Di Ming

Chapter 5: Killing
Facing these three incredibly lifelike ancient warriors, Ning Caiwei and Zhu Yin immediately felt a cold and ruthless sense of reality.

The last vestiges of hope were utterly crushed by this brutal reality.

Sigh... it couldn't possibly be a hallucination or a dream.

They really traveled more than four hundred years and arrived at the Jurchen tribe during the Ming Dynasty.

“Niu Niu…”

A Jurchen warrior patted Zhu Yin's head, revealing a smile that could frighten a child; the scar on her face resembled a centipede.

Zhu Yin understood what he meant.

Niu Niu is a Jurchen word meaning "little child".

These three Jurchen men were only about 1.7 meters tall, not very tall.

However, they were very strong, with rugged faces, fierce temperament, and a wild, beast-like nature.

These three people share common features: narrow eyes, high cheekbones, strong jaws, and well-developed jaw muscles.

This is the typical appearance of a fishing and hunting people, adapted to the harsh climate, and also because they eat more meat.

Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei obediently brought the baby and the puppy over the fire and sat on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The two pretended to be nonchalant, but their hearts were in their throats.

They were terrified that these three Jurchens would commit murder and evil deeds.

Fortunately, the three of them had clearly had their fill of the cold wind in the forest, and they immediately sat down cross-legged to warm themselves by the fire.

Bows and arrows, waist knives, and riding whips were all placed on the ground.

They took off their thick fur coats and hats, and their boots, leaving only linen garments, revealing their signature sable tails and muscular bodies.

The fire brought out a strong, sour smell of sweat, with a hint of fishy odor, which filled the small thatched hut.

The smell was incredibly pungent. Zhu Yin was fine with it, but Ning Caiwei and her sister couldn't help but wrinkle their noses at the pungent "masculine scent."

"Achoo!" Ning Qingchen's nose was delicate, and the smell made her sneeze.

"Niu Niu! Come here and dry our clothes!" said a Jurchen woman with arched eyebrows.

He was speaking Jurchen, and Zhu Yin could only understand a few words, but he knew what the other person meant.

Zhu Yin let out a soft "Ai," and could only step forward, take the other person's heavy fur coat, and turn it over to dry.

Seeing Zhu Yin's actions, Ning Caiwei could only follow suit and pick up another person's fur hat to dry it.

"You can understand us?" The man with the bushy eyebrows was a little surprised. "Whose cattle are you?"

Zhu Yin pondered the Jurchen phrase for a moment, then said, half listening and half guessing, "We are the families of generals in Liaoyang City."

He spoke Manchu, which was slightly different from the Jurchen language at the time, but the other person still understood him.

"The Han-style beef jerky in Liaoyang City? Which family's?"

The Jurchen woman with the arched eyebrows and a rugged face immediately leaned closer, her expression filled with curiosity and inquiry.

Suppressing his nervousness, Zhu Yin calmly said:
"My father's name is Zu Chengxun. He was a lieutenant general under Commander Li."

The girl with the arched eyebrows touched her little braid, a half-smile playing on her lips.
"So it's that Zu Fenghu. You're his son? But you're dressed like a little monster abandoned by Mother Foduo. Liaoyang City is hundreds of miles away. What are you doing here? Niu Niu."

"Could it be that the Living God (the Raven) brought you here?"

Zhu Yin pondered for a while before figuring out the other person's general meaning and replied:
“Aqik (Uncle), we were supposed to have someone escorting us, but we recently encountered a group of bandits. They covered our escape and said they would come to meet us.”

The man with the slanted eyebrows did not doubt Zhu Yin's words.

He didn't think the little boy had any reason to deceive him.

“They should be Zu Fenghu’s family,” the mandarin duck said to the other two.

After that, he ignored Zhu Yin.

Zhu Yin breathed a slight sigh of relief.

When Ning Caiwei and Ning Qingchen saw Zhu Yin communicating with the other party in Manchu, they were both worried and impressed.

Then, the three Jurchens started chatting.

It turns out they were from the Jianzhou Jurchen King Jia tribe (Wanyan tribe), and were subordinates of the city lord of Wanyan City.

The Jurchens with the slanted eyebrows and the lion-nosed one were alright; they merely glanced at the three children before taking out their wine pouches, drinking heartily, and chatting idly in their native tongues.

However, the third Jurchen man kept glancing at Ning Caiwei, his triangular eyes filled with a burning desire.

Clearly, this person harbored ill intentions towards Ning Caiwei.

Zhu Yin's heart skipped a beat. How could he not see through the other person's intentions?
Ning Caiwei kept her head down as much as possible, avoiding eye contact with the sharp, triangular eyes.

Suddenly, the man with the triangular eyes stood up abruptly and walked towards Ning Caiwei.

"Lai Shan, what are you doing now?" the man with the bushy eyebrows shouted. "Are you bewitched by the beautiful ghost in the old forest? She's too young! She's still a baby!"

"Oh dear, look at you, you uncouth fool! Mother Fodo will be unhappy!"

Lion Nose frowned and said, "Lai Shan, you're like a night owl that doesn't howl when you're not with a woman! You won't even let such a small calf go? You're really a bastard (vulgar)."

The two men looked at Lai Shan with disdain, making no attempt to hide it.

The man with the triangular eyes stopped in his tracks. "You all chatter like magpies in spring! Pointing fingers at me, Lai Shan! You are not my self-righteous Abuha (father-in-law), you have no right to stop me!"

"Either you get to taste this little tough girl, or you shut your mouths!"

After saying that, he walked towards Ning Caiwei.

"Wait!" The man with the bushy eyebrows stood up, saying as he dressed and put on his hat:
“Cuoha Zhanye (White Mountain God) knows that although this hut is small, it is dedicated to Mother Buddha and all the mountain spirits!” “Laishan, remember this: if you harm a cow in front of the shrine in the west hall, even the shaman will curse you.”

"You wild horse in heat, we can't stop you, but we won't walk with you anymore!"

Lion-Nosed, also dressed and wearing a hat, said, "Lai Shan! She's too young! Even the greediest hunter shouldn't lay a hand on a cub! We're not your Abha, and we have no right to interfere in your bastardly affairs! But we can leave!"

"If you speak to us again in the future, I will consider it an insult to me!"

After they finished speaking, the two ignored Lai Shan and slammed the door shut as they left.

Zhu Yin's heart sank into an ice cellar.

Damn it! You speak so righteously, why don't you stop your comrades' violence?

Does walking away and staying out of it, not becoming an accomplice, make you a good person?
But he had no time to think about it at that moment.

Because Lai Shan was already grinning maliciously as he approached Ning Caiwei!

Ning Caiwei turned pale instantly. Although she was smart and capable, she had never encountered such danger before.

"Waaaaah!" Ning Qingchen was so frightened by this scene that she burst into tears, kicking her legs frantically on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Zhu Yin reacted extremely quickly. He immediately feigned extreme fear, hid under the shrine, covered his head, and trembled like a quail in the autumn wind.

He looked very scared.

Just as Lai Shan was about to subdue Ning Caiwei, he suddenly remembered that there was another boy.

My first thought was to kill the boy who was in the way, and then slowly enjoy this Han girl.

But when he looked back, he saw Zhu Yin huddled under the shrine, covering his head and not daring to look up. He hesitated for a moment, then decided against drawing his sword to kill him.

Ning Qingchen was so angry that she almost fainted when she saw that Zhu Yin had no intention of helping her sister out of her predicament.

Seeing Zhu Yin so frightened, Ning Caiwei immediately understood what was going on. She didn't resist and obediently let him grab her.

She even forced a smile.

"Hahaha!" Lai Shan originally thought she would resist, but who knew this little girl was so obedient, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The sound of horses' hooves receding outside reached Lai Shan, who couldn't help but curse:
"Get out of here, I, Lai Shan, am having a good time here!"

After saying that, he grabbed Ning Caiwei and pressed her down with a sinister grin.

Ning Caiwei trembled all over, trying her best to suppress her fear and force herself to calm down.

At this moment, she only had one chance: to cooperate with Zhu Yin and keep this villain in check!
Lai Shan had just pinned Ning Caiwei down and hadn't even had time to take the next step when Ning Caiwei suddenly took the initiative to hug his waist.

"Ok?"

Lai Shan was slightly taken aback. Before he could even feel happy, Zhu Yin, who had been trembling with his head in his hands below the shrine, suddenly shot out like an arrow.

A cold light flashed in his hand; it was a sharp scalpel!

The thatched hut was already very small, and Zhu Yin was only four meters away from Laishan.

Zhu Yin is an agent of the secret service, so he is naturally familiar with combat and assassination skills.

By the time Lai Shan sensed danger, Zhu Yin had already pounced on his back.

He is a battle-hardened warrior with a beast-like sensitivity to danger and formidable personal combat skills.

But at this moment, he was on top of Ning Caiwei, and Ning Caiwei was holding his waist, so how could he react?
Just as he was about to break free and dodge, he felt a chill on his back!
At the same time, Zhu Yin's scalpel easily pierced Lai Shan's muscles and blood vessels, bringing a wonderfully exhilarating sensation as he plunged the blade into the enemy's powerful heart.

Then twist the handle!
A strong and powerful heart, when faced with a suddenly invading, cold blade, is like snow being splashed with boiling water—utterly powerless to resist.

It could only use its last strength to powerfully unleash the roar of blood, retaliating by trembling the blade, making the young wielder feel its anger and resentment!

The scalpel, as thin as a cicada's wing, hummed and vibrated, as if it were about to be swallowed by some kind of vortex.

"Pfft—" A torrent of blood gushed out like a fountain.

Zhu Yin, who was prepared, immediately dodged to the side, thus avoiding being bathed in blood.

Lai Shan was like a punctured husk, all his brute strength dissipated.

"Ugh..." He let out a roar like a dying beast, his blood-red eyes glaring as he desperately kicked his legs.

He tried to stand up, but he couldn't.

Soon, he stopped moving altogether.

Until his death, Lai Shan never knew that the person who killed him was not a real child at all.

Ning Caiwei stared blankly at Lai Shan, who lay dead with his eyes wide open, and at Zhu Yin, who held a blood-stained blade. She was stunned, as if in a dream.

Ning Qingchen had long since stopped crying, and her black gem-like eyes were now frozen in shock.

This finally gave her the adorable look that a baby should have.

She had no idea that Zhu Yin's previous fear was all a disguise to mislead the enemy.

The older sister knew this, so she cooperated with him.

How come the two of them are so in sync?

Her scalpel was meant to save lives, but today it has become a weapon to kill!

P.S.: Thank you for your support, fellow readers! Goodnight!

　Here's the update schedule: There will be updates before 1 PM and before 9 PM.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)