Chapter 297: Green-Faced Butcher, Nie Siming

"I never expected—never expected—that the one coming to Qinghe would be Nie Siming."

On the Anning Prefecture parade ground.

Li Rui and Cao Wei, having received the news, arrived early to await him with their men.

Cao Wei kept shaking his head.

"Green-Faced Butcher, Nie Siming."

Li Rui silently repeated those words in his mind.

Yuan Dingting's eight adopted sons were all outstanding, yet each had vastly different temperaments.

Nie Siming—just from his nickname, you knew he was no easy man to deal with.

This General Nie is said to have killed a man in the street at age ten, been captured by the authorities, branded on the face, exiled to the northwest, and later caught Yuan Marquis's attention for his fierce combat skills and repeated battlefield accomplishments, rising to the rank of vanguard, capturing flags and slaying generals all the way, until he was ultimately adopted as a son.

"He once buried ten thousand captives alive; after breaking a city, he dragged enemy officers' wives and daughters for ten miles, torturing them to death."

"He has personally killed no fewer than three thousand."

"His infamous reputation is known to all, heard by all."

Cao Wei recounted the rumors he had heard.

Listing one by one Nie Siming's horrifying acts of cruelty.

Though Anning Garrison was a military camp and had seen several major battles,

no one could imagine such brutal methods as Nie Siming's.

Precisely because of the tattoo on his face and because he had killed even more than Yuan Dingting, the Soldier Saint, he earned the nickname Green-Faced Butcher.

Whether his deeds before joining the army or after, they were all consistent.

He was an unyielding monster.

For such a man to come to Qinghe was clearly no good omen.

Cao Wei turned to Li Rui, smirking slightly, and said:

"Lord Li, I've heard that General Nie has a grudge against Lord Jiang."

Li Rui's expression remained unchanged.

He had known long ago—Wang Li's earlier letter had specifically mentioned it.

That day in Yunzhou City,

besides Yuan Xiong, one other person had gone.

It was Nie Siming.

Yuan Xiong challenged him to a fistfight; Jiang Lin refused to respond, so Nie Siming attacked directly—only to be struck by Jiang Lin's sword and flung into the wall, embedded there. Many in the Marquis's household knew of this.

After losing such face, it was only natural they were at odds.

As they spoke,

a rapid clatter of hooves reached their ears.

In an instant, seven or eight armored men arrived before them.

The lead figure, a burly giant, leapt down from his horse.

He removed his helmet.

Short hair, a face still dignified and martial—but most striking was the tattoo on his right cheek.

Without needing to guess, it was clearly the Green-Faced Butcher, Nie Siming.

"General Nie."

Cao Wei stepped forward first, smiling broadly.

Nie Siming had once been a proper general; after Yuan Marquis was enfeoffed as Marquis, he resigned his imperial post and followed Yuan Dingting to Yunzhou.

Though he held no official rank, Cao Wei dared not offend him in the slightest.

Even without his status as Yuan Marquis's adopted son, Nie Siming was a Qi Condensation cultivator—his strength alone warranted respect.

Li Rui also bowed respectfully.

Nie Siming glanced at the two men coolly and said to Cao Wei: "Lead a hundred men and accompany me on an outlying patrol."

"Yes!"

Cao Wei's expression stiffened.

This General Nie was indeed as swift and ruthless as the rumors claimed.

He had just arrived at Anning Garrison.

Not even a sip of water, and he was already heading straight for the border.

"I give you fifteen minutes. If you can't assemble them, go take your punishment yourself."

With that,

Nie Siming stood still, like an iron tower.

Li Rui said nothing.

He stood quietly to one side.

Cao Wei dared not slack off for a moment, fearing he might leave a bad impression on this man who would truly hold power in Qinghe for years to come.

As he walked, he barked at Feng Yu and Guan Xinrong:

"You have one incense stick's time—get those men here!"

Less than fifteen minutes passed.

Cao Wei arrived at the parade ground with two battalions of soldiers.

Nie Siming finally nodded in satisfaction: "Let's go."

He immediately mounted his warhorse and led the hundred men away in full stride.

Nie Siming was gone.

Ning Zhongtian stepped forward: "Big Brother, this doesn't add up."

Li Rui had anticipated this: "Of course it doesn't."

His relationship with Jiang Lin was common knowledge; Nie Siming had been flung into a wall in front of the Marquis's entire household—why would he give Li Rui a good look?

The wisest course now is to stay inside the Assistant Regional Commander's office, keep a low profile, and avoid provoking Yuan Marquis's seventh adopted son.

Given his role as a trainer, Nie Siming obviously wouldn't kill him—but making him suffer would be effortless.

"Let's go."

Li Rui called to Ning Zhongtian, then turned and walked toward the Assistant Regional Commander's office with his hands behind his back.

Nie Siming ignored him; Li Rui was happy to avoid him.

He paid no mind to Nie Siming's earlier attitude.

As he walked, he muttered:

"Spring… hmm, it's hotpot season."

"Any luck?"

"A little, but not much."

Li Rui stared intently at the brazier.

It pained him.

Tie Kuang had said the divine weapons forged were for himself—so the material costs had to come out of Li Rui's pocket.

A bottomless pit.

A gold-sucking abyss!

In less than a month, countless divine iron ingots had been thrown in—and these weren't ordinary ingots; they were of extremely high grade, worth a fortune.

Though some could be recycled, the accumulated cost was still enormous.

Fortunately, Tie Kuang's condition seemed to be improving.

His recent progress was clearly much better than before, giving Li Rui a glimmer of hope.

Forging was as thrilling as gambling.

Just then, Tie Kuang's hammer swung faster and faster, until it became a blur.

At that moment,

Tie Kuang shouted: "Li kid, stop holding back—use your Soldier Saint's true intent to aid me!"

Li Rui's eyes sharpened.

He slapped his right hand onto Tie Kuang's back, pouring every ounce of the Soldier Saint's true intent he had learned from Yuan Dingting into Tie Kuang's body.

"Good, good, good—no wonder the Great Yu Soldier Saint! This true intent is truly tyrannical."

In an instant, Tie Kuang's eyes turned bloodshot.

Boom!

His upper-body garments could no longer withstand the violent aura and exploded into tattered strips.

Tie Kuang's lean, powerfully defined muscles were fully exposed.

The wind from his hammer swings made the hanging weapons in the room sway and clatter.

Seeing this,

Liu Tiezhu's eyes widened.

Could this even be called forging?

The scene was too terrifying.

For half an hour, the clanging from the back courtyard gradually faded.

Tie Kuang seemed unsatisfied:

"Li kid, we'll continue tomorrow—this top-ten true meaning of the world is truly something! I felt it!"

Then he burst into loud laughter.

Li Rui's expression turned peculiar; he hadn't expected the Soldier Saint's true meaning to have an adrenaline effect—just now, Old Tie had fought with terrifying ferocity, utterly transformed from his usual self.

But since it helped Tie Kuang, that was fine. After all, Tie Kuang's immortal weapon was meant for him; helping Tie Kuang was helping himself.

Wu State, Giant Rock City.

The city's governor bore the surname Qi, which already indicated it belonged to Eastern Wu; now, three-tenths of the city's top experts had come from the Ghost Sect of Yu State.

Since the fall of Man Bone City, this had become the closest place to Yu State.

Inside the governor's mansion.

"Lord Jiao, you're truly still alive?!"

Governor Qi Yun gazed at the massive dragon before him, its body covered in bloodied wounds and missing most of its scales, voice trembling.

This dragon differed from other jiao.

Its claws bore faint protrusions.

Four claws: jiao. Five claws: dragon. Clearly, it was on the verge of transformation!

Correct.

Not a single word, not a single detail—everything matches!

The great jiao before him was indeed the same dragon that had battled Yuan Dingting in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The jiao spoke slowly.

Though not in human speech, Qi Yun understood: "Yuan Dingting cannot kill me."

It was generally true that beast beasts could not communicate with humans.

But once a beast reached second rank, it could communicate with humans without issue.

Qi Yun gazed at the great jiao, and the tension he'd carried for so long finally eased.

Do you know why the Eight Great Beast Lords of the south agreed to unite against the Wu royal court?

It's because of this old jiao.

Rumor has it this great jiao has lived a full thousand years.

Though beast beasts live longer than humans, surviving a millennium is an extraordinary feat.

"Lord Beast, I'll send word to the Ancestor immediately."

Qi Yun bowed.

Just as he turned to leave, the great jiao called out: "Not yet. Do not tell anyone I'm here. Understood?"

Qi Yun froze.

But he nodded: "Yes."

There was no choice—the great jiao before him was utterly inscrutable; even wounded, he was far beyond the power of a mere city governor.

He must summon the Ancestor.

Of course, the Ancestor had once instructed him: the great jiao's words were as good as his own.

The great jiao continued: "Arrange a secluded place for me. I must heal."

"Yes, yes."

Qi Yun kept nodding; before the great jiao, he had not the slightest thought of refusal.

Seeing Qi Yun's obedient demeanor, the great jiao finally revealed a human-like smile of satisfaction.

Then—

A single jiao scale detached from its body, as if lifted by invisible hands, floating to Qi Yun's front.

"Take this. You may command the Eight Beasts' subordinates to go to Qinghe and capture a white jiao."

"White jiao…"

Qi Yun murmured it softly, then his eyes widened.

"Are you referring to…"

"Yes. That fool's son."

Qi Yun instantly understood—the jiao wanted to capture the eldest son of the old jiao from the Ten Thousand Mountains.

And the scale the great jiao gave him could command the beasts under the Eight Beast Lords.

His gaze hardened:

"I'll act at once."

Watching Qi Yun depart, the great jiao's face finally showed a faint, almost imperceptible weariness.

'Yuan Dingting!'

Hatred burned unmistakably in its eyes.

That battle with Yuan Dingting had been far more brutal than anyone imagined—it had nearly died, barely escaped, and now it was utterly weak.

It possessed only the strength of a human fourth-rank Primordial Qi cultivator.

For a great beast that had already glimpsed the threshold of first rank, this was near-insect-level weakness.

Ordinary spirit herbs could no longer help it.

It needed dragon qi.

"Looks like I'll have to eat you sooner than planned."

The great jiao's gaze was cold; it had long watched the son of its own kind in the Ten Thousand Mountains—a rare jiao with true dragon blood.

It had held off acting, intending to raise it first.

Once the young jiao completed its ninth transformation, devouring it would multiply the effect several times over.

But now, it could wait no longer.

The great jiao's killing intent was as icy as a ten-thousand-year-old ice cave.

'Yuan Dingting, this feud is far from over!'

"General returns to camp!"

Hearing the sentry's call outside.

Li Rui, who had been meditating indoors, slowly opened his eyes.

'Took quite a while.'

He smiled faintly.

Nie Siming had come to Qinghe, stayed not a moment longer, then taken Cao Wei on a border patrol—it lasted ten days.

He returned today.

Li Rui stood, pushed open the door, and stepped out.

He quickened his pace; the general's mansion stood directly across, and in less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, he reached its gate.

Perfect.

He had just stopped.

When he saw several men riding powerful warhorses approaching him.

Leading them, of course, was Nie Siming.

"General Nie."

Li Rui stepped forward and bowed.

Nie Siming pulled his reins, slowed his horse, and halted before Li Rui, then dismounted.

He regarded Li Rui with a half-smile:

"You're Li Rui?"

"Yes."

Li Rui bowed humbly.

"I heard from my eighth brother that during the Autumn Hunt, he dueled you—and lost in technique?"

At these words,

The faces of those around him turned startled.

Especially Cao Wei and Feng Yu, who had attended the Autumn Hunt.

The only one Nie Siming called "eighth brother" was Yuan Xiong—the eighth son of Marquis Yuan, the man who had single-handedly pierced the Black and White Killers with a spear from a thousand paces.

Yuan Xiong had lost to Li Rui??

Even if only in technique, it was still a loss.

Yuan Xiong was a Primordial Qi martial cultivator.

And Li Rui… was only Sea Viewing—there was an entire major realm between them.

Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.

Cao Wei swallowed hard; he had never imagined Li Rui had accomplished such a feat without his knowledge.

'When exactly did he win?'

At this moment, he was full of questions.

So this old Li had been acting all leisurely on the surface, but was quietly pulling off something monumental!

"General Yuan deliberately held back his realm—I merely got lucky…"

Before he could finish—

Nie Siming waved his hand impatiently: "Winning is winning—there's no need to hide anything."

"Old man, you must break through soon."

"Jiang Lin said that in Yunzhou's martial path, there are only two: him and you."

"I can't wait to defeat you."

(End of Chapter)