The heavy rain began to fall relentlessly, and the paper lanterns hanging on most doors were quickly extinguished by the downpour. At this late hour, the street was deserted. Usually, a few vendors would remain, but tonight's storm had driven everyone indoors.
On this dark, wet street, Dong Shun gripped his wife, Dong Qiji's, hand as they fled, pursued by a group of ten men in black. Dong Qiji carried their daughter, Dong Lanying, strapped to her back, gripping a sword tightly in her right hand.
One of the pursuers kicked a hawker's stool on the street. It spun and struck the back of Dong Qiji's right calf, causing her to lose balance and slowly collapse to the slick ground. The ten men in black flew directly toward the couple. Dong Shun and Dong Qiji quickly scrambled back-to-back, completely surrounded.
Everyone stood motionless, testing each other's resolve. Immediately afterward, the night sky was torn by a sudden, booming clap of thunder, causing Dong Lanying to let out a piercing scream.
Dong Shun whispered fiercely, "Be careful."
Dong Qiji replied, her voice strained, "So are you."
One of the men in black stepped forward and demanded, his voice muffled by the rain, "Give it back!"
Dong Shun wasted no time. He grabbed Dong Qiji's belt and, with a powerful heave, threw her over the heads of the surrounding men. He shouted desperately, "Go now! Go get da ge!"
Dong Qiji ran, her lungs burning, the weight of her daughter, Dong Lanying, a heavy, suffocating burden. She knew the Rao Manor was close, but the two masked men pursuing her were dangerously fast.
She shouted back, her voice shredded by the rain and exertion, "Shun ge…"
Dong Shun shouted in return, his voice strained by the attack, "Quickly leave! Go get da ge!" It was difficult for him to protect himself, as eight men struck at him from all directions.
A few blocks further down the street, Dong Qiji finally arrived at the imposing Rao Manor. She rushed to the massive door and started knocking hard, yelling desperately, "Open the door! Someone opens the door!"
The two masked men caught up to her, and the three of them immediately engaged in a fierce, wet battle in front of the gate. One man kicked Dong Qiji hard in the chest, sending her stumbling backward toward the front stairs. The man rushed toward the injured Dong Qiji and Dong Lanying, still strapped to her back.
Just when the two masked men were twenty feet away from Dong Qiji, the door of Rao's mansion suddenly burst open. Rao Qingsheng flew out like an arrow, rushing directly toward the two attackers. Coming quickly behind him was Madame Rao, holding a protective umbrella.
Madame Rao rushed toward the injured woman. "Qiji Meimei!" Madame Rao helped Dong Qiji to her feet.
The two women watched as the three men fought fiercely in the street. The loud, rhythmic sounds of the men's feet splashing on the wet cobblestones echoed loudly through the stormy night.
Within a few rapid moves, the two masked men were soundly defeated by Rao Qingsheng's skill. But in the distance, the main contingent of eight men, still chasing a battered Dong Shun, raced toward the Rao Manor.
Rao Qingsheng rushed forward at the eight remaining men and immediately engaged them. He drew two butterfly swords from the sheath on his left belt. His blades swiftly sliced through the rain and swung toward the masked men.
Two masked men simultaneously swung their swords at him. Rao Qingsheng blocked their attack using one of his butterfly swords, then sprinted behind them and struck them sharply on the neck with the hilt of the blade. The two were instantly knocked to the slick ground. Immediately afterward, another man stabbed at him. He flipped his right butterfly sword up to his chest, blocking the incoming blade. He then quickly flipped his left blade and struck the man in the head, dropping him to the ground.
With fluid precision, Rao Qingsheng threw his right butterfly sword into the cluster of the four remaining men, momentarily disrupting their formation. He rushed toward the person on his right, twisted expertly in the rain, and slammed into the man's chest, sending him flying twenty feet away. He quickly retrieved his butterfly sword and walked back toward Rao Manor.
Rao Qingsheng watched the ten defeated men slowly begin to struggle to their feet, only to see a woman holding an umbrella walking toward Rao Manor from a distance. The woman stopped and stood silently among the ten masked men.
Rao Qingsheng looked at the woman with the umbrella and said, his voice polite but firm, "Ma Furen, I apologize for my bad hospitality."
Lin Daiyu looked at Rao Qingsheng with a deceptively sweet smile. "Chief Rao, we want Dong Shun and his family. If you step aside, I will pretend you are not involved with them."
Rao Qingsheng's grip tightened on his swords. "What if I refuse?"
Lin Daiyu's smile became predatory. "I suggest Chief Rao think about it again. The person you protect has stolen something from Chief Cao. Chief Cao wants what is his."
"He is my sworn brother, I will not turn a blind eye," Rao Qingsheng declared.
Lin Daiyu shrugged. "I can only suggest. The Rao family is as famous as the other three. Do you really want to protect the thief?"
Rao Qingsheng challenged her. "As far as I know, the Ma clan has nothing to do with the four houses."
"We don't; we are just returning a favor to the Cao household, that is all," she said smoothly. She looked back at the ten masked men. "Let's leave." She took a few steps, then paused and turned back, her voice dropping to a warning tone. "Chief Rao, as a fellow martial artist in Wulin, don't say I haven't warned you."
She reached into her robe and took out fireworks. At the stroke of midnight, the rain finally stopped, and a red flare illuminated the dark sky in front of Rao Manor.
In a nearby inn, sitting upstairs on the outskirts of the city, Mu Jiao Long was calmly drinking tea. He shook his head slowly as the scene unfolded outside.
Mu Jiao Long looked at the young man sitting across from him. He said, "Dishi, that's the Wang signal."
Mu Dishi looked at his elder. "What does it mean?"
Mu Jiao Long explained the flare's ambiguity. "Sometimes it asks for help, sometimes it marks an enemy's location."
Mu Dishi, always ready for action, asked, "Should we go take a look?"
Mu Jiao Long, protective and weary of the martial world's trouble, smiled at Mu Dishi. "No need. It's not our problem. Hurry up and eat; we will go to Tong village tomorrow morning."
Standing on the hill with his umbrella, Wang Zedong watched the fire signal flares bloom across the dark night sky. He turned to the man beside him. "Chief Cao, are you sure about this?"
Cao Fengge stood beside Wang Zedong, also holding an umbrella, his gaze fixed on the spreading signal. Cao Fengge's voice was smooth and confident. "Thank you for your help, Chief Wang. I will deal with it in the future. This is between me and Dong Shun and has nothing to do with you and Rao Qingsheng." He sighed, a practiced gesture of reluctance. "But if Rao Qingsheng wants to get in my way, then I have no problem eliminating him from the martial world."
Cao Fengge slowly descended the mountain, leaving Wang Zedong behind in the rain. His one hundred archers followed him into the night.