The night deepened, but the summer heat lingered. In Yinqiao Ward, with a confrontation underway, the intense atmosphere of summer was practically ablaze. And within the young man named Yue Yun, the flames of anger were burning fiercely.

“Shameless lecher! Come out and face me like a man!”

“Isn't that what we're doing right now?”

Yue Yun's roar hadn't subsided when the young man rushing toward him collided with him. Fists flew, sometimes morphing into clawing or palm strikes. In their mutual attacks, Yue Yun, though stronger and taller, found it difficult to break through the other's defensive line.

Although he was taller and stronger, his opponent's boxing was firm yet flexible. Despite Yue Yun's broad and forceful style often gaining the upper hand, the young man's fundamental skills possessed a strange resilience, like a whirlpool or the deep sea, giving a sense of unfathomable depth. Even when Yue Yun gained an advantage, the opponent would always surge back, or directly attack his lower body, dragging him to the ground.

“Long Aotian!”

Yue Yun could only roar in frustration.

“You can't even concentrate when fighting. If we all jumped you, you wouldn't stand a chance!”

“Fanzi boxing is nothing special, hahaha…”

“Taste my invincible killing fist, grandpa!”

The monkey named Sun Wukong chattered away, spouting unintelligible words, intercepting him several times in the street. Yue Yun, having been taught by his father since childhood, even in his rage, began to discern certain things during the fight:

Although the opponent was perhaps two years younger, his martial arts were highly disciplined. His movements were agile, his lower body was grounded, and his ability to take a beating was remarkable. He seemed to have trained in orthodox Thirteen Taibao Kung Fu from a young age, and his evasive awareness in combat rivaled that of a veteran. Exchanging blows, it certainly hurt, but it was difficult to determine a winner. This was why he repeatedly failed to break through this tough defense...

Someone with such skills likely came from a martial arts family with some lineage…

But the monkey's mouth was too noisy. Before he could fully grasp these thoughts, as he got up from the ground, he saw the bad guy “Long Aotian” take a few steps toward him and say loudly, “Wait a moment.”

"Sun Wukong" waved his arms and fists. Yue Yun opened his mouth, revealing the blood between his teeth, then stretched out his arms. “Come to surrender?”

“I, Long, want to ask, are you Young Master Yue of the Yue family of the Beiwei Army?”

“Your grandpa doesn’t change his name or his seat…”

“That's good.” Long Aotian nodded, his gaze and words quite calm. “I'll ask Young Master Yue again. Is Fuzhou still a place with laws?”

“Of course, there are laws, which is why there's no room for villainy like yours to run rampant!”

“I'm afraid I'm mistaken.” Long Aotian nodded slowly, word by word. He looked at Yue Yun, pausing for a moment before saying, “So I want to ask first, Young Master Yue, you say that I and… my brothers are villains, do you have any evidence?”

“You want to twist words…”

“You say we're lechers, do you have any victims?”

“…I don't care about your sophistry!”

“I think Young Master Yue should care.”

Yue Yun clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. The young man waving his wrists and fists blocked him, while in the distance, the young man named Long Aotian stared at him coldly with clear eyes. Yue Yun found himself unable to answer, due to the resolute tone of his words.

He didn't want to argue, just rush forward and kill them all.

He hesitated for a moment.

Long Aotian said, “Since the Jinghan Dynasty, for more than ten years, the world has been turbulent. In many places, there is no law or order. Outlaws can use their martial arts to defy restrictions, running wild and free, while ordinary people can only wander and become displaced. Young Master Yue, my brothers and I came to Fuzhou, driving a cart, setting up a small stall. This shop space was rented with real money from the ward, and the things we sell are all things that people find interesting. It's all voluntary, we never force anyone to buy. Young Master Yue, do you know why we're willing to abide by the law? Because you said that this is where the Emperor resides, a place with laws and order!”

Yue Yun sneered, “You're just pretending for the moment…”

Long Aotian shook his head. “Whether you think we're pretending or not, since there are laws, if you say we've done bad things, you must have witnesses and evidence. But what about now? Young Master Yue, you're relying on your martial arts to arbitrarily beat and kill people in the street. Today, everyone saw clearly that you also broke Aunt Pang's things. How do you explain that?”

“I will compensate.”

“Hmph, breaking things and saying you'll compensate makes you think you're justified? Typical pampered brat, government yamen kid.” Qu Longjun shook his head.

Ning Ji jumped up excitedly, “That's right, that's right! Pampered brat, government yamen kid!” He thought these two sentences rhymed and greatly boosted his ego.

Yue Yun's face had already turned red, but he knew he was right. He didn't panic and said, “Hmph, in Jiangning, everyone knows about the Five-Foot Lecher Long Aotian and the Four-Foot Lecher Sun Wukong!”

“Damn it! The bounty that 'Equal King' Shi Baofeng placed on you is still hanging there in black and white! Don't think you can escape by twisting words just because you're far away!”

Long Aotian just smiled. “May I ask, is the so-called 'Equal King' Shi Baofeng any relative of yours? Or did His Majesty bestow that title on him?”

“…”

“'Equal King' Shi Baofeng is an unforgivable bandit!” At that moment, Long Aotian spoke loudly, his brow stern. “Last year, the so-called Fairness Party held a meeting in Jiangning. The five kings fought amongst themselves, causing chaos and misery in Jiangnan! Young Master Yue, many people in Fuzhou today are refugees from Jiangnan! Many people's relatives are still lying unburied in Jiangnan!”

Qu Longjun didn't have inner strength, so his words couldn't echo throughout the long street, but his tone was clear, and many people on the street responded at the same time. What he said was true, who among the many refugees who arrived in Fuzhou hadn't been affected by the chaos in Jiangnan?

“Young Master Yue, it's still the same principle.” Qu Longjun said, “We came to Fuzhou and are willing to abide by the laws and order here because you said there are laws and order here. But in a place like Jiangnan, where there are no laws and no order, my brothers and I have our own way of living. The feud we have with Shi Baofeng's family will be settled one day. But here today, if you think we are unforgivable villains, then bring out the evidence, bring out the witnesses, and stop making trouble without reason, or you'll lose the reputation of the Beiwei Army and General Yue!”

As she spoke, her logic was clear and her words were powerful, especially the sentence "The feud we have with Shi Baofeng's family will be settled one day." The surrounding girls were about to faint upon hearing it. They then "realized" what kind of skills and status this "Young Master Long" might have among the outlaws.

Ning Ji was also excited and stirred by what he heard. He didn't expect that he could explain his relationship with Shi Baofeng in this way: That's right, I have a feud with that Equal King, what are you guys? He didn't think much about it for a moment. If his family background were revealed, Shi Baofeng probably wouldn't even be qualified to have this feud…

The people around began to discuss among themselves because of the accusations against the Fairness Party. Yue Yun gritted his teeth for a moment. He wanted to bring up the matter of Yan Yunzhi, but he saw the other's gaze sweep over.

“…As for what you said about me and that Miss Yan Yunzhi, I'm afraid my relationship with Miss Yan is more familiar than yours with her…” Her gaze paused slightly on Ning Ji's back, “…Right?”

The expression on Yue Yun's face froze, and he couldn't say anything, his face alternating between red and white.

Seeing this situation, the surrounding women had almost written a "Legend of Yan Jiuniang" in their minds, and there was an uproar.

“That's right, that's right, what does Yan Yunzhi's matter have to do with you?”

“Let Miss Yan say it herself!”

“You ugly monster, they are a match made in heaven…”

“Wuuu…”

Ning Ji waved his fist in front of Yue Yun, who seemed about to explode, occasionally chirping, "That's right, that's right, what does that idiot Yan Xiaozhi have to do with you, hahahaha..."

He felt that something was slightly wrong, but he couldn't think too much about it at that moment.

Yue Yun raised a finger, his eyes bloodshot. If he weren't so young, he would have exploded at this moment…

…

Yue Yun's arrival in Yinqiao Ward was a rather interesting little interlude after arriving in Fuzhou.

Although the sight of him leaving with red eyes, looking as if he was trudging through mud, was a bit miserable, young people always had to undergo many tests to grow.

Ning Ji, who had been nearly killed by that damn bitch Yu Xiao'er, felt a little sympathy for Yue Yun's experience, but not much. As a young man himself, he admired Yue Yun's martial arts after experiencing Fanzi boxing. Young people become stronger after being subjected to various psychological tortures – he had been through it himself and had a lot to say.

In the past, in the Southwest, his elders occasionally spoke highly of the Beiwei Army and Yue Fei. Ning Ji had always felt a sense of admiration for the Yue family's siblings, even though he had never met them. Such an interesting exchange today made him think that if they could meet again in the future and reveal their identities before having another competition, both parties would find it particularly interesting.

He thought of this scene and even began to look forward to it…

Although Yue Yun looked really like a dog when he left in frustration…

In Yinqiao Ward, because of the fight just now, many people understood Ning Ji and Qu Longjun's identities as "outlaw experts." The group of girls became even more enthusiastic in their pursuit of Qu Longjun. Qu Longjun was worried about Ning Ji's body after the fight and came to ask about it. But Ning Ji was a former military doctor, and the superficial wounds from the fight with Yue Yun were nothing to him. After some comfort, Qu Longjun went back to continue "scamming money."

Ning Ji then took out some herbal medicine for bruises from the small truck and applied it on the spot. He was an outlaw expert, and after a fight, applying medicine to himself drew many people who came to buy this bruise ointment. Ning Ji immediately raised the price and made a fortune, even those girls who were buying books from Qu Longjun took out a lot of money for the ointment at this moment.

Yu Hezhang and Meng Biao, who had witnessed everything just now, came down again to greet him with concern. Ning Ji brushed them off and sold two portions of medicine before telling them to get lost.

The summer night slowly passed, and it was almost midnight on May 30th. After Yue Yun's defeat, the news spread in all directions. As they were about to close up the stall, Chen Hua of the "Gui Tai Alliance" heard the news and rushed over to find Ning Ji and Qu Longjun, flattering them for a while.

He didn't have much to talk about with the refined Qu Longjun, but he got along well with Ning Ji, who had given him a show of force in the beginning. At this time, he praised him greatly, and at one point, casually mentioned something.

“…That little Yama Yue Yun has really been lawless in the city recently. Fortunately, Little Brother Long and Little Brother Sun took action and were able to suppress him… Little Brother Long is especially powerful, just a few words were enough to make him run away with his tail between his legs… Many people have been targeted by him recently…”

“…He has always been aggressive and loves to fight, you were the one who got tricked the other day, now you're the same, what did you guys do to provoke him again recently?”

“Alas, how dare we provoke him? The only thing that really provoked him was that incident a few days ago. Oh, it was here, those two daredevils…”

“…Huh?”

“Little Brother Sun, have you forgotten? It was those two who fought here a few days ago, one was 'Mixed Yuan Axe' Zhou Xing, and the other was 'Tiger Shark' Zhan Yunhai, who fought with Yue Yun and ran away.” The night was deep, and the surrounding stalls were already packing up. Chen Hua said in a low voice, “After that fight, those two must have provoked him again somehow. These days, Yue Yun has been making a big scene, searching all over the city for the whereabouts of those two, saying that when he finds them, he will personally beat them into mud. Alas, if I had known that Young Master Long's words could scare him away, many people would have avoided a beating…”

“…Oh.”

Chen Hua shook his head, still savoring the subtlety of Long Aotian's words. Ning Ji nodded.

Yue Yun is looking for Zhou Xing and Zhan Yunhai…

He vaguely felt that something was strange, but he couldn't think too clearly for a moment.

After a while, the city rang the midnight gong.

It was the dawn of May 30th. The sky at the end of the month had no moon, and the sky was full of twinkling stars. Ning Ji and Qu Longjun packed up the stall and drove the carriage back.

Suddenly, he realized something, and looked at Qu Longjun's profile as she was talking…

And so, the peaceful month of May left at this moment…