The Great Song Dynasty's Soul-Forging in Progress

It was as if the god of war who had single-handedly held off the enemy and slaughtered bandits like dogs had never existed.

Inside the ancestral hall, the surviving villagers looked at each other, and finally their eyes all fell on Lü Maoyi.

Looking in the direction where Wang Zhuacai had disappeared, Lü Maoyi suddenly remembered something his uncle Lü Sanjun had once told him—

"In this world, some people have their own lives in their own hands. But some people, even if they try their whole lives, still can't control their own lives."

He suddenly understood.

Wang Zhuacai, Wang Zhuacai, one shot and he'll take your life!

It's not that he can't catch it, it's that he doesn't want to.

Because he had both captured and lost before.

The gun named "Gentian" and the man named Wang Zhuacai, along with his mysterious story, are hidden in the wind and snow, buried deep in the soil of Wangjiagang, unknown to anyone.

The December wind, carrying snowflakes, scraped against the earthen walls of Laomentan like knives.

On the wall, more than thirty local militiamen stood with their guns at the ready, the tips gleaming coldly in the twilight. But their hands trembled slightly. Not from the cold, but from fear—below the wall, a dark mass of over two hundred bandits, like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, surrounded the village. What terrified them even more was that in front of the bandits, more than forty elderly, weak, women, and children were bound together with ropes, knives held to their necks, their cries ripped apart by the cold wind.

"Put down your weapons! Kill one person every ten breaths!" The bandit leader Shi Wancheng rode on his tall horse, his voice as piercing as a night owl. His left shoulder was wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage, a wound inflicted three days ago by Wang Zhonghua's "sneak arrow" while he was gathering intelligence in Hulu Bay. Now he was retaliating in the most cruel way.

Among the local militia, a towering man gripped a long sword tightly, his knuckles white. This was Sun Kui, known in the martial arts world as "Mad Dog."

Two months ago, Sun Kui was Qiu Laohu's top henchman, leading eighty men who roamed the Dengcheng area, robbing merchants and killing indiscriminately. Until that night, he met Wang Zhonghua.

It was a humiliating encounter.

Sun Kui had seen countless ruthless people in his life, some more vicious than him, some more venomous than him, but he had never seen anyone like Wang Zhonghua—who, despite having control over life and death, remained as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

"Why don't you kill me?"

"Because your osmanthus cake still has a trace of humanity; because your knife skills have a madness to them." Wang Zhonghua turned around, "A mad dog bites without distinguishing between good and evil, only recognizing its master. I want to see if, with a different master, your teeth can bite the right place."

Sun Kui stood there, stunned. In his ten years of roaming the outlaw world, this was the first time someone had treated him like a dog instead of a human being. What was even stranger was that he didn't feel humiliated; instead, he felt a sense of relief at being treated like a human being.

Later, Sun Kui learned about Wang Zhonghua's identity, the "Lianzhuang Association," and the Sanyi Village. He watched as this young man used "work relief" to provide food for the poor, "building fortified villages" to provide shelter for women and children, and "hidden arrows" to strike fear into the hearts of bandits.

More importantly, Wang Zhonghua really sent someone to bring his blind mother to Wangjiagang and settle her next door to Doctor Liu, where she was cared for by a doctor and provided with hot meals every day.

The first thing his mother said to him was, "My son, that young man surnamed Wang is a good person. I'm at ease knowing you're with him."

Sun Kui didn't speak, but nodded heavily.

He was completely convinced.

They weren't subdued by physical force, but by "reason"—in this world, there are truly people who can make "righteousness" outweigh "profit".

So when Wang Zhonghua entrusted him with the defense of Laomentan, the lifeline of the Lü family, he only asked one question: "To die or to live?"

Wang Zhonghua patted him on the shoulder: "Either live villagers or dead bandits." At that moment, Sun Kui felt that his "mad dog" had finally bitten the right person.

"Put down your weapon! I'll count to ten!" Shi Wancheng's knife had already slit open an old woman's neck, and blood was seeping out.

The local militia wavered. Most of them were recruited tenants and craftsmen, and they had never seen such a sight before. The gun formation began to scatter, and some people had already lowered the tips of their guns.

"We can't let it go!" Sun Kui took a sudden step forward, his voice booming like thunder. "If we put down the gun, Laomentan is finished! The Lü family is finished! All the villagers of Sanyi Village are finished! Young Master Wang's hard work is finished!"

"But...they are our fellow villagers too!" a young village militiaman said, his voice trembling with tears.

Sun Kui's bloodshot eyes swept over the desperate faces, his heart feeling as if it were being gripped by iron clamps. He remembered the old man who had been kidnapped by bandits three days ago, a tenant he had personally recruited who called him "Master Sun"; and the little girl with a knife to her neck who had brought him hot soup just yesterday.

He turned his head sharply and looked at Wang Zhonghua.

Wang Zhonghua's face was as cold as iron, his thin lips pressed tightly together, only his eyes were rapidly calculating, weighing, and making decisions. He whispered a few words to Sun Kui.

A hint of ruthlessness, a hint of determination, and a hint of... relief flashed across Sun Kui's face.

He suddenly looked up at the sky and roared. The sound was not like human speech, but like a beast driven to the brink of despair!

"Shi Wancheng!"

He stomped forward, his foot breaking the frozen ground. "Do you recognize your Grandpa Sun Kui?"

Shi Wancheng sneered: "Mad dog Sun Kui! A vicious dog who betrayed his master, you dare to say you're worthy..."

Before the words were even finished!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Three crossbow bolts shot out from the militia ranks, aiming straight for Shi Wancheng's face! The whistling of the arrows cutting through the wind and snow was more piercing than the wailing of ghosts!

Wang Zhonghua has made his move!

He stood in the midst of the local militia, his body motionless, only his right arm slightly raised. The seemingly ordinary crossbow in his hand was like the judge's pen of the King of Hell, killing whoever he touched!

Shi Wancheng reacted extremely quickly, pulling hard on the reins and swinging his knife to block!

"Clang! Clang!" Two crisp sounds rang out, sparks flew, and the two arrows were knocked away.

But the third arrow, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, struck with an extremely tricky angle, piercing his still-unhealed arrow wound on his left shoulder with a "thud"!

"Ugh—!" Shi Wancheng screamed in agony, collapsing from his horse. He never imagined that Wang Zhonghua would dare to shoot him in front of forty hostages!

"kill--!"

Sun Kui roared!

This roar was like a mad dog breaking free of its shackles, like an angry tiger unleashed from its cage! He transformed into a black shadow, leaping down from the three-zhang-high wall, his long sword dancing in his hand like a blood-red whirlwind!

"revenge!"

The burly Ma Nao, the fierce Zhang Simao, and more than thirty other villagers were ignited with the ferocity in their blood by this sudden turn of events! They saw Shi Wancheng fall from his horse, saw the bandits' formation fall into disarray, and saw Sun Kui's reckless charge!

At this moment, the word "mad dog" became the most inspiring battle cry!

"Fight alongside Master Sun!"

The local militia charged back fearlessly, like a flood bursting its banks, crashing into the bandits' ranks!

Sun Kui was the first to charge into the enemy ranks. He didn't defend at all, letting a steel blade cleave his shoulder, tearing flesh apart, but he didn't even flinch! With a backhand slash, he split the bandit's head in two, helmet and hair, splattering brains all over his face!

He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, then laughed, a ferocious laugh like that of a demon: "Come on! Today I'll show you what a mad dog really is!"

He's completely "crazy"!

Every strike was deadly, every move a wound! He charged into the most densely packed bandits, slashing left and right with his long sword. With each blow, a bandit would fall with a scream. He didn't care how many wounds he inflicted, as if his own flesh and blood weren't his own, but a murderous weapon that knew only killing!

"Chop him! Chop him to death!" The bandits were terrified by this frenzied fighting style, and seven or eight knives slashed at Sun Kui at the same time.

Sun Kui neither dodged nor evaded, letting the blade pierce his flesh. Using the momentum, he swept his blade horizontally, slicing open the abdomens of the three bandits! Intestines spilled onto the ground, and the stench of blood changed the color of the snow-covered sky!

"Mad dog! He's a real mad dog!"

The bandits were terrified. They had fought tough battles and seen ruthless people, but they had never seen such a fighting style of exchanging lives and injuries! This was not a human being, but a vicious dog driven to the brink of despair, which was becoming more and more frenzied with each bite!

"Hold on! Hold on!" Shi Wancheng scrambled onto his horse, roaring, "He's all alone! Outlast him!"

But before he could finish speaking, Wang Zhonghua's second wave of crossbow bolts arrived!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

This time, the arrows were no longer aimed at people, but instead accurately pierced the torches held high by the bandits!

"Puff puff puff—"

The torches exploded, sparks flying everywhere, and the oil-soaked arrow shafts instantly ignited the fur coats of the bandits nearby! Seven or eight torchbearers screamed and ran around wildly, completely shattering the already chaotic bandit formation!