The autumn night’s rain had put out most of the light on the ground. Those scheming in the shadows had each retreated into the darkness.

Around the Gold Tower, the various forces under the Wheel-Turning King, responsible for cleaning up the aftermath, were still combing the area in straw raincoats. At the New Tiger Palace, more than ten li from the Gold Tower, Xu Zhaonan, Lin Zongwu, Wang Nantuo, and the others, alarmed by the chaos, had already gathered in the main hall.

By the time midnight had passed, reports from every side had largely been compiled. Chen Juefang, Tan Zheng, Li Yanfeng, Gao Huiyun, Meng Zhutao, and the others arrived one after another.

In the cold, damp night, the atmosphere inside the New Tiger Palace felt bitterly chilled. Xu Zhaonan’s expression was grim; several of the masters now present in the hall had been injured in the earlier chaos. This sudden clash had cost the Wheel-Turning King’s side dearly, both in appearance and in substance.

“…Of the group that carried out the assassination near the Gold Tower, we’ve captured four alive on our side. We’ve already run through the first round of interrogation.”

Chen Juefang, Cold Crow, had bandages wrapped around parts of his body — he’d been caught off guard by a lime-powder trick during his fight with Liang Siyi and You Hongzhuo some days back, and that wound hadn’t fully healed yet. Tonight, having charged in too fast, he’d been caught in the grenade explosion inside the shop, adding fresh injury on top of the old, leaving him in a sorry state, his voice rough and gruff.

“We couldn’t get much useful out of them. What we do know is that these were hired wandering fighters — they barely even knew each other. Whoever paid them told them to move tonight, purely to muddy the waters. Only one or two skilled fighters actually did the killing… the one who succeeded had extraordinary lightness skill. I was wounded — I couldn’t catch him…”

Chen Juefang finished his report and fell silent for a moment; the hall grew quiet as well, everyone’s expression somewhat grim. The killing of Liu Guangshi’s envoy had cost everyone face today.

Xu Zhaonan looked around the room, his voice cold. “The attacker was highly skilled, with formidable lightness technique as well. Does anyone have any idea which side he might be from?”

“In this whole world, there are barely a handful of people whose lightness skill could surpass Cold Crow’s.”

“I was wounded,” Chen Juefang said.

“This man’s tongue was as vicious as his blade — it actually reminds me of someone.” Within the hall, Tan Zheng spoke up. He too had some bandages on him now, from minor scrapes sustained in the explosion — not serious, but humiliating enough that he seemed rather frightening himself at the moment. He turned his gaze up toward Lin Zongwu and Wang Nantuo. “Sect Leader, Deputy Sect Leader — do you two still remember a certain monk from the northern lands?”

Wang Nantuo frowned. “Tunyun.”

Tan Zheng nodded. “Back in his day, his nickname was ‘Cloud-Swallowing Iron Armor’ — he was known for his suit of iron armor and iron sleeves, but in truth his lightness skill was formidable. Once he shed the armor, even Zhou Tong couldn’t lay a hand on him. His martial skill is extremely high, but he’s greedy for comfort and has no great ambitions. Over the past decade or so, he’s frequently taken jobs from wealthy patrons to handle dirty work, and he’s shown up in the Jiangnan region before as well. If it was him who struck tonight, then Gu Anhe’s death makes perfect sense.”

Wang Nantuo nodded. “That monk’s tongue was never any good, that’s for sure.”

“The real question is who hired him this time.”

“It’s quite possibly Wu Qimei and Tie Yan’s side. With this Jiangning conference, once our Fairness Party has fully consolidated, the first to bear the brunt of it will be the little court in Lin’an. Stirring up trouble, killing to cause chaos whenever convenient — that’s exactly the sort of thing they’d do. And besides, these scholar types love this sort of underhanded little trick…”

“It could also be Zou Xu… Liu Guangshi is currently leading troops north to reclaim the Central Plains, locked in fierce conflict with Zou Xu. If Zou Xu hired this Cloud-Swallowing monk, striking first at Liu Guangshi’s people would make sense too.”

“And another thing — let’s not forget, there’s a shadow of the southwest in this whole affair as well…”

“It’s just southwestern grenades, that’s all — plenty of those floating around out there already. This old man thinks there’s no need to overthink it…”

Outside the hall, the rain poured down heavily, and everyone in the room traded opinions on the various possibilities. At a certain point, a voice suddenly rang out from a corner of the hall: “Mr. Meng owes me an explanation for what happened tonight.”

Everyone gathered in this hall was, without exception, a figure of renown and standing in the martial world; hearing such blunt words, they all turned to look, and sure enough, standing there with arms crossed and a dark expression, was none other than “Monkey King” Li Yanfeng.

Li Yanfeng’s experience tonight had been thoroughly bizarre, so much so that even others found it awkward to ask what exactly had happened to him.

This Jiangning conference was one of the great gatherings the wandering martial world had seen in years, drawing countless masters and rising stars from all directions. But by any measure, the Monkey King of Tongshan ranked among the finest of the new generation — not only formidable in skill, but in temperament and the power he wielded behind him as well, even a veteran like “Heaven Blade” Tan Zheng would not dare look down on him.

In the past, wherever he went, Li Yanfeng, though proud by nature, had always maintained the proper courtesy and humility of a junior, dealing with his elders with perfect decorum. And when facing outsiders — as he had earlier on the street outside the Gold Tower — his display of martial skill, grand and heroic, had time and again overwhelmed and subdued countless opponents.

But during the latter half of the fighting on the street outside the Gold Tower, this same Monkey King, who had single-handedly held back half the street with nothing but his club, had somehow vanished, embroiling himself in a fight with some unclear, unidentified figures. Some said the Monkey King had come out on the losing end, chasing after some children in a fit of madness; others said he’d been played by Jin Yongsheng, chief steward of the Baofeng Hall. Either way, nothing had come of it in the end, and he’d been beaten black and blue. When others asked what had happened, he refused to say much.

This wasn’t so strange.

Tonight’s banquet at the Gold Tower may have looked festive on the surface, but the Baofeng Hall and the Wheel-Turning King’s side were, in the end, not truly allies. Exactly what had transpired between this outsider “Monkey King” and Jin Yongsheng was hard for anyone to piece together, but whatever conspiracy theory one entertained, it all remained plausible enough — and since he wasn’t talking, no one else could press him much either.

On another front, in this envoy delegation Liu Guangshi had sent, Gu Anhe, assassinated tonight, had been the chief envoy, with Li Yanfeng serving as one of the deputy envoys. After Gu Anhe’s death, Li Yanfeng had certainly lost some face, but his violent display in the street had largely won it back.

If matters had ended there, Li Yanfeng might well have remained in good humor. But who could have predicted the bizarre turn of events that followed? After the chief envoy was killed, he, the deputy envoy, had gotten swept up in chaos of his own and been beaten to a pulp, losing every scrap of face he’d just regained — which was likely why his words carried such an edge now.

Still, no matter how much fire he carried in his heart, “Measuring Rod” Meng Zhutao, currently in command of the Resentment Society, was no pushover either. This man, who had once personally killed his own master, wielded his iron ruler with almost supernatural skill; though he hadn’t shown off in the streets tonight, in terms of martial cultivation he ranked second only to Lin Zongwu among all present in the hall. Combined with his important position among the “Eight Executors” and his considerable authority, most of the time even Xu Zhaonan would hesitate to scold him casually.

With Li Yanfeng now turning his aim on Meng Zhutao, the atmosphere in the hall seemed to grow several degrees colder all at once. Meng Zhutao narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on Li Yanfeng. To one side of the hall, “Heaven Blade” Tan Zheng spoke up dryly: “Now, now, worthy nephew, calm down a bit” — playing peacemaker, fulfilling his duty as an elder.

Meng Zhutao said slowly, “What exactly is Monkey King Li implying?”

“Mr. Gu was killed today, General Liu’s side has lost face, and I’ll have a hard time explaining this when I go back.” Li Yanfeng’s gaze held firm on him — if his right eyelid hadn’t been swollen, he might have looked more imposing still. “Elder Chen says his side has captured four men, but no one knows the details. Is this matter simply going to be left at that?”

“Go on, share your thoughts,” Meng Zhutao said.

Li Yanfeng nodded. “Today at the Gold Tower, the assassins struck at their chosen opportunity — and everyone here surely remembers exactly how that opportunity arose. Mr. Meng, it was your junior siblings surnamed Ling causing that disturbance that gave the assassins their opening in the first place. Since we’ve found no leads from the four assassins we’ve captured, shouldn’t we at least be asking your junior siblings whether they’ve been colluding with anyone, and if so, with whom? That would only be fair. You’re in charge of the Resentment Society, and within the Fairness Party you oversee matters of law and punishment — is there any problem with what I’m saying?”

Facing Meng Zhutao directly like this, Li Yanfeng’s words already amounted to open confrontation. Meng Zhutao looked at him for a long moment, then, to everyone’s mild surprise, nodded evenly. “You raise a fair point. I will look into this matter.”

Li Yanfeng went on, “But since you yourself oversee matters of law, and this concerns your own kin, wouldn’t it look better for propriety’s sake if someone else conducted the interrogation? I think it would appear far more just if your junior siblings were handed over to Elder Chen for questioning instead. What do you think?”

The hall fell silent again for a moment, and some brows furrowed. Meng Zhutao looked at him, his expression unchanged, and said slowly: “That won’t be possible.”

He offered no argument, no explanation with those four words. Li Yanfeng dropped his crossed arms, already squaring off against Meng Zhutao directly. Just as “Heaven Blade” Tan Zheng was about to step in and smooth things over, Xu Zhaonan, who had been silent for a long while at the head of the hall, slammed his palm down on the armrest of his seat. “Enough!”

“Haven’t we lost enough face today already? Are we going to start infighting among ourselves too?” Xu Zhaonan swept his gaze across the room, letting it linger on Li Yanfeng for a moment. “Mr. Li’s losses today — this one guarantees you will be properly compensated. As for Mr. Meng’s junior siblings, this one understands the situation now; they truly don’t seem closely tied to this matter. Mr. Meng, please handle it as you see fit. Back and forth like this, all we’re doing is losing face for our own side… Sect Leader, what are your thoughts on this matter?”

He turned his gaze toward Lin Zongwu beside him. From the very start, this Holy Sect Leader had worn a faint, unreadable smile through the whole affair, appearing both indifferent and as though he already held all the answers in hand — naturally it was time to ask his opinion.

Lin Zongwu shook his head with a smile. “As I see it, all of you have simply been dazzled and led astray. What should have been a simple matter got made to look far more complicated than it is, to the point where our own people nearly came to blows.”

He paused there, and Xu Zhaonan said, “Please, Holy Sect Leader, enlighten us.”

Lin Zongwu’s gaze lowered slightly. “Since I entered this city, I’ve helped win a few matches on the ring, and our Wheel-Turning King’s momentum has been running high. But when has the world ever allowed one side to keep all the advantage to itself? We gained the upper hand yesterday; today we ought to be prepared for someone to come at us in return. Gu Anhe being assassinated at Young Chen and Young Meng’s banquet is a slap in our face. And even if it hadn’t been Gu Anhe who was struck down today, I’d say something else was bound to happen regardless — surely the other four factions aren’t simply going to sit back and watch us dominate everything alone? That’s the first thing you all need to understand.”

The heavyset man paused there, smiling faintly before continuing. “As for the second point — now that we know someone’s slapped us in the face, does it really matter who threw the punch? Gentlemen, all of you already know full well what the situation in this city is like. The Fairness Party has five factions, and now the time has come to sort out who stands where. Beyond the Fairness Party, there are dozens of other households, big and small, scattered across the city, and with the negotiations drawing near, sooner or later these dozens of factions are bound to come to blows regardless. Even if we found out today that it was Wu Qimei’s doing, or Zou Xu’s — so what? Are we going to strike back at them? Or, if it turns out it wasn’t Wu Qimei after all, does that mean we simply don’t strike him when the time comes to?”

“The dozens of factions in this city are bound for chaos sooner or later,” Lin Zongwu said. “Trying to get to the bottom of every single thing is a pointless exercise. We are only one faction among many; all that truly matters is figuring out who stands with us and who doesn’t. If they’re on our side, we need to stand united — and if they’re not on our side, tomorrow we simply find an excuse and finish them off. As for Wu Qimei’s people, Zou Xu’s people — go talk to them next. If they can be brought over to our side, then this matter has nothing to do with them. And if talks fall through — well, they killed Mr. Gu, didn’t they? Are we meant to let them just walk out of Jiangning alive after that?”

“As for how many people struck tonight, how many factions were pulling strings behind the scenes, which particular masters were involved — going round and round on that is genuinely pointless. The situation is this chaotic; going forward, every single incident is going to have plenty of skilled fighters mixed up in it. Don’t let your minds get clouded chasing after every detail. What you’re all facing now isn’t just the wandering martial world anymore, and it isn’t some petty matter of settling a personal score — the waters of politics run deep. All of you had best stay alert. Lord Xu, wouldn’t you agree?”

Seated at the head of the hall, Lin Zongwu’s massive frame sat like a mountain, his words steady and unhurried. Having dealt with a great many political matters by now, he had come to a deeper understanding of things across the board, and hearing him lay out this view genuinely gave everyone present the impression of a man calmly commanding the whole situation from behind the scenes, steady as a mountain. Xu Zhaonan drew a deep breath and cupped his hands with a look of reverence.

“The Holy Sect Leader’s insight is truly enlightening, cutting straight through the fog — this one admires you beyond words, my reverence for you flows like the endless river…”

He immediately followed Lin Zongwu’s line of reasoning and issued his orders.

“…Then, as the Holy Sect Leader teaches us, we shall of course still investigate who was truly responsible for this. I place Chen Juefang and Meng Zhutao in full charge of the investigation. At the same time, let us summon representatives from Wu Qimei, Tie Yan, Zou Xu, and the other factions in the city to sit down and ask who the culprit is. General Liu Guangshi has always been on good terms with us, and his envoy was murdered at our own banquet — I, Xu Zhaonan, will absolutely see this pursued to the end. Tell them all: whoever bears suspicion, none of them will be allowed to slip away! As for these negotiations, let General Gao preside, with Master Tan as his deputy — how does that sound?”

Below, Chen Juefang, Meng Zhutao, Gao Huiyun, Tan Zheng, and the others all immediately acknowledged the order.

“…In addition, the Fairness King will soon be entering the city. Whatever happens next, whether it’s fighting or negotiation, the situation is bound to shift considerably. All of you must hold fast to the Holy Sect Leader’s teaching and treat unity as the first priority. Yanfeng — you’re young and full of fire, and having drive is a good thing, but regardless of the circumstances, Mr. Meng is one of our own, and your senior besides — you shouldn’t press him so hard… As for your losses today, this one will personally see them made up to you. Those matters you raised the other day, about certain business dealings in Tongshan — this one grants approval on all of them, and there will be further compensation within three days to ensure your satisfaction. How does that sound?”

Li Yanfeng thanked him at once, then turned to apologize to Meng Zhutao as well, before turning back to Xu Zhaonan. “Justice for Mr. Gu, and face restored for General Liu — I leave it entirely in the hands of Mr. Xu and the rest of you, my elders.” With that, he formally handed off, in proper form, the responsibility of avenging Gu Anhe to Xu Zhaonan.

Xu Zhaonan laughed heartily along with the others, then continued, “As for exactly how many masters showed up in the streets today, and which side each of them belonged to — I don’t think there’s any need to dwell on that further. Those who gave us face and were taken into custody — let’s show some magnanimity. I’ll go pay them a personal visit shortly and then release them; there’s no need to press the matter aggressively. As for the grudges some of you formed with others today, matters of debts owed and scores to settle…”

Xu Zhaonan paused, sweeping his gaze across the room. “…why don’t we let each of you settle your own scores, hm?”

In a city as chaotic and mixed as Jiangning, some group of masters suddenly bursting out somewhere, killing this one, wounding that one — in the grand scheme of things, it hardly mattered much at all. Xu Zhaonan couldn’t be bothered to concern himself with it, and Lin Zongwu, greatest under heaven, had neither the time nor the inclination to look into the affairs of some young up-and-coming master or two. Hearing this, everyone present agreed it was reasonable enough.

Though several people had gotten away tonight, and Tan Zheng, Chen Juefang, Li Yanfeng, and the others had all been wounded and lost some face in various ways — on the whole, of the masters who’d shown up that night, hadn’t every one of them been the ones pressing the attack, nearly costing their opponents their lives? For masters of this caliber, when it came to eventually taking their revenge, they felt both an urgent hunger for it and complete confidence they’d get it.

As for openly admitting on record that they’d been shown up by some nobody or other, or even needing to organize a formal act of revenge for it — that really would be the ultimate loss of face for a seasoned figure of the martial world.

“One more thing — if that Cloud-Swallowing monk really is in the city, and we happen to cross paths with him in the future…” As he was leaving, Xu Zhaonan added, “…offer him a price and bring him over to our side. We’ll let bygones be bygones.”

“And if he refuses?”

“Then kill him. What use would he be to us otherwise.”

Xu Zhaonan laughed and waved a hand.

The rain kept falling.

Everything lay submerged in cold, wet darkness.

Once the meeting at the New Tiger Palace concluded, elsewhere in the city, naturally, other factions were gathering as well, discussing their own strategies for responding to the whole affair. Shadowy figures whispered among themselves in the dark before parting ways once more.

…

Endless cold surged in from every direction, swallowing a body already broken.

In the pouring rain, brief moments of clarity surfaced now and then, her gaze fixed only on the figure carrying her forward.

In some unknown place, that figure tore open her clothing, seemingly tending to the wounds on her body.

He too had suffered serious injuries, but for some reason, he still hadn’t collapsed.

“Wake up…”

“Wake up…”

“Wake up, damn it!”

In her hazy half-consciousness, she felt something like a slap across her face.

In the rainy night, one broken body struggled desperately to mend another.

“You… You Hongzhuo…”

“Hm?”

“Do you still remember… remember…”

“What?”

“Do you remember… Luan Fei… and Qin Xiang…”

“Yes, I remember.” The broken figure showed no surprise at the names she’d raised.

“Those were my… sworn brother… and sister… you… you…”

“…I’d guessed as much.”

“Yanmen Pass… it was so desolate there… nothing to eat, everyone was starving to death…”

“…”

“The older brothers and sisters… they’d go out looking for food, trying to find some way… to make money, to bring silver back…”

“Mm.”

“Sometimes, they’d cheat people too… hurt some people… Big Brother Luan, Sister Qin Xiang… you remember them, don’t you…”

“…Third Sister was good to me.” The broken figure answered in a low, muffled voice. “She was killed by Tan Zheng and his people…”

“After Big Brother Luan went back, he’d lost his legs, and Sister Qin Xiang was gone too… he, he didn’t have it easy…”

“…”

“Later you made a name for yourself, helped the Female Chancellor, did good deeds around the martial world… he’d talk about you sometimes…”

“…”

“He said… it was a shame, that the bond between you as brothers had been false — he… never treated you well as a younger brother…”

“…Is he still alive?”

“The Chaos Master faction… so poor…”

“…”

“Nothing to eat…”

“…Is he… alive?”

“He… doesn’t have legs anymore…”

“…”

“The Chaos Master faction… so poor…”

“…”

“The Jurchen are about to push south again, and he has no legs… and Sister Qin Xiang is gone too… fell into a well, died…”

The rain wouldn’t stop. In the silence, You Hongzhuo held her close, and for a moment he seemed to freeze…

“Damn them… damn the Jurchen—” The woman burst into tears. “The Central Plains… it used to be… it used to be fine…”

The autumn wind and rain cut cold as knives, slicing in from the worn-out eaves above, from every direction, without end. In his heart he still remembered clearly what he had seen at Zhaode — the ranks of the Chaos Master faction surging toward the enemy wave after wave, one unit scattered, then another squad, led by one of Wang Juyun’s adopted sons or daughters, charging up once more to take their place; the city wall breached, unit after unit charging forward to plug the gap. That woman general, always cold-faced, had fought until her strength gave out, and finally, in a pool of blood, had held her fallen brother’s corpse and wept up at the sky.

The Chaos Master faction had never fought with much skill or refinement — they simply had too little in the way of supplies, too little training. They had only ever given everything they had.

And so now, he too gave everything he had, trying to keep her alive.