日光如水，风带镝音。

Sunlight was like water, the wind carried the sound of whistling arrows.

As the signal arrow soared into the sky, the explosions and chaotic fighting had already spread across the long street. From the windows of the restaurants and teahouses on both sides of the street, bloody scenes were unfolding. People engaged in fierce combat leaped from windows and rooftops of nearby houses. In the distance, people drove carts and charged in.

"Kill the Jin dogs!" "Men of Wu Dynasty, never surrender!" "Get out of the way—" Shouts mingled with the sounds of chaos as the Imperial Guards formed ranks and charged under the command of their generals.

In a courtyard further away, Li Pin, who was holding a secret meeting with several generals, noticed the sound from the air. He turned his head and looked up; the morning sunlight was becoming dazzling.

Several generals successively cupped their fists and left to participate in their respective actions. At the second quarter of Si hour (around 10:30 AM), the curfew bell, accompanied by the mournful military bugle call, rang out in the city. The people in the city’s markets rushed back to their homes in panic. Before long, several riots broke out within the panicked crowds. Wushu had been outside Lin'an for several months. Apart from harassing Lin'an at the beginning of the year, he had not launched any attacks on the city since. Today, the sudden daytime curfew left most people unaware of what was happening.

But naturally, something had happened.

Most people rushed towards their homes, but some, at this sensitive moment, took up knives and spears and went to the streets. In the southwest of the city, some workers and students from the paper mills and newspapers run by Li Pin took to the streets, shouting the news that the court wanted to seek peace and that the Jin dogs had entered the city. Before long, they were confronting the patrolling constables.

At the Eastern Five Elements Fist Hall, a dozen martial arts masters and hundreds of martial artists wearing red turbans and carrying knives and swords headed towards Anding Gate. They were not backed by the Princess Manor, but the owner of the hall, Chen Hongsheng, had practiced martial arts in Bianliang and had received guidance from Zhou Tong twice in his early years. Since then, he had been shouting for resistance against the Jin. Today, they received the news a little late, but they couldn’t afford to delay any longer.

In the west of the city, Niu Xingguo, a deputy general of the Imperial Guards, galloped along the road and, before the curfew order was fully issued, gathered hundreds of his trusted men to "support" Anding Gate.

More people, more forces, were moving in this city. Some could be seen, but more actions were hidden from people’s sight.

Fifty miles away from Lin'an, at this moment, Wushu's cavalry had already broken camp, and their hooves raised a cloud of astonishing dust.

Near Anding Gate, the continuous stream of Imperial Guards had blocked several intersections. When the explosions sounded, severed limbs and碎肉 could be seen in the bloody dust. A team of soldiers, escorting the Jin envoy's carriage, began to detour. Tie Tianying, covered in blood, ran on the rooftops of Lin'an City. With the roar of a fierce tiger, he leaped towards the houses on the other side of the street. Other figures were also running and fighting.

A long knife split an oncoming enemy, sending him flying in the air. Sparks and blood splattered. Tie Tianying's figure crouched slightly, like a charging, man-eating tiger. In the blink of an eye, he flew past the hanging platforms of three houses. A constable holding a steel ruler rushed up, and Tie Tianying sliced open his shoulder with one knife. Shadow loomed over. On the rooftop across the long street, an expert pounced like a flying eagle, closing the distance in an instant. Tie Tianying gripped one end of the steel ruler and slammed it backhand. The steel ruler struck the opponent's chin and face. The sound was horrifying in the air, and the bones, teeth, flesh on the person's face were flying towards the sky at this moment. Tie Tianying had already rushed out of the hanging platform on the opposite side.

The Jin envoy's carriage was turning, and arrows whistled past overhead and beside it. There seemed to be countless people fighting around. In addition to the assassins from the Princess Manor, there were also helpers from unknown sources who were also carrying out assassinations. Tie Tianying could hear the sound of muskets in the air. The flying bullets and arrows pierced the side walls of the Jin envoy's carriage, but no one could confirm the success or failure of the assassination. The army was gradually surrounding and dividing the group of assassins.

After exchanging a blow with an intercepting expert, Tie Tianying was still killing his way forward. Several soldiers with guns rushed up. After a fierce battle, he was half-covered in blood. He followed the carriage all the way. The Jin envoy, half-covered in blood, scrambled out of the carriage and was surrounded by armored guards who escorted him forward. Tie Tianying went up to the second floor through the stairs of a house, climbed onto the roof and went down again. While fighting with two enemies, a bloody figure chased out from the other side, killing an enemy for him with a raised knife. Tie Tianying cut down the other person and was about to continue chasing when he heard the newcomer say, "Stop, Chief Tie! Tell your people to leave!"

The newcomer was a middle-aged woman. Although she had helped kill the enemy earlier, Tie Tianying's blade sank back, prepared for a sneak attack, when he heard her say such words. The woman followed, "I am Wei Lingxue from the Huaxia Army. If you don't leave, you won't be able to."

Hearing the words Huaxia Army, Tie Tianying paused slightly and stopped. Wei Lingxue, a woman with a square face, was also seriously injured and panting heavily. "The best plan now is to try to get the Eldest Princess out of the palace. It is meaningless to kill or not kill the Jin envoy. Preserve your strength..."

As she said this, a squad of soldiers shot arrows into the room from across the street. Tie Tianying brandished his steel saber wildly, moving closer to the woman from the Huaxia Army. However, he was guarding against her, and the two were a little far apart. When the rain of arrows stopped, she staggered twice in the middle of her chest and fell down.

Tie Tianying subconsciously grabbed her shoulder and rolled behind a wooden pillar between the houses. Blood gushed from the woman's chest, and she was lifeless after a moment.

The old constable hesitated for a moment, then roared and rushed out...

"Kill—"

The shout shook the long street, but in the blink of an eye, it was drowned out by the sound of people.

At the third quarter of Si hour (around 10:45 AM), many messages had been fed back. Cheng Zhouhai made arrangements and left the back door of the Princess Manor in a carriage. It had been determined that Zhou Yong had ordered that the Eldest Princess could not be taken out by normal means in a short time.

What needed to be notified had been notified, and more methods and connections would probably have to be made later. The whole situation in Lin'an had been simmering for four months, suffocating under Wanyan Xiyin and the people in the city. Everyone was in a sensitive state. Someone lit a fire, and everything was about to explode. At this moment, the people watching in the dark were scrambling to take sides, afraid of falling behind.

The sudden curfew throughout the city had not yet been completed, but the patrolling Imperial Guards, constables, and yamen runners had already taken to the streets. Cheng Zhouhai got off the carriage at an intersection and headed towards an inconspicuous courtyard at the other end of the alley. After entering the courtyard, the people accompanying him began to be vigilant. Cheng Zhouhai went into a small room in the courtyard to sort things out, but after a while, there was a knock on the door.

One person opened the courtyard door, and eight constables filed in. "Lin'an Prefectural Yamen. Our lord invites Mr. Cheng to come over."

"What Mr. Cheng? You've got the wrong person, right? There's no..."

"Stop talking nonsense. We know he's inside. Mr. Cheng, come out. We know you're a distinguished guest of the Princess Manor. We brothers are still inviting you with courtesy. Don't make the scene too ugly, please. We're just acting under orders."

Cheng Zhouhai opened the door of the small house. Six constables observed the situation in the courtyard, also on guard against anyone making a move. Two head constables walked over. "Greetings, Mr. Cheng."

"You found this place? Luo Shuwen doesn't have this ability, right? Which family are you from?"

"This is our brothers' badge, and this is the warrant. Mr. Cheng, don't overthink it. It's indeed our Prefectural Governor who wants to invite you." The two head constables showed their badges and documents. Cheng Zhouhai's eyes flickered, and he sighed. "Alright, I'll get my things."

"No need to get your things..."

The head constable waved his hand. Cheng Zhouhai's eyes turned fierce. "Don't be shameless!" He used to be second only to one person and above ten thousand in the Princess Manor. In this glance, his gaze was extremely imposing. Although the constables were relying on their power, they were taken aback for a moment. Cheng Zhouhai turned around and went in, partially closing the door. After a while, the two head constables felt that something was wrong and rushed into the room one after another.

There was no one in the room. They rushed towards the door hidden behind the bookshelf in the small house. Just as the door was pushed open, a blazing fire erupted.

The entire small courtyard, along with the houses in the courtyard and the open space, exploded one after another in a series of loud noises, engulfing all the constables. The explosion in broad daylight shook the entire nearby area. One of the head constables who rushed out the back door was blown away by the blast wave and rolled several times. He was skilled in martial arts and struggled to raise his head from the ground. Cheng Zhouhai was standing in front of him, holding a short, round tube, pointing it at his forehead.

With a "bang," the head constable's body leaned back, and his head was blown apart.

"Ning Liheng's stuff is really useful..." Cheng Zhouhai said to himself, his hands trembling. Around him, several trusted men were coming from different directions. The wreckage of the exploded courtyard was horrifying, but in Cheng Zhouhai's eyes, the entire city had already moved.

If it were in normal times, a Lin'an Prefectural Governor would not be able to do anything to him. Even in normal times, with the prestige accumulated by the Princess Manor over a long period of time, even if he sent someone directly into the palace to snatch out Zhou Pei, probably no one would dare to stop him. But at this moment, it was not such a simple matter. It was not simply a struggle between two factions or a settlement of grudges.

Emperor Zhou Yong had only issued a weak signal, but the real help came from the fear of the Jurchens. Countless visible and invisible hands were reaching out in unison to completely suppress the behemoth that was the Princess Manor. This even included the composition of the Princess Manor itself.

No matter how prestigious the Princess Manor was in the past, the ideological work within the Princess Manor could not completely eliminate the influence of Zhou Yong. Moreover, Zhou Pei was unwilling to consider what would happen if she opposed Zhou Yong. Such a thing was too rebellious. Although Cheng Zhouhai was ruthless, he could not surpass Zhou Pei's will in this matter.

So at this point, when Zhou Yong made up his mind to stand on the side of the peace faction, the Princess Manor's chain of interests suddenly collapsed. At this time, what was still driving many people to stand on Zhou Pei's side was no longer the threat of weapons, but only their conscience.

Cheng Zhouhai could not calculate the value of conscience in this city.

Looking at the destroyed courtyard, he knew that many of his escape routes had been blocked.

He sighed slightly and, before the alerted crowd surrounded him, ran away quickly with several confidants...

Noon was approaching.

The early summer sun in the sky did not seem scorching. Tie Tianying climbed over the low courtyard wall and walked forward in the small, desolate courtyard. His hand supported the wall,

Leaving behind bloody palm prints.

The chaos was continuing on the streets outside.

Yu Zihua rode over on his horse, looking somewhat panicked at the corpse of the Jin ambassador among the soldiers on the street.

The willows in the city swayed in the sunlight. The markets, far and near, were filled with countless corpses and indescribable blood. The blood-red color covered the streets in front and behind.

Someone was laughing in the pool of blood.

Yu Zihua turned around and shouted loudly. Nearby soldiers went over and, with hesitation, stabbed the laughing assassin to death with their spears.

In a more distant place, Wanyan Qingjue, dressed as an accompanying soldier, stood with his hands behind his back, breathing in the air of this city to his heart's content. The bloodiness in the air also made him feel intoxicated. He took off his hat, put on his official hat, and walked forward, crossing the corpses on the ground, accompanied by his entourage.

The blood all over the ground was the red carpet in his eyes.

Soon after, he revealed his identity as the Deputy Envoy to Yu Zihua with a stern face, and took out the document written by Xiyin himself. Yu Zihua breathed a slight sigh of relief, got off his horse, and stretched out his hand towards him.

An attendant picked up the corpse of the dead Jin envoy. Wanyan Qingjue walked forward. He knew that at the end of this long road, the majestic palace that symbolized the dignity of the Southern Dynasty was waiting for his questioning and trampling. He walked in a victorious posture along this road paved with the blood of countless Wu Dynasty people. The sunlight shone through the leaves on the side of the road, and in the shade of the trees were the corpses of the dead, with eyes that could not be closed. The sound of the wind moved slightly, as if the music of victory was playing in this summer, pleasant noon...