Villain: After I died, all the heroines cried themselves to sleep.

Upon seeing their commander, the guards were finally relieved and quickly stepped forward to bow to him.

"Reporting to the commander, we have successfully completed our mission!"

"You did a good job, managing to evade the bandits' attack with Xia Ji and the young master."

The commander nodded, then suddenly changed the subject.

"Don't do it again."

He had barely finished speaking when the guards hadn't yet grasped the meaning behind his words.

The commander's eyes flashed, and he drew his long sword from his waist, instantly killing the two guards in front of him.

"Commander, why—"

The other guards were immediately shocked, wondering why the other party would kill their own people.

But they had no choice; they all drew their swords and turned them toward their leader.

"Mind your own business, overestimating your abilities."

The commander sneered disdainfully, unleashing his powerful cultivation at the Innate Realm.

He pressed forward aggressively, and swords flashed and shadows danced in the forest.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all the guards were dead by his sword.

"Young master, run!"

With the last guard sacrificing his life, there were no longer any obstacles between Luo Zheng and his mother and the commander.

The entire mountain forest fell into a deathly silence.

Only the campfire beside them illuminated their faces.

"It's your turn, Prince Zheng and Xia Ji."

The commander's expression was gloomy.

"Zheng'er, don't worry about your mother, you should go!"

Xia Ji's voice trembled uncontrollably.

Despite being so terrified that her body went limp and tears kept falling, she was still trembling with fear.

But she didn't know where the strength came from, she suppressed her fear of death, protected Luo Zheng behind her, and kept trying to push him deeper into the woods behind her.

It was obvious that she was willing to risk her life to buy Luo Zheng time to escape.

"Mother, don't be afraid."

Luo Zheng would never abandon Xia Ji and run away.

He used a little force to pull Xia Ji back, facing the terrifying commander directly.

"You're not allowed to bully your mother..."

Luo Zheng mustered his courage and called out to the commander.

However, his tearful expression and trembling body had already betrayed his inner weakness and cowardice.

"We didn't do anything, so why are you trying to kill me and my mother?"

"Blame it on the fact that you are the son of the King of Liang."

The commander believed that Luo Zheng was doomed, so he didn't mind telling him the truth.

"If you had stayed in Tang, you might have been safe. But you chose to return to Liang, and Zhao Ji wanted to adopt you as her son. You were blocking her way, so we had no choice but to get rid of you."

"..."

Is that really the reason?

Luo Zheng had long suspected this, and now it was finally confirmed.

From the moment he realized that his journey to the Tang Kingdom was different from his predetermined fate, he wondered if something he had done had caused some kind of change within the Liang Kingdom.

Throughout these two years, his only connection with the Liang Kingdom was through frequent letters to Zhao Ji.

Therefore, it is highly likely that this action prematurely exposed his ambition and provoked some people's nerves.

"Aren't you afraid that things will be exposed and the King of Liang will find out?"

"Heh heh, have you heard of Fei Wei, the 'shooter without shooting' of the Tang Kingdom? The person who shot and killed you not long ago was a descendant of Fei Wei. So it was not us who killed you, but the treacherous people of the Tang Kingdom."

The commander looked at Luo Zheng with a mocking expression, then glanced at Xia Ji, who was cowering behind Luo Zheng.

A sinister glint flashed in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Prince Zheng, I'll make sure you die a quick death. As for Xia Ji, she's quite beautiful, so she'll just have to suffer some physical pain first."

Upon hearing this, Xia Ji's body trembled violently.

"You...you won't get away with this! I will definitely kill you! I will protect my mother!"

Luo Zheng appeared fierce but was actually weak inside. He gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist and made a gesture as if to draw it.

Upon seeing this, the commander couldn't help but laugh sarcastically.

"Hahaha... You think you can kill me, a mere ten-year-old child?"

He had long ago figured out Luo Zheng's background very well.

Gongsun Zheng grew up surrounded by women from a young age, and was obedient and timid, often acting like a little girl.

Because of her petite stature, she was bullied by her classmates at the academy and had to endure it silently.

His swordsmanship was even worse; he couldn't even defeat the daughter of Lord Anling.

This brat actually threatened to kill me.

What a joke!

The commander looked at Luo Zheng's handsome face and his effeminate and timid demeanor.

They didn't take the other party's threat seriously at all.

"Alright, I'm not going to waste any more words with you. Just die."

The commander casually raised his sword and swung it at Luo Zheng.

And in that very instant.

Luo Zheng's demeanor changed abruptly.

He instantly drew his sword, his timid and weak aura transforming into sharp brilliance.

The sword, hidden for two years, now shines brightly.

The commander's pupils constricted sharply, completely unexpected that Luo Zheng would use such amazing sword skills.

At this point, it was too late to stop them.

Swah——

The sword light ripped through the void, passing right before the commander's eyes.

"Such a fast sword."

The leader praised it enthusiastically.

He was careless and didn't dodge.

The sword came too suddenly; he was caught off guard and didn't even release his protective inner energy.

He looked down at Luo Zheng.

But Luo Zheng had a cold smile on his face, his eyes were indifferent, and his whole body exuded an aura of dominance.

Where is there even a trace of childishness?

The commander suddenly realized.

He realized that the other person's obedience and timidity were deliberate pretense, just to hide their shortcomings in front of others.

The ruthless and vicious little gentleman before me, who is like a jackal or a tiger, is the real face of the other party.

So young, yet so cunning.

It's absolutely terrifying.

"you……"

The leader wanted to say more.

A thin line of blood appeared on his throat.

swoosh-

In an instant, blood gushed out, and the commander immediately collapsed to the ground, powerless.

A single sword strike to the throat.

"Phew, that was close. I didn't expect it to actually come in handy."

Looking at the commander's corpse, Luo Zheng muttered to himself.

He is currently only at the third level of the Acquired Realm. Facing a leader of the Innate Realm, his only chance of victory is to catch him off guard and use the "Clear Shadow Sword Technique" that Tang Ning taught him to kill him with a single sword strike.

Fortunately, he looked harmless and had always pretended to be innocent, which made the other party completely lower their guard.

Was the system making me act obedient all along just for this moment?

Anyway, I won.

Making him lose face won't be that easy.

He was splattered with blood by the other party before they died.

Luo Zheng skillfully shook off the blood from his sword and sheathed it.

Looking back at Xia Ji, Luo Zheng's expression changed instantly, revealing his usual innocent smile.

"Mother, look, I won, everything is alright now."

Xia Ji stared blankly at Luo Zheng, who was still smiling despite his blood-stained face, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She hugged Luo Zheng tightly and started sobbing, heartbroken.

"Zheng'er... Zheng'er! It's all my fault, I shouldn't have brought you back to Liang! It's your mother's fault... Waaah..."

Luo Zheng listened to Xia Ji sobbing uncontrollably and felt her deep remorse.

In the end, they still suffered a setback...

He sighed inwardly and gently stroked Xia Ji's head.

"Mommy, it's okay...we won't cry..."

……

The next morning, Luo Zheng took Xia Ji's hand and they set off.

Last night, after Xia Ji cried herself to sleep, Luo Zheng pulled her to hide in a nearby crevice and spent the night there.

Fearing the smell of blood from the corpses would attract wild animals, they decided to leave the area as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, those loyal guards did not survive to the end.

As for where to go next, Xia Ji wanted Luo Zheng to return to Tang, but Luo Zheng insisted on going to Liang.

Although Xia Ji was unwilling for Luo Zheng to take the risk, she eventually complied.

"Mother, be careful, there are loose stones here."

"I understand, Zheng'er."

Luo Zheng helped Xia Ji as they trudged through the mountains and forests.

As they walked across the gravel path, Xia Ji looked at Luo Zheng beside her and couldn't help but sigh with satisfaction.

"Overnight, I realized that Zheng'er seemed to have grown up a lot."

This was not Xia Ji's imagination.

Luo Zheng stopped pretending to be a mama's boy, and naturally appeared more mature.

"From now on, Mother, I will listen to whatever Zheng'er says."

"In that case, Mother, may you give me the dagger you're holding?"

Luo Zheng glanced at the dagger Xia Ji was holding in her bosom.

He wasn't afraid that Xia Ji would be a threat to him, but rather that Xia Ji would commit suicide.

Last night, I heard Xia Ji tearfully recount that if anything had happened to Luo Zheng back then, Xia Ji would have used this dagger to commit suicide.

"Zheng'er, please spare your mother. I must keep this dagger; if anything happens to you, I can go with you."

"..."

Luo Zheng was speechless.

No matter how I try to persuade him, he won't listen.

He felt a different kind of sweat.

He's going to do something really stupid in the future. When he ends his villainous role, Xia Ji will think he's dead and choose to commit suicide.

What should we do then?