The moon gradually shifted from the eastern horizon to the west, sinking towards the dark, distant horizon.

As the night progressed, wisps of mist gathered in the city along the riverbank.

The night mist was damp and cold. Under the bridge arches along the waterways, a small fire was always needed to dispel the moisture. Every day before going to sleep, Xue Jin had to drag his ailing leg, limping around to gather wood and twigs. Within Jiangning City, trees were scarce, and with the influx of people from all walks of life, internal and external trade, and chaotic logistics, this task had become increasingly difficult and strenuous.

After falling asleep, he was always worried that the fire would gradually die out, so he got up once to add more wood. Later, he was simply too exhausted and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of his many surviving family members: his first wife, several concubines, his children, and Yue Niang, whom he had not long ago redeemed from the brothel...

He saw them in his dream, gathered around the table, in the house, preparing to eat. The children were rocking on bamboo horses. He smiled, wanting to talk to them, but felt a vague sense of unease, as if he were worried about something.

Turning his head, a dark crowd surged forward. Stones struck his head, causing a buzzing sound. The women and children were knocked down into pools of blood. They were being beaten to death, alive... He huddled in a corner, then knelt on the ground, kowtowing and shouting, "I hit the head of the Inner Demon, I hit the Inner Demon..." Curious people kept him alive.

After that…

...He awoke from the chill. The sky was grayish-white, and morning mist lingered on the waterways in the distance.

Xue Jin stared blankly for a while, recalling the faces of the women and children in his dream. In recent days, each such recollection was like having his heart scraped out of his body, causing him unbearable pain. Each time, he covered his head, wanting to wail, but mindful of Yue Niang lying beside him, he merely showed a look of anguish, pressing his head to stifle any sound.

Those memories were, in fact, becoming increasingly vague. More often than not, he could only feel the surging pain in his mind, as if the pain had gradually become a concrete image, replacing everyone else in his mind...

Wiping away the moisture from the corners of his eyes, he turned back and began to carefully add firewood to the embers of the fire. Yue Niang lay to one side, sleeping fitfully.

On the day the group bearing the banner of "King Yama" stormed the platform, Yue Niang, because of her youth and beauty, was dragged into a nearby alley. But also, as a result, after suffering humiliation, she fortunately survived. When Xue Jin found her... These things, this kind of living, no one could say whether it was good or bad. Her mind had become deranged, and her body was extremely weak. Xue Jin felt tormented every time he looked at her.

But each time, he still had to carefully look at her. He saw her chest rising and falling slightly, her lips parted, exhaling a faint breath—these traces were very subtle and could only be seen with great care, but they told him that she was still alive.

To live each day was to suffer a day's torment, but apart from living like this, he didn't know what else to do. He knew that Yue Niang's torment was even greater than his, but if she were to leave, there would truly be nothing left for him in this world.

He tended the fire, using the corner of his eye to confirm the fact that Yue Niang was still alive. So today, nothing much had changed... He remembered last night. Last night was the fifteenth of August, there had been fireworks, so this morning, perhaps he could beg for slightly better food—he wasn't sure of this, but in the past, when the world was still relatively peaceful, beggars seemed to do this...

Having placed a few more pieces of firewood into the fire, Xue Jin's gaze passed over Yue Niang's body. He stared blankly, seeing that there seemed to be something placed on the side where Yue Niang's body was.

He slowly crawled over there, and finally discovered that it was some medicine wrapped in paper. There were ten packets of these herbs in total, with the number of doses per day written on them. They were meant for Yue Niang to drink to regulate her body.

Last night, someone seemed to have come under this bridge arch, examined Yue Niang's condition, and then left these things behind.

Xue Jin got up from the ground and limped back and forth under the bridge arch, lost and helpless, for a moment. Then he walked out from inside, his body trembling, looking in different directions, but all sides were filled with hazy mist. He made low "ah, ah" sounds, wanting to speak, but his injured head prevented him from smoothly organizing the appropriate words. For a time, he wandered aimlessly by the bridge arch in the mist, unable to say anything at all for a long time...

...

In the early morning, Ning Ji had already asked for directions.

He set off from the Su family's old residence, jogging all the way towards the Qinhuai River.

This was what his father had done in the past. Repeating it a few times might allow him to find the place where Grandpa Qin had set up his chess stall, to find the riverside house where Aunt Zhu and Aunt Jin had lived.

At his age, his curiosity about his parents' past life was naturally limited. But now that he had arrived in Jiangning, he didn't have too many specific goals yet. For the time being, he was just doing things like this, connecting everything together. In this process, he might naturally find the next goal.

Milky white morning mist like

mountains, like a maze, leisurely moving with the breeze in this city. Without the unsightly scenery in the distance, Jiangning in the mist seemed to briefly return to the past.

It was still too early, and there weren't many pedestrians on the road. Running to the bank of the Qinhuai River, he only saw the mist flowing over the calm water. Running forward, the eaves and outlines of the houses gradually "sailed" out of the mist, like large ships floating on the water.

This peaceful scene was only temporary. Running for a while, he could feel the incongruities in the city: there were no sounds of chickens or dogs; these creatures had disappeared from the city. Most of the trees originally planted by the river on both sides of the road had been cut down, with some leaving only the tree stumps that were too difficult to dig out. Many tents were set up on the side of the road. Sometimes, he could hear coughing in the mist. Some people had lit bonfires by their tents in the early morning to ward off the heavy moisture.

He ran along the dilapidated road by the river for a while, almost stepping into a muddy puddle. He heard strange music coming from his ears.

Going forward again, strange people and banners emerged from the mist ahead. Some were blowing trumpets, some were playing flutes, and many in the group were dressed strangely, like gods from the heavens or underworld bailiffs—this was a group of pilgrims under the banner of "King Reincarnation," starting their procession early in the morning. Since Lin Echan arrived in Jiangning, these believers had become more and more numerous. Ning Ji knew that they were currently arrogant and were fighting with the other four families for territory.

He ran to the side and stood, weighing the quality of these people. The group was humming and chanting something like the "Ming Wang Incarnation Sutra," some messy scriptures. A guy dressed as an angry Arhat glared at him as he walked past, singing and dancing. Ning Ji curled his lips. It would be good if they beat each other's brains out. He wouldn't argue with idiots.

This group was probably a hundred or so people in size. They would continue to gather believers along the way. Ning Ji watched them pass by. After a while, he could vaguely hear sounds in the mist.

"Waaah..."

"There's a hole here..."

"Where..."

"Be careful..."

*Plop*—

"Don't step on me..."

"Your mom..."

After a chaotic sound, it gradually returned to the music of blowing trumpets and flutes.

Ning Ji laughed like a pig.

Going forward again, he still had no idea where a chess stall might have been set up or where a small house might have been located. Perhaps his father ran to the other side every morning, but that was certainly not a big problem. He ran for a while, and gradually he could see a burnt-out ruins by the river—this was probably a relatively severely ravaged area after the city was broken. Ahead on the road by the river, several figures were roasting a fire. Some were poking around in the river with long poles, fishing for something.

Seeing Ning Ji slowly running over, someone got up and reached out, blocking the way.

"Which...mountain's..."

This person had a mouth full of rotten teeth, and he drew out the word "which" particularly long, with a lot of rhyme. Ning Ji knew that the other party was speaking a Jianghu (martial world) code to him. The formal code was generally a line of poetry, but the person in front of him seemed to see that he had a kind face, so he asked casually.

"I can't pass here?" Ning Ji looked ahead. The road by the river was desolate, with a few tents pitched there. He didn't want to go any further anyway.

Someone came over, blocking him from behind.

"This young man is dressed pretty well. Which young master has lost his way?"

"This is called dressed well?"

Ning Ji glared, tugging at the patched clothes on his body.

"I think your shoes are pretty good..." The person in front of him smiled, "You kid are probably..."

With a loud bang—the person blocking the way was sent flying backward like a cannonball. His body rolled on the road, then crashed into the burning bonfire. In the mist, branches scattered all over the sky, and flames shot out with a bang.

At that moment, Ning Ji kicked him hard in the stomach with almost all his strength.

On the road ahead, the banner of "King Yama"'s "Seven Killings," "Avici-Yama Slayer," fluttered slightly.

Ning Ji's gaze was indifferent. His feet landed, and he tilted his head.

The person who blocked him from behind was slightly stunned, then suddenly drew his knife. "Waaah—" a sound echoed through the morning mist.

He lunged forward, while Ning Ji stepped back, turned around, snatched the knife, and the cast iron back of the blade slammed onto the person's forehead. The person staggered a few steps and fell to the ground. In front, the others had already charged over. The person charging in front also turned into a rolling gourd with a bang, scattering the nearby mist.

Beside this section of the river, the mist became chaotic. Someone was knocked into the nearby burning ruins, someone rushed into the Qinhuai River, a burst of splashing in the mist, someone crashed into a tent, screams and shouts rang out nearby, and a figure was crawling backward on the ground.

"Who are you... Have the guts to leave your name! Have the guts to leave your name... I am from King Yama's group, we won't let you off! We'll search the ends of the earth and kill you, kill your whole family—"

Ning Ji walked forward with his knife, saw that

ragged women and children were crawling out of the tents in front, the women also holding knives, seemingly wanting to defend against the powerful enemy together. Ning Ji looked at all this with cold eyes, but stopped his steps there.

His gaze swept around, watching someone crawl out of the ruins, someone still rolling on the ground, wailing. He walked to the side, picked up a still-burning wooden stick from the ground, walked to the "Avici-Yama Slayer" flagpole, chopped down the flagpole with a knife, and then stretched out the wooden stick to start a fire.

The surrounding people, seeing this scene, wailed again. It wasn't easy for them to actually get this flag that they could openly display in Jiangning City. They just didn't expect that their territory hadn't grown yet when they encountered this evil star devil.

"Go back and tell your dad, from now on, if I see you doing evil again, I'll kill one! For every one I see!"

"This young master's name doesn't change, his surname doesn't change, he's called—Dragon! Sky Soar!"

The flames burned onto the flag, then blazed fiercely.

...

By the time more of King Yama's men arrived, Ning Ji had already turned around and run away.

The momentum of "Dragon Sky Soar" in his mouth was not strong enough. The main reason was that he shouldn't have said "name doesn't change, surname doesn't change" at the beginning. After saying this sentence, he suddenly felt a little guilty, so he looked back and reflected on it several times, and he should never say this sentence seriously again, just report Dragon Sky Soar.

But in any case, his handsome name was finally going to be known in the Jianghu (martial world)!

This was his "Martial Arts Alliance Leader" Dragon Sky Soar's first day of running rampant in the Jianghu!

That's right, he had already thought of a nickname, called "Martial Arts Alliance Leader". If others had any objections, he would say that his sect was called "Martial Arts Alliance". As the boss of the Martial Arts Alliance, wasn't it a very reasonable thing to be called the Martial Arts Alliance Leader? At that time, no one could refute this point. Just thinking about it made him feel very interesting.

Of course, the main reason why he acted so violently before was naturally not to become famous, but because some of the violence he had accumulated after seeing Xue Jin and the woman beside him last night needed to be released.

Before coming to Jiangning, the first thing he thought about was to take down He Wen, this big idiot. Of course, this belonged to a stage of life's ideals, and it wasn't a strong requirement whether he could kill him or not. And along the way, he had also formed a feud with Shi Bao from "Baofeng Number", and had also thought about killing "Monkey King" Li Jianfeng, who had a lot of connections with the Great Bright Religion, but at this moment, it was this group of people under Zhou Shang of "King Yama" who particularly aroused his anger.

If he had the opportunity, killing Zhou Shang, or killing a few of his so-called "Seven Killings", no one would be innocent anyway.

And beyond that, it belonged to the scope of Dragon Sky Soar becoming famous.

He thought of the little monk he met outside the city.

After a while, when the little monk heard the name of "Martial Arts Alliance Leader" Dragon Sky Soar in the city, he would be particularly shocked, because he didn't know that he had martial arts skills at all. Hehehe, when he saw him again one day, he must make him kowtow and call him big brother...

When his father in the southwest heard the name of Dragon Sky Soar after a while, he would know what kind of achievements he had made in running the Jianghu. Of course, he might also hear the name "Monkey King" and ask someone to arrest him, but accidentally arrested the wrong person...

Hahahaha—

With his hands on his hips, Ning Ji laughed silently for a while on the road in the morning mist. Because he didn't know how many people were sleeping by the roadside not far from the mist, he didn't dare to actually laugh out loud.

The rampage of the great demon was about to begin, the Jianghu, was going to be eventful from now on... (Dragon Sky Soar noted in his heart)

...

The morning light dissolved the thick fog, and the wind pushed away the waves, making the city brighter. On the west side of the city, the little monk, carrying a rice bowl, entered the city at the earliest time, standing at the door of one breakfast shop after another to beg for alms.

He actually still had some silver in his pocket, which his master left him for emergencies when he separated from him. There wasn't much silver, and the little monk was very stingy to save it. He would only spend a little when he was really hungry. In fact, the fat master didn't care what method he used to get the silver. He could kill people, rob, or beg for alms, or even beg, but the important thing was that he had to solve these things himself.

At this moment, he really missed the Dragon brother he had seen the day before yesterday. How good would it be if someone could still treat him to roast duck...

In addition, he didn't know how his master was doing in the city now.

However, after a while, when he begged for half a bowl of thin porridge at a charity stand of "King Reincarnation", he also heard news about his master...

...

South of the city, Dong Sheng Inn.

"Looking for Chen San."

A figure dressed as a man walked into the inn and told the waiter her intention.

After a while, You Hongzhu came down from upstairs and saw Liang Si Yi in the hall below.

Liang Si Yi saw him, turned and left, and You Hongzhu followed all the way behind. After turning several streets like this, in a house, he saw that

Deputy General An Xifu, who was deeply relied on by Wang Juyun.

"General An..."

"Hero You, I have admired you for a long time." The two clasped their hands, and An Xifu smiled, "Si Yi said that she saw you in the city, and for some reason, she couldn't reveal too much information to you, but I have had dealings with Hero Shi and the others. Hero Shi once mentioned you, saying that although you haven't joined the army, you are a trustworthy person."

You Hongzhu nodded. In Jin Prefecture, Eight-Armed Dragon King had given him guidance, and he had said a lot about many things, so there was no need to be pretentious at this time.

"This Jiangning meeting, I heard that the situation is complicated. I originally thought that Jin Prefecture was far away from here, so I wouldn't send anyone over. Therefore, I wanted to come and inquire about it, and then tell Premier Lou, Hero Shi and the others in detail, but I didn't expect that General An would come in person. Could it be that our Jin Prefecture and the Fair Party have such a big connection?"

Although You Hongzhu was a Jianghu traveler, he was quick-witted and had seen many things. This Fair Party's meeting was said to be very important, but according to their usual behavior patterns, this area was closed and chaotic. The parties bordering it had important reasons to send people here. Only Jin Prefecture was far away from here, and even if they got in touch, there probably wouldn't be any very strong relationship that could happen. Therefore, he really didn't expect that such an important person as An Xifu would come this time.

An Xifu smiled and said, "Premier Nu has contacted Zou Xu, and is now doing arms business. If Zou Xu can win the Battle of Bianliang this time, whether our Jin Prefecture and Jiangnan can have a trade route is uncertain."

"Oh." You Hongzhu thought of the situation in the Central Plains, and then nodded.

The two then sat down and talked about the complex situation in Jiangning City.