Night winds blew, and the stars in the sky were dim. In the courtyard of the now-quiet county town, with a few "kacha" sounds, the gate was closed, with only faint rays of light seeping through the cracks. Zhou Tong's kick earlier had been powerful, but precisely aimed. Lin Chong's back struck between the two gate panels, only breaking the bolt. Fulu found a wooden stick to replace it, securing the gate.

Turning around, the old man who had been angry just moments ago was sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard, holding a teacup and waiting for the tea on the stove next to him to boil. The flickering firelight reflected on the old man's face. Fulu went over and stoked the fire. "Actually... Lin Shidi (junior brother) has really had a hard time..."

The old man, previously bursting with anger, shook his head, but not in denial; rather, he seemed somewhat dispirited. He held the small teacup, closed his eyes, and thought for a moment. The courtyard was silent for a long while before Zhou Tong spoke.

"In the group of disciples I took that year, Lin Chong was the most talented. His stances were the best, and he won the most spars with his fellow disciples." The old man raised his head slightly, speaking slowly as he reminisced. "He got along well with everyone, including you. But of all those disciples, I didn't like him. Lin Chong didn't know this, but you asked me... do you remember?"

Fulu thought for a moment and nodded. "I remember. At the time, Master, you only admitted it but didn't give a reason. I always thought that Lin Shidi had done something improper in private that you found out. I distanced myself from him for a while and often observed him in secret. Later, I discovered that Lin Shidi's character wasn't bad, and I just assumed that you had misunderstood something."

"You are the senior brother to all of them, and you've been with me the longest, so naturally, you can discern my likes and dislikes. But you guessed wrong about this. I couldn't say it back then. Can you see it now?"

"Is it Lin Shidi's temperament... too cowardly?"

"To have fallen into banditry and killed so many people along the way, his temperament can't be called cowardly." Zhou Tong shook his head and opened his eyes. "He lacks a knife in his heart."

Hearing this, Fulu hesitated. "I remember that you were always saying that martial artists should hide their knives..."

"Yes, martial artists should hide their knives." Zhou Tong sighed. The tea had now boiled. He took the kettle off and began to pour the tea. The aroma of boiling tea filled the courtyard in the late night. "Back when I was teaching at the Imperial Boxing Academy, the disciples were all aggressive and eager to fight. If they resorted to violence and killing at the slightest provocation, what kind of things would I be teaching? That's why, although Shi Wengong's martial arts were high, I truly didn't like him. Hmm, Shi Wengong, his name has *shi* (history), *wen* (culture), and *gong* (respect) in it. I initially thought he was a humble person. But although Lin Chong's name has the word *chong* (charge) in it, he's actually the opposite."

He put down the teapot. "Back then, because I didn't want martial artists to run wild, I told my disciples to hide their knives, and even warned them to yield a bit even when they felt they couldn't take it anymore, because they always thought they had reached their limit when they could still endure. But Lin Chong grew up in a wealthy area, so although his comprehension was high, it also made him understand the power of rules early on. So, although he had a high aptitude for martial arts, I only said he had good form. If the murderous aura is too strong, I say hide the knife, but if there's no knife in the heart, what is a martial artist? Lin Chong is too obedient, so I didn't like him either, but back then, it wasn't easy for me to say it."

The old man's words lingered in the wind. Fulu thought for a while and sighed. "Actually, Lin Shidi was very righteous and heroic back then, that's why everyone liked him..."

Zhou Tong shook his head. "Righteousness and heroism, that's not a knife, it's just a person's personality. Master Tan once told me that in a good world, a scholar has a ruler in his heart to measure worldly affairs and people's hearts, to define the rules. But a martial artist needs a knife in his heart. The knife can't be too sharp, but it can't be absent either. When those rules get old and become useless, when the world goes astray, the martial artist must use the knife to cut them off so that new rules can emerge."

He lowered his head and looked at the tea in the cup. "Things are like this, because martial artists are the most sensitive. A common man's anger spills blood for ten steps. The knife in a person's heart is conscience and integrity, right is right and wrong is wrong. Scholars define the rules, but they only tinker and patch things up. They have a pile of reasons when they do something wrong. But conscience and integrity are the most direct. If something is wrong, there's definitely a problem, and it should be broken to bring out better rules! So, heroism is not a knife, the knife is right and wrong, it's great wisdom and courage, it's killing rules!"

"People are forced to become bandits because everyone else is doing it? Because everyone does it, that's not a knife! Following the crowd is not a knife, doing things that others can't do, dare not do, or won't do, that's a knife! Keeping righteousness in mind, but saying you're forced to do it every day, that's not a knife, going against the masses when righteousness is present, that's a knife! Lin Chong has no knife in his heart. He's forced into that situation, but he still only dares to live within the rules, because he knows that being forced to become a bandit is the rule, and becoming a bandit means killing innocent people, that's the rule. If there's a rule, he'll only follow the rule. Hah, he killed people and rebelled, he doesn't even want the emperor, but he doesn't have the guts to break even a little bit of the rules in his heart. What's the use of his good martial arts... a useless person!"

The old man drank the tea and put down the cup. There was obvious anger in his half-white expression. Fulu nodded silently, but sighed in his heart. Although the old

man said he disliked Lin Chong the most, in fact, after learning about Lin Chong's affairs, he had done far more for this junior brother than for some of the other junior brothers. This included speaking to that Ning Liheng to let this disciple have a chance to live, Fulu could also see that the old man didn't like that Ning Liheng very much either. With the old man's strict character of clear likes and dislikes, this request, meant he was asking a favor.

Just like when he learned of Shi Wengong's death, the old man just hummed lightly and didn't care about him anymore. Looking back, although Lin Shidi's heart was weak, he had a smooth upbringing, married a beautiful woman, and was a martial arts instructor in the imperial guards. If it weren't for what happened later, he would have had a happy life. At this time, the old man was angry at his lack of ambition, but also harbored anger at the evil of the world.

The night was deep. The old man sat in the courtyard for a while longer, when suddenly a bird flew over. Fulu reached out and caught the bird, nodded to Zhou Tong, and said something. After that, he extinguished the lights and the fire, and the two of them left the courtyard, heading towards the small woods outside the county town. Soon after, four more figures arrived. At the head was a middle-aged woman, followed by three people. The one in front was dressed as a Yuhou (military officer), with two followers behind him. When the four of them arrived, Zhou Tong and Fulu were standing by a small pond in the woods. The middle-aged woman came over and called out, "Master." Zhou Tong nodded, and the Yuhou with the knife quickly stepped forward to greet him.

"Lu Qian greets Grandmaster Zhou. It's so late, why did you summon us..."

"Enough with the pleasantries." Zhou Tong's figure was facing away from them, and he waved his hand. "The matter that Grand Commandant Gao instructed has been done."

"Ah, that Ning, Lu, those two are really already..."

"I have another matter that I want Yuhou Lu to convey to Grand Commandant's Gao. Come over here, and I'll tell you."

"Yes."

Zhou Tong was the number one person in the world, with an arrogant nature. From the moment they met, his attitude towards them had not been good. Lu Qian didn't mind being interrupted several times, clasped his hands, and went over, stopping to Zhou Tong's side. Zhou Tong had his hands behind his back, looked at the night sky in silence for a moment, and finally spoke, "In Bianliang City, that Gao Qiu's son calls himself the Flower Waster, and you are the one who abducts the women he fancies, right?"

Lu Qian was slightly taken aback.

"Lin Chong is your friend, but you were the one who plotted to let the Flower Waster take his wife, right?"

Lu Qian saw Zhou Tong turn around, his eyes looking at him like a tiger. He clasped his hands, and his feet subconsciously wanted to take a step back, "I..."

"Shameless person!"

Zhou Tong slapped down with his palm. In that instant, Lu Qian's feet wanted to move, his arm wanted to raise up to block, but none of it materialized. In everyone's eyes, Zhou Tong raised his palm and lightly patted the top of Lu Qian's head. Lu Qian's body shook.

"...Cannot let you live."

As the words fell, Lu Qian's body knelt down, and then fell with a thud. Not far away, Lu Qian's two followers were trembling. "You, you... you killed..."

"Wenying, Fulu, kill them and take care of it." Zhou Tong straightened his sleeves, turned and left with his hands behind his back. Fulu did not move, the middle-aged woman named Wenying flicked her hand, and two shurikens pierced the foreheads of the two people. Zhou Tong stopped, turned his head, and the figures had already fallen. "Oh, try not to let people know about Lu Qian's death. Don't spread it around."

Fulu clasped his hands and said, "Yes." After explaining this, Zhou Tong drifted away. The woman named Wenying tilted her head. "Of course, you can't let people know about killing Grand Commandant Gao's men. Why did Master have to give special instructions?" Her name was Zuo Wenying, and she and Fulu were originally Zhou Tong's servants, and later they had married. Fulu said, "Lin Shidi (junior brother) came by just now, and Master beat him away. Master has now seen this Lu Yuhou, so naturally, he can't let him go back to harm others. He's just letting Lin Shidi know that the great revenge hasn't been avenged, so hopefully he'll have some motivation."

Zuo Wenying shook her head. "You speak well of that Lin Shidi, but I don't look up to him. His family is ruined, and all he knows is to become a bandit! With this kind of temperament, how can he be called a man!"

Fulu sighed. "Master said the same." In the woods, they packed the bodies in sacks, mixed them with stones and sunk them to the bottom of the lake. While he was doing it, he told his wife about Lin Chong's visit to Zhou Tong. He couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Alas, Lin Shidi has practiced martial arts since he was a child, and his martial arts are well-trained. He is actually a person without much desire, but external misfortunes came suddenly. Although Master is right, seeing Lin Shidi's nature, he also has the intention of tempering him, but this tempering is not something that ordinary people can withstand. This departure of his must be disheartened. It's hard to say whether he can live. If he could clearly tell him Master's later words, he might be able to live a little longer..."

"He has been forced to this extent and still can't realize it himself. If you just say some words, how can you help him? Even if he understands something, it's not his own! As I see it, you're thinking the wrong way. Most importantly, you haven't thought about it at all."

"Huh?" Fulu frowned, looking at his wife.

"Because he is Zhou Tong's disciple!" Zuo Wenying kicked a sack into the lake, raised her chin, looked down, and said decisively, "He is the disciple of the number one person in the world!"

"How can he feel sorry for himself all day long, wanting others to coax and persuade him! He is Master's disciple, he has learned Master's martial arts! When he encounters these things, how can he retreat and be weak? Then what a pity is there if he dies! Who hasn't encountered difficulties? Haven't you and I? Back then, my family also died! He is Zhou Tong's disciple, so he should know that he can do anything when he encounters this, even hide, but he shouldn't be a bandit! He is Zhou Tong's disciple, so why can't he be asked for more when it comes to right and wrong! Thinking about right and wrong all day long, not forgetting morality, thinking about being forced to do it all day long, doing evil things! It's all just talking about it and thinking about it, then just die! Humph!"

Fulu looked at his wife speaking with her head held high, and gradually smiled, nodding, "Indeed... you know Master's personality the best, I was really thinking the wrong way. No wonder everyone says you are a woman who is not inferior to men, my nature is a bit soft, like Master said, there is no knife in my heart, this is not good..."

He made this self-criticism to his wife. Hearing him praise herself, although they had been husband and wife for many years, the woman's face turned slightly red. Fortunately, it couldn't be seen clearly in the darkness.

"You have a knife in your heart, it's enough for me to know it." After a moment, she added, "Master also knows it."

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

The night passed quietly. The next morning, more people came one after another. Ning Yi was dealing with the plans for sweeping the area of ​​Zhuxi and Anping, occasionally going to see Hong Ti. By noon that day, Zhou Tong and his servant had left Yiyuan County. However, before leaving, he seemed to have said something to Hong Ti, causing Hong Ti to be a little depressed...

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

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