Winter Solstice had not yet arrived, and only scattered chunks of ice had formed upon the river. Whenever the freezing wind howled, the thin sheets of ice curled upward and slammed one after another against the stone embankment, producing eerie “creak! creak!” sounds that set one’s teeth on edge.
The stone wall by the shore was roughly three zhang high, and atop it stood a half-collapsed watchtower. Two gaunt men wrapped in ragged padded coats huddled there, each clutching a copper hand-warmer as they kept watch through the bitter winter night.
One of them was so cold that bubbles formed beneath his nose. Trembling, he stretched a finger out from his torn coat and cautiously pointed into the distance like an immortal maiden casting a spell, before hurriedly retracting his hand back into the warmth.
“Bro, have I frozen stupid? Why’s there suddenly another tree in the river?”
His older brother squinted sleepily. “You damned fool, there’s always been a tree in the river.”
“There’s another one now! A really tall one! Bro, look! That tree’s moving!”
His brother opened his eyes for a proper look, and his expression changed instantly.
“Damn fool! That’s a person!”
The two men tightened their coats and craned their necks in unison to peer toward the river. Beside the shriveled little tree now stood a tall human figure. Behind him rolled the icy river waters, sharp like blades. He had appeared out of nowhere like a ghost and was now stepping through the river mud, striding swiftly toward the shore. His movements were fast as wind, ghostly as a phantom.
The younger brother trembled. “A-Are we haunted, or is this a night raid? Should we go report it?”
His older brother was calmer and still had enough composure to curse him.
“It’s only one person—what kind of night raid would that be?! Probably some refugee fleeing from the north, wandering into a dead end in the dark!”
“B-Bro, he found the path already. He’s at our entrance.”
“What’s there to fear? There’s still the maze we built at the entrance—the Seven-Star Formation! It’s the Boss’s ancestral secret weapon. Nobody except the Boss can get through—”
Before he finished speaking, a loud BOOM! erupted below.
One wall of the “secret weapon” collapsed.
The figure drifted inside lightly, like a specter, then floated up the stone stairs toward the sentry post.
The brothers shrank into the corner like a pair of quails. The bright moonlight was completely blocked out by the newcomer’s towering figure.
A thick stench of blood rushed toward them. The man wore no helmet. Wild hair, loose as dried grass, hung around his face, obscuring his features in shadow. He wore a suit of battle armor stained with blood and filth. A layer of ice crusted over the armor, black water still dripping from it…
The brothers thought he was some evil ghost returned from the battlefield, crawling out from hell to claim living souls, and immediately began begging for mercy.
Without saying a word, the man strode forward and first snatched the greasy, grime-coated hat off the older brother’s head before casually placing it atop his own. Then he reached out both arms and robbed the hand-warmers from their chests, even stealing half a baked flatbread the younger brother had been warming behind his warmer.
With a heavy thud, he sat down like a massive wall crashing to the ground. He removed the armored waistguard and tossed it aside casually to make himself more comfortable. Pressing the warm hand-warmer against his stomach, he crumpled the thin flatbread into a ball and stuffed it into his mouth like paper. In the blink of an eye, it was gone.
After letting out a long breath, he finally seemed to come back to life and turned to look at the trembling brothers in the corner.
“You two idiots, blind as dead oxen!” he cursed. “Got any water?”
The older brother hurriedly untied a gourd flask from his waist and offered it over with shaking hands.
The man gulped down an entire flaskful before wiping his mouth. “Anything else to eat?”
The brothers fumbled around anxiously before shaking their heads in terror.
The man sighed, tossed the flask back into the older brother’s arms, and stood up. His enormous shadow once again engulfed the entire watchtower.
The brothers immediately squeezed back into the corner.
“Mercy, hero! Spare us, hero!”
“Stop bawling.” The man frowned. “This used to be an abandoned fortress. How’d idiots like you end up here? How many people are there? Who’s your Boss? Sit down and tell me properly.”
——
Outside the fortress, the wind cut to the bone. But after passing through a long and deep underground tunnel, there lay a cavernous chamber as spacious as a great hall. It blazed with lamplight bright as daylight, and firewood crackled fiercely in the fireplace, making the room feel warm as spring.
Around a row of broken tables and battered chairs sat over a dozen fierce-looking brutes. The tableware consisted mostly of old ceramic bowls and cracked clay jars. Though shabby in appearance, they were filled with fragrant roasted beef leg, stewed beef, oxtail soup, a towering basin of steamed millet cakes, and several large jars of raw grain wine.
The men ate meat and drank heavily, laughter echoing constantly throughout the cave. A middle-aged woman in tattered clothing kept her head lowered as she moved among them, refilling their wine.
The bandit seated at the head of the table had a vicious face full of coarse flesh. A thick tiger-fur cloak hung behind his chair, and grease shone all over his face from eating and drinking. He shoved the woman rudely as she poured wine.
“What kind of country wenches are these? Clumsy and ugly—looking at you annoys me! Get lost!”
The woman could not wait to leave. Lowering her head, she hurried away, secretly spitting behind her with eyes full of disgust and resentment.
One of the men sitting nearest the bandit rolled up his sleeves to reveal a fresh wound on his arm.
“Boss, that little lady today was pretty enough! We planned to bring her back as your fortress bride, but she was too stubborn. She stabbed me with a hairpin, and I accidentally shoved her into the river where she drowned.”
“Useless trash!” the bandit barked. “If she fell into the river, then jump in and fish her out! It’s not like she could swim away!”
“The winter water was freezing. She sank the moment she fell in. By the time she floated back up, she was already stiff, so we didn’t bother retrieving her.”
The bandit tossed him a beef bone and laughed while cursing, “Coward!”
Just as the men were laughing and joking, a trembling voice came from outside the cavern.
“B-Boss…”
The brutes paused mid-drink and turned toward the entrance. Standing there were the two peasant brothers who had been assigned to guard the watchtower. The pair stepped aside shakily, revealing behind them a tall man clad in filthy battle armor—clearly a soldier.
The food in everyone’s hands lowered instantly, murderous intent appearing on every face.
The newcomer swept his gaze around the cavern and nodded approvingly.
“You’ve fixed this broken fortress up pretty well.”
“Who are you?” the bandit leader demanded.
The man ignored the question and instead asked, “On the official road coming out of Ant County, there are tracks from ox carts. They stop halfway down the road. There’s blood all over the ground—the stench’s enough to foul the entire path. Your doing?”
The bandit sneered. “So what if it is? What branch of the army are you from? Came alone to wipe us out?”
The man shook his head.
“Not from any branch. I ran into scout cavalry from the Owl Army by the riverbank and planned to hide in Ant County. But the county sealed its gates. With a branded mark on my face, I couldn’t get in. So I came here instead.”
The bandit snorted again. “So you’re a deserter! Then what—come to join us?”
The man nodded. “It’s freezing outside. I want to stay here awhile. That tiger-fur cloak of yours looks warm too. I’d like to borrow it.”
The bandit slammed the table so hard the grease and dishes rattled.
“What arrogance!”
The other bandits beneath him all drew blades from beneath the table, murderous intent surging forth.
The man pulled out a broken saber from behind his waist. The blade was snapped in half and covered in blood, looking utterly ruined. Holding the broken weapon loosely, he stared at the bandits and suddenly flashed a brilliant grin, revealing two sharp tiger teeth.
——
Inside the cavern, candlelight flickered wildly as fighting erupted nonstop. The sharp clang of weapons colliding, the dull thuds of bodies hitting the ground, screams, and cries of pain rang without end. The two brothers from the watchtower were so frightened their legs gave out entirely, and they crouched outside the cave trembling.
Not long afterward, the cavern suddenly fell deathly silent.
Most of the candles had already gone out, leaving only sparse shadows of light.
The brothers huddled together, shaking violently, when a tall shadow slowly stretched outward from the cave and onto the ground before them.
The man now wore the tiger-fur cloak. He tossed a bloody bandit head at their feet, startling the brothers so badly they leapt three feet into the air.
“Mercy! Mercy! New Boss! New Boss!”
“Stop screaming.” The man rubbed his ears irritably. “Get some strong men and drag the corpses out to bury them. Then call everyone in the fortress out—including all your wives and children.”
The brothers still trembled.
“C-Call everyone out? F-For what?”
The man raised a brow and gestured toward the table full of food and wine.
“To come eat, obviously! You think I can finish all this by myself?”
Only then did the brothers finally understand. Shocked and overjoyed, they hurried off to summon everyone.
After taking a few steps, the older brother gathered his courage and respectfully turned back.
“N-New Boss, let me thank you on everyone’s behalf first! But we still don’t know your honorable name?”
The man wiped the blood from his face, revealing a clear branded tattoo on his right cheek.
“No need for honors. Surname’s Zhang. Quit wasting time and go!”
“Yes, yes, yes! Boss Zhang!”
Futile Devices Scans 
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