The silent night felt like it was suppressing a noiseless clamor. In the early hours of the fifth day of the sixth month, many of the city's important figures had spent a sleepless night.

Then came dawn.

In the courtyard behind the Princess's residence, an early riser squeezed toothpaste—improved by Zhuji—onto a toothbrush. Ning Ji and Qu Longjun squatted under the eaves to wash up. Halfway through brushing, they saw a figure standing like a hoodlum at the courtyard gate. He also had a toothbrush in his mouth, his mouth full of foam, leaning against the doorframe, looking at them with a lewd gaze. It was Yue Yun.

Ning Ji tilted his head and glanced at him, not paying much attention. Having spent a long time in the military camp, he had seen too many of these idly-ballsed-around hoodlum types. Qu Longjun, however, couldn't help but take a few more glances, nudging Ning Ji with her shoulder. Only then did Ning Ji spit out the foam and turn towards Yue Yun: "What?"

"...You two slept together last night," Yue Yun mumbled through his toothbrush.

"What?"

"There are seven rooms in the courtyard, and we cleaned up two for you," Yue Yun said. "But you slept together. You hussies."

"You're peeking," Ning Ji said, standing up with a look of composure. "You'll get a stye."

"Are you two a young couple?"

"...Huh?"

"It's obvious you're not married."

"None of your business."

"Sleeping together without being married is immoral."

"Are you going to bite me?"

"...It's a disgrace to the Huaxia Army."

"..."

"Ooh... everyone, come and see! Someone here has disgraced the Huaxia Army!"

Yue Yun tilted his head back and called out a few times, absentmindedly, like a goose.

Ning Ji spat out the foam in his mouth, walked to the side, wiped his face with a towel, and waved his hand: "Come in."

Yue Yun waved his toothbrush: "What for?"

"Go over there," Ning Ji said, pointing to a spacious area in the courtyard.

Yue Yun was extremely obedient, took his toothbrush, and walked over. As he passed the stone table and stools, he kicked one to the side, then turned back: "What for?"

Ning Ji threw down the towel. As he turned, he stretched his muscles, his bones already starting to crack. Yue Yun laughed and opened his arms. Ning Ji lowered his stance, and in the next moment, his figure flashed across several zhang like a cannonball. Their fists collided fiercely with a bang.

"You, Yue, your face just begs to be punched, I'll fix it for you—"

"Then I thank you!"

Both had a deep family background and were trained both internally and externally. In the blink of an eye, their fists collided like a storm, like two elephants hitting each other, with a series of bangs. Qu Longjun, who had been taught a few days of boxing by Ning Ji and considered herself a "martial artist," could barely see the exchanges between the two fiery-tempered men.

After the initial exchange, Yue Yun's figure swayed, his footwork spanning a wide range, seemingly trying to distance himself from Ning Ji. But Ning Ji plunged into the middle. At one point, it seemed Yue Yun had single-handedly swung Ning Ji into the air, but in the next breath, both of their bodies crashed to the ground with a bang, scattering stones everywhere.

"Watch my deadly scissor kick—"

"Here it comes again—"

"Haha, you try to flip out of that—"

"I'm also good at ground grappling—"

The two continued to brawl on the ground with a series of thuds. Yue Yun kicked up a stone stool, which crashed into a flower bed, smashing many things.

Qu Longjun naturally didn't understand the fight. She calmly continued to brush her teeth, only to notice, when she turned her head, that Yin Ping, with her hair slightly disheveled but still looking heroic, was already standing beside her. The two looked at each other. Yin Ping leaned over: "Don't be afraid, they're using their fists, they won't kill anyone."

"Mmm," Qu Longjun nodded, chewing on her toothbrush.

As soon as she said that, Yin Ping took out a white cloth strip from her bosom, wrapped her hair behind her head, and strode towards them.

In the courtyard, Yue Yun and Ning Ji had jumped up and were continuing to brawl. Yin Ping approached them and held out her palm: "Come on, switch partners, switch partners..."

Yue Yun swung his fist horizontally: "I'll switch you..."

Yin Ping advanced, slamming her elbow fiercely. The siblings had sparred for many years. Even though Yue Yun possessed natural strength, this punch was unexpectedly blocked by Yin Ping's fierce elbow strike. Ning Ji kicked Yue Yun in the stomach, and the Little Vajra followed up with a series of punches, trying to take advantage of the situation. Yin Ping's hands were already on his shoulders. In the blink of an eye, the three of them twisted and turned, their fists and feet moving in a storm-like convergence. Finally, a cloud of dust exploded in the courtyard. The three rolled or flew backwards like cannonballs. Yue Yun crashed into a flower bed, Yin Ping retreated under the eaves, and Ning Ji rolled several times backwards. Only then did the intense exchange stop.

"Hahahaha," Yue Yun laughed, rubbing his mouth. "Good, you're not bad, you can actually take our Yue family's world-renowned Flipping Fists. Black Flag kid, what kind of fist are you using?"

"Hmph, Southwestern boxing draws on the strengths of many schools. It was brewed on the battlefield. Our Mr. Ning calls it Military Dao Killing Fist!"

"Mr. Ning created the Military Dao Killing Fist? Was that deadly scissor kick just now one of the moves from it?"

"Hmph, the deadly scissor kick is taken from swordsmanship, according to Senior Zuo Chuanshu's *Sword Manual*..."

"Zuo Chuanshu? Where's he from?"

"Hey! You don't know Zuo Chuanshu, you illiterate—"

The two were originally just chatting casually during the fight, but after a few words, their language became more and more heated, and it turned into a verbal battle. Seeing the Black Flag boy named "Sun Wukong" jumping up excitedly, about to launch a massive attack on his brother for not knowing Zuo Chuanshu, Yin Ping sighed, and suddenly advanced. Even before she arrived, the sand and stones she kicked up had already rained down on the other party.

Ning Ji waved his arm and counterattacked fiercely. Sand and stones exploded in the courtyard, creating a rain of flowers in the sky. Qu Longjun had been watching for a while. Seeing the three figures fighting lively together, she frowned and ran around, holding a basin of warm water.

Perhaps because someone of Cheng Zhouhai's status had made arrangements, the courtyard behind the Princess's residence was unusually quiet this morning. There were no outsiders arriving, and only the sentry posts on the watchtowers in the distance could be vaguely seen. After a while, Ning Ji, Yue Yun, and Yin Ping were all bruised and swollen from fighting each other, with old wounds not yet healed, and new ones added.

Qu Longjun brought more water. What she saw was the three of them sitting in a pile of debris in the courtyard, cursing and grumbling.

"...It's not like I didn't defend, but this kid can always drag people to the ground. The southwestern army does have some tricks..."

"...It's trained on the battlefield, I told you..."

"...I've also been on the battlefield..."

"...You tall guys die easily."

"...I'm the vanguard, charging into the formation with a big knife and hammer. It's different from you guys who mix with scouts..."

"...Your sister's Flipping Fists are not as good as yours..."

"...That's right! Hehehe..."

"...I practice spearmanship..."

"...Hmph, our Huaxia Army also has a kind of spearmanship..."

Qu Longjun looked at them, and finally, holding the basin of water, she first went to Yin Ping, wiping the bruises on her cheeks and the abrasions on her shoulders. Ning Ji threw a packet of Jinchuang medicine from the side. Then, he argued with Yue Yun while practicing moves, arguing about the similarities and differences between Flipping Fists and the so-called "Military Dao Killing Fist." The Military Dao Killing Fist was naturally fabricated by Ning Yi, his father. Ning Ji was purely deceiving fools, but the name could be fake, but the boxing was real. After arguing for a moment, they rushed at each other again and fought.

Qu Longjun felt pain just watching, but there were other things to do today. She understood Ning Ji's consideration for this fight, so she didn't try to persuade them. But every time Ning Ji took a punch, the corners of her eyes twitched with heartache. Yin Ping, who had originally wanted to continue her morning practice, now softly comforted: "It's okay, both of them are thick-skinned, and they've practiced internal kung fu well. Right now, they're just hammering each other, shaking their internal energy. After the fight, it's actually beneficial to both of them."

A moment later, she smiled: "You're so kind, you don't help him, but you help me heal my wounds. What's your name, sister? I bet it's not Long Aotian, right?"

"My name is Qu Longjun."

"My name is Yue Yin Ping. Yin Ping breaks the bottle, water spurts out, iron cavalry thrusts out swords and spears Yue Yin Ping."

"I know, Sister Yue, your martial arts are amazing."

"Still not as good as the Southwest." Yin Ping looked at the two fighting. "When I was his age, I didn't have this kind of martial arts. Do you know... my stupid brother and I were once captured by the Jurchens. It was Mr. Ning of the Southwest who saved us."

"Ah?"

Qu Longjun had never heard of this. She blinked, about to ask, when suddenly, the world spun. Yin Ping reached out and pushed her away, and her body rolled in the courtyard. Before she could react, she heard Ning Ji's curse: "What are you doing, you dead woman!"

"I also think it's immoral for you to sleep together without getting married." Yin Ping's voice was cold, and then she laughed: "Hey, switch partners..."

...

A chaotic morning.

Several rounds of fighting had destroyed all the jars and pots in the courtyard. When the morning breeze blew, Yin Ping brought in breakfast in a steamer from outside. With the hot steam rising, she used the white mist to soothe her face, which was swollen like a steamed bun. Yue Yun changed into new clothes and came out, walking a bit with a limp.

Ning Ji sat under the eaves, arrogantly wrapping himself into a one-eared bandit with gauze.

"—You even hit women's faces!" Yin Ping put down the steamer, poking her swollen cheek with her finger, extremely unhappy.

Ning Ji stretched out his right hand, revealing a bloody tooth mark on it: "You bit me! You're from the Yue family, Zhou Tong's grand-disciple, and you bite people!"

"If I really used all my strength to bite, that hand of yours would be gone!" Yin Ping sat down, tilting her head. "Moreover, in that situation, biting was the right decision. You already lost."

"I practiced Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training Golden Bell Cover, it's useless even if you bite hard!"

"Hmph, I don't think so. What are you bragging about? If you dare to fight me again, I'll tear your flesh off and you'll be crippled!"

"Haha, you're talking to me about daring..."

"Or else, let's go again..."

"I just went to the outhouse and didn't wash my hands, I have shit on my hands." Ning Ji stretched out his arm.

Yin Ping, with half of her face swollen like a pig, was stunned for a moment, staring at Ning Ji with wide eyes, a little unable to react. She had grown up in the military camp since she was a child, and although she was used to the rough masculine atmosphere, even among the Yue family army, most of the young men who sparred with her would treat her as the Yue family's daughter and their goddess. Many showed their masculinity in front of her, and many could be entrusted with their backs on the battlefield, but someone like Ning Ji, who dared to abandon his integrity in order to make the other party embarrassed, was truly unique.

Qu Longjun lowered her head and stifled a laugh. Yue Yun, who was not far away and was moving his muscles, was tempted several times to join the verbal battle, now tremblingly raised both hands and gave Ning Ji two thumbs up.

The courtyard was quiet for a moment. Yin Ping blinked, reached out, took a bun from the steamer, and put it in her mouth, pretending to eat. Ning Ji withdrew his arm, so that the other party wouldn't discover the fact that he didn't actually have shit on his hand. Yue Yun walked over from the side: "Sister, why haven't Mr. Cheng and Mr. Zuo come yet?"

"Something happened outside. Zhao Xiaosong said that the imperial court is extremely busy, and the Princess also had a tiring night and just fell asleep." Yin Ping tried to move her mouth as little as possible.

"What happened?"

"The Fair Party broke through Lin'an the day before yesterday, Tie Yan was killed, and we have many things to do here."

"Isn't this a good thing, Sister?"

"It's not a good thing." Yin Ping said, "I heard that it was the armies of King Yama and King Equality who broke through the city. After breaking through the city, they were burning and killing everywhere. Our army can't get out, so we can only worry... The most troublesome thing is that at the morning court today, some people have learned of the news of the fall of Lin'an, and are asking His Majesty to immediately send troops to save the people of Lin'an from the fire..."

"Father actually made preparations, we... are we going to break out?" Yue Yun sat down and took a bun.

Yin Ping sighed slightly: "Father and Marshal Han's army have made preparations to break out, but distant water can't quench a nearby fire. If they really want to massacre, by the time we get to Lin'an, the people inside will have died ten times... The most troublesome thing is that Zhao Xiaosong said that if we break out now, Fujian's heart will not be united. Before His Majesty's reforms have taken effect, turning to Lin'an, not to mention whether we can quell the Fair Party, at least the things we've done in the past two years will be wasted..."

Qu Longjun, sitting beside Ning Ji, also understood what Yin Ping was saying, and now frowned: "If I were Chen Shuangran, I'm afraid I would start a public opinion campaign outside in the next few days, encouraging the court to fight outward."

Ning Ji said: "The Beiwei Army fighting the Fair Party isn't much of a problem."

Yin Ping nodded: "Zhao Xiaosong said that if we wait for the seagoing ships to return before fighting out, we will have a real foundation here. But now is the most intense time for the fighting in Fujian. If we attack Lin'an, firstly, many of the major clans that have temporarily returned to our side will think that the imperial court is going to abandon Fujian; secondly, there is a shortage of food in Jiangnan, and they are all disaster victims. If we fight out, not only will we not get any benefits, but we will also have to constantly subsidize them... The imperial court doesn't actually have much money left; thirdly, there are the bandits like Chen Shuangran. His Majesty's strategy has only been effective for a few days, and they are about to be eliminated. This round of events will probably allow them to catch their breath. Next, I'm afraid they will grow stronger while we weaken..."

"...Idiots." Ning Ji glanced at them. "We... we in the Southwest have a saying, that difficulties are training, and crises are opportunities. You only see the disadvantages, why can't you see the advantages?"

"Then you tell us." Half a pig's head raised its chin.

"You southeasterners are doing some kind of reform, some kind of 'Revere the King, Expel the Barbarians'. To put it bluntly, isn't it just gathering a group of poor scholars to fight the old stinky officials? You talk about constitutional monarchy and serving the country and the people. What's important is to let everyone see what you're doing. Now that Lin'an has fallen, the Fair Party is massacring, and there are refugees everywhere in Jiangnan. Although you can't reach Lin'an for the time being, how you send troops to appease and care for the people is something everyone can see. You teach classes at that whatever-Military Preparatory Academy. What's the use of armchair strategy? Tens of thousands of refugees are heading south. Send them up, let them take in, settle, and care for these refugees. Come up with a set of strategies, and then send people to praise them. Naturally, this 'serving the country and the people' will be accomplished. The emperor is more benevolent than those old officials and the Fair Party. If you talk about 'Revere the King, Expel the Barbarians' and constitutional monarchy, everyone will naturally support it, right? Only those trained in this way are the people's soldiers... Do you know what the people's soldiers are..."

Ning Ji was the youngest of the four. He spoke casually, and Qu Longjun's eyes lit up. Yin Ping and Yue Yun couldn't help but ponder.

When he got to "people's soldiers," he shook his head.

"...Don't know... but I think what you said makes a little sense..."

"...But there's not enough money and food, and wealthy households probably won't be willing to donate anymore..."

"...Won't we fall for that bitch Chen Shuangran's trick again..."

"...You cowards..."

The four chattered in the courtyard. After eating breakfast, as the sun gradually rose and the courtyard gradually became hot, Cheng Zhouhai and Zuo Wenxuan had not returned. Presumably, with the sudden fall of Lin'an, most of these officials were in a state of having been awake all night.

Ning Ji put on a round of makeup: "I'm going out later!"

Yue Yun said: "Lord Cheng and the others said you can leave. We can't beat you flat or blow you round."

"But Miss Qu has to stay with us." Yin Ping said, then paused and asked, "...By the way, are you coming back tonight? What are you going out to do?"

It was indeed safer for Qu Longjun to stay here under protection, but the feeling of leaving a hostage was unpleasant. Ning Ji frowned and sulked for a while, then pointed at the siblings: "Isn't it because you guys are useless, you can't even deal with a little妖女, so I have to personally set up a scheme to help you kill her."

The courtyard was quiet for a moment:

"...You can set up schemes?"

"..."

Ning Ji jumped up. After a while, he began to tell them about his interactions with the bad guys' organization during this period, and the progress he had made with the cooperation of the military advisor. After such a narration, with Qu Longjun's embellishment, Yin Ping and Yue Yun's eyes also began to light up...

Even though they had used harsh language to each other and had several rounds of fighting, as members of the Yue family towards a guest from the Southwest, and as a member of the Ning family towards the Yue family siblings, after confirming their identities, there was no major suspicion. The four put their heads together and chattered again...

The sunlight fell, pushing aside the flowing clouds. As the morning passed, the city streets had also become hot.

Newsboys ran through the city streets, spreading the news that Lin'an had fallen and the people of the Wu Dynasty were being massacred again. In the restaurants and teahouses, the topic of Lin'an had overshadowed the official-bandit fighting that had been going on in the city for several days.

Refugees who had fled from other places hoped to return soon.

Some people also mentioned the old events after the Wu Dynasty moved south...

"More than ten years ago, Bianliang fell. The cowards in the court said that southerners should return to the south and northerners should return to the north. In the end, not a single battle was fought to the north. Instead, they lived comfortably in Lin'an, only wanting to stay there forever... If we stay in Fujian for too long, I'm afraid it will be the same situation..."

"Fujian has eight mountains, one river, and one point of farmland. It's not suitable to stay for long. Now Jiangnan is in a mess. Since the imperial court is the legitimate government, it should fight back to uphold its reputation."

"If we wait too long, where will the prestige of the legitimate dynasty be..."

"I heard that the imperial court is waiting for the seagoing ships to return..."

"Wishful thinking..."

Of course, there were also people who could pull the whole situation together.

Riding in a carriage, Huang Shengyuan passed through the city streets and met with two old men in a private room of a teahouse.

"...I received the news last night. Seeing that the little emperor had the upper hand, some people were wavering and wanted to be double agents. I heard that someone mentioned my Huang family's name in the Princess's residence. I can't show my face, and I originally wanted to leave immediately, but who knew that things would take such a turn..."

"...Miss Chen's side made a decision this morning. All forces have been mobilized to publicize the Lin'an incident in the city..."

"...People have also been sent to the court to submit memorials, asking His Majesty to save the people and fight back. They are citizens of the Wu Dynasty, and he can't ignore them."

"...The good thing is that there's no need to hide it. Their own young and strong faction also wants to fight back to Lin'an... Many people even have family members there. If the emperor doesn't fight, he will lose the support of the people..."

"...If we send troops, it will be costly, time-consuming, and fruitless. Most importantly, if he wants to return to Lin'an, Fujian will no longer be important. Can he still push forward the reforms and power-grabbing that he's halfway through?"

"...We've already contacted several adults... who are showing signs of turning back. Fighting out is death, and not fighting out is also death. The little emperor is in a dilemma, difficult, difficult."

The crowds gathered and dispersed in a noisy and secretive manner.

On this day, there were discussions among the important figures, and of course, there were also gatherings of the small people.

In the alleys between Huaiyun Ward and Jinyin Bridge, groups of pedestrians gathered and gradually dispersed. There were many residents here, who were checking out the wreckage of yesterday's shelling out of curiosity—although there was a lot of excitement in the city at the moment, with government searches and tension due to the Lin'an news, this area, as a rare site of artillery bombardment, still attracted a large crowd of onlookers;

There were also groups of Green Forest martial artists who came to snoop—in the process of tightening the situation in Fuzhou, many martial artists with unclean backgrounds and relatively timid characters had already been scared out of the city. Most of those who appeared here to watch the excitement were relatively free Green Forest people. They yearned for the Jianghu and were used to reading martial arts novels from the Southwest. They didn't care about the large-scale brawl in Houguan County, and they thought simply about the problem of Lin'an. However, the story of a master who participated in the assassination of Tie Tianying yesterday and was besieged by government troops, and who killed his way through several streets with the masters of the imperial court, made them especially passionate, and they came to pay their respects;

Some figures who were familiar with the Yinqiao Ward brothers also came out to inquire about various news. For example, Xiaodie, the maid of Jinqiao Ward, had already run back and forth several times, crying. She went to Huaiyun Ward to inquire everywhere, confirming that it was the residence of the Long and Sun brothers that had been destroyed by the bombing. She returned to the brothel in Jinqiao Ward to report. In the afternoon, the brothel had not yet opened, but the courtesans in the building were mourning. The story of Long Xiaoge assassinating Tie Tianying already had many versions.

—Some said that the young hero Long Aotian came to Fuzhou to find the imperial court's henchman, Tie Laotou, to avenge the murder of his father. As a result, they had agreed to fight, but the henchman summoned troops to besiege him; others said that Long Aotian's assassination was originally because Tie Tianying had committed many evils and forcibly seized civilian girls. He stood up for the civilian girls and fought injustice, but was tricked by bad guys, etc. Some vividly described the grand occasion of the peak duel between the two sides yesterday... In short, before the sun had set, Ning Ji's hard-earned reputation as the Five-Foot Lustful Demon was about to be cleared in the local public opinion field. If he knew, he would probably say that it was a blessing in disguise;

Yu Hezhang, Meng Biao, and others who were actually related to this matter were still investigating on the streets. Pu Xinyu was very anxious, so they had come out early in the morning, but they had not found any news about Long and Sun. On the way, they saw several lackeys of Chen Shuangran—these people were also wandering around aimlessly. When the two sides met, they were extremely jealous. Yu Hezhang immediately scolded the other side for being despicable and shameless. In the process of assassinating Tie Tianying, the little black skin clearly had a conflict with the Long and Sun young heroes. The black skin betrayed the Long young hero to the government. Such infighting would be condemned by the Green Forest people of Fuzhou in the future!

The other party was just a lackey, confused, and then scolded back. The two sides almost fought in the street, and were about to be swept away by the government's hawks and dogs nearby.

In the morning, Yu Wang Gao Xingzong also took a walk on the streets.

As the local tyrant of Yinqiao Ward, he had already established contact with the two young people in the night market. Early this morning, many former acquaintances, hooligans, information peddlers, and even nephews and disciples came to him to inquire about the situation. He was old in the Jianghu, and immediately closed the door to thank guests, but he was even more shocked after going out for a walk. From the streets of Yinqiao Ward to Huaiyun Ward, the government's people were loose on the outside but tight on the inside, always staking out in this street. This showed that the whole thing might not be over.

The Jianghu rumor about what happened in Huaiyun Ward last night was that the government bombarded Huaiyun Ward, and Long and Sun killed their way to the Princess's residence. The waves and impact of this incident were too great. Gao Xingzong might have felt his blood boil when he was young, but now that he was involved, he was just sweating in cold sweat. His identity had long been registered with the government. Now, people were staring at him openly and secretly. Once he was involved in this kind of rebellious thing, how could he survive?

After driving away the hooligans and disciples, he thought that closing the door to thank guests would also seem suspicious, so he immediately opened the door of the fish shop. He grabbed a cattail leaf fan and sat in front of the door of the fish shop to doze off—not far in front of the door, a sentry left by the government was staring at him. He simply stared at the other party with wide eyes. On the one hand, he could scare away the small characters who came to inquire about news, and on the other hand, he could also let this sentry testify for him that he really didn't participate in anything this time.

In June in Fuzhou, the air was humid and hot. Annoying sunlight peeled down from the gaps between the trees and buildings. The stench of fish spread around. Gao Xingzong leaned on the wooden chair at the door, relaxing and humming a song. It was the Weishi hour in the afternoon. A cool feeling came from the room behind him, and his back tightened.

—Someone had come to him.

He looked towards the street not far away. The assigned sentry was also sitting in the shade of a stall, yawning sleepily.

He quietly glanced at the room.

In the darkness of the room, a figure was sitting there like a dangerous tiger: the tiger was injured, its body was slightly hunched, its clothes seemed new, but the inside showed signs of being tattered and having fought. That slightly sunken gaze in the dimness was absolutely dangerous.

—It was Sun Wukong.

At this moment, a feeling of admiration spontaneously arose in the fish king's heart. The rumors about Huaiyun Ward last night were too fantastical, so the fish king was wary and thought they couldn't be fully believed. But when the other party appeared in the room in such a posture, the old Jianghu already believed the truth of those rumors: he had seen some of the other party's martial arts before, and bearing the artillery fire and the joint siege of the imperial court's masters, killing into the Princess's residence and then killing his way out, was perhaps really possible to a certain extent.

This must be the inheritance of an otherworldly master in the Jianghu!

As he imagined this in his mind, the other party grinned in the darkness of the room.

"Little Gao... what are you sitting there doing?"

He looked at him.

"—Don't you know, there are dogs outside?"

The sunlight fell, and the fish king glanced again at the government sentry yawning in the shade not far diagonally across.

Should he call out, or not?

In an instant, countless thoughts crossed his mind.