The setting sun slanted across the sky, casting its glow, while the autumn wind swept through branches now stripped down to their last withered leaves, passing over the rooftops of the city streets. Pedestrians came and went through the markets, carriages threading their way among them.
When a rider from the Overlord Blade Battalion caught up with the carriage ahead, Ning Yi was inside going over the finer details of the day’s operation with Liu Xigua, Liu Tiannan, and the others; Chen Fan, whose wounds had not yet fully healed, had come along as well to join in the excitement.
Today’s target was primarily Bao Daoyi’s White Deer Temple. For the past several days, most outsiders had assumed that men of Bao Daoyi and Liu Xigua’s standing would ultimately keep things rational, and no large-scale conflict had broken out. But Liu Xigua understood Bao Daoyi’s spiteful, vindictive nature all too well — this particular conflict wouldn’t wait until nightfall; instead, they meant to break Bao Daoyi’s old stronghold before dark, in full view of everyone, and rescue the many women held captive there.
When it came to fighting, one needed a proper justification to present to the outside world, and now that the Overlord Blade Battalion held the moral high ground, the next step was naturally to make full use of it.
By comparison, the Old Paulownia Temple had housed either women Bao Daoyi had already grown tired of, or women his men had abducted on their own initiative. Only the White Deer Temple was truly Bao Daoyi’s own personal harem — touching it would be like carving a piece of flesh straight out of his heart. Once this was done, the Overlord Blade Battalion and Bao Daoyi would be in open, all-out war, and no one else would need to consider mediating — they would simply have to pick a side.
Having decided to act, it obviously wouldn’t do to attack just one location for show. With White Deer Temple as the main target, men had also been dispatched in a targeted fashion against many of Bao Daoyi’s other strongholds. Whatever else happened, this evening was set to be the liveliest revelry Hangzhou had seen in some time. For Ning Yi, the plan laid out for Wenren Bu’er, and the key arrangements meant to prove useful for Hangzhou’s future when the court’s army eventually came to attack, would all be set into motion this very evening. It was for this reason that when the messenger caught up from behind, and Ning Yi then saw Juan’er’s figure, he was, in fact, genuinely taken aback.
Hangzhou was far from peaceful these days, and Juan’er was dressed as a man, her clothes somewhat disheveled. Anxiously, she told Ning Yi about the small courtyard being surrounded not long ago, and how Lu Hongti had sent her out to bring word. In truth, with Lu Hongti there, it might well have been possible to protect Su Tan’er and get her out, or even turn the tables and kill the several dozen men surrounding the courtyard — but managing both at once, let alone keeping everyone safe, would be extremely difficult.
Stepping back even further, even if she could manage it, given Su Tan’er’s group’s current situation, killing several dozen men would make getting out of the city afterward a lost cause. Under these circumstances, Su Tan’er had asked Lu Hongti to go out and bring word, but Lu Hongti had insisted on staying by Su Tan’er’s side, sending only Juan’er out, leaving the choice of how to handle it entirely in Ning Yi’s hands.
“…The Lou family’s men?” Hearing this, Ning Yi froze for a moment.
“This servant saw the Lou family’s second young master there, and it looked like the eldest young master might be there too… Master, you know that Lou Shuweng has always had designs on the young mistress, it might be because of that…”
“Ha, this really is…” Ning Yi genuinely couldn’t find the right emotion to match the moment; he looked up and opened his mouth, at a loss that something like this could barge its way in right now. But absurd or not, the thing had already happened. He took a breath and patted Juan’er’s shoulder. “I understand. Juan’er, go with Xiao Chan back to Xiliu Street. Wait for me and your young mistress to come back tonight — everything will be fine.”
With that, he turned and walked toward the carriage waiting by the roadside. Juan’er, seeing how quickly Ning Yi had made up his mind, felt reassured but also worried, and said to Xiao Chan, “So… what about leaving tonight, like we planned?” Xiao Chan shook her head and pulled her along. “Let’s head back first.” She was worried the people at the carriage — Liu Xigua and the others — might notice something amiss.
In fact, the group over there had already been watching with great interest, unsure what connection this cross-dressed girl who’d suddenly appeared had with Ning Yi; Liu Xigua looked thoughtful. Ning Yi walked over, and under the setting sun, amid the bustling street, this robed scholar exchanged a few words, after which everyone’s expressions turned wonderfully varied. After a moment, Liu Xigua spoke up. “Will two hundred men be enough?”
“Fifty will do. I’ll find the Sharp Edge Battalion along the way — you all go ahead first.”
“I’ll give you a hundred. A’Chang will go with you.”
This exchange was brief and quick, a fast decision made in response to this sudden turn of events. Right after she finished speaking, Fang Shuchang leapt down from the carriage. Ning Yi turned to leave, and Liu Xigua leaned her head out of the carriage, a faintly playful smile on her face.
“Tonight we’ll hold a banquet — I’ll throw a welcome feast for sister-in-law.”
“Understood.” Ning Yi replied a bit tersely. The carriage started moving, and just as the curtain lifted, another figure leapt down — it was Chen Fan, still bandaged, grinning as he clapped Ning Yi on the shoulder. “I’ll come along too — I want to meet the sister-in-law myself.”
At that moment, several hundred elite fighters of the Overlord Blade Battalion were quietly fanning out from different directions toward a number of key areas across the city. Liu Xigua’s carriage headed for the White Deer Temple, while Ning Yi, Fang Shuchang, Chen Fan, and the others rushed in the opposite direction, toward the Lou estate. Several messengers went out to have the nearly hundred men on this side converge quickly along the way, while another messenger went to the nearby location of the Sharp Edge Battalion — a small force sympathetic to the Overlord Blade Battalion, whose commander’s eldest son happened to be a core member of the Eternal Joy Youth League that studied under Ning Yi. Upon receiving word, several hundred men broke camp at once.
Meanwhile, the Lou estate was just preparing for the evening meal.
…
Though the sky had not yet fully darkened, the great lanterns were already being lit one by one. The Lou family, wealthy and prosperous, could easily afford the expense these days. The main hall had five tables set — three seated the Lou family’s own kin and relatives, and two seated the advisors and retainers they had recently taken on.
As they took their seats, Lou Shuweng still carried a trace of excitement about him, drawing an irritated glance from Lou Jinlin. Lou Shuwang, meanwhile, summoned the household steward and ordered the defenses both inside and outside the estate strengthened, to prevent any trouble. He was a cautious man and knew that Ning Yi, being with the Overlord Blade Battalion, likely had some connection to all this — if his brother had acted rashly, some kind of response would be needed.
The Lou family of today was not what it had once been. To grow and expand, the strength of family could not be overlooked, and the advisors and retainers they’d recruited could not be neglected either — sitting down together each day for meals was precisely the right time to solidify these bonds. Lou Shuweng had only just had Su Tan’er and her party seized and brought into the estate, but he still didn’t dare miss the mealtime. It was just that, where in the past he’d usually been rather absent-minded during these gatherings, today he was noticeably more animated, seeking people out to chat with, drawing a fair amount of attention.
Like her second brother, Lou Shuwan had been feeling somewhat low and conflicted lately as well, and seeing him like this stirred up some confusion in her, which soon turned into suspicion. After a while, she gathered roughly what her eldest brother had instructed the steward to do, and went over to ask, “Brother, what have you and second brother been up to?”
Lou Shuwang, in the middle of eating, paused. “What do you mean?”
“Have you… made a move against Ning Yi?”
“No.” Lou Shuwang shook his head. “But it’ll happen sooner or later. Don’t concern yourself with it.”
“You…” Lou Shuwan’s eyes went wide, and she was about to say more, but Lou Jinlin, seated in the place of honor beside her, frowned. “Shuwan, don’t speak of such unseemly matters at the table!”
He had caught, faintly, the mention of the name “Ning Yi,” and it displeased him. Toward her father, Lou Shuwan still felt a measure of fear, and she fell silent. Lou Jinlin turned to Lou Shuwang. “Shuwang, how are things going with Tang Bingzhang?”
“Nothing settled yet…”
“Tomorrow I’ll speak with him myself and settle the matter.”
At this, one of the retainers seated nearby brightened and said, “Master, you mean to win over Tang Bingzhang? That won’t be easy…”
The way the Lou family was drawing in people and factions like this — at least internally, everyone understood exactly what it meant. This was no longer the standing of a mere merchant house; it was developing toward the position of a great clan, a great warlord. The conversation naturally turned to how much public perception of the Lou family had shifted recently, how few now dared bully them, and so on — the mood grew animated, everyone taking a certain shared pride in it. Lou Jinlin said to Lou Shuwan and Lou Shuweng, “From now on, settle your minds and pay more attention to family matters. We are no longer the Lou family we once were — our vision needs to be bigger.”
While they were discussing all this, not far from the Lou family’s main estate, over a hundred members of the Overlord Blade Battalion came down the road. Passing Ning Yi, some approached to ask, “Master Ning, we heard it’s the young mistress who’s been taken?” They moved in loose clusters — some in groups of three or five, others in bands of a dozen or more, not yet fully formed into ranks, since according to the plan, they were meant to disguise themselves as ordinary pedestrians for a surprise attack. Amid the scattered crowd, news passed back and forth, murmurs rippling through.
“I heard Master Ning’s wife has been abducted…”
“Never seen anything like it before…”
“Who the hell did this…”
“Don’t know their place, that’s what…”
“What are you all dawdling for? Hurry up…”
“Damn it, we’ll flay them alive…”
Within the Overlord Blade Battalion, Ning Yi wasn’t exactly the type of rough, hearty fellow who ate meat by the fistful and drank by the bowlful — his role had always been that of the scholarly type. Though the others hadn’t exactly bonded with him as one of their own, by now everyone knew his abilities, and how, together with Liu Tiannan, he’d brought real order to the Overlord Blade Battalion’s affairs. To this crowd, this slap in the face landed on their own cheeks just as much as his.
Group after group of blade-bearing men surged forward, killing intent rolling off them…
…
The shen hour passed, the sky darkening, and the great red lanterns hung high.
The mood at the banquet had grown ever warmer and more convivial. Then, at some point, a column of smoke appeared on the horizon beyond one side of the courtyard — it looked as though a fire had broken out somewhere across the city. Everyone glanced over.
“Where is that?”
“Over toward the east side of the city.”
“Looks like it might be the White Deer Temple.”
“Surely not — doesn’t look like it, does it…”
Just as they were talking, a sudden burst of chaotic noise erupted from outside. The sound was faint and unclear, and everyone was still wondering whether it was real when a household guard came rushing through the front gate. “Report… report, report, report… there’s an army outside, an army…”
“Something’s happened.” Lou Jinlin frowned. “Just passing through?”
“No, no, no… it’s not that…”
The man wasn’t usually one to stammer, but before he could finish, someone kicked open the main gate to the courtyard, and figures came surging in. There were guards here, of course, and they’d initially meant to try to hold them back, but they stopped short at once — no one dared step forward. Because at that moment, atop the courtyard’s surrounding walls, bands of archers with bows drawn had also begun appearing. From the street beside the main residence came the faint sound of short, clipped commands: “Move in!” There was no great roar of battle, but in an instant, sounds of movement came from every direction; from somewhere in the rear courtyards, an occasional scream would ring out and then abruptly cut off — someone had likely died.
The front courtyard and the rear grounds were both swiftly brought under control. Someone in the courtyard tried to negotiate and was cut down with a single blow. Of the five tables in the main hall, some had risen to their feet, while others sat frozen, not daring to move. Lou Jinlin, too, remained seated, keeping his composure amid this sudden turn of events, and asked in a low, steady voice, “Who is this?”
Lou Shuwang, standing nearby, was turning something over in his mind. Watching it all unfold, he shook his head. “Impossible.”
“What?”
“It could be… it could be Ning Yi… but how could it possibly be…”
“Hm?” Lou Jinlin looked up at his eldest son. Lou Shuwang said, “An hour ago, little brother captured Su Tan’er — she’s here in the estate right now.”
Lou Jinlin pressed his lips together, thinking it over, his gaze sharp. “Even the Buddha Marshal himself wouldn’t move against our Lou family so lightly.” He shook his head. “It can’t be because of this Ning Yi — it must be coincidence… let’s see what these people want when they arrive.”
But moments later, Ning Yi’s figure appeared at the courtyard gate, flanked by Chen Fan, Fang Shuchang, and the others. His expression was blank; he reached up, rolled back the sleeves of his scholar’s robe, and walked straight toward the hall. Lou Jinlin raised his head slightly, watching this scene unfold; Lou Shuwang only frowned and shook his head, murmuring quietly, “How… this can’t be…” But even as he said it, he began walking toward the entrance of the hall, adopting a posture of welcome, his mind churning with disbelief at how absurd the situation was — how could this man, who had thrown in with Fang La’s forces only a short while ago, a matrilocal son-in-law of all things, possibly manage something like this?
Everyone was watching. Most of them didn’t recognize Ning Yi, but from the way things were unfolding, they understood well enough that the man who had arrived was the one in charge. As Ning Yi, brow slightly furrowed, stepped up onto the stone steps, Lou Shuwang cupped his hands in greeting. “Brother Ning, about today’s matter—” Ning Yi’s gaze, cold but perhaps more indifferent than anything, rested on him for only an instant before shifting back toward Lou Jinlin inside the hall. As he walked, he took a crossbow from someone beside him, and in the next instant, aimed it at Lou Shuwang’s throat and pulled the trigger.
Thwip—
“Aaah—!”
Someone screamed, and the entire hall shook. Ning Yi stepped into the main hall as Lou Shuwang’s body flew backward more than two meters, the crossbow bolt piercing straight through his throat. He tried to raise a hand to cover the wound, but blood was already gushing from both his throat and his mouth. He stared up at the ceiling, his mind holding onto only a single thought, unable to understand what had just happened — that was Ning Yi, why, why, why, why… He’d still had so much left to do — that was Ning Yi, the same Ning Yi who, the first time they’d met, had been nothing more than some matrilocal husband-in-law; he’d still had so much left to do, was in the middle of doing it, tomorrow’s arrangements still needed sorting — he’d only abducted some utterly insignificant Su Tan’er, someone who surely didn’t matter enough to be worth killing over…
Lou Shuwan screamed and rushed toward her brother, but with the crossbow bolt through his throat, there was nothing to be done. The shock of that instant made Lou Jinlin’s body go rigid where he sat at the head of the table; the old man remained seated, jaw clenched, staring fixedly at Ning Yi as he watched his eldest son collapse. Few, likely, had imagined the intruder would strike at Lou Shuwang so decisively, without hesitation. Someone came forward. “What are you people doing—”
This man was one of the Lou family’s own relatives, perhaps rushing forward out of sheer instinct. Fang Shuchang drew his blade in a reverse grip and sheathed it again in the same motion; the corpse sprayed blood as it was flung aside, soaking the floor. Those caught in its path leapt aside, stumbled, and cried out — chaos again for a moment. But after this, the hall fell nearly silent. Ning Yi’s footsteps, however, never once paused throughout. He simply tossed the crossbow back over his shoulder and walked past the two round tables near the entrance, heading straight for the table at the very back — the family’s own place of honor.
One of the Lou family members seated across from Lou Jinlin rose, instinctively trying to get out of the way, but caught his foot on his chair and staggered back several steps with a clatter. In an instant, nearly everyone nearby scattered in the same chaotic fashion. Ning Yi stepped through the gap between two chairs, grabbed the edge of the round table, and casually flipped it aside.
With a thunderous crash, the huge round table, along with a dozen-odd dishes atop it, went crashing over toward the side of the hall. The table beside it had been seated by a group of retainers the Lou family had recruited — martial artists, some of them quite skilled — but at this moment, they only scrambled awkwardly out of the way; some got soaked in soup and broth and still didn’t dare say a word. In truth, the most skilled fighter among them had once been beaten badly by Chen Fan, and now, seeing Chen Fan standing there, his hands trembled uncontrollably.
The round table went flying, and the frame supporting it beneath was likewise knocked over and slammed against the wall. Only Lou Jinlin remained seated at what had been the family’s place of honor. The old man carried a genuine, formidable presence — his whole body trembled slightly now, and he stared fixedly at Ning Yi like a lion that had just lost its cub. Any mid-level commander within Fang La’s ranks, on the receiving end of a raid on their household, would likely have quailed under such a glare. Ning Yi grabbed a chair from beside him, walked straight over, and set it down directly in front of Lou Jinlin. Then he sat down before the old man, hands clenched into fists resting on his knees, sitting perfectly upright, and looked into the old man’s eyes with a certain cold detachment.
After staring at each other like this for two seconds, he spoke, his tone flat and cold, without much rise or fall — a simple, calm statement.
“I’ve come to fetch someone. If anyone says one word of objection today, I will kill your entire family.”
Lou Jinlin stared at him, his lips trembling faintly, but in the end he said nothing. A few seconds later, Ning Yi reached out and gave the back of the old man’s hand two slow, firm pats, then rose and walked away, no longer bothering to look at him.
Those in charge of securing the scene and conducting the search had already gone in. He walked to stand beneath the eaves, waiting for his wife and her party to emerge.