In the afternoon, a warm breeze blew gently, and a flock of ducks paddled along a small stream by the roadside. Wenren Buer walked over from somewhere, snapped his fingers, and the Secret Investigation Bureau’s men descended upon the courtyard.

Inside, someone drew a blade!

“Who’s there—”

“Don’t move!”

“Get lost—”

With a crash, they fell into a clash!

At that same moment, in the room, Chen Fan hurled the water cup toward the side window. The porcelain cup spun through the air, and the instant it touched the paper window, it exploded with a bang.

—The entire window shattered open in that same instant. A figure lunged in like a tiger, striking first with a fierce spear. Chen Fan, in that same moment, sidestepped, sweeping up a wooden table by the wall as he moved to block the intruder’s path, then flung it upward, sending it flying to intercept the attacker’s charge.

Chen Fan had once been known in Fang La’s army for his fierce, direct fighting style, and even against someone like Liu Xigua wielding her blade at full force, he could hold his own without falling behind. Yet these few movements now carried a raw, overwhelming force, like a vortex. That wooden table shifted silently, then lifted off the ground, carrying tremendous force while remaining clean and precise, blocking the attack exactly where needed. But the intruder who’d charged in was himself a skilled fighter—his spear, only slightly checked, immediately pressed forward with brute force. Chen Fan shoved the table forward, and the sturdy wooden piece shattered apart in midair from the pressure, even as the table’s remnants were still airborne, the two exchanged several more blows.

A rapid series of booms rang out in an instant, like a sudden storm, the wooden table splintering into several pieces that scattered in different directions. Yet the two never truly clashed head-on—the spear swung fiercely, only for Chen Fan to close the distance, reach out to seize the weapon, the other man wrenching it back, then a punch thrown, a block and parry here, and then both palms slammed forward at once, the spear’s shaft used to deflect the blow.

Another loud crash rang out as the double doors, along with the spear-wielding figure and shattered fragments of the table, were sent flying outward. The man holding the steel spear stumbled backward five or six steps before finally coming to a stop, while the door panels flew even farther. Chen Fan’s figure surged forward like flowing water, bursting through the already-shattered window, rolling once on the ground before preparing to leap up again.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

…

With a crash, a man burst out through the courtyard gate wielding a guan blade, sprinting into the street before coming to a stop.

“Where are you trying to go?”

A crossbow bolt was aimed squarely at his face, the crossbow itself held in Wenren Buer’s hands. Beside Wenren Buer, aside from the Secret Investigation Bureau’s men, stood several constables from the local yamen as well. The man wielding the guan blade froze for a moment, and then Wenren Buer had him escorted back into the courtyard.

The fighting within the courtyard had only lasted a brief moment before the situation was brought under control. The residents of this courtyard turned out to be a traveling troupe of acrobats and performers who had come to the capital. When more than a dozen men, clearly bearing the air of official law enforcement, surrounded them with blades and crossbows drawn, with two already lying in pools of blood, the leader among them wailed and pleaded their innocence. But once Wenren Buer entered, he pulled out a small notebook and began matching names against the people in the courtyard one by one.

“‘Guan Blade’ Liu Zhen, the ‘Twin Heroes of Heshuo’ He Jinhu and Zhao Dahong, ‘Marvelous Peak Sect’ Yang Taiqing… if I’m not mistaken, that would be you all…”

“You’re… who are you people? We’ve only just come to the capital, we haven’t done anything wrong…”

Seeing the other side rattle off their identities one by one, the leader stammered out his protests in a panic. Wenren Buer shook his head.

“You can explain all this once we’re back at headquarters. You know full well why you came here, and so do we. If it’s fame and reputation you were after, all I can say is you picked the wrong target this time… Never mind who sold you out for now—you have only yourselves to blame for not keeping your mouths shut and letting the word slip. As for who exactly it was, you can think it over on the way. Alright, take them all away.”

With that, the group began escorting the prisoners out. Among the eight bound men, a few still wanted to resist, but the situation was clearly beyond their control, and Wenren Buer’s side had evidently done this sort of thing before. Before long, everyone had been marched out of the courtyard, and several men belonging to the Secret Investigation Bureau gathered around Wenren Buer, with a few more soon arriving as well. Wenren Buer thought for a moment, then said:

“Today’s business isn’t finished yet—there’s more than just this one group. I received word this morning about one more person we absolutely need to go check on. This one… is highly skilled in martial arts. He may not go quietly, but if it comes to a fight, the casualties could be severe. If he truly resolves to fight to the death, I doubt our fifteen or twenty men here would be enough to handle him. Everyone should be mentally prepared for that.”

Having said this, he stood there thinking for a moment longer, then nodded. “Let’s go. Get on the carriages, I’ll lead the way.”

…

Chen Fan landed on the ground, about to leap away, when a voice rang out in the courtyard.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Chen Fan looked to the side, having rushed forward a few more steps before gradually coming to a stop, blinking in surprise.

On the other side, the young man with the spear had steadied his stance and let out a long breath, shaking his head and rolling his shoulders.

“Whoa… wow! Incredible! Absolutely incredible… Brother Ning was right, you really are something else… Brother Chen, is it? I’m Zhu Biao, Zhu Biao of Dulong Ridge, Shandong. You’re really something!”

The corner of Chen Fan’s mouth twitched. Over there, in the courtyard, Ning Yi stood watching, smiling as he looked this way. He then strode over, wrapping Chen Fan in an embrace, patting his back twice before pulling away, laughing heartily. “It’s been a long time. What a surprise.”

Chen Fan’s expression froze for a moment, then he let out a breath of his own. Zhu Biao came over as well, cupping his hands. “Chen Fan.”

“I only entered the capital last night—how did you all find me?” he asked afterward.

…

“…After the whole business with Liangshan, I’ve made some enemies. My reputation isn’t exactly great among the outlaws up north here—you’re from the south, but you’ve probably heard about it too.”

In a room furnished elegantly and neatly, Ning Yi took the food that had been brought in and set it down in front of Chen Fan, who hadn’t yet eaten, pouring him wine as he spoke.

“That whole ‘demonic menace’ Ning Liheng business sounds impressive enough, but it comes with plenty of trouble too. In the few months since I got back from Shandong, there’s been a steady stream of people coming to the capital looking to pick a fight with me—including today, that makes eight separate attempts already. I didn’t want to just sit around waiting for it to happen, so I set up some early warning measures.”

“Today?” Chen Fan asked, looking up from his food.

“In the city, on the north side—they’ve been in the city for several days already, disguised as traveling acrobats. Among them were a couple called the ‘Twin Heroes of Heshuo,’ apparently fairly skilled fighters… What they’re after isn’t beating me, but killing me to make a name for themselves. Or, if they’re being generous, capturing me alive and then killing me in front of a crowd of heroes once we’re outside the city. You know the outlaw world’s playbook better than I do.”

Ning Yi smiled. “Because of all this mess, once I got back I started setting up a whole system for it. Well, some of it’s built on experience I picked up back in Hangzhou, you know—dealing with the jargon, the codes, how to navigate that world. When I was with Overlord Blade Manor, I got interested in this sort of thing and took a lot of notes. The capital’s relatively peaceful, compared to elsewhere—plenty of the martial world figures here dabble in both legitimate and shady dealings, but for the most part, they’re just trying to scrape by. I’ve got money, and I’m decent at managing people, so I’ve done some reverse infiltration into the network of well-connected information brokers…”

“The actual execution falls to another group—the Secret Investigation Bureau under the Right Chancellor’s residence, the same people who helped me back in Hangzhou. They’re still building up their strength these days, and this whole situation has actually served as good practical training. I’ve helped train some of their people, gotten a fairly systematic understanding of the capital’s underworld myself. If it’s nothing major, I leave them alone—the main goal is just staying informed… No need to eat so fast, this dish is quite good.”

Ning Yi pushed a plate toward him, saying proudly, “I personally handpicked the chef at Zhu Ji—his broth has a secret recipe, genuinely delicious. I already ate at noon, so don’t be shy.”

“You still haven’t told me how you found me.”

“Can’t you guess?”

Chen Fan chewed on his food, looking up at him. “The person I went looking for… Xi Guishan, he’s already…”

“They’re not doing well either,” Ning Yi said. “Back when you all rose up in the south, the Manichaean followers up north here were all treated as rebels too—the connections between the two branches of the faith weren’t especially tight to begin with, and just because you wanted to rebel didn’t mean they did. Some of them were caught, entire families executed; some fled; and there were core members who chose not to run, hiding themselves instead. But back when I was in Hangzhou, I got a look at some of your core members’ names and how to contact them. After the Liangshan affair, I made a point of testing out every possible avenue for gathering intelligence in the capital. They’ve changed all sorts of things since then, but I still managed to find a few leads…”

Ning Yi paused. “It’s a good thing it was me who found them—if the Ministry of Justice had found them instead, they’d have had no chance to clear their names at all. I don’t ask for much, really—just that they live their lives quietly. But you’re a stranger in the capital, with no one to turn to—even coming to find me, you’d still need some way to make inquiries. You entered the city yesterday, and last night you tried your best to reach out to him—since it involved asking about me, word reached me before long.”

Chen Fan thought this over. “So you’re saying, whatever’s left of the Manichaean faith here in the capital—you have it all… under your control?”

“There’s really not many of them left. Even counting Xi Guishan, the ones who could genuinely be called original core members number only three or four. For various reasons they stayed in the capital instead of fleeing, living in constant fear—by helping me out, they’ve essentially avoided the disaster of having their whole clans wiped out.” Ning Yi laughed. “Why worry so much about it? They were just spreading a faith to begin with—vegetarianism, serving the Devil, equality among all. Your rebellion dragged them into it too. If anything, I’m doing them a favor.”

By now Chen Fan had finished eating. He paused for a moment, sighed, then let out a short laugh, looking up at Ning Yi. “So then… do you know why I’ve come to the capital?”

“Of course,” Ning Yi said with a smile. “To see my new shop and Li Shishi’s performance, right?”

“Heh heh.” Chen Fan nodded, laughing along as well, and the two of them shared a good laugh together for a while. Then Chen Fan said, still smiling, “Besides that, though—is there any chance you might think of some way to help me rescue a certain fugitive wanted by the court, while you’re at it?”

“Hahahaha, if that fugitive happens to be named Fang Qifo, then there’s really absolutely no chance at all…”

The laughter continued in the room.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of Zhu Ji, Song Yongping was searching for any sign of Ning Yi, his heart growing more anxious by the moment. He’d thought coming this time might let him step forward and help his brother-in-law out—who could have guessed the man he’d offended was none other than the Grand Marshal’s own son? With such trouble bearing down on them, and here his brother-in-law was, off dealing with who knew what trivial matter. Had he come earlier, he might have had more time to prepare.

Anxious as he was, he couldn’t help thinking that if things really did come crashing down, he might be the only one who could actually step in to help. He hoped that pulling out the Right Chancellor’s connection might be enough to intimidate this so-called playboy, even if invoking such a card felt like borrowing borrowed authority. Though, thinking about it, it seemed unlikely to work—but when it came to matters involving backers at the level of a Grand Marshal or a Chancellor, the Su family, he suspected, had no one else who could really step forward except himself…

…

“Hahahaha, if that fugitive happens to be named Fang Qifo, then there’s really absolutely no chance at all…”

The laughter continued.

“…I mean it seriously.”

“Heh, I’m serious too… heh heh…”

“Ning Yi, when I set out for the capital this time, I told myself I’d do whatever it takes to save my teacher.”

“Heh heh, and then…?”

“I could beg you… or I could force you.”

“So you’re saying you’re threatening me?”

“If it comes to that, yes, I would.”

“…Have you only just met me, Chen Fan?”

In the room, the atmosphere between the two men on either side of the dinner table turned grim in that brief moment.