Guanyong

The refugee settlement north of the city had already become a chaotic whirlpool.

Most of the shops and houses near the refugee district had been abandoned.

Seals were pasted across the doors, the windows nailed shut with planks, and piles of belongings that had not been moved in time lay beneath the walls: broken baskets, rotten mats, and stools missing legs.

The streets were littered with filthy water and trash. When the wind blew, the stench rushed straight into one's face.

Every so often, a figure flashed past an alley. Their features were impossible to make out, and they moved furtively.

Inside an inconspicuous house, the doors and windows were tightly shut, and the curtains were drawn firmly closed.

An oil lamp burned inside. Its flame was no bigger than a bean, illuminating the silhouettes of several people seated around the table.

Their leader was the chief, Lou Fuyi.

He was around forty, broad and sturdy, with a square face and an old knife scar across his cheekbone.

He wore a somewhat worn black short jacket, its sleeves rolled up to reveal thick forearms.

The sleeve of his left arm bulged slightly, as though something were wrapped beneath it. He sat at the head of the table, fingers tapping lightly against its surface—once, then again, with no steady rhythm.

Five or six other men sat around the table. All were strong and hardened. Some folded their arms, some chewed on blades of grass, and some lowered their heads to fiddle with their scabbards.

"Big Brother, we should pull out." The second-in-command spoke first. He was tall and thin, with triangular eyes that he liked to narrow when he spoke. "The county office's strength is greater than we thought. Yang He was lost this time, and Wang Zheng is dead. The atmosphere in the city is tighter than ever. If we drag this out, I'm afraid the brothers won't get away."

"The second-in-command is right." Another man joined in. "This area north of the city will be purged sooner or later. The soldiers may be useless, but there are too many of them. We only have a few guns. A head-on fight isn't worth it."

Lou Fuyi said nothing. His fingers continued tapping against the tabletop, once, then again.

Then he rubbed his left arm. Beneath the sleeve, a long scar stretched from his shoulder to the crook of his elbow, hideous as a centipede.

That slash had nearly severed his entire arm. Yang He had risked himself to obtain a Flesh-Regenerating Bone-Mending Pill from the Li Family, and only then had the arm been saved.

Otherwise, he would have been a cripple with one arm by now.

"Yang He's grudge cannot go unavenged." Lou Fuyi finally spoke. His voice was deep and dark, like sandpaper scraping across an iron plate. "You withdraw first and take the brothers into the mountains. I'll stay behind and find out who that young hero really is."

"Big Brother—"

"I've made up my mind." Lou Fuyi raised his head and swept his gaze across everyone. "Yang He helped save this arm of mine. Now that he's dead, if I don't even know who killed him and simply pat my backside and leave, then for the rest of my life, I, Lou Fuyi, will have to sleep with my eyes open."

The second-in-command opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing more. The room fell silent for a moment. Then everyone rose and began making their own preparations.

Lou Fuyi remained seated where he was, his fingers gently rubbing the scar on his left arm, his gaze fixed motionlessly on the flame of the oil lamp.

Outside Chen Chong's room at World-Aiding Hall.

Li Zhiyi knocked on Chen Chong's door.

When Chen Chong opened it, Li Zhiyi was standing outside. His handsome face had lost its usual composure. His brows were tightly furrowed, his lips pressed into a straight line, and the hem of his moon-white robe was stained with dust, as though he had hurried over from somewhere.

"Alchemist Chen." Li Zhiyi cupped his hands, his voice several shades faster than usual. "Wang Zheng's son has returned."

Chen Chong was startled.

"Guanyong." Li Zhiyi lowered his voice. "Wang Zheng's only son. He had been studying martial arts at the Tyrant Blade Sect and had been out of contact for years. This time, he returned and caused quite a scene."

He paused, as though arranging his words. "While the Li Family was preparing to take over the Wang Family's assets, he stormed into the Wang Family's old residence. It's said he beat three Tendon-Tremor Realm martial artists from the Li Family to death, and killed a clansman from a collateral branch as well. Then he fled."

"Bone-Forging Stage?" Chen Chong asked.

Li Zhiyi nodded. "Bone-Forging Stage."

Chen Chong fell silent for a moment.

Wang Zheng's only son, at the Bone-Forging Stage. Wang Zheng was dead, the Wang Family had been confiscated, and this Guanyong had returned, killed several people, and fled. This matter would not end peacefully.

"Miss Li requests that you go to the residence to discuss this," Li Zhiyi said.

Li Zhaoning's residence. This was Chen Chong's second visit.

It was still the same study and the same writing desk. The peach blossoms outside the window had already withered, replaced by dense green leaves.

Li Zhaoning sat behind the desk, a map of Dingshan County spread out before her.

Several red lines had been drawn across the map, marking a number of locations. She looked up at Chen Chong and gave a slight nod, then gestured for Li Zhiyi to sit as well.

"Guanyong." Li Zhaoning spoke in her usual steady voice, though there was a trace more chill than usual. "Bone-Forging Stage. He killed four members of my Li Family and escaped."

She paused, her gaze sweeping from Chen Chong to Li Zhiyi, then to the other people in the room. Chen Chong recognized two of them—they were the Tendon-Tremor Realm experts he had seen that day in Wang Zheng's residence.

"The Li Family's position is very clear. Find Guanyong and kill him."

Li Zhaoning tapped the map with one finger. "Mobilize every asset with all your strength. Bring out everyone from World-Aiding Hall, Jichuntang Hall, the cloth shops, the grain stores, and every other branch. Search by district. The north of the city, the west of the city, and the refugee districts outside the city— not one place can be missed."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Li Zhiyi spoke first. His tone was respectful, but Chen Chong could hear the reluctance beneath it. "Miss Li, Guanyong is at the Bone-Forging Stage. Most of our people are only in the Skin Tempering Realm, and even those in the Flesh-Nourishing Realm or Tendon-Tremor Realm are few. If we really run into him, I'm afraid we won't be able to stop him."

"I know." Li Zhaoning glanced at him. "That's why you aren't to fight him head-on. Find him, keep watch, and send word back. The Li Family will dispatch experts."

Standing to one side, Chen Chong more or less understood.

The Li Family wanted to kill a Bone-Forging Stage martial artist to prove its authority. Wang Zheng's affair had already left the Li Family with no face to speak of. If they let Guanyong remain at large, the Li Family's prestige would be finished.

Yet the Li Family did not want to sacrifice the core strength of its own clan. Martial artists were not easy to cultivate; once one died, there was one fewer. So they were sending the people supported by their various assets to throw themselves into the breach first.

Li Zhiyi clearly understood this as well. His lips moved, but in the end he merely cupped his hands and lowered his head. "Yes."

The trace of resentment in his voice was well hidden, but Chen Chong still heard it. Li Zhiyi belonged to the Li Family, but he came from a collateral branch and had been assigned as the chief steward of World-Aiding Hall. He had thought it a cushy post.

Now that Guanyong had appeared, he had become the man standing at the very front.

If he had the bad luck to run into a Bone-Forging Stage martial artist, a Tendon-Tremor Realm cultivator—Chen Chong had sensed Li Zhiyi's aura before—was roughly on par with Yuan Zhiwu. It would be over in a single move.

Li Zhiyi withdrew.

Only Chen Chong, Li Zhaoning, and the two Tendon-Tremor Realm experts remained in the room.

Li Zhaoning looked at Chen Chong.

"Alchemist Chen, you need not get involved in this matter." Her tone was calm. "You are a master alchemist. The Li Family cannot afford to lose you. However, you also took part in the matter involving Wang Zheng, so do not leave the residence for the next few days."

Chen Chong nodded without protest. In Li Zhaoning's eyes, he was still that Flesh-Nourishing Stage alchemist.

After leaving Li Residence, dusk was spreading down from the city walls. Few pedestrians remained on the streets, while a clamor drifted from the direction of the distant refugee district.

Chen Chong walked along the road back to his courtyard, followed by two Li Family guards, both in the Tendon-Tremor Realm.

He remembered the calm face Wang Zheng had worn when he was carried out of World-Aiding Hall. The resentment that had been hidden beneath that honest-looking face for so many years had now erupted through his son, in another form.

Chen Chong gathered his thoughts and quickened his pace. The courtyard's blue-gray walls had already emerged in outline beneath the dusk.