Chapter Sixty-Eight: All Shall Be Slain Without Exception

In order to conceal his identity, the cunning Tiemu Sanqing ordered his men to don black masks and launch wave after wave of fierce attacks on the entire Jin Residence. The fire spread rapidly, and as the townsfolk saw the flames leaping skyward, they rushed out in alarm, though none dared approach.

Jin Shaohua had just returned to his room, restless and uneasy. Suddenly, a thick cloud of smoke swept in, and sensing disaster, he grabbed his pistol and rushed to the door. But it was too late—every building was already engulfed in flames.

“Master, run! Quick, hurry...”

“Commander, Commander, it’s terrible, the house is on fire!”

“Save yourselves!”

The maids and servants, seeing the inferno, scattered in all directions. Yet outside, dozens of men in black blocked their escape.

To prevent Jin Shaohua’s escape, the ruthless Tiemu Sanqing gave a cruel command: no matter who it was, anyone fleeing the Jin Residence was to be killed without mercy. Better to kill three thousand by mistake than let a single one go!

In no time, bodies lay in the raging sea of fire—some burned, others slaughtered by the enemy.

“You beasts! I’ll fight you all!” Jin Shaohua charged forward with his pistol, but several loyal servants held him back. If the master rushed out now, it would mean certain death. It was better to stay put and wait for rescue. With such a fierce blaze, surely the nearby garrison would soon notice—the commander’s mansion was on fire, and they would come at once.

The servants had thought of this, but so had the devious Tiemu Sanqing. He was determined to finish the job before reinforcements could arrive, to kill Jin Shaohua before any help could come.

“Go!” Tiemu Sanqing commanded, and over a dozen of his disciples leapt over the walls, beginning a merciless slaughter. One after another, over a hundred maids and servants fell.

“Hmph, Jin Shaohua, let’s see if you dare oppose the Great Empire of Nippon again! Ha ha!” Tiemu Sanqing laughed loudly.

Just then, a shrill cry rang out: “No, stop! You beasts!”

Everyone turned abruptly. They saw Li Shishi, one hand clutching her abdomen, the other bracing against the wall as she hurried over.

Li Shishi had awakened quickly from her faint. Half-conscious, she had heard Tiemu Sanqing’s voice outside, issuing orders to attack Jin Shaohua’s residence. She had forced her way past two of his disciples, stumbling step by step to the scene, only to find the mansion already ablaze. That they could commit such a monstrous act broke her heart.

Li Shishi had long harbored a suspicion she dared not confront: that she was in fact Tiemu Sanqing’s daughter. Her master, Li Su’e, had told her the “Sanqing” on her jade pendant referred to the three Daoist deities of the “Sanqing Temple” on Mount Kunlun. Yet, growing up on Mount Kunlun, Li Shishi had never seen such a temple. Whenever she questioned her master, the woman’s expression would become strange. More than once, Li Shishi had secretly seen her master weeping before a man’s portrait—the very image of a young Tiemu Sanqing.

Though the suspicion flitted through her mind, she refused to accept it. She never considered that her master, Li Su’e, might be her own mother. She only knew that her master’s love was strict as much as it was tender, teaching her to have a compassionate heart, to uphold national righteousness, and never to harm the interests of the country or its people.

Now, with the truth revealed from Tiemu Sanqing’s own lips, Li Shishi could no longer turn away, however unwilling she was to accept it.

Even so, despite knowing the unbreakable blood tie to Tiemu Sanqing, she could not tolerate his actions that harmed the Chinese people. At the risk of her own life, she had followed them to the Jin Residence. Yet, already gravely wounded, she arrived too late—the mansion was a sea of fire.

Tiemu Sanqing was astonished; he had not expected Li Shishi to follow him here. He cursed his two disciples for their incompetence—how could they fail to keep track of a single girl?

“Tiemu Sanqing, I know it’s you. Stop this at once, or I’ll never forgive you!” Li Shishi cried to the masked leader at the center, certain it was him.

Tiemu Sanqing was shocked again. He hadn’t expected his daughter to recognize him so quickly. Yet, caught between national loyalty and family bonds, he could not decide.

At that moment, one of his disciples, ignorant of the truth, drew a flying dart, intent on striking Li Shishi.

Tiemu Sanqing was quick—he knocked the dart from the disciple’s hand and rebuked him harshly. “Fool! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Master, she’s seen your face. For your safety, she cannot be allowed to live!” replied the disciple.

Tiemu Sanqing knew this well enough. If word got out, his own exposure would be the least of it. With hostilities between China and Japan, and the Japanese side having just suffered defeat, international opinion was already turning against Japan. If this incident were exposed in the media, the pressure on Japan would grow unbearable. Angering the sleeping lion of the East, China, could spell doom for the entire Yamato race.

Yet, Li Shishi was the daughter he had longed for these past twenty-six years. How could he bring himself to harm his own child? Even a tiger spares its cubs—he could not allow such a thing.

After weighing the matter, Tiemu Sanqing ordered two disciples to subdue his daughter or forcibly remove her and hide her away in secret, but with one strict condition: her safety must be assured, and she was not to be insulted in any way.

But Li Shishi would have none of her father’s “concern.” She summoned her last reserves of strength to fight the two disciples, all the while crying out, “Tiemu Sanqing, I will never forgive you, nor will I acknowledge you as my father. As long as there is breath in my body, I will fight Japanese imperialism!”

Such a turn of events was beyond even Tiemu Sanqing’s imagination.

At that moment, Jin Shaohua burst out brandishing a gleaming military saber. He had already used his pistol to take down the ronin who had hacked his servants to death, but now he was out of bullets. Without time to reload, he grabbed a saber and charged out, seeing several more men in black ahead. In the distance, he saw Li Shishi locked in combat with them. Though he did not understand the circumstances, she was Xiao Fei’s woman; Jin Shaohua was determined to save her.

The scene had spiraled beyond Tiemu Sanqing’s control. For a moment he stood there, stunned, unable to react, until several of his disciples fell to Jin Shaohua’s blade.

Jin Shaohua was, after all, a renowned general. With a hatred this deep, he longed to tear his foes limb from limb and drink their blood. This burning vengeance unleashed his inner strength, and though wounded all over, he fought with desperate resolve.

“Miss Shishi, do not be afraid, I’m here to save you!” Jin Shaohua shouted, charging into the fray. He engaged the two ronin attacking Li Shishi, and before long, they too fell to his saber.

At that moment, the bewildered Tiemu Sanqing finally snapped out of his daze. Torn between family and national honor, he resolved to sacrifice his personal bonds for the greater cause. He would kill everyone before him, even his own daughter.

“Die, all of you!” Tiemu Sanqing lunged like a mad dog. As a master swordsman of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū, he forced Jin Shaohua to retreat again and again in just a few moves.

Facing his beloved daughter, Tiemu Sanqing gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and swung his sword at her. But Jin Shaohua threw himself in the way, only to be savagely kicked aside by Tiemu Sanqing.

At last, Li Shishi saw her father’s true face—he would even kill her. Heartbroken, she wished for death, but realized that to die now would be to fail Xiao Fei and the Jin family. Summoning her strength, she stood with Jin Shaohua to confront Tiemu Sanqing together.

Jin Shaohua knew that, combined, they were still no match for Tiemu Sanqing. Their only hope was to escape. He could not let Xiao Fei’s beloved die before his eyes, especially since Li Shishi had likely come to save him.

Thinking quickly, Jin Shaohua feinted, and when Tiemu Sanqing was caught off guard, he grabbed Li Shishi’s arm and they ran for their lives, quickly leaving Tiemu Sanqing behind.

“Hmph, trying to escape? Not so easy,” Tiemu Sanqing sneered, unfastening a chain forged of pure steel from his waist. At one end was a claw with five hooked talons—once embedded in flesh, it would not come out without tearing bone and sinew.

With a powerful swing and a leap, the hook buried itself in Jin Shaohua’s elbow.

Jin Shaohua screamed in agony and looked back to see his arm caught, the masked man quickly closing in along the chain.

As they ran, Jin Shaohua cried, “Miss Shishi, run!”

But Li Shishi grabbed his hand and pulled him forward. “No, I must save you!”

“No, Miss Shishi, don’t worry about me—run!” Jin Shaohua shouted.

“Hmph, neither of you will escape!” With the aid of the chain, Tiemu Sanqing rapidly closed the distance.

In that desperate moment, Jin Shaohua made a snap decision. Without hesitation, he drew his saber and hacked at his own shoulder, severing his own arm.

The sight stunned both Li Shishi and Tiemu Sanqing—what courage such a deed required!

Only by this sacrifice could Jin Shaohua save Li Shishi. He cast a final glance at his severed arm on the ground, fought down the pain, and dragged Li Shishi away, soon putting Tiemu Sanqing far behind.

[PS: Brothers, this is the final chapter of the public version. Tomorrow at noon, the book will go on sale. Please continue supporting it—if you can, spare a little change, skip a cigarette, and enjoy the most authentic and exciting reading experience. Brothers, Xiao Fei awaits you!]