"You damn time traveler! I'm going to dig out your heart and roast it!"
"You traveled through time and landed right in front of me. God is truly helping me!"
"Shua—" Qin Ming jolted awake from a sharp pain.
He was tightly bound to a long wooden board with ropes, so tight that he could barely breathe.
Where is this?
Just a moment ago, he was getting into bed with his girlfriend, whom he hadn't seen for half a year.
How did he end up here in the blink of an eye?
"Hiss—hiss—hiss—"
A chilling and harsh knife-sharpening sound came from the corner of the room.
Qin Ming turned his head and saw a tall man dressed in green, sharpening a long knife.
The roaring fire in the furnace cast flickering shadows on his face, which was covered by a black cloth.
Only his eyes were visible—eyes filled with excitement, the kind of thrill one has before a kill!
A chill ran down Qin Ming's spine.
He struggled with all his might, but the ropes were too tight.
Was he kidnapped?
"Filming? Kidnapping? Brother, untie me first and let me catch my breath!"
The masked man turned his face, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
"Filming? Heh! As expected, only you time travelers say such incomprehensible things.
You damn time travelers deserve to die!"
Qin Ming froze, his mind in turmoil.
Did I… time travel?!
But this doesn't make any sense!
What kind of time traveler gets identified the moment they arrive?!
And how does this guy even know the word 'time travel'?!
The masked man gripped his gleaming knife and stood up.
The cold edge of the blade reflected the firelight, sending chills through Qin Ming's entire body.
"Heh heh~" The masked man let out a sinister laugh.
"Don't bother struggling. Killing you is my token of allegiance—I'll finally be able to enter the palace!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he thrust his knife straight at Qin Ming!
Shit! This guy's insane!
Qin Ming desperately shifted half a foot to the right. The blade barely missed his vital organs but slashed across his side, and blood gushed out instantly.
It hurts! It freaking hurts!
You lunatic!
Who the hell stabs someone without a word of warning?!
"Whoosh—" The masked man thrust his knife forward once again.
Luckily, Qin Ming's legs weren't tied too tightly, and his feet could still touch the ground. He pushed off with all his strength, executing a kip-up that sent both him and the wooden board into the air!
If he hadn't been working out regularly, that last strike would have been the end of him!
The masked man's blade slashed through empty air. Without hesitation, he swung horizontally once more.
"Die!"
Qin Ming quickly stepped back two paces, narrowly avoiding the deadly arc of the blade.
Beside him was an iron pot mounted over a roaring fire, flames crackling fiercely beneath it.
With a sharp turn, Qin Ming used the wooden board strapped to his back to slam into the pot with all his might.
"Bang! Crash!"
A shower of burning embers erupted into the air, flying straight at the masked man's face!
"Ahhh!"
The masked man let out a scream, stumbling backward while clutching his eyes.
"Ah! My eyes! Damn time traveler!"
Qin Ming's heart pounded so hard it felt like it would leap out of his chest.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a glowing ember on the floor near the wall.
Wasting no time, he crouched down and pressed the rope binding his wrists against the flames!
"Sizzle—"
A searing pain shot through his arms as the rope burned.
"Snap!"
The rope was thin—it didn't take long before it was charred and snapped apart.
Just as Qin Ming reached down to untie the bindings on his legs, the masked man came slashing at him once again.
"Boom!"
Fortunately, his burned eyes had thrown off his aim—the strike missed!
Qin Ming sidestepped effortlessly.
At the same moment, the rope binding his legs finally loosened, and he was free!
Grabbing the wooden board, he swung it with all his strength.
"Smack!"
The masked man, still reeling from his injuries, had a weak grip on his weapon. The impact knocked the knife from his grasp, sending it clattering to the ground.
He immediately crouched down, fumbling blindly for his lost weapon.
But Qin Ming was faster.
In a flash, he lunged forward and seized the knife.
The masked man, now completely enraged, let out a furious roar and lunged at Qin Ming, wrapping both arms around his neck in a chokehold.
"You time travelers! You all deserve to die!"
Qin Ming didn't hesitate.
Seizing the opportunity, he gripped the knife tightly and drove it straight over his shoulder—
"Shua—"
The blade plunged deep into the masked man's throat.
A gush of hot, crimson blood poured down, soaking Qin Ming's back.
Panting heavily, he pushed the lifeless body aside and gasped for air.
He had no idea what was happening.
After hastily wrapping his wounded abdomen, he pulled away the cloth covering the masked man's face—
The man's features… bore a striking resemblance to his own!
A fresh, bloodied scar ran across his left cheek, stretching from the corner of his eye all the way down to his neck.
Around his waist hung a brown identity tag, inscribed with two characters: "Xiao Qinzi."
Digging further into the man's pockets, Qin Ming pulled out a yellowed bounty notice:
"Anyone who recites poetry or composes verses without cause—execution on sight!"
"Anyone who manufactures soap, cement, or gunpowder—execution on sight!"
"Anyone who writes in Simplified Chinese or speaks strangely—execution on sight!"
"Anyone who was once useless but suddenly cultivates at an incredible speed, claiming that even the heavens can't block his eyes—execution on sight!"
"Anyone who claims 'thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west'—crush their bones and scatter their ashes!"
Qin Ming felt his hair stand on end, cold sweat trickling down his spine.
What kind of place is this?
Why are they killing time travelers?
He crouched by the window and looked outside.
The night was as dark as ink, and heavy snowflakes fell from the sky.
Strange lanterns hung on the distant pavilions and towers, casting an eerie glow.
In the sky, a dozen fire-red birds soared in circles. Their tails were three feet long, covered in a ghostly glow that made them look otherworldly!
Just then—
Qin Ming spotted someone walking toward him from three hundred meters away, carrying a lantern and walking slowly through the snow that reached his calves.
Qin Ming made a snap decision and quickly swapped clothes with the masked man.
He shoveled the burning embers back into the stove and put on the masked man's identity tag.
The masked man's name was Xiao Qinzi, which was coincidentally the same surname as his own.
He grabbed the black face cloth and was about to put it on when he suddenly realized the masked man had a fresh scar on his face, as if it had just been inflicted.
The footsteps outside were getting closer.
Qin Ming gritted his teeth and lightly scratched his left cheek with the knife, drawing a fresh scar.
No matter how handsome his face used to be, it didn't matter now.
He needed to survive first!
With a creak, the door slowly opened.
A slightly hunched, elderly man in a green cloak entered, shaking off the snow as he walked. He spoke with a high-pitched voice.
"Xiao Qinzi, have you finished your work?"
Qin Ming nodded, wearing the black cloth.
"Well done. You've cleansed yourself and killed a time traveler. You can now enter the palace!"
The old man, carrying a lantern, waved at Qin Ming.
"Let's go, follow me!"
Qin Ming pulled the hood of the green cloak up to cover his head and stepped out into the darkness.
The snow was falling heavily, and the cold pierced to the bone.
Qin Ming took a deep breath.
The icy air made his chest and abdomen ache.
As he turned his head, he spotted a two-meter-long weasel, entirely white, crouching on the roof of the building to his left.
Its green eyes were fixed directly on Qin Ming, making it look especially eerie in the dark!