Constable Gu Liang walked down the street, his heart pounding with unease.

He had served ten years as a constable and six years as head constable in the Andu Prefecture. Never in all that time had he done anything this outrageous.

With only fifteen men, carrying a few wanted portraits, he was going to charge into the Fusheng Sect — Andu City’s largest gang — and kick down their door to make arrests. It was as good as going to work with his head tucked under his belt.

Of the fifteen patrolmen behind him, eight were brothers who had fought through life and death beside him for years. The other seven were imposters. They wore patrolmen’s uniforms, but their bearing was completely mismatched.

Military Adviser Hua’s face was as pale as a block of mutton tallow — smooth and tender. Lin Niangzi looked like a general conducting a secret inspection. That Young Sect Master Jin had arms and legs too long — they’d been unable to find suitable clothing in time, so his sleeves and trousers were all too short, as if borrowed from someone else. And the four men said to be Hua Residence guards — called the Four Saints — looked even more fearsome than Fusheng Sect disciples.

“Military Adviser Hua, are you certain it was the Fusheng Sect’s doing?” Gu Liang asked quietly.

Hua Yitang tugged at his collar — he rarely wore collars this tight and had not fully adjusted to it. The afternoon sun was blazing overhead, making him sweat. “In all of Andu City, who else would dare stab Vice-Prefect Liu in broad daylight?”

Jin Ruo: “It’s them, no question.”

Gu Liang and his eight patrolmen broke into a cold sweat.

Gu Liang: “If it really is the Fusheng Sect, this is terribly troublesome! Shouldn’t we go back to the Prefecture and bring more men?”

“No need to bring a cannon to kill a chicken,” Hua Yitang said. “This visit is simply to probe their strengths — better to keep a low profile.”

Jin Ruo: “The Fusheng Sect’s informants are rather irritating. If we disguise ourselves, we can avoid tipping them off and sending them into hiding.”

One patrolman could not help himself and muttered under his breath: “The Fusheng Sect dominates Andu City all to themselves. Their disciples are all jianghu veterans. Other people are always the ones afraid of them — I’ve never seen them afraid of anyone —”

Lin Sui’an’s eyes lit up. “Have you come to blows with Fusheng Sect people before?”

Gu Liang and the patrolmen exchanged sheepish looks.

“A few years back — occasionally — there were a few times — but then it stopped…”

Lin Sui’an: “Who won?”

Gu Liang’s eyes drifted evasively. “Lost terribly… very terribly…”

Jin Ruo clicked his tongue twice. The patrolmen bowed their heads in shame.

Unexpectedly, Hua Yitang actually nodded and said: “Excellent.”

Gu Liang: “……”

Excellent about what, exactly?

Lin Sui’an: “Constable Gu, you have experience — you can offer some guidance later.”

The patrolmen nearly fell to their knees: What experience? The experience of getting beaten to a pulp? Was this Lin Niangzi here to make sport of them?

But Lin Sui’an’s gaze was sincere, her expression earnest, showing no sign of saying false words.

Qunxian Ward was situated right next to the West Market. Exiting the vermillion gate of the official precinct and facing in the direction of the Golden Light Gate, heading west along the main street, past Xinglü, Tianping, Yanshou, and West Market wards, then turning north at the ward gate and walking for about a quarter-hour, one would see the fresh meat shop at the street corner.

This was a small internal market within Qunxian Ward. The crossroads had about seven or eight shops — a fruit and vegetable stall, a pepper-and-bamboo-shoot shop, a general goods store, and so forth — providing residents with everyday necessities after the evening curfew. The street was busy with pedestrians and reasonably lively.

The fresh meat shop occupied the most prominent position — a prime location. Across the front lay a thick and sturdy chopping block, three feet wide and six feet long. Hung above were six plump and meaty fresh sheep legs and one sheep’s head. Arrayed on the block were sheep ribs, mutton, mutton fat, and sheep offal — all kept remarkably clean, with almost no scraps or blood pooling. One butcher stood behind the block sharpening his knife; another sat on the threshold stifling yawns. The two bore a passing resemblance — likely brothers. Both had rather large eyes and bushy beards, and wore only sheepskin vests in the bitter cold, their exposed arms muscled and surprisingly fair.

Gu Liang steeled himself and stepped forward, clearing his throat. “Is this No. 44, Qun Fifth Street, Qunxian Ward?!”

The two butchers froze for an instant, then simultaneously rose to their feet. They scanned Gu Liang up and down, and smiled.

Butcher One: “Constable Gu, what wind blew you over here today? A bit short on cooking oil at home?”

Butcher Two: “Come, come, come — this is a lamb we slaughtered today, still warm. Take a leg home with you!”

Saying this, he reached up to detach a lamb leg to press into Gu Liang’s hands. Gu Liang’s expression hardened. “Enough nonsense!” He produced the wanted portrait from his robe. “Look carefully — have you ever seen this person?!”

The portrait depicted the bandit leader, rendered meticulously by Hua Yitang based on the testimony of the Vice-Prefect’s driver and attendants — wearing a black face covering, wrapped in a black head cloth, with only the eyes visible, no eyebrows, and even the folds of the face cloth rendered with considerable realism. The one problem was that it was completely impossible to tell whether it depicted a person or a ghost.

The two butchers stared wide-eyed. “Who is this person?”

Gu Liang: “This person is the bandit leader who stabbed Vice-Prefect Liu yesterday! Look carefully! If you’ve seen him, you must immediately report it to the authorities!”

The two butchers made a show of sudden comprehension, then shook their heads. “Never seen him.”

“Take another careful look!” Gu Liang raised his voice. “If you claim not to recognize someone you have seen, that counts as the crime of harboring a fugitive!”

Butcher One sneered coldly. “Never seen is never seen!”

Gu Liang quickly glanced at Hua Yitang. Hua Yitang pointed at Butcher One: “Oh my — this person really does look a bit like the bandit in the portrait!”

Gu Liang immediately understood. “Men!”

Two patrolmen produced two black cloths — one covered the top of Butcher One’s head, one covered the lower half of his face. Gu Liang pressed the portrait forward for comparison — well, he did actually look quite a bit like the portrait.

“Excellent! Arrest him! Take him away!” Gu Liang bellowed.

“I’d like to see who dares!” Butcher Two snatched the meat cleaver from the chopping block and swung it horizontally without a word. The black cloths and portrait were shredded into four or five pieces. Gu Liang and the two patrolmen retreated swiftly, their faces going pale.

The pedestrians on the street, the neighboring merchants, the nearby residents — all stopped in their tracks and stared in openmouthed astonishment. In their hearts they thought: have these constables gone mad? Even on ordinary days they go out of their way to avoid Fusheng Sect people — and now they are proactively walking into their territory to start trouble?

Butcher One bent down to retrieve the cleaver from the sharpening stone, fanned a quick flourish, and smiled fiercely: “Constable Gu, did you not ask around before coming? Do you know what kind of place this is?”

Gu Liang swallowed hard and glanced at Hua Yitang again.

Hua Yitang raised an eyebrow: “This isn’t just a lamb meat shop? From what this gentleman implies — oh my, could it be that it is a case of hanging a lamb’s head to sell dog meat?”

Butcher Two: “Who do you think you are, you soft-skinned little pipsqueak? What nerve you have — daring to cause trouble on Fusheng Sect turf?!”

“Allow me to introduce myself — a newcomer.” Hua Yitang cupped his fists with a smile. “I hope both brothers will give a newcomer some face and come with me back to the Prefecture for cooperative questioning.”

The two butchers exchanged a glance and burst into raucous laughter: “Hahaha, so it’s someone looking to die! Brothers, someone’s here to start a fight!”

This call was no small thing. Immediately more than ten butchers surged out of the fresh meat shop, each gripping a meat cleaver, faces solid with flesh and bristle, roaring in unison, muscles quivering three times.

The pedestrians on the street, seeing this scene, immediately scattered completely. Gu Liang and his patrolmen drew their broadswords with a whoosh, feeling their calves starting to cramp.

Let’s be honest — just looking at the body sizes, they were clearly outmatched!

Hua Yitang’s expression sobered. “Those who obstruct official business will not be shown leniency.” He raised his arm and pointed directly forward. “Arrest them all!”

Before the words had finished, Gu Liang felt his vision blur. The four quietly standing Hua Residence guards shot forward, fists whistling through the air like a barrage of shooting stars, raining down on the butchers’ noses in a dazzling flurry.

Gu Liang’s jaw hit the ground. The patrolmen’s eyeballs nearly rolled out. The citizens who had been hiding in various spots peeked their heads out cautiously.

Lin Sui’an, Hua Yitang, and Jin Ruo crossed their arms and commented at leisure.

Lin Sui’an: “Azure Dragon’s fighting style is a bit underhanded.”

Jin Ruo: “Heh heh — I taught him that.”

Lin Sui’an: “Vermilion Bird is too brutal.”

Hua Yitang: “Hiss — Vermilion Bird’s expression always reminds me of Physician Fang dissecting a corpse.”

Jin Ruo: “Ita says Vermilion Bird recently started assisting Physician Fang with the bodies.”

Hua Yitang: “Wait — what?!”

Lin Sui’an: “Seriously?!”

Hua Yitang: “Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise are working together quite well.”

Lin Sui’an: “A formation?”

Jin Ruo: “I had Tianshū copy out the Seven Stars Formation — selected a two-person formation, named it Double Dragons Playing with Pearl.”

Hua Yitang: “That name is terrible. In Hua’s humble opinion, how about Fortune and Prosperity Together?”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Jin Ruo: “Get lost!”

Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise wove like whirlwinds through the group of over a dozen butchers — bare-handed, flesh meeting flesh — “thud, thud, thud, thud-thud-thud-thud” rang out like thunderclaps rolling across flat ground one after another. The butchers’ heads lurched left and right, pitched forward and back. Nosebleeds sprayed everywhere in a fine mist. Bodies crumpled and buckled, toppling with a clatter to the ground.

In just a few breaths’ time, nearly everyone was down. The only one still standing by some miracle was Butcher One — not because his skills were superior, but because at the final moment Jin Ruo had called out: “Leave one who can talk.”

The Four Saints stepped back, pulling out small fragrant handkerchiefs from their persons to wipe the blood from their hands. Lin Sui’an caught a glimpse — the handkerchiefs were sweetly scented and embroidered with the Hua Family crest. Good heavens, Mu Xia really had prepared everything.

Butcher One’s complexion went greenish-white. Both legs trembled. The meat cleaver in his hand could not be held — it clanged to the ground. His legs gave out and he dropped to his knees.

“Constable Gu, spare me! I kowtow to you! I genuinely don’t know that bandit! If I’ve spoken a single false word, may heaven strike me down with lightning!”

Jin Ruo crouched down and rapped Butcher One on the head. “The blade used to stab Vice-Prefect Liu was a four-foot broadsword. Think again.”

Butcher One stared at Jin Ruo, eyes wide. “You — you people are not constables from the authorities — who on earth are you —” At this point, his pupils contracted violently, and sweat broke out on his forehead. “This humble one had eyes but failed to see — I greet the Jing Sect Sect Master, I greet —” His gaze transferred to Lin Sui’an’s face. Lin Sui’an bared her teeth in a grin. Butcher One shuddered all over and frantically cupped his fists. “I greet Lin Niangzi!”

Hua Yitang was displeased. “Hey, do you not see me?!”

“This humble one greets Military Adviser Hua! May it please Military Adviser Hua — I — I — I — I — I may not have seen the bandit in the portrait — but if it’s a four-foot broadsword —” Butcher One bellowed, “I — I — I — I — I know! There’s an ironware shop that makes exactly this kind of broadsword.”

Jin Ruo: “The one on Yangguan Alley in Anding Ward?”

Butcher One was almost in tears. “Young Sect Master, you already knew — why put us through all this?”

“New to the area, don’t know the roads.” Lin Sui’an smiled pleasantly. “Would you be so kind as to show us the way?”

Butcher One’s snot and tears began streaming together.

The patrolmen used hemp rope to truss the butchers up in fives, stringing them one after another like beads, and dragged them along at the rear. The procession had doubled in size — half of whom were bruised and battered butchers. Walking down the street, they were eye-catching to say the least.

The neighbors and onlookers who had witnessed the entire spectacle from start to finish were thrilled beyond measure. They left their businesses untended, their homes unattended, and followed along. Curious passersby came up to ask what was happening, and upon hearing that constables had actually gone and stirred up a Fusheng Sect headquarters, they grew even more excited, and one by one joined the trailing throng of spectators.

The patrolmen, accustomed to being overlooked, were visibly uncomfortable with this manner of conspicuous attention and walked with their arms and legs slightly out of sync.

Looking to the front of the procession, Hua Yitang barely needed to be mentioned — he sauntered along with grand airs, head held high, thoroughly enjoying himself. Lin Sui’an and Jin Ruo had long since grown accustomed to it, their faces radiating the motto “As long as I’m not the embarrassed one, the embarrassment belongs to everyone else.” The Four Saints’ expressions were blank — they quite clearly paid no attention to outsiders’ opinions.

Gu Liang’s heart was thumping wildly. He lowered his voice to ask Hua Yitang: “Military — Military Adviser Hua, didn’t you say to keep a low profile?”

“Plans cannot keep pace with change.” Hua Yitang sighed. “Hua is naturally refined and graceful, brilliantly striking — keeping a low profile is truly too difficult.”

Gu Liang: Come again?

Lin Sui’an: “The original plan was just to stir up a reaction. But these Fusheng Sect people turned out to be too easy to beat — well, we’re here now, we’ve already done it. Might as well go all the way and get a proper fight in.”

Patrolmen: Come again? Come again? Come again?

Jin Ruo: “Master, how many of their headquarters do you think we’d have to knock over before we can lure the Fusheng Sect Master out?”

Lin Sui’an: “One’s not enough, try two. Two’s not enough, try five. Five’s not enough, try ten. When we get hungry, have Mu Xia deliver food. We’re in no rush.”

Jin Ruo and the Four Saints’ eyes lit up: “Understood!”

Patrolmen looked at Gu Liang: Chief, did we get on the wrong boat?

Gu Liang: This is deeply worrying…

And so the procession, under the gaze of countless curious, astonished, stunned, and spectator-hungry eyes, passed through Liquan Ward, Jincheng Ward, and Xiuxiang Ward, arriving at Anding Ward.

Anding Ward was in the outer districts of Andu City. Most residents were poor commoners and itinerant traders from elsewhere. The pace of life was slow, and there was little in the way of entertainment. Suddenly seeing such a large group of people, the residents were curious and followed along too. And as they walked, they realized the constables had stopped right in front of the ironware shop on Yangguan Alley — and were instantly struck with alarm.

The spectators who had come from the outer wards were still puzzling it out, when kind souls stepped up to explain: this was Fusheng Sect territory. A gang of jianghu ruffians lived here year-round, and they threw their weight around and bullied ordinary people without conscience. Everyone in the ward had to walk around them sideways. One wrong word and they’d beat you with their fists — and late at night they’d drag out bloody severed limbs, which scared people half to death.

At this, every single spectator lost their nerve and dared not advance. They all stopped at a distance of more than ten yards.

Lin Sui’an surveyed the ironware shop before her. Its area was visibly much larger than the fresh meat shop, and there appeared to be a courtyard behind it as well. Inside the shop burned a blazing cast iron furnace. On the walls hung axes, halberds, hooks, and forks. The central position was occupied by three broadswords — four feet long, four finger-widths across, gleaming with black light, resembling Qian Jing enlarged to twice its size.

The only person minding the shop was one blacksmith — bare-chested, wearing black barbarian-style trousers below, dark muscles glistening with an oily sheen. He thrust a red-hot piece of ironwork into a water vat with a hiss, producing a plume of steam. “Well, well — quite the rare guests!”

Gu Liang was once bitten twice shy — this time his lines came out considerably more smoothly. He produced the second wanted portrait from his robe. “This is the portrait of the bandit who stabbed Vice-Prefect Liu yesterday. Have you seen him?!”

The blacksmith first looked sidelong at Butcher One, then craned his neck to glance at the sorry state of Butcher Two and Butchers Three, Four, and Five, and gave a cold laugh. “Even if I say I don’t recognize him, Constable Gu won’t believe it, will he.”

“The blade used by the bandits was a four-foot broadsword, and according to the testimony of this person —” Jin Ruo asked Butcher One, “What’s your name?”

Butcher One’s face crumpled. “…Hu Buling…”

“According to Hu Buling’s testimony, this blade was made right here in this ironware shop!” Jin Ruo said. “What is your relationship with the bandits? Confess at once!”

The blacksmith stared coldly at Hu Buling. “Old Hu, you’ve really outdone yourself — letting this pack of good-for-nothings and a few wet-behind-the-ears brats get the better of you, and then pointing them here on top of it. If the Vice-Sect-Master and Sect Master were to find out, they’d be flaying you alive for certain!”

Hu Buling was sweating. “Old Jia, just confess already — otherwise you’re about to lose a layer of skin right now —”

The blacksmith didn’t give him so much as a chance to finish: he raised his voice and bellowed: “Brothers, someone’s here to start trouble!”

From the back courtyard came a surge of loud shouts, and more than forty black-robed, black-booted jianghu roughnecks poured out, each gripping a four-foot broadsword, beards joining the sideburns, eyes radiating ferocity, with an impressively threatening air.

Hua Yitang sneered. “Obdurately obstinate!”

Lin Sui’an blinked. “Need a hand?”

Jin Ruo patted his shoulder with the scabbard of Ruo Jing. “Small-scale. Master, please rest — Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Black Tortoise — let’s go!”

The black-robed figures rushed forward in a swarm — as though for dramatic effect, they were even shouting “hah, hah, hah, hah” as they charged.

By comparison, Jin Ruo and the Four Saints were far more low-key — not a shout or cry among them. Five people split into five directions and plunged into the crowd, swinging their arms and trading blows.

The Four Saints continued fighting bare-handed — straight punches, straight kicks, carrying a certain street-brawler flair.

The ironware shop’s gang of black-robed men had clearly trained in the jianghu, and faced such ferocious attacks without panicking. Their weapons also gave them an advantage. For the moment, the Four Saints could only hold more than ten of them at a stalemate.

The remaining dozen-odd naturally weren’t going to let the opportunity go to waste — they launched a coordinated assault on Jin Ruo.

Jin Ruo held Ruo Jing in his right hand forward, a dagger reversed in his left hand, feet moving in a “Z”-step, both shoulders lowered, stance pressed extremely low, moving like a nimble water snake, gliding and attacking almost at ground level.

This was Jin Ruo’s personal development from years of combat experience — “Swift Wind Shaking Autumn Leaves 2.0” — fusing the Jing Sect main branch’s footwork with a shameless ground-hugging combat tactic. Lin Sui’an’s version of “Swift Wind Shaking Autumn Leaves” emphasized “speed” and “precision,” targeting tendons in the hands and feet. Jin Ruo’s variant focused on “low” and “floating” — “low” meaning attacks aimed exclusively at the lower body, “floating” meaning strike-and-retreat, one slash at a time, wherever landed, whatever hit — accuracy optional, connection counted as a gain.

The ironware shop’s men had never seen such a bizarre and shameless blade style. All at once they fell into utter disarray, every one of them frantically shuffling their feet about — this one’s calf spurting blood, that one’s toenail going flying. Dust billowed in clouds, sprays of blood bloomed like flowers, and screams rang out continuously.

Gu Liang and the patrolmen were actually relatively composed this time, standing attentively and listening to Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang’s commentary.

Hua Yitang: “Young Jin Ruo’s blade style is formidable, to be sure — but it is just so… ugly!”

Lin Sui’an: “It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white — so long as it catches the mouse, it’s a good cat.”

“Perhaps Hua could suggest a more auspicious-sounding name to dress it up a bit?”

“Such as?”

“Such as — Flowers Blooming Everywhere, Fortune at Every Step?”

Gu Liang and the patrolmen: Word has it Hua Family’s Fourth Young Master never studied and never read books — apparently it’s true…

The black-robed men who had surrounded Jin Ruo all fell to the ground. Jin Ruo’s silhouette pivoted, and he charged toward the group the Four Saints were engaged with. This time he deliberately raised his center of gravity and used the orthodox “Swift Wind Shaking Autumn Leaves” — though speed was reduced somewhat, it was more than sufficient against these already battle-weary black-robed men. One slash, one spray of blood — the target was not to sever tendons in the hand (Jin Ruo’s accuracy was insufficient), but to gash open the skin of the arms.

The black-robed men’s four-foot broadswords clattered one after another to the ground. Stripped of their weapons, they were no match for the Four Saints at all. The Four Saints’ spirits surged. Fists pounding with a series of clanging blows across the black-robed men’s noses, blood and tears flying together — as thoroughly wretched a sight as could be imagined.

Hu Buling and the group of butchers watched with nervous, shaken eyes, and some inexplicable sense of superiority rose in their hearts.

Compared to this — it seemed they hadn’t been beaten all that badly after all.

Jin Ruo shouldered Ruo Jing and stepped forward, hoisted the blacksmith surnamed Jia up by the collar. “Think carefully again — do you or do you not recognize the bandit who stabbed Vice-Prefect Liu?”

Blacksmith Jia’s nose had been flattened, two front teeth knocked out, and he spoke with a pronounced whistle. “You — you people — who in the world are you, daring to run wild under the name of the authorities on Fusheng Sect territory? If our Sect Master were to find out—”

“Old Jia, Old Jia — shhh — shh — shh —” Hu Buling hissed urgently. “Can’t you tell who they are yet?!”

Old Jia’s eyes rolled around and around, and enlightenment finally struck. His face went green. “You are the Master of Qian Jing?!”

Lin Sui’an’s waist gave a twinge. Hua Yitang pressed his forehead with his palm. “It seems Jin Ruo overestimated them. These Fusheng Sect people have clearly lost most of the fine Jing Sect tradition of surveillance and gossip —”

Jin Ruo ground his teeth. “I’m called Jin Ruo!”

Old Jia swallowed hard, stiffened his neck, and said: “So what if you’re the Jing — Jing — Jing — Jing Sect — Sect — Sect — Sect Sect Master? Our — our — our — our — our Fusheng Sect is no pushover either! You, the great Sect Master, bullying junior members like us — what kind of ability is that? If you’ve got the nerve, go find our Sect Master!”

“Right, go find our Sect Master if you’ve got the guts!” Hu Buling called out too. “Let me tell you plainly — our Sect Master is unrivaled in martial arts, capable of lifting mountains and rivers! He’s known in the jianghu as Taiyuan’s Mad Blade Hero — the number one person in the world!”

Hua Yitang rolled his eyes. “Meat Cleaver Hero? What a terrible name!”

Lin Sui’an asked pleasantly: “I wonder, dear brother — where does your esteemed Sect Master reside?”

Old Jia: “Outrageous — our Sect Master is not someone you’d get to see just because you want to —”

Jin Ruo cut in: “The Fusheng Sect’s headquarters wouldn’t happen to be the Wind Cloud Inn, would it?”

Hu Buling and Old Jia’s faces went into violent spasms. They didn’t dare confirm it, and even less dared deny it.

Jin Ruo was overjoyed. “Alright — let’s go!”

The patrolmen fell into their well-practiced routine, stringing the black-robed men into another chain alongside the butchers, lining them neatly at the rear. The spectators who had been hiding in various spots steeled themselves and crowded forward. Seeing this group of jianghu bullies who had lorded it over others every day of their lives — now noses crooked and faces swollen, drooping their heads like plague-stricken chickens — they were all beaming with delight, giving Gu Liang and the patrolmen two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Gu Liang and the patrolmen stood a little taller, walked a little more impressively.

The procession marched grandly through Fuxing Ward, Banzheng Ward, and Buzheng Ward — swaggering past Andu City’s most bustling Zhuque Gate Street and Pingkang Ward — through Shengye Ward and Anxing Ward. The crowd trailing behind grew larger and larger. The young ladies of Pingkang Ward even came streaming out to join — a riot of colors and chatter, even livelier than before. By the time they reached Locust Tree Street in Daning Ward, nearly a hundred people had gathered, filling the street to capacity, as festive as a holiday.

Along the way, Lin Sui’an noted quite a few traveling vendors and street peddlers sprinting about — they were most likely Fusheng Sect informants. Though numerous, the efficiency of their message-relay was far inferior to the Jing Sect’s. Jin Ruo’s assessment: utterly without method, running about in chaos, absolute garbage.

Fortunately, because the procession had been making such a spectacle of itself, anyone who wasn’t blind would have been able to see it coming. The Wind Cloud Inn had managed to receive word in time. By now, seventy or eighty men had gathered before the inn — all jianghu-attired, carrying blades and wielding staffs, radiating murderous intent.

Gu Liang felt his calf muscles starting to cramp. He held the portrait aloft with a trembling hand. “This — this — this — this here is the — is the portrait of the man who stabbed Vice-Prefect Liu! Anyone who recognizes this person — all of you — stand out!”

The Fusheng Sect disciples first burst into laughter, then broke into a collective roar of abuse. With so many people shouting at once, the words were impossible to make out — a wall of noise that set the entire street shaking.

Then Hua Yitang’s voice suddenly erupted, somehow bearing down over all that noise with brute force: “You — worthless — trash — anyone who refuses to cooperate will be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law!”

It was as if this shout had ignited a powder keg. The Fusheng Sect disciples all exploded, howling as they charged.

“Jin Ruo, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise — cover my flanks!” Lin Sui’an flicked her wrist, and Qian Jing left the scabbard. An eerie green blade-light cleaved across the sky, drawing a spiraling arc through the air. The ringing cry of the blade slashing through the air rang out without end, until the entire street fell deathly silent.

Having witnessed two prior battles, Gu Liang had thought nothing could surprise him anymore. Now, watching this, he realized he had been a frog in a well.

Jin Ruo and the Four Saints before — at least they had had recognizable moves and footwork. But Lin Niangzi’s fighting style was a return to pure, unadorned basics — there were no techniques whatsoever!

To summarize: three steps.

Step one — “whoosh,” charge in. Step two — left hand on scabbard, “clang,” swing it across. Step three — right hand on blade, “slice,” scythe wide —

Two knocked away in a spin, three swatted aside in a sweep, and one more caught in the resulting force of the windstrike was swept unconscious.

Six dispatched in a single pass — efficiency like this made harvesting wheat look slow.

Not three or five exchanges in, the Fusheng Sect members’ courage shattered. Crying out “The young lady is vicious! Vicious!” they fled in all directions. At this point, the importance of Jin Ruo and the others’ “flanking” role became apparent.

To flank was to patrol the perimeter — five people rotating in a circle, whoever tried to flee got kicked down, like a game of whack-a-mole — thwack-thwack-thwack — not a single one allowed to escape.

Those on the outside were battered by Jin Ruo and the Four Saints with bloodied noses and driven back inward. Those in the middle were beaten by Lin Sui’an until they wept for their fathers and mothers and tried to break out. Heads bobbed and weaved all across the field, a chaotic stew.

Gu Liang stood there wide-eyed and slack-jawed. “What — what kind of fighting style is this?”

Hua Yitang: “A formation — named: All-in-One-Pot.”

Patrolmen: We have been led astray by you!

Hu Buling and Old Jia and the others watched with cold sweat pouring down, thinking: Thank goodness, thank goodness — lucky that the Master of Qian Jing didn’t attack before! This is absolutely terrifying!

The encirclement grew tighter and tighter; more and more people lay on the ground. Just as Lin Sui’an was about to converge with Jin Ruo’s outer perimeter, the remaining dozen or so disciples inside gave up fighting entirely, threw down their blades, and called out “Ancestral grandmother!” dropping to their knees to beg for mercy — but at that very instant, a black shadow suddenly cleaved through the air, carrying a savage wind, shooting straight at Hua Yitang’s face.

Everyone’s expressions changed with shock. Gu Liang was nearest — he lunged forward and slashed with his blade, but missed. The shadow was about to plunge into Hua Yitang’s brow — and then, it stopped in midair.

It was a black sleeve-arrow, gripped tight in someone’s fist. Blood dripped from between the fingers.

Hua Yitang’s expression changed. He seized that hand with both hands. “Lin Sui’an!”

Everyone was dumbstruck. They first looked toward the center of the fighting ring, then back at Lin Sui’an standing beside Hua Yitang. A moment ago she had clearly been over there, cutting people down — when had she crossed over here? How had she gotten here? No one had seen it at all.

Hua Yitang hurriedly pried open Lin Sui’an’s hand. The sharp sleeve-arrow had sliced the palm into a bloody, mangled mess. His eye rims instantly reddened. “Don’t move — let me bandage it—”

“No rush.” Lin Sui’an flipped her hand over and discarded the sleeve-arrow. She stepped in front of Hua Yitang, clasped her bloodied hand behind her back, and raised her voice clearly: “Since you’ve come, why not show yourself?”

“Fine skills — worthy of the renowned Qian Jing’s Master!”

Two figures descended from the sky, landing steadily before the gates of the Wind Cloud Inn.

On the left was a lean, dark man with triangular eyes, dressed in barbarian-style clothes with a felt hat, exuding an entirely reckless air. Around both wrists were bands of black sleeve-arrows.

On the right was an exceptionally towering man — shoulders broad and thick as iron plates, thighs like lumps of iron, neck and head nearly the same width. Bald, no eyebrows. A four-foot black broadsword was strapped across his back. At first glance, he looked like a human-shaped iron tower.

Hu Buling, Old Jia, and every single member of the Fusheng Sect simultaneously went pale with shock. Whether standing or lying on the ground, they scrambled into kneeling positions and called out in a chorus: “Greetings to the Sect Master, greetings to the Vice-Sect-Master!”

Lin Sui’an smiled.

After a whole long day of effort — smashing through three checkpoints — they had finally lured the boss out.

Epilogue Skit:

In the kitchen, Mu Xia was humming a song: So what shall I make for everyone today?