There are no permanent feasts in this world; we shall meet again.

As Chen Ji went south, Lady Lu turned to look at the alley.

The man holding a *ma shuo* finally looked up, revealing his left eye, which was all white.

Hu Jun-yuan, Third Master Hu.

He glanced back at the pursuers behind him and calmly said, “Don’t worry, no one will die today. We’ll meet again. He…”

Lady Lu interrupted, “You and I have been roaming the *jiang hu* for twenty years. What kind of storms haven’t we seen? This is not the time for sentimentality.”

“My employer is still my employer, it seems my worry is a bit excessive,” Third Master Hu laughed heartily, “It’s been so many years since I was last pursued, I almost forgot how to live life on the edge in the *jiang hu*.”

At this moment, hoofbeats sounded from both sides, as if the secret agents had encircled them from the flanks.

As they passed through an alley, Lady Lu’s gaze pierced through the gap in the alley and saw secret agents riding their horses parallel to them from the other side of the alley.

Hoofbeats behind them grew closer. She leaned forward on her horse and looked back, seeing Xuan She leading five secret agents in pursuit. Xuan She was shrouded in a black cloak, his face sinister.

Dozens of secret agents, like a net, were trying to trap the three of them.

Third Master Hu tightened his grip on his *ma shuo*: “Xuan She finally decided to make a move. What do you say, shall we turn back and give him a hard one?”

The young man pretending to be Liao Zhong, hunched on the horse, became interested: “That’s a good idea!”

“Barring any accidents, Chen Ji should be out of the city by now,” Lady Lu gazed at Xuan She behind them, “…Be careful, Bai Long, Bao Hou, and Tian Ma haven’t shown themselves yet. Bai Long is exceptionally cunning, almost like a demon. His absence in Changping County is already illogical.”

Third Master Hu understood. They could turn back and kill Xuan She, but they needed to be cautious.

The next moment, Third Master Hu suddenly turned his horse around and charged directly at Xuan She. He lowered his head, clamping the *ma shuo* under his armpit, with its spearhead, his nose bridge, and his eyes all in alignment, pointing directly at Xuan She.

The main road in Changping County was only two carts wide; when warhorses charged, there was no avoiding each other.

Xuan She, in his black cloak, sneered, “Is Lord Chen perhaps mad? A mere Xiantian Xing Guan dares to provoke this lord.”

He said this, but a hint of suspicion arose in his heart, and he secretly motioned for the secret agent beside him to blow a bronze whistle.

*Xi que*, four tones, kill!

In the street, secret agents from the left and right flanks abandoned their horses and leaped onto the rooftops, stepping on tiles and flipping over the ridge.

As the secret agents were about to take out their hand crossbows to shoot, they saw Lady Lu suddenly leap up, lightly tapping her toes on the saddle, and gracefully landed on the rooftop facing the street. She struck a secret agent with her palm.

The sound of bones breaking was crisp and clean. The secret agent, hit by her palm, flew back like a kite with a broken string, just after flipping over the ridge, he flew back again.

This time, the eight trigrams illusory image did not appear on Lady Lu’s palm edge. She relied purely on strength, a single palm strike likely weighing over a thousand *jin*.

The secret agents on the rooftop were shocked. They immediately turned their hand crossbows towards Lady Lu, and a volley of crossbow bolts crisscrossed towards her. But Lady Lu moved like a rabbit and a falcon, like a dance, twisting her body to pass through the gaps between the arrows, arriving in front of the secret agents.

Wherever she passed, secret agents were swept off the rooftop, clearing the battlefield, leaving only Third Master Hu and Xuan She on horseback facing each other.

Third Master Hu arrived with his *ma shuo*, the *ma shuo* rubbing against the air, creating a sound like wind and thunder, as if the unchanging yellow sands and strong winds outside Guyuan City for hundreds of years!

Just as he was only one *zhang* away from Xuan She, Third Master Hu suddenly looked up.

Xuan She was startled: “Who are you?”

It really wasn’t Chen Ji!

He knew Chen Ji was skilled with a *ma shuo*, and he knew Chen Ji rode alone, carrying Liao Zhong. But when Third Master Hu turned to attack, suspicion had already arisen in Xuan She’s heart.

In a flash, Third Master Hu’s *ma shuo* was already in front of Xuan She: “Get down!”

Xuan She extended his hands from inside his black cloak, grasping the spearhead of the *ma shuo* like two dragons emerging from the sea. His black gloves and the spearhead produced a harsh friction sound, as if a rusty iron file was rubbing against the spearhead.

But the immense force carried by Third Master Hu’s charge prevented Xuan She from sitting firmly in his saddle. He was lifted off the saddle and flew backward, as if hanging from the *ma shuo*.

Xuan She pushed hard with both hands, using the force of the *ma shuo* to tumble backward.

However, at this moment, Third Master Hu roared, “Shi San, kill!”

Xuan She’s face changed drastically.

The “Liao Zhong” on Third Master Hu’s saddle suddenly moved. The young man impersonating Liao Zhong leaped into the air.

He kicked Third Master Hu mid-air. Third Master Hu, as if expecting it, raised his left hand and pressed it against the sole of the young man’s boot, sending him directly towards Xuan She, like a crossbow bolt from a divine arbalest on the walls of Jingji City!

Xuan She and Shi San collided in the air. The hook-bladed knife in Shi San’s hand spun in his palm and slashed towards Xuan She’s neck. Xuan She barely twisted his body to avoid it, and the hook-bladed knife left a trail of blood on his pale cheek!

Xuan She’s eyes were filled with anger: “You’re asking for death!”

He extended his right hand from his cloak, his finger touching Shi San’s left ribs. Shi San’s eyes immediately became cloudy, and his mouth was sealed shut as if by glue, leaving no gap.

The Little Five Decays of Heaven and Man sealed the five senses!

Shi San flew out and landed on the rammed earth, stirring up dust. When he got back up, his eyes could not see the light of day. He could only grope around on the ground and could not speak.

But it was only in the time it took for this exchange that Third Master Hu had once again ridden his horse in front of Xuan She.

The black warhorse reared high, and when it came down, Third Master Hu’s *ma shuo*, imbued with immense power, pierced Xuan She’s chest.

Xuan She had no time to dodge. He gathered his black cloak with both hands, like a bat folding its wings, wrapping himself tightly.

The *ma shuo* pierced the intersection of his crossed arms. With a crack, Xuan She’s arms were completely broken, and his body was sent flying back more than ten *zhang* by the strike, tumbling countless times before finally coming to a stop.

But strangely, the black cloak didn’t even have a hole!

If it were anyone else, this strike would surely have pierced their heart and lungs, nailing them to the ground!

Third Master Hu frowned.

No wonder Xuan She wore this black cloak no matter the season; there was a hidden secret!

It was also at this moment that Third Master Hu realized he couldn’t smell anything. The dust stirred up on the rammed earth road, the ashes drifting from a distant fire—all scents had vanished.

This threshold of the Little Five Decays of Heaven and Man was strangely eerie. Just by piercing his body with the *ma shuo*, he himself would lose his sense of taste?

Xuan She struggled to get up from the ground, his arms dangling limply at his sides, his eyes fixed on Third Master Hu: “Who exactly are you?”

Third Master Hu sneered: “I’m your grandfather!”

He tugged on the reins, ready to give chase again, but then heard more hoofbeats approaching from a distance. Lady Lu leaped off the rooftop, picked up Shi San from the ground, and left: “More people are coming, it’s not wise to stay and fight. Let’s go!”

Third Master Hu abandoned his *ma shuo* and warhorse, following Lady Lu into an alley.

Xuan She, disregarding his broken arms, led his men in pursuit. But he watched as Lady Lu and the two men entered a house, and then the main room of the house suddenly collapsed, burying the three of them within.

The secret agents instinctively looked at Xuan She, who angrily shouted, “What are you looking at me for? Dig up this house, there must be a secret tunnel inside!”

The secret agents sheathed their knives and began to manually move bricks and rubble. But there were too many bricks in the ruins, and a very heavy beam lay across the debris; it would take at least half an hour to clear it.

“Dig! Everyone, dig!” Xuan She’s face was gloomy: “These thieves have been operating in Changping County for who knows how many years. Arrest all the Changping County Magistrate, County Assistant, and county officials and bring them back to the Imperial Prison for interrogation. I don’t believe they know nothing!”

The tunnel was dimly lit and the air was foul.

Lady Lu handed Shi San to Third Master Hu, then fumbled in the dark for an oil lamp in the tunnel, lit it, and walked forward, bending over and holding the lamp.

She hadn’t lied to Chen Ji; there was indeed a mine tunnel in Changping County.

However, this mine tunnel was a small, broken section of the Changping Coal Mine, and its end was still within Changping County city, so it was a last resort.

Lady Lu calmly said, “We have the time of three incense sticks. They probably won’t expect that the secret passage we worked so hard to find still exits within the city.”

Third Master Hu looked at Shi San in his arms: “Is he alright?”

Lady Lu said without turning her head, “He’s fine. He just can’t hear, speak, or see right now, but his life isn’t in danger. Pour water into his nose to make him drink it. The Little Five Decays of Heaven and Man will resolve itself in three days. You’ve probably also lost your sense of taste. Don’t worry, the spell will resolve itself in three days.”

Third Master Hu slowly let out a turbid breath: “You’ve dealt with Chen Ji, you should know I didn’t lie to you.”

Lady Lu was silent for two breaths: “His character is indeed steady.”

Third Master Hu suddenly said, “…Why don’t you two acknowledge each other? He won’t reveal this.”

Lady Lu said without changing her expression, “Strange, you seem more anxious than I am.”

Third Master Hu slowly said, “Do you think I didn’t see the couplet in front of your main house? All these years, after you finished dealing with the ledgers and carrier pigeon messages, you would go back and sit in the courtyard, staring blankly and cultivating, from dusk until late night, drinking jar after jar of wine. My employer, drinking like this all the time is not good.”

Lady Lu’s bending body paused, then she continued walking forward: “Old San, since I haven’t helped him or raised him all these years, I have no face to acknowledge him now. Otherwise, if he asks me where I’ve been all these years, why I didn’t see him, why I didn’t save him, I wouldn’t know how to answer.”

Third Master Hu knew where Lady Lu’s heart’s knot lay and could only sigh: “You will meet again in the future, can you bear it?”

Lady Lu whispered, “I’ve lived in Changping County all these years, rarely going to Jingcheng, precisely because I’m afraid of accidentally running into him there.”

She knew her own nature; if she saw too much, she wouldn’t be able to let go.

Third Master Hu was about to say something more, but then he heard Lady Lu change the subject: “Chen Ji brought clues about Chang Jing. This person is now dormant within the Si Li Jian, holding a high position. Once you and I are out of trouble, we must find him. Whether the General can be vindicated depends on this person.”

Third Master Hu became energized: “Really?”

“Really. After we finish this, and kill one more person, you and I will be free,” Lady Lu reached the end of the tunnel and pushed open the iron plate covering the top of the tunnel.

She lightly leaped out of the tunnel, but froze in place as if facing a formidable enemy: “Don’t come up yet, someone’s here.”

The end of the tunnel was a small civilian courtyard. The courtyard should have been piled with many paper figures and gold and silver ingots made by tomb residents, waiting to be sent to Ning Huang Ling for the Ministry of Rites’ sacrificial ceremony.

But now, they were all gone.

In the courtyard, there was a stone table with a pot of tea and two teacups.

And by the stone table, Bai Long stood in a spotless white robe.

Behind Bai Long, Bao Hou, wearing a wooden monkey mask, sat cross-legged on the ground, making kites from the bamboo strips and bamboo paper used for paper figures.

The two *Xun Dao Jing* zodiac guardians of the Secret Agent Department were just guarding the end of the tunnel, and no one knew why they were there.

“Good morning,” Bai Long turned his inscrutable dragon-patterned mask to look at Lady Lu, and with a smile in his words, he pushed a teacup across the table: “Madam warrior, come have a cup of tea, it’s still warm.”