Amid the roar of commotion, the firelight flickered in wild disarray. As Ning Yi’s furious shout rang out, everyone in the hall reacted in their own way.

Men like He Zhong and Xin Tiecheng scrambled to protect themselves, and Xiao Cheng of the Wusheng Army and his men reacted much the same way. He Shuyuan tried to press forward, while the several Great Radiance Cult guardians Lin Zongwu had brought — skilled fighters, though not on the same first-rate level as someone like Wang Nantuo — found themselves, in the blink of an eye, tangled up with Tian Donghan and the others Ning Yi had brought along, seated as they’d been at the lower round tables.

The stool in Ning Yi’s hand had already sent He Shuyuan sprawling to the ground. Nearby, Dong Pang’er’s envoy and Chen Jiu of Chenjiaqu were still shouting: “Butcher Ning, don’t be rash—” only to realize, a moment later, that a man with an epithet like the Bloody-Handed Butcher, once he lost his temper, was hardly something an ordinary person could restrain.

Only Lou Shuwan, watching this sudden chaos unfold, her eyes churning with emotion, her body trembling faintly, murmured to Yu Yulin and the others: “Go stop him, go stop him…” She meant Ning Yi, of course, but Yu Yulin, already sensing the turmoil spreading throughout and beyond the hall, shook his head urgently. “Don’t be reckless.” He held considerable standing under the Tiger King, and with him speaking up amid such chaos, Tian Shi and Qiu Guyan on the other side made no move either.

Amid the shifting shadows and He Shuyuan’s screams of agony, Lou Shuwan gritted her teeth, lunged forward, drew a dagger from her sleeve, and moved to plunge it into Ning Yi’s back! But she was simply far too inexperienced — even as she struck, she cried out loud, “Ahh—” and Ning Yi spun around at once, his fierce, murderous gaze meeting hers for an instant.

With a crack, Ning Yi swept one hand out, striking Lou Shuwan across the face and sending her crashing to the ground, the dagger flying from her hand. Qiu Guyan surged forward to intervene, but Zhu Biao stepped in front of Ning Yi to block him, moving sideways to shield Lou Shuwan as well.

Lou Shuwan slumped to the ground, her left arm raised to cover her struck right cheek, staring off to one side, her eyes bloodshot red, but she didn’t get up right away amid the surrounding chaos.

Back in the hall, old Liang Bingfu, as host, gripped his cane and pressed his lips tightly together as he watched it all unfold. Beside him, Zheng Ashuan was already shouting, “Someone, come!” People had already burst in through the side doors of the hall; up above, figures could be seen running with torches raised. Leading them, shouldering an elm-wood cannon, was none other than Yuwen Feidu, a young officer of the Bamboo Registry troops, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Fat bastard, stop this right now!” One of the Great Radiance Cult’s skilled fighters below leapt up to block him, and the two clashed with a fighter from the Bamboo Registry.

In the courtyard, the fierce wind still howled as the two grandmasters fought on in earnest, in no mood to stop. A small stone pavilion nearby, caught in the shockwave of Lin Zongwu’s punch, was already collapsing. Having lost her weapon, Hongti fought Lin Zongwu bare-handed and showed not the slightest sign of weakness — her movements still like a serpentine python, her steps and palms seeming to stir some deep, still pool between heaven and earth, her force flowing in circles. In one flurry of attacks, she struck Lin Zongwu twice on the arm and shoulder, the impact producing a deep, muffled boom like the beat of a drum.

To the eyes of the assembled masters, this was the most vicious variant of the great hand-seal technique — the Heaven-Overturning Seal, striking with penetrating force that shattered whatever it touched. Her raw external strength couldn’t match Lin Zongwu’s, but her technique had already reached a level of refinement beyond compare — each strike was both heavy and deep, and each blow drew a handful of blood. Lin Zongwu took two such strikes, and where they landed, his loose robes shredded like butterfly wings, scattering into fragments. He drove himself into Hongti with a thunderous crash, sending her slamming into the old pavilion — its bluestone pillars toppling, its stone roof crashing down. Amid the billowing dust, Hongti traded four more palm strikes with him, her body weaving like a great serpent as she pulled back toward the other side of the collapsing pavilion.

Lin Zongwu’s steps grew unsteady, as if drunk, as he charged straight into the pavilion’s ruins, shattering the falling octagonal stone roof-cap with a single punch, then seizing one of the pavilion’s bluestone pillars in both hands and swinging it in a wide, thunderous horizontal arc.

The small stone pavilion had been crudely built, with four pillars, each bluestone column some two meters long and weighing several hundred pounds — yet he swung it like a pinwheel. The other pillars, struck by the sweeping blow, shattered — one exploding into fragments, another sent flying more than ten meters away, forcing Hongti to retreat in alarm. A second horizontal sweep came howling toward her; she dodged it with an iron-bridge maneuver, then surged forward close against Lin Zongwu, and when the third swing came, she suddenly seized hold of it.

In that instant, her figure shifted, dragging Lin Zongwu’s massive frame along with it — the two of them seeming almost to be wrestling over the pillar, or perhaps holding onto opposite ends of a long rope, their bodies circling in a wide arc, their feet kicking, sweeping, striking, and stamping through the ruins of the pavilion, stirring up clouds of dust. The small stone table and stools within went tumbling and rolling off in every direction, dust billowing everywhere — it looked, for all the world, like the sudden onset of a tornado.

This tremendous destruction lasted only a moment before the stone pillar flew free of Hongti’s grip, whistling past just over her head — whether she had deliberately hurled it away, or Lin Zongwu’s overwhelming strength had simply won out, no one could say. The two figures collided with a crash amid the dust, Hongti’s body sent staggering backward by the impact, while Lin Zongwu’s steps remained just as unsteady, as if drunk, as he charged, pillar still spinning, toward the other side — though he did not retreat very far before abruptly steadying himself, seizing the pillar once more, and charging forward again.

Inside the hall, Qingmu Stronghold’s soldiers and Bamboo Registry members, armed with blades, spears, and crossbows, had already closed in. Ning Yi drew a second firearm from his person and, roaring, fired a shot. The muzzle flash rippled through the air. In the distance, Hongti, mid-retreat, steadied herself — the black-robed woman spread both hands wide, as though stirring the currents of some vast whirlpool.

Up on the roof, sparks burned at the tail end of the elm-wood cannon as Yuwen Feidu, gripping a long spear, braced the cannon and swung it around to redirect its aim: “Stop this—”

Lin Zongwu swung the massive stone pillar like some primeval beast, bearing down on Lu Hongti, the distance between them closing rapidly as the pillar swept horizontally toward her.

Lu Hongti watched the figure bearing down and did not retreat. Facing the pillar’s crushing, thousand-pound force, she drew back her right palm and thrust out her left. With a single hand… she caught the pillar.

…Stone met palm.

A tremendous boom rang out — the pillar struck Hongti squarely, sending earth and stone spraying skyward beneath the sweeping force, and her entire body was sent flying — while, in answer, the pillar shattered explosively, and Lin Zongwu’s mountainous frame went hurtling backward in turn.

A tremendous boom echoed simultaneously from up on the roof, a column of fire shooting sideways into the courtyard wall, flames and debris scattering through the sky. Hongti’s body flew some six meters, struck the ground once, and kept tumbling. On the other side, an even more unimaginable sight unfolded — no one could comprehend just how devastating a blow Lin Zongwu must have taken, as his massive frame went flying like a boulder tumbling down from a mountain peak, smashing through the outer wall of the Righteous Gathering Hall’s courtyard, then through the wall of a neighboring building, before sinking entirely into darkness.

To send Lin Zongwu flying like that — even if a second Lin Zongwu had appeared, it would have seemed nearly impossible…

After tumbling and bouncing along the ground several times, Hongti’s figure seemed to right itself with the momentum, coming to rest seated on a round stone stool that had rolled some distance away. Her body curled forward, as though clutching her stomach, folded up like a shrimp, long hair loose and hanging down, hiding the side of her face, a few strands stirring in the breeze like night-time mayflies.

Ning Yi stared at her from a distance. Hongti sat there in silence, without moving, but half her body was already stained with blood. Her left arm — the one she’d used to catch Lin Zongwu’s blow — hung limp at her side, as if it had no strength left in it at all.

He drew a deep breath, and in that moment, found himself unsure what to say. Inside the hall, from that very instant, all sound had eerily vanished. If Lin Zongwu was dead, and Lu Hongti was in this state, no one could guess what fate awaited them, facing this man known as the Bloody-Handed Butcher — and everyone had, in any case, been utterly stunned by the sight of Lin Zongwu sent flying.

Fortunately, after a moment, movement stirred within the great hole in the building. A massive figure rose from within, its outline faintly visible in the gloom, his loose robes torn in places, blood seeping faintly through. The voice of this Great Radiance Cult leader carried across, each word deliberate.

“Ning Liheng! How dare you interfere in my duel!”

Tian Donghan and several crossbow-wielding fighters of the Bamboo Registry had already crossed the courtyard, advancing toward Lu Hongti.

Ning Yi looked toward Hongti, drew another deep breath. “I said, it’s a draw! Who agrees! Who objects!”

An indescribable tension hung in the air. A moment later, sensing Tian Donghan and the others approaching, Hongti tilted her head slightly and raised her right hand a little. Zhu Biao moved close to Ning Yi and murmured, “Elder Lu, she’s… just tending to her wounds…”

But Ning Yi, gazing at her, showed not the slightest change of expression. Within the gaping hole in the building, Lin Zongwu finally began to laugh. “Ha ha, well done! Since Butcher Ning is so determined, I’ll grant you this face today! Miss Lu, that technique you displayed today — yin and yang giving rise to each other, hardness and softness in perfect balance, utterly profound! I too have gained some insight from it today. If I’m ever able to advance further along the martial path, it will owe much to Miss Lu’s instruction — my thanks to you!”

Hongti lifted her head slightly. “That was taught to me by Liheng. It’s called Tai Chi.”

Lin Zongwu laughed again. “Tai Chi — a fine name. But given your exalted status as a grandmaster, Miss Lu, there’s no need to pin such a divine technique on your beloved just to shield him! The green hills remain, the rivers flow on — we shall meet again someday in the martial world. I take my leave!”

With that, he burst out through the far side of the building and sped off toward the courtyard partway up the mountain where the Great Radiance Cult’s followers were lodged, several of the cult’s own masters hastily cupping their hands in farewell as they followed. Ning Yi called out, “Go calm down your men, quickly!” After the earlier commotion, Tian Hu’s men, the Wusheng Army’s men, and Dong Pang’er’s men in the guest courtyard had all grown restless, nearly coming to blows with the several hundred Qingmu Stronghold men stationed there earlier. Xiao Cheng and the others hastily took their leave and rushed down to calm the situation. Ning Yi was just starting to walk toward Hongti when, off to the side, the man named Chen Jiu spoke up.

“Today… today there’s still the matter of my Lüliang’s business — surely it can’t just end here like this, Butcher Ning. There are still over five thousand men down the mountain…”

Ning Yi paused for a moment, then stepped forward, his voice ringing out.

“Lüliang? It’s been only a few years, and you’ve already forgotten how the Liao raiders beat you into the ground when they came foraging! The Wu court’s army numbers in the millions, yet through nothing but infighting and scheming, they cower before the Liao like sheep before tigers on the battlefield — two hundred thousand men unable to defeat a mere ten thousand of theirs. Meanwhile the Jurchen, with a mere twenty thousand men, can crush an eight-hundred-thousand-strong Liao army! Now the court has issued this edict of amnesty specifically to guard against the Jurchen pushing south — and if that comes to pass, Lüliang will be the very first to bear the brunt of it. And you rabble want to come sow discord within Qingmu Stronghold! Fighting over power and profit!? Feel this, then! Outside! The fighting has already begun!”

He came to stand at Hongti’s side.

“Want to join Qingmu Stronghold, work together? Fine. Take this message back with you. Everything will follow Qingmu Stronghold’s rules. Those willing to work hard, fight hard, and bring real skill will be guaranteed food on their table. Contribute more, and you’ll earn your place — wealth, honor, and safety in this region besides. But if all you want is to come here and fight over power… I’ll crush you underfoot.”

The air carried the scent of gunpowder smoke. Chen Jiu and the others had already grown visibly panicked. Just moments earlier, right after Yuwen Feidu had fired the elm-wood cannon, a signal flare had already shot up into the night sky from the rear of Qingmu Stronghold — and by now, the mountains several li from Qingmu Stronghold had already become a battlefield.

Fire and the aftermath of battle lay scattered across the courtyard. The wind stirred sleeves and the woman’s hair. Ning Yi looked at the streaks of blood in her hair, reaching out for a moment, then drawing his hand back. The woman sat there, looked up at him, and smiled — though the smile faded a little, leaving something raw and unfamiliar in its place, nothing like the warmth between lovers.

“What you said yesterday — this isn’t how it was supposed to go.”

Hongti tugged at his hand and stood up.

“I’m fine,” she said again. “I — I’m hurt… I need to put medicine on it…”

“I’ll help you.”

Ning Yi said this so naturally, supporting her as he spoke. Hongti looked as though she wanted to refuse…

The chaos in the mountains had yet to settle; several li beyond Qingmu Stronghold, the flames of battle had already begun spreading. Only here, at the very courtyard where all the unrest had originated, did some measure of calm begin to settle…

The night was still far from over…