Streets divided the ancient city.

A large crowd was surging towards the outskirts of the city.

In the city center, another group was gathering near the Jiangning Yamen of the old Wu Dynasty.

Streets, and the intersections of streets, formed small squares. The stall vendors had already packed up their carts and disappeared. Only those who were curious, those who wanted to watch the excitement, or those who still didn't understand what was happening, gathered at these street corners, in the nearby restaurants and tea houses that had opened their doors for some unknown reason, and even filled the pavilions and rooftops of nearby residences.

The clamorous sounds arose at every street corner.

Centered on the old Wu Yamen, within a radius of several miles, seven or eight streets and more than a dozen intersections were now guarded by well-known heroes of the Green Forest. From time to time, they would proclaim He Wen's order.

"...This is a chaotic order. If there are grievances, someone will handle them another day..."

Whether someone would handle it another day, or whether it would merely be postponed, no one could guarantee. But the stern barricades, chevaux-de-frise, and numerous banners already illustrated the attitude of the Four Great Kings in the Fairness Party. This was the scene of a split, and what those who built these barricades could do, of course, was not just gentle persuasion...

...

*Boom—*

The swirling of the steel saber sent large pieces of flesh and blood flying into the sky. On the square, there were sounds of violent hacking, even the shattering of bones. The tall figure of the martial artist, his chest split open, flew backwards. In front of him, a swordsman, slightly shorter but as sturdy as an iron tower, slowly held his saber horizontally. The bloody blade even carried fragments of bone and flesh, and the stench of blood had already spread.

On the surrounding rooftops and roadsides, some watched this scene, while other martial artists sighed in a low voice: "This 'Camel God' Jiang Lian was said to be a butcher in the past, but the power of this saber could probably split even a stone. No wonder he is the vanguard under the 'Heavenly Killer'..."

"Who else?" Jiang Lian, known as the "Camel God," roared, holding his saber horizontally. "Our Fairness Party is acting in accordance with Heaven. In broad daylight, who dares to cause trouble! Where are the grievances?"

A man rushed out from the crowd. It was an old man with white hair. He was old and his steps were already faltering, but perhaps because of excitement or fear, his body trembled, and his steps were extremely small. He coughed twice, his voice hoarse: "I... I... This old man..."

He had only taken a few steps on the small square when an arrow suddenly flew from a courtyard wall in the distance, piercing the old man's neck from the side. The old man felt as if something had suddenly been added to his neck as he ran. Before he could react, he fell to the ground.

The rooftop from which the arrow was shot was thirty to forty zhang away. For the archer to shoot accurately from that distance was truly a feat of marksmanship.

"That's 'Divine Hand' Zhu Yang..." The surrounding martial artists whispered again.

In front of the small square, including the old man who had just fallen, there were now eight or nine corpses lying in pools of blood. This was the number of those who didn't believe in fate, wanted to step forward to reason, or wanted to stand up for others.

...

"Coming to Jiangning this time, Lord Zuo must be lobbying for that Majesty in the Southeast. Now it seems you are radiant, so you must have achieved your goal?"

"Ah, to eat the Emperor's food and be loyal to the Emperor's affairs, Eighth Master, why force this old man to leak secrets? But Eighth Master, this time, are you really representing Mr. Ning and standing on He Wen's side?"

"Isn't that also a secret... But Lord Zuo is here, and we are all our own people. We might as well exchange information..."

"He Wen is a big mouth, it's already spread all over the world, Eighth Master..."

"You also know that He Wen is a big mouth. Can you believe anything that comes out of his mouth? You can only pretend you didn't hear the news. But you, old man, which side have you bet on?"

"Hahahaha..." The old man laughed, "...Actually, He Wen has already confirmed your side's affairs with us in private."

"Hehehe... He Wen has also told us your goal in private."

"Hahahahahaha... He Wen, that little bastard..."

"Hahahaha... He Wen is indeed a son of a bitch..."

In the south street corner, pleasant laughter rang out in the tea house. In front of them, the large square was noisy and the fighting was fierce. The tea table was quiet for a moment, then the old man turned his head.

"Do you really think He Wen can be saved?"

"Such a big matter, who knows..."

"In two years, the Fairness Party has already tasted the sweetness of unrestrained plunder. This sweetness is also poison. Relying on slogans and reason to make people turn back, I think... it's difficult..."

"Lord Zuo is wise. No matter how good the slogans are, they are always just the first step forward. Throughout history, there has always been a vast difference between progressive movements and successful movements."

"Then you..."

"The second step is discipline, the third step is rules, and there is also the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth..."

"Does He Wen have these things?"

"You old man should go ask He Wen, then you'll know."

"...When are you planning to make your move?"

...

Passing through the chaotic crowd, three figures slowly walked along the city's roads.

Fighting crowds swept past them, and several figures dragged a knight off his horse, killing him by the roadside. Blood-stained leaflets flew everywhere.

On both sides of the road were tightly closed courtyard gates, and also collapsed abandoned houses. Garbage and the stench of blood were mixed together, and the corpses of beggars lay across the entrances of dark alleys.

Xue Jin staggered, picked up a leaflet from the ground, and looked at it closely, reciting it silently.

"Hey, put that thing down. Do you want to die?"

A blood-stained martial artist walked over, approaching with a fierce aura. "You still don't advise your father..." In his eyes, these were just two young beggar children and an old, lame, middle-aged beggar.

The long saber closed in.

The older of the two young men grabbed the back of the saber that was extended in front of him, twisted it in his hand, and snatched the long saber away. The other man's gaze suddenly became ferocious as he grabbed forward with both palms. The next moment, the young man's left hand gripped his right palm, shaking it twice in the air, then grabbed the man and spun him around, pressing him to kneel on the ground in front. The man's arm bent backwards, and he still wanted to resist, but the young man stepped on him and twisted his right arm backwards into a huge, horrifying angle, breaking it.

The remaining men rushed towards them. The young man was wielding the steel saber, using the side of the blade to bang on the man's head, again and again, as if he were smashing a watermelon. Blood seeped out. Several figures holding sabers rushed closer, and the young monk retreated to the rear as the young man wielded his saber. The blades flashed.

The surging waves crashed on the shore, stirring up a thousand piles of snow.

Several figures lay scattered on the street filled with garbage and corpses.

By the side of the road, Xue Jin closed the leaflet.

His gaze was trembling and confused, and his lips moved muttering. But finally, he gradually thought of something.

He clasped his hands slightly and bowed with a tremble.

"Two... two young benefactors... I, I have a request..."

"...Speak."

Ning Ji and Ping An were stripping off the clothes that fit them from the dead and injured on the ground. The clothes on the first swordsman who rushed over were the most complete, and he was crawling forward with difficulty. Ning Ji and the young monk were talking while dragging him back.

"I... This old man... wants to ask for a set of paper and ink, and then..." He spoke slowly to this point, and tears gradually fell from his eyes, "Then, I beg the two young benefactors not to care about me anymore..."

The young monk stood up and looked at him solemnly. Ning Ji was still taking off the man's clothes and pants, but then, he nodded.

"...Okay."

...

There had once been a beautiful life.

Was it built on the humiliation of others? Xue Jin couldn't say for sure anymore.

He was once a纨绔子弟 (wánkù zǐdì - playboy) in Jiangning City.

He had witnessed a life of extravagance and dissipation.

He had also experienced the time when "young men of noble families fought for the favor of a courtesan, and no one knew the number of silk rolls used."

He had seen the emergence of the "A Night of Fish and Dragon Dance," and he had also appeared villainous during one or two gatherings...

He had seen the flowing waters of Jiangning, and the peace of the deep old mansions shrouded in the boundless spring rain...

He had also seen, when pretending to be charitable or following the crowd to distribute porridge, the starving people trembling in the rain and snow outside the city, and the withered bones filling the wilderness every spring...

Everyone has sins...

Perhaps it was the cries of others in the cracks of those laughs, the hunger and cold in the wilderness during the alternation of grand scenes, that finally caused that prosperous world to collapse without a trace...

He married a wife, but soon became tired of that face...

He wandered among the brothels, and after pursuing a moment of excitement, he gradually fell in love with new things...

People always think that everything they get will come without a price...

They think that a smooth life is a matter of course...

They think that today's happiness will last forever...

...

The three figures walked through the chaotic streets, going towards the direction of the old Wu Yamen, while searching for a place to find paper and ink.

But most of the shops on the roadside were closed, and someone had smashed the doors and windows and set them on fire.

Shops that specialized in selling stationery had disappeared without a trace. In such a chaotic world of the Fairness Party, who would need stationery?

The corpses on the roadside were fresh.

There was also paper.

The young monk pointed to the corpse and said:

"Otherwise, let's write with blood."

Xue Jin lay on the ground and began to use his hand to dip into the blood and write on the paper what he wanted to write.

But what should he write?

...

He thought of Yue Niang, who came through the door last.

She was an unremarkable girl in the brothel.

Unremarkably beautiful.

Unremarkably talented.

Unremarkably aroused the love of many people.

And unremarkably loved a poor scholar.

She was not the most famous girl in Jiangning, but it took Xue Jin a great deal of effort to win her favor on the surface.

She wanted to earn money to redeem herself, and she also hoped that one day, she could get rid of the life of entertaining people with smiles.

Xue Jin spent a lot of money to give her the first initiation.

She forced a smile, and he was happy. He had been in the brothels for so many years, how could he not understand what she was thinking?

But gradually, he was able to stay overnight with her.

Gradually, she gave up the hopes in her heart. Xue Jin didn't really want to know how many experiences there had been in between that were not enough for outsiders to know.

He had a lot of face in the social circles, so he married her and brought her into his home. After she entered the door, he gradually began to tire of everything...

Jiangning was tossed about in the chaos of war. Sometimes they left here to avoid disaster.

They had also escaped two rounds of the Jurchens' ravages.

The Fairness Party came and swept across the entire Jiangnan. This time, people could no longer escape the disaster. They had seen wealthy families have their homes ransacked and their families exterminated, so they decided to surrender and wait for their fate.

In the first round of entry, some family members were killed and some were raped, but the number of people affected was not too large after all. Chaos had already arrived, and people had to go through such suffering. But in the days that followed, people came round after round, and then dragged them to the square, where a woman named "White Rakshasa" cried and accused the Xue family of their evil deeds...

Stones rained down, people killed and robbed with laughter, and women who still had beauty were dragged out. Yue Niang was dragged into a nearby alley amidst screams, followed by desperate cries and pleas for mercy...

People said that the past was unfair...

Those people said that this was fairness...

All sins will eventually be repaid...

His mind was buzzing...

The misty rain of Jiangning in the past, the thousands of trees blooming in the east wind in that prosperous age, people's smiles bloomed before his eyes, those were things he didn't deserve to have. Was it because of this that we fell into this hell?

Yue Niang survived, but she couldn't speak. She trembled in his arms. His voice was hoarse, his leg was lame, and his hand was broken. He gently held her and looked at the misty rain outside under the bridge. He went out to beg, he went out to pick up firewood. Sometimes he was beaten, and he slowly crawled back with blood on his body. The scene under the bridge gradually changed, and the flowing river slowly became turbid and stinking.

He didn't know why, but they still survived like cockroaches...

They snuggled together. Sometimes, Yue Niang would open her eyes wide and look at him. What was she thinking when she looked at him? Had they had loving times in the past? Had they ever had a sincere entrustment?

And sometimes, she would open her eyes wide and look into the distance outside the bridge. What was she thinking? Was she thinking about her yearnings as a girl? The agreement with that poor scholar, their love?

They sat side by side on the riverbank, wanting to see fireworks once.

The city never set them off again...

Living in blood and slaughter, living in a gradually stinking city, living in an inexplicable hope... He didn't even know why he had survived, let alone why Yue Niang had survived. Was she living with such difficulty for him?

And she finally died.

When she died, she looked at him with wide eyes.

In the past, in the brothel, the most attractive thing about her was those big eyes...

Yue Niang... are you my family?

Have you ever... regarded me as family...?

He thought of these things...

...

The trembling hand stained with blood froze in the air for a long time.

He wailed... finally...

Pressed down on the paper.

...

In the bustling city, the people watching the excitement were still watching the excitement.

The masters guarding each street corner were establishing their reputation in front of the people with superb martial arts.

Occasionally, people who rushed towards the barricades were killed in pools of blood, and the eighteen weapons swirled in the air into a flower.

Several masters who were unwilling to be lonely sneaked in and were immediately beaten out.

The banner of the world's number one person was like a stabilizing needle, suppressing the waves in the city.

Tens of miles away on the Yangtze River, He Wen was on the deck of a vast fleet, going to the distance.

Xue Jin slowly and tremblingly walked towards the intersection of a road in the south.

He opened his mouth, which was almost toothless, and tears had blurred his eyes.

Among the surrounding onlookers, there were martial artists with weapons, and there were ordinary people watching, some speaking with righteous indignation, and some trembling and waiting for things to change. He stood with the two young men and watched on the roadside for a while.

"Is this the way to the yamen..."

"Why aren't they letting us go..."

They wanted to understand the situation here, and randomly, they also understood most of it in some whispers.

People who rushed up to cry out for grievances were killed among the corpses...

Xue Jin trembled and said goodbye to the two young men.

"I beg you two benefactors... don't care about me anymore..."

They were silent for a long time, and finally, they nodded.

"One day, when I return to the Southwest, I may see Ning Yi, whom you once beat. Do you have any words you want me to bring to him?"

The young man asked about this matter.

Xue Jin thought for a while, and finally, revealed a slight smile.

"That Taoist priest recited two poems, he lied to me." Xue Jin said, "I will... I hope he will have many children and grandchildren in this life, and have eternal happiness and longevity. You tell him... to live well..."

"I will tell him..." the young man nodded, "Next, I won't care about you anymore."

He said this, and finally said: "If there are people blocking the road, then don't go, right."

"...Okay." Xue Jin nodded with tears in his eyes, holding the piece of paper in his hand.

...

The time was already a quarter past noon. The information from the Surveillance Division had spread to all parts of the city.

At the street corner square more than a mile south of the old Wu Yamen, the people above the tea house discovered an unusual target.

The young man and the young monk separated and walked towards the entrance of the tea house next to them.

A figure came down from the building. It was a delicate-looking woman with a scar on her face. The young man approached and called her, "Aunt Qi."

"What's wrong?" Hua Xia Jun's high-ranking official, who used to be called Xiao Qi, and had now returned to Jiangning after a long absence, smiled gently at him, "What's wrong that you're so misguided and want to throw yourself into the net?"

Ning Ji looked around, and Hei Niu and others gradually appeared around him as well, looking at him with a playful expression.

"Aunt Qi, I... I saw some things, and I want to... get something from you..."

The woman's gaze became calm, and then, serious, "What did you see?"

...

At a quarter past noon, above the tea house, Zuo Xiuquan and Qian Luoning were talking when they saw the woman with the scar on her face walk up from the side and whisper some words to Qian Luoning.

"...Gave it to him?" Qian Luoning asked.

The woman smiled and nodded.

"What time is it now?"

"...A quarter past."

"...A little earlier... but it doesn't matter... Tell the groups to prepare to move."

He waved his hand and made a few gestures.

The old man laughed, "Didn't you say earlier... that you weren't here to fight?"

"Yes." Qian Luoning stood up and let out a long breath, "We are here to wage war."

"...But this entrance is guarded by Yama's side." The old man pointed into the distance, "What about Leader Lin? Who can suppress him?"

The crowd above the tea house was flowing downwards like water. Qian Luoning looked at Zuo Xiuquan. After a long time, he laughed...

...

At a quarter past noon, in the crowd, "Monkey King" Li Yanfeng narrowed his eyes and saw a familiar figure not far away.

Yan Yunzhi was standing at the street corner, looking towards the scene of slaughter in front of the square. Standing next to her was probably Yan Tiehe, the Second Master of the Yan family.

These two had now been heavily rewarded and wanted by Bao Feng Bank.

Li Yanfeng smiled.

He then saw that Yan Yunzhi seemed to have noticed something as well, and was tiptoeing, looking towards the center of the square. Li Yanfeng then also looked over there...

...

The surrounding corpses were hideous, and the stench of blood permeated the air...

The dead people opened their eyes, as if they were nostalgic for this mortal world...

Those eyes reminded him of Yue Niang's eyes...

He had once seen a beautiful world...

He had a life that he was nostalgic for...

But now...

Xue Jin cried out in the crowd...

He held the piece of paper in his hand and slowly walked forward...

In the square in front, someone pointed over here and shouted something...

There is a line between life and death.

Crossing that line, this life will end...

He was finally... going back to the place where Yue Niang had gone...

He raised the piece of paper in his hand.

So the people in the square understood what he was going to do...

Xue Jin's footsteps entered the range of blood...

Not far away, people watched all of this...

This was not the first person to fall in the square this morning, and it would definitely not be the last...

In the distance, an arrow嗖 (sōu - swoosh) flew over.

...

Xue Jin closed his eyes and walked forward.

A figure passed by him, leaping high and falling again, holding the arrow shot from dozens of zhang away in his hand.

The young monk threw the arrow away.

The martial artist in charge of guarding this place on the opposite side of the square held a red-tasseled spear, and now revealed a smile:

"Haha, another martial artist has come..."

The young monk waved his hand to the rear: "Big Brother."

The young man named Ning Ji was carrying a package in one hand and a knife in the other, and was walking towards this side.

With slow and trembling steps, Xue Jin cried and held up the blood-stained paper and walked forward.

In the crowd behind, Yan Yunzhi saw that figure.

And not far on the side, "Monkey King" Li Yanfeng also saw the appearance of these two people. The murderous aura spread in his brows, and he stretched out his hand and shook it. The stick he was carrying on his back whistled up and greeted the martial artist guarding in front of the square.

"Brother Lu. One of these two little cubs is mine."

Far and near, there were whispers.

"The 'Monkey King' has made a move..."

"The one in the square is 'Divine Spear' Lu Fan..."

"Who are these two children..."

"A dragon and a tiger are fighting..."

Ning Ji walked towards the front. He didn't pay too much attention to Li Yanfeng who came from the side, nor did he focus his attention on the guard in front of the square. His gaze had already become fierce, and he waved his hand and threw the package he was carrying to the front.

The young monk caught the package with some confusion.

"Find a flagpole." Ning Ji said: "Raise it."

Li Yanfeng walked over here with agile steps.

"Divine Spear" Lu Fan shook his spear and opened his stance: "Today, this road is impassable. No one who comes will be of any use!"

"Ahhhhhh..."

Xue Jin cried and walked forward.

Behind him, Ning Ji lowered his body, and suddenly, his power exploded, and the whole figure was like a fierce tiger pouncing towards the front. The sunlight shone, and the distance between him and the person in front of the square suddenly shortened. Lu Fan's spear brushed out a sky of spear flowers, and then only heard the sound of ding ding dang dang. The spear's offensive was like a giant python, but that group of saber light轰然 (hōngrán - with a loud crash) split open the middle door of the spear. After several consecutive chops, he smashed the spear shaft and made it swing towards the ground. The gravel on the ground was smashed and splashed by the spear shaft, and the young man seemed to step on the spear shaft and jumped up, holding the saber in both hands and劈 (pī - chop) down like thunder.

Lu Fan's body retreated踏踏踏 (tàtàtà - thump, thump, thump) and crashed into a pile of chevaux-de-frise behind him. The steel saber fell obliquely into his body from the side of his neck, almost cutting his entire upper body open. The viscous liquid surged like an explosion.

The young man stood in front of his corpse and pulled out the saber.

This morning, in front of the fortress formed by the four great kings of the Fairness Party, some people charged, some people protested, and some were killed in the competition, but no one dared to be so ruthless in front of the four kings, who occupied the advantage, and kill the martial artist guarding in front of them.

But at this moment, crimson blood喷涌 (pēnyǒng - gush) like a pool of blood.

"Today, this road can be walked... I said so."

He faced the countless figures in front of him and stated this.

Behind him, Xue Jin staggered forward.

Death had not yet arrived.

Malice came surging.