Night was approaching, and the extinguished bonfire by the river had been rekindled, crackling and popping amidst the remnants of sunlight filtering through the smoke and dust.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Lin Chong, having traversed the mountains, returned with a roe deer and a hare he had caught, which he skinned and roasted. He had experienced too much emotional turmoil in recent days and had not slept, so he lacked much appetite. Shi Jin, however, was different. He had been fighting incessantly for months, and his journey south had left him with considerable injuries. Although years of battle had honed his resilience, he still needed ample nourishment to recover quickly. While eating, he paused slightly in his conversation. Lin Chong sat silently by a tree trunk slightly above, contemplating what Shi Jin had said.

Azure Dragon Subdues remained silently beside them, its ancient spear shaft reflecting dim light.

"...More than ten years ago, in Xinzhou City, I met Master Zhou..."

"...That was the first and last time I saw the old man...The Jurchens launched their first southward invasion, attacking fiercely and winning consecutive victories. Xinzhou didn't hold for long before the city fell, followed by a massacre. Master Zhou led a group...a ragtag bunch, moving around the city, attempting to assassinate Nianhan. Two nights before the assassination, Master Zhou suddenly found me. Brother Lin, do you know why Master Zhou sought me out?...He said, you are Lin Chong's brother..."

"I...can still remember Master Zhou's appearance at that time...Brother Lin, I originally wanted to inquire about your whereabouts from Master Zhou, but with the nation in peril and not knowing Master Zhou previously, I felt uneasy asking. I thought if we went together to kill Nianhan, I would have a connection afterward, and if we failed, asking or not wouldn't matter...Master Zhou instead asked me about you, and I said since I saw you fall into the Yi River, I searched everywhere but couldn't find you, so it was likely you met with misfortune..."

"...But Master Zhou said, that means he didn't die. We will meet again someday."

"Then Master Zhou taught me a set of Demon-Subduing Staff techniques..."

"Two days later, he died, and I have survived until now."

"...In these past ten years, the Central Plains has steadily declined. On Mount Chifeng, I always recall Master Zhou's determination when he assassinated Nianhan..."

"...If he could see the situation now, I wonder what he would think..."

"...Whenever I think about this, I feel that those who survive deserve to die, but we cannot go to see him without having done anything...That's how we've endured these years on Mount Chifeng..."

Shi Jin was of a forthright disposition, and even when speaking of these events, there was no sorrow in his calm words. When he said, "That means he didn't die. We will meet again someday," he did so without hesitation, and Lin Chong understood that this was how the old man had spoken. He had never expected that in such a dangerous place, the old man would still be concerned about this unworthy disciple.

Ten years had passed, and even the old man's last inquiry about him had been made ten years prior. Now, hearing Shi Jin speak of it, Lin Chong's heart was filled with emotions that seemed both distant and profoundly complex. He sat beneath the tree, watching the distant red sunset, but his face remained expressionless. After watching for a long time, Shi Jin slowly began to speak again, recounting his wanderings over the years, the management and division of Mount Chifeng, and the anger and confusion in his heart.

"...After the Zezhou incident, I knew that I was not a general, and I didn't want to burden anyone, so I went north to continue Master Zhou's unfinished business, assassinating Nianhan." Lin Chong turned his gaze slightly. Shi Jin picked at his teeth with a wild rabbit bone. When he went north, his emotions were troubled and desperate, but now that the knot in his heart was untied, his words were filled with only heroic casualness. "All the way north, when I got to Datong, I didn't want to implicate too many people, so I assassinated Nianhan twice in a row on the street...I nearly died, but I didn't succeed."

Shi Jin smiled self-deprecatingly: "...Failure is failure, but I managed to escape, which is really lucky. I thought at the time, could it be that Master Zhou's spirit in heaven was protecting me, wanting me to do something smarter...I got injured during the second assassination, met some people, and saw some things...The Jurchens are about to invade south again, and everyone is restless..."

He spoke of the things inside and outside Datong City, of the riot and failure of June 21st, and how he changed his target, stormed into Wanyan Xiyin's mansion, and then encountered Azure Dragon Subdues...

"...There really is fate in this world..." The sky had darkened, and Shi Jin looked at the ancient spear. "As soon as I got this spear, I had this feeling in my heart. Brother Lin, perhaps Master Zhou really is a spirit in heaven. He sent me north to fight the enemy, and I survived two assassinations of Nianhan, and finally got this spear. When I went south for thousands of miles, I met you...Perhaps it was Master Zhou who wanted me to hand this spear over to you..."

Lin Chong looked at the spear for a long time, then shook his head: "There is a junior brother in the south...He is the master's last disciple, now General Yue Fei...He is the true heir of the master. I...I am not worthy of the name of Zhou Tong's disciple."

"The Wu Dynasty has been at peace for two hundred years. This great disaster is beyond human power." Shi Jin said, "Over the years, I have seen rash and brave people, people who want to seek stability in one place, all kinds of people. Brother Lin, none of these people are wrong. The old saying goes, heaven and earth are like a furnace, creation is the craftsman, yin and yang are the coal, and all things are copper. All things cannot escape this catastrophe, but a real man, even if he is polished for a long time, if he can suddenly wake up one day, he will still be a heroic figure. Brother Lin, your wife is dead, and the person I love is also dead. This world does not allow good people to live!"

"But you and I are men, and since we are lucky enough to be alive, there is nothing to care about! We will die one day anyway, so let's live the remaining days well!" Shi Jin raised his tone slightly, decisively, "Brother Lin, it is the creation of heaven and earth that we can meet again today! Now that our brothers have reunited, where in the world can we not go? In a few days, you and I will kill all those evil thieves of the Qi family! Whether you keep this Azure Dragon Subdues for yourself or give it to your junior brother in the south, it will be a great accomplishment for Master Zhou, and then...we can also kill in Lin'an. Gao Qiu has been missing for years, Brother Lin, even if you and I die in this chaotic disaster of heaven and earth, we must take these villains with us."

Having reunited with Lin Chong, Shi Jin finally spoke these words, his heart filled with excitement. Lin Chong smiled slightly: "Yes..." Shi Jin waved his hand and continued to speak, discussing the Jurchens' southward invasion and the two of them planning to resist the Jin, a grand and heroic outlook. His heroism was undiminished, and at this moment, the heroic spirit in his chest was reignited. Lin Chong knew that this brother of his was chivalrous and heroic, and after ten years of wandering, Shi Jin had been full of vicissitudes, but now he was reinvigorated, and Lin Chong couldn't help but feel happy for him. After Shi Jin spoke for a while, Lin Chong said, "I have one more person to kill in the next few days."

Shi Jin asked who it was. Lin Chong was silent for a moment and spoke of the child, Mu Anping, being taken away by Tan Lu after Xu Jinhua's death. His pursuit had been primarily to rescue the living first, and killing Qi Ao was secondary. Shi Jin was slightly stunned and suddenly punched the ground, his eyes filled with raging flames: "My nephew was kidnapped, why didn't you tell me earlier, Brother Lin? This is a major event, how can we delay here? Brother Lin, let's set off now."

Lin Chong sat there, not moving. There was still pain in his eyes, but he said, "The child has been taken away and is a hostage. As long as I am not dead, Tan Lu will not dare to hurt him. Brother Shi, you have an important task to the south. If you let your injuries worsen, how can you accomplish it?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Shi Jin and gave a calm smile, saying, "Besides, Tan Lu is just a clown in the martial world. I don't need the two of us to deal with him. Once I find him, he will surely die."

Shi Jin slowly sat down, but he understood that Lin Chong had not left this afternoon because he had noticed that his injuries were not light. He had busied himself starting a fire, finding food, and staying by his side so that he could rest and recuperate. Back on Mount Liang, Lin Chong had been a gentle but meticulous person. When Song Jiang entrusted him with matters, large and small, there were rarely any oversights. So many years had passed, and even in the midst of great sorrow, he had immediately noticed these things, even initially unwilling to mention that the child had been captured.

"Then...Brother Lin, set off now and quickly rescue the child. Although I am injured, I have no problem protecting myself, so I will rest here. In a few days, you and I will agree on a place to meet again..."

Lin Chong shook his head: "I have also been injured quite a bit in the past few days, and I have been running back and forth without closing my eyes for days. I will rest for a while tonight, so that I can handle things better tomorrow."

Shi Jin opened his mouth, but finally did not continue. Lin Chong sat there, slowly opening his mouth, and spoke of the situation of the child at home, and the information about Qi Ao, Tan Lu, and others. Shi Jin said, "When you rescue the child in the future, Brother Lin, I must be his adoptive father."

"With an adoptive father like the Eight-Armed Dragon King, he will surely be a heroic man in the future." Lin Chong smiled, "He won't be like me."

"Haha, with Leopard Head Lin Chong as his father and me as his adoptive father, his martial arts will probably be invincible!"

Shi Jin said this, and after a while, said, "Brother Lin, the things behind my journey south are indeed too important, otherwise I would definitely go with you to rescue the child."

Lin Chong nodded, and Shi Jin continued to speak over there: "During the Datong riots, those Han people who started the uprising were already in Wanyan Xiyin's calculations. There was a massacre in the city. After I took back Azure Dragon Subdues, I saw a person who was injured, waiting for me. To be honest, Brother Lin, this person is a member of the Black Flag, who took advantage of the chaos near Datong to do something major, and then asked me to bring something south..."

"Brother Lin also knows that the puppet Qi has been established for several years, and Liu Yu has proclaimed himself emperor, acting as a puppet emperor, because the Jurchens are few and have not yet swallowed the Central Plains. However, during the puppet Qi's occupation of the Central Plains, the Jurchens have also done many things, secretly persuading many Han Chinese to sincerely join the Jurchens...This time, the Black Flag captured Liu Yu, forcing him to express his position, and many patriots who have not given up may seize the opportunity to revolt, but there will always be traitors who cannot turn back or simply do not want to turn back hidden among them...That Black Flag spy took advantage of the chaos to steal this list and entrusted me to bring it to Lou Shuwan and Yu Yulin and others under Prince Jin...The Jurchens are spreading messages by carrier pigeon, besieging and intercepting, all for this thing..."

Shi Jin was frank, and at this time, he picked up the package beside him and told Lin Chong the whole story. He took out a small package from it: "In fact, on this journey south, I have also thought that since the Black Flag Army can plant spies in Datong, there must have been means and channels of communication in the past. Even if he was injured, why did he come to me? It is very possible...that I have fallen for his trick..."

Shi Jin smiled when he spoke of the possibility of being tricked: "But then I thought again, maybe such important news is not as simple as I thought, for example, he let me attract the enemy in the open, and the real messenger may be safer? Or, this list is so important that Wanyan Xiyin must find someone to spread rumors and confuse the situation when he learns of the leak. Maybe what I am carrying can confirm each other with what others are carrying. Otherwise, if Wanyan Xiyin creates a list that is only 70-80% accurate, or if there is even a slight problem within the Black Flag, then the Central Plains...at least Prince Jin and others' resistance against the Jin will be doomed..."

Lin Chong nodded: "Such important information must be repeatedly confirmed..."

"So...even if there is a trace of truth in it, it is worth it for me, Shi Jin, to die for such a major event. It is absolutely not a pity. Brother Lin." As he spoke, he threw the small package towards Lin Chong, Lin Chong caught it, his eyes filled with doubt, Shi Jin said, "It is just a list and evidence, which may contain Black Flag codes, but the person who asked me to send the message didn't care if I looked at it casually. I originally wanted to find someone to copy this thing into ten or a hundred copies and send it all over the world, but I was afraid that Xiyin would see it first and cause some unforeseen events. Now that Brother Lin is here, you can naturally take a look. These thieves, all of them deserve to die!"

He put his hands behind his head, leaned against the crooked tree, and said cheerfully: "After this is over, Brother Lin, if you are unwilling to go south, you and I brothers can follow this list and kill them one by one, upholding justice and enjoying vengeance, even if we die, it will be worth it." This "upholding justice" was originally a Liangshan slogan, which had been said many times more than ten years ago, but now when Shi Jin said it again, it had a different meaning in it. Perhaps neither of them were easy to be leaders, and leading troops to resist the Jin might make things worse. Since that was the case, they would learn from Zhou Zongshi back then and kill all the unjust people in the world, which might be more refreshing. Shi Jin was now nearly forty years old. After Mount Chifeng, today, upon reuniting with Lin Chong, he had finally found a way again, and the joy in his heart need not be said.

Lin Chong only glanced at the list and handed it back to Shi Jin. Shi Jin smiled: "In recent years, the Jurchens' forces have been unobstructed in the Han people's territory. On my way south, they spread messages by carrier pigeon, always ahead of me, and everything is jumping out to die. Today, I must recover well so that I can continue to repair them tomorrow..."

He was in a good mood and felt that most of the injuries on his body had healed. That night, the stars were shining. Shi Jin lay in the valley and spoke some more words with Lin Chong, finally letting himself fall asleep. Lin Chong sat for a long time, closed his eyes, but still had no sleepiness. Occasionally, he would get up and walk around, look at the long spear, and reach out several times, but he still did not dare to touch it. Zhou Tong's words were still in his ears. Although human life was fleeting, to Lin Chong, it seemed like it was happening right in front of him, like it had happened in the clear moment before.

In the past ten years, he had hidden like a rabbit in that illusory corner, dragging Xu Jinhua and Mu Anping along, telling himself that everything he had and around him were illusions. Now he could finally see clearly. Brother Shi was right, it was already a chaotic world.

He had been left in a place more than ten years ago, or even further away.

What surged in his heart for Xu Jinhua was great guilt. Even for the child, the feeling of illusion in his heart sometimes made it difficult for him to breathe. Everything in the past ten years was just regret. Now, he had nothing left, and he had met his brother Shi. The current Eight-Armed Dragon King was a heroic hero who, like his master, stood firm in the turbulent torrent of the chaotic world, a great hero who could still roar forward even though covered in blood. Compared to him, how could he match even a ten-thousandth of him?

He could even imagine the appearance of his master and Shi Jin practicing the Demon-Subduing Staff together that night in Xinzhou City. If...if the master were still alive at this moment, seeing his brother Shi, he would surely give him a thumbs up and give him the highest recognition.

All along, he had been just a cowardly person who was proud of it but also fearful...

That night, he circled around Azure Dragon Subdues under the moonlight, reaching out his hand, silently weeping, but without tears. The midsummer night was quiet and silent, and the waves of worldly affairs surged and spread past him. He was like an old man who had been sleeping in time for more than ten years, and now that he had woken up, he looked at this world and no longer had coordinates. The knife of time had shattered his soul, wanting to make up for the frost and dust he had owed for more than ten years.

In the middle of the night, Shi Jin woke up once and saw Lin Chong dancing an invisible great spear under the moonlight. His spear stance was simple and unadorned, one move and one style, regular and square, like Zhou Tong back then, without any fancy embellishments, just like a serious child. Azure Dragon Subdues stood aside, quietly watching him.

Back then, Lin Chong had been the disciple in the Imperial Boxing Hall who danced the spear stance the best and most regularly. He had been burdened by it all his life, and now, after a big circle, he had finally returned here.

Shi Jin fell into a deep sleep. In the early morning, the birdsong in the forest woke him up. He sat up and suddenly found that the small package beside him was gone. Shi Jin jumped up to look for Lin Chong's figure, but Lin Chong had also disappeared. On the stone where Azure Dragon Subdues was standing, Lin Chong had probably written two lines of words with blood from his bitten fingertip.

"Brother Shi, I'll go send the message, you rescue Anping for me.

——We will meet again someday."

Although Shi Jin was highly skilled in martial arts and had a steel-like character, he had suffered many injuries on his way south after all. If Lin Chong had not been by his side during the ambush at Copper Ox Ridge yesterday, even if Shi Jin could have escaped, he would probably have lost half his life. And Mu Anping had fallen into Tan Lu's hands. Even though Lin Chong said it easily, having forced himself to stay for one night, how could he really leave his son and go south with his brother? After thinking about it, he felt that he was useless and did not need to care, so he took Shi Jin's place and took the next step. As for the child in Tan Lu's hands, with his brother's martial arts and character, there was nothing to worry about.

When Shi Jin woke up, Lin Chong had left Azure Dragon Subdues and was already riding south...