In the stillness, Long Zhi broke into laughter, tilting her neck slightly to ease her breathing. "Courageous ones, go ahead and act—have your lover accompany me to the grave. Add Jiang Zhan and Gao Shen's fates, and one for three, I won't lose. Ye Liuxi, look around you. The Harbinger Guards number hundreds. Last time at Jin Yang's cave, a dozen Scorpion-Eyes left you half-disabled. Do you really think killing me will turn the tide? That's rather naive of you." Ye Liuxi smiled gently. "When it comes to people, I always leave room for future encounters. I never intended to kill you—never as decisive as you are." With a glance upward, he raised his voice sharply to the Harbinger Guards: "Clear the way!" Long Zhi protested, "No! No one is to move. Anyone who yields will be expelled from the Yulin Guards. Are you all dead? She has no eyes behind her—why doesn't someone move from behind?" Before she could finish speaking, Ye Liuxi's eyes darkened, and with a swift motion, he swung his sword, cutting a deep g Long Zhi cried out in pain, and the surroundings grew tense and agitated. Ye Liuxi sneered, "Then come at me from behind—see who has the faster blade!" He then turned to Long Zhi and asked, "What's your name? You haven't damaged any major arteries or broken a leg. I've just loosened your muscles—doesn't that hurt?" Zhao Guanshou charged forward, roaring, "Clear the way! Clear the way now!" With a sharp gaze, Ye Liuxi escorted Long Zhi outward. Blood flowed steadily from Long Zhi's leg, yet he endured the pain, quietly scoffing, "Your desperate struggle means nothing, does it? This is the field of corpses—Yadan—on all sides, my men are everywhere. Even if you escape now, within a moment or two, you'll be surrounded and crushed." Ye Liuxi replied, "Of course it means something—every moment you delay your death, that moment gains meaning." He then commanded, "Get me a vehicle!" Zhao Guanshou, no longer concerned with ceremony, realized Long Zhi was the daughter of Long Shen—should anything happen to her, Long Senior would surely live to regret it: "A The car came swiftly. Ye Liuxi dragged Long Zhi toward it, but Long Zhi was deeply anxious. In an instant, she realized something—Ye Liuxi would not kill her. Throughout the entire region, only she and her father, Long Shen, could touch the very core of his heart. If he killed her, then Changdong would surely perish. With this thought, Long Zhi acted immediately. She bent her elbow, delivering a sharp blow to Ye Liuxi’s chest and abdomen, then, despite the pain in her legs, suddenly lunged forward, falling with momentum. Using the force of her fall, she grasped and dragged along Ye Liuxi’s left arm, desperately trying to twist and dislocate it. Yet, unexpectedly, she managed to pull one of his arms completely off! While Long Zhi was momentarily stunned, Ye Liuxi swiftly reached out, grabbing the silver chain at her wrist. But as soon as his fingers touched it, the chain suddenly seemed to absorb into her arm, transforming as if it had become part of her skin, vanishing into the fabric of her arm—only leaving behind a series of shimmering rings. Long Zhi burst into laughter. "My Long family’s belongings," she Only I could take it off. Otherwise, even if you cut off my hands, you'd never get it. Too late—the Stalwarts were already rushing in. Ye Luoxi gritted her teeth, her blade flashing like lightning, delivering three swift cuts that lanced across Long Zhi's arm. Then she turned and leapt into the vehicle, swiftly engaging the engine and accelerating forward. Just a few dozen meters down the road, three of the fastest vehicles had already blocked her path. In her rearview mirror, the archer squad was now in position. Ye Luoxi had a plan in mind and immediately shifted to full reverse. The archers were caught off guard, scrambling to rise and dodge. As Ye Luoxi executed a sharp swivel, the body of the vehicle surged forward like a massive mallet, instantly hurling the archers aside. The wind was sharp, the ground flames raging, and through the vehicle's glass windows, now gilded in fiery red, Ye Luoxi looked at Zhao Guanshou. A smile curled at the corner of her lips. She formed two words with her mouth. Trade. Then, with a decisive press of the accelerator, she drove off, leaving behind Long Zhi, who shouted — On the Gobi plain, the wind roared and vehicles surged forward. It was unexpected—she never thought in her lifetime she’d witness a pursuit like this. Ye Liu Xi pressed the accelerator to the floor, occasionally making sharp turns or adjustments to avoid sudden yardang terraces. In her rearview mirror, dozens of vehicles closed in steadily, gradually narrowing the gap and eventually encircling her. A light sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead. She had expected this: the vehicles arranged for her would surely be the oldest, least powerful models. No matter how skilled the driver, a tractor simply couldn’t keep up with off-road terrain—this was a hardware limitation. With the vehicles now rapidly approaching, she feared this one might not make it to the destination she had envisioned. Suddenly, a vehicle appeared ahead, moving slowly and slightly wobbling. Chang Dong’s car! Though she knew it couldn’t possibly be Chang Dong at the wheel, a sudden warmth welled up in her eyes. She soon realized it was Ah Hu driving, with Li Jinao seated in the passenger seat. — Speaking of Li Jiniao and Ahu escaping from the battlefield net, it was dark and windy, and they couldn’t find their way. The area was vast, and after winding through several turns, they grew increasingly discouraged: with just their legs, how far could they go? When the Yulin Guard finally reacted and sent cars to pursue them, four wheels chasing you—well, that was effortless. Fortunately, when all hope seemed lost, they suddenly spotted a car that had crashed into a Yadan terraced formation. Li Jiniao recognized it immediately: “Ah, isn’t that Changdong’s car? Ahu, can you drive? Try to see if you can still steer it.” Ahu’s heart raced. These days, she had spent a lot of time with Fei Tang, and whenever she couldn’t speak, Fei Tang would enthusiastically narrate everything—especially about Changdong’s vehicles—painting them as excellent: powerful engines, strong collision resistance, and so smooth that even the flowers worn by Qi Jiang’s wife couldn’t keep up. Given the solid terrain of the Yadan terraces and the front-end collision beams, Ahu instinctively felt the car must still be intact. She wasn't a seasoned driver, but she had received training and managed the basic operations well. After fiddling with the controls for a while, she finally managed to reverse the car out, leaving them with just the two of them and the chicken—full of excitement and relief. Yet, not long after, as they rounded a section of Yadan formations, the sky shifted dramatically: a group of no fewer than ten or fifteen vehicles surged toward them at high speed, like wolves closing in on a lamb. Li Jinao's eyes nearly popped out of his head: just to chase after two such minor figures—was this really worth such a major effort? Didn't it even cover the cost of fuel? At that very moment, he heard a loud cry from the lead vehicle: "Ah, Hé! Move the car forward—come here!" At a distance, Li Jin'ao recognized it was Ye Liuxi, so startled that he could hardly speak, "Ah, Hé, look—there's... Liuxi... Miss Liuxi..." As the two vehicles drew closer, Hé saw and heard it too. She pressed harder on the accelerator, moving steadily toward Ye Liuxi's car, her arms trembling with anxiety. Driving wasn't her forte, and she'd never experienced such a scene of multiple vehicles chasing and weaving through each other—she felt certain she'd collide at any moment, her heart pounding so fiercely it nearly leapt out of her throat. Ye Liuxi kicked open the driver's side door with a forceful blow, then kicked it again and again—though the door didn't easily give way. Using her knees to brace and steady the steering wheel, she held her knife high and slashed furiously at the seam of the door. Indeed, the small-town knife merchant from Yangzhou was known for his reliability—her knife cuts were truly as sharp as they claimed. After several slashes, she stepped down with renewed force, and with a thunderous crash, the door came loose, while Hé's car nearly brushed past. Ye Liuxi then rehol Ahe saw her jump off the train with a glance, so tense that she nearly couldn’t catch her breath. Ye Liuxi, with one hand gripping the luggage rack on the roof, instinctively reached out with her left hand—only to realize she had no left hand at all. Ding Liu was right: with just one hand, everything became difficult. Unable to seize the moment and act decisively, she immediately felt herself plunge downward, clutching tightly to that one hand as the train carried her in a state of unsteady motion. Li Jinao, unaccustomed to such a situation, had only ridden in a few trains and knew little about them. Panicked, he urgently urged Ahe, “Hurry! Stop the train! Miss Liuxi is going to fall!” The empty train continued its swift advance, several others failing to notice that she had already jumped off and simply followed behind. But the ones coming behind soon noticed and turned to follow, creating a flurry of movement in midair—arrows of passengers rushing past, like arrows in flight. Fortunately, both groups were moving rapidly, so they couldn’t quite aim accurately. Ye Liuxi shouted, “Don’t stop! Open the windows! Ahe, open the windows! A tremendous crash rang out as the empty vehicle collided head-on with the Yadan terraced platform. Ahu was flustered, trying several times before finally pressing down the window. Li Jinao finally regained his composure and stepped out to pull her. With Li Jinao's support, Ye Liuxi swiftly climbed through the window and said, "Ahu, clear the way—drive seat for me." A series of dull thuds followed as the crossbow arrows struck the vehicle. Ahu quickly bent low and settled onto the passenger seat, while Ye Liuxi took the driver’s seat, fastened her safety belt with one hand, and said, "Hold on." With Changle’s vehicle at hand, things were now much easier. She sharply turned the steering wheel and pressed hard on the accelerator. The Gobi terrain was uneven, and the vehicle moved swiftly, often requiring Ye Liuxi to take sharp curves to avoid arrows from behind. Li Jinao clung tightly to the interior impact bars, his facial muscles trembling with each jolt. As he glanced down, he noticed the Zhen Sihai resting in the corner of the seat—it seemed to have settled into a massage chair, its body continuously shaking in rhythm with the vehicle’s The Yadan terraces seem to have increased in number, as if at any moment a major curve might appear. Even when the ground appears open, Ye Liuxi has to walk close to the edges. Li Jin'ao feels a bit tense, his voice trembling with the jolts of the vehicle: "Miss Liuxi, aren't you now deep inside the pile of corpses?" The campsite is located at the edge of the Yadan terraces where the corpses are piled up. He remembers the Yulin Guards mentioning that the deeper they go, the more perilous it becomes. Ye Liuxi remains silent. Suddenly, from not far behind, a tremendous sound of water and cries of agony emerge. Li Jin'ao turns sharply and sees the vehicle closest to them lifting its front end and sinking into the ground, where a faint copper-green glow emerges. A few vehicles come to a halt in the darkness, while many others pass over the spot and continue on, only to hear, after a short while, another sudden crash—this time, the closest vehicle plunges suddenly, as if the ground had opened like a wide mouth, with copper-green flames rising from its throat. Li Jin'ao's scalp tingles. Ye Liuxi asks Ye Liuxi slowed down her pace: "Then we can take a rest." The Mavis Guards were the elite of the Yulin Guards, composed of members selected from various noble families, including several young heirs sent in for training—Zhao Guanshou simply couldn't bear such losses; it would be difficult to explain their departure upon returning. Li Jinao, trembling, asked: "Then... what exactly is that?" "The Marsh of Corpse Water," she said, gradually coming to a stop. "The deeper you go into the pile of corpses, the closer you get to the Eye Tomb's stronghold, the more difficult the path becomes. Have you ever drunk milk? When you take warm milk and let it cool, a layer of cream forms on the surface—thinking it has solidified, you'd be mistaken; once you poke it, the liquid underneath remains. That's exactly how the Marsh of Corpse Water works." "It varies in size—some are only as wide as a well opening, others large enough to sink a vehicle. The surface layer has limited bearing capacity, unable even to support the weight of half a person. Its distribution is irregular, and once stepped upon, the surface automatically heals itself, making it look just like a Li Jin'ao felt his entire body prickle with gooseflesh, turning to look back and seeing that the copper-green glow had indeed begun to fade. He carefully observed Ye Liuxi's expression. "Miss Liuxi seems quite familiar with this place," he said. Of course, who could be more familiar than she? The distinguished residents of Black Stone City were unwilling to come to such remote areas. They certainly had maps, but those maps only indicated this entire region as hazardous—they never specified how many marshes there were, how far apart they were, or what their respective diameters were. She, however, made it a point to visit each time she entered or exited the city, exploring the locations of each marsh, testing their positions. At first, she planted flags to mark them; later, she no longer needed to—she could simply close her eyes and mentally visualize the positions of each marsh, as well as the winding, safe route that connected them. When Li Jin'ao asked a question, she didn't catch it. "What did you say?" "May I ask," said Ye Liuxi, "since you're so familiar with this area and the Yulin Guard isn't advancing, can't we find a way out?" Ye Liuxi shook her head. "The deepest part of the Shui Zui Yadan is where the Yanzhong sleeps. The Yanzhong is both clever and afraid of death, so it seeks a place of absolute safety—simply put, it's surrounded by eighteen living tombs. Beyond those, there's a marsh of corpses, which in fact forms a large ring of corpse lakes. The only section we've entered is occasionally passable, with solid ground where vehicles can drive and walk." Li Jin'ao's face changed instantly. "Then... then, if the Yulin Guard surrounds this entire marsh, won't we be completely cut off?" Ye Liuxi nodded. "Exactly. This is the dead end of Shui Zui Yadan." Ahé stared, dumbfounded. Li Jin'ao grew furious. "Then, then, why did you go on this route in the first place?" Isn't this just handing us over to the enemy? Just now, we pushed hard in a different direction—maybe we could have made it out...” Ye Liuxi smiled faintly. “If we were trying to escape, the open roads would be exposed, unshielded. The Nülin Guards' crossbow arrows would have burst the tires of our vehicles by now. In fact, we'd already have been captured. “Though this path is indeed a dead end, at least we're still free right now.” She raised her right hand to support her left arm. “A He, could you please help me with the dressing?” Under the pressure of the urgent situation earlier, no one had noticed her hand. Now, as she lifted it, A He jumped with a start, and Li Jiniao stammered, “Miss Liuxi, what about your hand?” Ye Liuxi smiled gently and said softly, “It’s gone.” — On the frontline, the net has been woven. Zhao Guanshou’s carriage sped in and came to a halt. As soon as it stopped, two birds’ guards helped Long Zhi down. One of them shouted, “Doctor! Doctor! Where’s the doctor Zhao Guanshou followed behind, holding his eagle-and-falcon cane, feeling suffocated and unable to raise his voice to Dragon Zhi. The frustration he carried settled instead onto the person who was shouting: "What's the fuss? What a mess!" The tent felt cold and drafty, the canvas torn at an angle, wind seeping in steadily. Maybe it was best to just let it freeze to death—after all, it didn’t seem to care much about living anymore. —— Zhao Guanshou entered the tent. The doctor was attending to Long Zhi’s injuries. Her leg wounds were manageable, but the ones on her arms were more serious—cutting precisely through blood vessels. When he rolled up her sleeve, her entire arm was covered in blood, the silver chain at her wrist stained with it. The doctor carefully observed her expression. “Miss Long, we’ll need to remove this chain if we’re to properly dress the wounds.” Long Zhi took it off with a smooth motion and placed it on the nearby operating table, then looked up at the nearest hawk guard. “Have you secured the perimeter?” “We’ve sealed it off. Based on the map, the rest of the area consists of large, contiguous lakes. The non-contiguous stretch is several kilometers long, with a depth possibly extending over ten kilometers. It’s quite dangerous there, and the ground surface leaves no trace—so we can’t follow the tire tracks of Ye Liuxi’s vehicle.” Zhao Guanshou stepped closer, his gaze fixed on the chain stained with blood, the voice of Ye Liuxi echoing continuously in his mind, repeating over and over again. Silver silkworm heart strings. Trade. Don't breach Black Stone City. It's all up to you whether you're willing to purchase this insurance for Black Stone City. ... Long Zhi called out to him, "Zhao-uncle?" Zhao Guanshou stiffened, as though his thoughts had been uncovered, feeling uneasy. "What?" Perhaps having just been disheartened, she couldn't hold her composure, and her tone with him was unusually gentle. "You needn't worry. Ye Liuxi is panicking and has gotten stranded in the Corpse Marsh. It's a dead-end there—she can't make it out, and has no food. The overall situation remains under our control. I've thought this through. This time, once we capture her, we'll first disable her limbs, and then proceed slowly to eliminate her completely. Zhao Guanshou hummed, moving closer to the control console. "But the corpse-mire marsh is difficult to enter. When we need to scout, casualties are inevitable—just as you saw, the two caravans of the raptors. I’ve returned and have no idea how to comfort the several noble families." Long Zhi smiled with quiet significance. "Zhao uncle, I’ve thought about this. The raptors are the elite of Black Stone City—they absolutely must be spared from injury. There are many who detest Ye Liuxi, some even eager to devour her whole. Why would I send them off to die when I could simply protect my own people?"