Bang, bang bang—

Shadows of trees swayed in the darkness.

In a courtyard planted with tall trees, a towering figure threw punches, the rhythm of his fists shifting between fast and slow in some strange cadence, unbroken. A thick tree trunk, too wide for a single man to wrap his arms around, shook with each impact of that pounding fist work.

The courtyard wasn’t lavish — an old two-story wooden building sat in an L-shape, and at the corner a tattered lantern gave off a dim glow in the night, lighting only a small patch of ground, if anything only making the darkness beyond seem thicker.

There were others in the courtyard too. Within the railing at the corner of the building’s second floor, a swordsman stood silently in the shadows, and on the roof tiles above, a dark silhouette stood as well.

In the distance, the various disturbances large and small across Fuzhou were still unfolding.

After a while, the figure upstairs gave a simple signal, and someone entered.

The punching by the tree stopped.

The middle-aged man who entered glanced around, gave a silent cupped-hand salute, then walked toward the tree at the courtyard’s center. “Master Ni still at your training this late.”

“I’ve thrown punches for an hour every day since I came of age.” The Iron Fist, Ni Po, standing beneath the tree, unwound the cloth wrapped around his hand. “This afternoon I thought something might come up, so I held back half an hour’s worth of strength. Turned out to be nothing at all — rather disappointing.”

“The young mistress arranged things carefully; the authorities won’t find this place anytime soon.”

“So what does Old Yan want with me?”

“That’s also on the young mistress’s orders — there’s something she wishes to discuss with Master Ni.”

“Beat someone, kill someone, kill who. Speak plainly.”

The man who had come that night was none other than Chen Yan, the steward serving at Chen Shuangran’s side. The two of them had dealt with each other plenty already, and Ni Po’s temperament was straightforward besides. Chen Yan fell silent for a moment, then cupped his hands.

He spoke there in the courtyard:

“The first wave of men set to move went out of the city this evening, personally selected by Master Ni himself. The young mistress feels that regardless of whether the authorities manage to catch those who left the city, the matter of Master Ni’s recent string of challenges around town can no longer be concealed.”

“I just like fighting — testing my skills against others in a friendly bout. What of it?”

“The authorities won’t listen to that. Either way, Master Ni, your part in this affair is done. The young mistress says this is the payment owed to you from before.”

As Chen Yan spoke, he produced a small box and held it out, palm open. Ni Po reached out and took it, frowning slightly.

“And then what?”

“And then, if Master Ni is willing, our side can arrange for you to leave the city at any time. Within three to five days, you’d be entirely clear of Fuzhou’s borders, well away from this whole upheaval.”

“Hmph. Kick away the ladder once you’re done with me? Are you people trying to have me killed?”

“Nothing of the sort.” Chen Yan said this openly and without hesitation. “In employing people for this affair, Master Ni, you’re not the only outside friend lending a hand. The young mistress says that your being able to leave safely is precisely what demonstrates the sincerity behind how we employ people. But if you dropped dead the moment the job was done, our other friends would surely make things difficult for us going forward… wouldn’t they?”

He said this openly and above board, though that last line was, in fact, directed back toward the others in the courtyard. Someone upstairs gave a snort — which, on the whole, amounted to an acknowledgment that the group did indeed handle matters honorably. Ni Po opened the little box as well, tucking the promissory notes and a few gems inside into his robe.

“Hmph. Sending me off already — a woman running the show, and stingy about it too, it seems.”

“It’s all for Master Ni’s own good.”

“But I don’t plan on leaving yet.”

Ni Po spoke slowly.

Chen Yan watched him from across the way, his gaze calm.

Ni Po raised a finger. “When I first came here, I told you plainly — I, Ni Po, ‘Iron Fist,’ am a man of Jizhou. I came here to make a name for myself in the martial world, to build a legend! What you people are doing is a matter of rebellion, and you go about it with method — I’ll grant you that. But right now, at most, the authorities merely suspect me — that doesn’t mean they can find me, much less catch me. Your own Chen Shuangran, and that Pu Xingui, Cao Jinlong, and the rest — they’re still walking freely about the city. To have me leave right now — do you take me for nothing?”

Chen Yan stared at him, then smiled. “Master Ni, do you truly wish to stay and play for higher stakes?”

Ni Po smiled back.

“Old Yan.” He spoke slowly. “Jizhou, like many places in Fujian, is a small town. I’ve loved martial arts since childhood, and by my teens, I already thought myself unbeatable under heaven. But it wasn’t until the Jurchens marched south, until the Jingping Humiliation, that northern boxing masters came through our region — and after crossing hands with them, I finally understood that I’d merely been a frog at the bottom of a well. I took on a new master and studied for several more years after that, and then when the Jianshuo court fled south, when the northerners came pouring down in great numbers, I finally understood just how vast the world truly was, and how profound the art of boxing could be.”

He unwound the cloth from his other hand. “…Then, at last year’s Jiangning Assembly, I finally witnessed the strongest boxing technique, the most exquisite skill in this world. It filled me with fear — but I knew that, sooner or later, I too would reach that level… And until that day comes, I’ll fight my way there step by step, until the day I can stand before Sect Master Lin himself and cross hands with him!”

Under the night sky, he flung the cloth strip aside with a snap.

“Old Yan, this trip to Fuzhou is nowhere near my limit. I’m not afraid of dying. Those hawks and hounds of the yamen are nothing but stray dogs and roosters. You people need me — I can help you accomplish great things.”

By the time he finished speaking, in the darkness, Chen Yan seemed genuinely won over by his conviction, and at last broke into an open, hearty laugh.

“The young mistress said… if Master Ni holds such resolve, then the two of us… really could accomplish something great together.”

“Don’t be as dull as before. Give me something with a bit more danger to it.”

“Rest assured.” Chen Yan smiled. “It won’t be too safe… for anyone.”

…

Outside Fuzhou city.

In the distance, figures could be seen moving through the darkness, along with riders bearing torches, cutting through fields, through villages, through the woods beside the ponds outside those villages, all within a yellow halo of firelight…

It was drawing close to the hour of Zi. The city patrol forces and the Ministry of Justice had already extended their reach for dozens of li, sealing off every major road around Fuzhou, searching and screening for the assassins who had struck within the city that evening.

Above a government relay station on the city’s outskirts, figures sat playing chess in a room that gave off a faint light. A veiled girl sat by the window sipping tea, watching the night scene outside through a slightly open gap.

At one point, a warning tap sounded from the rooftop, and then the window opened, and a figure in a black robe slipped back into the room like a phantom.

“Something’s not right.” The monk Tunyun’s voice carried a slight rasp. “Several units of soldiers went to Wei Manor.”

Inside the room, Chen Shuangran’s hand, holding her teacup, paused briefly. The two figures at the Go board in the center didn’t move. Another man walked over to Tunyun’s side, took the telescope from his hand, and looked quietly out through the window into the distance.

“Discovered?” Chen Shuangran sighed.

Tunyun asked, “Should we go save them?”

“No need.” The man at the window holding the telescope spoke up. “Preparations were made long ago.”

Chen Shuangran took another sip of tea.

In the center of the room, the Go game continued, and outside, the anxious night still churned on. At one point, a ball of flame suddenly lit up the distant darkness, and the man at the window lowered his telescope.

“It’s exploded,” he said.

“Amitabha.” Tunyun raised an eyebrow. “Whether they can get away is a matter of their own fortune… Though this old monk is rather curious — how were they discovered?”

The man holding the telescope gazed at the distant darkness, and then the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if amused. “Tie Tianying must have known long ago that our side, in this Fuzhou upheaval, is relying on various households with hidden agendas. Even if they won’t come forward themselves, their family holdings are exactly what we lean on for cover… Fujian has been in an uproar for two years now — I’d wager the Ministry of Justice already has a list drawn up long ago: who’s likely to rebel, who’s under heavy suspicion, who’s under light suspicion — including, no doubt, a thorough sweep of their villas in and around Fuzhou…”

He continued: “If I were Tie Tianying, I’d have quietly planted watchers outside every suspect estate starting as early as last month, holding back, waiting — and then, on a night like tonight, with so much chaos and so many people fleeing, he just might net himself a big fish… As things stand, the old hound Tie hasn’t lost his edge — that’s some rather bad luck for our side this round…”

“Hmph.” Tunyun smiled. “Sounds like we ought to find a chance to deal with him first.”

Chen Shuangran set down her teacup. “If… the Master were to make a move himself, I’d like to see it too…”

“He’s not so easy to deal with.” The figure holding the telescope shook his head. “Back in the day, in the martial world, it was always Tie Tianying hunting others down — hardly anyone ever managed to corner him. All those years, in matters of strategy and positioning, only one person was ever able to keep him constantly one step behind…”

“Who?” Tunyun asked.

The two men playing Go in the room turned their gazes over as well. But the next moment, seeing him shake his head and fall silent, everyone realized exactly who was being referred to. At once, the two at the Go board turned back to their game, and the monk Tunyun’s face twisted as if he’d swallowed a maggot.

“Damn it.” The monk cursed.

Beside him, Chen Shuangran set down her teacup. “Actually, I heard that back in Lin’an, didn’t he once miscalculate a move himself, and get outmaneuvered by one of Wanyan Xiyin’s disciples…?”

The others nodded. The man by the window sighed, then laughed as well. “…Fair enough, I suppose.”

…

Through a sleepless night, light and fire spread bit by bit outside the city, while within its walls — from the Imperial Palace to the Princess’s manor, from Li Pin’s academy to the Zuo family’s courtyard — countless people remained awake even into the early hours. The lamps at the Ministry of Justice never went dark all night, carriages and carts crowding its gates as though a bustling market had sprung up there through the entire night.

It had rained in the morning.

Nearing midday, Tie Tianying finally returned from outside the city with a squad of men, his armor still soaked through. He had his chief constable Song Xiaoming bring him dry clothes, and Song Xiaoming couldn’t resist a joke: “Master, wouldn’t it look better going into the palace all soaked?”

“Don’t waste your cleverness on nonsense like that.”

“That’s a bit hard — you’ve got to be able to guess what the villains are thinking, after all.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. How’s your end of things?”

He’d come here first precisely to get a sense of how matters were progressing. Song Xiaoming presented the case files he’d already prepared, all compiled together.

“Not good.” He flipped open several of the more important pages. “We’ve caught plenty of people, and some of them can be formally charged, but the ones who’ve really been exposed aren’t the big fish we’re after. Based on today’s confessions, the Tan and Yan families can already be raided outright, and we might be able to interrogate our way to two or three more families beyond that — but none of them have particularly deep pockets, and given what’s happened, they’ve probably already fled into the mountains. We’ll need to hunt them down… As for the three men we’d been watching earlier, they haven’t made a move, and we still can’t trace a connection to Chen, Pu, or Cao — the three ringleaders of this rebellion.”

As Song Xiaoming spoke, he tapped one of the files, hesitating slightly. “Master, if we truly can’t find Chen Shuangran, should we close the net early on this fellow in Houguan County? With him and a few others caught, we could piece together the whole chain of events behind Zhong Ergui’s death… The pressure on Fuzhou Prefecture over this matter is heavy too…”

Tie Tianying stared at it for a moment. “This Zhang Li has definitely met with Chen Shuangran.”

“But has Chen Shuangran abandoned him?”

“…It’s that Chen Shuangran has someone inside the yamen backing her.” Tie Tianying pressed a hand down on the files. “Either someone in the current administration, or an old constable from the former Six Gates — someone who might even know me…”

Song Xiaoming opened his mouth, then closed it.

“…Last night, I got word from an informant outside the city that something was off around Wei Manor. When I went, I did find people there, but they’d prepared in advance — a few of our men nearly got blown up. The twelve who carried out the assassinations this evening had hidden in the manor and escaped through a hidden passage. We killed one, caught two, interrogated them on the spot — none of them knew how to reach Chen Shuangran, at most they could name their direct contact, and even those have all gone into hiding now… From last month up to today, so many threads, and every single one severed cleanly. Someone unfamiliar with how the yamen operates couldn’t have pulled that off. And that explosive powder that went off last night… that wasn’t simple either.”

Song Xiaoming hesitated. “…Is it… ours? Our own military’s? Or someone from outside?”

“…Looks like it’s from outside.”

“Someone reaching in?”

“Can’t say for certain who.”

“There are only so many players in this world. Whoever’s closest by… the Fairness King’s people?”

“Not certain. Can’t say.” Tie Tianying said. “I’ll report this up the chain. You are not to mention this to anyone else…”

“Yes, sir.”

“Leave Zhang Li alone for now — the Zhong Ergui case is sensitive. Whether we close the net or not, I’ll request an imperial decision first. Prepare a carriage. I’ll look over the rest on the way.” Tie Tianying gathered up the compiled files, then, as he was about to leave, remembered something else. “Oh, right — one of the men we caught mentioned a name, ‘Iron Fist’ Ni Po. Says he’s one of Chen Shuangran’s men…”

“I was just about to bring that up — we’ve also gotten intelligence on this man.” Song Xiaoming pulled a sheet of paper from his sleeve. “We’ve already had someone sketch his likeness. Here — this is what he looks like…”

He handed the image to Tie Tianying, who nodded. “A seasoned opponent — he’s probably already cut his own ties by now, but it’s worth looking into anyway… Don’t circulate it yet. See if we can find him quickly first.”

Song Xiaoming nodded, though he didn’t hold out much hope on that front.

And yet, that very afternoon, the man was found.

…

Toward evening, Song Xiaoming, along with two of his elite subordinates, sensed something was wrong in an alley on the city’s east side.

The alley wasn’t especially narrow, but the old walls on either side rose quite high, and ahead a massive locust tree cast a thick, heavy shade. On a rare stretch of road that stayed cool in Fuzhou, the effect at that moment felt rather sinister instead. Outside the alley, pedestrians passed by, and the calls of vendors could still be heard, but the watchtower nearby couldn’t keep an eye on the alley itself for the moment. His other two companions were at that very moment circling around from the street toward the far end of the alley.

The very figure they had been tracking now stood beneath the great locust tree, and gave him a smile.

Then, he came rushing forward.

“Damn it.”

Song Xiaoming drew his saber, and with his other hand swung up a signal whistle, its screaming note shooting into the sky.

Movement stirred in a courtyard to one side, blades flashing. Above the great locust tree, a hidden figure swooped down like a hunting eagle.

Sunlight scattered and broke across the tree’s shade. Everything was about to happen very fast.