A pale blue light began to seep in from the east as the rain, which had persisted all through the night, gradually softened.
Inside the Five Lakes Inn, faint, cautious footsteps sounded, followed by a knock at the door.
“Sir… sir… truly sorry to disturb you at this hour… we have a young waiter at the inn, I wonder if you might have seen him around…”
“…”
“Sorry to trouble you, sorry to trouble you… he’s suddenly gone missing, we just wanted to ask if you’d happened to see him…”
“…”
“Well, you know how unsettled the city’s been lately… times being what they are, we’re a bit worried…”
“…”
“So sorry to bother you… please, go back to resting…”
The knocking and the murmured conversation continued down the hallway, pausing briefly at the far end of the second-floor corridor.
“This is where those two boys are staying… isn’t it…”
“…Ask them too, just in case.”
A man in a blue robe and a small cap knocked on the door, while a middle-aged man dressed as the innkeeper stood back a step. After a moment, a small bald head appeared, rubbing sleepy eyes as the door opened.
“Ah… ah… Amitabha… what’s the matter?”
“Terribly sorry to knock at this hour… it’s just that one of our waiters, the shorter one, went missing — I wonder if you might have noticed him around…”
“Ah…” The little monk stood there for a moment, blinking sleepily with his mouth hanging open, then nodded. “A-Qing… you mean the waiter named A-Qing…”
“That’s right, that’s the one. The city’s been so unsettled lately, and he suddenly went missing starting last night — we’re a bit worried, so we thought we’d ask if you’d seen him…”
“Last night… he went out last night, I don’t know where…” The little monk rubbed his eyes, then rubbed at a bruise on his body and winced, teeth clenched.
The man in the blue robe sniffed at the air and glanced further into the room. After a few more simple questions, they apologized and took their leave.
The innkeeper met back up with the man in the blue robe outside.
“How strange…”
“What is it?”
“Those two boys — looks like they got into some kind of fight last night. Did you see that little monk, bruised up all over, and the whole room reeking of medicinal liniment… could A-Qing have run into them and…” The man in the blue robe frowned.
The innkeeper thought it over, then shook his head. “…Doubtful. If they’d really beaten him black and blue, there’d have been a lot more noise. And if those two boys really had done something to A-Qing, it would have had to be a sneak attack, not the three of them tangled up in a brawl together. And think about it — if they’d really done it, would they be answering the door still smelling of liniment like that?”
“Those two boys aren’t simple, though.”
“Who staying in this city these days is simple? Everyone’s got some kind of backing, sneaking out at night whenever they please — trouble, all of them…” The innkeeper thought it over further. “It’s unlikely A-Qing ran afoul of them. What worries me now is whether he’s fallen into the hands of our own people…”
“Those few items he brought back yesterday… sigh…”
The two whispering figures gradually moved off. The little monk went back to bed and fell straight back asleep, but in the other bed, the taller of the two boys suddenly sat bolt upright, his mind still somewhat hazy. “Strange… he went missing last night, and now they’re knocking on doors this urgently first thing in the morning?”
“Hm?” The little monk turned his head toward him.
“Something’s off here,” the five-foot Pervert muttered, then a moment later, lay back down again.
Right now, Jiangning was a city crawling with all sorts of hidden dragons and snakes, and plenty of people had their own little secrets, one way or another. But what could this Five Lakes Inn business possibly have to do with him and the little bald one? Having reasoned his way to that conclusion, he drifted off soundly back to sleep.
Outside, the cold, fine rain kept falling, and in certain corners of the city, the situation was shifting bit by bit.
At Zhong’an Ward, on the city’s eastern side, a procession of carriages made its way through the morning rain, entering the innermost courtyard of the “Gathering of Worthies” hall. The one who stepped down from the carriage and made his way into the main hall was none other than the current “Equality King,” Shi Baofeng himself. This man, who oversaw the vast majority of the Fairness Party’s commercial affairs, was tall and lean, with a gentle appearance that nonetheless carried real authority — seen from a distance, he looked more like a scholar than a merchant. Many said his bearing bore a certain resemblance to that of Mr. Ning from the southwest. And indeed, much of what the Fairness Party’s Equality faction had done — including the construction of the “Gathering of Worthies” hall in Zhong’an Ward, modeled on the southwest’s “Welcome Road” — carried more than a trace of that same influence.
Shi Baofeng had already been in the city for several days now. As the leader of the Equality King’s faction, these past few days he had been touring his surrounding territories and secretly meeting with certain individuals. He’d learned of the previous night’s events at the Gold Tower the moment they happened, but had only made his way to Zhong’an Ward at dawn, intending to see Jin Yongsheng, who had personally witnessed the whole affair.
While waiting for Jin Yongsheng to arrive, Shi Baofeng asked after the whereabouts of his second son. One of the stewards in charge of the estate stepped forward to report that the young master had gathered a group of men and set out barely half an hour earlier, taking several of the estate’s more capable retainers along with him.
Shi Baofeng frowned. “What kind of trouble is this rebellious son of mine off stirring up now?”
“According to what we’ve heard, it seems someone found the whereabouts of those two Perverts.”
“…What Perverts?” Shi Baofeng blinked, momentarily confused.
“The ones… connected to that whole business with Miss Yan…”
“…Hmph.”
In the days since arriving in the city, Shi Baofeng had grown thoroughly displeased with this “rebellious son” of his, Shi Weiyang, and had even privately slapped the boy across the face. The reason was straightforward enough — Shi Weiyang’s recklessness had driven Yan Yunzhi away and thrown the marriage alliance with the Yan family stronghold into jeopardy.
Shi Baofeng and Yan Taiwei of the Yan family stronghold had been close friends since their humble beginnings. Though over these past two years Shi Baofeng, riding the momentum of the Fairness Party, had suddenly become one of the most powerful figures in the realm, and to outside observers the Yan family stronghold’s support might now seem practically dispensable — as a merchant, he understood deeply that even a mosquito, however small, was still meat.
As he saw it, a pig could fly high on the right gust of wind — but if it flew high and grew careless, no longer minding the foundation beneath it, that was a sure sign the pig’s days were numbered. This was a principle anyone who had risen suddenly needed to bear in mind above all else.
On another level, he believed he and Ning Yi of the southwest shared certain common ground. For a merchant, what mattered most of all? The southwest had already made that plain enough, out in the open.
— A contract.
If a merchant failed to honor a contract in full view of the public, even if the other party seemed weak and easily bullied at first glance, what he was actually damaging was the very foundation of his own standing. Who would ever want to do business with a merchant like that again?
This was a principle the southwest had always upheld without exception, and he held to it just as firmly himself. This shared conviction was precisely the point on which he and that hero from the southwest saw eye to eye, without ever having discussed it.
Given this line of reasoning, even though the Yan family’s daughter had run into some unfortunate business in Tongshan and become the subject of unflattering rumors, could that really be counted as a bad thing? Especially given that the trouble had originated from a lapse on the other side — he could turn it into an opportunity to publicly clear her name and formally accept her, showcasing to everyone gathered here, in this environment where every faction had converged, the true generosity and open-mindedness of the “Equality King.” What a perfect opportunity to buy a thousand pieces of gold with a single bone, so to speak!
Never mind that the Tongshan business sounded like obvious nonsense the moment you heard it — even if the Yan girl really had run into something in Tongshan, given that she’d traveled a thousand li to be here, shouldn’t his own side be showing her tolerance and goodwill in response? A grand gathering of heroes like this was precisely the moment to show off one’s image before everyone present — what did minor details like that even matter? If she wasn’t happy after marrying in, she could simply go out and enjoy herself elsewhere.
Before arriving in Jiangning, he had already made full preparations: express sympathy and condolences to the Yan family, promote this marriage with the utmost fanfare, and at the same time quietly send people to spread word privately — even though the Yan family’s daughter now carried a slight blemish, and even though the Yan family stronghold itself wasn’t particularly powerful within the Fairness Party’s structure, Shi Baofeng would never go back on an agreement; anyone who traveled such a great distance to be here, the Shi family would treat with the utmost care and respect.
And then, the very first thing that happened upon arriving in Jiangning was discovering that his own son, letting his lust get the better of him, had scared the girl off entirely.
All his preparations had come to nothing, and on top of that, Yan Tiehe, the Yan family’s second uncle, had come straight to him and delivered a furious dressing-down to his face. Shi Baofeng had been beside himself with fury; after finally managing to calm Yan Tiehe down, he’d slapped Shi Weiyang across the face that very day, and had since taken to calling him nothing but “rebellious son.”
Now, early this morning, his rebellious son had gone gallivanting off with a group of friends yet again. Just as Shi Baofeng was already working himself up to give the boy a proper beating, hearing that it concerned those two Perverts, he let out a cold snort instead, calming somewhat.
Properly resolving the whole affair with the Yan family hinged on two things. The core of the matter was, of course, finding Miss Yan and bringing her back, so the marriage could go forward and the larger goal of cooperation with the Yan family stronghold could be preserved. On the other hand, since she had come all this way and suffered this slander, he naturally bore some responsibility for clearing her name and washing away this humiliation — only then could the matter be considered properly settled. If those two troublesome Perverts could be captured and brought back, they might still prove useful for that purpose.
“Hmph… this rebellious son had better not go stirring up any more trouble!”
His anger had cooled somewhat, though he still had to grumble about it a little. Just as he finished cursing, Jin Yongsheng arrived outside the hall. Shi Baofeng, his expression gentle, called out “Old Jin” and went to greet him.
Jin Yongsheng’s complexion wasn’t looking too good at the moment. His Mount Tai Abacus fighting style had always relied on overwhelming force and fierce, direct attacks, which took a heavy toll — but last night he’d run into some bouncing little runt who fought with vicious, underhanded tricks and fled with astonishing speed. He’d pressed his heavy-handed style across several streets, several times seemingly on the verge of killing the boy outright, only for that little monk to slip away time and again in the most undignified fashion, leaving him utterly exhausted — an extraordinarily punishing workout for a man of his age.
And of the two enemies, the little monk hadn’t even been the most terrifying. It was the young man who’d faced off against Li Yanfeng — after snatching up a long saber on the street and fighting with everything he had, holding nothing back — who had given Jin Yongsheng a genuine, palpable taste of true killing intent.
That had been the most vicious kind of fighting seen on real battlefields; when that blade opened up, it looked as though the boy meant to trade his life one-for-one with Li Yanfeng himself, driving even Li Yanfeng to instinctively give ground. And Jin Yongsheng himself had endured two such assaults during the chase — though he and Li Yanfeng were, of course, both superior in skill, facing those few instants of pure onslaught, they’d both instinctively chosen to protect themselves rather than press forward, naturally unwilling to actually trade their lives for a mere child’s. It was in the midst of that kind of frenzied fighting that the other side had finally found their opening and slipped away, leaving both Li Yanfeng and himself looking rather the worse for wear.
Li Yanfeng was a man of a devious and calculating nature, no paragon of virtue by any means, and he’d never made clear from start to finish exactly who these two young men were — but piecing together various bits of recent information, Jin Yongsheng had developed a few guesses of his own on the matter.
He’d come home last night aching all over, and now, having rested, he pulled himself together to meet with Shi Baofeng and said, “This old man is ashamed to say — last night near the Gold Tower, I did catch sight of Miss Yan’s trail, but unfortunately Li Yanfeng and several others interfered, and in the end I was unable to bring Miss Yan back. I beg the young master’s forgiveness.”
“Oh? You found Miss Yan?” Shi Baofeng ushered Jin Yongsheng to a seat. “Old Jin, tell me in detail exactly what happened.”
Jin Yongsheng recounted the latter half of the previous night’s events at the Gold Tower. “For reasons unclear to me, Miss Yan, in her several days away, has somehow formed strange connections with a number of young masters of considerable skill. On the street, the first to step forward and cover her escape included one man of tremendous strength who wields Fanzi Fist, and another who fights with the Five-Step Thirteen Spear technique, clearly carrying on the late Master Zhou’s own tradition… as for the other two, one was a rather short little monk, and the other was a young man whose bladework carried faint echoes of a dominating saber style. As for the identities of these two, this old man can only speculate…”
“…In the wandering martial world, plenty of these young heroes come from long-established martial lineages, and all four of these young men, wherever you placed them, would rank among first-class masters… this old man honestly cannot fathom how Miss Yan managed to befriend all of them, one after another…”
As Jin Yongsheng spoke, his tone carried a certain complexity. Ever since the Yan family had arrived in Jiangning, given the rumors circulating around town, he had of course looked into Yan Yunzhi’s situation himself, and had known from the start that the girl’s reputation was clean, that she had simply been the victim of a cruel frame-up through sheer bad luck. And yet, in the mere few days since her escape, she had somehow forged connections with four young heroes capable of throwing themselves into mortal combat on her behalf, in circumstances like that.
It simply didn’t add up. Had she, after being humiliated and turning against everyone, immediately fallen in with bad company the moment she fled? Was this some kind of enlightenment, or self-destructive abandon?
Catching the implication behind Jin Yongsheng’s words, Shi Baofeng frowned as well. “The Yan family stronghold does carry a fair bit of renown within the wandering martial world — perhaps, this time around, she found shelter with some other friends, who can say…” He paused, then added, “By the way, Old Jin, do you think those two young men might be the four-foot and five-foot… Perverts?”
“This old man only thinks it’s a possibility…”
Shi Baofeng said, “After you returned last night, Old Jin, did you happen to discuss this matter with that rebellious son of mine?”
Jin Yongsheng hesitated slightly. “Actually… by the time this old man went to bed, the second young master was still out…”
“…” Shi Baofeng pressed his lips together, then, after a moment, said, “Old Jin may not be aware — this morning, someone came by with word that the whereabouts of those two Perverts had been found, and that rebellious son gathered his men and went out after them… it seems, quite the coincidence.”
Jin Yongsheng nodded. “…Even though those two escaped, they were both carrying significant wounds — they may well have left some trail behind because of it. If the second young master manages to bring them back, this matter should sort itself out… hm, and perhaps Miss Yan’s whereabouts might come to light through them as well, and she could be brought back at the same time.”
“That would be ideal.” Shi Baofeng waved a hand. “We’ll leave this matter to that rebellious son to handle for now, no more to be said about it. But Old Jin — what’s your take on the broader impact of last night’s affair at the Gold Tower?”
“This old man was just about to bring that up.” Jin Yongsheng’s expression turned serious. “Sir, Xu Zhaonan is domineering by nature, not a man to swallow an insult quietly. On the surface, what happened at the Gold Tower last night amounts to nothing more than the death of Liu Guangshi’s envoy — but if Xu Zhaonan decides to use this as an excuse to seize an advantage, we cannot afford not to guard against it. This old man wasn’t entirely clear-headed when I first sent word last night, but now that I’ve had time to think it over carefully, we really ought to start preparing early…”
“Ha, Old Jin, no need to worry — you and I were thinking along exactly the same lines.” Shi Baofeng laughed. “I know old Xu’s temperament better than anyone. That bunch of mystics never miss a chance to stage some grand spectacle when there’s nothing better to do — this time, he’s sure to seize the momentum and go all out, forcing people to pick sides and squeezing out whatever advantage he can. Fortunately, if he’s going to pressure people, we can offer them goodwill in turn; if he’s going to threaten them, we can offer them protection. So last night, once you sent word to me, I’d already made arrangements — I had people sent out overnight to quietly warn every envoy delegation in the city that Xu Zhaonan means to move against them. Today, the moment Xu Zhaonan makes his move, there are bound to be people coming to us for help…”
Jin Yongsheng, aching all over from last night’s fighting, had only sent word of the basic facts about the Gold Tower incident to Shi Baofeng once he’d gotten home, without offering any further warnings. Hearing now that Shi Baofeng had already made arrangements of his own, he was both surprised and relieved. He voiced his admiration for his employer at once, and Shi Baofeng waved it off modestly in turn; the two of them then went on to discuss further plans for what was to come.
In truth, that the situation within Jiangning would keep escalating had long since become a foregone conclusion for every faction involved. At this stage, everyone was, quite consciously, fanning the flames and stoking the fire from the sidelines, each trying to make their own presence known. They had only just begun discussing these matters for a short while when a soldier suddenly burst in from the rain outside, reporting some sudden development, and out on the street beyond the courtyard, a faint commotion seemed to be stirring as well.
Shi Baofeng and Jin Yongsheng rose to their feet and, frowning, made their way up to the pavilion overlooking the nearby street. Through the misty autumn rain, a large crowd could be seen stirring in the distance along the street, banners beginning to unfurl.
“That rotten snake Fu Pingbo — what’s he up to now?”
The men mobilizing out on the street were, faintly visible, the forces of “Dragon Sage” Fu Pingbo, under “Fairness King” He Wen’s banner.
Among the Fairness Party’s five great kings, it was often said they now stood on equal footing with one another, but on the surface, He Wen, as their original leader, still held a uniquely elevated and preeminent status. And now, within the city, “Dragon Sage” Fu Pingbo also held, at least in name, the highest authority over matters of public order and security. The other four great kings’ forces might clash and maneuver with abandon, using all manner of tactics as a matter of routine — but whenever the forces belonging to He Wen himself stirred into motion, it always seemed to carry a certain sense of finality, of the last word being spoken.
With the Gold Tower incident having just erupted, and Dragon Sage’s men suddenly mobilizing on a large scale — no one could afford to overlook the implications behind such a move.
Shi Baofeng and Jin Yongsheng watched from the pavilion for a while, and then, suddenly, horns sounded from the southern end of the city, and around the same time, someone who had gone out to gather intelligence came back with a report.
“‘Army Sage’ Lin Jiaojiu is leading light cavalry into the city from the south — he’s only five li from the city gates now—”
Shi Baofeng frowned, then waved a hand. “To hell with him — just Lin Jiaojiu? For a moment there I thought He Wen himself had arrived!”
Jin Yongsheng thought it over. “Lin Jiaojiu suddenly entering the city now might be an attempt to help suppress whatever unrest the Gold Tower incident has stirred up.”
“Naturally, I understand that much,” Shi Baofeng replied evenly. “He was still camped thirty li outside the city just yesterday, not moving an inch — for him to suddenly bring in light cavalry first thing this morning, it’s obviously to reinforce Fu Pingbo.”
With Gu Anhe killed at the Gold Tower, the next wave of chaos in the city was clearly about to begin, and Fu Pingbo would most likely be unable to hold the situation together on his own — hence He Wen’s side rushing in reinforcements… none of this was particularly surprising. Having said his piece, Shi Baofeng turned to leave, but after a step, seemed to suddenly recall something and turned back, gazing thoughtfully through the curtain of rain toward the north.
Across the city, one faction after another was quietly making its moves. As Fu Pingbo’s forces began clearing the streets, Xu Zhaonan’s side was already arranging the order in which to threaten the various envoy delegations; in the northern part of the city, Zuo Xiuquan, having received Shi Baofeng’s warning, was gathering Yinping, Yue Yun, and the others who had caused trouble the night before for a meeting; among the various factions in the city, the weakest side — the envoys sent by Wu Qimei and Tie Yan — had already fled their inn overnight and relocated elsewhere entirely… Various people watched the shifting scene on the streets, discussing what upheaval might follow now that “Army Sage” had arrived.
At the docks outside the city, on Jiangning’s northern edge, a good number of workers had already begun their labor in the cold autumn rain, with columns of troops marching this way. Then someone, standing atop the misty wooden dock structures, looked up and gazed out at the Yangtze River, shrouded as if in a haze of smoke and rain.
A flotilla flying massive banners had already crossed the river, great tower-ships slowly making their way toward the shore.
Someone recognized the banners and fell to their knees on the ground.
“…Save the common people…” Someone began kowtowing.
“…Fairness King, save the common people…”
The news struck the riverbank like a stone thrown against rock, sending ripples spreading outward, enveloping the whole of Jiangning. Before long, people began running through the city, spreading the word.
The Fairness King, He Wen, had arrived.
…
Shi Baofeng stood on the pavilion, gazing north toward the riverbank for a while. In the distant streets, someone was galloping through the rain on horseback.
He rubbed his fingers together.
“A few minor matters — no need to fuss over them.”
He said.
“Let’s prepare for negotiations.”
Rewinding a bit less than half an hour: in a room on the edge of the second floor of the Five Lakes Inn, the five-foot Pervert, whose reputation had already begun to spread, suddenly sat bolt upright in bed.
“Something’s not right…”
His eyes were still closed, but his ears twitched, listening to the sounds around him.
Rain fell outside.
Within the inn, the innkeeper and a few companions, still unable to find the waiter named A-Qing, were interrupted by a companion who came running in from outside.
“S-something’s happened…”
“What is it?”
“There’s a large group of men heading this way — they’ve been asking around about where our place is…”
“Who are they?”
“No… no idea… but going by the banners, looks like they’re from the Equality King’s side.”
“Damn it, get everyone nearby together, all of them. A-Qing only went missing last night, and now this — this is going to turn ugly… bring whatever you’re holding, I’ll burn it now!”
Outside, the fine rain kept falling without end. Xue Jin, who had spent the whole night on edge huddled beneath a bridge, wrapped in a tattered straw raincoat, climbed up from underneath and stood by the roadside. He watched a large contingent of men approaching at a leisurely pace, led by a young dandy of a young master. They crossed the bridge and began spreading out in formation in front of the Five Lakes Inn.
“Drive off everyone nearby. Surround this place for me.”
The young dandy gave the order.
His underlings spread out in every direction. One of them came toward Xue Jin, shouting, “Get out of my way!” Xue Jin shrank back humbly toward the riverbank, stammering as he tried to say something, but the man had already closed the distance. “Move it.”
Xue Jin tried to retreat back toward the bridge underpass below, taking a couple of steps that way, when the man kicked out at him. “Told you to move, are you deaf?”
“I… going… back…”
Xue Jin dropped to his knees, beginning to kowtow, and the man kicked him over into the muddy water.
Around the inn, in some of the nearby buildings, a number of people now began pouring out, converging on Shi Weiyang’s group, forming a standoff in the street.
“What’s this about?”
“The Equality King’s men, come to stir up trouble?”
“…Is there no law left in this world?”
At the head of the group, Shi Weiyang frowned; with his attempt at a blockade now obstructed, he called someone over to go negotiate. Given his old temper, he’d normally have just ordered his men to start swinging fists directly — but now that he’d grown up, matured a bit, with his father here, he had to keep the bigger picture in mind, and there was no real need to blow things up over what was, after all, just a search for two outsiders who had nothing to do with the Fairness Party.
Once this initial exchange concluded, the messenger rushed into the inn to report to the innkeeper that the other side merely wanted to capture two outsiders who had offended them — one called the five-foot Pervert, the other the four-foot Pervert — and that if they were simply allowed to search the place, they’d take their men and leave once they found them.
“…Looks like the one across the way is Shi Baofeng’s son, Shi Weiyang — we really can’t afford to offend him. If it’s true, shouldn’t we just hand the people over to spare ourselves trouble?”
The innkeeper’s expression flickered uncertainly. “A-Qing only just went missing, and now they show up demanding we hand over people — you’d let them search the place just like that? Can we really afford to have this place searched? Next time someone claims their chicken went missing from home, are you going to let them search us too? Damn it — offend him or not, we’ve got no choice. We’re flying the Farming Sage’s banner. We don’t answer to the Equality King one bit! If he wants in, tell him there’s no way.”
The two bruised and battered Pervert brothers had, meanwhile, quietly slipped out of the inn’s main building. After surveying the scene from the side for a moment, they quietly climbed toward the adjacent wooden structure.
“Who are these people? What’s going on?” the little monk asked, curious, keeping his voice low.
“Looks like Shit Baby’s people…”
“Are they here to grab us?”
“Doubt it.” Long Aotian counted on his fingers, thinking it over. “Lately we’ve mostly offended Wei Xuwen and Zhou Shang, and we got into a fight with that monkey too. Shit Baby’s side — we haven’t gotten around to offending them yet.”
He considered himself entirely innocent in the matter. “But… whoever they are, they’re bad news either way. As the saying goes, a wise man doesn’t stand beneath a crumbling wall — let’s slip out the back and lie low for a bit, so we don’t get caught up in it.”
“What does ‘a wise man doesn’t stand beneath a crumbling wall’ mean?”
“It’s an idiom.”
While the standoff continued out front, the two of them quietly climbed out toward the back. Naturally, given their taste for watching a good show unfold, they lingered on the rooftop for a moment first.
Out on the road in front of the Five Lakes Inn, the argument had grown increasingly heated. Shi Weiyang’s expression had already turned thoroughly ugly — he’d brought a large, powerful force with him and had, out of a sense of basic courtesy, extended a bit of politeness to the other side, only to find this bunch flying the Farming Sage’s banner refusing to budge an inch. What kind of madness was this?
Just as he was about to fly into a rage and start throwing punches, some commotion began stirring on the main road not far from the city, with large numbers of troops and banners on the move.
Before long, word arrived that “Army Sage” Lin Jiaojiu had entered the city.
The staff at the inn and the crowd who’d gathered to lend support suddenly grew energized; some even ran off toward the main street, going to lodge complaints and seek reinforcements from both “Dragon Sage” and “Army Sage’s” forces. In no time, what had seemed on the verge of turning into a bloody massacre in front of the Five Lakes Inn settled back into a tense standoff. Shi Weiyang managed to hold onto his composure.
Amid the curtain of rain, the whole scene had descended into chaos.
The little monk and the young man, having climbed out to the side and rear, watched the excitement from the rooftop for a moment before heading down into the back alley, intending to make their exit from this whole mess. Things were far too chaotic, far too thrilling — if they hadn’t already gotten into a fight the night before, Little Aotian, who at this moment seemed to relish the idea that the world wasn’t in enough chaos already, would probably have wanted to go over and shout, “Listen to me — let’s get in on this fight.”
“I’m telling you, secretly watching people brawl is the most fun thing there is.”
He imparted this bit of life wisdom to his little brother.
The long, filthy back alley was cluttered with debris, the ground beneath their feet muddy from the rain. At one point, as the two of them made their way forward, they spotted a figure ahead and both instinctively ducked to the side. The little monk, trailing behind, hid behind a pile of trash; Long Aotian, up front, froze for a split second.
He heard a voice ring out.
“Well, what a coincidence.”
The voice was somewhat familiar, coming from a dark-skinned, fuller-figured woman beneath a straw raincoat.
Her next words were: “…Isn’t this our legendary five-foot Pervert, Long Aotian?”
The boy’s face, which had carried a hint of panic and unease, went completely blank at this.
He knew. He was already dead.
…
“…THAT! WAS! THEM! SLANDERING! ME—!”
In the chaotic morning city, someone cried out in the rain, grief and fury in their voice. At that very moment, the Fairness King was entering the city, countless people kowtowing in the rain along the street; a standoff continued in the streets; Xue Jin crawled back beneath the bridge, shivering and weeping; countless schemes were weaving together across the city — and Ning Ji had just come face to face with a dark-skinned girl who had absolutely no business being here.
He was dead.