The family should stay together

The world was dead silent. The blood-soaked scene seemed to have been cast with an immobilization spell. More than twenty border guards stood frozen in place, utterly bewildered.

They looked at each other, entirely at a loss for words.

That was until Ren Tianye's voice broke the silence.

"Clean up the scene and gather the valuables. Leave the corpses out in the open, and prepare to... return to camp!"

Only then did the men accept the military order. They responded mechanically, quickly cleaned up the area, ensured there were no survivors left, and followed Ren Tianye away.

Half an hour later, at the corpse-strewn scene, a figure emerged from beneath a collapsed carriage.

It was a young boy, yet he was dressed in luxurious clothes. He first looked around nervously, and after confirming that those detestable border guards had completely left, he suddenly jumped out.

Bodies lay scattered haphazardly across the ground.

They were all his family members.

Unable to hold back any longer, he burst into loud, agonizing sobs.

"Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Brother-in-law, Sister-in-law..."

His weeping was tragic, gradually accompanied by hysterical roaring: "These border guards are abominable! A hundred times more abominable than the barbarians!"

"When your son grows up, I will definitely avenge this blood feud!"

"Our Li family has operated among the barbarians for years and built a solid foundation. I will go to the barbarian tribes right now and offer our entire family fortune to the Barbarian Crown Prince."

"When I grow up, I will lead the barbarian army south to conquer!"

"I will slaughter every last border guard!"

"I will turn these border guards into two-legged sheep for the slaughter!"

"I will make them beg for life and pray for death!"

"I will make it so that their cries to the heavens will go unanswered, and their pleas to the earth will be ignored!"

His shrill, mournful roars echoed through the night sky.

The cold, clear light of the crescent moon illuminated his contorted, fierce face.

It also cast a long shadow.

Stretching from beneath his feet all the way to the edge of the nearby dense forest.

The boy suddenly realized something was wrong. He whipped around and saw a person standing by the dense forest. The figure was entirely shrouded in shadow, almost blending in with the woods, yet appearing increasingly imposing. His towering physique felt like Mount Tai, exuding a suffocating pressure.

Stumbling backward, the boy fell to the ground.

"I knew it," a voice said. "How could there not be a true protagonist?"

The figure shifted, revealing his true face under the moonlight.

It was none other than Ren Tianye.

"You hid yourself quite well..."

Ren Tianye muttered to himself: "More than twenty experienced border guards searched every inch of this place, yet they somehow completely missed you."

"Absolutely ridiculous!"

The boy screamed in terror: "Wh-what do you want?"

Ren Tianye smiled: "Don't be afraid. I am a defending general of the Northern Frontier. My lifelong duty is to protect the safety of the citizens of the Great Yu Dynasty. Unless I'm dealing with barbarians, I don't easily draw my blade..."

"Oh? Are you a barbarian?"

"You're even wearing barbarian headgear?"

Panicking, the boy hurriedly tried to take off an emerald headpiece he was wearing. But before he could even remove it, he realized that every single thing he was wearing was barbarian attire.

This was a complete outfit his mother had bought for him after the Li family sold tea to the barbarian tribes. His entire getup made him look exactly like a barbarian. How could he possibly strip it all off in a mere moment?

"Alas, a young barbarian boy like you, at the prime age for the joys of herding and horseback riding, why bother coming into our Great Yu territory to spy?"

Ren Tianye let out a sigh: "However, I know well that Heaven cares for every living thing. Considering your youth and ignorance, I shall spare you this once."

"But the next time we meet, I will not show any mercy."

With that, Ren Tianye turned and walked away.

The youth of the Li family was stunned for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief, while a surging, boiling hatred flared up within his heart.

Good. He had luckily escaped with his life this time. In the future, this border general would be the very first person he would butcher.

But then, he watched as Ren Tianye, having barely taken two steps, stopped and immediately spun back around.

Ren Tianye's eyes were full of amusement, and a wide smile was plastered across his face. He even bared his teeth, neat and pearly white, displaying a pure, innocent smile under the moonlight.

"What a coincidence, we meet again!"

The Li family youth: "???"

"I said last time that when we met again, I wouldn't show any mercy."

The Li family youth: "..."

"Are you going to obediently surrender? Or do you want me to use my blade?"

The Li family youth: "..."

"It seems you need my help with that."

Ren Tianye drew his short sword. The gleaming blade radiated a cold, murderous intent under the moonlight as he stepped closer and closer: "A family should always stay neatly together!"

"Your barbarian spy of a sister has gone down to the underworld."

"Your barbarian spy of a brother has gone down too."

"Your barbarian parents, siblings, and clansmen have all gone down. You'd be left all alone in this world, destitute and miserable. How painful would that be? I have always been one to help others achieve their wishes."

"Be a good boy, listen to me!"

"Stick your neck out!"

"My hands are very steady, and my blade is very fast. It won't hurt a bit!"

These coaxing words trickled into the Li family youth's ears, making the hairs all over his body stand on end.

The radiant smile before him was like a living nightmare.

He immediately flipped over, suddenly leaping onto an old horse standing nearby, and smashed his right fist into the horse's rump.

Despite his young age and apparent lack of strength, the old horse let out a loud whinny and bolted, its hooves kicking up dirt as it sprinted away at breakneck speed.

With a whoosh, it shot straight out.

"Fuck! If this isn't a protagonist, I'll eat shit!"

Ren Tianye cursed fiercely in his mind.

His border guards had already swept the battlefield and taken all the usable horses. The old horse left behind was clearly injured and unable to walk, yet now it was galloping like the wind?

And running insanely fast at that?

The boy looked to be only a few years old. Having good riding and archery skills could be explained by childhood training, but how the hell could he just flip onto a horse like that?

How the hell is that logical?

"Whatever, I don't expect a female-oriented novel to be logical anyway!"

"Good thing I came prepared!"

Thus, just as the Li family youth got on the horse and before he could get very far, the short sword in Ren Tianye's hand shot out like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Having practiced martial arts since childhood and won numerous championships, he had also trained in the military camp for over three months. Coupled with the inexplicably enhanced physical attributes he gained after transmigrating, his power was unfathomably deep.

While he wouldn't dare claim he could fight the current top-tier generals to a standstill, his combat prowess was absolutely in the super-first-class ranks.

And throwing short swords was his greatest specialty.

The thrown blade was like a shooting star chasing the moon, like an arrow leaving the string. Its speed was unbelievable, and its accuracy was astonishing.

Without deviating in the slightest, it struck with a swish, embedding itself directly into the back of the Li family boy's heart.

The blade pierced straight through, and fresh blood instantly splattered out.

But...

The Li family youth on horseback merely swayed. His speed didn't falter in the slightest. He continued riding like the wind, fleeing madly for his life.

"Good, good, good..."

Ren Tianye laughed out of sheer anger: "So that's how we're playing, huh?"

"A dagger straight through the heart, and he's not affected in the damn slightest?"

"A mirror person, is it?"

"Good thing I have a backup plan!"

Ren Tianye had already nocked an arrow to his bow. This was a heavy military bow with a draw weight of a full three shi, and a range of fully 120 meters. Once an arrow was fired, as long as the target was within range, its force could pierce gold and shatter stone!

...