The storm was gone, but the wetness remained.
The night air was no longer frantic, but a deep, saturated velvet that muffled every distant sound. The clouds, having emptied their fury, had shredded and scattered, allowing a cleansed, glacial moon to break through. It wasn't a warm light, but a stark, silver sheen that poured over the landscape.
Everything glistened with a defiant shine. The asphalt of the road looked like a ribbon of black glass, reflecting the moon and the sickly orange streetlights in wavering, elongated columns. Tree branches, weighed down and still dripping, cast shadows that were sharper and darker than usual, making the world seem sketched in high contrast.
The pervasive smell was of rich, cool earth and pulverized stone—the unique, mineral tang of ozone and water-soaked soil, what poets called petrichor, now dominating the humid air. It was a heavy, intoxicating perfume.
Inside the Rao Manor, sitting in the guest hall, were Dong Shun and his wife Dong Qiji, along with Rao Qingsheng and his wife (Madame Rao).
Rao Qingsheng looked sternly at his sworn brother. "What's wrong? The Ma family said you stole something from the Ma—is this accusation true?"
Dong Shun shook his head. "Da ge, that's not true." He paused, then asked, concerned, "Da ge, you said those assassins belonged to the Ma family?"
"Yes, the woman is Ma Furen, Ma Shufen's wife," Rao Qingsheng confirmed.
Dong Shun quickly clarified the real source of the trouble. "I have nothing to do with the Ma family. A cousin stole something from Cao Fengge, and we were hunted down because of that."
Rao Qingsheng sighed, his worry apparent. "Shun, out of all the people you could have offended, why do you choose Cao Fengge?" He looked worried. "Cao Fengge is that kind of person. If you don't provoke him, he won't bother you. If you provoke him, he will not let you go."
Dong Qiji shuddered, confirming the danger. "Da ge is right. He locked us up in Beixing Sect and took Lanying away from us for two days. I thought I would never see my child again."
Rao Qingsheng pressed for details. "What does he think you took away from him?"
Dong Shun only shook his head. "I don't know."
The conversation was abruptly interrupted when a servant came running inside the main hall, breathless and terrified. "Master, master! There is a man standing outside! He brought ten people with him and is asking for your audience at the front door!"
Rao Qingsheng spoke the inevitable name. "That must be Cao Fengge."
Dong Shun, fueled by frustration and rage, surged to his feet. "I'll go see him."
Rao Qingsheng stopped him firmly. "You stay here. You are always reckless when you are angry."
Dong Qiji rushed to hold her husband's arm. "Laogong, Da Ge is right. You stay here. The moment Cao Fengge sees you; he will verbally criticize and provoke you, and with your short temperament, you will end up fighting with him again."
Madame Rao came in with four maids and four plates of food. The servants put the plates on the table. Madame Rao gently insisted, "You two come to eat first."
Cao Fengge stood outside the gate, his hands clasped behind him, quietly waiting for Rao Qingsheng to emerge. Seeing Rao Qingsheng walk out alone, without Dong Shun, Cao Fengge was visibly displeased, staring at Rao Qingsheng with cold anger. Even in his fury, he maintained a chilling calm.
Rao Qingsheng stood before him. "Chief Cao, what can I do for you?"
Cao Fengge spoke lightly, as if requesting a trifle. "I need Dong Shun and his wife."
Rao Qingsheng maintained his composure. "May I ask, how they offended Leader Cao?"
Cao Fengge's claim was specific. "They stole my secret manual."
"Which manual does Leader Cao refer to?"
Cao Fengge's eyes narrowed. "Red Thread Needles."
Rao Qingsheng's expression suddenly changed, registering the gravity of the accusation. "Chief Cao, since I met Shun-xiong, he has not been that kind of person. Maybe there is a misunderstanding between Leader Cao and Shun-xiong."
Cao Fengge dismissed the possibility immediately. "No misunderstanding." One of Cao's servants threw a struggling young man onto the cobblestones. "He confirmed that he gave my manual to Dong Shun." Cao Fengge looked back at Rao Qingsheng, his voice hardening into a direct threat. "Chief Rao, you know what type of person I am. If you leave me alone, I will leave you alone, but if you offend me, I will make sure you pay the full price. Now, let me ask you again, are you going to hand over Dong Shun and his wife?"
Rao Qingsheng held his ground. "Sorry, not at this time. I would ask if Leader Cao would give me some time to look for the truth."
Cao Fengge gave a curt nod. "Have it your way then." He looked at his servants, and they all began to withdraw from the Rao Manor.
Rao Qingsheng, sensing the unresolved danger, shouted after him, "Chief Cao…"
Rao Qingsheng walked back into the Rao Manor and returned to the main guest hall. He saw his family, including the Dong couple, sitting and eating dinner, trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy. He walked up to the two wet-nurses and gently rubbed the two toddlers on the nurses' arms. Then he sat next to Madame Rao.
Madame Rao picked up her bowl and started feeding her young son, Rao Zhengsheng. She smiled tenderly. "Zheng'er, eat quickly and grow taller."
Rao Zhengsheng raised his head, looking toward the open hall door. "Mother, there are many fireflies in the sky!" He pointed excitedly. "Look… look!"
Madame Rao looked in the direction pointed to by her young son and saw a sudden wave of fire arrows flying directly into the Rao Manor. Realizing the danger too late, Madame Rao desperately used her body to protect her young son.
An arrow struck Madame Rao's neck, passing straight through. Madame Rao died immediately. She leaned forward onto Rao Zhengsheng, and the mother and son fell to the floor together.
Rao Qingsheng erupted in a scream of agony and terror. "Fu… ren!"
Immediately afterwards, the second wave of fire arrows fell from the night sky and shot into the Rao Manor. The roof cracked and quickly caught on fire. Fifty masked men jumped into Rao Manor from the roof and began to kill everyone they saw. The front door of the Rao Manor was violently pushed open, and Cao Fengge entered with another fifty Beixing disciples.
Dong Shun saw Cao Fengge walk in through the front door. He grabbed a sword and shouted angrily, "Cao Fengge, you go to hell!" He sprinted toward the main antagonist, but a red thread flew over and pierced his left calf muscle.
Cao Fengge leaped forward and pulled the red thread from Dong Shun's leg, disabling him. Then, he flew into the guest hall and began to attack Rao Qingsheng. Cao Fengge's disciples quickly converged on the injured Dong Shun.
Rao Qingsheng drew his butterfly swords and attacked Cao Fengge, chasing him around the guest hall. When Cao Fengge evaded the attack, he found the dead nurse who was holding Rao Qingsheng's two months old son. He swiftly grabbed the baby and put the baby in front of him. Only then did Rao Qingsheng reluctantly draw his sword back. Cao Fengge took the opportunity to punch Rao Qingsheng in the left abdomen, breaking two of his ribs.
Stumbling from the blow, Rao Qingsheng collapsed onto a table. He knelt on the ground on one knee and slowly got up, his eyes falling on the dead maid holding Dong Lanying.
Cao Fengge pinched the captured child's neck, squeezing it hard. He taunted, "Rao Qingsheng, I was lenient toward you, but it doesn't mean you are above me."
Rao Qingsheng pleaded, "Let the child go, he doesn't know anything."
Cao Fengge's eyes held a deep, old hatred. "Ah, how I hope this is a child of the Mu family? I want Mu Jiao Long to kneel in front of me and beg me, like back then I begged him to return my son to me. Anyway, what is mine has always been mine." He laughed cruelly and squeezed the child's neck harder.
Dong Qiji flew out from behind Cao Fengge and attacked him. Cao Fengge hurriedly threw the toddler to the ground and blasted Dong Qiji with all his internal strength.
Dong Qiji slammed violently into a structural pillar in the room. Rao Qingsheng quickly grabbed Dong Lanying, rushed forward, and secured his own baby.
Cao Fengge landed another brutal strike on Rao Qingsheng's back, sending him flying forward toward Dong Qiji.
Rao Qingsheng stuffed the two children into Dong Qiji's arms and raised his hand to block Cao Fengge's needle attack. Cao Fengge's fast and powerful needle pierced his right hand. Seizing the brief moment, Rao Qingsheng quickly wrapped the red thread tightly around his right arm and pulled Cao Fengge toward him, dragging Cao Fengge back into the guest hall.
Cao Fengge immediately retaliated, releasing another red thread and wrapping it tightly around Rao Qingsheng's neck. Rao Qingsheng desperately grabbed the thread around his throat.
Dong Qiji, clutching the two children, rushed toward the door where Dong Shun was fighting.
Rao Qingsheng shouted through his constricted throat, "Shun! Take your wife and the children!" Cao Fengge's red thread tightened further around his neck. "Leave!" Cao Fengge's red thread completed wrapped around his neck, silencing him.
Dong Shun screamed in anguish, "Da ge!"
Rao Qingsheng's eyes were firm, his final word clear, "Go!"
Dong Shun and Dong Qiji rushed out of the manor, the two children clutched tightly in her arms, and four Beixing disciples immediately chased after them. Rao Qingsheng used his last ounce of strength, flying to the door and slamming it shut. He pressed his severely injured body against the heavy door. He knew he would not escape death today, but he could at least slow down Cao Fengge's pursuit.
Cao Fengge calmly raised a sword from the ground, placed it in his right hand, and threw it at the exhausted figure. The fast, powerful sword pierced deep into Rao Qingsheng's chest.
Cao Fengge flew to the pinned man. "I remember you slapped me in our first duel, and I slapped you back. Do you like it?"
Rao Qingsheng tried to summon a final defiance. "Cao Fengge, you…"
Cao Fengge leaned in and whispered into Rao Qingsheng's right ear, his voice soft and venomous. "Your whole family is dead because you stepped on this fox's tail." He laughed softly. "I'm going to kill your other son."
Rao Qingsheng wanted desperately to pull himself away from the door and fight, but he couldn't move. "Cao Fengge..."
Cao Fengge finished the job, shooting twenty red thread needles into Rao Qingsheng's neck. Rao Qingsheng collapsed, blocking the door, and died.
Cao Fengge stood over the body, his voice chillingly absolute. "I want Dong Shun and his wife dead along with the two children." He looked down at the corpse of his rival. "After confirming that there is no survival, I will return and burn you."