At this moment, the section of road they were traveling was crossing over a ridge, already more than twenty zhang higher than the Huai River lying across the northern valley floor. A hundred or so paces ahead, there was a gap in the mountain ridge, with jagged stone cliffs rising seven or eight zhang high on either side, jutting out into the air like an eagle’s beak blocking the road.

The coachman had never entered the Tongbai Mountains before, but in his early years in the army, he had heard his old friend William Smith describe the terrain near Huaiyuan Town. Seeing the unique landform of this ridge and stone cliff, he knew this must be the famous “Eagle’s Beak” at the eastern end of Huaiyuan Town.

Eagle’s Beak was exceptionally steep, with the cliff tops jutting out toward the center. The walls were slick with green moss, and there was nowhere visible to climb or set foot. Yet at this moment, the coachman noticed someone standing atop the cliff, peering down at them—how could he not be on guard?

The person’s face was indistinct, but he could vaguely make out something like a knife hilt sticking out at the person’s waist. The figure was also unusually robust; even from a distance, he exuded an indescribable sense of oppression.

Just then, the sound of galloping hooves came from behind.

The hoofbeats seemed to trample right on the coachman’s heart.

He turned his head slightly and caught, from the corner of his eye, three fast horses, each ridden by a burly, bearded man. They looked like hunters, but only a blind man would believe they truly were.

The horses were the finest of a hundred, the bows were lacquered and stiff, and at their waists hung straight-backed broadswords over four feet long. They really hadn’t bothered to disguise themselves as hunters at all!

The worst-case scenario he had anticipated had finally come to pass!

The coachman let out a quiet sigh in his heart.

Surrounded front and back by four formidable foes, and not knowing if there were more assassins lying in wait beyond Eagle’s Beak, he knew there was little he could do. Still, he calmly let go of the reins, allowing the horse to slowly pull the carriage forward.

He laid the long knife, wrapped in a bundle cloth, across his knees. His hunched body straightened slightly, suddenly resembling a hungry wolf lurking in the grass, chest rising as it waited for the moment its prey drew near to pounce with savage force.

The scholar in the blue robe had weathered countless storms in his life. Now, his withered hand clenched tight, veins bulging, but apart from endless sorrow, he had no will to resist.

He did not retreat into the carriage, but gently patted the coachman’s arm and said, “Brian Walker, a man with a criminal record, is already useless. If someone still sees me as an obstacle, let them take my life—Brother Lewis, your martial skills are formidable, and we are close to Huaiyuan Town. They surely won’t dare entangle with you for long. Please, Brother Lewis, take Emily to Tangzhou…”

Resolutely, the scholar in blue pushed his young granddaughter back into the carriage, pulled down the curtain, and stood up at the front of the carriage.

Chapter Two: A Stranger in a Foreign Land, Unaware He Is a Guest

It was near noon, and a thin mist still lingered in the mountain valley.

The early spring sun was as frail as a piece of paper cutout, curled up in the depths of the sky.

The youth Henry Smith, who had muddled through fifteen or sixteen years growing up in the Tongbai Mountains, now stood conflicted atop the seven- or eight-zhang-high Eagle’s Beak cliff, watching the carriage slowly approach the base of the cliff.

When the scholar in blue stood up at the front of the carriage, the coachman had already laid the long knife, wrapped in bundle cloth, across his knees. Henry Smith felt the coachman was like a hungry wolf, ready to pounce and deliver a fatal blow to his prey at any moment. He thought, this must be what Seventeenth Uncle meant by a martial artist? He really does give off a fierce and intimidating aura!

Not far behind, the three men disguised as hunters—each a bold and fierce fellow—casually gripped the kind of straight-backed broadsword usually seen only in the army with one hand, and pulled at their reins with the other, urging their horses forward, trying to intercept the carriage before it reached Eagle’s Beak.

Seeing this, Henry Smith felt his chest tighten. He gripped the hatchet behind him, veins bulging on the back of his hand. After struggling inwardly for a moment, he gritted his teeth and called down from the cliff, “Are you the Censor-in-Chief Brian WalkerOld Master Walker, exiled from the capital and heading to Tangzhou?”

“It is I!” The scholar in blue grabbed the reins to halt the carriage, looked up at the cliff, and said proudly, “If you wish to take Brian Walker’s life, I am here. Please do not harm the innocent!”

A wave of shock surged through Henry Smith’s heart: Could all of this really be true?

……

……

Henry Smith had been clear-headed for several days now, but he still didn’t understand what had happened.

It was as if he had muddled through more than a decade in the Tongbai Mountains, then suddenly, after falling from a horse, he woke up, his mind stuffed with countless unfamiliar memories.

Perhaps these memories had been in his mind since birth.

He could not recall anything from his early childhood. According to his mother, after he was born, he suffered from a severe brain illness. During attacks, his body would convulse violently, and his hands would uncontrollably scratch at his head, as if countless steel needles were stabbing and stirring deep inside his skull.

He managed to survive until eight or nine years old, when the illness eased somewhat, and only then did he have some vague memories of his experiences. But he always seemed shrouded in a haze, clumsy in speech and action, as if something was missing in his mind.

Occasionally, he would have strange dreams, but would forget them after a few days.

Until a month ago, when he fell from a horse and hit the back of his head. He wasn’t really hurt, but his mind suddenly cleared, as if a shell had been abruptly shattered.

At the same time, countless bizarre and unfamiliar memories burst forth from the depths of his mind.