woods and quickly vanishing from sight.

...