Boom! The sound was like thunder.

The figure was struck into the rain, flying across the street and smashing into a broken wooden table on the other side. Countless splashes erupted in the curtain-like rain. The figure rolled on the ground, blood already staining the flowing water red. In the gloomy long street, amidst the rain, the two groups that had been facing off watched this scene unfold. One side rushed over, trying to help the injured person up, while the other dozen people watched coldly, motionless, simply observing the situation in the nearby tavern.

The injured person, once helped up from the ground, was already limp and on the verge of death. Before they could react, several more loud crashes came from inside the tavern, wood splinters flying everywhere. A middle-aged man stumbled out, clutching his chest, taking more than a dozen steps back before being supported. His eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted, as if holding his breath. Finally, he roared, "Chen Fan... you just wait—"

Inside the tavern, the sounds of fighting were still chaotic.

The building itself was an old one, damaged in an earthquake. Now, amidst the standoff between the two groups in the street, figures could be vaguely seen moving inside, fighting fiercely. When the side of the old building was struck violently, dust and wood fragments could be seen falling. At a certain moment, a shout of "Ah—" was heard from inside, followed by a loud explosion. A pillar as thick as a large bowl erupted from the side wall of the tavern, earth and stones flying. The pillar was probably a beam from the house, now wielded as a weapon.

The pillar remained embedded in the wall outside for a moment. The fighting continued inside the tavern, then the pillar was swung back in with a crash, leaving a huge gap in the wall. After a few breaths, the pillar smashed through the few remaining doors of the tavern and flew out into the street. Someone roared from inside, "Chen Fan! I'll take your life—"

"Good!" a young voice exclaimed, "Good! Good! Good!"

Amidst the shouts from both sides, the sounds of fighting went "bang," then "bang" again, with loud crashes clearly audible in the street. Then, another figure smashed through the side wall, falling amidst the bricks and rain. The young man inside laughed loudly.

"Good! Hahahaha! That's how it should be! Wonderful! I've long heard of the power of the Zhangshan Benlei Jin (樟山奔雷勁), and it truly lives up to its reputation. I only suffered a minor defeat. Come, come, let's go again!"

With that laughter, a wild figure, half-covered in blood, strode out of the broken opening. The man's build seemed merely balanced, not a hulking giant of eight feet tall with an eight-foot waist. His face wasn't particularly rugged either. But after the fight, his long hair was completely disheveled, coupled with his current aura and bloodied laughter, giving him a sense of madness. This was Chen Fan, who had been a headache for many in Hangzhou City for the past half-month.

He walked over, laughing "haha" several times, and grabbed the man's clothes on the ground, pulling him to his feet in the rain. He took two steps back, pointed, and said, "Let's go again!" He turned, planted his feet, and threw a right punch, shattering the rain. The punch seemed to gather the surrounding rainstorm, looking like a whip. But before the fist wind even arrived, the man in front had already fallen down like a scarecrow, the fist wind sweeping past the air above his head, then stopping somewhat awkwardly.

The young man was stunned for a moment, then retracted his fist, stood up straight, and scratched his head. "Uh, don't be like this..."

He went over and grabbed the man's collar, looked at him a few times, then patted his cheeks and checked his breath. Realizing that he couldn't feel any breath in the rainy weather, he then hammered the man's chest. The man who had fallen was clearly the leader of one of the groups in the street, but now no one dared to go up, just staring blankly as the young man messed with the corpse in the rain.

"Too bad..."

Finally, when he confirmed that the man was dead, the young man stood up with some regret, then turned to look at the people in the street. The dozen or so people who were relatively quiet and orderly were originally his followers, while the faces of the other group showed various degrees of unease. The two sides looked at each other for a while. Not far from Chen Fan, the old building, which was already on the verge of collapse, collapsed in the rain with a crash. The dust was suppressed by the rain, and Chen Fan turned to look at it, then turned back.

"I told you long ago that I'm clumsy, not fit to be an official, and have a bad temper. You bunch of murderers shouldn't cause trouble, and if you do cause trouble, don't argue with me. Now, look what happened?" He looked back at the dead man in the ruins. "But... my fight with Chen Shifu was a fair exchange of skills today. He's injured now, and I'm injured too, so there's no need to argue about it in the future. Okay, I'm going to heal my injuries. You guys should also carry Chen Shifu to see a doctor, and be quick about it. Everyone, heroes of Zhangshan (樟山), Chen Fan bids you farewell. Don't cause trouble anymore... don't argue with me..."

After saying this, the young man turned and left with his men. As for that Chen Shifu in the ruins, he had exhausted his energy in the fight in the building and was already dead. After walking a few steps, Chen Fan looked back at the other end of the street. A carriage had been parked there for a long time, obviously having seen the entire fight. He looked at it for a while, then walked back. When he reached the carriage, the person inside opened the curtain.

"Ji Xin."

"Master Zu."

Ji Xin was Chen Fan's courtesy name. The person in the carriage was a slightly plump middle-aged man with a kind smile. This man could be considered an acquaintance of Chen Fan's, or rather, an acquaintance of Fang Qi Fo's. His name was Zu Shi Yuan. He wasn't a military general, nor was he particularly skilled in strategy, but he was good at internal affairs. Although the rebel army didn't pay much attention to internal affairs, only looting and running, it was impossible to do without them entirely. There weren't many talents of this kind in the army, so Zu Shi Yuan was highly valued. Fang La's ascension to the throne was only a few days away, so naturally this was his busiest time. Chen Fan felt the same way, so he spoke with relative respect.

"Chen Da Mu of Zhangshan (樟山) ... you're messing around like this again. Be careful that Buddha-Marshal scolds you when he comes back."

"Master Zu, you saw it too. We're all Jianghu people (江湖人), with bad tempers. A few words led to a fight that couldn't be stopped. I'm injured too... Teacher, he knows my personality and could have anticipated this when he put me here. Otherwise... Master Zu, you can just point out someone to replace me. There's nothing much left to do in Huzhou. Call An Xi Fu back..."

"Hahahaha." The plump middle-aged man laughed and handed out a raincoat. "The rain is heavy. The blood on your body is all other people's. Where are you injured? Speaking of which, Hangzhou has been in chaos these days, and I have to thank you for cleaning it up. Chen Da Mu and the others are Bao Dao Yi's men. They've been eating too messily these days. Searching for land and gold and silver is one thing, but they're blocking water transport and collecting money everywhere. If this continues, Hangzhou won't be able to hold out. It's just that you're doing it too violently, always making enemies for yourself. Chen Da Mu is dead, but Bao Dao Yi is a man of deep schemes. You still need to be careful."

Chen Fan put on the raincoat. "Ah? Is that so?"

"Heh, it's enough if you understand it in your heart. Because of this, the eldest son of the Lou family, Lou Shu Wang, has come to me many times, saying that if Bao Dao Yi and the others continue like this, they won't be able to hold out either. I heard he went to you but was turned away. Heh heh, I think he'll appreciate what you've been doing these days. The Lou family head and this eldest son are both quite capable. That Lou Shu Wang is about the same age as you. If you're interested, you might as well befriend him."

Chen Fan glanced at him and nodded somewhat uninterestingly.

Zu Shi Yuan also had matters to attend to. After saying this, he prepared to leave, but the carriage stopped after a few steps. "Oh, right, about that Ning Li Heng, how is it going?"

"Master Zu is also interested in this matter?"

Zu Shi Yuan laughed. "I heard that this person stirred up the battle in Huzhou. Although I haven't seen him, I admire him somewhat. A few days ago, you were all fighting in front of the palace, and the matter was temporarily suppressed, but there are still many people who want to kill him. Everyone is looking for a way. Now that I'm in charge of these trivial matters in Hangzhou, naturally some people have inquired with me. A few days ago, General Li Tian You even came to me, saying that he and his brothers must kill this person..."

"Then wait to be found by that madwoman..." Chen Fan muttered, then said, "I didn't participate in the fight in front of the palace a few days ago. I have my own fights to fight. If you ask me, that man is scheming and can still trick An Xi Fu and the others while seriously ill. And he's only in his early twenties. Of course, it's best to kill him early. I hate smart people the most. Why is Master Zu asking me?"

"Heh, although you didn't participate in that matter regarding Ning Li Heng a few days ago, everyone in front of the palace knows about your relationship with the Liu family's young lady. Since the Liu family's young lady wants to stop it, even though she mainly persuaded the Holy Duke, if you say you knew nothing, I am..."

Before Zu Shi Yuan could finish speaking, Chen Fan glared. "Me me me... my relationship with that woman? Master Zu, Master Zu, what are you joking about? I've fought with her several times. If I hadn't shown mercy... no, I have no relationship with her at all..."

Zu Shi Yuan looked at him for a long time. "Wasn't it said that the Holy Duke intends to be a matchmaker..."

"Old people are like that. I like virtuous women. That woman is a madman..."

"But your teacher and I both think... Ji Xin and Miss Liu are quite a match..."

"Yes, two madmen. They won't be able to live together." Chen Fan curled his lips. By this time, the group had already walked forward for a while. Perhaps remembering something, he looked to the side of his vision, then gestured slightly, saying, "Okay, I do know about the Ning Li Heng matter. Since Master Zu is here and has already asked... look, there it is..."

The time was afternoon, the rain was misty. Zu Shi Yuan followed Chen Fan's gaze and saw someone in a courtyard not far away, wearing a raincoat, knocking on something on the roof with a brick. He was probably repairing the roof because it was leaking. The little girl's voice faintly came from the rain: "Young master-in-law, young master-in-law, come down..."

The person on the roof looked young, and his figure seemed somewhat thin. Zu Shi Yuan wanted to ask if this person was Ning Li Heng to confirm, but looking again, he saw a man sitting under the eaves of the courtyard gate, looking bored guarding the door, with a knife on his back. He looked over, and the man's gaze sharpened, also looking over, then lowering his eyes again. Zu Shi Yuan thought for a moment. He knew this person. The Liu Da Biao Zi's girl had eight powerful swordsmen under her command, and this person was one of them. Since he was there, there must be more people around.

Miss Liu of the Liu family had a strange personality, difficult to predict. He was just asking about the Ning Li Heng matter casually, unwilling to get too involved. Now that Chen Fan had said it like this, he just nodded. At this moment, he heard a loud bang from over there, followed by a girl's scream. The two were looking in the direction of the courtyard and saw a large hole had collapsed in the roof, and Ning Yi, who was repairing the roof, seemed to have fallen from the roof. The guard with the knife immediately pushed the door open and went in. The two watched for a long time, somewhat stunned.

"Cough, a scholar, even if he knows strategy, when he comes to matters of carpentry, it's inevitable that this will happen..." The carriage gradually drove past, Zu Shi Yuan said casually, then lowered his voice: "Before, at the Holy Duke's place, I saw Buddha-Marshal send a message, saying that the battle in Jiaxing is fierce, and it will be difficult to tell the outcome in the near future. I heard that Miss Liu has been injured and will probably come back these days. I don't know how she will arrange this person then... Oh, Ji Xin knows about this, right?"

"Injured?" Chen Fan frowned, looked at him, and after a moment, looked forward, digesting this as a fact. "She gets injured too?"

*****************

The story splits into two. When Chen Fan and Zu Shi Yuan passed through the rainy street, Ning Yi, at this time, did not know that his problem had caused a group fight among the high-level members of Fang La's army.

He wasn't someone who would completely sit and wait for death, but since things weren't turning around, he could only make the best of it for the time being. An hour or two ago, he had been troubled by the leaking room. The water had been leaking since morning. He went to the academy in front to teach for half a day, and the only thing the little maid did was find various broken utensils in the room to catch the water, and then busily pour the rainwater out. When Ning Yi returned, he slightly found a backbone. The two of them checked all the leaking places, and Ning Yi volunteered to go up to repair the leaks. Then, tragedy happened.

An engineer who can guide and coordinate many people to build skyscrapers isn't necessarily a good bricklayer. Ning Yi's body hadn't fully recovered at this time, and the house was already rotten anyway. When he was repairing it halfway, the beam collapsed, breaking a big hole. Ning Yi was fine, but Xiao Chan's bed was completely wet. Fortunately, the repair results at least preserved a small half of the place. They moved the other bed, preserving the relatively dry half of the room.

Then, for the entire afternoon, Ning Yi, with a big shovel, and Xiao Chan, with a small shovel, built a small dam and drainage ditch in the room like playing house, so that the rainwater from the hole could be drained out from there.

The room itself was arranged at random, with not many furnishings. Originally, there were two beds, a cabinet, and a small stool, but now it became even smaller. The eaves outside were leaking everywhere, and there was half a kitchen that could be used next door, which became the narrow world where the two could move around at this time. On the way to repair the small dam, the two also went to the kitchen to slightly salvage the usable dry firewood and wet firewood.

Near dusk, the rain didn't stop. Pillars of thick smoke rose from the rain, and then were constantly broken down by the water droplets and pressed down. The sound of the two people frantically starting a fire and cooking came from the kitchen. Because he was bored, Ning Yi also went over to help. Speaking of which, although Xiao Chan knew how to cook, she wasn't really good at it.

Then, the torches were lit, and the night quietly descended with the heavy rain. In the huge city of Hangzhou, this small courtyard with only one and a half rooms, illuminated by the small torches, seemed to be divided into isolated islands that were about to be submerged, surrounded by the entire world in the heavy rain... (To be continued.) Vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

Support (Wanben God Station) and share this site with those little friends who need it! Please leave a message if you can't find a book!