Li Wei was not a fool.

  He had no intention of charging headlong into a horde of Rakshasas like some arrogant young master chasing glory. That path led to nothing but a bloody corpse and a forgotten name. Only idiots embraced death with open arms and empty heads.

  He remembered what the Grim Reaper had told him in that strange, silent place between his first life and the afterlife. That hollow world of shadows where Alex Carter had ended and Li Wei had begun.

  "Once you die in a world, you can never return to it. Those are the rules. Even I can’t break them."

  That warning had burned itself into the walls of his mind.

  Li Wei had been given a second chance. A second life.

  But he could never return to the world where he had lived and died as Alex Carter. And if he died here, in this brutal new world, then that would be the end. No more lives. No resurrection. No return.

  Death at the hands of Rakshasas, being torn apart and possibly eaten, would not just be painful.

  It would be final. The end.

  So no, he would not be reckless. He would be careful. Tactical. He would prepare. Cautious when needed, bold when necessary. He would make sure this life lasted longer than the last one.

  Longer than the life he had lost by jumping in front of a speeding truck without a second thought. He did not regret saving the child, but he did regret dying at eighteen. He regretted losing his old life. His old family. The chance to ever see them again.

  This time, he would not die young.

  His father, Li Baotian, had given him leave to take three hundred soldiers. That decision had been made quickly and carelessly, like everything that greedy, lecherous nobleman did.

  Li Baotian ruled with a hands-off approach, governing like a drunk stumbling through a brothel, a spoiled pig drowning in wine. He was too lazy. Too indulgent. Far too busy satisfying his base desires for flesh and wine to think about the future of his house. Always reaching for the next bottle or the next girl. Never thinking about the fires slowly catching around him.

  But his weakness worked to Li Wei’s benefit.

  He had freedom now. Authority. Power to choose his own men. To appoint his own commanders. And he already knew who he wanted.

  He found them in the training yard. The clang of steel echoed in the air. Dust rose with every footfall. The scent of sweat, leather, and oil clung to the space like a permanent presence.

  Two mercenaries turned soldiers. A husband and wife.

  The husband was named Drakon. The wife, Thalassa. They were mercenaries from Virexia, a small martial state to the west, a cursed land where the soil bled iron, the fields grew little crop, the rivers ran shallow, the mountains were dead rock, and even the forests held nothing of value. With no riches to sell, the people of Virexia had only one export.

  Soldiers.

  Children were taken from their mothers before they could form words. Fathers were expected to personally smash any baby born weak or disfigured against the rocks. From the age of five, Virexian children were thrown into the Agoge. A military training system so ruthless that half did not survive.

  The Agoge deliberately deprived boys of food, sleep, and shelter. It involved cultivating total loyalty to their masters through intense military training, pain tolerance, ritual beatings, and hunting dangerous beasts. Those who survived the system emerged as weapons in human form. Cruel. Loyal. Merciless. Prepared to kill, torture, rape, pillage, and burn at their employer's command.

  There were horror stories of Virexian mercenaries who razed cities, killed and crucified every man, raped their wives and daughters, smashed infants on rocks, burned everything in sight, and salted the earth afterward. All for coin. All because someone told them to. Soldiers with no conscience, only contracts. They were not taught morality. Only obedience.

  Drakon and Thalassa had lived that life. They had razed cities. Slaughtered innocents. Fought wars for coin. Killed for nobles who did not remember their names.

  They had come east five years ago in search of more blood and gold. Since then, they had served Li Baotian faithfully. They had proven themselves in countless skirmishes. Crushing bandits. Rebels. Unruly peasants. Mercenaries employed by rival nobles. They had never failed. Never disobeyed. Never flinched, no matter how brutal the order.

  They bowed when they saw Li Wei approach.

  "Gather three hundred of my father’s best men," he said. His tone was calm. Measured. Commanding. "We ride for Yanshan. A Rakshasa horde has attacked. We will destroy them."

  Drakon bowed lower. He was a mountain of a man. Tall. His arms were thick as tree trunks. Dark-haired and bearded. His massive frame wrapped in rough leather and chain. His bare chest bore jagged scars that told of kills, victories, atrocities, and ancient Virexian rites. Over his shoulder rested a bronze shield. On his back were a short spear and a one-handed blade. Drakon had fought in sieges. He had defended and destroyed strongholds. He had killed and committed atrocities, never questioning an order.

  Stolen story; please report.

  "It will be done, young master."

  But there was a glint of respect in his eyes. Li Wei saw it. Felt it. Like all Virexians, Drakon respected warriors. He respected strength. And Li Wei had trained in the yard with him more than once, the only one among Li Baotian's surviving sons who had. He had crossed steel with Drakon. Had trained and learned. That earned Li Wei more respect from Drakon than his position in the family ledger or the inheritance line.

  "Also gather weapons. Supplies. The fastest horses from the stable," Li Wei added. His tone was firm. Precise. Leadership came easily. His charisma was not flashy. It was quiet. Natural. His high charisma stats were paying off. Slowly. Subtly. "We leave at first light."

  "As you command, young master," Thalassa said, flashing him a small smile.

  She stood beside her massive husband like a dagger beside a warhammer. Small only by comparison. She had the body of a warrior goddess. Pale skin stretched tight over dense muscle. Thick thighs. Strong arms. A stomach cut with the kind of definition sculptors dreamed of recreating in marble. Fit and athletic. Perfectly shaped hips.

  Thalassa wore no armor in the training yard. Only tight black leather that left her toned midsection bare. Her thighs and legs were exposed to the sun, her presence both powerful and attractive.

  She was beautiful in a way that made weaker men uncomfortable. A woman not bred for softness or obedience. Li Wei remembered sparring with her once. She had wrestled him to the ground more times than he liked to admit. She had also grinned each time he had wrestled her to the ground. There had been something in her eyes. A glint that hinted at more. The kind of interest a woman might show a man. A strong, handsome young man who could hold her down.

  Despite their violent history, Li Wei felt he could trust the mercenaries.

  Not because they were good people. But because they were reliable killers. Loyal to gold. Loyal to their employer. And loyal, in their own brutal way, to him, the one child of their master who acted like a soldier, not a weak-willed noble.

  Still, soldiers alone would not be enough.

  Li Wei needed maps. He needed scouts. He had to understand the terrain around Yanshan. The forests. The cliffs. The chokepoints. He needed information on the Rakshasas. How many there were. How they moved. What they burned. What they left behind.

  Every monster had a pattern. Every threat had a weakness.

  And he would find it.

  While Drakon and Thalassa gathered soldiers, weapons, and supplies, Li Wei made his way to the archives, a dim chamber filled with dust and parchment.

  Li Baotian had little interest in books, preferring wine and women, so the tomes in his archives collected dust.

  In the archives, Li Wei found Master Chen, an elderly eunuch who had long served as his father’s archivist.

  "Young master, how may I serve you?" the old eunuch asked, bowing deeply.

  "I need maps," Li Wei said. "Detailed maps of Yanshan and the lands around it. And everything you have on Rakshasas."

  "Of course," Master Chen replied, nodding as he shuffled toward the back of the room. Moments later, he returned with scrolls and weathered tomes, laying them out with careful hands.

  "The terrain near Yanshan is forested to the east, mountainous to the west. There is a narrow valley here." He tapped a bony finger on one of the maps. "Only two accessible passes. A defensible bottleneck, should you need it."

  Li Wei leaned in, eyes scanning the terrain. Valleys could be traps. Or ambush points. If used wisely, they could also become killing fields.

  "And the Rakshasas?" he asked.

  "Most believe them to be a single species," Master Chen said, retrieving a thick book bound in cracked leather. "That is a mistake. There are breeds. Clans. Variants. Subspecies. Look here."

  Li Wei turned the pages.

  The illustrations within were crude but vivid. Rakshasas were depicted as towering, monstrous beings with jutting fangs and clawed hands. Some had flaming red eyes and wild manes of hair, others with grotesque, misshapen bodies and stretched, snarling mouths. They were shown devouring flesh, drinking blood from cupped hands or hollowed skulls, their expressions twisted with hunger and madness. One image showed a Rakshasa with large and misshapen genitals chasing a screaming women through a burning village.

  "They are man-eaters," Master Chen said solemnly. "They can smell human flesh. The weaker ones can be killed like any beast, with sword or arrow. The stronger ones may require fire. Some must be purged entirely through ritual. Cleansing rites performed by wandering monks trained in ancient disciplines."

  Li Wei opened his system menu and scanned his skills. Beginner Swordsmanship and Minor Fire Affinity. Not much, but useful. It was something that he could use when facing the Rakshasas.

  "Rakshasas travel in clans," the eunuch continued. "They raid, burn, and devour in hordes. Each clan is led by a warmaster. If you kill the warmaster, the others tend to scatter. At least, for a time."

  Li Wei nodded, closing the tome and rolling up the maps. "You’ve been helpful, Master Chen. Thank you."

  His next stop was the messenger: the young woman who had brought word from Yanshan. She stood in the courtyard, near the stables, her clothes still dusted with travel, eyes alert despite the fatigue behind them.

  "What is your name?" Li Wei asked.

  "Mei Lin, young master," she answered, bowing slightly. She looked to be around his age. Slender. Small. Flat-chested, narrow-hipped. Her dark hair cropped short. Mei Lin was not beautiful in the traditional sense, but she was pretty in a boyish way, like a handsome eunuch.

  "You’re from Yanshan, aren’t you?"

  "Yes."

  "Then you know the land better than any scout I could send," he said. His voice remained calm. Even. "I want you to come with us. Help me find the Rakshasas."

  Mei Lin hesitated. Only a second, but he caught it. Fear. Not from cowardice, but the sane resistance of someone asked to return to a place soon to be swarmed by a horde of man-eating Rakshasas. Then she straightened and nodded. "As you wish, young master."

  Perhaps it was his presence. Or the way he carried himself. Or something subtler. Charisma could be like gravity. Quiet but inescapable. Li Wei could convince others to do what he wanted with little effort.

  By the time the soldiers were assembled and the supplies packed, the sun had begun to rise. Horses were saddled. Weapons sharpened. Armor buckled into place.

  Drakon and Thalassa stood at the head of the formation. Both now wearing bronze armor with red capes. They were like weapons pointed at his enemies.

  As Li Wei mounted his horse, a new quest appeared in his system.

  Quest Unlocked: Hunt the Rakshasa Horde

  Objective: Investigate the Yanshan region. Eliminate the Rakshasa threat.

  Reward: Unknown.

  Failure: Possible death. No resurrection.

  A smile crept across his face. The difficulty was set at nightmarish, but he was prepared.