The distant signal fireworks had already sounded the alarm; at Yinan Manor, the sounds of slaughter still spread.

In the observation courtyard, Chen Yan shielded Chen Shuangran, directing everyone downstairs to flee, catching word from outside that the killing god who’d hacked Fan Zhong to pieces, whom even seventy-odd men couldn’t contain, had leapt from the rooftop and was now cutting his way this direction along the roads of the ruined village. Chen Shuangran stumbled and fell on her way down the stairs; scrambling back up, she caught sight of a distant signal and froze for a moment.

“He’s with the government—he really is with the government——”

“Move——” Chen Yan had no time for such thoughts.

“How could Master Fan possibly have…”

Chen Shuangran remained lost in shock. Amid that earlier cloud of dust and that explosion, she still couldn’t work out how exactly Fan Zhong had died, nor how the young man, surrounded by seventy-odd men, had managed to break through in every direction, leaving the whole encirclement in tatters.

“Move——” Someone hoisted her onto his back and ran.

Behind them, in the village, the diehard core of the rebel faction still had its share of desperate men—a group of them cut across the ruined country road, trying to intercept the young man at a crossroads, but there wasn’t enough time to properly set up a defense. In a single clash, several of them hurled stones, blades, spears—some even threw lime powder—but from that distance it did nothing at all. Meanwhile the young man threw a grenade back at them; as they scrambled to dodge, two men, caught up in the panic, were pushed into the roadside ditch, and saw the grenade land right between their legs.

Boom——

The wall nearby collapsed as well.

Someone above threw a fishing net; the young man’s figure shifted, and with a single stroke he cut the man down.

The field that had originally been set up as an ambush now held only a scattered handful of men—most of them Pu Xingui’s own. The little killing god’s target had clearly turned toward Chen Shuangran, and these men felt no obligation to go rescue her; they waited on Pu Xingui and Qian Dingzhong to decide. Pu Xingui, gazing at the distant fireworks, stood frozen for a moment.

“He… he really is a ghost——”

This confirmed his earlier decision had been correct. Qian Dingzhong came over. “Then we should go.”

Fan Zhong’s warning perimeter had been set quite far out; even if the government forces had come with every intention from all sides, everyone had, according to plan, plenty of room to retreat—they’d even have had time to torture to death any government spy they’d caught in their encirclement. This whole operation had originally been meant as an internal purge before the big move, as well as a show of force against the court.

Pu Xingui looked around and spotted the Fish King and his few disciples not far off. Their gazes met; the Fish King snarled, “Draw your blades, boys!” A few of them, having been surrounded earlier, hadn’t dared move a hand toward their weapons—now, finally, they drew them with a ring of steel. Several of the men Ning Ji had once beaten found their blood boiling; they no longer feared even Pu Xingui and Qian Dingzhong.

Pu Xingui ground his teeth. He no longer had any interest in killing these few men now; he simply pointed at the distant fireworks and stamped his foot. “Old Gao, look! Look over there! Sun Wukong is a government spy—he’s a ghost——”

“Uh…” The Fish King and his men had no idea what that news meant. One disciple stepped forward, blade in hand. “You’re the ones spouting nonsense, ghosts or otherwise—and now you’d slander someone’s good name without a shred of proof!”

“Damn it…” Pu Xingui didn’t have time to explain the dead Fan Zhong’s arrangements—he just pointed off in that direction for the sake of saving face. “The government’s men are coming to kill—if he weren’t a government spy, there’s no way they’d have come this fast——”

“With a fight like this breaking out, of course someone’s going to come. We’ve seen your true colors today, you bastard Pu—if you’ve got the guts, kill the lot of us right here——”

“Damn it…” Pu Xingui waved a hand—given his status, arguing further with a low-ranking thug would only be beneath him. He turned to direct everyone, along with Qian Dingzhong, to retreat along the planned route. Qian Dingzhong cupped his hands toward the group. “The green mountains remain, the emerald waters flow on—perhaps we’ll meet again in the martial world someday.”

The Fish King and the men beside him watched this crowd of underworld heroes flee, then looked again at the distant signal and commotion. One disciple shouted, “Even if Young Hero Sun really is with the government—we never meant to rebel in the first place!”

The Fish King nodded. Either way, he and Young Hero Sun—or perhaps Great Hero Sun, by now—were on the same side; anyone who counted as an ally had nothing to fear from him. But just in case Young Hero Sun really wasn’t with the government after all, he still led his few disciples off to a safer distance, seeking somewhere to lie low.

…

Constables and government troops were converging from every direction—not just one squad. The first to arrive, though, was the exceptionally skilled Yue Yun. Upon hearing the news, he’d understood the gravity of the situation at once, dispatching two enemy scouts on the outskirts with his extraordinary skill along the way, and was discovered midway by Chen Shuangran’s faction—buying himself a little extra time. But by the time he reached Yinan Manor, the trail of slaughter had already spread all the way to the woods north of the village.

Along the way, he passed nothing but severely wounded or gruesomely dead underworld men.

He caught a few injured stragglers who hadn’t managed to flee in time, ready to interrogate them with his massive fists. “Where’d they run! Where’d you take him? Is that kid dead or not!” But whether the men were too incoherent or he’d simply asked the wrong question, they only pointed north, telling him to go that way.

“Damn it.” Yue Yun’s heart was on fire with worry.

In his mind, he’d already imagined the worst—that troublemaking kid, ambushed by so many men, would surely be dead or gravely wounded, if he’d even managed to survive at all through sheer force of will, dying and killing his way along, taking out this many people—perhaps because Master Cheng’s planted spy among them had already been exposed, and several had fled together in the chaos. Judging by this scene, if the pursuers had suffered this badly, whoever was fleeing must be faring no better either.

The path toward the woods was strewn with blood; the same was true inside. One man sat on the ground with a broken leg, having taken only a single blade wound, but blood pooled all around him, unstoppable, his pale face on the verge of tears. Yue Yun silently cursed him as deserving it—he had no time to tend to any of these people now, pressing forward along the trail of carnage.

Deep in the woods, beside a large tree, someone was gasping for breath like an ox.

At first glance, Yue Yun thought the figure looked small and oddly familiar; on second glance, the labored breathing had already begun to quiet. He darted over at once, chain hammers drawn in his hands, and up close, saw Ning Ji sitting cross-legged, catching his breath, his body streaked with blood, eyes opening to look at him.

“Come out! Don’t move——” Yue Yun clutched his twin hammers, shouting into the surrounding woods, his voice spreading in every direction.

Ning Ji looked up at him, the corner of his mouth twitching—only now did the pain in his body catch up with him, and he reached up to press against a wound on his left shoulder.

Yue Yun kept his guard up for a good while longer before finally waving a hand toward Ning Ji. “It’s fine now, they should all be gone. Are you alright?”

“What do you mean, am I alright, what the hell is this… look at me, I just finished the job and I’m catching my breath, taking my time…”

“They must have seen me coming and run off. Hmph, a bunch of bullies who only pick on the weak——”

“Aah——”

“Don’t worry, the rest are coming——”

“Aah——”

Ning Ji roared, mouth stretched wider than Yue Yun’s head. He pushed himself up, staggering to his feet. “Yue Yun, what kind of nonsense are you spouting, what do you mean I’m scared, they ran… I chased them all the way here, hacking them down as I went——”

“Alright, alright, sit down, I know you’re tough, very impressive… The news scared me half to death, surrounded by that many people and you still managed to fight your way all the way here, you even…”

“What do you mean, escaped! What do you mean, surrounded! What could they possibly have used to surround me, it was me chasing them! I cut through them like melons and vegetables, all the way here——”

“Good thing Master Cheng’s side reacted in time, made the right call, you know that, right…”

“Me! Fan Zhong and the rest wanted to kill me, and I had grenades… didn’t you see the corpses back there!? However they tried to surround me, with what… I had grenades… I killed without blinking, I did——”

“I saw, I saw, don’t get so worked up, sit down, look at your wounds——”

“What wounds, these are all minor, and there was a grenade explosion too, of course there’d be a bit of…” that’s not the point…”

“I know, I know, don’t… sit down, look, you’re already out of strength——”

“What do you mean, out of strength!”

Ning Ji threw a punch; Yue Yun casually blocked it.

“See?”

“Sure, I did kill a lot of people, of course I’m a bit tired… the point is, I had grenades, I’ve been trained… they couldn’t surround me, today I’m invincible under heaven, killed my way all the way here, I’m invincible under heaven——”

“I know, I know, you were surrounded by a hundred people——”

“What hundred, it was several hundred——”

“Let me go check if anyone’s still lurking around, trying to circle back for a surprise attack…”

“Fuck you… you don’t believe me…”

The two of them talked over each other, faster than firecrackers going off, rattling on for a while, Ning Ji nearly blowing a blood vessel in frustration. He’d just come through one of the most dangerous moments of his life, singlehandedly dominating the whole of Fujian’s martial world through this ordeal—and here Yue Yun comes out and says the enemy had simply been scared off by him, which he could hardly stand. But after all that fighting, even his considerable stamina had reached its limit; unable to get through Yue Yun’s thick skull no matter how he argued, he sat back down and began treating and bandaging his own wounds.

Yue Yun made a round of the area and dragged back two bloodied prisoners, tossing them aside, then came over to help bandage Ning Ji while claiming credit. “I also caught two more, trying to crawl away, they were both crying…” Ning Ji knew perfectly well he’d already cut both their hamstrings himself, leaving them no way to run at all; he drew a long, deep breath.

“I realized something today—my skill’s leveled up again. A lot of the time, these guys’ openings are really just obvious, one clean strike and I take them down easy, my reflexes are faster too…” Ning Ji tried to share his gains with Yue Yun as calmly as he could manage.

Yue Yun nodded. “A man’s potential really can be unlocked between life and death—you were in real danger today!”

“Fuck your grandfather——”

“Look, I’m bandaging you up here and you still want to curse my grandfather, I really don’t get it—I’m the first one who rushed over here to save you… But I’m not just better at kung fu than you, I’ve got better manners too, I won’t stoop to your level today, kid.”

“Hmph, word’s going to get around soon, I’m already invincible under heaven!”

“…That’d be Sun Wukong who’s invincible under heaven. Out there in the martial world, they’re saying the ‘four-foot lecher’ Sun Wukong is a bald young monk.”

“Uh… um…”

Ning Ji put his hands on his hips, brow furrowing. After a moment, he dropped his hands, then crossed them again, his expression cycling through serious, distressed, panicked, and awkward, finally settling into something close to liver-colored. He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out.

“Ha, I was just joking…” Yue Yun, completely oblivious to how big a deal this might be, waved it off with innocent good cheer. “Hahaha.”

By the time the bandaging was nearly finished, Ning Ji had gone somewhat listless. Now that the distant commotion was growing closer, he calmed himself and finally looked up to ask, “By the way, how did all of you end up coming here…”

“Cheng Zhouhai said you’d been set up by Pu Xingui and that black-hearted witch together, and Miss Qu was crying and shouting to save you, so I came…”

“Ah… what do you mean, crying and shouting…”

“Well, it’s like this—Master Cheng got word you’d walked into a trap and were being ambushed, but moving in would tip our hand, and not moving would leave you at death’s door, so he had your little Long girl make the call, and Miss Qu started shouting from the city wall: I don’t care about your bigger picture, send everyone out, so I came…”

“Ah…”

Ning Ji didn’t fully follow, but by then the first wave of government troops had already reached the edge of the woods. Ning Ji heard Qu Longjun calling out, her voice choked with tears: “Little Long——Little Long——” He and Yue Yun walked out to meet her; seeing Qu Longjun running toward him, she held herself back from embracing him once she got close, instead grabbing his hand and looking him over from head to toe. Ning Ji saw no tears on her face, only that choked note buried at the very bottom of her voice. “Are… are you alright…”

“I’m fine, I was well prepared, I nearly caught the little black-hearted witch herself.” He saw Cheng Zhouhai riding up close on horseback by now, and Yue Yun came over, casually greeting everyone and reporting, “It’s fine, I made it in time, I scared off the witch’s men myself, not sure if we can still catch up to them.”

With Qu Longjun in front of him, Ning Ji’s mood had settled enough that he no longer felt like cursing. He asked instead, “What’s going on with all of you?”

“Master Cheng said you’d been ambushed, but moving in would spook them and not moving would be very dangerous, so he let me decide, and I had everyone come. They said Chen Shuangran had gathered a lot of skilled fighters this time.”

“Tch, a mob of rabble, useless as decoration.” Ning Ji scoffed. “The moment I saw there weren’t any traps set up in advance, just a hundred-some people swarming in dark and thick, they figured I had no way out—but actually, that’s exactly the kind of fool a battlefield loves best. I got the first shot on Fan Zhong, then blew them into confusion with grenades, outpacing the slow with speed—untrained rabble like that could never hope to surround me… where’s that ‘Golden-Eyed Thousand Plumes’ Fan Zhong’s body now, still lying in the village with his eyes wide open…”

“Fan Zhong is dead?” Cheng Zhouhai, having arrived, confirmed this first upon hearing the news.

“Yeah, first one I killed, should still be lying tangled up with someone in the village right now.”

“…Tangled up with someone? Why?” Cheng Zhouhai looked puzzled.

“His leg was broken…” Ning Ji said, as if it were obvious, gesturing with his hands. “His arm was broken too, and his leg, and someone tried to save him, so, you know… yeah, they died together…”

“Seal off the manor, go confirm this at once. Also, capture every survivor and treat them as quickly as possible.” Cheng Zhouhai issued orders to those around him, then turned to Ning Ji. “Tell me what happened.”

Only then did Ning Ji lay out the whole account, in full detail. Cheng Zhouhai listened quietly; Yue Yun listened too, at first as though hearing some wild tale, his brow gradually furrowing. “You’re serious.”

“If I hadn’t already used up all my strength cutting down that many people, I’d want to cut you down too, I already told you, I’m invincible under heaven, alright…” Ning Ji jumped up, hands on hips, then added, “It’s definitely because today’s my lucky day, Zhou Zhe himself must be blessing me from above, and do you know what my name actually means… uh, my name actually… never mind, you wouldn’t understand it anyway, you have no culture…”

“…”

Yue Yun watched him, expression shifting unpredictably, and once Ning Ji’s face had grown insufferably smug, pointed toward the woods ahead. “If I’d been there today, that black-hearted witch would already be dead.”

With that, he turned and walked off.

Not fun at all today. Not one bit.

“That’s the whole story.” Ning Ji summed up for Cheng Zhouhai. “Me. Invincible under heaven.”

Cheng Zhouhai nodded, his face betraying little emotion, then said, “You really are invincible under heaven now, but it’s not going to do you any good going forward. Stay at the Princess Imperial’s residence these next few days, rest well. I’ll handle wrapping things up with Chen Shuangran.”

“…What? You’re kicking away the ladder now?”

“Nothing to do with me. Sun Wukong’s identity as a government spy has already been exposed—Chen Shuangran and Pu Xingui won’t be able to make contact with you anymore. Your part in this is finished. We have people for the rest of the fighting.”

“…Huh?”

“This was Miss Qu’s decision. You can’t blame me for it.” Cheng Zhouhai smiled. “And you’re quite lucky, too, to have a devoted companion like Miss Qu, wholeheartedly on your side—cherish that. You two can head back now.”

Ning Ji turned to look at Qu Longjun, who tugged at his sleeve, her expression complicated, and murmured quietly, “He tricked us.”

“Cheng Zhouhai, you tricked us——” Ning Ji stepped forward, raising his voice. “Didn’t you see I’m already invincible under heaven, and you dare pull something like this on me!”

Cheng Zhouhai turned to look at the two of them. After a moment, he said, “Your wife’s life is in my hands—why would you dare speak to me like that?”

“Uh…”

Ning Ji took a step back. He glanced at Qu Longjun, actually blushing a little at the word “wife,” but to cover it, muttered, “Fine, I won’t hold this against you today.”

“Much obliged.”

Cheng Zhouhai left.

…

Past noon now, the heat still blanketing the land. Constables and soldiers had converged around Yinan Manor, beginning to clear and examine the traces of the slaughter within. They found Fan Zhong’s body, and many more bodies belonging to notorious criminals on the wanted lists. From a distance, people gazed out across the fields toward this place, and before long, news of this great battle began spreading back into Fuzhou, reaching the Ministry of Justice, the Princess Imperial’s residence, the palace itself.

Everyone, without exception, was stunned.

Before long, more and more carriages began arriving one after another, heading this way—doctors, coroners, skilled fighters kept by the court, along with an extremely pleased-with-himself Emperor and a Princess Imperial whose expression gave nothing away. By nightfall, scattered points of light illuminated this place…