"...So, I came out from the Southwest..."

"Why did you come out from the Southwest? Oh..."

"That's classified. Can I tell you that? Even your dad isn't allowed to hear it..."

"Tch, bragging. My dad and Mr. Ning are like brothers... But come to think of it, you've got a really gentle touch, like a woman."

"Amitabha... This is called a doctor's heart."

"...Reminds me of Xiao Cui next door..."

"..."

"...If you ask, I'll tell you... Haha, Xiao Cui is a dog..."

"...So why are you thinking about a dog? Because you like it?"

A massive banyan tree, large enough to block the view of all directions, stretched out freely in the sky. In the courtyard shaded by the banyan tree, yellow lanterns shone. The night breeze was gentle, the lamplight warm. Two puppies were mending their wounds in front of a stone bench, barking to each other, their conversation as harmonious as long-lost relatives.

Young men who had mingled on the battlefield, apart from awe of life and death, didn't really care about anything spoken.

Ning Ji was sewing up Yue Yun's wound with needle and thread. His medical skills were excellent, and his morals in this regard were actually good. This somewhat restrained his actions, preventing him from doing anything too outrageous. As for Yue Yun, after mentally preparing himself to be helplessly cut, he displayed a spirit of not fearing death or pain. He glared and spewed out a torrent of trash talk, but then discovered that this little dog was actually softhearted when practicing medicine, which was a pleasant surprise. He took advantage of his verbal skills, letting the other party sew his wounds into butterflies one moment and centipedes the next.

Yue Yinping's eyes had twitched eight times, and she had suppressed the urge to beat these two idiots seven times.

She sat at the tea table in the center of the courtyard with Cheng Zhouhai, Zuo Wenxuan, and Qu Longjun, watching Qu Longjun host the tea ceremony with grace and poise.

In the afternoon, after being instigated by Cheng Zhouhai, she was the first to enter the small courtyard of Huaiyun Ward to arrest people. She was a little hostile when she went in, but the moment she saw the person, the other party immediately reacted and said, "I am from the Southwest Huaxia Army, I don't know martial arts. Sister Yue, please don't attack." After confirming that the other person was also a woman, Yinping even felt a little goodwill towards her.

Of course, Cheng Zhouhai was in charge, and the arrest process had to be followed. Afterwards, the other party remained calm, obviously having anticipated similar situations. She only protested a few times with some anxiety when she saw that they were planning to frame that *Sun Wukong*. But at this moment, the other party sat upright, serving tea, and did not seem as weak as many ladies from noble families in Fuzhou. On the contrary, she seemed generous and calm, which made Yinping very envious.

If she had the opportunity to learn one or two things...

—In her imagination, Yinping also brewed tea like this.

The two puppies had just become familiar, and their conversation was rambling and without focus. The four people here didn't urge them. Zuo Wenxuan's mood had fluctuated throughout the day, and he was already a little tired. He left things to Cheng Zhouhai and let it develop as it may. Yinping was annoyed, but she endured it for the time being. Qu Longjun, on the other hand, listened to Ning Ji and Yue Yun's bickering while making tea. She didn't say it, but she felt that the little dragon was lively and cute, had good eloquence, and was more refined than this gorilla, so she had a smile on her lips, feeling proud.

Cheng Zhouhai was carefully observing the young woman in front of him. He had probed her in the morning and knew that the young woman was not fully aware of Ning Ji's identity. At that time, the primary task was to arrange Ning Ji, so Qu Longjun's importance was not high. But now that Ning Ji had been taken care of, he became curious about her specific identity and origin, given how much he valued this young woman and the temperament and conversation she displayed. Intriguing.

As for the reasons and experiences of Ning Ji's coming out, Zuo Wenxuan had already said some things. The more specific things would have to be said anyway, so he was not in a hurry.

After a round of tea was brewed, the banter over there came to an end. Ning Ji began to talk about his experiences since coming out of the Southwest: the initial group of companions, such as "Promising" Lu Wenke, "Respectful of the Gods" Fan Heng, "Cold-Faced Prick" Chen Junsheng, and the Wang Jiang and Wang Xiuniang father and daughter, were still somewhat friendly. But before long, he spoke of the events and changes in Tongshan, and when he spoke of Wang Xiuniang's humiliation and the subsequent threats from the Li family of Tongshan, Yue Yun slapped the stone bench in anger, unable to tolerate it.

"If I had been there, I would have skinned those people alive!"

"Really?" Ning Ji glanced at him, a hint of smugness showing on his cold face.

Afterwards, he spoke of his arrangements: first, he showed patience for the sake of the overall situation, waiting until his companions had been sent away before leaving the team and returning. Then, he killed and killed all the way, first crippling the few minions who came to make trouble at night, then going to the Li family's fortress to kill Steward Wu, who dared to kick the stool in front of him, and later conveniently killing Shi Shuifang... This was his masterpiece, which he gestured as he spoke. By this time, Yue Yun's injuries had all been treated, and he gestured along with him out of righteous indignation, his heart pounding. Then Ning Ji jumped up, pointed at Yue Yun's face.

"That's where I saw that little bitch named Yan Yunzhi—"

"—Huh?" Yue Yun's face fell, sensing something was amiss.

"Their crossbow sword is in league with those bad guys from the Li family! And she's the lover of Shibabao!"

For this matter, Ning Ji felt greatly wronged. He gesticulated wildly, beginning to talk about the relationship between Yan Family Fort and the Li family, and a group of villains from the Fair Party.

Then he recounted the embarrassing scenes when their group of people with low martial arts skills sparred. Recalling Yan Yunzhi's martial arts, Yue Yun and Yinping suddenly found his words quite convincing.

Afterwards, Ning Ji stayed in Tongshan County and successively killed Xu Dong and his wife, who had done evil, and several minions. After learning that "Promising" Lu Wenke had dared to turn back and complain, he came up with a plan and captured Yan Yunzhi to demand an exchange, which was truly a brilliant move. Then he turned back and killed the magistrate. His series of actions in Tongshan County could be truly described as heroic, righteous, swift, and satisfying. And the only thing that was intriguing was that one sentence he said when he released Yan Yunzhi.

At that time, he had met Yan Yunzhi in Jiangning City. Yue Yun saw that her martial arts were average but she was resilient and unyielding, so he naturally had a good impression of her. But now, after listening to Ning Ji's account, empathizing with the situation, he felt that he himself would have done many of the same things. After hesitating for a long time, he could only jump up and say, "Ev-Even so... you can't talk nonsense..."

"What can't I talk nonsense about!" Ning Ji also jumped up, "They're bad people! They're in league with bad people! Do I need to care about her reputation! I'm telling you, that's how we in the Huaxia Army do things—"

"In the end, you just shot yourself in the foot!"

"Bah, I'll kill all those slanderers sooner or later—"

"Let me say something fair, I think you're just too impulsive... You're still young..."

"...Huh? What kind of crap are you talking about... If you can't talk crap, then don't talk—"

Ning Ji shouted a bunch of things, Yue Yun said a few sarcastic things, and the two almost started fighting again.

Ning Ji had mentioned the series of experiences in Tongshan to Qu Longjun once, but at that time, he focused on "clearing" his name, glossed over the details of the events, and was somewhat vague. Qu Longjun, on the other hand, realized that Ning Ji cared about it, so she didn't delve into the whole matter. Only now did she understand the whole story. She had always admired the boy's chivalry, and now, listening to these experiences, her heart was warmed, and she felt that she had entrusted herself to the right person.

As for Cheng Zhouhai and Zuo Wenxuan, knowing that it was useless to lecture about these things, they were too lazy to speak. They bickered for a while until Cheng Zhouhai said, "And then?" Only then did they gradually shut up.

Then Ning Ji left Tongshan and went to Jiangning, where he encountered a bald little monk with good martial arts skills. The two were then falsely accused of being lecherous demons; he went to the old Su family's house from that year, and then saw Xue Jin, who allegedly threw a brick at Ning Yi while singing a hoarse "Shui Diao Ge Tou." Afterwards, he witnessed his death with a woman named Yueniang...

As Ning Ji spoke of these things, Yinping and Yue Yun were already able to supplement a lot of information. They had also arrived in Jiangning at that time, but they witnessed the infighting of the Fair Party from another direction. Even combining the information, they were extremely close when they were on Gold Street. They had even fought against Li Yanfeng and Jin Yongsheng one after another, and in the final battle, when Ning Ji and the little bald monk were downstairs fetching the black flag from Xiao Qi, Yinping and Yue Yun were upstairs with Zuo Xiuquan.

Both sides had done a lot of things.

But of course, due to military orders, what the Yue Yun siblings did was not as exciting as Ning Ji's experience after all, and now, speaking of it, they felt a faint sense of regret.

"As the saying goes, a general abroad can disregard military orders." Ning Ji put his hands on his hips, educating them, "This shows that I am the general, and you two are just small soldiers, understand?"

Yinping and Yue Yun both pouted.

Speaking of the final battle, Yue Yun said, "Say, if we all joined forces, could we have fought a round with that Lin Zongwu?"

When the great battle broke out, Lin Zongwu was rampant on the spot, and Yue Yun and Yinping were a little eager to try. Later, when Chen Fan appeared, saying that the Overlord Saber was paying back old debts, they couldn't rashly go up. But as the leaders of the younger generation of the *jianghu*, Yue Yun had probably thought about challenging Lin Zongwu countless times in his heart.

Unlike Yinping, who wanted to challenge Mr. Ning of the Southwest even more.

Ning Ji thought for a while, but also snorted, "What's the point of fighting? My brother won't let me fight... You see, I let Fatty off the hook in the end..."

"You were lucky to escape, barely surviving. If I were you, I would have died there."

The two shouted at each other again.

Time flies, making people sigh. Now speaking of the encounter in Jiangning, everyone had a more complicated feeling. Cheng Zhouhai and Zuo Wenxuan were more concerned about Xue Jin's encounter, and after chatting a few words, they offered tea as a sacrifice. Yue Yun spoke of Yan Yunzhi's whereabouts, while Ning Ji didn't care.

Afterwards, Ning Ji and Qu Longjun met and came to Fuzhou. This journey was relatively simple. They chatted briefly about reuniting with Zuo Xingzhou and discussed the subsequent developments. Ning Ji criticized Yue Yun's stupidity and inaction, while Yue Yun was somewhat silent. He was worried about Zuo Xingzhou's whereabouts and had previously suffered a hidden loss from Chen Shuangran, which had harmed an innocent little girl. Now, being scolded, he felt that he deserved it.

Ning Ji then spoke of the connections he had made outside, looking at Cheng Zhouhai. Cheng Zhouhai laughed, "I'm not stopping you from doing what you want to do. On the contrary, today's show in Huaiyun Ward has just saved you from future worries. You can openly collude with those two parties in the name of avenging your brother. You can at least rest assured that Miss Long is safe staying in the Princess Residence. It's just that the stall in Yinqiao Ward will be difficult to set up. Next, the government will be wanted you."

Ning Ji was still a little sullen, but after careful consideration, he realized that it was indeed safer for Qu Longjun to stay here than in Huaiyun Ward, so he didn't say anything. Qu Longjun then interjected, "However, Lord Cheng, you have to compensate us for the money we made setting up a stall in Yinqiao Ward and for the things that were broken today."

Cheng Zhouhai laughed heartily, "What does that matter?"

Qu Longjun said a number.

Cheng Zhouhai's face changed, "...Bah! You only set up a stall for a month or two, how could you earn so much! No wonder the court is short of money, I think you are profiteers who bring disaster to the country!"

"Ha!" Ning Ji slammed the table and stood up, "Let me tell you, Uncle Cheng, you can scheme against me, but you have to pay me back every penny of this money! Otherwise... I'll go back and tell my parents, they don't mess around with money—"

The two argued for a while, but then they got closer.

The courtyard in Huaiyun Ward had been blown up that day and could no longer be returned to. Ning Ji and Qu Longjun were arranged to live in the courtyard behind the Princess Residence. When there was no one around, Ning Ji and Qu Longjun spoke, saying that according to the information from the Southwest, Wenren Bu'er and Cheng Zhouhai of the small court were considered trustworthy, at least they had both worked with Mr. Ning and knew his style, so they would not do anything bad that would create a death feud. Ning Ji's giving in was also due to this. Compared to the unscrupulousness of bad people like Chen Shuangran and Pu Xingui, really "falling" into Cheng Zhouhai's hands would not be a big deal.

Qu Longjun analyzed it slightly and thought it was true.

The two chatted for a while, Ning Ji was slightly silent, then gritted his teeth and finally said to Qu Longjun, "Also... there's another amazing thing I have to tell you. So that... you won't be unprepared next time you meet Cheng Zhouhai and these people..."

"Yeah."

Qu Longjun nodded, waiting for him to speak.

...

On the other side, Cheng Zhouhai and Zuo Wenxuan went towards the side door of the Princess Residence. When they reached the Langyuan near the gate, Zuo Wenxuan, who had been silent all along, stood there and bowed deeply.

"I hope Lord Cheng can be honest, what exactly do you want to do to Ning Ji?"

"Now that we have such a big thing to hold over your heads, what else can you do?" Cheng Zhouhai looked at him with a smile that was not a smile, "If I wanted to do something bad to Ning Ji, could you possibly rebel?"

"What Zuo Wenxuan can do is just a small matter. But Lord Cheng, I can't say what the entire Zuo family will do."

"Threatening me..." Cheng Zhouhai muttered a sentence, then turned and continued forward. Zuo Wenxuan followed, and after walking a few steps, he heard Cheng Zhouhai say, "Don't worry, you knew about Ning Ji's arrival, you couldn't handle it. Now that the matter is with me, it's troublesome for me to handle it too. So I thought, why not find someone who can handle it to handle it, so that even if someone reports it in the future, we won't be responsible."

"Ah?" Zuo Wenxuan was a little confused by the other party's seemingly ordinary bureaucratic excuse, but he saw Cheng Zhouhai looking at the hazy night ahead and smiling again.

"Wenxuan, you know that the court has always had one of the biggest mysteries unresolved these years..."

"..."

"After Ning Yi murdered the emperor, Emperor Jingping ascended the throne. Emperor Jingping was captured, and everyone said that the court could not continue like this, so they chose the most interesting branch of the imperial family to go up, which is the branch of the late emperor and His Majesty. The implied meaning back then was that this branch of the imperial family was familiar with the disciples left behind by Prime Minister Qin, and had close ties with Ning Yi. Although the people in the court disdained Ning Yi's actions, they all admired his abilities..."

"..."

"When the late emperor was alive, he mentioned several times that he wanted to reconcile with the Southwest and even establish a marriage relationship to ensure peace in the world... This was the big picture, and everyone knew that it was absolutely impossible. As for His Majesty and the Eldest Princess, they had a teacher-student relationship with Ning Yi back then. After His Majesty succeeded to the throne, everyone unanimously dared not mention his attitude towards Ning Yi. But everyone understood in their hearts that one day, if my Wu Dynasty really revived, there would inevitably be a time to determine who was superior with the Southwest..."

"..."

"Wenxuan, what do you say, what will His Majesty and the Eldest Princess' attitude towards Ning Yi be? One day... this attitude will be very important."

"You..."

"Yes..."

Cheng Zhouhai nodded.

"...I also really want to know."

The night breeze blew, and the slender moon in the sky was like a crescent eyebrow. Starlight poured down from the sky.

Time will change many things, and power will change many people. But even at this moment, Cheng Zhouhai still remembered that year in Bianliang, when the fifteen-year-old girl revealed her heartfelt feelings to him after seeing her teacher off.

She said that she admired her teacher.

And he, back then, had gone to persuade her to return to Jiangning to get married.

The teacher and student separated from then on and never saw each other again.

And the heartfelt feelings that the girl revealed that night, he had never mentioned to anyone since then...