The Great Song Dynasty's Soul-Forging in Progress

"Master Shi, we can't fight anymore!" one of his trusted bandits cried out. "The local militia are charging up from behind, and we can't stop this mad dog in front!"

Shi Wancheng turned his head and saw that although the thirty-odd local militia were outnumbered, under the leadership of Sun Kui, the "madman," they were fighting with the momentum of three hundred men! They were in groups of three or five, using a combination of long and short weapons, and they specifically targeted lone bandits, each strike drawing blood and each shot killing their throats!

Even more terrifying was Wang Zhonghua, who stood motionless atop the wall, like a grim reaper. With each volley of his crossbow bolts, a bandit leader would fall; with every change in his hand gestures, the village militia's formation would adjust accordingly, as if guided by his own limbs, with effortless skill!

Shi Wancheng finally realized that his two hundred-plus men were not being "besieged" at all, but had voluntarily delivered themselves to be "trained" by others!

"Withdraw! Go back to Hulu Bay!" he roared as he gave the order to retreat.

But Sun Kui, the "mad dog," has already set his sights on him!

"Shi Wancheng, you want to leave?"

Sun Kui was covered in blood, with at least seven or eight knife wounds on his body. The deepest one cut from his shoulder blade to his waist, exposing the white bone. But he seemed to feel no pain. His eyes were bloodshot, fixed on Shi Wancheng on horseback.

"Stay here!"

He suddenly threw his long sword!

The blade flashed like a shooting star!

Shi Wancheng was terrified and desperately bent down. The long sword flew past his scalp and cut off the red tassel on his helmet at the root!

But this was just a feint!

The moment Sun Kui threw his long sword, he pounced like a hunting dog, grabbed the reins of Shi Wancheng's horse, and used the force to flip over, actually pulling the tall horse so that it reared up!

Shi Wancheng fell off his horse and before he could get up, Sun Kui pounced on him like a demon and punched him in the face!

"This punch is for the father-in-law you killed three days ago!"

"Crack!" The bridge of his nose shattered!

"This punch is for the child you just killed!"

"Bang!" Teeth flew out!

"This punch is for myself!"

"Pfft—!" Shi Wancheng spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with shattered internal organs!

Sun Kui grinned maliciously, grabbed his hair, and whispered in his ear in the gentlest voice he had ever used, "Remember this: don't mess with a mad dog in your next life. Because when a mad dog bites, it's a fight to the death."

After saying that, he grabbed the short knife from Shi Wancheng's waist and slit his throat.

The snowstorm suddenly stopped.

Beneath the earthen wall of Laomentan lay more than sixty bandit corpses, scattered haphazardly. The remaining hundred or so had long since abandoned their armor and fled in disarray, wishing they had more legs.

On the wall, Wang Zhonghua slowly lowered the repeating crossbow.

He saw Sun Kui turn around, covered in blood, but grinning like a mad dog that had just killed the wolf king but didn't care about its own wounds.

Wang Zhonghua also smiled.

People change! Don't believe me? Try it and see.

He raised his hand and gave Sun Kui a thumbs up.

Sun Kui laughed wildly, his laughter shaking the wind and snow, and tears streamed down his face.

This "mad dog" finally bit the right person, and also earned its own reward—

life! ! !

Meanwhile, seven miles away, Hulu Bay had been turned into a bloody grinding mill.

The earthen walls collapsed in many places, and the flames and blood intertwined to create a tragic scene. On the watchtower, a black tower-like figure that should have stood tall was now deserted.

Qin Tiedan is not here.

At this moment, command of Hulu Bay fell on Qin Tiehua's shoulders.

On the watchtower, a slender figure covered in blood stood tall.

Qin Tiehua.

She should have been fighting beneath the wall, but just a stick of incense's time later, Duan Gong and his men risked their lives to drag her back through the breach—"Miss Qin! You have to go up! We're here below, but no one's watching up here!"

She came up.

Standing in the spot that should have belonged to her brother, she looked down over the entire battlefield.

The wind stung her face, and the snowflakes felt like knives cutting into it. She was covered in wounds; blood was still seeping from the cut on her left shoulder, and the web between her thumb and forefinger was split open, throbbing with pain. But she didn't move, only staring intently at the battlefield, her eyes bloodshot.

Behind her, the messenger dared not utter a sound. From the moment the blacksmith's daughter stood on the watchtower, she hadn't shouted or cursed a single word; she had simply stared intently, stared, stared. Her gaze sent chills down everyone's spine.

The main force of Mad Tiger's bandits launched an offensive like a relentless black tide, wave after wave crashing against the crumbling earthen wall. On the top of the wall, the "Dark Arrow" team members had almost run out of arrows and could only rely on rolling logs and stones and desperate hacking to stop the enemies climbing up.

"Miss Qin, the east flank can't hold out!" A villager with a bloodied face rushed over and shouted.

Qin Tiehua didn't move, his eyes still fixed on the distance.

"Miss Qin!"

"I heard you," she said, her voice hoarse like sandpaper grinding iron, yet surprisingly steady. "How many logs are left?"

"There are... only five left!"

"Carry them all up."

"So what do we do next?"

Qin Tiehua finally turned his head and glanced at him. His gaze was neither fierce nor ruthless; he just stared straight at him, like he was looking at a fool who had asked, "Why do we need to eat?"

The messenger felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze and shrank back, saying, "Yes, sir!"

The man ran down. Qin Tiehua turned back and continued to stare at the battlefield.

No one knew what she was staring at. Not even she herself. All she knew was that before leaving, Brother Zhonghua put his hand on her shoulder and said one sentence:

"Tiehua, Hulu Bay is now in your hands. Remember—you are the blacksmith's daughter. With the knife in your hand, fear no one. Try it if you don't believe me."

Just this one sentence.

She didn't say anything at the time, but just gripped "Jinghong" tightly.

The blacksmith's daughter, who has she ever been afraid of?

"Mad Tiger" Hu Dongkui personally drew his sword to oversee the battle, hacking down two cowardly subordinates in succession. His ferocious roar drowned out the wind and snow: "The first one to charge in will be rewarded with three hundred strings of cash! Take whatever women and money you want! The wall is about to collapse! Charge!"

Driven by the promise of a hefty reward and the threat of death, the bandits went completely mad. Carrying door panels and bracing themselves with bundles of wet straw, they climbed upwards with reckless abandon.

The already thin earthen wall on the east side, under the continuous heavy axe blows and the impact of the crowd, finally let out a groan of unbearable pressure and burst open a gap more than ten feet wide!

"The wall's broken! Charge in! Rob the money, the food, and the women!"

The bandits surged into the breach like a flood bursting its banks, howling as they rushed in!

From the watchtower, more than a dozen voices exclaimed in unison, "Miss Qin!"

Qin Tiehua's hand tightened, and "Jinghong" left a deep mark on the floor. She stared at the gap, at the bandits rushing in, and at the building behind the gap with the medicine flag fluttering in the air—Sanshenglu.

She remembered what her brother had told her before he left: "Tiehua, I'm going to get reinforcements. Hold on until I get back."

She nodded.

But now, looking at the breach and at the bandits, she suddenly remembered something else—

Her brother never lies to her.

Wang Zhonghua would never lie to her.

My brother said he would come back, and he definitely will.

Qin Tiehua suddenly laughed.

She turned to the messenger, her voice hoarse but clear:

"Go tell Lü Maoyi that the breach doesn't need to be plugged."

The messenger was dumbfounded: "What?!"

"No need to block it." Qin Tiehua pointed at the gap, his eyes gleaming frighteningly. "Let these bastards in. Twenty in, let twenty out; fifty in, let fifty out."

"But...but the Three Lives Abode..."

"Grandpa Liu is at Sansheng Lodge," Qin Tiehua interrupted him. "You just pass on the orders. If anything goes wrong, I'll go and stop him with my knife."

The messenger gritted his teeth and charged down.

Qin Tiehua turned back again, staring at the gap, and muttered something that no one could hear.

It seems so—Brother, you'd better come back soon.

At the breach, bandits swarmed in.

Leading the charge was a giant man wielding a spiked club. He was eight feet tall, broad-shouldered, and thick-waisted, and one of his steps was equivalent to three steps for an ordinary person.

It was none other than the mad tiger, Hu Dongkui.

He kicked aside the wooden fence blocking his way and charged towards the clinic, howling.

Then he saw a woman.

The woman stood at the entrance of the clinic, holding a long knife in her hand. The blade reflected the snow and gleamed with a faint blue hue.

The giant paused for a moment, then grinned: "Little wench, with those skinny arms and legs, you dare to..."

Before she could finish speaking, the woman moved.