Shi Le was already in a semi-conscious state, but at this moment, he recognized the armor, and his body and mind suffered a blow. Shi Hui, he was his confidant.
Thus, he became more dazed and felt even colder.
Zhao Hanzhang withdrew her gaze from Shi Le, confirming that the young man in front of her was not anyone from the Shi Army, but just a refugee.
However... Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze swept over the people gradually gathering, silently noting in her heart: he was a very influential refugee.
She never dared to underestimate any refugee. In this era, it was very common for heroes and powerful figures to emerge from among them.
Shi Le, who was being carried behind her, was the most typical example; he was a slave and also once a refugee;
Chen Wu was a leader of refugees, and even Zu Ti could be considered the same, because they all directly gathered the strength of refugees to form their troops.
If these refugees were gathered along the way, they were not to be feared. One stronger person could replace them. But what was feared was that if these people were all townsfolk, the young man’s position would not be so easily replaceable.
Zhao Hanzhang tightened her grip on the knife in her hand, unsure which situation he belonged to, simply trying to delay time and gather more information.
Upon hearing Zhao Hanzhang mistake him for the Shi Army, the young man was not angry but rather proud, lifting his chin and saying, "That’s right, I am General Wu under General Shi’s command!"
Shi Le almost spat out a mouthful of blood; he didn’t have such a foolish general. He should be outright fighting Zhao Hanzhang rather than wasting words.
No, this was not the case; he was now with Zhao Hanzhang’s group. She couldn’t die, for if she did, he couldn’t survive either.
The young man finally regained his confidence, stepped forward with a fierce expression, and pointed his knife at Zhao Hanzhang, saying, "Take off the armor."
Fu Tinghan pursed his lips and stepped forward, but Zhao Hanzhang reached out to stop him. She lowered her head with a hint of fear and, without hesitation, directly tore off the armored arm, seemingly very deftly but acting very slowly.
While tearing, she asked the young man, "General, impressive, are these all your troops?"
The young man sneered, "That’s right, I have three thousand troops here, and you both think you can offend me and walk away unscathed?"
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze swept over the people behind him, expressing doubt for the first time, "Three thousand? But it looks like there are only about three hundred."
The young man’s face darkened, shouting loudly, "You doubt me? Second Brother, call all our men!"
"No, no, no," Zhao Hanzhang quickly stopped him, "I believe you, I believe you, it’s just that I, the ignorant one, spoke rashly and offended you, General."
She said, "You want the armor, I’ll take it off for you."
Zhao Hanzhang took off the armor and handed it over.
Shi Hongtu and the two soldiers were somewhat angry, glaring at the young man.
The young man was very pleased to be stared at like that, especially when he saw Fu Tinghan’s displeased expression; he laughed heartily and then pointed at Zhao Hanzhang, "And the knife, hand it over."
Zhao Hanzhang submissively handed over the knife, and the young man had his cousin go up to receive it.
Counting the ones who received the armored limb, waist armor, and chest armor, there were four in total, all brothers of the young man.
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze swept over their faces, feeling heavy-hearted. She hated this kind of family force the most, as they were difficult to turn and hard to replace.
The knife was taken, and the young man’s gaze fell on the hands of Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan, growing more excited, maliciously looking at Zhao Hanzhang, saying, "I want the clothes on you too, take them off!"
Fu Tinghan could no longer hold back, pulling Zhao Hanzhang behind him, coldly staring at him, "Do you intend to humiliate us?"
"What’s wrong with humiliating you?" The young man spat viciously at them, "A man without balls, only hides behind a woman, spoiled and sheltered, first time seeing such a scene?"
The young man sneered, "If you won’t take action, I don’t mind doing it for you."
With a wave of his hand, a dozen or so people approached with hostile intentions.
Shi Hongtu saw this and no longer cared about Shi Le; he threw him to the ground and immediately moved closer to Zhao Hanzhang.
Yu Fang and the soldiers immediately followed, joining Fu Tinghan and Fu An to surround Zhao Hanzhang in the middle.
Shi Le, who was thrown to the ground, along with the Shi Family Soldiers holding his legs: ...
With Fu Tinghan in between, Zhao Hanzhang’s anxious gaze met that of an old man sitting by the fire not far away.
The old man looked with white hair, quite like Fifth Uncle, with wise eyes, watching this side with some sorrow.
Zhao Hanzhang quickly scanned the surroundings, discovering that among those who stood with the young man, they also surrounded the old man in the middle, and some even stood closer to him.
Two middle-aged men sat with the old man, turning their heads aside but occasionally glancing here.
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze suddenly calmed down; she looked steadily at the old man, then pulled Fu Tinghan back; she sidestepped and swapped positions. The two exchanged their placements instantly.
Fu Tinghan had a look of helplessness, while the old man was astonished looking at her.
The young man swept his gaze over their formation, finding it somewhat amusing. "These people are your guards? Some are injured, some are crippled, and with just a few men you dare to resist me? Hahaha..."
He pointed at Shi Le, who was already knocked to the ground, and the two soldiers who were quietly retreating, and asked, "Should I count those three as well?"
The two Shi Family Soldiers immediately waved their hands and exclaimed, "We’re not with them."
After saying this, they turned and ran.
The young man didn’t stop them, letting them run away, and then looked at Zhao Hanzhang with a half-smile.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t feel much, but she didn’t know what Shi Le thought.
Shi Le weakly covered his abdomen with his hand, feeling the sticky wetness, yet felt no stir in his heart.
Zhao Hanzhang slightly turned back to glance at Fu Tinghan, then stepped forward, bowing her head humbly and said, "General, you misunderstood. My husband didn’t mean it, he just didn’t respond in time."
The young man was slightly surprised, glanced back and forth between her and Fu Tinghan, and said, "You two are married, huh? That makes it even more amusing."
He laughed loudly, plunged the knife into the ground, propping himself up joyfully and said, "How about this, let your husband undress with you, how about that?"
The surrounding people immediately clamored, waving the swords, wooden sticks, hoes, and sickles in their hands, laughing, "Undress! Undress! Undress!"
Zhao Hanzhang paused, then stepped forward two steps, bowing her head and said, "Please, General, forgive us."
The young man’s smile disappeared in an instant, his face darkened, and asked, "What, you are unwilling? Or... your husband is unwilling?"
Having said that, his gaze as sharp as a knife turned toward Fu Tinghan.
Fu Tinghan had been silent from the start, and even when the young man glared at him like that, he remained expressionless, merely staring coldly at him.
The young man was provoked, and his face turned red.
Those around, seeing the young man’s reaction, immediately pressed closer toward them.
Zhao Hanzhang hurriedly stepped forward again, quickly gauged the distance between both parties, then moved one more step. When the young man looked over, she suddenly knelt on the ground.
Shi Hongtu and the others immediately widened their eyes. Let alone them, even Shi Le, playing dead on the ground, was shocked, and suddenly felt animated.
Only Fu Tinghan remained expressionless.
Zhao Hanzhang lifted her head to look at the young man, urgently saying, "General, my husband is a scholar, and scholars always have some quirks. Seeing that General is a magnanimous person, I beg you, spare my husband’s life."
She kneeled forward another step, right in front of the knife, "General’s forehead is broad and full, you seem destined for a great future. My husband is willing to serve you. He’s literate and quite gifted in arithmetic. You, following General Shi to conquer the world, must know that besides the General, a scholar is needed most in this General Mansion."
The young man’s heart was moved, becoming thoughtful. In that distracted moment, Zhao Hanzhang, kneeling, touched her short knife on her calf. In one swift motion, she stood up, spun the short knife in her hand from grip to grasp, and thrust it into the young man’s neck. Blood splattered onto the other side of her face, and Zhao Hanzhang smiled as she added, "Because a scholar can kill invisibly."
The young man widened his eyes, attempting to pull out the knife to counterattack, but failed. He let go of the knife, one hand covering his neck, and with the other, he grabbed Zhao Hanzhang’s right shoulder, trying to push her away.
Zhao Hanzhang ignored the pain in her right shoulder, expressionlessly slashed across with the short knife, severing his neck, watching him fall with eyes unseeing in death...
Those standing behind the young man were terrified by the sudden attack. As the blood spurted out, they finally reacted, the young man’s elder brother shouted in grief, "Third brother!"
As soon as Zhao Hanzhang stabbed, Fu Tinghan rushed out, shouting, "Seize the weapons!"
The five of them first rushed forward to seize the weapons from their hands, only then did they begin to kill the enemies.
Zhao Hanzhang was even faster; by the time they grabbed weapons, she had already switched the short knife to her left hand, pulled the young man’s knife from the ground with her right hand, and charged at the shouting young man.
In terms of combat experience, how could these people compare to the battle-hardened Zhao Hanzhang?
The young man’s elder brother, in a panic, tried to block her, only to have his arm slashed by Zhao Hanzhang, dropping his weapon, and was then stabbed through the heart with a single thrust!
Fu Tinghan and Shi Hongtu also struck and killed two men, while the others, their emotions boiling, crowded in closer.
Zhao Hanzhang had already mentally listed those she needed to kill. Fu Tinghan was in sync with her thoughts. In just a few moves, they had killed the ones who had grabbed the armor and swords earlier, along with the two young men who had always been standing behind the young man.
After killing them, before more and more people rushed forward, Zhao Hanzhang turned around, and with a single slash cut off the young man’s head, then raised it high and shouted, "Who dares come forward!"
Zhao Hanzhang stood like a figure from hell in the middle, covered in blood, holding a dripping sword in her hand, looking fierce and menacing. The crowd was momentarily stunned, temporarily halting their steps.
Zhao Hanzhang carried the head toward the fire.
The young men, seeing this, immediately approached, glaring at her aggressively.
The shocked elder finally came to his senses, quickly rising with the help of his son’s hand, his pupils contracting as he stared at Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang, carrying the head, smiled as she approached, handing it to him and said, "Elder, I’ve brought you this head."

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