On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, at the second quarter of Shen time (around 4 PM), an inharmonious scene was unfolding and spreading within Jiangning City.

In Bu Shui Street, east of the city, the originally bustling Double Ninth Festival streetscape began to unravel shortly after an explosion rocked a teahouse on the second floor.

Crowds of onlookers gathered from near and far, clogging the street. Martial artists with swords and other weapons, along with busybodies, stood nearby, pointing and gesturing. Outside the teahouse, the response of the retainers and guards was initially chaotic. However, as figures like "Iron Elbow" Xu An charged into the dust, several capable retainers made the decision to launch warning flares into the sky.

The time spent in making this decision was brief, but to those on the street, it seemed somewhat rash.

Under Jin Yongsheng's arrangement, more than a dozen retainers from the Shi family, all formidable figures with reputations in the pugilistic world, accompanied Shi Weiyang for this scheme. They had previously led their own mountain strongholds in various regions, or possessed exceptional skills, remaining influential and feared strongmen even during times of war.

In terms of status, any one of these retainers would have been sufficient to capture a mere Yan Yunzhi. Some of the highest-ranking among them, such as the veteran "Fifteen Strings" Yu Ci, would command respect even from Yan Taiwei of Yan Family Fort, who would address him with the deference due to a senior.

This wasn't simply about seniority; after the Central Plains wars and the Jurchen incursions, false reputations held little sway within the Fair Principles Gang, a faction forged in constant bloodshed. The seemingly frail old man who wielded unorthodox weaponry had shattered countless skulls of green forest heroes with his iron top, and his iron wire had ensnared the necks of many self-proclaimed skilled and impetuous young heroes. Only after numerous burly men had been restrained and strangled by the old man did the Fair Principles Gang truly acknowledge his status.

Warfare had certainly caused turmoil, uprooting countless lives, but it also accelerated the exchange of knowledge and skills, separating the wheat from the chaff. The old ways, where those with a bit of martial prowess could claim to be masters, were no longer viable. As the most chaotic region where people gathered in recent years, the martial artists of Jiangnan communicated, merged, and improved through constant friction. Everyone became more formidable, a consensus within the Fair Principles Gang and, to some extent, throughout the land.

With over a dozen such retainers, along with a hundred elite Shi family guards, and others strategically placed on nearby streets to guard the clinic, even the Great Brightness Sect's leader, Lin, would find it difficult to prevail. Although few could withstand the enraged number one martial artist on a traditional stage, the situation at hand was not a duel. Faced with over a dozen experts and a hundred warriors employing every possible tactic, the advantage would undoubtedly lie with the latter.

Therefore, immediately launching warning flares at the slightest sign of trouble, summoning allies to converge on their location, was an embarrassing prospect for every retainer. With heroes from all sides present, and the situation still unclear, calling for help in such a hasty manner would damage their reputation in the martial world.

However, the explosion upstairs could potentially lead to significant consequences. As the smoke dispersed, Xu An leaped to the upper floor, and Shi Weiyang shouted amidst the dust, the other retainers on the street reacted accordingly. Some prepared nets for rescue, others loudly reassured the crowd that "The Second Young Master is fine, I heard him!" While one retainer launched the basic warning flares.

On both sides of the street, some onlookers recognized the meaning of the flares and began to murmur, "The Shi family is involved."

"It must be something big. The Shi family's 'Imperial Guard' has arrived; those are all tough customers…"

The Shi family's presence was significant, befitting the sudden explosion in the teahouse. The subsequent events were violent and rapid. Xu An was kicked off the upper floor, spitting blood as he rolled on the street. A fierce battle erupted in the smoke and dust on the second and first floors. Then, the floorboards collapsed, sending smoke and dust billowing in all directions. Before those outside could make the most appropriate decision, Jiang Bing emerged from the smoke and dust on the first floor, supporting Shi Weiyang.

Seeing Shi Weiyang covered in blood, his arm severed, the surrounding people suddenly understood the gravity of the situation.

The next moment, the knife-wielding assassin, like a bloodthirsty demon, pursued from the smoke and dust behind!

The assassin's movements were fierce and swift, his feet kicking up dust as if explosions were erupting beneath him. He charged toward Jiang Bing and Shi Weiyang, his long knife descending. People nearby on the street reacted, some shouting as they threw fishing nets, others hurling whatever objects were at hand, some wielding knives and spears to attack, and others smashing roadside tables and chairs. Jiang Bing pushed Shi Weiyang forward, forcefully throwing them both to the side.

The assassin faced a storm of figures, spears, and fishing nets hurtling from all directions. As Jiang Bing shielded Shi Weiyang and threw them to the side, the assassin suddenly lowered his body while running at high speed, as if transforming from a tiger into a spider. In a flash, a guard charging from the front with a spear was caught in the whirlwind, his body forcibly pulled backward in mid-air.

In that split second, the assassin burst out of the smoke, dodging the initial attack and quickly lowering himself for over ten feet before rising again at high speed, slamming the guard against the opposite side of the street with a thunderous crash.

On the steps of the restaurant, a guard turned his head in alarm, and the assassin's long knife appeared directly before his eyes for a moment. The guard retreated with all his might, colliding with a stall in front of the restaurant, and the assassin charged straight into the restaurant lobby.

The fishing nets, weapons, various objects, and attacks missed their mark on the street. Several disheveled figures chased out of the smoke from behind – a group of guards who had been battered and disoriented on the first floor of the teahouse.

Everything did not stop. The Shi family's guards and retainers were already present in the opposite restaurant lobby. They had also arranged personnel on the second floor to more clearly monitor the movements in the teahouse. After the explosion, these people had hurried down. The assassin charged into the lobby, and in the blink of an eye, a series of clanging sounds and cries erupted.

"Stop him—"

"Catch this scoundrel—"

"Wahhhhh—"

"Careful!"

"This guy is tough—"

"Surround him—"

"Wah—"

Inside the restaurant lobby, tables and chairs flew. The Shi family experts inside were unable to surround the assassin at first. The assassin used the complex terrain to run around. In the blink of an eye, three or four people were chopped down in pools of blood. One guard was dragged by the assassin to be used as a shield. He was stabbed and shot several times, and his throat was slit in the struggle. The scene was extremely tragic. Even seasoned veterans who were accustomed to seeing blood were frightened by the ruthless methods.

The assassin rushed to the back of the restaurant, seemingly trying to escape.

In the center of the street, Jiang Bing protected Shi Weiyang, shouting, "Save him—" He grabbed a guard next to him and tore off the other person's clothes, which looked relatively clean, and began to busily bandage the wound on Shi Weiyang's arm, tightening the area of the amputation. Companions with quick hands and feet also came over to help, replacing Jiang Bing, who was trembling all over at this time.

At that time, the street was in chaos. Some people directed everyone to pursue the assassin, some rushed into the teahouse ruins to find people, some ran to high places to monitor the situation, and some began to ask Jiang Bing about the development of the situation.

At this time, everyone was actually still somewhat unclear about what exactly happened in the teahouse. They didn't know what kind of encounter Yu Ci, Xiang Dasong, and the others had experienced, whether they were directly killed by the explosion, or poisoned in the subsequent fight. If it was the former, the threat of the assassin would be greatly reduced after running out of explosives, but if it was the latter, it would be difficult to estimate this person's skill.

Jiang Bing hadn't had time to answer.

Above the street, someone suddenly shouted, "Careful—"

It was a retainer of the Shi residence holding a longbow, who had already reached the roof next to the teahouse with his bow and arrows. At the moment of his shout, everyone realized that the assassin who had rushed into the restaurant and then rushed to the back of the restaurant seemed to want to escape, but now he had returned from an alley next door. He was holding a snatched spear, and after rushing out of the alley entrance, he threw it straight at the direction where the crowd was gathered.

The spear whistled and shot directly at Shi Weiyang and Jiang Bing on the ground.

The people on the street had not experienced the fighting in the teahouse, and had not expected that this assassin would be so fierce, and that he would kill back into the situation despite the presence of so many experts. Jiang Bing pulled Shi Weiyang and wanted to drag him back, and a retainer standing in front pushed the guard next to him who wanted to avoid.

Dirt rose and blood splashed, and the guard's body fell to the ground. The spear pierced through him, and the scarlet edge stabbed straight at Shi Weiyang on the street. As the guard's body flipped, it pierced into the mud on the road.

Shi Weiyang was covered in blood, his body twitching, Jiang Bing's arms and eyes were trembling, and the guards on the street and the nearby retainers charged towards the assassin, some holding fishing nets and charging. The assassin shook his knife, rushed towards the crowd of onlookers at one end of the street at high speed.

On the roof on one side, the archer who had given the warning earlier fell down. His archery skills were extremely high. He originally wanted to draw his bow and shoot arrows the moment he saw the assassin rushing out of the alley, but he didn't know that a sharp edge would come from behind. This was a short assassin with nimble short knife skills, and his qinggong and pace were also extremely swift. The two sides fought on the roof for a while, and the archer was stabbed in the butt and thigh. At this time, he couldn't hold his feet and fell from the roof, smashing into a small cart on a roadside stall, and pieces of debris flew everywhere.

"Be careful…"

"There are two assassins!"

"It's an old hand…"

The crowd shouted. They could see that the assassin who threw the spear earlier had already plunged into the crowd with his knife. A larger chaos spread along the road, and more than 20 people chased after him, but for a while, they couldn't intercept him. He injured two people as he rushed left and right. After picking up a longbow that had fallen on the street, he ran into a nearby shop and rushed to the second floor in the fight.

More than 20 people surrounded and blocked, with varying levels of martial arts, but in a short period of time, only one or two of them could fight him at the same time.

Whether they were retainers of the "Equality King" or elite guards, they were all bloody people with a lot of fighting experience in the green forest. At this time, they could see that the assassin's method of fighting in a mixed battle situation was extremely skilled.

At this time in the green forest, unless the martial arts could reach the crushing level of Lin Zongwu and Zhou Tong, the only way to fight more than one person in a fight was to move quickly and never engage in combat with multiple people at the same time. Many people in the field had also practiced similar fighting methods in combat.

That's why, with the rapid extension of the fight in front of him, the assassin's skill didn't seem to have a crushing advantage, but the few moves he made were ruthless, neat and extremely clean. Regardless of whether he succeeded or not, he quickly blasted away with a backhand knife. The direction he chose was also the end that could make the situation more chaotic. This kind of almost cold-hearted overall view in a mixed battle made several experts watching coldly in the crowd feel the other person's cruelty in an instant.

Even the veterans among the retainers who had experienced the battlefield, when facing a street full of enemies alone, would have their energy highly concentrated, and their physical strength would be quickly consumed. At some point, there would inevitably be a flaw. But this assassin cleanly left the crowd, and while dispersing a large number of onlookers into cover, he could also take the opportunity to counterattack, and even picked up the longbow that fell on the ground and rushed into the more complex store next to him. He didn't even seem to be planning to break through.

A fight to the death.

The retainer who had first released the warning smoke at this time directly took out the highest level of fireworks from his body, and suddenly pulled the lid off, causing a firework to whistle into the sky.

"One-Word Lightning Sword" Jiang Bing trembled and hugged the still-twitching Shi Weiyang and turned to leave. He shouted, "Get out of the way—" Some of the retainers next to him wanted to say something to stop him, but in the end they could only protect him and let the pedestrians watching the excitement in front quickly disperse.

The assassin was running in the shop, rushing straight to the second floor, and pounced on the window. On this side of the street, a group of people were throwing spears and stones at the window. The assassin dodged at the window for a while, and when he poked his head out to take a look, he saw Jiang Bing had already run away with Shi Weiyang, and shouted, "You can't escape—" He rushed out of the window on the second floor of the shop.

On the roof, the short assassin was being chased by enemies pouncing from the left and right. At this time, while running, he was also shouting, "You can't escape—" The crowd heard that his voice was a bit boyish, but his inner breath was mellow and long, and when he shouted, the echo reverberated around, which was a symbol of extremely deep inner strength. I don't know which noble family's son it was, and everyone was shocked.

In a short period of time, the huge chaos spread to a more distant place. With the release of the highest level of alarm flare belonging to "Baofeng Company", important figures in vaguely half of the city noticed the changes here. A little further away in Zhong'anfang, Shi Baofeng learned of the development of the situation not long after. Subsequently, almost all the experts under the "Equality King" system poured towards this side.

Smoke and dust filled the air, and the crowd was in panic. Jiang Bing was running with Shi Weiyang towards one end of the long street, which was the direction where Yan Tiehe's clinic was located. At the moment, both the doctor and the troops who received the order were rushing from there.

Across a narrow road next to a shop and a sewage ditch, Ning Ji rushed through the chaotic crowd, and people were occasionally falling into the mud and dirty water next to him. There were also guards who happened to surround him being slashed to the ground by him. Through the narrow alleys or open doors and windows between the shops, he could see that the people guarding Shi Weiyang were running forward parallel to him.

In a short period of time, he dragged the people guarding Shi Weiyang back and forth on this chaotic street at high speed, and cut and injured some people in the middle with cruel methods, but in fact, the time left for him was already very short.

There were not no masters among the other party's members, but they were either sinister or afraid of death. In this short exchange of blows, they were mostly frightened away by his fighting style or restrained by Little Baldy, but he had also more or less taken a few blows on his body at this time. His chest was upset, his arms were aching faintly, and there were two wounds on his back bleeding.

He only grabbed two arrows when he picked up the longbow. Occasionally, he pounced to a high place and drew his bow to shoot, but he didn't find the best opportunity.

If he delayed any longer, he might not be able to leave.

A chaotic figure suddenly flashed in front of him. Across the street of a shop, Jiang Bing, holding Shi Weiyang, ran past the somewhat lame… Yuwen Feidu.

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

Jiang Bing was still running with Shi Weiyang in his arms. The retainers and masters guarding them were waving their knives and guns, threatening the pedestrians on the roadside to avoid them, but they didn't realize what kind of tourists were hidden among these pedestrians.

"He has to die—" Ning Ji shouted, "Don't let him live!"

The ferocity hidden in his bones had been completely stimulated at this time, and even the shouts were full of a strong smell of blood.

However, Yuwen Feidu, who was standing by the road near the shop, didn't seem to care about the crowd in the middle of the road. He just looked over to Ning Ji with a serious look, and seemed to say something seriously.

Ning Ji ran forward, he suddenly gritted his teeth, sheathed his knife, drew his bow, and at the moment of rushing into the range of the next shop, a shadow of a stick whistled down from the sky.

Ning Ji waved his bow and blocked, and at the same time, he exerted force under his feet, and his body leaped forward, turned around,

trying to fight back.

The shadow of the stick swept through like a storm, devouring from the windowsill on the second floor in a diagonal line towards the bottom. Before landing, the opponent used superb qinggong to borrow strength on the wall to pounce, and in the blink of an eye, Ning Ji's body did not know how many sticks and rods he had received, and was beaten out along the path, and even smashed the many wooden boxes and stools placed here.

Ning Ji curled up his body, feeling the sweetness in his mouth. After rolling a few times in a pile of debris, the corner of his eyes looked over there, and he saw that the person holding the long stick and walking towards him was Li Yanfeng, the "Monkey King" of Tongshan, who had already formed a hatred.

"What a big battle, seeing that it's you is really a surprise." Li Yanfeng's voice was slightly hoarse, extremely charming, his eyes were happy, and he walked over.

Ning Ji was curled up on the ground, covering his stomach. After spitting out the blood in his mouth, he suddenly shouted again: "He must die! Kill him—"

At this moment, what he was thinking about was actually shouting at the front of the street.

Li Yanfeng frowned slightly and looked around, "Who are you talking to?" But the pace under his feet didn't stop at all. When he got close, the shadow of the stick rolled and whistled down at the boy on the ground.

Ning Ji pulled out his knife, rolled, and retreated. Also at this moment, a figure came from his side, holding a bamboo pole in his hand, and twisted with Li Yanfeng's shadow of the stick, and the bamboo pole was shattered into bamboo chips and splashed. But the person didn't retreat at all. The moment Li Yanfeng's shadow of the stick rolled over, he punched Li Yanfeng's head, and the wind of the fist whistled. Li Yanfeng suddenly took three steps back, holding the stick and staring at the person who came.

The figure that suddenly appeared looked to be in his thirties, with dark skin, a well-proportioned and sturdy figure. He threw away the half of the bamboo pole left in his left hand and opened his mouth quite seriously.

"When are you going to make trouble?"

This sentence was obviously addressed to the young man on the ground.

Li Yanfeng frowned, the other person's skill in using weapons was sparse. The bamboo pole was broken by himself as soon as it was blocked, but the punch that followed was calm and unhurried, and he didn't even block his own swing. At that moment, if he hadn't retracted his stick, he would have exchanged it for the other person's punch, he felt instinctively that the consequences might be very bad.

At this moment of speaking, obviously there was a powerful enemy in front of him, but the man with dark skin was still turning his head to look back.

"Who are you? How dare you come to mediate?"

Li Yanfeng asked.

At this moment, he could know that the members under the "Equality King" were also rushing towards this side.

The man with dark skin turned his head and glanced at him.

"...I was there the day your father was trampled to death."

"..."

Li Yanfeng hesitated for a moment.

The next moment, the entire long street heard the "Monkey King's" violent roar, and the sound spread in all directions with the inner stirring, making people feel a little cold in their hearts. Behind the shop, the quasi-master-level expert was like a mad ape, rushing towards the black enemy in front with a crazy attack.

The other side came with heavy punches!

……

Near the teahouse, which was still filled with smoke, Yan Yunzhi, covered in dust, was quietly leaving this chaotic area, trying to blend into the crowd fleeing in the distance.

In the previous period of time, she tried to find her cousin Yan Rong, but after experiencing such a period of torture, and being involved in the subsequent explosion, when she found him, her cousin was no longer alive. At this moment, she didn't know who to hate, but being in danger, she could only try to leave with the most cautious attitude.

Occasionally, she could hear the "assassin's" shouts in the wind, relentlessly wanting to kill Shi Weiyang. She could hear that this young man was obviously Long Aotian. In addition to the shock, even she was a little confused, not understanding when the other person had such a deep hatred with Shi Weiyang.

Sneaking out, reaching the alley behind the teahouse, trying to go far away, at some point, someone suddenly discovered her. There were three figures searching over. One of them was still an expert under the "Equality King" level. After looking at her carefully, he frowned and said, "Miss Yan..." His tone was a bit smug.

The other three were holding weapons and walking over.

A figure fell silently from the sky, followed by a few heavy punches that were almost frightening. Two guards were knocked to the ground. The expert who was quite famous in the jianghu was pressed against the wall by the other party, and a few punches almost embedded his head into the dirt wall.

This sudden appearance was a young woman who looked sturdy and plump, with dark skin. Her dress looked like an inconspicuous country bumpkin. Her eyes looked towards Yan Yunzhi for a moment.

"He is so angry for you?"

"Ah..."

Yan Yunzhi frowned, a little unclear about what the other party was talking about...

……

The battle that broke out on the long street this afternoon came quickly, fought fiercely, but at some point, it suddenly dispersed.

But the chilling atmosphere did not stop.

In half the city, the high-end combat power belonging to the "Equality King" had been mobilized.

Teams of soldiers blocked this area of the street,

People on the street were driven away and placed under house arrest.

When the evening sun shone over, the chariot of "Equality King" Shi Baofeng arrived on the street guarded by teams of soldiers. A clean shed was set up next to a shop in front of the street, and Shi Weiyang was lying in it at this time. In fact, Shi Weiyang, whose arm was chopped off, was not suitable for moving around. "One-Word Lightning Sword" Jiang Bing saw that the assassin was fierce, and ran with him to the end of the street where there were more companions. He was also afraid that the assassin would draw his bow and shoot arrows at any time. But after the assassin left, more companions had already arrived. Everyone surrounded a human wall, and then let the doctor who arrived give emergency treatment as soon as possible.

At this moment, Shi Weiyang was covered in bandages, lying quietly on a bed made of stalls by the street, his face pale and his breath was weak. He lost too much blood, and whether he could continue to live was already extremely difficult to say.

Shi Baofeng walked step by step, slowly and with difficulty, to this side. He looked at his son on the bed for a long time before suddenly speaking.

"Where's the hand! Where's his hand!"

Servants hurriedly brought over the arm cleaned out of the ruins in a box. Shi Baofeng picked up the severed hand in the box, held it in front of him, and trembled for a long time. After that, his arms seemed to have no strength in an instant, and he hung down, throwing his son's severed hand on the ground next to him.

"Who did it? Who did it?"

Jin Yongsheng walked over from the side and said a few words to him in a low voice. Shi Baofeng was slightly stunned, and then said, "Please ask the Monkey King."

Li Yanfeng was led over from the side. The quasi-master who had participated in the long street battle earlier also didn't look good. He had been beaten by Meng Zhutao a few days ago and vomited blood. Although the fight today didn't show any obvious scars on his face, the state of the whole person was definitely not taking advantage of the appearance.

The two sides met and saluted, and Shi Baofeng said, "May I ask the Monkey King, who is the one who assassinated my son?"

Li Yanfeng looked at him and was silent for a moment: "...He is from the southwest."

"..." Shi Baofeng's eyes were solemn, and he looked at Li Yanfeng for a long time before finally saying, "How do you know?"

"Because the other party said...he was there the day my dad was trampled to death."

Li Yanfeng gritted his teeth and said word by word.

Shi Baofeng nodded.

After a while, he took a deep breath, looked at the clouds in the sunset, and clenched his fists.

"My son...Weiyang. I've been investigating the Reading Society recently...Now, the Reading Society colludes with the southwest to attack my son and retaliate. This matter..."

"He Wen, the Equality King, must give me an explanation—"

"The Southwest Huaxia Army must give me an explanation—"

"Everyone involved in this matter—"

"Must die—"

Equality King Shi Baofeng's angry voice resounded throughout the long street.

……

Time passed, the color of the evening was deeper, and Xue Jin saw the return of the two teenagers under the bridge.

The two were injured, and their appearance was a bit embarrassed. Even though they had changed clothes, there were still bruises on their faces from being beaten.

Yue Niang was lying under the bridge, dying. Xue Jin couldn't find them all day long. When he saw them coming back at this time, he wanted to go up and kowtow to beg, but when he saw the condition of the other person's face and body, he was at a loss.

The two took some medicine, walked back under the bridge, set up a crock pot, and began to prepare medicine. Because there was not enough firewood, the little monk was supported to go out to find wood. Ning Ji silently sat next to the small stove, first lit the fire, and silently carried out the work of decocting medicine.

Xue Jin kowtowed to him a few times next to him. Seeing the boy's condition, he didn't know what to do. That's why, when he saw the other person's behavior of decocting medicine, his tears flowed even more.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties, and the condition of crying was not good, but he had a lame leg and couldn't speak clearly. At this time, this embarrassing performance became the only thing he could do.

"It's okay."

Ning Ji looked at the medicine pot and the fire, and said in a low voice.

If Yuwen Feidu and Xiao Hei could help him, Shi Weiyang would die.

But they didn't help.

Then he had to kill him again.

……

The next day, the citywide search for members of the Reading Society suddenly began.

After the Equality King entered the city, the tacitly maintained situation of calm talks in all parties was suddenly out of control.