By Hài Shí, there were no pedestrians left on the street.

The Zhang family’s carriage rattled out of Zhengyang Gate. Inside, Zhang Zheng looked at Chen Ji, utterly confused as to when Chen Ji had made enemies with Heji. “Chen Ji, why are you going after Heji?”

Chen Ji was leaning back in the carriage, resting with his eyes closed. Hearing this, he opened his eyes and said, “To train troops.”

Zhang Xia glanced at Chen Ji. “Is it really for training?”

Chen Ji insisted firmly with absolute certainty, “It’s precisely for training troops. We’ve developed our own formation, which needs to be tested in real combat. When sparring among colleagues, we can’t go all out, so we can never truly hone our skills. Once this formation is perfected…”

Xiao Man leaned closer and whispered to Zhang Xia, “Second Sister, is the young master really going to train troops?”

“Fake,” Zhang Xia said dismissively. “When have you ever seen him explain so much to others? The more he explains, the more uneasy he is, and the faker the reason becomes.”

Xiao Man simply uttered, “Oh.”

In another carriage, the Imperial Guards looked at their masked comrades, exchanged glances, and couldn’t help but chuckle aloud.

Someone pointed at Duo Bao. “You already have small eyes, and with the mask, you look even more shifty-eyed, like you’re going to steal a dog.”

Duo Bao said impatiently, “You’re no better yourself.”

Pao Ge sat in the carriage and tentatively asked, “Who are you all?”

Duo Bao was about to answer, “We are…”

Li Xuan coughed. “Aren’t you ashamed? Did you forget what you were told before we left? Under no circumstances are you to reveal your identities. If outsiders find out who we are, I’m afraid we’ll become the laughingstock of the entire capital.”

For the dignified Imperial Guard to fight with street thugs, it would be disgraceful, regardless of victory or defeat.

Pao Ge and Er Dao were utterly confused. They couldn’t immediately figure out the identities of these masked individuals. How could fighting with Heji’s thugs be related to disgrace?

At this moment, the carriage turned east after leaving Zhengyang Gate and slowly pulled up in a quiet alley.

The Imperial Guards, weapons in hand, jumped out of the carriage one after another. Once only Pao Ge and Er Dao remained in the carriage, Er Dao whispered, “Brother, they have so few people. How can they establish their territory?”

Pao Ge, however, was more optimistic than yesterday. “We’re already here; there’s no turning back once the arrow is shot. Perhaps a few officials among them are holding the line! What’s there to be afraid of with so many people accompanying us? I, Pao Ge, must drink the wine of the Eight Great Hutongs.”

On the other side, as Chen Ji was about to get out, Zhang Xia held down the hard bow inside the carriage. “This isn’t Guyuan. Using crossbows privately at the foot of the Imperial City is a capital crime of treason. Remember, no armor, no crossbows. Also, don’t cause too many deaths. If too many people die, this matter cannot be covered up.”

Chen Ji put down the crossbow. “How many can die at most?”

Zhang Xia thought for a moment. “Fewer than five deaths can be covered up; more than five cannot. Also, don’t expose too many official identities. If too many officials appear at once, things will escalate.”

Chen Ji acknowledged, “Understood.”

After everyone had gotten out of the carriage, Zhang Xia pulled him back, and said seriously, “The Zhang family wants fifty percent of the profits from this business.”

Chen Ji was slightly taken aback. “You figured out what I’m going to do?”

Zhang Xia speculated, “You made a lot of money trading information in Guyuan, but most of it was gone when you returned. Yet your cultivation level has significantly improved. If I’m right, your cultivation path must be extremely expensive, so you need to find a way to make money. In the Outer City, there aren’t many ways to make quick money, and only one or two methods are related to Heji.”

Chen Ji smiled. “Let’s go.”

Zhang Xia sat in the carriage, watching Chen Ji get off. She suddenly asked, “My Zhang family only provided a few carriages, yet we’re taking half the profits. Aren’t you going to ask why?”

Chen Ji waved his hand, his back to her. “You must have your reasons. No need to ask so many questions.”

Zhang Xia sat in the carriage, pondering for a moment. Then she also got out and went to the tallest tavern nearby, looking down into the Eight Great Hutongs.

Deep within the alleys of the Eight Great Hutongs lay Stone Alley.

The middle-aged man who had led the search for Pao Ge yesterday was sitting ramrod straight on a long bench, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, resting with his eyes closed. If one looked closely, it appeared he was sitting, but his buttocks were hovering, not touching the bench.

Behind him, a theatrical troupe was performing “Dingxi Mountain” and had just reached the part about ‘the general returning home gloriously after a hundred battles’. The middle-aged man’s head swayed slightly, as if he was enjoying the performance.

The voice of a martial actor came from the troupe. Outside the troupe’s wall, the middle-aged man, with his eyes closed, moved his lips along: “For twenty years, loyal bones were buried beneath Dingxi Mountain. Now, having achieved success, I hesitate to retire. I left home as a young man, with a silver spear and a white horse, laughing in the spring breeze. But now I return to bow beneath the steps, my tattered armor knocking on the door, meeting no old friends.”

The middle-aged man had heard it countless times and recited it word for word.

A thug hurried past the red lanterns and came before the middle-aged man. “Master Qian, we still haven’t found Pao Ge. It’s as if he’s gone underground.”

Master Qian opened his eyes. “Did the Cao Gang take the money?”

The thug replied, “They did. But the Cao Gang said no one escaped by water yesterday. Instead, some people from the Three Mountains Society came in from outside. The Cao Gang warned us that a big figure from the Three Mountains Society has recently returned to the capital, and advised us to be careful.”

Master Qian said calmly, “The Cao Gang is always stirring up trouble. The Three Mountains Society has exposed many of their dirty dealings, so they hold grudges. Therefore, they try to sour everyone’s relationship with the Three Mountains Society. Those ‘military masters’ of the Three Mountains Society aren’t focused on business; they have their own affairs to attend to. We shouldn’t interfere or provoke them.”

The thug acknowledged, “Don’t worry, we are very polite to Duke Qi.”

Just then, another thug ran up. “Master Qian!”

Master Qian turned his head. “Did you find him?”

The thug said, panting, “Found him, found him!”

Master Qian slowly stood up, smoothing the wrinkles on his long gown. “Where did you find him?”

The thug replied, “In Li Shamao Alley.”

Master Qian’s hand, which was smoothing his long gown, suddenly paused. “He dares to come back?”

“Yes, he said he’d come back today to establish his territory again!”

Master Qian lifted his robe and turned to leave. “He’s quite a character. He probably realized he couldn’t escape and wants to die standing.”

Master Qian walked ahead, and thugs converged from every alley behind him. Guests looked down from the second floor, seeing countless thugs swarming past under the red lanterns.

Upon reaching Li Shamao Alley, Pao Ge and Er Dao stood alone at the alley entrance, the alley already packed with thugs. In the small buildings on both sides of the alley, guests and women alike ignored their business and eagerly pushed open small windows to peer out.

Seeing Master Qian approach, the thugs all made way for him.

Master Qian came closer, looked Pao Ge up and down, and narrowed his eyes. “Still trying to establish your territory?”

Pao Ge laughed heartily. “Since I’ve come to this bustling capital and seen the great world, there’s no reason to leave in disgrace. I must establish this territory.”

Master Qian seemed to sigh with emotion. “Pao Ge, you were born at the wrong time. Had you come to the capital earlier, you might have been a prominent figure in storytellers’ tales. Your name might even be known among the capital’s pugilists. If that were the case, I might even be working for you.”

Pao Ge smiled slightly. “It’s not too late for you to pledge allegiance to me now, Master Qian. If you do so now, you’ll be the first to submit a ‘pledge of loyalty’.”

Master Qian seemed to hear a joke. “If you can truly establish your territory at the foot of the Imperial City, why wouldn’t I bring the Xingyi sect to work for you? But it’s too early to talk about that now. First, survive.”

Pao Ge took off his black short jacket and casually tossed it at his feet.

He took a deep breath. “Come on, life and death are destined, wealth and honor depend on heaven!”

Master Qian calmly said, “Go.”

The thugs, armed with iron rulers and axes, charged out from beside Master Qian, surging towards Pao Ge. In the narrow alley, onlookers from the buildings saw the thugs passing through rows of red lanterns, getting closer and closer to Pao Ge.

A woman whispered from behind a window crack, “It would be such a pity for him to die like this.”

The next moment, a team of masked individuals in gray clothes suddenly stormed in from outside the alley, passed by Pao Ge, and collided head-on with the charging thugs.

As soon as they engaged, the onlookers from the buildings almost thought it was an army that had invaded, their formation tight and their movements unified. But strangely, these masked individuals held their long spears upside down, only using the wooden butts of the spears to jab people.

They formed a formation.

Qi Zhenzhuo wielded a long spear at the very front. Zhou Chong and Zhou Li held shields, guarding the flanks. Duo Bao and Li Cen carried long bamboo poles. Behind them were four more spearmen and two Imperial Guards wielding tridents as support, protecting the flanks and the archers.

A total of twelve people.

The twelve-man ‘Mandarin Duck Formation’ charged forward in the dim alley. The extremely long bamboo poles reached before the men. Their dense branches and sharp tips forced the opposing thugs into awkward evasion.

A thug had just raised his axe to chop down when a bamboo pole immediately thrust forward, its branches sweeping, making the thug unable to open his eyes. He gritted his teeth and charged forward with his eyes closed, but the bamboo’s branches lifted his axe handle high, preventing him from striking down.

Qi Zhenzhuo hesitated for a moment. Duo Bao, who was holding the bamboo pole, kicked him in frustration and angrily whispered, “What are you waiting for? What did the instructor teach you? If you can’t do it, I’ll take the bamboo pole!”

“Oh, oh,” Qi Zhenzhuo quickly lunged forward and fiercely jabbed the thug in the chest with the butt of his spear. It immediately broke two ribs, causing the thug to gasp for breath in pain and collapse to the ground, crying out.

More thugs, unwilling to believe their defeat, charged forward. The Imperial Guards again used the same tactic, knocking down two more. This single move rendered the thugs helpless.

In just one encounter, they forced the thugs to retreat repeatedly, their momentum extremely fierce.

Master Qian narrowed his eyes from behind the crowd. When had the street gangs ever fought against such a tightly coordinated force? This wasn’t a street brawl; it was clearly an army!

But how could there be an army in a city alley?

He muttered to himself, “The Three Mountains Society?”

At this moment, the Imperial Guards charged forward in silence, focused solely on their task. Their last confrontation with Jing Dynasty’s Tiance Army had been too frustrating. Those Tiance Army soldiers were battle-hardened, every veteran extremely formidable, and every move was filled with psychological warfare. Even though they were officials, the Tiance Army had overwhelmed them.

Now, having returned to the capital after fighting the Tiance Army, the Imperial Guards felt much more relaxed.

Qi Zhenzhuo mumbled softly, “It doesn’t seem that hard after all.”

As they charged, the thugs, seeing they couldn’t get close to the formation, began throwing flying axes from a distance. But as soon as the axes left their hands, Zhou Chong and Zhou Li, armed with long shields, blocked the front of the formation, like closing a large gate.

Clang, clang, clang went the flying axes as they struck the shields, unable to penetrate. In this narrow alley, the Mandarin Duck Formation was like a thick-skinned porcupine covered in thorns, charging headlong, jabbing anyone in its path.

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, hundreds of thugs were pushed halfway down the alley by the Mandarin Duck Formation, with cries of agony filling the ground… Heji hadn’t suffered such a heavy loss in over ten years!

A thug urgently said by Master Qian’s side, “Master Qian, you must act. We can’t go on without your intervention.”

Master Qian silently observed the Mandarin Duck Formation. After a long moment, he suddenly spoke, “You, take fifty men and circle around from the back so they can’t defend both ends. I don’t think they’re that coordinated.”

He then pointed to another man. “Gou Sheng, you lead another fifty men and ambush them in the brothel. When they pass the entrance, charge out with tables and chairs as shields. You must cut them into three sections from the middle! Remember this: if you succeed, I’ll reward you fifty taels of silver, and I’ll pay for your medical expenses!”

“Alright, you just wait and see!”

After giving these instructions, Master Qian slowly retreated, allowing the masked group to push deeper into the alley.

Just as the Imperial Guards fought their way past the entrance of Yihong Courtyard, the small gate of Yihong Courtyard suddenly swung open. Thugs, using tables and chairs as shields, brazenly crashed into the side of the Mandarin Duck Formation.

In the narrow terrain, the Mandarin Duck Formation was arranged in a long line. Its sides were its weakest point, and the bamboo poles couldn’t be turned around in time.

The spearmen on the flanks and the trident-wielding supports tried to block the thugs. But too many thugs rushed out, and the Imperial Guards had only drilled for one day, so they weren’t proficient in formation changes. For a moment, the thugs actually managed to break through, and the situation instantly changed from a one-sided charge to a chaotic melee.

Li Xuan, who was maintaining the formation from the rear, looked at Chen Ji. “Should we intervene and help?”

Chen Ji shook his head. “They are officials; they won’t die. It’s not a bad thing to encounter setbacks and variables now. It’s better to learn a lesson now than to lose a life on the battlefield. Right now, they’re only facing street gangs. If they were to truly encounter Jing Dynasty elites, the enemy would have even more ways to dismantle their formation.”

Li Xuan looked back along the way they had come. Dozens of thugs were already lying on the ground, unable to get up. Yet not a single Imperial Guard had been injured so far. The sharpness of the formation was beginning to show.

In the hands of the Imperial Guards, the Mandarin Duck Formation was like a sword covered in years of dust. Each training session was like wiping away the rust and dust from its surface.

It was precisely this integrated offensive and defensive formation that Qi Jiguang’s army relied on, killing three hundred Japanese invaders while losing only three men, creating a legendary casualty ratio during the late Ming Dynasty.

Nine battles, nine victories, and five thousand five hundred enemy heads taken.

At this moment, shouts of battle came from behind the Imperial Guards again. A thug, leading fifty men, charged forward, intending to surround the Imperial Guards.

Chen Ji said to Li Xuan, “Retreat! I’ll clear the path, you cover the rear.”

He turned and met the surrounding thugs. Li Xuan charged into the Mandarin Duck Formation to restore order, clearing out the thugs who had breached it one by one. The Mandarin Duck Formation turned with Chen Ji and charged back the way they came.

It was precisely during this brief moment of the shields turning that Master Qian suddenly grabbed an axe from beside him and threw it. “You think you can leave without leaving some men behind? Is this a place where you can come and go as you please?”

As the axe flew towards him, Li Xuan leaped up and kicked the axe handle in mid-air. The axe buzzed as it flew back, faster than it had come.

Master Qian tilted his head, and the axe whistled past his face, slicing into the chest of the thug behind him.

Master Qian’s heart jumped in surprise. He spun around.

A master!

The thug next to him urgently said, “Master Qian, they’re getting away!”

But Master Qian didn’t dare to pursue them rashly at that moment.

In the alley, Chen Ji cleared the path at the front, and Li Xuan guarded the rear. In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Imperial Guards fought their way out the same way they came and headed straight into the night of the East City.

Li Xuan waited for all his comrades to get clear, then fought and retreated, leaving the alley.

Master Qian looked at the chaotic alley and the thugs writhing in agony on the ground. For a moment, he couldn’t believe that the opponents had truly escaped unharmed.

Coming and going as they pleased.

Master Qian said coldly, “Pursue them! I don’t believe so many people can vanish without a trace!”

The thugs chased for several li, passing through alley after alley. But apart from finding a few discarded bamboo poles, the masked individuals seemed to have vanished into thin air.

While they were searching, a carriage drove past on Zhengyang Gate Street. When the carriage encountered the thugs, the coachman swore, “You dare to block anyone’s carriage? Don’t you know the rules? Get out of the way!”

The thugs glanced at the openwork carvings on the carriage.

Peacocks – a third-rank official!

They quickly moved to the side of the road and said respectfully, “We did not mean to obstruct your carriage, Your Excellency. Please forgive us.”

The coachman waved his whip, still muttering curses, and drove the carriage past the thugs. “Next time, I’ll have all of you arrested and handed over to the authorities!”

Only after the carriage had disappeared into the night did the thugs slowly let out a sigh of relief and continued searching for traces of the masked individuals.

Inside the departing carriage, someone was quietly complaining, “Zhou Chong, your timing with the shield was too slow! A flying axe almost hit me just now!”

“Don’t you dare talk about me! Every time you thrust your spear, you’re not decisive enough, it makes me want to curse! And you, Duo Bao, your bamboo pole hit my face several times. Can you be more careful?”

“Bullshit! You were the one who moved into my bamboo pole’s way! I saved you several times!”

The six carriages split up, filled with grumbles and complaints, and drove into the Inner City through Chongwen Gate, Zhengyang Gate, and Xuanwu Gate respectively, disappearing from sight.