The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

While Qi Ji was wreaking havoc in the barbican, a strong middle-aged man, accompanied by more than ten men wielding knives, stood in front of an empty house in the west of Luohui City.

County Magistrate Tang Fei huddled in the crowd, his official robe askew, his face as white as paper, and his legs trembling so badly he could barely stand.

He leaned close to the middle-aged man, his voice trembling, "Third...Third Master...I've done everything you instructed. Can you really get me out of here safely?"

The middle-aged man, named Su Laosan, glanced at Tang Fei, nodded, and spat out a mouthful of phlegm: "Don't worry, that idiot Wei Shuo has been fooled by that kid Zhu Zhen. He's really dreaming of capturing the white deer to exchange for a high-ranking official position in the Red Kingdom. I'm not that stupid."

A lingering fear was hidden in Su Laosan's eyes.

He was the very person who had mentioned during the previous meeting that he had seen the white deer in the mountains and forests and had shown fear and apprehension.

Having witnessed the terrifying scene of the dense forest firsthand, Su Laosan knew better than anyone that even if all the martial artists in Luohui City were tied together, they would still be no match for that white deer, let alone their rabble. Even if they weren't in the mountains and forests, they would still be throwing their lives away in this flat city.

Unwilling to die with Wei Shuo, he planned to gather a dozen or so trusted subordinates and flee overnight.

Before leaving, he led his men to plunder the money and resources that everyone had stolen, and of course, he also planned to take some women with him.

The gate of the empty house was kicked open, and inside were hundreds of women crammed together, all of whom they had abducted from various villages in the surrounding mountains during this period.

Cries and suppressed sobs filled the small courtyard. When someone entered, all the women shrank back in fear, their eyes filled with unconcealed terror and hatred.

Su Laosan didn't have time to pick carefully. He glanced around and pointed, "Ten of them under twenty, take them with you. Hurry up."

Upon hearing this, the men swarmed forward, grabbing the woman's arms and hair and dragging her outside.

The women struggled desperately, scratching and kicking with their nails, unleashing a barrage of curses and insults at Su Laosan and his group, their anger practically burning from their eyes.

"You damned bandits, you'll die a horrible death!"

"Let me go, you beasts!"

"Don't touch me! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

The loudest shout came from a young woman in a coarse cloth skirt, her eyes bloodshot as she stared intently at Su Laosan.

Su Laosan was already irritable because he was in a hurry, and now, after being scolded, his face turned ashen. Without saying a word, he drew his steel knife from his waist, a flash of cold light—

"Pfft."

Blood splattered on the muddy ground, the woman's voice stopped abruptly, a deep wound on her neck that revealed bone appeared, and then her body slumped to the ground.

"If you dare to utter another curse, this is what will happen."

Su Laosan, carrying a blood-dripping knife, glanced at the remaining women, his voice ruthless.

All the curses instantly stuck in my throat.

The women were pale and trembling. Even though there was still anger in their eyes, they bit their lips tightly and dared not make a sound. Only suppressed sobs filled the courtyard.

"Walk!"

Su Laosan sheathed his sword, turned to Tang Fei and hissed, "Take us to that hidden side gate in the east of the city. Don't try anything funny."

Tang Fei dared not say no, and hurriedly nodded, bowing as he led the way. The group escorted the ten young women and hurriedly headed towards the east of the city.

Just two streets later, a deafening commotion and screams suddenly erupted from the main road ahead. Countless disheveled bandits, carrying knives, were running frantically from the city gate toward the city magistrate's mansion, shouting as they ran, their expressions filled with extreme terror.

Su Laosan and his group suddenly stopped in their tracks, their hearts skipping a beat. He grabbed a passing bandit and demanded sharply, "What's the panic? What happened?"

The fear in the bandit's eyes hadn't faded yet, and he stammered, "White... White Deer... It's that auspicious beast, the White Deer. It stormed into the city, and all the leaders are dead, and many of my brothers are dead too..."

"A white deer?!"

Upon hearing this, Su Laosan was struck dumb, his whole body trembled instinctively, and the scene he had witnessed in the mountains flashed through his mind.

As all things revive, chaos reigns and slaughter rages, with martial arts figures falling amidst bloodshed and screams.

"Quick! Let's go!"

He panicked instantly, shoving Tang Fei hard with his backhand, his voice trembling, "Go to the side gate! Go to the east side gate of the city right now!"

His men panicked, dragging the sobbing women along as they stumbled and followed Tang Fei as he raced east of the city.

... ... ....

Meanwhile, on the main road of Luohui City, a huge, snow-white figure was rushing towards them.

As Qi Ji's four hooves pounded on the bluestone road, the first moment he rushed into the city gate, he didn't smell the usual bustling atmosphere of a town, but only the strong smell of liquor mixed with the rusty stench of blood.

Nine out of ten shops on both sides of the street had their doors closed, and some of the doors still bore the marks of being hacked or chopped.

Dark red bloodstains were visible everywhere on the bluestone pavement, and broken wine jars and other debris were scattered in the corners.

The entire town was lifeless and dull, far inferior to Yunqi Town, which he had visited before.

Clearly, this group of bandits who have seized control of the city have already wreaked havoc on the place.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Qi Ji. There is only one thing that Qi Ji cares about.

That means whoever lays a hand on him, whoever dares to arrest him, is his enemy, and he will retaliate against them.

Ahead lay a motley crew of bandits and江湖人士 (jianghu figures, martial arts practitioners) fleeing in all directions. Without the slightest hesitation, Qi Ji stomped his forelegs, propelling his massive body several dozen feet into the air, crashing down like a small white mountain.

"Bang!"

The two bandits who were running at the back didn't even have time to scream before they were stomped under the bluestone slab by a tremendous force, and the sound of their bones breaking could be clearly heard.

Before anyone could react, Qi Ji flicked his head, and the sharp antlers swept out with a strong wind. Two more screams rang out as the antlers tore open the chests and abdomens of the two bandits, their blood and internal organs splattering all over the ground. Their bodies flew backward like broken sacks.

Qi Ji was like a tiger that had broken into a flock of sheep, his snow-white figure rampaging through the crowd.

Hooves stomped, antlers pierced, bodies rammed, blood and flesh flew everywhere they went, and screams rose and fell.

The bandits, who had been panicking and running aimlessly, were now terrified and fled into the alleys on both sides, crying and wishing they had two more legs.

On both sides of the street, the people who had been walking briskly in twos and threes with their heads down and close to the walls all stopped in their tracks, staring in disbelief at the scene before them.

They had long since grown accustomed to bowing their heads and enduring, accustomed to turning a blind eye to the bandits' atrocities. But now, watching the tyrannical robbers being slaughtered like pigs and dogs, everyone froze in place.

A robber kicked away by Qi Ji crashed heavily onto the side of the street, landing right in front of an elderly woman with gray hair.

The robber's sternum collapsed, blood and foam kept gushing from his mouth, and he was breathing weakly, not yet dead.

He vaguely sensed someone in front of him, and with difficulty reached out his hand, his voice barely audible: "Help...help me..."

The old woman stared at him blankly, her cloudy eyes showing no fear whatsoever.

Her son was originally a soldier guarding Luohui City. He died at the hands of this bandit group half a month ago. Many young men in the city had resisted, but all of them ended up dead in the streets. Even if the remaining people hated them to the core, they could only live with their heads down and endure their exploitation and oppression.

Anger, resentment, and the daily feeling of powerlessness weighed heavily on her, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

She didn't know what the huge white deer in front of her was, or why it was here, but as she looked at the dying bandits on the ground and the thugs falling one after another on the street, a long-suppressed sense of exhilaration suddenly burst forth from her chest.

Perhaps her son can avenge her.

The old woman bent down, trembling as she picked up a sharp-edged stone and held it high.

"You demons...you deserve to die."

She used all her strength to smash it down hard.

"God... finally, they've opened their eyes!"

The old woman's head thudded with each stone, tears streaming down her face, yet her hands remained remarkably steady.

The robbers' escape and screams echoed throughout most of the city. More and more people heard the commotion, cautiously opened their doors and peeked out, then rushed into the streets with a mixture of surprise and joy.

"Is it the imperial army attacking?" Someone stood on tiptoe and looked towards the city gate, their eyes full of anticipation.

"I don't see any soldiers... not a single one in armor."

"I was just on the street! There was no army there."

A commoner, his face contorted with unease, pointed toward the main road, his voice trembling: "Coming... is an exceptionally large and ferocious white deer!"

The crowd that had gathered around were all taken aback when they heard this.

White deer?