As dawn broke in the east, it spread across the vast land.

Milky white mist saturated the warm hues of the sunlight, stretching and flowing across the ground. West of the ancient city of Jiangning, low mountains and rivers appeared faintly in this light-filled mist, flowing like tides in the gentle morning breeze amidst the rolling hills and the gaps between the mountains. Occasionally, in the thinner patches, glimpses of villages, roads, fields, and people could be seen below.

On the roads between the hills and fields, many travelers and merchants had already set out on their journeys. This place was quite close to Jiangning, and many poorly dressed pedestrians, either alone or with their families, carried their belongings and bundles towards the territory of the "Fairness Party." There were also many swordsmen with knives and guns and fierce-looking Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world) figures walking among them, the main force participating in this "Heroes' Gathering." Some greeted each other from afar, loudly announcing their names, spitting as they spoke, and putting on a particularly imposing air.

There were also foreign merchant caravans. Amidst the clanging of carts and horses, bodyguards, either looking fierce or wary, escorted the goods along the official road. The leading carts were hung with flags symbolizing the protection of different factions of the Fairness Party, the most common being the Heaven, Earth, and Human banners of Bao Feng Trading Company or the Fairness King flag of Mr. He. On some special roads, certain specific flags were also hung together.

The Fairness Party had risen rapidly in Jiangnan, with a complex internal situation and strong destructive power. However, apart from the initial chaotic period, its internal and external trade exchanges ultimately could not disappear. During this period, the most primitive accumulation of the Fairness Party's rise came from the accumulation of killing and plundering many wealthy households and gentry in Jiangnan. The grain, cloth, and weapons obtained were naturally digested locally, but the numerous precious artifacts and cultural relics obtained naturally attracted merchants who were willing to take risks for wealth, and they also transferred external materials into the Fairness Party's territory.

The initial risk of this type of business was extremely high, but the benefits were also extremely high. When the Fairness Party's power became connected in Jiangnan, with He Wen's tacit consent and even cooperation, it had already bred behemoths such as the "Equality King" and "Bao Feng Trading Company" within itself, capable of standing against him.

When the Fairness Party occupied Jiangning and released the news of the "Heroes' Gathering," most of the forces in the Fairness Party had become controllable to some extent. And in order to ensure the smooth progress of this gathering, He Wen, Shi Bao Feng, and others had sent out many forces to maintain order on the main roads in and out of the city.

As a result, the number of merchant and镖 (Biāo, armed escort) teams from the outside world attempting to "seek wealth in danger" increased, hoping to enter Jiangning, a transit station, to "pick up the leaks" from the accumulation of the Fairness Party's looting of wealthy households in the past year or two. After all, ordinary members of the Fairness Party only sought food and clothing after killing wealthy merchants and gentry, and the amount of precious and strange objects they had scraped together during this period that had not yet been sold was still countless.

Wearing a patched outfit, carrying a small package from home, a cloth bag slung over his shoulder, and a small medicine box hanging at his side, Ning Ji walked eastward towards Jiangning, covered in dust but with a light step.

He curiously examined the crowds of people ahead, discreetly pricking up his ears to eavesdrop on the surrounding conversations, and occasionally quickened his pace to look at the scenery of the villages not far away. Traveling all the way from the southwest, over thousands of miles, the scenery and landforms had changed several times. Arriving near Jiangning, the undulations of the mountains became gentle, and small rivers flowed leisurely. Hidden in the morning mist, clusters of trees like eyebrow-pencils held small villages by the water or in the mountains. When the sunlight warmed up, a fragrance occasionally wafted from the roadside: "The western wind of the desert and emerald feathers, osmanthus in August in Jiangnan."

When he left Tongshan County last month, he was originally riding a horse.

For this horse, he had four major fights in less than a month, and more than thirty people were successively beaten bloody by him. While it was refreshing to turn hostile, he couldn't help but feel a little disheartened after the fights.

The reason for the fights was simple. His appearance seemed innocent, and he wasn't very old. Traveling alone on a good horse inevitably aroused the thoughts of some local snakes who ran inns and taverns along the way. Some wanted to slander his horse, some wanted to steal his things, and some even called the yamen (衙门, local government) officials to frame him and send him to jail. Ning Ji had been traveling with Lu Wenke and others for the past two months, and had not encountered this situation in groups. He didn't expect that such things would become so frequent after he was alone.

Even these people along the way didn't seem to be habitual black shop owners. They just thought he was easy to bully, so they couldn't help but have ideas. According to Ning Ji's original violent personality, these people should all be severely beaten into cripples, and then use their lives to experience what the law of the jungle was in a chaotic world. But when he was really able to take action, considering the identities of these people, he slightly held back. The only one he directly crippled was the yamen official who wanted to arrest him.

The fourth fight was in the process of leading the horse to sell it. The horse dealer directly snatched the horse and refused to pay. Before Ning Ji could take action, the other party said that he was causing trouble and beating people, and then mobilized people from half the market to rush out and take him down. Ning Ji ran all the way, and when it was midnight, he returned to the horse dealer's house, robbed him of all his money, released the horses in the stable, and set fire to the house before leaving. He didn't set fire to all the houses in half the market, feeling that his temper had been restrained, and according to his father, his cultivation had become deeper. However, he also vaguely understood that these people might not have lived like this in peacetime, or perhaps

because in troubled times, they had all become distorted.

Because the incidents were relatively chaotic, he did not leave the name of "Dragon Aotian, the Fighter" in these incidents. But after these four fights, he also felt helpless. He had already dealt with that good horse, and he simply changed into patched clothes, disguised himself as a poor young man, and no longer stayed in too good inns along the way. In this way, he was no longer harassed in this way.

As for the option of joining a merchant team or making friends to travel together, Ning Ji had deliberately skipped it.

In this way, by mid-August, he had finally arrived at the outskirts of Jiangning City.

This day was actually August 14th, only one day away from the Mid-Autumn Festival. The pedestrians on the road were in a hurry, and many were saying that they were going to spend the festival in Jiangning City. Ning Ji walked and stopped along the way, watching the nearby scenery and the excitement he encountered along the way. Sometimes he would also walk around the surrounding villages.

In the ten years since the fall of the Central Plains, the Jurchens had conducted two searches of the mountains and seas, and there had been massacres near Jiangning. In addition, the Fairness Party had swept through, and the flames of war had enveloped this area several times. Now most of the villages near Jiangning have suffered disasters, but at this time under the rule of the Fairness Party, large and small villages have been inhabited again. Some are fierce, blocking outsiders from entering, and some will set up sheds by the roadside, selling melons, fruits, and sweet water to supply distant merchants. Different flags are hung in each village, and some villages even have several flags hung in different places. According to the people around, negotiations or firefights occasionally break out in these villages.

Ning Ji liked these exciting Jianghu gossips the most.

He walked and eavesdropped all the way. Occasionally, when he saw kind-looking aunts and uncles selling things by the roadside, he would go over with a smile to buy some food and ask about the surrounding situation. He entered the territory actually controlled by the Fairness Party yesterday afternoon, and by this morning, he had figured out a lot of things.

Among these people in the Fairness Party, the relatively open and kind ones are "Fairness King" He Wen and those who bear the flag of "Equality King" Shi Baobao. They also occupy more villages on the main road. The more fierce ones are the younger brothers who follow "King Yama" Zhou Shang. Outside some of the villages they occupy, there are even corpses hanging on flagpoles in tragic conditions, which are said to be the situation after the nearby wealthy households were killed. This Zhou Shang has two names. Some people say that his real name is actually Zhou Shang (周殇, Zhou's Death). Although Ning Ji is a 학z渣 (xuézhā, a derogatory term for a bad student), he still knows the difference between the two characters. He feels that the name Zhou Shang is particularly domineering, and he really has the feeling of a villainous big head. He is already thinking about whether to kill him this time and make the name of Dragon Aotian.

"Heavenly King Gao" does not occupy many places—of course, there are some—it is said that he controls half of the military power. In Ning Ji's view, this kind of strength is very powerful. As for "King Reincarnation" Chu Zhaonan, he is the dog of Lin Echan of the Great Brightness Religion. It is said that the leader of the Great Brightness Religion has already entered Jiangning these two days. The surrounding followers of the Great Brightness Religion are extremely excited. Some villages are still organizing people to pour into Jiangning City, saying that they are going to kowtow to the leader. Occasionally, they are seen on the road, with gongs and drums and firecrackers. Outsiders think they are crazy, and no one dares to stop them, so the power of the "King Reincarnation" system is also expanding.

Although "Fairness King" He Xiaojian and "Equality King" Shi Baobao are both relatively open, the villages on both sides still have to negotiate and fight over the issue of buying road money.

"King Yama" Zhou Shang is said to be a psychopath, but near Jiangning City, He Xiaojian and Shi Baobao jointly suppress him, so these people do not dare to go crazy on the main road for the time being, but occasionally some small frictions will lead to very serious fights.

The soldiers under "Heavenly King Gao" do not seem to cause major incidents, but in fact, they often intervene in the forces of all parties and ask them for kickbacks, and occasionally join the firefights, but their position is not clear. When fighting, everyone often has to reach out to win them over. Today, this group of people stands with He Xiaojian, and tomorrow they will be bought by Shi Baobao to fight Chu Zhaonan. Several times they fought with the madmen from Zhou Shang's side, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

The entire periphery of Jiangning City is really chaotic, and honestly, Ning Ji really likes this feeling too much! Occasionally, when he hears people talking red-faced, he can't wait to jump up and cheer a few times.

Although he fought head-on with the Jurchens on the battlefield two years ago, after coming down from the battlefield, his favorite feeling is naturally still to hide in a safe place and watch the tigers fight. Thinking about the situation in Jiangning today, he finds a hidden high place to hide, watching dozens or hundreds of people fight like dogs on the street below, that kind of mood makes him tremble with excitement.

Thinking back to the situation in Chengdu last year, there was only one night of fighting, and there were not even a few hundred people fighting in total. It was noisy, and then it was suppressed by his side. He stayed with Yao Shubin, the big mouth, for half a night, and only encountered three or two troublemakers. It was really too boring!

——But here! Look here! From time to time, there are hundreds of people negotiating, and if they can't agree, they start fighting! A group of bad guys are bleeding, and he doesn't feel any psychological burden at all! Paradise on earth!

Ning Ji clenched his fists and jumped excitedly in an uninhabited place by the roadside!

Dad didn't come.

Aunt Gua didn't come.

Aunt Hong didn't come.

Uncle Chen didn't come.

Uncle Du didn't come.

Big Brother didn't come.

Yao Shubin, the big mouth, didn't come.

Yuwen Feidu and Little Black Brother didn't come.

……

He came to such a lively and interesting place alone. When he goes back and talks about it, won't they be envious to death! Of course, Aunt Hong won't be envious, she has returned to simplicity and is indifferent to worldly desires, but Dad, Aunt Gua, and Big Brother will definitely be envious to death!

Ning Ji ran on the road like a little wild dog, and only restrained his emotions when he saw the people on the main road. Then he secretly leaned towards the pedestrians on the road, eavesdropping on what they were saying.

At noon on this day, Ning Ji was resting in the hall of a post station by the roadside.

For the current world, most ordinary people do not have the habit of eating lunch, but traveling far is different from being at home on weekdays. This post station is one of the largest resting places within twenty miles. It provides tea, rice, and white water, and there are roasted ducks hanging in the counter that smell very good and fragrant far and wide. Because there is a Bao Feng Trading Company "Heaven" sign hanging at the door, and there are several fierce people sitting in it, no one is causing trouble here, and many merchants and outlaws are staying here for a temporary rest.

Ning Ji spent a lot of money to buy half a duck, put it in a cloth bag, and then asked for a pancake, sat on a stool in the corner of the hall, eating while listening to those green forest heroes bragging loudly. These people were talking about the story of a force called "Big Dragon Head" in Jiangning City that was about to make a name for itself. Ning Ji listened with relish, wishing he could raise his hand to participate in the discussion. During such eavesdropping, the hall was full of people, and some people came in and shared a table with him. A bearded man with a nine-ringed broadsword sat on a long bench with him, and Ning Ji didn't mind.

"Where are you from, big brother?" He felt that this nine-ringed broadsword was quite mighty, and maybe it had a story. He flattered and tried to strike up a conversation, but the other party glanced at him and ignored the young man who was eating pancakes very猥琐 (wěisuǒ, slovenly/unrefined) and almost趴 (pā, slumped) on the table.

Ning Ji was bored, so he ignored him.

The person over there who was telling the "Big Dragon Head" story was spitting and arguing with others, and it was nothing good to listen to. Ning Ji was about to eat the pancake and leave when a figure outside the door caught his attention.

It was a bald little monk who was a little younger than him. He was holding a small rice bowl in his hand and standing outside the post station door, looking at the roast duck in the counter with some timidity and yearning.

A group of strangely dressed green forest people were coming in from the outside, looking very much like the brain-dead outfits of "King Yama" Zhou Shang's people. The leader reached out and poked the little monk's shoulder from behind, and what he said should have been something like "Get out of the way." The little monk swallowed and moved aside.

The brain-dead green forest man didn't touch his shoulder, but the little monk had already moved away, so they swaggered in. Except for Ning Ji, no one noticed the problem with the scene just now. Then, he saw the little monk walking towards the post station, putting his palms together and bowing, and asking for alms from the waiter in the post station. Then he was rudely driven out by the people in the store.

A gentle breeze was gathering.

This was what happened outside Jiangning City on August 14th at noon, an inconspicuous thing.