As the outer circles heard the news, waves of excitement spread like a gust of wind, shimmering its way through the crowd in waves.
Feng Zhiwei’s announcement covered pretty much everyone in the crowd. Many of the Yan Family’s dock workers were here, so she had specifically mentioned them, and many South Sea commoners lived long lives, so most of the extensive families here had many elders older than sixty. If the families escorted their elders to receive the rice and silver, they would have a lot to share.
Very quickly, the crowd began to scatter.
Time was limited, and the distance far. When these people returned from receiving their rice and silver, the matter here at the temple would be resolved.
Good news travels fast, and Li Zheng had just finished circling the crowd one time and everyone had already heard. The crowd hesitated, exchanging excited glances.
Many people recognized Li Zheng and knew him as a local from Jiu Jie Village, and they were even more certain that no one would dare lie on such an easily disproved matter. Finally, a voice cried out: “Let’s get the free rice and silver!”
With that one yell, thousands cried out in response. They had already stood out here for a long time without hearing any news and there was no sign that anyone would force their way into the temple. The crowd had already been growing impatient, so at this shout, they all tossed down their sticks and stones and dispersed.
As the crowd marched off, the gathering streams all hesitated in confusion. When they heard the news, all of them also turned around and hurried away.
They still had to care about their own bellies, and the Ancestral Temple was fine anyway.
Feng Zhiwei watched from atop a tree, breathing out a sigh of relief. Her heart had been pounding ever since the butler had come with the news, and now she could finally rest easy.
But as she relaxed, she grew dizzy and swayed on her branch. Luckily, Gu Nanyi was nearby and held her steady, his confused, gleaming eyes staring into hers.
Feng Zhiwei chuckled, commenting: “The tree is really tall.”
As she spoke, she secretly took her own pulse, her eyelids drooping.
Suddenly, Gu Nanyi turned and flicked his fingers, shooting out a handful of walnuts.
The walnuts flew like arrows, piercing towards the back of the scattering crowd.
An anxious man hiding within the crowd looked around at the dispersing people and flicked a glittering dagger out of his sleeve.
He palmed the blade and struck out at a passing man’s back!
As he stabbed, he opened his mouth and yelled: “Murder!”
But before he could finish his stroke, a yellow shadow fell on his blade and split the dagger in half. The yellow dot fell to the ground and stilled — a small, intact walnut.
Almost immediately, a loud uproar rose up around him as a loud “Thief!” cry covered up the saboteur’s shout.
Several guards instantly surrounded him as a vicious eyed man grabbed the disarmed saboteur’s hand and forcefully twisted it behind his back, cracking the bone and knocking the man unconscious.
The guards moved quickly and had already stopped five murders, efficiently capturing the assailants. The commoners only thought that there really were thieves, and after checking their own possessions, hurried off even more anxiously.
The thousands of people soon disappeared.
The spies of the wealthy families and the Chang Family were captured.
Feng Zhiwei breathed out a long breath, a weary smile spreading across her lips.
She had really been worried. With so many people here, if Ning Yi’s guards even touched the crowd, the spies would only need to cause a little bit of trouble and disaster would strike. Even if Ning Yi managed to escape, the aftermath would be unimaginable, and the Chang Family would surely use this calamity to create more and more problems.
At the very least, she would not have been able to fulfill her side of the deal with Zhou Xizhong and would have failed in founding the General Maritime Department. Then, she would not have been able to unify or control the wealthy families, much less unify South Sea to ward off the Chang Family’s invasion.
In truth, Feng Zhiwei was somewhat surprised that the spies had failed, but with the crowd scattered, Feng Zhiwei finally saw Ning Yi’s preparations around the temple.
Outside the Yan Family’s magnificent Ancestral Temple, huge trees lay blocking the temple on all sides, with Prince Chu’s shield bearing guards blocking everything.
As soon as Ning Yi had known the commoners were gathering, he had cut down these centuries old trees to barricade the Ancestral Temple and separate the commoners from the guards.
The sturdy makeshift walls warded off all assailants and protected them from these treacheries of the spies.
If not for Ning Yi’s decisiveness, disaster would have struck before Feng Zhiwei could make it here.
The truth was that Ning Yi could have retreated long before the commoners had surrounded him, but he chose to thrust himself into danger. Clearly, he trusted Feng Zhiwei to defuse the situation, but more importantly, he did not intend to let the Yan Family off the hook.
He had never spoken when Feng Zhiwei had stood by Yan Huaishi, but now he was s
Feng Zhiwei climbed down from the tree, increasingly dizzy as her body suffered through alternating hot and cold. She forced out a weak smile in thanks before stepping away from Gu Nanyi.
By the huge trees, the guards recognized her and immediately pulled back their shields.
Gu Nanyi reached for her sleeve to carry her over to the large barricade, but Feng Zhiwei dodged his hand, smiling in apology as she said: “I’ll go myself.”
She climbed atop the large, fallen tree, her moves nimble and light. She gestured as she walked, and the shield bearing guards wore strange looks of determination and respect as they obediently followed her orders.
Finally, she stood perched up on the tree, the guards retreating to the sides around her.
Beyond the barricade, she could finally see the man in front of the Ancestral Temple.
Guarded and encircled in layers of metal and flesh, that man leaned idly against a tree, the gold red cloak of Prince Chu’s honor guard spread out underneath him. In his hurry to arrive at the scene, he wore only a moon-white dressing gown and a thin black coat embroidered with a golden mandala. The bright gold tassel of his belt hung loosely from his hips, spreading out lazily over his noble red cloak.
He sat playing Go.
Surrounded by tens of thousands of hostile enemies as he pit himself against the Yan Family, he sat here playing Go with himself.
Leaning leisurely against the tree, he sat with an improvised board, using two types of leaves as pieces. Green and yellow faced off against each other as he bit his lips, attentively “examining” the chess board, in deep contemplation on how to have the green leaves defeat the yellow.
Feng Zhiwei looked down at the distant Ning Yi, the setting sun dappling over his brows and graceful face, his long lashes curving as he looked down at the board, and somehow all Feng Zhiwei could see was a rare warmth and peace around him.
