Eternal Life Begins with Learning

At the foot of the opposing mountain, a procession of villagers was clearly visible, herding oxen and sheep and pushing carts.

Hearing the Inspectors’ shouts, the once quiet and orderly procession of villagers clearly fell into a panic.

But someone was clearly organizing them. Soon, the slow-moving procession picked up its pace, even abandoning many of their supplies.

They were too far away to see clearly.

But one thing was certain: the "Rebels" were right ahead.

"Pursue!"

The command was given again, followed by a chorus of shouts.

Seeing the "Rebels" with their own eyes, the Inspectors’ morale clearly surged. Amidst the shouts, they hurried down the mountain.

’At the end of their rope...’

As Chu Mu watched the figures fleeing into the forest on the opposite mountain, those four words suddenly surfaced in his mind.

’Last night’s suicidal assault must have exhausted what little strength Qili Village had left to resist.’

’What happens next...’

Chu Mu watched the Inspectors charge down the mountain, then glanced in the direction of the villagers from Qili Village.

Tightening his grip on his saber’s hilt, Chu Mu pushed his thoughts aside, took a step, and followed the troop of Inspectors down the mountain.

To Chu Mu’s surprise, there were no attacks during the close-range pursuit.

In a little over an hour, the hundred-odd fully-armed Inspectors reached the foot of the mountain without incident.

The forest was a mess of scattered clothing, grain, and abandoned carts. One could even see oxen and sheep wandering among the trees.

"After them!"

"They can’t have gotten far!"

Chu Mu had just come to a stop, not yet having a chance to take in the scene, when Li Jinghong’s command rang out again.

Chu Mu instinctively scanned his surroundings, but he didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary.

Just as he was about to follow the other Inspectors, a sudden scream made Chu Mu’s heart leap into his throat.

Before Chu Mu could even see where the scream came from, the sound of whistling projectiles ripped through the air, exploding from within the wreckage.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH...

A chaotic volley of arrowheads and sharpened bamboo spears rained down from all directions, descending upon the Inspectors like a Heaven and Earth Net.

Some who fled in panic fell headlong into pits concealed by leaves, where they were impaled on sharpened bamboo stakes.

Others, frozen in terror, were pierced straight through by sharpened bamboo projectiles fired from unseen locations.

In an instant, the chaotic clearing was filled with blooming flowers of blood, dyeing the dense woods crimson.

Chu Mu didn’t dare to move an inch. He pulled the petrified Xu Yuan down into a crouch beside a cart abandoned by the Qili Village villagers. Using the cart for cover, Chu Mu vigilantly scanned his surroundings.

A quick scan of the area revealed mountain folk charging out with a motley assortment of weapons. At that moment, Chu Mu understood.

’They’ve really been pushed to the brink!’

Chu Mu’s heart began to pound with anxiety. They had already suffered heavy casualties on the way here. They had entered the mountains with nearly two hundred Inspectors, and by now, he estimated only a little over a hundred remained.

’And now we’re caught in a well-planned ambush...’

’Don’t tell me they’re going to turn the tables on us?’

Chu Mu gripped his Long Saber tightly, a worried frown creasing his brow.

’If they turn the tables on us, we’re done for!’

’Trapped in these vast, snow-covered mountains, in unfamiliar territory... there’s nowhere to run!’

"Useless fools!"

"Get in there, all of you!"

"Retreat and you die!"

"Charge! Fucking charge!"

After cutting down an Inspector who was fleeing on the verge of a breakdown, Li Jinghong surveyed the battlefield, his roars echoing across the clearing.

As Li Jinghong’s voice boomed, the various Hundred Households, Squad Leaders, and team leaders finally reacted. Amid a new wave of rallying cries, the chaos of every man for himself finally gave way to a sliver of order.

Sporadic counterattacks began to emerge.

After observing for a moment, Chu Mu slowly began to relax.

The ambush had seemed formidable, but in reality, only the initial wave of traps and projectiles had caused devastating casualties.

The subsequent attacks—sporadic volleys of arrows and charges by mountain folk consisting of the old and the weak—

—all told a clear story of Qili Village’s desperation.

Right in front of him, Chu Mu even saw an old, white-haired Hunter charging forward with a rusty hunting knife in hand.

It wasn’t hard to see that the majority of these attackers were ordinary folk with no martial skills to speak of.

’Military honors are right there for the taking,’ Chu Mu thought. ’For me, they’re practically within arm’s reach.’

Yet in that instant, on this field of life-and-death struggle, Chu Mu found himself hesitating.

Against a skilled attacker whose every move was lethal, he could retaliate without hesitation, even racking his brains for a way to kill them.

But facing these old and weak people who charged forward with no fear of death...

’It wasn’t foolish sentimentality, nor was he some bleeding-heart saint.’

’It was simply... the worldview and values built over decades in his past life that were influencing him now.’

"Die, you dog official!"

A blade whistled toward him. The attacker’s ferocious face was inches away, his hateful eyes looking as if they wanted to devour Chu Mu whole.

"Brother Mu!"

Seeing Chu Mu frozen in a daze, Xu Yuan cried out in alarm.

As the blade closed in, Chu Mu finally snapped out of it and retreated, easily dodging the old man’s attack.

Feeling the old man’s hateful stare, Chu Mu felt a hundred different emotions welling up inside him; he couldn’t quite put a name to the feeling.

’Was I wrong?’

’I wear an Inspector’s uniform, but I’ve always acted according to my conscience. I’ve never oppressed anyone, nor have I ever used my position to commit any wicked deeds.’

’This time, it was simply my duty to enter the mountains and suppress the rebels.’

’An official’s duty is to catch criminals. It’s the natural order of things!’

’But was this old man in front of me wrong?’

’He wasn’t wrong, either.’

’The burden of Forced Labor is too heavy, the people cannot survive. When the government pushes the people to rebel, that, too, is the natural order of things!’

’So for him to want to kill an official like me, to hate an official like me, that’s only natural!’

’No one is in the wrong!’

Chu Mu pressed his lips together. He raised his Long Saber to parry another swing from the old man, then instantly flipped his grip, turning the blade so the spine faced forward. With a carefully measured burst of Power, he struck the old man on the neck.

The old man’s vision went black, and he crumpled to the ground like a boneless heap.

"Second Uncle!"

"Second Uncle!"

"You dog official! You killed my Second Uncle! I’ll kill you!"

"Just die!"

With a furious roar, another burly man, looking completely crazed, charged at Chu Mu.

Chu Mu was speechless. This time, he couldn’t afford to hold back.

This burly man was clearly a trained fighter. He wielded a heavy ring-pommel saber with immense force. After just a few clashes, Chu Mu’s arms felt numb, as if they didn’t belong to him.

"Get in there! Are you all going to let Brother Mu fight alone again?!"

"If Brother Mu falls, do you think any of us will get away?"

Seeing that Chu Mu was clearly losing ground, Xu Yuan frantically yelled at several other Inspectors nearby. Then, he raised his own saber and charged forward.

...