"What did you say!?"

The city's night was heavy, with a hint of restlessness. Due to the warnings from the people in Tranquility Lane, alarms were now spreading through the streets. The sound of gongs echoed in the distance, and it would take some time for the army to arrive. At least for now, Tranquility Lane was quiet, with a tense atmosphere. Apart from the standoff that had formed, few dared to speak.

The two sides facing each other were clearly mismatched. On one side was only Ning Yi, a scholar, and on the other, led by Shi Bao, were masters of the Green Forest. Sent by Fang La to cause chaos in the city, they were incredibly skilled. Though not numerous, the earlier actions of the girl named Liu Xigua, coupled with Shi Bao's casual slaughter, meant that the organized forces of Tranquility Lane had no chance of resisting. Ning Yi, with just a sentence, had drawn the attention of this group entirely to himself.

He had already established sufficient prestige in Tranquility Lane, and his secret manipulation of events had been revealed. In this brief moment, watching him standing there in his scholar's robes, empty-handed and with a serious expression, everyone subconsciously felt he was dangerous. Those in Tranquility Lane, in particular, were perhaps expecting the Su family's son-in-law to suddenly take action and subdue these bandits.

"I mean, now that you're here, perhaps you won't be going back..."

Taking a deep breath, Ning Yi's face was somber. He sighed, then raised his head, slightly cupped his hands, and smiled. "Everyone in Tranquility Lane..."

His voice echoed in the night air.

Even for Ning Yi, the current situation was somewhat unexpected, truly infuriating and disheartening.

His help in dealing with the current crisis in Hangzhou stemmed from a desire for self-preservation. Doing a little more, if possible, was worthwhile. He was sincerely helping, but as he wasn't involved in officialdom, he wouldn't interfere with the internal workings of the government. Even so, being betrayed so quickly was absurd. He had to admit, he hadn't anticipated such a situation.

However, he did have contingency measures prepared to deal with the situation, although... he hadn't wanted to use them unless absolutely necessary.

"I haven't lived here long, but... thank you all for your care and support. Being able to get along with everyone has been a rare thing. If possible, I would like to maintain a good image in everyone's eyes, but I didn't expect tonight's events. So, from here on out, I might be a little excessive..."

In the standoff, surrounded, Ning Yi spoke slowly, smiling. On the other side, the Su family began to try and retreat, naturally drawing the attention of Shi Bao's people. Some exchanged glances, wanting to intercept them, but as Ning Yi's words continued, a sense of foreboding and pressure built up. This was simply because Ning Yi's attitude was convincing. In this regard, whether true or false, Ning Yi was definitely a most persuasive actor.

As Ning Yi spoke, the crowd began to stir. In the distance, the girl named Liu Xigua looked over, and Shi Bao frowned. Ning Yi bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry about this, but there's no other way. Everyone, run! May... you find your own fortune."

"Grab him!"

As Ning Yi finished speaking, Shi Bao roared and charged forward. Regardless of why Ning Yi said those words, he had to be captured. At the same time, several people in front, behind, and on the rooftops suddenly moved, including the girl named Liu Xigua, who swung her saber like a storm!

On the side closer to the Su family, two people suddenly exerted their strength and charged over. In the night, figures shifted from stillness to motion in several courtyards, sprinting and converging!

Fang La's people were few but all experts, separated by only a dozen or twenty meters. Once they moved, they would arrive in an instant. Ning Yi naturally didn't sit idle, drawing his saber and running to the side. After only two or three meters, he changed direction. Then, a deafening explosion rocked everyone's eardrums.

The ground burst open with a massive boom in a place on the side of the courtyard, relatively far from everyone. The light and shockwave from the explosion immediately drew everyone's attention, like a giant firework bursting.

The sparks were still flying when two more booms were heard, followed by a series of explosions.

The explosions were in random locations, some in the courtyard, some outside in the street, but this was just the beginning. The massive impact enveloped everything in an instant, light, dirt, and debris filled the eyes, and sound shook the eardrums. One person closest to Ning Yi was thrown away by the explosion just a few meters from him. The blast ruffled Ning Yi's robes, and Shi Bao saw a flash of light. Unable to even hear, he almost instinctively stopped, as a flame erupted not far in front of him.

The huge blade wielded by the Liu family girl swept towards Ning Yi. The momentum made it seem like a mad blade was spinning the girl. She approached at once, and Ning Yi rushed into a nearby thatched shed. Just as the girl cleaved the shed's wall, flames burst from the shed, and Ning Yi leaped out of the window on the other side...

"Be-care-ful—"

Regardless of the fact that the erupting fireworks nearly slowed time, causing the spread of words to become slow, screams and chaos had already erupted on the street. Several of Fang La's men, who were about to approach the Su family, began to retreat.

Honestly, although the explosions started here, they almost spread to the entire length of the street in a moment. In Ning Yi's estimation, these explosions were not particularly powerful, not comparable to later generations' minefields or artillery fire, but to the people of this era, the sudden flashes of light bloomed into a symphony of death in the night. They were powerful and random in location, but Ning Yi had planned this. The surroundings of Ning Yi's and the Su family's retreat routes were the most densely packed with explosives. If someone didn't know the approximate range beforehand and rashly charged over, they wouldn't know when a flash of light would rise from the debris under their feet or by their side.

Even battle-hardened Green Forest heroes were stunned. Some stopped, some instinctively wanted to flee, and some still rushed towards Ning Yi. The explosions on the outer roads were fewer but still had an impact. Just now, a Green Forest bandit charged towards them, thinking that following the locals would save him. But he, along with two or three residents, were thrown away in an explosion.

If he hadn't encountered such a dire situation tonight, Ning Yi would never have used this foreshadowing. He had originally laid this ambush not to prevent his identity from being exposed, but as a backup plan in case Fang La broke through the city. No one in this era was as enthusiastic as him about using gunpowder on such a large scale. If others were handling things, they would naturally have more methods, but Ning Yi's help to Qian Haiping in recent days had made it easier to use gunpowder resources, so he had casually set up this trap. He hadn't expected it to come into play at this time.

Such a large amount of gunpowder, scattered almost the entire street, just to deal with a few people, was certainly not economical. But Shi Bao was one of Fang La's top experts, and even the people he led were ones Ning Yi probably couldn't beat in a one-on-one fight. If he didn't act now, everyone would probably die.

As a modern person, Ning Yi certainly had a sense of compassion. He would be saddened by the suffering of the poor and frown at the sight of starving people. If he had the opportunity, he would be willing to help some people and do what he could. But he was, after all, a ruthless figure who had gone through fierce struggles. When it came to making choices, the residents of Tranquility Lane were no longer his priority. Of course, the most gunpowder was laid in the courtyards and along the escape routes, and the streets outside were a little better. But there were casualties, which was unavoidable in this chaos.

Shi Bao was now trapped in a sea of light and flame, having been hit by an explosion. Nearby, Ning Yi walked through the dangerous flames, looked back at him with a gaze as cold as ice, contemptuous and inhuman. Normally, this would be the most intense provocation, but even Shi Bao was somewhat stunned at this moment.

A figure wounded by the explosion staggered not far from Ning Yi. It was Gou Zheng, who had come with Shi Bao and was also a highly regarded expert under Fang La. His martial arts were not weak, but his luck was not as good as Shi Bao's. His chest and back had been hit by explosions twice, leaving him covered in blood. He had lost his weapon, but he seemed to be still conscious. Seeing Ning Yi coming over, he raised his fist to attack. Ning Yi grabbed his chest with his left hand, pulled him over, and pushed him to the other side.

"Go... stand still!"

It seemed a cold voice was transmitted through the explosions.

"Crouch down!"

Ning Yi chopped the opponent's thigh, and blood spurted. Gou Zheng staggered to the ground as Ning Yi walked past him without stopping. Then, in everyone's sight, Gou Zheng's body fell. Just as his chest was about to touch the ground, a light expanded from below, blasting the body into pieces.

"Ning Liheng—" Shi Bao's eyes were bloodshot, and he roared. "I'll kill your whole family!"

Amid the rising flames, Ning Yi waved his hand forcefully and shouted, "Then come and get me!"

*************

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