The weather was hot, but the lush mountains were teeming with life, the sounds of cicadas, frogs, and birds creating a lively symphony.

In the afternoon, on Mount Jiuxian, south of Fuzhou City.

A young man with a faint scar on his forehead stood for a moment at a clearing on the mountainside.

A cool breeze blew from the verdant mountains, relieving the heat, but his face was grim, his expression uneasy.

After a while, a friend dressed in light, simple clothing came up from the foot of the mountain. A slight smile appeared on his somewhat gloomy face. "Brother Zhou."

"Brother Zhan, sorry to keep you waiting."

The man with the faint scar on his forehead was none other than Zhan Yunhai, the "Tiger Shark" of Putian, a figure known for his ruthlessness. The one who hurried up was naturally Zuo Xingzhou, using the alias Zhou Xing. Both were known in the greenwood for their reckless fighting style, and their past private friendship was deep. Now that they had fought together against Yue Yun, a "direct descendant of Zhou Tong," their relationship was even stronger.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they turned and headed up the mountain. Zuo Xingzhou looked at his friend's attire and already had a guess in mind. He said, "You're dressed quite properly, did you even put on powder... By the way, you asked me to help out today, who are we dealing with? You should give me the lowdown, how are we fighting, what kind of outcome are we aiming for? I need to know."

Zhan Yunhai walked with his head down, his expression complex. "We won't be fighting, actually... it's my father-in-law, he wants to meet me."

"Oh, Huang Bailong?"

"Xiao Xiang'er's father, Huang Shengyuan."

"Oh." Zuo Xingzhou nodded. "I've heard of him."

"Huang Shengyuan desperately wants to send Xiao Xiang'er into the palace." Zhan Yunhai said, "Brother Zhou, you should have heard that the Huang family is a large clan in Putian, with Huang Bailong's lineage in charge of the main branch. Huang Shengyuan is from a side branch, and although he has been working with Huang Bailong for years and is highly valued, he ultimately doesn't have the same status as the main branch. The other day, when you told me about the dog emperor's concubine selection process, I went to inquire about it. Huang Shengyuan has prepared nearly eighty thousand taels of silver, wanting to send Xiao Xiang'er into the palace to become a consort. Now it seems I'm the only one standing in his way..."

"Eighty thousand taels... so you're afraid your father-in-law will directly turn hostile, secretly invite you out, and try to get rid of you?"

"Probably not." Zhan Yunhai shook his head. "I've killed people in Putian for years, and I've dealt with Huang Shengyuan many times. He knows my temperament, if he can't kill me outright, his whole family will be uneasy. But that being said, Brother Zhou, I also know my limitations. What ability do I, Tiger Shark, have to overcome something he's willing to spend eighty thousand taels on to achieve... Damn it, that old dog is too rich. Back then, my brothers were heads of the Manichean sect, betrayed their conscience, and didn't even earn five hundred taels a year..."

Zuo Xingzhou nodded. "So, do you want me to protect you secretly, or should we go together openly?"

"I was planning to take a look from afar first. If I feel Huang Shengyuan really wants to kill me, you'll be there in the shadows. But I don't think there's a high chance of a falling out this time. If it's appropriate, I hope you can openly support me, give me some backing."

Hearing this, Zuo Xingzhou understood completely and laughed. "If I had known, I could have found some other good fighters in the city and called them over together. That would guarantee your father-in-law, even if he had bad intentions, would have to swallow them!"

Zhan Yunhai also laughed, patting his shoulder. "Who in Putian doesn't know Brother Zhou's 'Mixed Yuan Axe' title? Having you alone is enough. Besides, I don't want to call too many people, it would make me seem too aggressive. Alas, I've done a lot of things for the Huang family in the past. I thought they were merchants, I was a thug, although our statuses were different, they weren't that far apart. Even marrying in seemed fine. Who knew... alas..."

As they spoke, they went up the mountain. Zhan Yunhai chatted about the Huang family. He was usually the most unyielding person, known as "Tiger Shark," but now, when talking about the difficulties of this marriage, he just looked worried. Zuo Xingzhou could only offer some comfort by saying "It might not work out."

They were skilled in martial arts and walked quickly. Before long, they reached the vicinity of the Wanshou Temple on the mountain and saw several figures waiting there.

The one in the lead was tall and thin, with a serious face, wiping sweat with a handkerchief. It seemed to be Huang Shengyuan, the "father-in-law" Zhan Yunhai had mentioned. The people beside him seemed to be strong servants, but looking around, there were tourists everywhere. It could be seen that Huang Shengyuan didn't seem to have any intention of making a move today.

Zuo Xingzhou and Zhan Yunhai went over together. Seeing that Zhan Yunhai had brought someone with him, Huang Shengyuan raised his eyebrows. He then walked over, approached, and said, "Little Zhan, this is..."

"Uncle, this is my good brother, a hero in the greenwood known as 'Mixed Yuan Axe' Zhou Xing. Brother Zhou, this is Huang Shengyuan, Master Huang, we usually address each other as uncle and nephew."

Zhan Yunhai himself was a notorious thug with a reputation in the greenwood. Bringing Zuo Xingzhou over was to give the other party a warning: look, my brothers in the Jianghu are also people like this, if you provoke me, no one will be able to clean up the mess in the future.

Huang Shengyuan naturally understood at a glance, and immediately exchanged polite greetings with Zuo Xingzhou. Afterwards, he found a proper topic and apologized to Zuo Xingzhou before going to the side of the Taoist temple with Zhan Yunhai.

Zuo Xingzhou chatted idly with the guards for a few words, and after roughly understanding their strength, he walked aside with his arms crossed. He quietly watched the progress of Zhan Yunhai and Huang Shengyuan's "negotiations" in the distance, and his thoughts had already fallen on his current task.

Just as he had complained to Ning Ji, the one-on-one duel with Yue Yun had been turned into a two-on-one by Zhan Yunhai. His reputation in the greenwood would not be as great, but in any case, at least his stance against the imperial court was clear. If Pu Xingui, Cao Jinlong, and others were really recruiting soldiers in the city, he could at least pass the entry threshold. Next, the problem was who to specifically look for.

If his martial arts could directly compare to a "direct descendant of Zhou Tong," then all he needed to do was wait for them to come to him. But now that he was in this in-between state, he had to take the initiative to find them. Perhaps he would have to do something as a pledge of allegiance, which would be more troublesome. Moreover, to show that he needed "work," he would probably have to find a casino tonight to lose a large sum of money, or even cause trouble...

Why not ask Zhan Yunhai, that idiot, for some money and lose it all? Firstly, it would be more realistic, and secondly, it would be the price he paid for disrupting his actions...

In these kinds of secret operations, plans often couldn't keep up with changes. He wasn't discouraged, but was calculating his countermeasures in his mind.

On the other hand, he was also curious about Ning Ji's situation. This guy used to defy everyone in the Southwest, except for his elder brother and sister-in-law—no, maybe just his sister-in-law. His catchphrases back then were "Listen to my advice, let's have a fight" and "We can lose, but we can't kneel." Even when he was beaten like a dog by Hei Niu and his group, he would still curse and swear... This made Zuo Xingzhou very curious about why he became an "Erotic Fiend" and could live under someone else's thumb.

Could it be that the effeminate "Five-Foot Erotic Fiend" Long Aotian really had something special?

During his brief contact with the other party earlier, he only felt that this person's temperament was indeed indifferent and generous, with a high-ranking demeanor. He originally wanted to test him out at noon today, but the "Four-Foot Erotic Fiend" brat didn't let him come out. In the end, he only found out that the other party used flying knives... Flying knives? This skill was strange. Coming from Four-Foot's mouth, it made Zuo Xingzhou guess if it was the kind of infallible southwest flying knife that made a "bang" sound?

If this person was a bodyguard from the Southwest accompanying the Second Young Master, then things would be easier to explain...

He was thinking about these things in his mind, and when he looked at Zhan Yunhai and Huang Shengyuan again, their negotiations were still continuing, it seemed that there would be no need to make a move…

Suddenly, Zuo Xingzhou frowned slightly.

The development of things seemed a little strange.

Originally, according to his speculation, when the "father-in-law and son-in-law" met in this kind of situation, the conflict would probably be difficult to reconcile. Even if they didn't fight each other, Zhan Yunhai would definitely be full of anger and cursing, and there would even be a lot of confrontation and threats in his words. But it seemed… from beginning to end, Zhan Yunhai had not been angry.

What was going on? Was Huang Shengyuan's level too high, had he proposed some idea that could suppress Zhan Yunhai's anger, so that he had been frowning and pondering all along?

Zuo Xingzhou shook his head.

The whole thing, for him, was just a personal favor. Although he had asked Zuo Wenxuan about the concubine selection, after being sternly warned by Zuo Wenxuan, he understood the taboo in this matter: the emperor chose concubines to make money to subsidize the court. The concubines were not important, but throughout history, any official—especially a trusted official—who dared to interfere in the emperor's private affairs, the starting point was beheading, and confiscation of property was not unjust.

How many heads do you have to think you're qualified to interfere in the emperor's private affairs?

Therefore, even though he had a life-or-death friendship with Zhan Yunhai, Zuo Xingzhou was unwilling to participate too much in this private affair between him and Miss Huang, and didn't want to think too much about it. After shaking his head, he stopped thinking about it.

But some thoughts suddenly surfaced in his mind not long after—

By the time Huang Shengyuan and Zhan Yunhai finished talking, it was already evening. Looking out from Mount Jiuxian, the sunset in Fuzhou was magnificent. Huang Shengyuan prepared to have dinner at Wanshou Temple and invited them to eat together, but Zuo Xingzhou and Zhan Yunhai both refused.

Walking down the mountain path with the occasional pilgrims, Zhan Yunhai's expression remained serious. Zuo Xingzhou was also thinking about his plan to lose all his money at a casino and cause a scene. When he came to his senses and wanted to say a few words to comfort his companion, an idea suddenly formed in his mind.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at Zhan Yunhai.

The man with the scar on his forehead reacted to the gaze and slowly turned his head. "Brother Zhou... what's wrong?"

"I... I suddenly thought of something. Brother Zhan, did your father-in-law deceive you on the mountain?"

"... Why do you say that, Brother Zhou?"

"You also said that your father-in-law is determined to send your daughter into the palace, and even prepared eighty or ninety thousand taels to get it done. He will definitely not compromise. And with your temperament, Brother Zhan, I see that you have been talking for a long time, and you have never quarreled... Then Huang Shengyuan can only have said some deceptive words to you, making you think that there might still be a turning point?"

"..." Zhan Yunhai opened his mouth, unable to speak for a moment.

"... Brother Zhan, this was originally your private matter, and I'm afraid I shouldn't ask too much. But the Jianghu is dangerous, and in Zhou's opinion, for such a big thing, if Huang Shengyuan tells you that there is still a win-win solution, doesn't that clearly mean he is deceiving you? If you quarrel with him and fall out, it's just a matter of doing something in the future. But now, Brother Zhan, you look as if you have reached some agreement with him, I... I am really worried..."

"... Brother Zhou is as meticulous as hair, and he really takes my affairs to heart."

"Hahahaha, if I only relied on two axes to walk the Jianghu, Zhou would not have survived to this day!"

"... Actually, although I have had a life-or-death friendship with Brother Zhou in the past, there are many things that are related to the Huang family, and it is not easy for me to say them casually." Zhan Yunhai seemed hesitant, but sighed and finally said: "What my father-in-law told me today is really a big deal. Brother Zhou, to be honest, there are some things I want to discuss with you, but I am hesitant, I am afraid of harming your life, actually, I can just give up my life..."

The tide of the world is turbulent, and unexpected undercurrents will always appear in some places. At this moment, the sky was high and the clouds were light, and there were three or two pilgrims on the path down the mountain. Zuo Xingzhou heard the other party say this, and he had already realized that something was wrong. He was slightly solemn, but also carried a bit of laziness, and put his arm around the other party's shoulder.

"In Zhou's life, I have never been afraid of losing my life. But hearing Brother Zhan say it so seriously, I find it interesting. So, think about it carefully, let's find a quiet place and talk about it in detail. Two heads are better than one... Don't be deceived by your father-in-law, at worst, let's take action and snatch your Xiao Xiang'er out, it's not a big deal!"

"Hey." Zhan Yunhai nodded slightly, as if sighing, and also patted Zuo Xingzhou's shoulder.

In the evening, the mountain breeze was excellent. The two walked down the mountain all the way, then headed towards the lively direction of the city. The sun gradually set in the west, the golden crow turned into a jade rabbit, and the light spots in the city gradually lit up, flowing in the streets and riverbeds. Zuo Xingzhou wanted to find a familiar restaurant, but Zhan Yunhai spoke fiercely, so they bought some dishes, and brought two pots of wine, returned to the dilapidated courtyard where they were temporarily living, and set up dinner.

Zhan Yunhai then talked about the things Zuo Xingzhou was concerned about.

"... After all, it is related to Xiao Xiang'er's family affairs, so I can't say things casually, I am afraid of causing trouble." He said, "Brother Zhou, the Huang family is a large family in Putian, it seems that they mainly sell tea, but in private, they also participate in the smuggling of salt and tea."

Zuo Xingzhou poured wine for the other party, not surprised: "Fujian is only so small, as long as there is a business that can be done, who doesn't do a little secretly? Nothing is strange."

"They also participated in the killing of the 'Yellow Dog'." Zhan Yunhai said, "Brother Zhou, they want to rebel."

The flame on the table flickered slightly, Zuo Xingzhou touched his chin, picked up a glass of wine, and drank it.

...

The lights flickered.

The carriage passed through the long street in the night. Yin Ping sat on the front of the carriage, alert to the surroundings. In the back, Zhou Pei was sitting by the curtain, looking at the streets in the night.

The handover with Luo Shouwei had been completed in the afternoon. Afterwards, Yin Ping followed the Eldest Princess out to attend a private banquet. The people who met Zhou Pei were representatives of large families inside and outside the city. They signed contracts to buy some of the Eldest Princess's properties. After the conversation, they didn't eat anything, and the team headed towards the east of the city.

The route taken was not the road back to the Princess's Mansion. Yin Ping suspected that after changing the person in charge of security, the Eldest Princess wanted to deceive her, who was new and had no prestige, and wandered around. She protested, but according to the Eldest Princess, she wanted to see the area in the east of the city that needed to be developed.

"A few buildings have been sold, of course, we also have to think about how to develop other things, so that we can continue to sell them in the future. Yin Ping, some things can't be seen clearly by sitting in the mansion and looking at the numbers all day long."

She said such reasons, but then she found the night scene along the way interesting, and excitedly told her about the things she loved to play when she was a child, and even talked about an interesting experience of hiding in a box to run out once, and almost not being able to get out.

In the end, the Eldest Princess did not say how she came out.

"Is that the Golden Silver Bridge over there?"

Walking to a certain place, Zhou Pei reached out from the curtain and pointed to a street not far away: "Go over there."

"... Your Highness."

"There are two properties in the Golden Bridge neighborhood that are listed under the Eldest Princess's Mansion, and there is also an ice cream shop in the Silver Bridge neighborhood that is our own." The princess said with a smile about business, "The Golden Silver Bridge was originally dirty and chaotic, mainly a fish market. Later, an order was issued to move the fish market to the back of the Silver Bridge neighborhood, and the night market was established. In fact, if we moved the fish market to another place, the selling price of this area would be even more expensive... Let's go take a look."

The team went to the Golden Silver Bridge. When they arrived at the entrance of the neighborhood, Zhou Pei, dressed in a blue uniform, got out of the carriage, called Yin Ping, and walked towards the Silver Bridge neighborhood.

"... Your Highness." Yin Ping wanted to persuade her again.

"You and I are wearing casual clothes, and outsiders can't tell who we are." Zhou Pei smiled, "Besides, you said this morning that this is the place where Young Master Yun fought with two thugs the other day, right?"

"Well... but..."

"I just thought of it when I saw the Golden Silver Bridge." Zhou Pei glanced at her, "Yin Ping, the two thugs fought with Young Master Yun, and in the end, they ran away, and a pile of tables and chairs were smashed. With Young Master Yun's skills, the scene must have been quite tragic, right?"

"Yes... there was a lot of blood..."

"I have seen Young Master Yun's skills. Yin Ping, I just suddenly thought, after seeing such a fierce fight and so much blood, why did that fat aunt's nephew dare to grab Young Master Yun that night, extort money from him, and dare to make him so angry?"

"..." Yin Ping was slightly stunned.

"Let's walk around."

Zhou Pei winked at her, then walked into the night market. Yin Ping quickly followed.

Before they had walked far, they saw the snack stall selling steamed rice cakes.

Even more eye-catching was a stall selling miscellaneous goods next to the snack stall, with two handsome young men. At this moment, one of the young men was standing there with a clean smile, and the other, who looked sturdy, was standing on a stool next to the stall, waving his hands like noodles.

"... Selling things—all kinds of good things from the south of the Yangtze River, gold, silver, groceries, jewelry, jade, self-defense weapons, and Zhengyi sect elixirs that cure diseases and strengthen the body. They were stolen from the Jiangnan battlefield, buying them is like making a profit, and there is also the latest edition of "The Legend of Yan Jiuniang" and her dedicated sword oooooooooooo..."

The aunt at the rice cake stall scolded: "You crazy person, keep your voice down, you're disturbing my customers..."

The young man on the stool stuck out his tongue at her: "I'm going to piss you off slightly slightly slightly slightly—"

Zhou Pei stood there watching this scene with a smile. Yin Ping frowned slightly. Across the road, the young man standing next to the stall with a clean smile seemed to see this "fat sheep." The other young man who was waving his hands wildly jumped down from the stool at this moment.

Yin Ping's eyes suddenly became sharp, and she took a step forward. It was her duty, a subconscious reaction. At the same time, the young man who jumped off the stool across the road, swish, also turned his head to look over—then turned back.

The eyes of both sides collided for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

Zhou Pei was blocked by half of Yin Ping's body and became curious.

"Yue Yun was deceived. There is a master here, I don't know where he came from..."

At the same moment, across the street, Ning Ji turned a circle after jumping down, stood next to Qu Longjun, pretending to sort out the goods: "Don't take the initiative to talk to that fat sheep on the opposite side."

"Huh?"

Ning Ji tilted his head without showing any expression: "Most likely they are rich, but the guard next to her is very powerful, I was seen through."

"Okay." Qu Longjun nodded, and whispered, "It's a female guard, ah."

"She practices spear."

"How did you see that?"

"She stands like a spear."

Across the road.

"Being said to be a master by you must mean he has a family background... Does he practice monkey fist?" Zhou Pei asked curiously.

"No, mostly he practices sword."

"Where can you see that?"

"... Your Highness, don't you think so? He was so cheap just now."

"But I also practice sword."

Zhou Pei smiled and tapped Yin Ping on the head without good intentions.

People came and went in the night market, bustling and lively. The Qi of the two sides standing on both sides of the street clashed for a moment. Since the young men had no intention of fighting, the alert edge on Yin Ping's body due to her duty of protection was also restrained afterwards.

...

In the dilapidated courtyard, the lights flickered.

"For things like killing the 'Yellow Dog', which large family in Fujian today has no involvement? We who are living in the Jianghu are not so afraid of saying things like rebellion. But now that there is a good opportunity to send your daughter into the palace, his Huang family doesn't want to whitewash it?"

"Huang Shengyuan's position in the Huang family is that of a military advisor." Zhan Yunhai also took a sip of wine. "If they really want to whitewash it, it should be Huang Bailong's daughter who enters the palace, or at least someone from the main branch. This is what he told me today, and I thought about it, and it made sense."

"... That's true." Zuo Xingzhou nodded. "Then what does he want you to do?"

Zhan Yunhai was silent for a moment.

"... Pu Xingui, Cao Jinlong, Chen Shuangran and others are currently near Fuzhou, preparing to do a big thing. In order to do this big thing, they have transferred some people from all over the place, and even invited some vicious grandmasters and experts from famous mountains outside Fujian..."

"Vicious... grandmasters?"

Zhan Yunhai nodded: "Yes, that's what Huang Shengyuan told me."

"Then what he wants you to do is..."

"Huang Shengyuan said that the thing Chen Shuangran and others planned is extremely big and well-organized. Compared with those reckless assassinations that were repeatedly ruined by Tie Tianying, it is not the same. If this thing succeeds, the prestige of the current court and the majesty of the dog emperor will definitely plummet. His Huang family can't possibly be tied to such a court, so marrying a daughter into the palace is fake. He wants me to find Chen Shuangran and help him achieve this thing..."

"He said... the scheme of sending his daughter into the palace is just to get you to take action?"

"That's what he said." Zhan Yunhai smiled boredly. "He also knows that I won't believe it, and I can guess that he may have other arrangements. But in any case, now all the major families in Fujian are very dissatisfied with the dog emperor's perverse actions. Huang Shengyuan said that they would rather the dog emperor died or was driven away than have the court stay in Fuzhou. This is a power struggle. Although they are just each occupying a place, with tens of thousands of people in a clan, they are unwilling to compromise even a little bit when facing this court that rules over hundreds of millions of people."

He paused: "I think what he said is true again... Brother Zhou, I want to ask you to help me."

"..."

The lights flickered.

Zuo Xingzhou quietly leaned back in his chair, without speaking.

He had to restrain himself.

Outside the courtyard, the night was hazy. The wind was gradually blowing.