Blood Talisman Awakening
Frost, as cold as salt, blanketed the gate. Two thick hemp ropes, each as thick as a child's arm, carried a chilling, murderous aura, binding Xiao Yuxuan's wrists tightly to the cold, hardwood pillars of the gate, stained with old, brown blood. The ropes dug deep into his flesh, almost severing his blood vessels, bringing waves of piercing numbness and excruciating pain. The north wind, carrying the stench of decay from the riverbank and the acrid smell of last night's commotion, lashed against his thin, blood-stained robe, seeping into his collar and cuffs, stealing away the last trace of warmth. His lips were cracked, seeping blood, only to be frozen by the cold wind.
The drill ground before the gate was empty and deathly silent. The frosty, frozen earth was densely packed with soldiers forced to witness the execution, like silent, gray reefs. The new recruits of the training battalion crowded to the front, Sheng Guo's face ashen, his teeth chattering, unable to look directly at the gate. The older soldiers, however, had numb eyes, or a hint of indifferent detachment. The air was still, save for the howling wind that whipped the black banners, their black bird patterns appearing like cold totems in the dim light.
On the high platform, the legal officer's clean-shaven face, set against the backdrop of his dark-colored xiezhi-shaped hat, appeared exceptionally cold. He sat upright behind his desk, on which lay a plain silk scroll of military law, beside which sat a bronze axe, a symbol of the solemnity of military law. He unfolded a bamboo slip, his voice not loud, yet sharp as an icicle, piercing the eardrums of everyone present:
"Talented Soldiers Camp, Talented Soldiers Xiao Yuxuan!" The magistrate's gaze, like a poisoned needle, was fixed on the figure on the gatepost. "Investigation: Last night, a riot broke out in the western camp, caused by the deliberate sabotage of the wooden fence in the surrendered soldiers' camp. A large number of infected surrendered soldiers escaped, causing chaos in the camp, with countless deaths and injuries, and the morale of the army nearly collapsed! Upon investigation, there were pry marks from a short sword at the breach in the wooden fence, and several people identified you as having been seen loitering outside the surrendered soldiers' camp last night before the incident, acting suspiciously!"
He paused, then his voice suddenly rose, carrying a resolute and ruthless tone: "This scoundrel disregarded military law, colluded with enemy prisoners, destroyed camp defenses, and released the source of the plague! His actions are tantamount to aiding the enemy and committing treason! His heart deserves to be punished! His crime deserves to be punished! According to the military law of the Great Qin, he shall be beheaded! To uphold military law! To serve as a warning to others!"
The words "beheading" rang out like a death knell in the cold wind! A suppressed commotion instantly erupted in the deathly silent training ground. Sheng Guo abruptly covered her mouth, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind. Tu Sui stood at the front of the line of officers observing the execution, his scarred face taut as iron. His gaze swept over Xiao Yuxuan with complex emotions, finally settling into a cold silence as he lowered his eyelids slightly.
Two burly executioners, their torsos bare and muscular, clad only in black leather skirts at their waists, strode heavily onto the execution platform like demons from hell. They carried heavy bronze swords with ghostly heads, their broad blades gleaming coldly in the dim light, dark red blood grooves faintly visible at the edges. One of them also carried a stained, coarse burlap sack—the kind used to hold severed heads. Their faces were expressionless, their eyes like frozen stones; only their heavy breathing condensed into white mist in the frigid air.
Xiao Yuxuan was roughly untied from the gatepost, his arms still bound behind his back. The executioner's massive, iron-like hands gripped his shoulders and the back of his neck, dragging him to the center of the execution platform like a piece of rotten wood. His knees slammed heavily against the cold wooden board, excruciating pain shooting through him. He was forced to kneel, his neck held firmly by a rough, powerful hand. Even before the cold blade touched his skin, the bone-chilling coldness was already palpable. The rough wooden surface of the platform was covered with a thin layer of dirty frost, mixed with dark brown, indelible bloodstains, emitting a stale, nauseating smell of rust.
His vision was forcibly lowered, revealing only a vast expanse of mud and frost-covered straw sandals and leather boots belonging to Qin soldiers. Those feet, numbly treading on the frozen earth, stood like silent tombstones. An overwhelming fear, like an icy tide, instantly engulfed him! His body trembled uncontrollably, his teeth chattering. Death! So clear! So cold! So close! The frenzied chaos of last night's riot, the woman's desperate cries, the glaring bloodstains on Xuanweizi's banner… all these images surged and shattered wildly in the face of deathly terror!
He abruptly raised his head! His gaze swept past the throng of heads before the execution platform, past the black bird banner fluttering in the cold wind, and fixed intently on the distant horizon! The parched, scorched earth of Longxi! His father's head, rolling into the dust! The unforgettable look in his mother's eyes as she handed him the blood talisman for the last time!
"Xuan'er...live on...remember the word 'peace'..."
My mother's hoarse words of advice resounded like thunder deep within my soul!
Live on! Live for the sake of this "peace"! Not for revenge! Not for military merits and titles in this cannibalistic army! It's about living! Living to tear away the layers of bloody lies that conceal this war! Living to see who is driving countless lowly lives—like fathers, mothers, surrendered soldiers' women, platoon leaders, and enemies scalded to death beneath the ice city—to endless destruction! Living to find a path to true "peace" in this chaotic world, a path as faint as a candle flickering in the wind!
An indescribable power, mixed with immense grief and an almost burning resolve, suddenly erupted from the depths of his bones! It overwhelmed the overwhelming fear! His body instantly stopped trembling!
At that very moment!
"Time's up—!" The executioner's shrill voice, like a whistle scraping bone, pierced the deathly silence!
The executioner holding his neck tightened his grip suddenly! Another executioner raised the heavy, bronze, ghost-head-shaped broadsword, gleaming with a deathly cold light, high above his neck! The blade drew a chilling arc in the bleak winter sun, accompanied by a fierce wind that tore through the air, and crashed down towards his exposed neck!
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely and freeze at this moment.
Xiao Yuxuan did not close his eyes! He suddenly turned his head, not to look at the falling blade, but to stare intently at a person standing in front of the military officers below the execution platform—Bai Yu!
The general who had "rescued" him from the clutches of the magistrate and brought him into the military camp! Now, clad in heavy black armor, he stood with his hand on his sword, like a silent mountain. His face, hidden in shadow beneath his helmet, was indistinct; only his hawk-like eyes, sharp as lightning, swept across Xiao Yuxuan's face the instant the blade fell! In those eyes, there was no pity, no anger, only an almost cold scrutiny, and a faint, elusive…complexity!
Just as the blade touched his neck, and the chilling sensation of death became clearly felt—
With the last, most frantic strength of his life, Xiao Yuxuan violently jerked his hands, which were bound behind his back, forward! The ropes binding him dug deep into his flesh, causing excruciating pain! But this pain allowed him to temporarily break free from the executioner's grip! His body lunged forward in an extremely awkward, death-defying posture!
"Pfft—!"
A scalding, viscous liquid, like burning lava, splattered violently onto the back of his neck and the side of his face! It wasn't his blood!
The executioner who was holding him down was caught off guard by Xiao Yuxuan's sudden and desperate struggle, and his body was pulled forward! The fatal blade that was originally aimed at Xiao Yuxuan's neck actually slashed hard and diagonally into the executioner's own shoulder joint!
The heavy blade embedded itself deeply into flesh and bone! Blood gushed forth like a burst dam from the gaping wound! Scalding blood, carrying a strong, metallic stench, poured down on Xiao Yuxuan's face and head like hot raindrops! The executioner let out a deafening scream, his massive body collapsing onto the cold execution platform like a sack stripped of its bones, gushing blood, his body convulsing violently!
A sudden and unexpected event occurred! In the blink of an eye!
The entire drill ground was deathly silent! Then, a huge, unbelievable uproar erupted!
"Ah—!" The other executioner and the supervising officer were stunned by this bloody and completely unexpected turn of events, and let out a terrified scream!
The judge on the execution platform suddenly stood up, his fair face contorted and flushed red with extreme shock and rage. He pointed at the people below and roared, "Rebellion! Rebellion! Quick! Seize this traitor! Kill him on the spot!"
Bai Yu, standing below the platform, suddenly narrowed his eyes! His hand on the hilt of his sword clenched instantly! His personal guards instinctively drew their swords and rushed out.
In that chaotic, critical moment!
Splattered with scalding blood, Xiao Yuxuan seemed to be completely ignited by the burning heat of death of his fellow human! He didn't try to escape—it was futile! He suddenly lowered his head, ignoring the sticky, hot blood on his face, ignoring his wrists that were torn and bleeding from the ropes, and with his teeth! With all his might! he bit down hard on the rough hemp shirt in front of his chest, which was already soaked with blood and sweat!
"Sizzle—!"
With a sharp tearing sound, the small, rough amulet embroidered with the character "安" (peace) in his mother's blood was ripped off by his teeth! The coarse linen, stained with the blood from his bite, became even darker and more glaring!
Time! He needs time! Even just a moment!
Amidst the executioner's scream of "Kill him!", and as another executioner, still reeling from the shock, raised his blood-stained executioner's blade and lunged forward again, a horrifying display unfolded—under the gazes of countless eyes, filled with terror, horror, and bewilderment—
Xiao Yuxuan suddenly raised his head! His face was covered in thick blood, a mixture of his own and the executioner's blood, his eyes were bloodshot, but his gaze burned with an almost divine, all-piercing madness and determination! He stared intently at the black-armored general Bai Yu, who stood with his hand on his sword below the high platform, his eyes sharp!
Then, with the last and loudest strength of his life, filled with the stench of blood and the screams of his soul, he uttered a vow that shook the entire training ground:
"General—!" The voice was hoarse, yet like the long howl of a dying lone wolf, piercing the cold wind and tearing apart all the clamor, "If I, Xiao Yuxuan, die today, I will be nothing more than a handful of yellow earth! But my father's wronged spirit will not be at rest! The scorched earth of Longxi is not yet cold! The people of the world are suffering! This chaotic world is engulfed in war! These piles of white bones! All because of war!"
He suddenly raised his hand, which was still tightly clutching the blood-stained amulet, dripping with blood! The dark red character "安" (peace/safety) stood out like a blood-stained brand in the dim light and amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd!
"This talisman! It was embroidered with my mother's blood and tears! What she sought was not my own survival, but the peace and well-being of all people under heaven!" His voice cracked with extreme excitement and roar, yet it carried a soul-stirring power. "With this blood, I dye this talisman! And tie it to the scabbard of the general's sword!"
Before the words were even finished, he gave no one time to react! Just before another executioner roared and swung his blade down! In the instant the clerk's distorted "kill" had just left his lips!
With his own blood and the executioner's blood, Xiao Yuxuan pressed the blood-soaked peace charm, which was also soaked in blood, hard, resolutely, and with the last bit of strength in his body, against the scabbard of the ancient, heavy bronze short sword hanging at Bai Yu's waist, a symbol of power and slaughter!
"Smack!"
A soft sound, yet it was like a thunderclap!
The blood-stained burlap talisman, bearing Xiao Yuxuan's scalding blood and his mother's congealed blood-written words, was pressed, wrapped, and tied tightly to Bai Yu's cold, dark bronze sword sheath with brute force! The dark red bloodstains quickly spread across the dark leather and bronze patterns, and the crooked yet powerfully written character "安" (An, meaning peace) adhered firmly to it like a glaring, blood-stained brand!
"I swear on this blood!" Xiao Yuxuan stared intently at Bai Yu's suddenly contracted, sharp pupils, and with his last breath, let out the most shocking and desperate roar of his life. Every word seemed to explode from the depths of his soul, carrying the scalding stench of blood:
"If I do not die! I will dedicate my life to traversing this blood-stained land! I will uncover the dark secrets of this war! I will let the world see who is cooking this feast of flesh and blood! I will let the people hear who is beating the war drums of white bones! I will seek true peace for this chaotic world! For these suffering people!"
The last "peace" escaped his lips as if the last embers of his life had been extinguished. Suddenly, everything went black! A wave of dizziness and weakness washed over him like a landslide. Behind him, the enraged executioner's blade, dripping with blood, was already aimed at his head!
Just as the cold blade was about to sever the head—
"stop--!"
A deep, yet powerful shout, like the roar of a tiger or the cry of a dragon, suddenly exploded! The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable, iron-blooded majesty that commanded thousands of troops, instantly overwhelming all the noise!
It's Bai Yu!
He took a sudden step forward! The bronze short sword at his waist, adorned with a blood-stained amulet, seemed to sense its master's will, emitting a low, clear hum from its sheath! His hand on the hilt didn't draw the sword, but the sudden, almost tangible pressure and aura emanating from him caused the executioner, who was swinging his blade, to freeze abruptly, as if struck by an invisible hammer! His狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face instantly filled with extreme horror and bewilderment, and the raised demon-headed broadsword remained frozen in mid-air! The blade was only inches from Xiao Yuxuan's scalp!
The entire training ground fell into a deathly silence in an instant! It was like a frozen pool of ice!
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