In the following days, Li Ru seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
In the safe haven arranged by Jia Xu, he eagerly studied everything about the grasslands: the main leaders of the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes, their spheres of influence, customs, language characteristics, and at least some key vocabulary and pronunciations, as well as the conflicts and alliances between tribes...
At the same time, he is also undergoing the most brutal "identity" transformation.
The scholarly air and unwavering loyalty that once belonged to the emperor's disciples were deliberately suppressed and worn away.
Instead, there is a sinister and resentful aura that comes from the very core of one's being, and a kind of desperate madness that will stop at nothing!
His eyes became sharper and colder, like those of a pitiful person betrayed by the world.
Several days later, on a chilly morning.
Outside a remote military town in Youbeiping County, a travel-worn, ragged young man with a fresh scar on his face staggered to the heavily guarded gate of the military camp.
He reeked of a strong stench of sweat, blood, and the ferocity of a desperado.
"Halt! Who goes there?!" the guards shouted sternly, their spears crossed, gleaming coldly.
The young man raised his head, revealing a face sunken from hunger and exhaustion, yet with eyes as fierce as a wolf's. He roared in a hoarse voice, thick with a Liangzhou accent, yet deliberately mimicking a Youyan dialect:
"I am... Li Wenyou, from Liangzhou. I was framed by a corrupt official, and my family was destroyed. I heard that here... I can make a living. Let me in, and I'll kill someone!"
He suddenly ripped open his tattered clothes, revealing several hideous old scars on his chest: "See that?! I crawled out of a pile of corpses. Give me a bite to eat, give me a knife, and I'll sell my life to the suicide squad!"
The despair, madness, and bloodlust in those eyes sent a chill down the spines of even the gatekeepers, who were used to seeing desperate criminals.
They exchanged a glance, and finally, with a screeching sound, the heavy camp gate slowly opened a crack.
"Go in, kid. Remember, once you're in the suicide squad, your life isn't your own anymore!" The soldier roughly pushed him inside.
Li Ru staggered into the military camp, which reeked of sweat, blood, and despair. The heavy camp gate behind him slammed shut, cutting off everything outside.
He turned back one last time, glancing south towards Luoyang, his eyes devoid of any light.
From this day forward, Li Ru will no longer exist.
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