The carriage moved along, the lamp inside swayed, and the road outside was filled with noisy sounds. Occasionally, torches flickered past in teams, with people shouting and yelling, causing the carriage to slow down.

When Lou Shuwan woke up, she was still in the carriage, with her elder brother, Lou Shuwang, sitting beside her. Seeing her awaken, Lou Shuwang tried to take her hand, but she almost instinctively flinched away, turning the intended hand-holding into a pat: "Are you alright?"

Upon waking up abruptly, her memories were still stuck at the moment before she fainted. She sat up, and then realized what had happened. She lifted the curtain and looked outside. A squad of soldiers with torches was running past. They were already far from Siji Zhai, and she wondered what it was like there now.

"Brother, how could you do this..."

"I know what you're thinking, but Ning Liheng has already formed a grudge with our family, a grudge that cannot be resolved. Secondly, he has gotten himself into big trouble... Forget him, you shouldn't associate with him anymore."

"He..." Lou Shuwan lowered the curtain and thought for a moment, then frowned and raised her voice, "He... it's just a small matter, a misunderstanding with Second Brother! There's nothing that can't be resolved!"

Lou Shuwang stared at his sister beside him, and although his tone was still indifferent, he raised his voice slightly: "Your Second Brother wants to kill him."

"Wha... what..."

Lou Shuwang turned his head away: "You think the family doesn't know that Ning Liheng is still in Hangzhou? Your Second Brother saw him once. He's suddenly been working hard to build connections everywhere, all to find Ning Liheng and kill him as quickly as possible. Lou Jingzhi today was one of the people he was trying to connect with, I introduced them... But after tonight's events, your Second Brother won't be able to do it himself."

"How can Second Brother do this? He and Liheng only have a small disagreement. If you really get down to it... at most, he just thinks Sister Tan'er is pretty and has some feelings for her. Does having feelings mean he has to kill her husband! Brother... you, you support him too..."

Lou Shuwan spoke with some disbelief, but Lou Shuwang's tone remained indifferent: "I won't interfere with who your Second Brother wants to kill, but he is a Lou family man, and I'm glad he's trying to improve himself. I knew where Ning Yi was long ago, but if your Second Brother wants to find him, whether he can or not is none of my business. I'd rather Ning Yi hide for longer, be more capable, and the more difficulties your Second Brother encounters, the more he will grow. I also knew about your dealings with him a long time ago..."

His gaze turned to Lou Shuwan, and he looked at her for a long time this time: "Ning Liheng... is different from the men you've associated with in the past. You can't afford to play with him, you can't control him. After what happened today... forget him."

"You... Brother... are you saying I'm promiscuous..." Lou Shuwan was actually sensitive about this, and after saying this, she gritted her teeth and raised her hand, "You men, Second Brother, always talking about how a real man should be broad-minded, but he wants to kill someone over such a thing! Kill someone! Kill someone and steal his wife, that's what villains do in plays! It's just a small thing, the country is gone, how can Second Brother hold a grudge for so long... Real man..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lou Shuwang slammed his hand on the seat beside him: "You are promiscuous!" He had also been tired these days, probably provoked by his sister's words, but this anger ended there. The Lou family's eldest son's gaze then calmed down, and he sighed:

"But you are my sister, and I also know your nature, which is different from those truly promiscuous women. Back then, when the family forced you to marry Song Zhiqian, I knew you were unwilling. Song Zhiqian can't control you, that's his business, I only want you to be happy. But after that, were you really happy? Those scholars you associated with, you treated them sincerely at the time, but didn't they all get tired of you soon after..."

"People should be content. I know what kind of man you want to be with, but back then, in the entire Suzhou and Hangzhou area, if there was such a man, wouldn't I have helped you find him? But there wasn't, the kind of man you have in mind, those from noble families, perhaps there are some, talented and elegant and compatible with you, good-tempered and refined... Shuwan, but you're not some talented woman, and back then, could our Lou family have matched up with such a person?"

As the eldest brother in the family, Lou Shuwan had always admired Lou Shuwang, but the two of them didn't have overly close feelings usually. But now, hearing her brother say this, her eyes almost turned red: "Then... then I also said at the time, I don't want to marry, I don't want to marry if I don't like someone!"

"When a woman grows up, how can she not marry!" Lou Shuwang said, "Besides... when you first married Song Zhiqian, your feelings were pretty good, weren't they? His background wasn't great, but he was talented, not exactly humble, but he wouldn't be overly obsequious. Back then, he was the best choice, and you didn't need to marry into some high-ranking family. The Lou family can provide you with a lifetime of food and clothing. A smaller family, just not being too obsequious is enough. You want the kind of man who isn't humble or overbearing at all, who doesn't care about anything and can treat you equally, where can you find him!"

Lou Shuwan bit her lip: "Ning Liheng... is..." After she said this, she added, "That's how he treats Sister Tan'er..."

"He?" Lou Shuwang looked at her, "How would you know about things between husband and wife? He seems unyielding, but he's actually proud and unbending. You... can't control him."

Lou Shuwan was silent for a long time, then said quietly.

"Brother, even you say he's good."

"Am I saying he's good? I'm saying you can't control him. You might think that he's gentle on the surface but strong underneath, and you might think that as a woman, you can just be a clinging vine, but you've grown up in a life where you can't be contradicted. It won't be long before you get tired of it too. That doesn't matter, you can just drive them away like those men before, but this one... you'll admire his talent, you'll fall in love with him, and then when he gets tired of you, you won't even have anywhere to cry. You're my sister..."

Lou Shuwang paused as he spoke: "Forget it, I shouldn't be telling you these things. Live a good life with Zhiqian, there's no life that can't be lived. Shuwan, actually you're just too spoiled, always wanting more than you have, always looking at the mountain next door as better."

Actually, Lou Shuwan herself might not have thought about these things, but even if she did, what could she do? She had been spoiled for so many years, how could she change just by thinking about it?

The carriage fell silent for a while. After a while, Lou Shuwan whispered, "Then... what exactly did Liheng do to cause General Li to be so relentlessly trying to kill him..."

"He fought Shi Bao and others head-on. He killed Gou Zheng, Lu Qiao, Yao Yi, and Xue Dounan. Just like Li Tianyou said, he has the blood of thousands of rebel soldiers on his hands. Shuwan, didn't you even find out about these things?"

"What's going on? He's just a scholar, now just doing some accounting..."

"Heh, just a scholar..." Lou Shuwang had already started laughing, and then he solemnly recounted what he had heard about Ning Yi, from the explosion in Taiping Lane to the escape all the way to Huzhou, and finally only being captured because of bad luck...

"Can you control someone like him?"

Lou Shuwan listened to all of this, first with some surprise, and then with her eyes wide open, her body trembling slightly. It was only now that she realized what was hidden behind Ning Yi's usual understatement. Facing Shi Bao, and perhaps that most powerful Buddha General on Fang La's side, and then the escape all the way, holding the lives of thousands in his hands, turning clouds into rain. She had only heard about these things in stories before, but she never thought that the person she had recently been associating with would be such a character.

"Then..." She thought of the situation at Siji Zhai, "Even if he faced Li Tianyou, he might not..." She couldn't find the words to say. Finally, she said: "Then Brother, why did you still let Second Brother go find trouble for him? Liheng is so powerful, how could you let Second Brother..."

In their conversation just now, Lou Shuwang hadn't disguised his approval of what Ning Yi had done, but now he looked at his sister with a smile and shook his head, seemingly not caring much.

"Shuwan, in this world, there are things that are accomplished by people, and there are people who are accomplished by things, but in the final analysis, it's the result of both working together. Without the general trend, no matter how strong your abilities are, you can't accomplish anything. Even if you have mediocre talents, if you meet the trend of the times, you can sometimes achieve something... There's no one in this world who can truly turn clouds into rain! You've only heard about it being magical in stories. Ning Liheng had an old relationship with Qian Xiven at the time, and he had the support of the government. He himself has some abilities, and during the escape all the way, Tang Xiuxuan and the others were also taking this route. Do you really believe that everything was done by Ning Liheng alone?"

He took a breath: "Even if he really has the power of ghosts and gods, what can he do now that he's in Hangzhou? Today, Li Tianyou is determined to kill him, even if it means offending the Badao Camp. His elder brother is Li Tianrun, who will be back soon. Even if the Badao Camp has strength, how much can they do for him! If they weren't determined, would they have gone to Siji Zhai like that? Even if it was the Buddha General, in this situation, could he beat a building full of soldiers?"

"We're almost home." Lou Shuwang said, patting his sister's shoulder, "Don't think too much, it's going to be like this anyway, he has no chance of survival."

"But... since he was able to do those things... maybe there's a turning point..."

"Even if there is, it doesn't matter." Lou Shuwang replied, "Your Second Brother still wants to kill him, you can't stop him. Are you really willing to turn against your family for this Ning Liheng?"

Lou Shuwan was silent. She couldn't do such a thing, but as she lifted the carriage curtain, she looked in the direction of Siji Zhai, but she couldn't see the building. She also knew that there couldn't be any turning point, but since there was no definite news yet, she could still imagine if there was a chance. Maybe he's still alive, maybe he's still alive... But in more thoughts, she seemed to see that Liheng was already dead, and the Xuanwei Camp had left triumphantly. Although she tried hard not to let herself think about these things deliberately, as long as they floated through her thoughts, she still hugged herself. The night was as cold as water, and time couldn't bring back the recent evening when Ning Yi was still alive. She also felt cold. Her thoughts gradually became numb in the alternate between vague fantasy and thoughtlessness...

Before she had expected it, she had met such an amazing character, but perhaps less than an hour ago, in a place she couldn't see, he was already dead...

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

On the other side, Siji Zhai.

The man in front picked up the head in his hand, and the air froze there coldly. Slightly behind him, Liu Jin stared at everything, also frozen, wanting to move forward to see more clearly.

Then, the sound of someone sucking in a cold breath came.

"How could this be..."

"Tang Kou..."

"What did you say..."

These were only slight sounds. Then, everyone looked towards the dark doorway, because in the man's hand was none other than the head of the big man Tang Kou. No one knew how all of this had happened. The people behind hadn't even seen what the head looked like. Then, Li Tianyou was the first to react.

"He has an ambush!" He grabbed the knife in his hand and used the back of the knife to knock off a lantern on the top, and a bit of light flew into the darkness. Someone kicked open the broken door in the loud noise.

The people behind still didn't understand what had happened, but everyone's reaction had already explained everything. Li Tianyou's men rushed frantically into the room: "Grab him!" "He has accomplices lying in ambush!"

"That big man is dead..."

"Did Young Master Ning kill him?"

Whispers of surprise were in the air here at the first time. Liu Jin looked at the people behind and then looked at the head over there. At this time, there was a loud "boom" in the room, and the light flashed for a moment, almost scaring everyone. After the light returned, someone inside slowly shook the light of a fire starter in his hand and lit the lamp. His tone at this time had also lost its coldness and become a bit relaxed.

"I won, right?"

Everyone was just stunned for a moment. At this time, no one paid attention to him. Someone even broke through the wall over there and rushed into another small private room. Ning Yi held a knife in one hand and a musket in the other. He walked out of the room and wiped the blood stains on his face. Li Tianyou clenched his fists in both hands. He looked at Tang Kou's headless body in the room and didn't say anything. Then, he just said fiercely: "Search! Find his accomplices!"

Ning Yi didn't argue or refute for this. Although he didn't seem to be seriously injured today, he was already quite embarrassed at this time, but he still maintained his demeanor. He looked at Liu Jin and sat down at the table on the side. The second floor was in chaos for a while. Everyone was sure that he couldn't kill Tang Kou, and the musket hadn't been fired when killing people. He had previously darkened the surroundings, there must have been accomplices lying in ambush. He didn't argue at this time, he just wanted Li Tianyou to swallow his anger.

At this time, some of the style of a literati was shown on his body. As long as there was no evidence, others wouldn't be able to argue with him in principle. Everyone discussed for a while, and they all said that he had another accomplice, but compared to Li Tianyou's imposing manner of bringing a whole team of soldiers, Ning Yi was only three people, and he didn't let anyone find any flaws. This move, in everyone's eyes, seemed really beautiful.

In this small chaos, another small interlude that everyone hadn't paid attention to was also happening downstairs. Zhu Yanlin had just gone down to deal with it, and everyone hadn't cared because they were watching the fierce battle. Just as everyone was still searching, Li Tianyou turned his head back and looked at Ning Yi with blood-red eyes. Before he could speak, a voice rang from downstairs.

"The world's winds and clouds... come from our generation, once you enter the Jianghu, time urges you on..." The voice was Zhu Yanlin's. He was probably reading a poem, the voice came, not loud, but because it was night and Siji Zhai was empty, everyone on the upper floor still heard it.

Li Tianyou was stunned for a moment.

Then, everyone saw one of Li Tianyou's staff members rushing up from downstairs and whispering something in his ear.

If you were downstairs just now, you might have noticed that there was a beautiful woman holding a long box at the door, who had a conflict with the soldiers guarding here. Zhu Yanlin then came down, and everyone said, "Isn't this a literary gathering? Why can't I enter, are you bullying me because I can't write poetry? I can too, I'll write it for you to see..."

Then the woman wrote a poem crookedly on the wooden platform at the door. Zhu Yanlin then read it. At this time, reciting poetry emphasized cadence, and the poem might not be the best, but it was quite imposing. Zhu Yanlin was also infected by this momentum, and the people on the upper floor heard his hesitant voice become smooth.

"Grand plans and hegemony are discussed and laughed about, not as good as a drunken life. Carrying a sword and riding across, waving ghostly rain, white bones like mountains, birds are frightened and fly away!"

At this point, it can be said that the poem had already depicted the grim atmosphere of the Jianghu. Everyone had just experienced that fight, and now Li Tianyou and others were standing here, Ning Yi was sitting here covered in blood, the lights were dim, and everything was a mess... which further set off the poem's atmosphere. Someone walked up from downstairs, their footsteps were light, their eyes were confused, and what everyone saw first was the long wooden box she was holding in her arms.

As Zhu Yanlin sighed below "The world is like a tide, people are like water, only sighing how few people return to the Jianghu," everyone also saw the girl's face. She was very beautiful, her features were extremely beautiful, but no one knew her. She looked around, seeming somewhat curious, but there wasn't much information revealed in her eyes.

She looked like a Badao Camp servant girl...

Li Tianyou stood there and looked at her for a long time.

Then he said expressionlessly, "Let's go."

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

Uh, the chapter number of the previous chapter was wrong, it's Chapter 269, Hiding the Edge. I don't have a manuscript, I stayed up all night coding and my head is dizzy. I didn't deduct the twenty chapters in the middle, haha. (To be continued.) Vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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