"Congratulations to Lord He, congratulations to Lord He, the Emperor has bestowed upon you the authority to preside over the opening ceremony of the Canfa Assembly." Ji Xiaolan knew this was purely to tease Heshen, a man who always managed to pull strings behind the scenes for everything.

"Preside over the opening ceremony? Doesn't that just mean I have to read from a book for the Emperor's amusement? Lord Ji, you must be joking with me," Heshen and Ji Xiaolan, despite their outwardly smooth exchanges, were constantly locked in subtle sparring matches; their differing objectives simply meant their methods of engagement varied.

Meanwhile, Zhou Huan and Shi Bingyuan, along with several of the great beggars, promptly departed Lord He’s residence and hurried back to the inn. Along the way, neither Zhou Huan nor Shi Bingyuan felt any fatigue; rather, they felt their internal zhenqi flowing remarkably smoothly. The only drawback was that their movements were not as agile as when they had arrived. Still, with their current internal strength, it would be difficult for anyone to match them. However, Zhou Huan remained preoccupied: his martial arts techniques had not fully returned to him. If the Canfa Assembly truly involved a bare-knuckle martial arts ring as rumored, this would present a serious problem. Thinking of this, Zhou Huan and Shi Bingyuan fell silent again. Although Tianlang seemed to know some martial arts techniques, his movements were overly complicated, with many elements impractical for real use—a significant flaw. With only a few days left before the grand event, finding someone to teach him was proving to be a real dilemma.

Late that night, Shi Bingyuan sought out Zhou Huan. Upon entering, he exclaimed excitedly to his master, "Master, I suddenly recalled some of the techniques we used to practice!"

"There's no time, Shi! Just remembering the moves will take days to master. We have three days left; it’s not enough time," Zhou Huan stated the harsh reality, though he watched Shi Bingyuan with a smile.

"Master, have you forgotten the four-character maxim you first instructed us to follow when practicing the moves?" Shi Bingyuan’s reminder jolted Zhou Huan back to his own past teachings.

"Steady, Precise, Swift, Ruthless."

"Exactly! 'Steady' requires our utmost mental fortitude; 'Precise' demands keen eyesight; 'Swift' calls for our strength and agility; and 'Ruthless' is self-evident—our internal energy should be more than sufficient," Shi Bingyuan analyzed. Zhou Huan felt a spark of inspiration. His limbs instinctively replayed the movements he frequently used in the past, along with the mental shortcuts he relied on to judge actions in critical moments.

The master and disciple spent the entire night weaving the four tenets tightly into ten distinct techniques. Following this, they engaged in full combat practice. Thankfully, they managed to perfect mastery of all the forms. Both were elated and returned to their rooms for a well-deserved sleep.

The next morning, Xiao Fang came running to Zhou Huan in tears, her distress inconsolable. Trailing behind her was the handsome rabbit.

"Brother Zhou, wuwu!"

Seeing this scene, Zhou Huan was instantly thrown into confusion. "Xiao Fang, what is the matter? Please tell me slowly."

Before Zhou Huan finished speaking, the rabbit, seemingly frantic, leaped onto his lap, hopping and bouncing while making low, guttural murmurs—rabbits cannot truly cry out, only make soft gugu sounds in their throats.

"Brother Zhou, Sister Xiaoyun—Sister Xiaoyun has been abducted by Tianlang!"

"Ah? What did you say?" Zhou Huan could hardly believe what he heard. Tianlang had managed to run off with Xiaoyun? How could this be? And what about Dongzi? Where was Dongzi?

Shi Bingyuan immediately looked puzzled. "Tell us exactly what happened, slowly."

"The night before last, the first night after you returned, Tianlang came into our room. Initially, he asked me to fetch some wine for him. But when I came back, I saw he was being indecent toward Xiaoyun. Since Xiaoyun didn't say anything, I assumed it was fine. But after you returned, while you two were sleeping this morning, he tied up Sister Xiaoyun and dragged her off somewhere. He also drugged me until I was paralyzed," Xiao Fang recounted. Zhou Huan truly struggled to accept this. This was the sworn brother he had personally pledged allegiance to with kowtows; how could he commit such an act?

"Where is Dongzi?" Zhou Huan's voice became unexpectedly stern.

Xiao Fang added, "Brother Dongzi followed them in pursuit. We have no idea how far they've gone now."

"Alright, stop crying. Bingyuan, quickly go track them! Rabbit, you come with me and Xiao Fang!"

"Yes!" Just as Shi Bingyuan was about to turn away, Dongzi burst in through the door in a rush.

"Master, Master! I caught up to them! They are halfway up Lianyun Mountain! I’m exhausted!" Dongzi rushed in, gasping for breath.

Zhou Huan instantly rose. "Take me there immediately! I want to see what is going on with them!"

At this moment, the rabbit bolted away at lightning speed, carrying the few people with it in a blur toward Lianyun Mountain. In less than half an hour, they reached the base of the mountain—incredibly fast, achieving a speed that surprised everyone.

"Master, I can't run anymore! They are at the pavilion halfway up the opposite mountain. I—I can't go on!" As he spoke, Dongzi face-planted onto the ground, inhaling a mouthful of dust, yet still pointing toward the midpoint of the mountain with his finger.

Seeing this, Zhou Huan scooped up Xiao Fang with one arm and activated his swift legs, charging forward. Firstly, he refused to believe his sworn brother could do such a thing. Secondly, he wanted Xiao Fang there as a witness. The rabbit, requiring no carrying, dashed ahead like the wind.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Huan reached the mountainside. He peered ahead and saw—amazingly—two figures sitting face-to-face, silent, merely gazing at each other. It was impossible to tell what words were being exchanged, or what emotion hung between them—whether it was sibling affection or something else entirely. But Zhou Huan sensed that Xiaoyun’s feelings were not those of complete willingness, yet she seemed to have entrusted herself to Tianlang.

The moment Xiaoyun saw Zhou Huan, hot tears streamed down her face, but she did not move from her spot beside Tianlang.

"Tianlang, what is going on here?" Zhou Huan questioned him with grave sincerity.

Tianlang remained calm, offering a slight smile before firmly pulling Xiaoyun into his embrace with his right arm. Xiaoyun leaned against his chest, seemingly with great effort, weeping loudly. "Brother, we came willingly; we just wanted to talk up here."

Although Zhou Huan sensed something was wrong, he couldn't speak up directly. He symbolically asked Xiaoyun, "Are you willing?"

"No!" Xiao Fang shouted from the side, her pure anger erupting.

"Xiao Fang, don't say anything! Brother Zhou, we are willing!" Xiaoyun cried, forcing a weak smile after speaking. She handed her rabbit to Zhou Huan, saying, "Brother Huan, we plan to leave far away now. This rabbit will stay with you from now on; I see he is quite fond of you."

Even if Zhou Huan were dense about romance, he could see clearly that Xiaoyun was reluctantly following Tianlang. The situation was easily decipherable: Xiaoyun liked Zhou Huan, but given his lack of signal, it was natural she would grow fond of someone else. Moreover, in those conservative times, Xiaoyun likely held genuine, perhaps sisterly, affection for Tianlang, but not romantic love. Unfortunately, Tianlang had forcefully twisted this into a romantic relationship. For a girl, this meant she would choose to stay with the man, losing the face required to pursue the one she truly loved.

While Zhou Huan didn't grasp every detail, he understood the crux of it: if Xiao Fang hadn't lied, Xiaoyun's compliance with Tianlang was clearly coerced.

He looked down at the rabbit, which was completely dejected, lying motionless in the pocket of his coat, its long whiskers drooping.

"Master, let’s go back. I believe they will find happiness in the future," Shi Bingyuan suggested quietly.

Zhou Huan, however, was deeply somber. Finally, he managed a slight smile. "Very well, you two go on. I can only offer you my blessings, in that case." Zhou Huan began patting his clothes for money, forgetting he had given all his valuables to the beggars earlier. After rummaging around, he found only a few loose silver pieces, which he handed to Tianlang. "Listen to me, you! Old Master Yun entrusted Xiaoyun to me. Now I’m entrusting her to you. You had better take good care of her, or if I find out even the slightest thing goes wrong—hmph—you’ll face consequences." Zhou Huan’s words were primarily an expression of his anger at Tianlang’s methods; even if he loved Xiaoyun, resorting to such underhanded means instead of being open was unforgivable.

Tianlang looked genuinely guilty, yet he seemed to have attained the hollow happiness he sought.

Zhou Huan turned and led Xiao Fang and Shi Bingyuan back to the inn. Once there, Zhou Huan collapsed onto the bed, feeling increasingly disturbed. Soon, Shi Bingyuan entered. "Master, Xiao Fang is staying alone, and we can’t leave her unattended. Why don't we have the innkeeper prepare a separate partitioned space in our room for her to sleep?"

"Yes, do that." Just as Zhou Huan and Shi Bingyuan settled this matter, they heard a commotion downstairs—it sounded like many soldiers and officials had arrived.

"Everyone attending the Canfa Assembly in the inn, get out here within ten counts! I am about to announce the order for the challenges the day after tomorrow. If you miss the call, I won't be responsible if you aren't ready to take the stage at the Canfa Assembly!"

In an instant, countless people—who seemed to have materialized from nowhere—poured out, nearly bursting the entire inn at the seams.