The war did not progress as smoothly as Jackson, the commander-in-chief of the Eight-Nation Alliance, had after he had blasted the barricades and leveled the houses with artillery, the soldiers who were still fighting in the ruins and shooting arrows at him gave him even more headaches. Fortunately, the Eight-Nation Alliance continued to move forward and the offensive momentum did not stagnate. Two hours later, they had crossed the trench-like barricades and approached the square in Tianjin. Originally this was a place in a busy city. Later a church was built here, so a large piece of open space was reserved to be turned into a square for believers to parade and rest. Gradually, this place became a tourist destination. But now, even the angel sculptures in the fountain were stained black, and the rumbling of artillery fire all around meant that there was no longer any peace and tranquility here. This is just a battlefield, not anywhere else. Ren Qi rode his horse across the square, and everyone saluted him. He did not respond to these gazes, but drove his horse to Shi Tiebing's side. Shi Tiebing was very upset and whispered, "I should have died with Nie Huo because we both violated your orders and only focused on chasing the fleeing enemy."

"But you're not dead, are you?" Ren Qi squinted at him and said, "If you are not dead, then you don't have to rush to die, because there will always be a chance. You don't have to worry about violating orders, because you are not a soldier and you can't follow orders. Even among soldiers, there are some who desert the battlefield, right? " Having said that, he did not intend to stay. But Shi Tiebing still felt ashamed, "Many people died because of my rash actions, but I am still alive." When Ren Qi heard this, he finally whipped Shi Tiebing in the face, leaving a bloody mark on his face. Shi Tiebing frowned, blood dripping down his face, but his expression remained unchanged. "This is not a punishment for you." Ren Qi sat upright on his horse, glancing at Shi Tiebing from the corner of his eyes. "You think you killed these people? You are too self-righteous. No one wants to die on purpose. Everyone wants to live. Even in a dangerous situation where one is in danger of death, some people go there because they believe that a miracle will happen to them. Listen, no one wants to die, and no one takes death as an honor. They die just because of bad luck and lack of strength. Even Nie Huo died in battle because he was not good at martial arts. " Shi Tiebing's eyes widened, burning with rage. "Ren Qi, he once called you brother!" Shi Tiebing's fists were clenched so tightly that they made a loud banging sound. He had no objection to being whipped by Ren Qi just now. However, when Ren Qi commented on Nie Huo's death so coldly and mercilessly, he felt a raging fire burning in his chest. "You should apologize, Ren Qi, because they died bravely, for the retreat of many people, not because of incompetence as you said." Around him, everyone in Shi Tiebing's family was filled with indignation, and also felt the bias and one-sidedness in Ren Qi's words. However, Ren Qi just sneered.

"Whether they died on the battlefield because of incompetence is not up to me, but to those of you who survived." Ren Qi glanced at everyone with the most severe scrutiny. "The last words Nie Huo asked someone to bring to me, he said whether the White Lotus's death was meaningful or not, it didn't depend on him, but on me. I'll leave this to you as well. If you want his death to be meaningful, it all depends on how you do it. Things you ask for verbally are of no use at all." As he said this, he kicked the horse in the belly and continued to move forward. "and many more." Shi Tiebing stopped him and pointed at the scar on his face, "I'll remember it." "You can remember to seek revenge on me at any time." "Do not." Shi Tiebing's eyes were firm. "I mean, I will remember what you said. Nie Huo and the White Lotus Sect members are dead, but as long as we remember them, their deaths will not be in vain." "It's best if you can understand." Ren Qi nodded slightly. Shi Tiebing clasped his fists and said, "Please issue a new military order to us and let us take command!" [Commander? ] Ren Qi smacked his lips a few times, as if he was trying to figure out whether the name was correct. However, Shi Tiebing was very serious and never used this title to belittle, attack, or be sarcastic. After a pause, Ren Qi said to Shi Tiebing, "I have to go to the General's Mansion. Before that, you stay in the square. I think the Eight-Nation Alliance is almost exhausted and will not be able to get here for a while." "What if they attack?" Shi Tiebing asked worriedly. Ren Qi pointed over there, "Chen Hufa is here, if you have any questions, go find him." "understood." Shi Tiebing clasped his fists and said, "Take care!" "Take care of yourself!" Ren Qi rarely returned the greeting and then ran towards the Governor's Mansion. According to the battle report at this time, the vanguard of the Eight-Nation Alliance was only five miles away from the Governor-General's Mansion. Ren Qi was riding on his horse and could clearly hear the roar of cannons in the distance. If it were closer, the stray bullet would probably hit the general's mansion directly. From the time the war officially began to this day, Ren Qi's sword has not killed a single foreigner, nor has he drunk the blood of any enemy, but he is not in a hurry. Because he knew that wars would never end and enemies would never be killed. No matter how angry and warlike he was, he didn't need to be anxious at this time, because the enemies would come like a wave on their own. Ren Qi rode his horse through the deserted and dilapidated streets, occasionally startling a few distraught people and making them scream, thinking that the iron hooves of the coalition forces had already arrived here. Just as he was heading towards the general's mansion, two people stopped him.

In fact, they were not standing in the middle of the road. With just a fist, Ren Qi reined in his horse. The attire of those two people gave Ren Qi a familiar feeling. They were dressed in black, with a huge sword behind them that was almost half a person's height and as thick as two palms put together. These two men were disciples of the Divine Sword Sect. The Divine Sword Sect was the sect where Ren Qi had previously learned his skills. "Senior brother." The two of them clasped their fists respectfully and said, "Master has arrived in Tianjin and wants to see you." "Master?" Ren Qi frowned. He knew very well what kind of person his master was: ruthless and cold-blooded, who loved eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. However, he was not a degenerate man, because he would put the knife next to his pillow even when he slept. The master had no children in his life. It seemed as if the knife was the continuation of his life, a part of his life, and would exist forever in the world on his behalf. Such a person came to Tianjin definitely not to fight against the Eight-Nation Alliance. Ren Qi didn't move, so one of the two men said, "Master said he is here to end everything, please be sure to go over." "End everything?" Ren Qi still didn't move. Another person added: "The man who killed your family in Yujing has entrusted Master to come to Tianjin." Ren Qi's eyes immediately turned red, "Where is Master?" "pier." …… Ren Qi rode his horse to the pier. Somehow, this place should have been burned down completely as planned, and the fire should have been continuous, preventing the Eight-Nation Alliance from reaching the shore. However, the fire only passed through the area roughly, leaving some charred areas, and did not completely destroy the dock. Ren Qi rode his horse forward and bumped into the people from the Divine Sword Sect when he could see the sea. The leader of the Divine Sword Sect, the Golden Sword King Xu Canghai, was sitting on a cargo box with one leg crossed, waiting for Ren Qi leisurely. His hair was completely white, and even his beard was snow-white. The knife-like grooves on his face proved that he was quite old. However, his posture was upright and his breath was steady and deep, which made people feel that he was in the prime of life and had nothing to do with the word "old". Ren Qi jumped off his horse and knelt on one knee. "The unworthy disciple Ren Qi pays homage to the Master!" Xu Canghai hooked his finger, motioning him to get up.

"Ren Qi, it's been ten years since we last saw each other, right?" "Almost. I am very busy with my official duties and cannot spare the time to pay my respects to Master." “You are indeed busy.” Xu Canghai flicked out a grain of sand from his fingernail. “I remember one year, I and my disciples had just finished a task entrusted by a big shot in the palace, and we were waiting outside the palace gate for the big shot to come out and inspect it. Suddenly, heavy snow fell in our faces. The snow flakes were as big as palms and could kill people. I told the guards at the palace gate your name, saying that I was Ren Qi, the master of Commander Ren, and that I wanted to take shelter from the snow under the eaves at the gate, and also wanted to meet you and reminisce about the past. The guard was a respectable man. After taking a few coins from me, he turned around and went in to report. We spent half the night in the snow before the guard finally came back. He didn't ask us to come in, but just opened his palm and threw me a few silver coins, which were less than what I had given him before. I understood it at that time and told him: It doesn't matter if you can't meet Commander Ren, just think of this money as tea for you, don't be polite. Unexpectedly, the guard sneered and said: Commander Ren said that he is very busy and has no time as he has official duties. Master, please use these few taels of silver to buy some charcoal to warm yourself up. The palace gates are heavily guarded, so for irrelevant people like you, it’s best to go back to where you came from. When I heard this, I just felt a few more white hairs on my head. " Xu Canghai's smile was very bitter, but he didn't seem angry. "I know that. Although I am a well-known figure in the northern martial arts world, I am of low status. The masters of the imperial palace have taught me a lot, but I have never even stepped foot on the city wall in my entire life." "no way." Ren Qi said frankly: "Compared to Master, I am just lucky." "Isn't it enough to have a good life?" Xu Canghai sighed, "Aren't clan members and princes lucky? That's why your father gave me seventeen yellow strips and asked me to take you in as his apprentice. He knew that after you become a master of fighting in the palace, you can earn back this money quickly. At that time, I could see at a glance that you were a born bad seed. Even if Confucius were reborn, he would not be able to teach you well. I didn't want to accept you because I hate disloyal and unrighteous people the most in my life, and you will definitely become such a person in the future, so I didn't want to accept you. Unfortunately, I owed a gambling debt. If I didn’t pay it off with the seventeen yellow slips, I would lose my reputation and would never be able to survive in Yujing again. I have no choice, and you don’t have to choose either, that’s how different our fates are.” Xu Canghai lifted a box from the ground with his feet and motioned Ren Qi to sit closer. Ren Qida sat down, face to face with Xu Canghai, with their knees almost touching. "I remember when you were little, I taught you swordplay. We sat this close on the first day." "Yes, you taught me how to do horse stance." Ren Qi was deeply impressed. "I remember that I had seen other people practicing martial arts at that time. The horse stance should be done while standing, not sitting. When I was wondering about it, you kicked over my stool and made me fall flat on my face.

Then you told me: "Horse stance means standing as if sitting." "Yes, that's what I teach everyone." Xu Canghai smiled, "Everyone falls as badly as you did." Ren Qi touched his chin and said, "Compared to what happened later, I always feel that the fall was actually the lightest." After reminiscing about the past, Ren Qi got straight to the point and said, "Master, are you saying that you know who killed my entire family?" "Yes, I know." Xu Canghai still had his legs crossed, "Because he was the one who sent me to kill you." "Are you here to kill me again?" Ren Qi seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world and couldn't help but burst into laughter. Xu Canghai narrowed his eyes, and looked at Ren Qi's throat with a pair of sharp eyes, "Do you think I can't kill you?" "I don't think so." Ren Qi shook his head, "You said that you taught us not to hold back, but it would be easy for you to kill us. I just laughed at you for sending your brothers to kill me before, and now you’re doing it yourself, what a big move.” "no way." Xu Canghai narrowed his eyes and said, "You have grown wings. Ordinary people can't even touch you with a finger, let alone kill you. I have to do it myself." "Who gave you this job?" Ren Qi said sternly: “That man killed my whole family. Even if he didn’t come to find me, I would go to Yujing after the matter in Jinmen was settled. No matter if he is hiding in the Forbidden Palace or in some imperial mausoleum, I will find him and kill him." "He won't hide." Xu Canghai said calmly: "He is also waiting for you to go to Yujing." After saying this, he recalled what he saw and heard when he entered the palace to receive orders that day. "That was my first time entering the Forbidden Palace. I was in the outermost corridor, across the threshold. I knelt there with my head almost buried in the ground, not daring to look around. At that time, I didn't have the mood to look around, because I just felt dizzy and my head was heavy and dizzy, as if I was dreaming. I never thought that I would have the opportunity to be received by a highly respected prince and nobleman this time, even though I had never stepped into the gate of the Forbidden Palace for most of my life." "Who is that person?" Ren Qi asked. "he?" Xu Canghai squinted his eyes and looked at the sun. He seemed to be stung by the sunlight and some tears appeared in his eyes, turning them red. "Prince Jade."

Hearing this name, even Ren Qi was stunned for a moment, and a chill ran down his spine. (End of this chapter)