Chapter 868: First Volume, Chapter 868: Winter Snow

First Volume, Chapter 868: Winter Snow's Warmth

Wu… Wu Qi is dead?!

Everyone present felt their heads buzzing, as if in a dream—but when their gazes fell upon Wu Qi's corpse, they realized it was all real.

The scene, already silent, sank into utter stillness; the civilians turned pale with terror, trembling all over, while the Wu Residence servants, frozen in shock, snapped back to sense and scrambled toward the Wu Residence.

Zhou Bantou, crouched peering through the crack of the County Yamen gate, swallowed hard and muttered under his breath.

"This… this Ning Qianhu kills Wu Qi like slaughtering a chicken… truly ruthless!"

The young Yamen Runner beside him, shaking with fear, asked nervously: "Captain, who… who is this Ning Qianhu?"

Zhou Bantou sniffed, voice lowered to a whisper: "He's Qin Feng's right-hand man, long infamous across the land."

"Beixi has three Main Generals—Ning Hu is one of them."

"Legend says, during the National War, Ning Hu led Tianji Camp Guards to secretly infiltrate our territory, using stealth to storm and burn countless granary strongholds."

"Later trapped in Daqingshan, he fought shoulder to shoulder with Qin Feng; with only two hundred or so men, they repelled countless attacks by tens of thousands of Scouring Soldiers."

"At Daqingshan, no fewer than three thousand, possibly five thousand, Scouring Soldiers died…"

Hearing Zhou Bantou's words, every single Yamen Runner present felt their scalps go numb with dread.

They were all locals from backwaters—how could they have heard of such terrifying feats? It shattered their worldview.

When their gazes passed through the door crack and landed on Ning Hu's powerful, muscular arms, fear surged again in their hearts.

Zhou Bantou said gravely: "This Ning Qianhu is known as… the Fierce Tiger—he's Qin Feng's most ferocious general, killing without blinking."

The young Yamen Runner's legs trembled; he glanced at Liu Ming, who still wore a smiling face, and whispered: "Then who is this man?"

Zhou Bantou shook his head: "I never heard his name—just as long as he's not Liu Ming."

"Who?" The young Yamen Runner was baffled by the name "Liu Ming."

Zhou Bantou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Liu Ming is Captain of the Anwu Guard—everyone in Wang Du knows it. He's also Qin Feng's confidant, but his methods are utterly cruel; those who fall into his hands find death a mercy."

The young Yamen Runner's back chilled: "Even his left and right arms are this terrifying—what kind of demon is Qin Feng?"

"No wonder our great Di, when waging war on neighboring states, always triumphs—yet this time, we were crushed on the Liang Kingdom North Border…"

"Perhaps only the Xiongying Brigade and Snow Wolf Brigade among all of Di could stand against him."

Hearing this, Zhou Bantou's eyes flickered with despair: "You don't know yet—the Snow Wolf Brigade has already been wiped out by Qin Feng."

"What?!"

All the Yamen Runners stared, dumbfounded, eyes wide with shock.

Zhou Bantou didn't elaborate—after all, the Snow Wolf Brigade's destruction had been deliberately suppressed by higher-ups; common folk couldn't possibly know. Even Zhou Bantou had only heard of it by chance, when Chen Tian mentioned it.

All the Yamen Runners, including Zhou Bantou, felt immense relief—and profound gratitude toward Chen Tian.

Chen Tian's ability to stay detached, avoiding enmity with Qin Feng, was the wisest choice of his life.

At that moment, a rapid clatter of footsteps approached.

A group of Protectors ran from Jie Dong Tou—over ten of them.

Their leader was a burly man in blue cotton robes, wearing a felt hat, with a full beard.

Zhou Bantou recognized him at once: Wu Dagui's cousin, and Changshui County's Tuansystem commander—Wu Heng!

Wu Heng arrived on the scene just in time to see Wu Qi lying in the snow pile; seeing Wu Qi's body already cold, Wu Heng's rage boiled over.

He raised his single-edged blade, pointing at Qin Feng and roaring: "Qin the Bandit! How dare you come to Changshui and commit violence!"

Facing Wu Heng's outburst, Qin Feng acted as if he heard nothing.

He crouched, studying the little girl before him.

The girl was about three or four years old, very young, but malnourished—her face showed the telltale signs of "big-head syndrome."

She clung tightly to her mother's leg, visibly terrified, lips quivering, holding back tears.

It wasn't just the child—all the adults present were equally tense.

Especially the girl's mother, whose legs trembled uncontrollably.

For a woman from the wilds like her, even seeing a County Yamen Runner was enough to freeze her spine—let alone an official like Chen County Magistrate.

And Qin Feng before her? He was a terror even the highest ministers in Wang Du dared not provoke.

To Qin Feng, this woman was less than an ant.

Yet Qin Feng found the girl strangely fascinating.

Under the watchful eyes of all, Qin Feng pulled a small cloth bundle from his robe—inside lay a pastry, exquisitely crafted.

Ever since the Daqingshan siege, Qin Feng had been bitten by the snake and feared every well—he always carried a piece of dried rations, in case he ever got separated from his main force or driven into a corner, to buy himself more time.

That was being prepared for the unforeseen.

But now, Qin Feng gently offered the pastry to the girl, smiling softly: "Don't be afraid—take it."

Children are easily soothed—the girl reached for it, but her mother slapped her hand away hard.

The girl burst into tears with a "Wah!"

Qin Feng didn't hesitate—he picked up the girl naturally, glaring at the woman: "What's wrong with you? This pastry is for her—what's it to you? Why take it out on a child?"

The woman didn't know whether to reply or stay silent.

Finally, her husband gathered courage and spoke up: "We are lowly commoners—we dare not accept such grace."

Qin Feng snorted: "What grace? It's just a pastry."

"By the way, I recruit only strong laborers—why are you, a woman with a child, here?"

The middle-aged woman's face flushed with nervousness as she stammered: "This humble woman was forcibly taken by the Wu Family—afraid my child would starve at home, I brought her along. I beg Lord Qin to spare my life."

Seeing the couple about to kneel and beg, Qin Feng waved his hand, signaling they needn't—then, under everyone's gaze, he gently patted the girl's head, soothing her until she calmed, before placing her back into her mother's arms.

He turned and pointed to the County Yamen: "It's freezing outside, snowing—take your child inside the Yamen. It's warmer there."

Before the woman could react, Zhou Bantou rushed to open the Door, sprinted over, and ushered the woman and child inside the County Yamen.

You must seize the chance to make an impression before Marquis Qin.