004The theological coffin nails

"Why are you the only one on watch?" The chief officer, after making his rounds, noticed that one of his subordinates was missing from duty. 

"Ah, him? He's with a female convict, enjoying some tender moments over there," the subordinate gestured towards the hillside, winking suggestively at his superior. Such occurrences were not uncommon on the exile route. 

Inmates seeking to avoid hardship either had influential backers arranging special treatment or relied on family bribes. With Gong's household being raided and exiled, former colleagues had their own troubles to worry about; there was little energy left for care. 

For female convicts, there was only one option left. No wonder they called it a cushy assignment. Naturally, the chief officer was well aware of this unspoken rule.

"How long has he been gone?" 

"Just a moment."

"Hmph, abandoning his post!"

"But, given that lad's speed, he should be done soon. He's fast; it won't take him much time."

Upon hearing this, the chief officer's lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh but forced himself to remain serious, putting on a stern expression. "When he returns, tell him—extend the night watch by another hour!"

However, after waiting for a while, there was still no sign of his return. Could it be that the lad had actually found some useful remedy from somewhere to cure his hidden ailment? Unable to sit still, the officer glanced at the inmates, all sleeping like logs, seemingly oblivious to any escape opportunities. Quietly, he rose to his feet and discreetly followed in the direction of Shen Tang and the others.

Listening for any sounds, if the two of them were nearing the end, he could conveniently take over the shift. As he approached the small slope, he felt an ominous foreboding creeping in. Something was not right here! There was neither the heated panting that usually accompanies exertion nor the energetic clatter of activity; only the cacophony of insect chirps and the rustling of the night breeze through the grass.

"Lao Zhou? Lao Zhou, are you there—" Suppressing his unease, he strode forward and parted the dense undergrowth, calling out his colleague's name. Soon, the sound abruptly ceased. He looked down at what he had stepped on—a severed arm! In the dim light of the night, he could barely make out the contorted neck of the male corpse, whom he had just called "Lao Zhou"! "Dead... someone's dead!" His cry for help brought the chief officer running.

The body was still warm and supple, not yet cold, indicating that death had occurred only moments ago. The chief officer inspected the broken neck and wrists, noting the signs of instant snapping, suggesting an extraordinarily terrifying level of finger and hand strength. However, despite the traces of martial prowess on the body, there was no sign of any significant resistance before life was taken, indicating that the perpetrator's strength must surpass that of a mere lower-ranking constable.

"What about the female convict? Have they found her body?" Upon seeing the body thoroughly stripped of valuables, the chief officer's mind raced with possibilities. His subordinate replied, "No, we haven't found her, only Lao Zhou." The chief officer fell silent. A person dead and a female convict missing? Had someone abducted the prisoners?

The conjecture darkened his complexion instantly. "You, go back and keep an eye on those prisoners! If you spot anyone suspicious, kill them on the spot!" 

"Yes!" 

Following the trail left by Shen Tang, the chief officer soon caught sight of a blurry figure running in the darkness. Without hesitation, he drew his bow and aimed the arrow at Shen Tang's back. It seemed inevitable that this arrow would end the life of the female convict. However, just as the arrow was about to strike, Shen Tang rolled to the right with uncanny agility, narrowly evading the shot. 

"Didn't expect there would be a fish slipping through the net like you!" He maneuvered his horse over Shen Tang's head, tightened the reins, and halted the horse firmly in place, blocking her path. With a cold anger in his voice, he accused, "Taking advantage of your gender to infiltrate the female convicts and then seize the opportunity to escape, the cunning plan of the Gong thief!"

The male Gong convicts, regardless of age, were stripped of their martial prowess to prevent escape and potential revenge in the future. The lone figure before him, without any backup, must have been Shen Tang using her charm to lure out her target, taking advantage of their momentary lapse in vigilance to launch a surprise attack. However, even if the lowest-ranked guards were lax, it would be difficult for an ordinary woman to swiftly execute such a killing. Moreover, judging from the wounds, it was evident that the perpetrator possessed either literary talent or martial prowess.

Since it was impossible for a woman to have either, the "female convict" before him was undoubtedly a man. A male convict who had infiltrated the female convict ranks undetected for so long must have been protected and sheltered by the Gong convicts, indicating his significant importance within their ranks. With such a crucial fugitive slipping through their grasp, how could he justify his failure? In a flash of insight, a logical deduction formed in his mind.

Shen Tang rose from the ground.

Certainly:

With a disdainful snort, Shen Tang spat out the sand that had clung to the corner of her mouth. She happened to overhear the leader of the guards' remarks.

What did he mean by her taking advantage of her masculine appearance? And calling her a "Gong thief"? They shouldn't just arbitrarily assign her a character when she had no memory at the moment!

"Ha, what do you intend to do?" Shen Tang retorted, inadvertently aggravating the wound on her cheek. The stinging pain made her inhale sharply—she had dodged too hastily, and the gravel on the ground had scraped her cheek raw, causing a fiery sensation. She didn't need to touch it to know it was bleeding. Her gaze remained fixed on the enemy.

"Come with me, and I'll spare your wretched life," the guard leader proposed. Shen Tang couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "Spare my wretched life? I think you're just talking nonsense!"

Ugly and delusional, what a combination!

"Since we can't come to an agreement, then—" The leader of the guards didn't lose his temper; instead, he focused his energy, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes. "Spear, sword, blade, halberd, bow, crossbow, dagger, spear—kill!" 

Shen Tang: "...Huh?" What did he mean? Out of nowhere, he was talking about killing? Before the question could fully form in her mind, she saw the leader of the guards transform his longbow into a cross-shaped long halberd. The halberd, nearly a yard in length, with its chilling spearhead aimed directly at her vital points, came thrusting towards her without any regard for fairness. 

Shen Tang was startled by this sudden change, tilting her head back and evading the fatal blow just in time. Weapons were formidable tools; the longer, the deadlier. The strange long halberd, nearly a yard long, wielded by the leader of the guards, danced with precision, its shadow dense and its strikes relentless—whether slashing horizontally or thrusting vertically—as if it were an extension of his arm. Meanwhile, Shen Tang was left defenseless, armed only with her bare hands.

In this situation, she wasn't just running for her life; she was practically serving as a live target, exhausted to the point of collapse. As for the sudden appearance of weapons after reciting a couple of lines, effectively nailing science into the coffin—she finally understood where the horse beneath him had come from. Could this world get any more nonsensical??? Long halberd's spearhead grazed her left arm, burying itself into the soil, sending shivers down her spine. If she had reacted any slower just now, that thrust would have pierced straight through her heart!

"Spear, sword, blade, halberd, bow, crossbow..." With her life hanging by a thread, she dodged and weaved, desperately trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat, attempting to summon a weapon of her own—although in this world, women couldn't wield martial prowess or literary talents, why couldn't she be the exception? As a transmigrator, facing this hellish scenario, she should at least be given some basic safety net, shouldn't she? But before she could finish her thought, the thrust of the long halberd interrupted her.

Before she could finish her sentence, the thrust of the long halberd interrupted her. The chief constable mocked, "You ants, overestimating your abilities!" 

Shen Tang remained silent. In her memory, besides the editor, no one had ever made her feel so frustrated! 

As the long halberd thrust once more, fueled by anger, she reached out to grab the spearhead bare-handed, pulling it in fury. "Is that all you've got?" 

An unnamed rage roiled and burned in her chest, churning over and over a passage that had abruptly surfaced in her mind. Intuition told her that this passage might be the key to breaking the deadlock. Its content went like this—[In a mother's hands, even a sword can become tender...]