The city, as always, sprang to life at dawn. The constables and soldiers responsible for the night patrols and guards handed over their duties to their daytime counterparts. They gathered near the Mohe Pond for breakfast, then reconvened to summarize the previous night's work before dispersing.

Some went home to sleep, while others hurried to check on their injured comrades from the night.

At the City Patrol Department, the tallying and interrogation of the captured rioters were proceeding at full speed. Once the information was confirmed, a new round of arrests or simple "tea invitations" would take place in the city over the next few days.

Near the city gates, the crowds of people wanting to leave the city almost blocked the roads, but the official announcement had already been issued: due to the disturbances caused by the rioters last night, the opening time of Chengdu city would be delayed by three hours today. Some members of the Bamboo Lodge (Zhu Ji) were recording prominent names in the wooden towers near the city gates.

A preliminary summary of the information had been reviewed at the temporary headquarters near the City Patrol Department after breakfast. The first list of people to be arrested had also been decided. Shortly afterward, Ning Yi and the others arrived and listened to a report on the overall chaos of the previous night.

"...The basic situation of last night's chaos has now been clarified. From the explosion at Yard No. 3 of Bing Alley in Yu Mo Ward, North City, at approximately 7:15 PM, a total of 451 people participated in the chaos and directly clashed with us. Among these 451 people, 132 died either on the spot or due to severe injuries. 235 people were arrested, and some of them are currently being interrogated. A group of instigators has been identified, and we have begun to invite them for questioning..."

Ning Xi was giving the situation report. Despite having stayed up all night, the young man showed little sign of fatigue. He was quite excited about the decision made by Fang Shuchang and the others to have him deliver the report, because his father usually treated him as a follower, and he only got a taste of important things when he was sent out.

"More than 400 people..." Ning Yi commented. "The chaos was mainly concentrated around the outbreak at 7:15 PM and at midnight," Ning Xi said. "Around 7:15 PM, there was a sudden disturbance in the city, and many people came out to watch the excitement. Some of them clashed with us, and some were dissuaded due to prior arrangements. The number of people who actually clashed with us during this period is estimated to be close to 200. At midnight, due to Ren Jingzhu's instigation, another hundred or so people tried to cause trouble. It has been clarified that they mainly came from Guan Shanhai's and Huang Nanzhong's groups... The remaining time saw a scattered number of more than 100 people. Of course, there may be overlaps in the numbers reported by the patrol teams."

"...In addition, we have also investigated the explosion in Yu Mo Ward at 7:15 PM." Ning Xi smiled here. "It is said that the courtyard was rented by a fierce bandit named Shi Yuanmeng."

He stared at his father across the table. Ning Yi waited for a moment and frowned, "Speak up, is this an important figure?"

Ning Xi looked at the files and smiled: "Well, this Shi Yuanmeng tells everyone about your regicide back then, saying that you went into the Golden Luan Hall together, and his position was right next to you. You hadn't been kneeling for long when you fired... He'll remember this for the rest of his life."

"...Oh, him." Ning Yi remembered and smiled at this time, "I remember now, a favorite under Tan Zhen back then... Continue."

"He wanted revenge. He brought two large barrels of gunpowder into the city, prepared to transport them to the bottom of Green Water Bridge and detonate them when your carriage passed by. He had seventeen trusted brothers, one of whom was an informant planted by the Bamboo Lodge (Zhu Ji). Because the situation was urgent at the time, the message could not be delivered for a while. Our comrade made an expedient decision. He detonated the gunpowder while these people were gathered together. Shi Yuanmeng was seriously injured in the explosion... Because it later caused a riot throughout the city, this comrade is currently very remorseful and is awaiting punishment. This is his file."

Since he was doing espionage work, it was not appropriate to reveal his name in public. Ning Xi handed his father a file sealed with sealing wax. Ning Yi put it down and didn't plan to look at it.

"He was just carrying out his mission, he did nothing wrong, and the explosion was just right. These guys make a lot of noise but do little, if they didn't start, I'd want to help them." Ning Yi said with a smile, "Continue."

"Well, there were also casualties on our side in last night's chaos... According to current statistics, four soldiers were killed, and more than 30 were slightly or seriously injured. The situation mainly occurred when dealing with some Green Forest people who were good at unorthodox kung fu. Sometimes there was no defense... The list of the deceased is here... Also..."

Ning Xi finished the report in detail. Ning Yi nodded: "According to the planned schedule, things are not over yet. In the next few days, arrest those who should be arrested, invite those who should be invited, and sentence those who should be sentenced. But the trial must be rigorous. Those with conclusive evidence can be convicted, and those without enough evidence should be released... I won't say more for now. Everyone has been busy all night. There's no need to have a meeting for too long. If there's nothing else, let's disperse and get a good rest... Old Hou, I have something to say to you."

The crowd began to disperse. Ning Yi summoned Hou Wu and walked out with him. He said with a smile: "Go to rest in the morning first. I'll probably have Shopkeeper Tan contact you in the afternoon. He has some articles to write about arresting and releasing people. You can discuss it together."

Hou Wu nodded. Tan Ping is currently in charge of managing Chengdu's propaganda for the Bamboo Lodge (Zhu Ji), but unlike the official propaganda managed by Yong Jinnian and others, Tan Ping manages the dark lines, such as public opinion guidance in newspapers and the spread of information on intelligence lines. If the cultural propaganda led by Yong Jinnian, Li Shishi, and others subtly influences people's hearts, then Tan Ping's side uses paper as a knife and words to kill people. His contribution is the reason why the public opinion guidance in the city has been so successful recently.

Ning Yi didn't directly say what kind of article Tan Ping wanted to write, so Hou Wu didn't ask, but he could roughly guess some clues. After leaving here, Ning Xi and Min Chuyi chased up from behind. Ning Yi looked at him suspiciously. Ning Xi smiled: "Dad, there's a small matter that Uncle Fang and the others didn't know how to say directly, so they asked me to report it privately."

"...What is it?"

"Hehe." Ning Xi scratched the back of his head, "...It's about Second Brother."

"...What trouble has he caused again?"

"Second Brother is injured," Ning Xi said in a low voice.

Ning Yi rolled his eyes at him: "If he's not dead, it's not a big deal, tell me everything at once."

"...Last night, after Ren Jingzhu made trouble, Yan Ying, Huang Nanzhong, and Guan Shanhai's subordinates ran around the city, and later ran to Second Brother's courtyard and kidnapped Second Brother..."

"Kidnapped?"

"Yes, kidnapped. There were a total of 20 people, including the injured Chen Wei and Chen Wei's junior brother, Qin Gang. They met Second Brother at the Martial Arts Tournament, so they forced Second Brother to treat their injuries... Two of these 20 people left halfway to find a way to escape Chengdu, so there were a total of 18 people later. Around dawn, they clashed with Second Brother..."

Ning Xi's words were calm, trying to gloss over the twists and turns in the middle. Ning Yi was silent for a moment: "Since your Second Brother is only injured, what happened to these 18 people...?"

"One ran away."

"One ran away?"

"Dad, don't be like this. Second Brother isn't a bad person. It's normal for him to have no mercy when he's surrounded by 18 people. This is 'legitimate defense' that you talked about in court, and not all the others died. Some were injured, and two were still alive when the patrol team arrived, but the bleeding couldn't be stopped... Chen Wei, Qin Gang, and several other seriously injured people in the room died because Second Brother threw a grenade..."

The trees swayed, and the morning sun was good. The father and son stood under the eaves for a while, and Min Chuyi stood solemnly beside them.

"He wiped them all out... He deserves credit for killing the enemy, isn't the promised third-class merit not enough?"

"Dad, this is not the most important thing." Ning Xi hesitated, "The most interesting thing is that there was a woman among them. She was cut twice in the fight, and Second Brother saved her. Later, he also vouched for this woman, saying that she was not a bad person... Dad, the thing is, this woman is called Qu Longjun. After Second Brother's confession, this woman followed a scholar named Wen Shoubin into the city to make trouble, mainly to introduce her to... me. And then come to our Chinese Army as a spy."

As Ning Xi said this, he looked at Min Chuyi with some embarrassment in the middle. Min Chuyi didn't look angry at all. Ning Yi looked at the bench under the tree next to the courtyard and said at this time: "You've explained this situation a bit complicated, I don't understand it very well. Let's go to the side, you carefully sort things out for me."

"The situation is very complicated, I was a little confused after seeing Second Brother." Under the autumn sun, Ning Xi said a little helplessly in the shade of the tree about the situation of Second Brother and that Qu Longjun: "It is said that after Second Brother came back, he was a military doctor at the Martial Arts Tournament... One day he heard someone talking badly about us on the street, and this person was Wen Shoubin... Second Brother followed him to monitor him... He monitored him for more than a month... That little girl named Qu Longjun, her father is called Qu Rui, who led the troops to fight against our Small Cang River back then, and died inexplicably... Qu Longjun #￥#... Wen Shoubin then ###￥&... Then Second Brother &&&&&￥￥￥##... Then last night..."

After his description, Ning Yi rubbed his forehead, quite helpless. Ning Xi was just as helpless. How did Second Brother get involved in so many things? "So the current situation is that the main person who wants to make trouble is Wen Shoubin. Second Brother has been monitoring them for more than a month and found that the little girl has no subjective intention to cause trouble and even tried to commit suicide once. Now Wen Shoubin is also dead, the little girl is seriously injured, Second Brother intends to save her life, this matter..."

The young man signaled with his eyes, Ning Yi looked at him.

"..."

After a moment, Ning Yi sighed: "So what you're thinking about is... your Second Brother has fallen in love with her."