The crimson clouds burned in the sky, gradually swallowing the city into the blackness of night. High above the city, signal flags waved frantically, conveying complex messages to the distant horizon.

Within the imperial city, palace lanterns were newly lit. Emperor Zhou Junwu, having just finished his evening meal, emerged from the imperial study and strolled along the palace corridors. Fuzhou was a coastal city, and the most pleasant time in summer was this twilight hour. The wind swept through the courtyards of the imperial city, and as he gazed out, the city lights were rising in scattered patches, about to begin their flow.

Having handled the day's affairs during his meal, he now slipped a steamed bun from his sleeve. He sat down unceremoniously on the courtyard steps and took small bites. The bun was rather hard, but as he chewed it slowly, it had a faint sweetness. This was a strange habit developed by the king who had experienced war.

He could vaguely glimpse the unrest within the distant city.

"Still not done?" he muttered. "...Looks like they caught a big fish."

In the morning, when dealing with the remnants of Chen Shuangran's faction within the city, cannons had been fired. According to the preliminary report, this had struck the rebel party's vital point. The court should be able to breathe a sigh of relief for the time being. He had also taken the opportunity to stamp the already finalized list of concubines, intending to handle things in one fell swoop.

The sudden firing of cannons in the evening suggested that the rebel faction captured in the morning had confessed valuable information, and they were following the vine to find more melons. This was a good thing. The tension of the past few days, at this evening hour when many tasks had been completed, had finally relaxed.

The Zuo family from the southwest, when they took their work seriously, could indeed be trusted.

While his heart was at peace, his mind was restless, somewhat wanting to see what was happening outside.

He recalled when he was young, if something interesting happened in Jiangning City, he would most likely hop and skip to go see it. His older sister seemed sensible, but in this aspect, she was actually more proactive than him. His late father was also like that, enjoying cockfighting, dog fights, eating, drinking, and watching plays. According to the trendy sayings from the southwest, the royal family was full of joyful people, and very happy.

Many years had passed. His imperial sister's marriage was unfortunate, and her temperament had become cold. As for himself, he had been pushed into his position and was overwhelmed with troubles. Now that he had some free time, he wondered if his imperial sister still had that curiosity and love for joining in on the fun in her heart.

The cannons firing in the city, was she also secretly peeking at it?

Or perhaps, she was wearing a stern face, openly paying attention to the matter?

Making a fuss, not being steady.

After he became emperor, the first lesson he learned to maintain his majesty was to never watch the excitement if he could restrain himself. This would make him seem very aloof. Afterwards, casually asking about the results would give him an air of planning and having everything under control. His sister was even more aloof in this regard and did better than him.

But at this moment, chewing on the bun, Junwu did wonder:

Was his sister also pretending, just like him?

Had she been pretending for so many years?

"Mmm..."

The majestic emperor, now in his thirties, raised his head under the eaves, a serious frown forming. Few people knew that in a brief moment, he had returned to the past.

Growth is not an absolute concept. People experience hardship, learn to face things they once couldn't, look at blood, and even understand death. But even if they become adults, become important figures, or even become elderly, the children and teenagers they once were will always surface at some point, feeling it all across the years.

The imperial decree for the concubines was to be issued tomorrow, and the process would be swift. Speaking of which, having finally found some free time, Junwu felt he should first appease the concubines and make the household as peaceful as possible. But after finishing the bun, halfway there, he turned back to the corner tower on the side of the imperial city, grabbed a telescope, and secretly looked in the direction of the Princess Royal's mansion.

Hoping to see his sister secretly watching the excitement was unrealistic.

But he just wanted to take a look...

...

On the streets of Huaiyun Ward, blood splattered.

Not long ago, two young men had released their ferocity here. Twin sabers severed the surrounding trees and fences, and a flying octagonal hammer smashed through the green bricks and walls. Specks of blood were scattered everywhere.

A roadside shop was caught in the crossfire, torn apart by the two in the fierce fighting. The shopkeeper was nearly scared to death.

Perhaps out of a sense of righteousness, Yue Yun shouted, "If you're a hero, don't hurt the innocent! I'll duel you in a deserted place!" Only then did the two fight their way out. The soldiers then surrounded the area and began to clean up the mess in the streets.

The fierce battle passed through Huaiyun Ward, through narrow alleys, and across bridges, extending along the dim city streets.

Under the guise of "capturing bandits," a small number of soldiers and constables were evacuating and protecting the crowds on the lively streets. Meanwhile, waving signal flags and eyes watching from the shadows guarded the long street, monitoring the dark alleys and riverbeds along the way.

Yue Yun spat curses as he ran and fought.

"Hahahaha, so what if you're the Nine-Foot Pervert? Today I'll reunite you brothers!"

"You're a pervert, may your sons be born without anuses!"

"Do your father and mother know? What do they think of you..."

"...Haha, little dog, did you ever expect this day would come!"

The young man chasing from behind did not speak at first, slashing fiercely when he caught up, but he was finally provoked into swearing.

"—Tomorrow is the anniversary of your death!"

"Could it be that tomorrow you're going to come worship your daddy? How filial of you..."

"Filial my entire family!"

"I am your long-lost father—"

"I am your long-lost grandfather—"

"I am your long-lost grandfather's grandfather—"

"I..."

Fighting and running through several markets and alleyways, Yue Yun mounted a horse by the roadside and ran even faster.

Behind the Princess Royal's mansion, on the side, was a heavily guarded training ground protected by old locust trees. He rode his horse towards it, glancing back as he charged through the gate to make sure the little dog was still tailing him, before rushing in. "If you have the guts, come here! I'll fight you fairly, without involving anyone else—"

The atmosphere was now set. This was an extremely righteous Jianghu duel. Yue Yun charged in, dismounted in the large training ground, and tore open his tattered clothes, his chest guard even bearing the marks of blades.

"Damn it, he hits hard... This little bastard is crazy..."

He raised his octagonal hammer, wrapped the iron chain around his hand, then twisted his neck and stood facing the gate, feeling that his posture in response to the challenge was incredibly cool.

The moon had risen above the treetops, illuminating the atmosphere. For years to come, the Greenwoods of Fuzhou would spread the tale of this duel.

He waited for a moment...

"Hey! No guts?"

He waited again...

"Said no helpers, then no helpers! Four-Foot Pervert Sun Wukong! Just you and me, fighting to the death—"

He waved his hand and shouted loudly, but he already felt something was wrong. Although he was very sincere, did the other party not believe him? Clearly driven mad with anger, did he refuse to fall into the trap at the last moment?

The night wind blew across the wide training ground. Yue Yun looked to the side, and suddenly, he saw figures swaying in the shadows of a tree. Then he heard a few clanging sounds, and two figures rushed down from the treetop. One was the slender Yin Ping, holding a long spear, his sister. The other, naturally, was the little dog who seemed to be so angry he had lost his mind. He held twin sabers, his body low to the ground, looking extremely dangerous in the moonlight.

"Hey, this is our duel. The government won't interfere. If you win today, you can leave. Don't worry, I won't cheat—" Yue Yun pointed a finger. "Sister, step aside. Let him come."

Over there, Yin Ping turned to look at him, he was not sure what she meant. And the bloodthirsty little dog standing in the shadow of the tree also looked over.

The atmosphere was tense.

Just as Yue Yun felt that the other party was about to pounce, he heard the little dog growl, "Zuo's dog—get out here—"

"Uh..." Yue Yun opened his mouth, licked his teeth with his tongue. "This is our decisive battle. What are you babbling about..."

"We just reached an agreement, and you sold me out... The person isn't dead, right? Get out here—"

"Hey, are you crazy..."

"You're brainless! I'm in intelligence, you led me all this way, how could I not know there's a problem? Hand him over—"

In the young man's words were suppressed calmness and anxiety that seemed ready to explode at any moment. He had noticed something wrong during the chase, but he was also afraid of certain possibilities that were not good and he was unwilling to say. The large training ground was quiet. Yin Ping planted her long spear on the ground. On this side, Yue Yun wiped his mouth with his finger and finally waved towards the side.

"Hey, what are you pretending for! You were almost crying just now—"

...

Bloodthirsty eyes turned over and stared at him.

...

Yue Yun was slightly stunned, then laughed.

"...Haha, come on... You cried just now!"

In the empty training ground, the night wind blew quietly for a while. The words that once said would cause social death still brought great damage, but whether it was because he had experienced social death many times after running away from home and was used to it, or because greater concerns overwhelmed temporary shame, this time, Ning Ji did not pounce again.

He looked at the siblings in the training ground, then looked around, clenching his sword handles, and was about to shout again for Zuo's dog. A corner tower not far away had its door opened, and Zuo Wenxuan walked out.

Ning Ji raised his knife, if not for the cover of night, everyone would probably see his eyes were bloodshot.

"You..."

"I told you," Zuo Wenxuan sighed from afar, "if you don't want to leave, you need to be psychologically prepared for the consequences."

"I'm prepared for your mom... You said next time—"

"This is next time. Things have gotten big."

"What..."

Ning Ji's words were not finished. Two more figures appeared at the door beside Zuo Wenxuan, one of whom was Qu Longjun—she had been caught, her hands tied behind her back, a gag tied around her mouth, unable to speak, but this was already a joyful scene. Ning Ji almost cried, as for the other figure, he did not have time to care about.

Just as he was about to rush over, Yue Yinping held up her long spear. And beside Qu Longjun, the middle-aged figure in the long shirt raised his hand.

In an instant, Ning Ji felt as if he saw his father far away in the southwest.

—In the opponent's hand was a single-barreled musket, he pointed the musket at Qu Longjun's head. For some reason, this posture of holding the gun was quite similar to his father's.

"You..."

He was about to speak.

...

Bang—

...

The other party pulled the trigger.

...

In the night, a burst of flames erupted into the night sky. If the opponent had not raised his hand when pulling the trigger, this burst of fire would have swallowed Qu Longjun's head.

Qu Longjun instinctively shrunk her head.

Ning Ji, who wanted to rush up, also stopped in an instant, he looked at Zuo Wenxuan.

...

Zuo Wenxuan sighed and looked at him helplessly.

"This is Lord Cheng Zhouhai..."

"He is your elder, he held you when you were little..."

"He also saw you in Chengdu..."

"...Do you freaking remember?"

...

"Uh..."

Ning Ji scratched his head.

"...Huh?"