Frontier Hero: From Receiving a Convicted Woman to Becoming an Emperor for All Time

On the morning of the third day, the blizzard finally stopped.

Shen Chuxiao pushed open the door, and a cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed in his face. He squinted, carefully concealed the repeating crossbow close to his body, and with the ring-pommel sword he had taken from Chen Liang tucked into his waistband, he stepped out of the courtyard.

Wang Yilu stood inside the door, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating.

She watched his retreating figure, her lips moving slightly, but ultimately remained silent. Only as he stepped out of the courtyard gate did she softly whisper, "Husband, be careful."

Shen Chuxiao didn't turn around, he just raised his hand and waved before disappearing into the morning mist.

He didn't wait.

The three-day deadline was set by the other party, so why should we follow their pace?

Whoever holds the initiative holds life and death in their hands.

Rather than waiting for a knife to be held to your throat, it's better to strike first.

Black Wind Ridge was the hunting ground he had chosen long ago.

There was a narrow bend in the road, just wide enough for two riders to pass side by side. To the left was a bottomless snow valley, and to the right were towering cliffs.

This road is a must-pass for anyone coming from Ling Shuang Pass. The terrain is treacherous, with a wide field of vision, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, an excellent ambush location.

Two hours later, Shen Chuxiao arrived at the designated location.

He climbed up the right cliff face along the ridge and found a protruding boulder, hiding behind it. There was a natural crevice between the boulder and the cliff face, big enough for a person to curl up inside, but the view ahead was extremely open, taking in the entire bend in the road.

The snow covered his figure, and the cold wind swallowed his breath.

Shen Chuxiao placed the repeating crossbow flat on his lap, gently stroking the crossbow body with his fingers to confirm that every mechanism was functioning properly. Five short arrows were neatly arranged in the arrow slot, the porcupine venom coated on the arrow tips solidifying into a dark brown layer at the low temperature.

For special forces soldiers, stealth is a fundamental skill.

Not to mention a few hours, even a whole day and night, he could remain completely still, his heart rate at its lowest, his muscles poised for explosive power. This wasn't talent; it was instinct honed through countless trials.

Time passed slowly in the wind and snow.

Shen Chuxiao closed his eyes, his ears twitching slightly, trying to catch every sound within a hundred paces.

The creaking of the wind through the bare branches, the rustling of snow sliding off the pine branches, and the soft cries of unknown birds and beasts in the distant mountains and forests.

Until the sound of horses' hooves gradually approached.

As it drew nearer, it became increasingly clear.

Shen Chuxiao opened his eyes, his pupils instantly contracting to pinpoints. He slightly adjusted his posture, his right index finger resting on the trigger of the repeating crossbow, his left hand supporting the crossbow, and his breathing becoming as low as possible.

coming.

Through the swirling snowflakes, he looked toward the entrance to the mountain road.

Five warhorses filed in.

The two men in the lead were the two border guards whose necks he had held to his throat at the village entrance that day. One had a round face, a short beard, and a dark complexion, with a copper badge at his waist; the other had a thin, long face, a scar at the corner of his eye, and an arrogant expression.

Behind him followed three ordinary soldiers, dressed in standard leather armor, with long swords at their waists and horn bows on their backs. They were well-equipped, but their expressions were as relaxed as if they were strolling through a market.

The five riders were completely unprepared, not even sending out scouts to explore the area. In their eyes, this road, which they had traversed countless times, was merely a passage between Ling Shuang Pass and Qing Shi Village; how could it possibly be dangerous?

"Hmph, that Shen Chuxiao is a piece of trash." The leader spoke, his voice carried by the cold wind, "He's dirt poor, let alone a hundred taels of silver, he probably can't even come up with a single tael."

"That's right," another leader chimed in. "Today is the deadline. If he can't pay, we'll just arrest him. He can be charged with resisting taxes, refusing to pay fines, or assaulting soldiers. We can just fabricate a charge and send him straight to the front lines as cannon fodder. Nobody will care if he dies."

"Brother is right." The thin-faced leader chuckled. "I heard he even took the daughter of the Minister of Justice as his wife. I caught a glimpse of that woman from afar. Tsk tsk, the Minister of Justice's legitimate daughter, that figure, that temperament... Once we kill Shen Chuxiao, this little beauty will be perfect for us brothers to enjoy. It won't be a wasted trip."

"Hahaha!"

The three soldiers behind him joined in the laughter.

"My lord, don't forget to reward us with a bowl of soup when the time comes."

"Don't worry, you'll all get a share!"

Laughter echoed through the narrow bend, crude, arrogant, and unrestrained.

Shen Chuxiao lay prone behind the boulder, his face calm as still water, but a chilling killing intent surged in his eyes. From his past life to this one, what he hated most were these beasts who bullied others and treated ordinary people like dirt.

The five riders did not slow down and went straight into the bend.

The road narrowed further, with a bottomless snow-covered valley on the left and towering cliffs on the right. The five horses were forced to form a single file, with less than three steps between each other.

Shen Chuxiao pulled the trigger.

Right now.

"Whoosh!"

The first crossbow bolt pierced the air with a sharp, piercing sound, instantly tearing apart the silence of the mountains.

The arrow was as fast as lightning, heading straight for the leader's throat.

The round-faced leader was laughing, the sound still lingering in his throat, when the crossbow bolt pierced his neck. It entered below his Adam's apple, penetrated his cervical vertebrae, and the tip protruded from the back of his neck.

Blood gushed out, splattering a series of shocking red spots on the snow.

His eyes widened, the smile on his face frozen, but his body was stiff. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His body suddenly lurched to the side, and he fell straight off the horse.

"Bang!"

The body slammed into the snow, twitched twice, and then lay still.

One blow kills.

The entire bend fell silent instantly.

The remaining four people were stunned for a full breath before they suddenly realized what was happening.

"There's an ambush!"

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Watch out! Get out of the way!"

Their expressions changed drastically, and they frantically drew their swords and reined in their horses. The warhorses, startled, neighed and spun around, colliding with each other in chaos on the narrow road.

However, with snow and wind all around and the cliffs blocking most of their view, they couldn't see where the arrows were coming from.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Shen Chuxiao gave them no chance to catch their breath.

The trigger of the repeating crossbow was pulled repeatedly, and three bolts shot out in almost a straight line.

A soldier was frantically drawing his bow and nocking an arrow when a crossbow bolt came flying straight at him and hit him right in the face.

An arrow pierced his forehead and went through his skull. He didn't even have time to scream before he fell backward off his horse and died on the spot.

Another soldier reacted a little faster, and upon hearing the whoosh of the wind, he suddenly turned to the side. The crossbow bolt grazed his cheek, severing half of his ear. He screamed in agony, clutching his bleeding ear as he tumbled off his horse, rolling and howling in the snow.

Then came the third crossbow bolt, which was fired directly at the thin-faced leader.

The man was a seasoned veteran; in that critical moment, he ducked low, and the arrow grazed his back, leaving a deep gash in his leather armor, sparks flying everywhere.

Although it didn't penetrate, it terrified him.

In just two breaths, five riders became two.

A wounded soldier rolled on the ground groaning in pain, a soldier fell to the ground dead after being shot in the face with an arrow, and a leader died on the spot.

Only the thin-faced leader and the last soldier were still alive.

"Who is it! What kind of skill is it to hide your head and tail!" The thin-faced leader roared hoarsely, his voice trembling. His hand gripping the long sword trembled violently, and his eyes scanned the surroundings, but he could not find the source of the arrow.

The last soldier turned pale with fright and turned his horse to run away.

Shen Chuxiao would never let him leave alive.

He slowly rose from behind the boulder, looking down at the remaining soldiers in the bend of the road.

With only one arrow left on the repeating crossbow, he raised his hand, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow struck the hind leg of the fleeing warhorse with pinpoint accuracy.

The warhorse neighed in agony, its front hooves leaving the ground, violently throwing the soldier on its back off.

The man fell heavily onto the snow, his spine slamming into a protruding rock. He coughed up blood on the spot and could no longer get up.

At this point, all five riders were rendered incapacitated.

The thin-faced leader stood alone in the middle of the bend, looking around at the blood-soaked ground, littered with corpses and the wailing of his comrades.

He finally saw the figure on the cliff face clearly.

"It's you!" His pupils constricted, his face filled with disbelief. "Shen Chuxiao! It's you!"

His voice was filled with fear and anger.

"You've gone mad! Ambushing government troops is treason! A capital offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family! Your whole family will die!"

Shen Chuxiao remained expressionless.

From the moment he decided to take action, he knew there was no turning back.

But he preferred to be killed standing up rather than dying on his knees.

He sheathed his crossbow, drew his short sword from his waist, and leaped off the cliff several meters high. His knees bent slightly upon landing, dissipating the impact, and he landed firmly on the snow.

Then, they walked towards the leader.

The sound of footsteps crunching on the snow was like a countdown to death.

The thin-faced leader trembled all over. He gritted his teeth, suddenly drew the long knife from his waist, gripped the hilt with both hands, and pointed the blade directly at Shen Chuxiao.

"Don't come any closer! I...I'll kill you!"

He roared and charged forward, swinging his knife, the blade aimed at Shen Chuxiao's neck. The force was considerable, but utterly chaotic, purely brute strength.

When people are in extreme fear, they can't exert even half of their usual fighting strength.

Shen Chuxiao remained calm, neither dodging nor avoiding, until the blade was less than three inches from his throat.

He moved.

He sidestepped, took a step, and the blade grazed his clothes, slicing through the air before striking the snow and sending up a spray of snow.

At the same time, Shen Chuxiao reached out with his right hand, precisely grabbing the wrist of the person holding the knife. His thumb pressed against the wrist joint, and the other four fingers locked it like iron clamps, then he twisted it outwards sharply.

"Snap!"

The sound of bones cracking was crisp and piercing.

"what!"

The thin-faced leader let out a heart-wrenching scream as his wrist bent at an unnatural angle, the long knife slipping from his hand and falling to the snow.

He was in so much pain that his whole body was convulsing, and his face was covered in tears and snot.

Shen Chuxiao did not stop.

He delivered a backhand elbow strike, slamming it hard into the opponent's chest.

The elbow strike, delivered with seventy percent force, landed on the ribs with a dull thud, like a heavy hammer hitting a wooden stake. The leader's chest cavity visibly caved in, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground and sliding three or four steps away.

He lay in the snow, blood and foam bubbling from his mouth, his eyes beginning to glaze over, yet he still murmured, "You...you will not die a good death...the imperial court will not let you go..."

Shen Chuxiao stepped forward and looked down at him.

"Then you won't be able to see it either."

The short knife sliced ​​cleanly and swiftly across the throat.

Blood gushed out, staining the white snow beneath him crimson.

The thin-faced leader twitched a few times before finally losing consciousness.

Shen Chuxiao turned and walked towards the wounded soldier who had fallen from his horse after being shot by an arrow. Half of the man's ear had been cut off, and half of his face was covered in blood. When he saw Shen Chuxiao approaching, he was so frightened that he shrank back desperately.

"Spare me...spare me...I'm just a lowly soldier...I don't know anything..."

Shen Chuxiao looked down at him and remained silent for a moment.

Then raise your hand.

A knife.

If you don't nip the problem in the bud, it will lead to endless troubles.

Five corpses lay scattered on the snow, their blood staining large patches of white snow, a horrifying sight.

Shen Chuxiao did not rush to leave.

He crouched down and stabbed each of the corpses several more times.

The wounds were messy, at tricky angles, and varied in depth, deliberately mimicking the slash marks of a barbarian scimitar.

The border troops, who fought against the barbarians year-round, could recognize these kinds of knife wounds at a glance.

He then threw the five bodies into the depths of a nearby snow valley. The warhorses were also driven into the forest, their reins untied, and left to fend for themselves.

The snow has started falling again.

Fine snowflakes fell from the sky and landed on the bloodstains.

Before long, everything here will be buried.

Even if the border troops investigate later, they can only find that five border soldiers were suspected of being ambushed by barbarian scouts. The wounds looked similar, the scene looked similar, and even the missing warhorse looked similar.

He was just a good-for-nothing in Qing Shi Village who couldn't even get enough to eat.

Who would doubt that someone is useless?

Shen Chuxiao wrapped his coat tighter, turned around, and disappeared into the wind and snow.

behind,

Heavy snow fell, burying everything.