By this time, there were no pedestrians left on the street.

The Zhang family’s carriage rattled and shook as it left Zhengyang Gate. Inside the carriage, Zhang Zheng looked at Chen Ji, truly unable to understand why Chen Ji had a grievance with the He family. “Chen Ji, what are you all going to deal with the He family for?”

Chen Ji, who had been leaning against the carriage with his eyes closed, opened them upon hearing the question. “Practicing soldiers.”

Zhang Xia glanced at Chen Ji. “Really practicing soldiers?”

Chen Ji stuck to his story stubbornly and said with absolute certainty, “Just practicing soldiers. We’ve created a formation that needs to be tested with real weapons. When colleagues spar, you can’t use deadly force, so you can never truly practice. Once our formation is proficient…”

Xiao Man leaned closer and whispered to Zhang Xia, “Second Sister, is Young Master really going to practice soldiers?”

“Fake,” Zhang Xia said softly. “When have you seen him explain so much to others? The more he explains, the emptier his heart is, and the falser his reason.”

Xiao Man made an “oh” sound.

In another carriage, the Yulin Army soldiers looked at their masked colleagues, and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Someone pointed at Duo Bao. “You boy, your eyes are already small, and with a mask on, you look even more shifty, like you’re going to steal a dog.”

Duo Bao said impatiently, “Where can you go that’s better?”

Pao Ge sat inside the carriage and asked, “Gentlemen, who are you?”

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

Li Xuan coughed. “Aren’t you ashamed? Did you forget how I instructed you when we left? No matter what, you cannot reveal your identity. If outsiders find out our identity, I fear we will become the laughing stock of the entire capital.”

For the dignified imperial guards to go and fight with thugs, they would lose face whether they won or lost.

Pao Ge and Er Dao were confused by this. For a moment, they couldn’t figure out the identity of these masked people… Fighting with He Ji’s thugs, how was that related to losing face or not losing face?

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

The Yulin Army soldiers, carrying their weapons, jumped down from the carriage one after another. When only Pao Ge and Er Dao were left in the carriage, Er Dao whispered, “Brother, they are just this few people, how can they stand against the thugs?”

Pao Ge was more open-minded than yesterday. “It’s come to this, how can you draw a bow and not release the arrow? Perhaps there are several officials among them leading the formation, you never know! With so many people accompanying us, what’s there to fear? I, Pao Ge, must drink the wine of these Eight Great Alleys.”

On the other side, Chen Ji was about to get off the carriage, but was held back by Zhang Xia, who forcefully pulled him back inside. “This place is not Gu Yuan. Using a bow and crossbow privately within the imperial city is a great crime of rebellion. Remember, no wearing armor, no using bow and crossbow. Also, don’t take too many lives. If too many people die, this matter will not be coverable.”

Chen Ji put down his bow and crossbow. “At most, how many can die?”

Zhang Xia thought for a moment. “Less than five is coverable, more than five is not coverable. Additionally, don’t expose the identities of so many officials. If too many officials appear at once, the matter will become big.”

Chen Ji responded, “Understood.”

After everyone in the carriage had gotten off, Zhang Xia pulled him again and said seriously, “For the business here, the Zhang family wants five percent.”

Chen Ji was slightly startled. “You guessed what I want to do?”

Zhang Xia speculated, “You traded news in Gu Yuan and made quite a bit of silver, but when you came back, almost all of it was gone, yet your cultivation realm has greatly improved. If I guess correctly, your path of cultivation must be extremely expensive, so you must find a way to earn money. And in this outer city, there aren’t many ways to make quick money, and those related to He Ji are only one or two.”

Chen Ji smiled. “Let’s go.”

Zhang Xia sat in the carriage, watching Chen Ji jump out. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and asked, “My Zhang family only sent out a few carriages and takes half. You don’t ask why?”

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

Zhang Xia sat in the carriage and thought for a moment, then also jumped down. She climbed to the highest wine building nearby and looked out towards the Eight Great Alleys.

Deep within the alleys of the Eight Great Alleys, in Shitou Alley.

The middle-aged man who had led the search for Pao Ge yesterday was sitting upright on a long bench, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his eyes closed in rest. If you looked carefully, you would see that though he seemed to be sitting, his buttocks were suspended, not touching the bench.

Behind him, an opera troupe was singing Dingxi Mountain, just reaching the part about ‘the general returning home with honor after a hundred battles’. The middle-aged man’s head swayed slightly, seeming to be enjoying the opera.

The martial actor’s lines from within the opera troupe were transmitted. Outside the opera troupe wall, the middle-aged man, with his eyes closed, moved his lips along: “For twenty years, loyal bones were buried under Dingxi Mountain. Now, with merit achieved, returning feels hesitant. That year, leaving home, I was a young man, with a silver spear and a white horse, laughing in the spring breeze. But now, returning to the steps below, with tattered armor knocking on the door, no old person is there to greet me.”

The middle-aged man didn’t know how many times he had listened, but he recited every word correctly.

A thug hurried over from under a red lantern and came to the middle-aged man. “Qian Ye, we still haven’t found Pao Ge. It’s like he’s hidden underground.”

Qian Ye opened his eyes. “Did Cao Bang get the silver?”

The thug replied, “He did. But Cao Bang said that no one escaped through the waterway yesterday. On the contrary, people from the Sanshan Hui came in from outside. Cao Bang reminded us that a big figure from the Sanshan Hui has recently returned to the capital, and told us to be careful.”

Qian Ye said calmly, “Cao Bang is used to stirring up trouble. The Sanshan Hui has exposed many of their dirty dealings, so they hold a grudge and want to stir up trouble with the Sanshan Hui whenever they see people. The minds of the military masters of the Sanshan Hui are not on business; they have their own things to do. We don’t need to get involved, and we certainly shouldn’t provoke them.”

The thug said “eh” and replied, “Don’t worry, we are very polite to Qi Gong.”

Just then, another thug ran over. “Qian Ye!”

Qian Ye turned his head to look. “Found him?”

The thug gasped, “Found him, found him!”

Qian Ye slowly stood up and smoothed the wrinkles on his long gown. “Where did you find him?”

The thug replied, “In Li Shamao Alley.”

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

“That’s right, he said he’s coming back to stand against the thugs today!”

Qian Ye lifted the hem of his clothes and turned to leave. “Quite a character. Perhaps he realized he couldn’t escape and wants to make a stand and die.”

Qian Ye walked in front, and thugs from a narrow alley converged behind him. Some guests looked down from the second floor, only to see densely packed thugs surging out from under the red lanterns.

By the time they reached Li Shamao Alley, Pao Ge and Er Dao stood alone at the alley entrance. The alley inside was already packed with thugs. On the small buildings on either side of the alley, guests and women ignored their business, pushing open their small windows one after another to peer out.

Seeing Qian Ye approach, the thugs parted to make a path.

Qian Ye came closer and looked Pao Ge up and down, narrowing his eyes. “Still want to stand against the thugs?”

Pao Ge laughed heartily. “Since I’ve come to this prosperous capital and seen the big world, there’s naturally no reason to leave down and out. I must stand against these thugs.”

Qian Ye seemed to be emotional. “Pao Ge was born at the wrong time. If you had come to this capital earlier, perhaps you would also be a notable figure in the storytellers’ tales, and your name would be known in the capital’s underworld. If that were the case, maybe I would also be working under you.”

Pao Ge smiled. “It’s not too late for Qian Ye to pledge allegiance to me now. If you do it now, you’ll be the first one to give your loyalty.”

Qian Ye seemed to hear a joke. “If you can truly stand against the thugs in this imperial city, what’s there to say about me bringing Xingyi Gate to work for you? But it’s too early to say such things. First, survive.”

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

He took a deep breath. “Come on, life and death are by fate, wealth is in heaven!”

Qian Ye said calmly, “Go.”

Thugs carrying iron rulers and axes rushed out from Qian Ye’s side, surging towards Pao Ge. In the narrow alley, spectators upstairs watched as the thugs passed through rows of red lanterns, getting closer and closer to Pao Ge.

Some women whispered from behind window cracks, “It’s really a pity to die like this.”

The next moment, a team of gray-clothed masked people suddenly charged in from outside the alley, passing by Pao Ge and colliding forcefully with the rushing thugs.

Just one clash, and the spectators upstairs almost thought an army had charged in. Their formation was strict, and their movements were uniform. But what was strange was that the masked people’s long spears were all held upside down, and they only used the wooden handles at the tail of the spears to stab people.

They formed a line.

Qi Jianzhuo held his long spear in the front row. Zhou Chong and Zhou Li held shields and guarded the left and right. Duo Bao and Li Cen held bamboo poles. Behind them were four more long spear holders, and two Yulin Army soldiers held tridents as blockers and disarmers, protecting the flanks and the bow and crossbow users.

A total of twelve people.

The twelve-man mandarin duck formation charged forward in the dim alley. The extremely long bamboo poles arrived before the people. The dense branches and thorns forced the thugs on the other side to avoid them.

A thug just lifted his axe, wanting to chop over, when a bamboo pole immediately stabbed at him, the branches sweeping across his eyes. He gritted his teeth and rushed forward with his eyes closed, but the bamboo pole’s branches lifted his axe handle high, making it impossible for him to chop down for a moment.

Qi Jianzhuo was momentarily indecisive. Duo Bao, who held the bamboo pole, kicked him with a look of disappointment and shouted in a low voice, “What are you doing, stunned? How did the teacher teach you? If you don’t line up, you’ll hold the bamboo pole!”

“Oh, oh,” Qi Jianzhuo quickly lunged forward and used the tail of his spear to heavily poke the thug in the chest. Two of the thug’s ribs were broken instantly, causing him to gasp for air in pain and fall to the ground groaning.

More thugs rushed forward, not believing their eyes, but the Yulin Army used the same trick again and struck down two more people. Just this one move rendered the thugs helpless.

In just a moment, they had pushed the thugs back repeatedly, with fierce momentum.

Qian Ye narrowed his eyes in the rear of the crowd. How could the underworld in the market fight against people with such strict movements? This was clearly an army, not a market!

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

He muttered to himself, “Sanshan Hui?”

At this moment, the Yulin Army soldiers were silent, focusing only on charging forward. The last time they fought against the Jing Chao Tian Ce Army was too suppressive. Those Tian Ce Army soldiers were seasoned veterans, every one of them formidable, every move full of psychological maneuvering. Even though they were officials, they were suppressed by the Tian Ce Army and couldn’t catch their breath.

And now, after fighting the Tian Ce Army and returning to the capital, the Yulin Army soldiers felt much more relaxed.

Qi Jianzhuo whispered to himself, “It doesn’t seem that difficult after all.”

While charging, the thugs saw that they couldn’t get close to the formation, so they threw flying axes from a distance. But as soon as the flying axes were thrown, Zhou Chong, Zhou Li, and others held their long shields and blocked the front of the formation, like closing a door.

Clang, clang, clang. The flying axes were nailed to the shields, unable to penetrate. In this narrow alley, the mandarin duck formation was like a wild boar covered in thorns and thick skin, rushing forward and hitting hard, stabbing whoever it saw.

In just the time it takes to burn an incense stick, hundreds of thugs were actually pushed back half an alley by the mandarin duck formation, leaving the ground filled with groans… The He family hadn’t suffered such a big loss in over ten years!

A thug urgently said to Qian Ye, “Qian Ye, you must make a move. It won’t work if you don’t.”

Qian Ye silently observed the mandarin duck formation, and after a long time, suddenly spoke. “You lead fifty people to flank them from behind, so they can’t take care of both ends. I don’t think they are that coordinated either.”

He then pointed to another person. “Dog Sheng, you lead fifty people to ambush them inside the brothel. When they pass by the door, you charge out with tables and chairs, you must cut them into three sections from the middle! Remember, if you succeed, I will reward you with fifty taels of silver, and I will pay for the medical expenses!”

“Alright, just you wait!”

After making these arrangements, Qian Ye slowly retreated, letting this group of masked people intrude further into the alley.

Just as the Yulin Army charged to the front of Yihong Courtyard, the small door of Yihong Courtyard suddenly opened, and the thugs used tables and chairs as shields, bumping their way forcefully into the side of the mandarin duck formation.

This mandarin duck formation, in the narrow and long terrain, formed a long column, and the side was the weakest point. The bamboo poles couldn’t turn back in time.

The side long spear holders and the trident-wielding blockers went to stop the thugs, but too many thugs rushed out, and the Yulin Army had only practiced for one day and were not proficient in changing formations. For a moment, they were actually charged into by the thugs, and the situation instantly changed from a one-sided charge to a chaotic fight.

Li Xuan, who was leading the formation in the rear, looked at Chen Ji. “Do you want to make a move to save the situation?”

Chen Ji shook his head. “They are officials, they won’t die. Meeting setbacks and variables now is not a bad thing. It’s better to learn a lesson at this time than to lose a life on the battlefield. Now they are only facing the market’s underworld. If they really meet the Jing Chao elite, the other side will have even more ways to dismantle the formation.”

Li Xuan turned back to look at the road they had come from. There were already dozens of thugs lying on the ground, unable to get up, while the Yulin Army had not suffered a single casualty so far. The initial sharpness of the formation was showing.

The mandarin duck formation in the hands of the Yulin Army was like a sword that had been sealed in dust for several years. Each time they practiced soldiers was like wiping away the original rust and dust from its body.

The Qi family army relied on this formation, which was both offensive and defensive, to kill three hundred Japanese pirates while suffering only three casualties, creating a myth of war damage ratio at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Nine battles, nine victories, killing five thousand five hundred enemy heads.

At this moment, the sound of shouting and killing came from behind the Yulin Army. Some thugs, leading fifty people, rushed forward, trying to surround the Yulin Army in the middle.

Chen Ji said to Li Xuan, “Withdraw! I’ll open the way, you cover the rear.”

He turned around and went to meet the surrounding thugs. Li Xuan rushed into the chaotic mandarin duck formation, clearing out the thugs one by one, and the mandarin duck formation turned around with Chen Ji and charged back towards where they had come from.

It was precisely in the gap where the shield turned direction that Qian Ye suddenly grabbed an axe from the side and threw it. “You just want to leave without leaving anyone behind? Is this a place where you can come and go as you please?”

However, as the axe flew, Li Xuan leaped up and kicked the axe handle in mid-air. The axe head flew back with a buzzing sound, faster than it had come.

Qian Ye tilted his head, and the axe whistled past him, chopping a thug behind him in the chest.

Qian Ye’s heart was shocked, and he suddenly turned back.

An expert!

The thugs beside him urgently said, “Qian Ye, they’re escaping quickly!”

But Qian Ye hesitated for a moment, not daring to chase rashly.

In the alley, Chen Ji opened the way in front, and Li Xuan covered the rear. In just the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the Yulin Army, having come from one direction, charged out from the same direction again, running straight into the east city night.

Li Xuan waited until his colleagues had all run far away before fighting his way out of the alley while retreating.

Qian Ye looked at the messy alley and the ground full of moaning thugs, unable to believe that the other side had actually completely retreated.

Coming and going as they pleased.

Qian Ye said coldly, “Chase! I don’t believe that so many people can hide without a trace!”

The thugs chased for several *li*, passing through one alley after another, but besides finding several discarded bamboo poles, the masked people from just now had disappeared as if they had evaporated.

While they were searching, a carriage drove over from Zhengyang Gate’s main street. When the carriage and the thugs met, the driver cursed and blurted out, “Who dares to block any carriage? Do you understand the rules or not? Get out of the way!”

The thugs glanced at the hollow carvings on the carriage.

A peacock, a third-rank official!

They hurriedly retreated to the side of the road and said respectfully, “We didn’t intend to block the carriage, please forgive us, sir.”

The driver cursed, whipped the carriage, and drove past the thugs. “If there’s a next time, I’ll have all of you arrested and sent to the officials!”

After the carriage disappeared into the night, the thugs slowly relaxed and continued to search for traces of the masked people.

Inside the carriage that had gone far away, someone was whispering a complaint. “Zhou Chong, you were too slow raising your shield! Just now, a flying axe almost chopped me!”

“You damn well don’t tell me off! You’re never decisive enough when you stab with the spear, and you’re always eager to scold people! And you, Duo Bao, that bamboo pole of yours hit my face several times! Can’t you be more careful?”

“Nonsense! You were the one crowding the old man’s bamboo pole! The old man saved you several times!”

The six carriages scattered, carrying full carriages of complaints and grievances, and drove into the inner city from Chongwen Gate, Zhengyang Gate, and Xuanwu Gate, disappearing from sight.

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