“I’ve come alone to Jiangning, and I still can’t quite make sense of the situation here. As for who we should help, who we should fight—I hope General An can tell me plainly…”

In the room, once You Hongzhuo, An Xifu, and Liang Siyi had sat down, he got straight to the point with the question on his mind. He was a straightforward sort, decisive once he’d committed to helping someone. An Xifu, of course, understood this, and smiled.

“How the situation in the city will develop, honestly, no one can say for certain right now, but the broader trends are understandable enough…” he said. “Over the past two years, the Fair Party has risen rapidly in Jiangnan. Nominally, everyone bows to He Wen, but in reality, it started out as dozens of separate factions all flying He Wen’s name. Over these two years, they’ve had several rounds of alliance-forming, large and small—the original dozens of factions have now consolidated into the Fair Party’s current top five. And today’s Jiangning gathering is another such round of alliance-building.”

An Xifu continued, “In the Fair Party’s earlier rounds of alliance-forming, no one faction had yet expanded across the whole of Jiangnan, so those were internal gatherings—dozens of local strongholds, and any two joining forces meant real growth. But today, the Fair Party’s five largest factions have already become deeply intertwined, with plenty of friction between them—to put it plainly, it’s time to formally settle the pecking order. That’s the purpose of today’s Jiangning gathering.”

You Hongzhuo nodded.

An Xifu went on, “If it were simply the Fair Party’s five factions fighting it out behind closed doors, things might not seem nearly as complicated as they do today—the five could form alliances, fight it out once, and be done with it. But the division of power across Jiangnan, though it still looks chaotic, with smaller forces like ‘Great Dragon Head’ still rising up here and there, has essentially settled into its broader shape. So He Wen opened the doors, and the other four factions have all reached out beyond their own ranks as well—setting up arenas in the city is part of that strategy. The public sparring is just for show; behind the scenes, all five Fair Party factions are recruiting help.”

You Hongzhuo smiled. “So since they can’t settle it among themselves, they’re calling in outside help first, to see whose fists are bigger and whose backers are stronger, before the real clash comes. Or if one side turns out to be clearly stronger, they might even skip the clash entirely, since everyone can see it plainly.”

“Exactly that logic,” An Xifu said. “By now, all sorts of forces across the realm, large and small, have already sent people. As far as we know, Wu Qimei and Tie Yan from Lin’an have both sent representatives here to lobby. They’ve been hit hard by the Fair Party lately, especially by Gao Chang and Zhou Shang’s forces—sooner or later they’ll be unable to hold out, so they’re seizing this opportunity to see if any of the Fair Party’s five factions might be open to negotiation, perhaps hoping that defecting to one side might open up a new path forward for them.”

Speaking of Wu and Tie from Lin’an, An Xifu let out a faint scoffing laugh, and You Hongzhuo and Liang Siyi couldn’t help but smile as well. Liang Siyi said, “People like that might just end up being the ones who survive to the very end.”

You Hongzhuo thought about it and found himself nodding. “That’s actually quite possible.”

“Wu and Tie are small-time opportunists, but they’re still bargaining chips of a sort,” An Xifu said, shaking his head with a smile. “As for the other major forces—Zou Xu, Liu Guangshi, Dai Mengwei, and the like—they’ve all sent people as well. We’re relatively well-informed about Liu Guangshi’s side, since the deputy leading his delegation is also his most skilled fighter—’Monkey King’ Li Yanfeng.”

“…You may not know this, Brother You, but the original ‘Monkey King’ title actually came from the Manichean Sect, one of its Twelve Guardians. In earlier generations, the Manichean Sect only circulated among the poor households of Jiangnan—it had many followers, but they were a scattered, disorganized lot. By the time of the sect leader two generations back, He Yunsheng, there were even secret dealings with the wealthy clans of Jiangnan. The previous sect leader, Fang La, couldn’t stand for this, and so, together with ‘Overlord Blade’ Liu Dabiao and the various Fang siblings, he killed He Yunsheng and took his place. That generation’s ‘Monkey King,’ Li Ruoque, left the Manichean Sect because of this.”

Martial-world wanderers loved hearing these kinds of old rumors from the martial world, and as An Xifu recounted these past events, You Hongzhuo listened wide-eyed, nodding repeatedly.

“Later, after the Holy Duke’s failed Yongle uprising, Sikong Nan and Lin Wuchan came forward again to take charge of the Manichean Sect. Once the capital’s Right Chancellor fell from power and the Secret Investigation Bureau was abolished, they took the opportunity, on the tacit encouragement of the Qi family—a great clan in Hebei at the time—to round up old veterans like ‘Monkey King’ Li Ruoque and ‘Fast Blade’ Lu Bingyuan, planning to march north to Bianliang and stage a spectacular show of force for the Great Radiance Sect.”

You Hongzhuo laughed. “I know this one—they all got trampled to death by that Southwestern figure’s cavalry afterward.”

An Xifu nodded. “At the time, a great many of the Great Radiance Sect’s elite fighters and guardians, upon reaching Zhuxian Town, were trampled to death entirely by the cavalry. Not long after that, that Southwestern figure killed the emperor with a single blade right there in the throne hall, and Lin Wuchan was struck utterly speechless with terror. For the rest of his life since, he’s never once dared show his face before that man from the Southwest. Over more than a decade, he’s never even harbored a thought of revenge—one could say the karma has simply carried over. As for the Qi family back then, they later defected to the Jin state, and a few years ago, unable to escape their reckoning, got caught up in a great upheaval within Jin territory. More than half the Qi family perished; old Qi Yan and his two grandsons were sealed inside water vats, and a great fire cooked the whole family alive, old and young.”

“There was really such a thing?” You Hongzhuo thought it over. “Was that the Black Banner’s doing?”

“That’s what everyone assumes, though of course no one’s ever managed to prove it from the outside. That massacre at Yunzhong a few years back—it wasn’t just the Qi family caught up in it, but plenty of other wealthy clans, nobles, and common folk in Yunzhong city as well, many burned or killed. The one with the biggest stake in it was the beloved grandson of that great traitor Shi Li’ai… An event like that—apart from the Black Banner, we can’t imagine what kind of hero would even be capable of it.”

“How satisfying, if it’s true… If it really was some hero from the Huaxia Army, I’d really like to meet him someday, to thank him personally for that deed.” You Hongzhuo clapped his hands together, genuinely impressed.

Having recounted this business at Yunzhong, An Xifu had, without much effort, drawn himself closer to You Hongzhuo. He then returned to the matter at hand.

“The people I mentioned earlier might just be small-time opportunists compared to that man from the Southwest, but in their own territories, they’re still forces not to be underestimated. ‘Monkey King’ Li Ruoque was trampled to death by cavalry back then, but his son Li Yanfeng has surpassed his father—his martial skill and cunning are both remarkable. He now holds sway over the Tongshan area, a local tyrant in his own right. He’s come representing Liu Guangshi, and given his natural ties to the Great Radiance Sect through his father, this has also drawn Liu Guangshi and Xu Zhaonan closer together.”

You Hongzhuo nodded. “So it seems Liu Guangshi has, for now, sided with Xu Zhaonan.”

“That does seem to be the emerging pattern, at least. Though Li Yanfeng serves under Liu Guangshi, coming here he’s also accepted a position as a guardian of the Great Radiance Sect—whether such contact leads to further complications down the road is hard to say… As for the other larger forces—Zou Xu and Dai Mengwei’s people are, like us, newcomers here, still probing and making contact with various parties. Whether the young emperor in the southeast has sent anyone isn’t clear yet, but I’d guess he will. As for the Southwest…”

An Xifu tapped his finger on the table. “If the Southwest makes a move here, it would surely be a decisive step—no one can afford to ignore the existence of that Black Banner… But over the past two years, Mr. Ning has advocated openness, seemingly unwilling to align himself too readily with anyone, and combined with the Fair Party’s own ambiguous stance toward the Southwest, whether his people will come, or whether they’ll ever show themselves openly, is hard to say.”

“…And beyond these major forces, there are all sorts of small and mid-sized factions here as well—those commanding a thousand or a few thousand men—and quite a few of them have come this time too. The situation in Jiangning naturally involves plenty of maneuvering and alliance-building among these smaller players as well. As far as we know, among the Fair Party’s five great kings, ‘Equality King’ Shi Baofeng has the most connections among these smaller and mid-sized forces. These past few days, several delegations have already arrived in Jiangning, openly declaring their support for him. He’s opened up a place called the ‘Hall of Assembled Talents’ on the city’s east side, quite reminiscent of the ancient Lord Mengchang, in fact.”

An Xifu had thoroughly laid out the situation within the city, piece by piece, and by now You Hongzhuo was nodding along.

“So that clears things up fairly well,” he said. “But given this situation, I’m still not sure which side we’re on. General An called me here… hoping I’d kill someone, I take it.”

An Xifu smiled and nodded. “Broadly speaking, we’re not actually planning to take a side this time. Jin territory and Jiangnan are, after all, quite far apart—once news from Jiangning reaches home, our Lady Chancellor doesn’t seem particularly inclined to intervene. Whoever ends up on top, we’ll deal with them then—that’s the safest approach, and we agree with it. That said, Marshal Wang does have old ties with the Great Radiance Sect, as I’m sure you know, Brother You.”

You Hongzhuo nodded.

“To be honest, Marshal Wang and I both belong to the old Yongle circle. Though the Holy Duke’s uprising failed, we still have a few living friends here in Jiangnan. Marshal Wang’s thinking is that, looking ahead, when there’s a convenient opportunity to place a few pieces on the board, it wouldn’t hurt to do so. In earlier years, we could barely protect ourselves up around Yanmen Pass and Taiyuan, let alone shelter others—but now that we’ve all settled into Jin territory with our own household and holdings, it might be worth looking up a few old friends, who knows, they might prove useful down the road. As for which side to actually align with, or whether to simply sit back and watch the tigers fight it out, that can wait and be decided as things develop.”

“But a couple of days ago, something came up with the matter of Miao Zheng, an unexpected complication…”

The matter of Miao Zheng that he mentioned was something You Hongzhuo himself had actually been involved in. Beside him, Liang Siyi lowered her head slightly and said, “That was my fault.”

You Hongzhuo looked between the two of them. “This… Brother Miao, is he all right now?”

“After what happened the night before last, Miao Zheng fled his home immediately and threw himself under the protection of ‘King of Hell’ Zhou Shang, managing to preserve his life for the time being. But yesterday, after making some quiet inquiries, we learned he’s since been captured by the ‘Seven Killers’… The order came from one of the Seven Killers, ‘Heaven’s Reaper’ Wei Xuwen.”

You Hongzhuo narrowed his eyes. “…The chief of the Seven Killers?”

An Xifu nodded. “From what we’ve gathered, this ‘Heaven’s Reaper’ Wei Xuwen is no simple figure. He’s the strategic mastermind under ‘King of Hell,’ with a vicious, unforgiving temperament—anyone he sets his sights on rarely comes to a good end. Now that Miao Zheng’s caught his attention, we suspect this won’t be easily resolved… Jin territory is too far away for us to easily summon help, so hearing that Brother You was here, I let Siyi shamelessly reach out to you, hoping that when the time comes to act, we might have someone to rely on.”

“Just say the word, and I’m at your service.”

The two sides hadn’t had much direct contact back in Jin territory, but Marshal Wang Juyun’s “Unruly Army” had fought alongside him on the battlefield more than once or twice. Hearing An Xifu’s words, You Hongzhuo didn’t hesitate, clasping his hands together in agreement quite naturally.

An Xifu smiled and was about to elaborate further when footsteps approached from the courtyard behind them, followed by a knock at the door.

The one who entered was, naturally, one of An Xifu’s own men. He glanced at the three people in the room, and, not knowing whether the matter had been settled, walked over to An Xifu and whispered a piece of news into his ear.

This news wasn’t much of a secret, so the whispering was mostly for show. You Hongzhuo froze slightly upon hearing it; An Xifu, too, frowned faintly, then glanced over at You Hongzhuo.

“That fat man… still can’t hold himself back…” An Xifu muttered under his breath, then turned to You Hongzhuo. “Xu Zhaonan and Lin Zongwu have made the first move after all. Lin Zongwu’s gone with his men to the Five Arenas—the first target is Zhou Shang, of course. Interested, Brother You?”

“I’ve heard he’s the greatest under heaven—I’d certainly like to see it for myself,” You Hongzhuo said.

“He might not be the greatest under heaven, but when it comes to martial skill, there are very few indeed who could top him…” An Xifu stood up. “Let’s go, we can talk on the way.”

You Hongzhuo and Liang Siyi rose in turn and left the shabby house one after another. By now, the sunlight had already dispersed the morning mist, and distant marketplace noise could be heard drifting in. An Xifu walked ahead, speaking quietly with You Hongzhuo.

“I know Brother You’s martial skill is formidable—you managed to drive back ‘Cold Crow’ Chen Juefang himself in direct combat. But this Wei Xuwen operates differently from Chen Juefang—he’s a man who excels at using others. In a one-on-one arena match, the gap between individuals might not be so great, but in terms of sheer numbers, the population under the Fair Party’s control in Jiangnan runs into the tens of millions. ‘King of Hell’s’ domain is divided among the ‘Seven Killers,’ and each of their followings is enormous. Given that Wei Xuwen has earned a reputation for excelling at commanding others, he’s certainly no easy opponent like Chen Juefang—I’d urge Brother You not to take him lightly.”

“General An’s caution is well taken. I’ll keep it in mind.”

You Hongzhuo clasped his hands in acknowledgment. He’d heard of this General An’s reputation within the army before—a man capable of ruthless decisiveness when it mattered, able to enforce military discipline, someone you could rely on absolutely in battle, while also managing logistics and strategic planning with equal skill in peacetime—truly a rare, dependable talent. Having now received this careful warning from the man himself, You Hongzhuo found he’d gained a certain measure of respect for him.

The woman named Liang Siyi walked behind them, her face expressionless and stern from start to finish—whether she found An Xifu’s talkativeness tiresome or was still weighed down by guilt over the Miao Zheng affair, it was hard to say.

The three of them made their way through the streets and alleys, heading toward the location of “King of Hell’s” Five Arenas. Along the way, crowds of onlookers had already begun to gather. You Hongzhuo laughed. “A few days in the city, and it seems every faction, good or bad, has chosen to strike at Zhou Shang first. This ‘King of Hell’ really has made himself everyone’s target—at this rate, his forces might get carved up before the gathering’s even over.”

He thought of his own grudge against the Great Radiance Sect, and yet here he was, coming along to help strike at Zhou Shang; An Xifu was reaching out to old veterans of the Great Radiance Sect’s Yongle faction, and suddenly the common enemy had become Zhou Shang as well; and “Wheel-Turning King” Xu Zhaonan, “Great Radiance Sect Leader” Lin Zongwu, and “Cold Crow” Chen Juefang had all made Zhou Shang their first target too. This “King of Hell” Zhou Shang truly must have terrible character—the thought of it was rather amusing.

An Xifu shook his head, though. “It’s hard to say for certain… On the surface, everyone’s calling for his blood, but in reality, Zhou Shang’s faction is growing faster than any other. There’s no fair logic to it—call it simply… the worst side of human nature.”

“General An seems to know this Sect Leader Lin quite well, I take it?”

“I met him once as a child, and had dealings with him a few times as an adult—we’re enemies now… I was actually raised by the Yongle Princess Imperial, Fang Baihua. Later I followed Marshal Wang, so I know a bit more about the old grievances between them than most people would…”

The three of them continued walking, chatting casually about various matters of interest. An Xifu, now nearing forty, had spent his whole life on the move—he’d had a family once in his younger years, but they’d long since scattered, and he’d never remarried. Speaking the name “Yongle Princess Imperial, Fang Baihua” now, his tone remained calm, but there was a faint stirring beneath his eyes, as if the figure of that red-clad female general momentarily rose before his sight. The crowds were gathering in the streets now, though that heart-stopping uprising that had once shaken Jiangnan two decades ago had already passed into history…

Ahead, in the square, a surging crowd had gathered, all manner of banners and flags fluttering above the sea of people in the wind.

That massive figure had already stepped up onto the platform of the Five Arenas.

The noise of the crowd around him was chaotic, like water boiling over.

“Make way! Make way! Hot water coming through—hot water—”

At one edge of the square, the unassumingly dressed young hero Long Aotian was currently affecting a strange Southwestern accent, squeezing his way bit by bit into the crowd, occasionally glancing up at this utterly chaotic scene of onlookers and muttering to himself: “If this turns into a fight in a minute, won’t a few people get trampled to death…”

But having come this far just to catch the excitement, there wasn’t much he could do about it now. If things did get chaotic, he’d just run over people himself. Anyone crazy enough to come watch in such a dangerous spot probably wasn’t much good to begin with—reckless fools, really; if they got trampled, well, they had it coming…

“Hot water! Make way! Make way there—”

Bracing his feet, he unleashed his footwork, weaving forward at breakneck speed like a slippery loach. After a while, he finally broke through the crowd and reached the very front of the platform. In his ears, he could hear several thunderous voices, driven by internal energy, echoing above the heads of the assembled crowd.

The most powerful of these voices, infused with internal energy, sent a jolt of excitement through Long Aotian. Looking up at that Maitreya-Buddha-like figure on the platform, he felt overcome with emotion.

Auntie Hong, Auntie Gua, Dad, Uncle Chen… I’ve finally laid eyes on this greatest fat man under heaven! His internal energy is incredible!

The Wulin Alliance Leader wasn’t one to be modest about his goals—for years now, his martial ambition had been to one day twist off this fat man’s head and kick it around like a ball. Now, finally seeing the man himself in person, he nearly welled up with tears.

Listening closely to what was being said, he heard the people on “King of Hell” Zhou Shang’s side accusing “Great Radiance Sect Leader” Lin Zongwu of being too senior to be bullying his juniors like this, while Sect Leader Lin countered that he hadn’t come here to bully anyone—he’d simply noticed they’d set up an arena where anyone who won three matches got a plaque and a title, and had come to question whether they actually had the standing to be handing out such plaques and titles in the first place. If this were some martial contest for a bride, fine, that was consensual between the parties involved—but if you’re claiming that beating your arena qualifies someone as a hero, then whoever’s backing that arena had better have credentials convincing enough to earn everyone’s trust, and that person ought to step forward so everyone could size them up.

These words were delivered beautifully, drowning out a great deal of the noise from below, and left Long Aotian once again deeply moved by the man’s internal power.

Whoo, no wonder he’s my lifelong rival—what incredible internal energy…

“Stop the arguing—”

He leapt up at the front of the crowd, shouting excitedly.

“Everyone listen to me!”

“Just fight already—”

Long Aotian’s arms flailed like noodles, and his voice rang out with unusual clarity. The crowd around him, momentarily swept up, found this suggestion strangely compelling.

“Fight him, fight him—”

“Beat him to death—”

“Whoo whoo whoo—”

“Bald bastard! Bald bastard!”

A wave of thoroughly chaotic shouting erupted…

Up on the platform, the massive figure turned his head, slowly sweeping his gaze across the entire crowd, then spoke in this direction.

“Si—LENCE!”

These two syllables carried a strange, resonant cadence, like the chanting of a Buddhist temple, and in an instant, spread outward like an ocean tide, drowning out nearly half the crowd’s noise. All at once, the people at the front fell silent almost involuntarily.

Witnessing the terrifying power of this single man, after a moment, a whole group belonging to the Great Radiance Sect on the other side of the field burst into tears and dropped to their knees, kowtowing.

Pah! What’s so impressive about that…

The young man calling himself Long Aotian felt a surge of irritation, and began searching the ground for a stone, planning to secretly hurl it at the heads of this crowd. But once he’d found a stone, considering the sheer mass of people packed into the square, he mentally rehearsed the motion a few times in his head with fierce intent, but in the end, couldn’t quite bring himself to actually do it…