Chen Changsheng brought a pot of wine and went alone to the city tower of Qingshan City.

From here, he could see nothing but mountains after mountains, yet it was good that he could see an end.

He went straight to the highest point of the city tower.

He sat on the roof tiles.

He only had this one pot of wine for company.

He drank from noon until twilight.

As the sky darkened, Chen Changsheng closed his eyes.

His body turned into fine sand.

He vanished with a light gust of wind through Qingshan City.

Only an empty wine jar remained on the tower.

He left just like that.

Another three years passed.

Ouyang Feng came to the tea stall at noon.

He waited for over two hours, but still hadn’t seen Chen Changsheng.

Ouyang Feng asked, “Will he really come?”

Yan Huanglou shook his head. “Hard to say. He might have just said it casually, but he’ll definitely come back.”

Ouyang Feng waited like that until sunset.

The sky grew completely dark.

Voices on the street went from few to many, then many to few, until only patrolling government officers remained.

Yan Huanglou said, “Still staying? I have to pack up.”

Ouyang Feng snapped back to reality. He sighed helplessly and said, “I’ll wait for him again tomorrow.”

“You should come early then.”

“Okay.”

Yan Huanglou packed up his stall and went home.

He put the bag of silver Chen Changsheng hadn’t taken back into its hiding place.

He locked it with three locks.

Chen Changsheng hadn’t taken that silver, but actually, he had taken something.

Only, what he took just then were two copper coins placed beside the bag.

Yan Huanglou remembered and let out a long sigh.

He repeated the words he’d said that afternoon: “How could there be such a person?”

He couldn’t understand it.

Three more days passed in the blink of an eye.

Yan Huanglou cooked plain congee for three straight days. He waited for Chen Changsheng, but over those three days, he never came.

As for the extra congee, he would find a bowl to put it in.

He thought he’d heat it up for Chen Changsheng when he came.

But in the end, he didn’t get the chance.

As for Ouyang Feng, he had waited three whole days too. He arrived earliest and left latest.

Yan Huanglou breathed softly and said, “He’s probably no longer in Qingshan City.”

Ouyang Feng had also imagined this possibility.

He could only sigh and say, “I still haven’t gotten it clearly settled.”

Yan Huanglou asked curiously, “What matter makes you so determined?”

Ouyang Feng held out his hand. A single copper coin lay on his palm.

Yan Huanglou looked over and blinked. “What do you mean?”

Ouyang Feng thought it over but didn’t explain. He put the copper coin away.

“I can still wait one more day. If I don’t see him tomorrow, I’ll leave.”

He had lingered in Qingshan City too long. He had no more time to spare.

When that day arrived.

Ouyang Feng still came as before, waiting from morning till evening, until Yan Huanglou packed up.

Yan Huanglou decided to be generous for once and treated Ouyang Feng to a bowl of tea.

But only one coin’s worth.

Ouyang Feng drank the tea in one gulp and said, “My thanks. After this, I won’t come again.”

“Farewell. Until we meet again.”

Ouyang Feng left the tea stall, setting off from Qingshan City under the cover of night.

Yan Huanglou sighed and cleaned up the tea stall alone.

Once again, there was no one to talk to.

Aqing went with her father to sell peaches in the street.

She hoped to see Changsheng.

Because Xiao Qing had died, she felt very sad and wanted to ask Changsheng if he had any way to help.

But in the end, she didn’t see him.

The old man at the tea stall told her, “Changsheng hasn’t come for several days now. I guess he’s left.”

“Left? Go? Where?”

Yan Huanglou said, “Who knows? But definitely not inside Qingshan City anymore.”

“Outside the city?” Aqing asked, blinking.

Yan Huanglou thought it over but corrected himself, “Outside the mountains.”

Aqing paused. She asked curiously, “What is it like? Outside the mountains?”

Yan Huanglou was startled by her question. He shook his head with a wry smile. “I don’t know.”

He had never been there either.

Aqing asked again, “When will Changsheng? Come back?”

Yan Huanglou considered it and said, “Maybe he won’t come back.”

“Won’t come back…”

Aqing felt quite downcast upon hearing this.

She lowered her head to look at the bamboo container in her arms.

Inside was Xiao Qing, who had stopped moving.

She was very sad, but she didn’t know how to express it.

Xiao Qing was gone. Changsheng had left too.

Because of this, the young girl felt gloomy for many days.

Though it was only a few days.

Chen Changsheng was like a passing traveler. Even though people might not remember him for long, when they saw him again later, they could still recall someone like him.

After all, that’s just how ordinary people are.

The Southern Region of Da Xiang became increasingly restless.

That year, the Rebel Army issued widespread invitations to heroes, recruiting soldiers and purchasing horses, building themselves to a significant size.

News spread throughout the entire Southern Region, immediately drawing countless responses.

Within half a year, tens of thousands of Jing people had joined them.

In the late winter of that year.

The Rebel Army’s city was established, at Tongshun Prefecture.

The city was named Kangding.

On the day the city was erected, they declared their own king and state.

They called it “Oppose Xiang, Restore Jing,” their Righteous Army.

Prince of Xiang, Zhao Zhen, was furious.

The plan to send troops west against Western Xiao in the spring was thus shelved.

He waved his hand and dispatched one hundred thousand troops to crush the Rebels.

But then trouble struck once the army reached Tongtian River.

They couldn’t cross.

The Rebels had destroyed all the bridges capable of crossing the river.

They also stationed soldiers along the riverbanks to defend.

Xiang Army planned to detour, but got ambushed and harassed instead, suffering repeated defeats.

They lost several thousand soldiers before even meeting the enemy face-to-face.

That left only one long detour.

Down south, skirting Abyss River!

But the Rebel Army moved much faster than they did.

Within mere dozens of days, the Rebels advanced straight from Everview Mountain into Qingshan City.

They severed the last path open to Xiang Army.

The main battlefield now shifted from Kangding City directly to Abyss River!

On that day, the Righteous Army entered Qingshan City.

Panic spread among the people. Every household bolted their doors.

Some followed old escape routes out of Qingshan City and avoided calamity.

All the government soldiers and officers in Qingshan City were captured.

The city fell under the control of the Righteous Army.

The first thing they did after entering the city was, naturally, to gather wealth!

Waging war required silver, after all!

Whatever type of army it was, this was an unavoidable protocol once they broke into a city.

However, the Righteous Army was comparatively more humane. They took only sixty percent of the wealth. Leaving the remaining forty percent for the people.

They didn’t steal everything completely.

“Young Master, the Manor of Prince Yu lies right ahead.”

“Mm.”

The man clad in luxurious brocade pushed open the gates to Manor of Prince Yu.

Upon entering, he saw utter disarray everywhere.

Yan Ruchu’s gaze swept across everything. He walked all the way forward until reaching the main hall of Manor of Prince Yu.

He stepped up and burned two sticks of incense.

Then he ordered people to clean up this Manor of Prince Yu.

A sideways glance from Yan Ruchu caught the painting hanging on the wall.

“Is this my uncle whom I’ve never met?”

He reached out his hand, wanting to take down the painting.

The moment he touched it, his mind abruptly froze.

In the blink of an eye, he entered the painting.

“Young Master?”

A guard called out from the side, but Yan Ruchu showed no response.

“Young Master? Young Master?”