The setting sun dipped below the horizon, the fiery sky painting the clouds in fierce, burning hues before slowly fading away.

Chen Ji, wearing a conical hat, stood by a pastry shop outside Cui Yun Lane. While pretending to browse the pastries, he subtly glanced into the lane from the corner of his eye.

The steward of the Chen household stood at the doorway, shouting loudly, “Quick, quick, quick! Lift that box onto the carriage! We don’t know when the Liu family’s soldiers and horses will arrive, so we must not let them get their hands on anything!”

Two young servants carried a large box out the door. As they stepped over the threshold, one of them accidentally tripped, causing the box to fall and spill its contents onto the ground – a pile of gold, silver, and fine silks. Among them, a ‘phoenix crown with blue floral embellishments’ was particularly eye-catching.

The steward’s face changed. Cursing, he rushed forward to gather the silks back into the box. “Do you want to die?! If you break anything, you won’t be able to compensate even with your lives!”

Chen Ji counted out twelve copper coins from his sleeve and handed them to the shopkeeper. Chewing on a golden-fried *ma hua* from the paper wrapper, he watched the lane expressionlessly.

Just then, the heavy sound of horse hooves echoed from the distance.

Chen Ji turned his head to look. It was Zhang Xia, riding a red horse, galloping like thunder into Cui Yun Lane. He slightly lowered his head to avoid being recognized.

Zhang Xia stopped her horse in front of the Chen household gate and looked curiously at the steward and the others. “What are you all doing?”

The steward replied awkwardly, “We heard there’s a military disturbance in the city, so we’re quickly packing up the silks and moving them to another location to avoid them being damaged by the soldiers and ruffians.”

Zhang Xia, sitting in the saddle of her red horse, raised an eyebrow. “Now that Minister Chen and my father are under house arrest at the government office, you’re not thinking of ways to rescue them, but instead are packing up silks?!”

The Chen household steward said with a bitter face, “Second Miss Zhang, you jest. How can servants like us, who don’t even have the strength to tie a chicken, rescue anyone? Preserving the family’s valuable silks is all we can do.”

Zhang Xia snorted coldly. “As you wish!”

With that, she urged her horse towards the gate of the Zhang household in Cui Yun Lane, handed the reins to a servant, and hurried inside.

This entire lane originally contained twelve mansions. Later, when Zhang Zhuo and Chen Li Qin came to Luo City, they successively bought and connected the other mansions, gradually leaving only four households belonging to officials and nobles.

Chen Ji couldn’t find the golden pig now and couldn’t leave Luo City. He had only come to seek Zhang Zhuo to discuss countermeasures. He hadn’t expected the Liu family to act so quickly, directly putting Zhang Zhuo and Chen Li Qin under house arrest at the government office, preventing them from moving.

He turned to leave, but saw a mass of black cavalry charging from the end of the long street.

This cavalry force was completely different from the previous elephant-armored soldiers and infantry. Everyone wore black heavy armor and iron helmets with white tassels swaying in the wind. Beneath the helmets, black lacquer face masks covered their faces, making them look fierce and unknown, their imposing manner overwhelming.

These were the Liu family’s *Hu Jia* iron cavalry.

Chen Ji stood rooted to the spot, watching as this cavalry unit, holding their long spears upside down, rode into Cui Yun Lane, wantonly driving away idlers and miscellaneous people.

A young servant spread his arms to block the horses. “What are you doing? This is the mansion of the Luo City Assistant Commissioner, you cannot mess around here!”

One *Hu Jia* iron cavalry soldier urged his horse forward and, without warning, pierced the young servant with a spear, then stepped over his corpse. The steward was so scared his liver and gall almost burst; he quickly hid to the side.

The leader of the iron cavalry stopped his horse in front of the Chen household gate and stood there, not even sparing a glance at the gold, silver, and silks. A voice transmitted from beneath his face mask, cold as ice. “Search the premises. Bring out all of Zhang Zhuo and Chen Li Qin’s family members, leave no one alive!”

As his words fell, the *Hu Jia* iron cavalry split into two teams. One team rushed into the Zhang household, and the other rushed into the Chen household.

Chen Ji hesitated for two breaths, then immediately dropped the *ma hua* in his hand and turned to leave.

He came to the small lane outside the backyard of the Zhang household, lifted his head, and assessed the two-story-high gray-tiled, white-walled Zhang mansion. In the narrow lane, he jumped and kicked the wall on the other side, using the reaction force to lightly float over the high wall of the Zhang household.

Inside the yard, screams and wails rose and fell. Servants, maids, concubines, and relatives fled in every direction. Soldiers and horses were in chaos.

Chen Ji crouched low behind a rockery and quietly observed. He saw a flash of fiery red being chased by an iron cavalry soldier into the back residence. It was Zhang Xia.

Chen Ji closed his eyes and thought for a moment. When he reopened them, he had already quietly approached under the cover of night.

In the back residence, Zhang Xia was fleeing for her life while looking back in panic. The black-armored warrior behind her was clearly wearing heavy armor, yet was running faster than her.

Forced into a corner, she panicked and, without choosing a path, could only scramble into a pavilion building.

Zhang Xia turned and closed the door, then pulled an eight-immortal table from the room to prop against the door.

Before she even had a chance to catch her breath, the black-armored warrior outside the door kicked the door hard. With a boom, the door flew open, and Zhang Xia was knocked to the ground by the overturned table!

She looked up in horror and saw the black-armored warrior standing solemnly outside the door. Moonlight streamed into the room, and she could only see his dark silhouette against the light.

Zhang Xia feigned calmness and said, “According to the Da Ning Law Code, Article 18, Section 1, all those who plot rebellion, regardless of whether they are the principal offenders or accessories, shall be put to death by *lingchi*! Grandfathers and grandsons, fathers and sons, brothers, and even uncles and cousins of different surnames shall all be beheaded!”

The black-armored warrior seemed not to have heard. The face masked by his face mask showed no expression. Holding his long spear upside down, he stepped over the threshold and approached step by step.

Zhang Xia continued to tremble and say, “All those who plot rebellion, their mothers and daughters, wives and concubines, sisters shall all be sold to the training workshops as slaves! All those who know but do not report shall be caned one hundred times and exiled three thousand *li*!”

The black-armored warrior’s footsteps did not stop. His shadow gradually covered Zhang Xia’s face.

However, just at this moment, he suddenly noticed that his shadow, cast by the moonlight, seemed to have something added to it…

He focused his gaze. Two black shadows seemed to be slowly wriggling on either side of his shadow’s head, like two hands growing out from beside his head.

Something is wrong. There’s someone behind me!

The black-armored warrior instinctively wanted to raise his spear and sweep horizontally, but it was already too late.

Chen Ji extended both hands from behind him, clamped his neck, and twisted forcefully. A crisp bone-cracking sound rang out, and the black-armored warrior’s body went limp and fell towards the ground.

Chen Ji supported the black-armored warrior and slowly lowered him to the ground. Zhang Xia was still in shock and said in a low voice, “Chen Ji, how are you here?”

He explained lightly, “I came to see Minister Zhang about something. I just happened to see the Liu family’s private army rushing into the Zhang household.”

Zhang Xia asked, “So you came in to save me?”

“No.”

Zhang Xia was startled. “Ah?”

As he spoke, Chen Ji lifted the corpse’s black lacquer face mask. Beneath the face mask was a young, immature face, at most only twenty-one or twenty-two years old.

He stood up and untied his outer clothes. He took off his clothes piece by piece, leaving only his white inner lining.

Zhang Xia asked suspiciously, “What are you going to do?!”

Chen Ji didn’t answer, only silently squatted down and untied the corpse’s armor.

Zhang Xia immediately reacted and helped him strip off the black-armored warrior’s heavy armor, helmet, shoulder armor, body armor, chest armor, front armor, arm armor, and leg armor, placing them on the ground piece by piece.

She said with concern, “You want to blend in with them? What if you’re exposed?”

Chen Ji explained, “Only by blending in with them can I find an opportunity to rescue Minister Zhang. He is a major figure, more intelligent than you and me, and also more aware of how to handle this military mutiny.”

He picked up the arm armor to put on, but the structure of Ning dynasty armor was complex. Just one piece of arm armor required tying three straps.

Zhang Xia pursed her lips and finally mustered the courage to pick up the body armor. “You’re putting it on wrong. First wear the body armor, then the chest armor, front armor, arm armor… Spread your arms, I’ll help you.”

Chen Ji stood still and spread his arms.

Under the moonlight, Zhang Xia bravely endured her fear, her fingers slightly trembling as she helped him put on the armor pieces one by one.

As she tied the armor straps, she asked, “Chen Ji, why aren’t you afraid?”

Chen Ji said calmly, “I am also afraid, but being afraid is useless.”

Zhang Xia asked again, “After you blend in, what’s the plan?”

Chen Ji thought for a moment. “No plan. I’ll follow them. As for where we go, I can’t decide.”

Zhang Xia hummed in response.

Silence fell in the room, broken only by the sound of the armor plates rubbing against each other.

A moment later, Zhang Xia stepped back and assessed Chen Ji. After confirming everything was right, she said, “It’s on properly.”

Chen Ji picked up the helmet from the ground and put it on his head. “Stay hidden in this room, and definitely don’t go out. After the Liu family’s private army withdraws, you can then climb out the back window, go around to the rockery behind the southwest corner. There’s a place you can use to help you climb over the mansion wall. Remember to change your clothes, yours are too conspicuous.”

As he spoke, Zhang Xia watched Chen Ji fasten the black lacquer face mask. Holding the long spear upside down, he turned and strode away. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

However, after Chen Ji left the room and hadn’t gone far, he saw a team of black-armored warriors approaching from the distance.

As they drew near, the leader’s voice, muffled by his face mask, said, “What took you so long? Have you found Zhang Zhuo’s family members in the pavilion building behind you?”

Chen Ji silently gripped the long spear in his hand tighter and replied in a muffled voice, “No.”

The black-armored warrior opposite him fell silent. The eyes behind his face mask seemed to be staring intently at him.

The black-armored warrior looked at Chen Ji again, then at the pavilion. “Are you sure?”

“Sure.”

The black-armored warrior laughed coldly. “Make way, I’ll go take a look.”

With that, he pushed Chen Ji’s shoulder, pushing him to the side, then led over ten black-armored warriors towards the pavilion, their black iron armor clanking.

Chen Ji’s eyes slowly turned cold. The corpse inside the pavilion hadn’t been dealt with yet. If the other party entered the room, they would certainly discover the corpse and Zhang Xia inside, and he would also lose his chance to blend in with the Liu family’s private army.

Chen Ji silently counted the backs of the black-armored warriors: one, two, three, four… Twelve black-armored warriors. He couldn’t kill all these people.

At this critical moment, sounds came from the flower bed outside the pavilion. The tall shrubs were shaking non-stop.

Immediately, all the black-armored warriors raised their long spears and shouted angrily, “Who’s there?! Get out!”

A flash of red hurriedly fled from the flower bed, running madly towards the distance.

Chen Ji was startled. How did Zhang Xia appear there?

Wait, this girl must have heard the sounds outside and was worried that the black-armored warriors would discover the corpse inside the room and affect his plan. So she secretly climbed out of the room through the back window, helping him by attracting the attention of all the black-armored warriors.

Chen Ji took a deep breath and followed the black-armored warriors to capture Zhang Xia. The crowd scattered through the dense rockery courtyard, surrounding and chasing.

Zhang Xia ran while looking back, finally, ‘in a panic without choosing a path,’ she ran towards Chen Ji’s direction!

The two met. Chen Ji grabbed her hands and crossed them behind her back, shouting loudly, “I caught her!”

As he spoke, while the black-armored warriors gathered around, he lowered his voice and asked, “Aren’t you afraid of death?”

Zhang Xia, with her back to him, lowered her eyelids. “I must find a way to save my father, please.”