Jiangning City was like the corpse of a huge beast.

A large section of the city wall on the west side had collapsed, and no one had repaired it. Autumn had arrived, and wildflowers bloomed on it, some white, some yellow.

Ning Ji stood near the city gate and watched for a long time. It was rare for the fifteen-year-old to be sentimental, but after watching for a while, he only felt that the city was somewhat beyond hope in terms of defense.

Near the city gate, the crowd was bustling, trampling the entire road into a tattered mire. Although soldiers were maintaining order, there were still occasional scoldings and noises due to congestion and queue jumping. The line entering the city stretched along the road beside the city wall, a mix of gray and black figures, looking from afar like a swarm of ants gathering and dispersing on the corpse of a beast.

He remembered what his elder brother had told him last year in Chengdu about what he was learning from their father: how many people could pass through a road in the city at the same time, and if the pedestrians on the road were to maintain maximum speed, how to expand and divert when the road was insufficient. Ning Ji listened bored and said, "Just build another one, and another one if one isn't enough."

His brother just shook his head and looked at him like a fool, with his hands behind his back, pretending to know everything: "Alas, urban planning and governance are big issues."

Who are you looking down on? Even sister-in-law probably doesn't understand... he thought at the time.

...

"Alas, urban planning and governance are big issues."

Ning Ji sighed in the crowd and walked forward slowly.

He used to be the most impatient of the children, hating slow lines. But at this moment, little Ning Ji didn't feel much anxiety. He followed the line slowly, watching the wind from the wilderness blow in the distance, stirring the thatch in the fields and the willows by the river, looking at the dilapidated high city gate of Jiangning City, the black bricks bearing traces of war...

When at home, it was usually his mother who spoke in detail about Jiangning City.

His father was a man of great affairs, often away from home. When they were young, there was a rumor that their father had passed away. Although he later returned home, his interactions with each child were mostly fragmented, either telling interesting tales of the Jianghu or secretly sharing some good food. The memories were pleasant, but such days were not many.

The First Madam supported many of the family's industries and often had to oversee them. When she was at home, she was most concerned about the children's studies. Ning Ji was a poor student, and he would often feel guilty when the First Madam asked him with a smile, "Xiao Ji, how are your studies going lately?"

The First Madam never hit him, but she would patiently talk to him for a long time, sometimes pressing her forehead while speaking. Ning Ji knew this was due to the First Madam being overworked. For a while, the First Madam even tried to tutor him, doing homework with him for a few days. The First Madam's studies weren't good either. Apart from mathematics, they couldn't agree on the other subjects and had to ask Aunt Yunzhu.

Of course, later, the First Madam seemed to have finally given up the idea of ​​improving his grades, and Ning Ji breathed a sigh of relief. He was only occasionally asked about his studies by the First Madam, and when he gave a few simple explanations, Ning Ji knew she genuinely cared for him.

Aunt Hong's martial arts were the strongest, but her personality was excellent. She came from Lvliang, and although she had experienced much killing, her swordsmanship had become more and more peaceful in recent years. She would also occasionally play in the mud with the children, and she often fed the family's chicks, "cluck, cluck, cluck." Two years ago, Ning Ji felt that Aunt Hong's swordsmanship was becoming more and more ordinary, but after experiencing the battlefield, he suddenly realized the terror hidden within that peace.

Due to her work, Aunt Hong didn't spend much time with everyone. She sometimes looked at the surroundings from a high place in the house and often patrolled the sentry posts. Ning Ji knew that during the most difficult times for the Huaxia Army, people often tried to capture or assassinate his father's family, and it was Aunt Hong who always guarded the house with a high degree of vigilance.

She often watched this group of children play from a distance, and as long as she was there, others definitely didn't need to worry too much about safety. Ning Ji also understood after experiencing the battlefield how reliable the wings of Aunt Hong, who often watched everyone from a distance but didn't come over to play with them, were.

Aunt Gua's martial arts were the complete opposite of Aunt Hong's. She also rarely came home, but because of her lively personality, she was often like a king of the children at home. After all, "the bully of the house, Liu Dabiao" wasn't just a name. She would occasionally lead a group of children to challenge their father's authority. In this regard, Aunt Jin'er was similar. The only difference was that when Aunt Gua provoked their father, she often had heated arguments with him. The specific outcome had to be agreed upon by their father and her to be resolved "in private," saying it was to save her face. And when Aunt Jin'er did this kind of thing, she was often teased back by their father.

His mother was the head housekeeper of the family.

She didn't care too much about things outside, but mostly took care of the lives of everyone in the family. The meals the children had to prepare when going to school, the clothes the whole family wore every day, the bedding when the seasons changed, every meal... most of the things in the family were handled by his mother.

When the group of children were still young, or when they had some holidays at home, they often gathered with their mother. In the spring, their mother would make green rice balls with them under the eaves, and in the summer, when they were tired from playing in the yard, they would drink sour plum juice under the eaves... At these times, their mother would tell them about the years the whole family spent in Jiangning.

The white-walled and blue-tiled courtyard, the small flower garden that had been carefully tended in the courtyard, the quaint two-story building, the wind chimes and lanterns hanging on the building, the dusk after a rain shower, the sky as blue as indigo, and lanterns would light up one by one in the courtyard... There were also grand occasions during festivals and market days, with pleasure boats weaving through the Qinhuai River, and processions dancing with long dragons and setting off fireworks... At that time, his mother, according to his father, was still a clumsy but lovely little maid with two buns on her head...

Of course, his mother claimed that she wasn't clumsy. She grew up with Aunt Juan and Aunt Xing, who were about the same age and like sisters. At that time, many people in the Su family were not successful, including Uncle Wenfang and Uncle Wending, who were now very, very powerful, but were just young people loafing around at home. The First Madam had been interested in business since she was a child, so the old grandfather often took her in and out of shops, and later let her take charge of a part of the family business.

At that time, the First Madam and his mother were only thirteen or fourteen years old and had already been exposed to these things. One year, probably when they were fifteen years old, several carts of goods couldn't return from outside the city due to heavy rain. They, the maids and the First Madam, braved the rain to urge a group of people to set off. A large cart slid into a sunken slope on the side of the road. The guards were tired and stayed on the side of the road, passively resisting and mocking the ignorance of the young girls. The First Madam led his mother and Aunt Juan down into the mud to push the cart, and arranged for Aunt Xing to buy hot tea and food from a nearby farmer's house. The group of guards finally couldn't stand it anymore and helped the young girls lift the cart out of the mud in the heavy rain... From then on, the First Madam officially began to manage the shop. Now that he thought about it, the First Madam named Su Tan'er and his mother named Chan'er were exactly his age today.

His mother would also talk about the situation after his father came to the Su family. As the First Madam's little spy, she followed his father around the streets and walked around Jiangning City. His father had been hit in the head at that time and couldn't remember the past, but his personality had become very good. Sometimes he would ask this and that, sometimes he would deliberately bully her, but it wasn't annoying. Sometimes, even if it was a very knowledgeable old grandfather, he could talk to him and joke without falling behind.

Then his father wrote that amazing poem, which startled everyone and gradually became the number one talent in Jiangning, incredibly powerful...

Ning Ji's vague memories began from Xiaocang River, and then went to Liangshan, Zhang Village, and Chengdu. He had never been to Jiangning, but his mother's memories of Jiangning were so vivid that he could easily recall them.

When he left the Southwest, he was just thinking about joining in the fun, so he came all the way to Jiangning, but he only realized at this moment that his mother might have been the one who was always thinking about Jiangning.

His mother had experienced the ravages of the Jurchens with his father, had experienced the war, and had experienced a life of displacement. She had seen the warriors covered in blood and the civilians fallen in pools of blood. For everyone in the Southwest, those bloody battles had unquestionable reasons and were necessary struggles. His father led everyone to resist the invasion, and the anger that erupted was as magnificent as molten lava. But at the same time, his mother, who arranged the lives of everyone in the family every day, certainly missed the days in Jiangning in the past. In her heart, she probably always missed his father at that time, who was peaceful, and also missed the time when she and the First Madam rushed into the mud on the side of the road to push the truck. That kind of rain also contained his mother's youth and warmth.

Ning Ji had never experienced such days. He occasionally saw concepts about youth or peace in books, and always felt that they were a bit pretentious and distant. But at this moment, coming to the foot of Jiangning City and recalling these vivid memories in his mind, he could understand a little.

Wanting to return to Jiangning, more than anything, actually came from his mother's will.

He looked up at the dilapidated city.

His mother was still in the Southwest now. He didn't know when his father would bring her back here...

After queuing for a long time, he entered Jiangning City from the west gate. After entering, there was a chaotic market near the city gate—this was originally a small square, but now it was full of various wooden sheds and tents. One by one, the Fair Party people with strange eyes seemed to be waiting here to sell things, but no one spoke openly. The Shit Baby's banner hung in the center of the square, proving that this was his territory.

Past the small square was a dilapidated but relatively lively street after the war. Some shops were patched up, and in Chengdu, they would only be considered slums waiting to be repaired. All the colors were mainly dirty gray and black, and dirty water flowed freely on the roadside. Most of the trees in front of the shops were withered, and some only had half of their leaves turning yellow. The leaves fell on the ground, stained with dirty water, and immediately turned black. People from all walks of life walked on the street.

Ning Ji inquired about the direction of the Qinhuai River and walked towards it.

When in Liangshan, besides his mother often talking about Jiangning, Aunt Zhu would also occasionally talk about it. She was redeemed from the slave shop and lived in a small building by the Qinhuai River. His father would sometimes run past there—which was a bit strange at the time—she couldn't even kill a chicken. After she ran out of money, she set up a small stall with his father's encouragement. His father drew on the small cart and drew quite well.

Aunt Zhu had some grudges with the First Madam at that time, but after Xiaocang River, they supported each other, and those grudges had been resolved. Sometimes they would talk bad about his father together, saying that he was eating what was in his bowl and looking at what was in the pot, but many times they also said that if they hadn't married his father, their lives might not have been good, or might have been worse. Ning Ji didn't quite understand, so he didn't participate in this kind of gossipy discussion.

When Aunt Zhu talked about Jiangning, she actually talked the most about Grandpa Qin, who set up a chess stall by the Qinhuai River. It was a very, very amazing and very special thing that his father could make friends with Grandpa Qin because that old man was indeed a very powerful person. She didn't know why, but he became friends with his father, who was just a *Son-in-Law* at that time. According to Aunt Zhu, this might be a case of having an eye for talent.

Of course, if his father joined the conversation, he would sometimes mention another old man who was a *Son-in-Law* in Jiangning City. Grandpa Kang Xian of the Princess Cheng's Mansion was a bit shameless when playing chess and had a sharp tongue, but he was a respectable good person. When the Jurchens came, Grandpa Kang Xian died in the city.

Qinhuai River, Aunt Zhu's small building, the Su family's old house, Grandpa Qin's stall, and the home of Grandpa Kang of the Princess Cheng's Mansion were the coordinates Ning Ji estimated in Jiangning City.

He first headed towards the obvious coordinate, the Qinhuai River, and passed through lively streets and relatively remote paths. The city was dilapidated, with black houses, gray walls, and mud smelling of stench on the roadside. Apart from the various flags of the Fair Party, the brighter colors in the city were only the autumn leaves. There were no beautiful lanterns and exquisite street decorations anymore.

He came to the Qinhuai River and saw that some places still had crooked houses and black wrecks that had been burned into frames. There were still small sheds on the roadside, and refugees from all directions occupied sections of the area. The river water emitted a slight stench and floated with strange duckweed.

For a moment, he couldn't find the small building that Aunt Zhu spoke of or a place suitable for setting up a chess stall.

He put on a good-natured appearance and inquired at a roadside snack stall. This time, he easily found out about the former residence of Ning Yi (Heart Demon) and the location of the Su family's old mansion.

"...Going to the Heart Demon's old house for fun? Let me tell you, young man, it's not peaceful there. Two or three Great Kings are fighting for it."

"Why?" Ning Ji asked innocently, widening his eyes.

"Oh, it's hard to say. Some people say it's a land of rising dragons, and occupying it will bring dragon aura; others say it's good for business, and it's where the God of Wealth lived. Taking a brick away to ward off evil spirits will make business prosperous; and others seem to want to burn the place down to establish their power... Hey, who knows who has the final say..."

Ning Ji was speechless for a moment. He found out the place and headed there.

He arrived at the Su family's mansion at the second quarter of Shen time in the afternoon, close to dusk but not yet. The autumn sun lazily emitted light without any power. The original Su family's mansion was quite large, with side yards attached to the main courtyard. At its peak, it housed 300 people and consisted of dozens of courtyards. What came into view at this time was a patch of uneven courtyard walls. Most of the outer walls had collapsed, and the outer courtyards inside had dilapidated houses. Some places were like streets, with tents pitched, and some places had opened shops using the original houses. One of them was clearly a casino with the banner of the King of Hell.

There was no gatehouse, no plaque. The door frames of the original courtyard gate had been completely removed.

Ning Ji stood outside and looked in. Many of the courtyard walls inside also appeared uneven. Unlike ordinary post-war ruins, this large courtyard looked like it had been dismantled by hand, and most of the various things had been moved away. Compared to the other houses around the street, its overall appearance was like it had been "eaten" by some strange monster, leaving only half of its existence on the ruins.

And the surrounding houses, even if they had been burned down, the ruins seemed "complete"...

He remembered the scene when his mother sat in the courtyard with a group of children and talked about Jiangning in those difficult days.

Xiao Chan's words were gentle, talking about everything they had experienced in those stormy days, talking about the warm hometown and home, and the little children listened beside her.

All of that,

No longer exists.