By the time he reached the capital, it was already winter.

Beijing was prosperous, and Wu Dingyuan, having lived long in Xiliang, naturally found everything fresh and new. But he had important business and no mood for sightseeing, so he found an inn to stay in.

After settling his luggage, Wu Dingyuan called the shop waiter and asked, “There’s a Lord Wang Ning in the capital – do you know where his residence is?”

The waiter smiled, “There are many fun and interesting places in the capital – Tianqiao variety shows, the Great Wall’s wonders. Why don’t you visit those fine places instead of going to Wang Mansion Alley?”

Wu Dingyuan smiled slightly and took out a small silver ingot to slip into the waiter’s hand.

The waiter quickly smiled apologetically, “So the guest is from the court – this humble one has been offensive.” He then carefully explained the route to Wang Mansion Alley.

Wu Dingyuan decided to visit Lord Wang Ning under cover of darkness to avoid exposing his whereabouts. Since it was still early, he had nothing to do, so he sat on the inn’s second floor, ordered some wine and food for a light meal to relieve his worries.

Watching the bustling crowds on the street, he was marveling at the capital’s splendor when suddenly he heard gongs and drums thundering in the street – apparently some high official was making an inspection tour. Wu Dingyuan, having always lived in remote places and never seen the grandeur of capital officials’ processions, quickly stood up and looked out.

Looking into the distance, he saw a column of soldiers escorting more than ten prison carts slowly approaching through the busy street. It turned out to be condemned prisoners paraded for public display, not an official inspection tour. Wu Dingyuan, seeing the grand spectacle, thought, “I wonder what criminals these are, so extremely vicious that they need so many people for the execution escort.”

In the past in Xiliang, except for murderers, there were rarely such parades. Curious and wanting to see the appearance of these criminals, he looked carefully.

As the dozen or so prison carts approached, the leader was a eunuch. Wu Dingyuan had never seen a eunuch before. He saw him riding a horse, holding a whisk in his hand, completely beardless, just like actors on stage.

Wu Dingyuan thought, “It seems the actors portrayed it correctly – eunuchs really do look like this.”

Looking down again, he saw the first prison cart had a placard reading “Left Censor of the Censorate Zhang Wen – Collaborating with Enemies and Betraying the Country – Entire Family to be Executed by Slow Slicing.” In the cart knelt an old man with wide-open eyes, his face full of anger and indignation. The following carts held dozens of men, women, old and young, weeping continuously.

Wu Dingyuan was shocked, thinking, “So these condemned prisoners are court ministers!” He had never been familiar with court politics, didn’t know who this Zhang Wen was or why he had collaborated with enemies and betrayed the country, so he could only watch without comment.

The prison carts moved slowly forward. The street, originally lively and noisy, was now quiet as deep night. The common people around avoided them from afar, hiding in street corners, not daring to breathe loudly. Wu Dingyuan, seeing this atmosphere, also felt a chill and quickly retreated behind the window, fearing trouble.

The street was silent with a murderous atmosphere when suddenly there was a great cackling and squawking. Somehow a large flock of chickens had run into the street. Wu Dingyuan, surprised, quickly poked his head out to look. He saw a chicken vendor looking panicked, trying to drive the chickens back into their cages, while two children nearby were crying loudly. At one glance, Wu Dingyuan understood – apparently the two children, not knowing the soldiers’ fierceness, had knocked over the chicken coop while playing. Now there would certainly be trouble.

The large flock of chickens jumped everywhere, scattering throughout the street and running in front of the prison carts. The eunuch’s mount was startled by the chickens and neighed loudly, immediately rearing up. The eunuch, unable to grip the saddle firmly when his mount bucked like this, left the saddle and rose into the air. He was seen turning in mid-air and landing steadily on the ground, clearly possessing martial arts skills. But the dozen or so horses behind couldn’t stop in time and crashed together. In an instant, the street was filled with neighing horses and cackling chickens in complete chaos.

The chicken vendor was so frightened his face turned white. He pressed down the two children and knelt on the ground, just trembling. The military officer leading the horse had an iron-gray face and kicked the chicken vendor hard in the head, angrily saying, “Seeking death! Can’t even watch a few chickens properly?”

The chicken vendor, though in pain, didn’t dare move, just lay on the ground gasping, “Master soldier is right to punish me – this humble one will never dare again.”

The military officer snorted and kicked him again, shouting loudly, “Next time grow another pair of eyes! Otherwise your whole family will suffer!” Then he turned back to the dozen or so officers behind him, “Nothing happened – let’s go, everyone. Don’t delay the execution time.”

Suddenly there was a sharp scream followed by a loud slap. Wu Dingyuan looked from afar and saw the military officer had fallen to the ground – he had received a slap from the eunuch.

The eunuch shrieked, “This damned commoner knocked this lord off his horse, and you think kicking him twice settles it?” He shouted, “Someone! Beat him severely!”

The soldiers nearby, hearing this, raised their military sticks and beat the chicken vendor wildly. The chicken vendor’s head was broken and bleeding, but he still struggled to kneel. The two children cried, “Don’t beat our daddy!” and rushed forward, desperately hugging the soldiers’ legs.

The eunuch raged, “Rebellion! Rebellion! The big one won’t listen, and the little ones are causing trouble too – beat them all!”

The soldiers roared and grabbed the two children, then slapped them violently. The children, unable to bear the pain, wailed loudly, with blood appearing at the corners of their mouths.

Wu Dingyuan felt indignant, thinking, “This eunuch is so tyrannical! Why must he beat and humiliate common people like this?” His heart couldn’t bear it and he wanted to rush into the street to stop them, but suddenly remembering he had important business and absolutely couldn’t reveal himself here, he could only turn his head away, unable to watch anymore.

Suddenly there was a burst of hearty laughter as more than ten riders came galloping from the distant street. The men on horseback were richly dressed, all in military officer attire. A fat, large man sneered, “Vice Director Xue, you’re just escorting a prisoner and can’t even handle this small matter? Stop fooling around – Lord Jiang is waiting for the execution!”

The eunuch surnamed Xue angrily said, “Jiang Chong is your master – we in the Eastern Depot don’t follow his ways!” Though his mouth kept chattering, he had already mounted his horse. Seeing the chicken vendor still kneeling on the ground, he shrieked and cursed, “It’s all because of you, lowly thing, that you’ve delayed this lord’s important business!”

The chicken vendor was beaten black and blue, just desperately kowtowing on the ground. At this moment, the eunuch waved his hand and somehow used some technique to actually sever the chicken vendor’s head. Fresh blood sprayed across the street center, dyeing the entire street red. Wu Dingyuan was shocked and pale, never expecting the eunuch would actually kill someone. He was stunned for a moment.

The chicken vendor’s head rolled to the ground. His two young sons, in great grief, both rushed forward crying, “Daddy!” One hugged daddy’s head, the other hugged daddy’s body, both covered in fresh blood and weeping aloud.

The scattered chickens seemed curious and gathered around, tilting their heads to look at the two pitiful children. All the pedestrians on the street, seeing such tragedy, trembled and shook, not one daring to step forward.

The eunuch sneered, “These three family members are all no good! They all deserve to die!” He slowly raised his right hand, about to strike at the two children, his expression extremely brutal.

Wu Dingyuan, deeply fearing the two children would suffer more violence, quickly took out his Flying Silver Shuttle from his chest, ready to intervene if the situation turned bad. Just then, those richly dressed military officers cursed, “Stop fooling around! Let’s go quickly!” They turned their horses and left.

The eunuch, seeing the large force leaving on their own, snorted and lowered his hand, glaring fiercely at the two children before mounting his horse and departing.

The dozen or so prison carts departed, slowly moving away. The onlooking neighbors, seeing the two children had escaped with their lives, quickly rushed forward to hurriedly take them away, deeply fearing more trouble would arise. The weeping from the distant prison carts continued, interweaving with the two children’s cries in heartbreaking echoes.

Wu Dingyuan, witnessing such tragedy, felt filled with rage, cursing in his heart, “Dead eunuch! Dog official!” He wished he could rush forward and hack that eunuch to death with one stroke. Just as he was feeling angry, he suddenly heard someone at a neighboring table say hatefully, “Hateful eunuchs misleading the country, killing loyal ministers! Treacherous officials controlling the court, unable to distinguish right from wrong!”

Wu Dingyuan heard this voice full of grief and indignation and quickly turned to look. He saw a scholar with an angry face cursing loudly.

Wu Dingyuan was about to approach him for conversation when suddenly he had a thought: “The capital is full of experts and government spies everywhere. I must be careful.” He forced himself to restrain his impulse and just drank with his head down.

He saw another customer from a different table walk over to the scholar and say, “Brother, I hear you cursing fiercely – what exactly is going on?” This customer was well-dressed and appeared to be a merchant. Wu Dingyuan, hearing someone ask questions, was also concerned and quickly listened carefully.

The scholar said angrily, “The world has declined! Currently righteousness doesn’t prevail, treacherous sycophants are powerful. Jiang Chong and Liu Jing, these two great thieves, leading the Eight Tigers in committing crimes. With the court controlled by these bandits, how can it not be chaotic?”

The merchant exclaimed and said, “I’m from an outer province and don’t know about capital affairs. Who are these Jiang Chong and Liu Jing?”

The scholar sneered, “Jiang Chong and Liu Jing are the sources of evil in the court. One holds power, the other controls the Eastern Depot. They don’t know how many people they’ve killed. That Lord Zhang Wen just now was merely one of them.”

Wu Dingyuan’s heart trembled. He had heard the name Jiang Chong – the sheepskin in his chest was related to this person. But Wu Dingyuan, unfamiliar with court affairs in the past, knew the sheepskin was related to Jiang Chong but had no opportunity to inquire about this person’s background. He hadn’t expected that upon entering the capital, he would immediately hear of his evil deeds. He was clearly no good person.

The merchant asked, “From what you say, was Lord Zhang Wen framed? What’s the story behind this?”

The scholar sighed, “How many ministers have been brought down by Jiang Chong these past years? One by one they’ve been dismissed, investigated, and sent back to their native places. But Lord Zhang Wen was too passionate – first he impeached Liu Jing of the Eastern Depot, then made enemies with Censor Jiang Chong, ending up with both factions framing him together, resulting in the confiscation of his family property and extermination of his clan.”

The merchant asked strangely, “Aren’t Jiang Chong and the Eastern Depot on the same side?”

The scholar shook his head, “These two factions fight like dogs – neither is any good.”

The merchant exclaimed in surprise, “How so?”

The scholar said, “This Jiang Chong has great power, controlling the Embroidered Uniform Guard and wielding military secrets. Currently his authority is the most frightening. If we speak of who in the court can compete with him, it would be another treacherous official, Liu Jing. This person serves in the Eastern Depot and is also a cruel, murderous villain. These two factions each gather ministers under them, stopping at nothing. When they encounter loyal and righteous people, both factions frame them together. Between themselves, they fight constantly without rest.”

The merchant listened in amazement, “Is there really no one in the court to uphold justice?”

The scholar sighed, “These days scholars are useless, without backbone. Instead, it’s some military men who have achievements, like General Liu Angtian, the Northern Campaign Commander…”

The scholar was halfway through speaking when someone suddenly grabbed him. Wu Dingyuan quickly looked and saw the person gripping the scholar wore red robes with a steel sword at his waist, looking fierce. Wu Dingyuan’s heart trembled as he thought, “It’s an Embroidered Uniform Guard!”

The officer grabbed the scholar and cursed, “Damn you! What nonsense are you spouting? Is Lord Jiang’s name something you can mention?”

The scholar angrily said, “He’s not the emperor – why must I avoid his name?”

The officer was furious and shouted, “You still dare speak!” His right hand raised high with flashing blade light, about to strike down. Wu Dingyuan was alarmed and quickly reached for his silver shuttle, about to intervene, but was a step too late. With a “thud,” the scholar’s head rolled to the ground, fresh blood instantly covering the floor. The inn’s customers, seeing this tragedy, immediately screamed in terror.

The officer, seeing the inn’s customers panicking, immediately shouted, “This person spoke rashly about court politics and committed a capital crime. I’m executing justice on the spot, eliminating harm for the people! What are you afraid of?”

Everyone, seeing his angry glare directed at them, quickly lowered their heads, no one daring to make a sound.

Wu Dingyuan was trembling with anger, but the man was already dead – what could he do? He could only lower his head with the crowd and endure silently.

The officer stepped forward and grabbed the merchant, shouting, “You were discussing court politics with him – you’re no good either and should be executed as an example!”

The merchant was so frightened he trembled and knelt on the ground, shouting, “Lord, spare my life!”

The officer, seeing his fine clothes and wealthy appearance, sneered, “Damn it! You want me to spare you? That’s not difficult – five hundred taels of silver, not one coin less.”

The merchant said tremblingly, “Money? That… that’s manageable.” He took out all his banknotes and handed them over with shaking hands.

The officer, seeing the merchant was quite wealthy, shouted, “I’ll spare your life for now!” He kicked the merchant, sending him tumbling to the ground, then picked up the scholar’s head and left triumphantly, leaving only the merchant trembling on the ground and a headless corpse in the inn.

Wu Dingyuan had witnessed two great injustices in one day, yet was powerless to help. His heart was shocked and furious beyond measure as he thought, “It seems this Jiang Chong is a great criminal. If I could bring down this person, all my hardship and rushing about would be worthwhile.”

Wu Dingyuan, seeing the capital was too chaotic, returned to his room early to meditate and cultivate his energy, waiting for complete darkness before visiting Lord Wang Ning.

At the hour of you, Wu Dingyuan looked out his window and saw the sun setting in the west, with lanterns being lit on the streets. He took a deep breath, arranged his facial disguise, changed into rich clothing, hid the sheepskin in his chest, disguised himself as a wealthy merchant, and headed toward Lord Wang Ning’s residence.

Following the shop waiter’s directions, Wu Dingyuan slowly walked toward an alley. Looking from afar, he saw the lane brightly lit with red doors and luxury – everywhere were the residences of high court officials. This must be the famous Wang Mansion Alley. Wu Dingyuan knew this place gathered wealthy and powerful families and, deeply fearing exposure of his whereabouts, was doubly careful. He walked and stopped, ready to turn and run at any sign of danger.

Reaching the alley entrance, he saw a man outside carrying a noodle stand doing business. Wu Dingyuan walked slowly past, about to enter the alley, when he suddenly saw several guards walking over from the distance. Wu Dingyuan was startled and quickly turned around to avoid them. The noodle vendor, seeing him looking his way, called out, “Would this gentleman like a bowl of noodles?”

Wu Dingyuan looked up and saw the man was a young fellow, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, tall and jade-like with sword eyebrows and starry eyes – truly a handsome man. But why was he selling noodles here? Wu Dingyuan, currently in a dangerous place, had no mind for such external matters and just shook his head. Glancing sideways, he saw the guards had already left the alley, so he slipped inside.

After a few steps, he saw a residence of grand scale. By moonlight, he could see the plaque above the gate with large golden characters reading “Left Censor’s Residence” – this must be Lord Wang Ning’s mansion.

Wu Dingyuan knew he was about to meet Wang Ning. His heart was uneasy, knowing he was merely a small constable from Xiliang, relying only on the sheepskin in his chest. He didn’t know if he could gain the trust of such a distinguished censor. But this concerned his own innocence and dozens of innocent lives – how could he not try?

Wu Dingyuan’s heart was nervous as he walked forward a few steps, approaching the area. Suddenly he saw the lanterns hanging at the gate were unlit, the main door was locked, and looking at it, all was dark. Wu Dingyuan’s heart suddenly trembled. Based on his past case-solving instincts, he felt something was wrong. He took a deep breath and looked around, but saw no one nearby except his own shadow.

He felt somewhat reassured, thinking, “I mustn’t drag this out. If idle people come by later, they might discover my identity.”

Wu Dingyuan steadied himself and slowly walked to the door. Just as he was about to reach out and knock, he suddenly saw a paper posted on the door, seemingly an announcement. Wu Dingyuan’s heart trembled and he quickly leaned forward to look. The paper was a seal that read: “Wang Ning – Corruption and Abuse of Power, Using Public Office for Private Gain – Dismissed from Office for Investigation. All family property confiscated. The person dismissed from office and executed.”

Wu Dingyuan was shocked and stepped back, feeling his head buzzing and standing speechless.

His mind raced: “What do I do? This Lord Wang Ning can barely protect himself – he’s already been brought down and killed. I’ve traveled a thousand li, but what should I do now? Where can I hide?”

As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a long laugh behind him. Someone said coldly, “Constable Wu, there’s a path to heaven you won’t take, but you’ve barged into hell with no way out!”

Wu Dingyuan drew in a cold breath and turned to look. He saw someone looking at him coldly – it was “Sword Shadow” Qian Lingyi, who had pursued him for a thousand li!

Wu Dingyuan was both shocked and afraid. In his panic, he wanted to turn and run, but saw someone walking up ahead, looking at him arrogantly. Wu Dingyuan looked carefully – this person’s face was covered in scars, ugly and evil-looking. It was the cruel and brutal “Sword Gu” Tu Lingxin.

Wu Dingyuan’s legs went weak. He heard continuous laughter all around. Glancing back, he saw “Sword Cold” Jin Lingshuang, “Sword Wave” Liu Lingchuan, “Sword Leopard” Mau Lingshan and other experts had already surrounded him. It seemed all of Kunlun’s top fighters had gathered here.

Wu Dingyuan collapsed dejectedly to the ground. Suddenly in his ears rang the words Prefect Lu Qingzheng had said to him that day: “Though the world is vast, you have nowhere to go! Not only have you lost your position as Chief Constable of Shaanxi-Gansu, you probably can’t even keep your life! All your family and friends will face great disaster too!”

Wu Dingyuan sighed toward heaven, knowing that these months of fleeing and wandering had all been wasted effort. Knowing his death was near, he was no longer afraid, just felt unwilling to accept it.

Qian Lingyi walked to Wu Dingyuan’s side and sneered, “Wu, don’t think of escaping! Come with us obediently!”

Wu Dingyuan nodded and slowly stood up, walking out of the alley himself. The Kunlun Mountain people, knowing he couldn’t escape even with wings, all followed behind him.

Wu Dingyuan looked up at the sky and saw the bright moon hanging high, its cold moonlight shining on him with indescribable desolation and loneliness. He suddenly thought of moonlit nights in his Xiliang homeland – how were his old subordinates doing?

As he was feeling melancholy, Wu Dingyuan again saw the noodle stand at the alley entrance and suddenly felt somewhat hungry. He looked back at the Kunlun people and saw one person of small stature whom he recognized as “Sword Leopard” Mau Lingshan – this person had quite a chivalrous reputation and was someone who couldn’t help his circumstances. He looked at Mau Lingshan and said indifferently, “Hero Mau, I’d like to eat a bowl of noodles.”

Mau Lingshan respected him for traveling a thousand li – he was a true man – but the sect master’s orders couldn’t be disobeyed. He sighed, “Constable Wu, please go ahead!”

Qian Lingyi and the others all showed dissatisfaction. Mau Lingshan shook his head, “Don’t be so absolute – this is his last meal!”

Wu Dingyuan walked to the noodle stand and said quietly, “Shopkeeper, one bowl of noodles.”

The noodle-selling man skillfully moved over a stool and smiled, “Coming right up! This gentleman has good fortune – my large braised noodles are authentic in flavor and will surely satisfy you.”

Wu Dingyuan sighed and sat down. The noodle man also called to the Kunlun people, “Would you gentlemen also like bowls of noodles?”

The Kunlun people paid no attention. Qian Lingyi snorted, “Cook quickly and stop chattering!” The man smiled, “Alright, no such fortune!” and began cooking noodles. Soon he brought a large bowl of noodles to Wu Dingyuan.

Wu Dingyuan looked at the steaming noodle soup and suddenly felt his heart ache, nearly shedding tears. Thinking of his upright life, how he had been about to become Chief Constable of Shaanxi-Gansu, but disaster struck from nowhere, and today he would die here – this bowl of noodles was his last meal.

The noodle man said, “Sir, eat quickly! The noodles won’t taste good when they get cold.”

Wu Dingyuan smiled bitterly and picked up his chopsticks to eat some noodles. As the noodles entered his mouth, tears dropped into the bowl one by one.