Ready to Raise Another Ruckus

Yun Jingheng did not turn around.

North Street is already bustling with activity.

The morning market opened, and vendors laid out their goods one by one—vegetables, fabrics, pottery—the sounds of people and vehicles mingling together.

He walked forward with measured steps, neither fast nor slow, like the most ordinary person among the crowd on the street.

Not far behind, two men in gray were weaving through the crowd.

They didn't walk in a hurry, but their route was clear, and they always kept a distance of about ten feet from him.

Yun Jingheng turned into a secondhand market street on the right.

The street was narrower, with old furniture and bundles of leather goods piled up on both sides.

He walked close to the stalls, using a cart loaded with wooden crates to block his view.

When he reappeared, he had taken off his gray-white short jacket and was only wearing a dark-colored undershirt.

He had an old straw hat in his hand; he didn't know which stall he had swiped it from.

He pulled it over his head and lowered his head.

At the end of the alley, as the two men in gray chased after him, they saw his back turn as he turned into another side road.

They quickened their pace, but didn't actually run.

There were too many people on this street, and they didn't want to alert the patrol officers.

Yun Jingheng took a detour and went around to the back door of a dye shop.

The back door was ajar; he slipped inside and closed it behind him.

Dozens of bolts of cloth, dark blue and grayish-blue, were drying in the courtyard, looking like flags that hadn't quite dried in the morning light.

He didn't stop, but slipped through the fabric, climbed over a low wall, and landed by the drainage ditch behind it.

The ditch was dry, containing only rotten vegetable leaves and coal ash.

He walked north along the bottom of the canal for a while, when the voice of "Half-Sweet Coffee" came through his headphones.

"Master, according to statistics, nearly a hundred people in Tiandou are searching for you. The number of pursuers behind you has decreased. There are still three left: one in the secondhand market on the west side, and two coming from the south. They are moving faster than before."

"Understood." Yun Jingheng stopped, squatted down at the edge of the drainage ditch, and glanced back.

He could hear the sound of military boots stepping on broken tiles through a row of low houses.

It's far, but the direction is right.

They're still chasing; just circling around in alleys won't shake them off.

He took a half step back, took off his straw hat, folded it twice, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Then he closed his eyes.

The moonlight shone through his body, very faintly.

So faint as to be almost invisible.

A grayish-purple halo flashed around him before quickly fading away.

He was still standing in the same spot, but suddenly his presence seemed to have been erased.

The body, breath, body temperature, and Soul Power fluctuations all merged into the surrounding air.

Even the shadows seemed to be half-eaten by the morning mist.

Half-Sweet Coffee's voice lowered. "Dark Moon Concealment is in effect. Current movement speed increased by 25%. No one or any device can detect you now."

Yun Jingheng did not respond.

He bent over and moved quickly northward along the drainage ditch.

The low houses overhead were one after another, and he moved through the shadows, occasionally flashing through the narrow gaps between the walls.

The Dark Moon Concealment not only allows the user to become invisible, but also conceals their very existence.

But that was enough to disorient the three pursuers.

He heard a very low whistle coming from behind him.

They are their people.

The whistle was short, urgent, and tinged with doubt.

A reply came from the other end.

Then, the footsteps scattered in the opposite direction.

Yun Jingheng didn't stop; he knew this was only temporary.

They will reorganize, and he must leave the city before they can react.

Leaving the city is not difficult.

There are no complete city walls to the north of Heaven Dou City, only a few old stone walls and checkpoints.

During the morning market, oxcarts and mule carts carrying goods from outside the city kept coming in, and the checkpoints were not heavily guarded.

Yun Jingheng mingled into a charcoal-selling caravan, crouched at the back of the vehicle for a moment, and then, taking advantage of a bend, leaped onto the roof of a roadside house.

He ran along the rooftop for a while, and when he came down, he was already out of sight of the checkpoint.

Further north lies the outskirts of the city.

A few rows of low houses and dilapidated kilns, and further on, the direction of the quarry.

He stopped beside an abandoned shed.

The shed had no door, and most of the windows were broken. Inside, there were several bundles of moldy straw mats and a cart missing a wheel.

He went inside, sat down in the darkest corner, and finally let out a long sigh.

Sweat trickled down his forehead and into his collar.

He raised his hand and wiped his face with his sleeve; his palm was damp and cool.

In the previous battle, both he and Mu Ye held back, but their bodies still reacted when they continuously released their Soul Skill.

Through the earpiece, Half-Sweet Coffee whispered, "Miss Ye sent a message. Should I answer it now?"

"Answer it." Yun Jingheng pressed the earphone into his ear.

After a brief crackling sound, Ye Xinglan's voice rang out, very low, as if she were whispering against the wall, "Where are you?"

"They've already left the city to the north," Yun Jingheng said. "How are you?"

"You're with Zhen Hua. Everything's fine in the building. They searched the top two floors but didn't go up. After you jumped, that plainclothes officer stayed there for a long time."

Ye Xinglan paused for a moment, "I'm worried he'll bring people back."

"He won't. He saw those three 'me's. He won't act rashly before he's figured it out. That kind of person is very suspicious."

Yun Jingheng closed his eyes briefly. "Is it convenient for you to talk now?"

"It's convenient. I'll hide in a back room."

Ye Xinglan said. She paused for a moment, then added, "I brought you something. There's a general store behind the noodle stall at the third alley in the north of the city."

"Under the back wall, at the base of the second loose brick. Inside were clothes, water, and some compressed biscuits."

Yun Jingheng listened without saying a word.

After a long while, he whispered, "When did you prepare this?"

"After you enter meditation."

Ye Xinglan's voice was still low, but clear, "I was afraid that when you woke up, it would be too late to stay here. So I hid some things in several different parts of the city beforehand."

Yun Jingheng didn't ask any more questions.

He looked up at the sky outside the workers' shed.

The sun had already risen, illuminating the dirt roads in the northern suburbs with a white glow.

Several birds landed on the power line and chirped happily. He slowly stood up.

"I'll go get it," he said. "Don't hang it up. I still have something to ask you."

"Um."

He headed north of the city.

At this point, there was no need to conceal their presence any longer; Dark Moon Concealment was still active.

He still walked very lightly, but he didn't completely hug the wall.

Occasionally, a few farmers carrying hoes would appear on the road, but no one gave him a second glance.

When he reached the back door of the grocery store, he squatted down, touched the second brick, and sure enough, it felt loose.

He pried open the bricks, revealing a shallow pit covered with tarpaulin.

The contents included a dark-colored short-sleeved shirt, a kettle of water, three compressed biscuits, and a pair of very old cloth shoes.

He picked up the shoes and examined them. The soles were thick, and the forefoot area had been sanded down to prevent slipping.

He changed his shoes, took the biscuits, and covered the rest of the items back up as before.

As I stood up, Ye Xinglan asked through my earpiece, "How was it?"

"Suitable," Yun Jingheng said, his voice low and hoarse.

"That's good," Ye Xinglan said.

She paused, as if hesitating about something, but finally said, "Yun Jingheng, I don't care what you do outside, I want you back at the association alive within two days. Being together is better than being apart."

Yun Jingheng leaned against the wall, broke off a small piece of the biscuit, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

He looked north.

The quarry is not far away, like several gray-white scars, lying at the foot of the mountain at the edge of the city.

"No, I can't go back. I'll cause a scene and attract attention. You take this opportunity to leave the city, and we can meet up then." He agreed.

"Before that, let me confirm one thing: is your neighborhood safe?"

Ye Xinglan was silent for a moment. "According to Half-Sweet Coffee's statistics, after you showed up, everyone near my house moved in your direction. It's safe now."

"Okay, go find Zhen Hua and use my money to buy some metal from him. He has the list I gave you. After that... go back to the Ye Family and find a way to move them."

"Based on the information we have, the Federal Parliament is no good, and there's no guarantee what they'll do."

"Tell me after everything is done, and I'll go and cause a huge scene."

Ye Xinglan remained silent.

"Good."