Die Faust zerschmettert alle Himmel und unzählige Welten

Kapitel 7

Anyway, Feng Ning didn't feel happy sitting with her like this, and she figured Yu Mama wasn't happy either. Yu Mama didn't really engage with topics that interested Feng Ning, such as her past trivialities, her family affairs, or her husband's affairs. Yu Mama didn't talk much, and apart from these things, Feng Ning really couldn't find anything to talk about with her. Most of the time, the two of them just sat there like that.

However, Feng Ning wasn't heartless; she was considerate of Granny Yu. For example, she would say, "Granny Yu, you're getting old. Aren't you tired of sitting like this? How about I accompany you for a walk?" She thought that walking around and seeing the scenery would be better than watching this old woman.

As a result, Granny Yu said, "A daughter-in-law should be steady. How can she complain about being annoyed after sitting for a while?" Annoyed is one thing, but to dare say she's old? Granny Yu was displeased. But it would be a lie to say she wasn't surprised. The Feng Ning of the past, with a guilty conscience, would never have dared to be so blatantly stammering.

Feng Ning would then ask, "Granny Yu, you've been sitting for so long, aren't you hungry?" If she was hungry, she would have a reason to call the kitchen for some snacks or something, right?

But Granny Yu said, "We only rested for an hour after lunch, how could we be hungry?" Feng Ning rested her chin on her hand, thinking to herself, she had asked the wrong question. She should have asked if she was hungry. But wouldn't it be a bit impolite to ask such a serious old lady if she was hungry?

If all else fails, Feng Ning has no choice but to change the subject again: "Granny, tell me, what is that treasure that I might have stolen? What does it look like? How big is it?"

Granny Yu drank her tea without answering. Feng Ning asked again, "Then could I have accomplices? Can I steal it all by myself?"

Granny Yu paused, glancing at her. Feng Ning, propping her head up, listlessly fiddled with her cup. After a while, she suddenly sat up straight: "Granny, why don't we work together to solve the case? I've been holding it in, not knowing what happened, and I'm in a bad mood. You're working so hard, not solving the problem, and you're in a bad mood too."

This time, Granny Yu spoke up. She said, "If you quickly recall what happened in the past, you'll be of great help. Now that you're neither crazy nor stupid, what case can you solve?" She didn't trust this Third Madam and wouldn't give her the opportunity to manipulate things. "I've already sent someone to invite a high-ranking monk to perform a ritual to exorcise the evil spirits." She refused to believe that after all the medicine, rituals, and constant surveillance, they still wouldn't be able to expose her true colors.

What to do? Feng Ning felt even more bored after hearing that, so she simply lay down on the table and pretended to be dead. She was unhappy, and she didn't want to pretend to be happy.

After several days of such hardship, Feng Ning finally couldn't take it anymore. She decided to be self-reliant. If no one was willing to trust her, then she would dig out what she had done herself and find out the truth herself.

She doesn't ask for anything else, she just wants to know the truth even if she's done something wrong. Right now, she's confused and has to live her life at the mercy of others, which she can't stand.

She understood clearly that not letting her return to her parents' home was just a way of keeping her under house arrest. If she stole the Long family's treasure and went back to her parents' home, they were afraid she would run away. She wouldn't run away; if she did steal, they would find out the truth and return it to them. Although she had lost her memory, she could still distinguish right from wrong and still had a sense of shame.

During her time at the Long family, she had noticed something. Just as Granny Yu had said, even if the Long family didn't like her, they certainly hadn't let her go hungry or cold, hadn't beaten or scolded her, and had a good girl like Xiaoqing taking care of her. She observed the behavior of the servants in the mansion; they were all well-behaved and proper, showing that the Long family was indeed a respectable household. Therefore, Feng Ning analyzed that her experience must have had a reason.

With this in mind, her desire to unravel the mystery grew even stronger. After much deliberation, she finally decided to take the first step: to go and take a good look at the spot where she had fallen into the river.

One dark and windy night, the perfect time for petty theft, Feng Ning slipped past the patrolling guards, crept quietly to the wall of the mansion, and with a light leap, jumped over. She looked around, listened intently, and, finding no one watching, paused for a moment. Considering the situation, she figured it was possible she could steal the items and escape.

She turned and ran towards the market, covering two blocks before leaping onto the rooftops of houses. With a few more bounds, she found a high spot and looked around. The city was well-built, and although large, the city gates weren't hard to find once she got the bearings.

Feng Ning had already inquired about the place where she was found injured, which was the upper reaches of the moat in the southern suburbs, called the Liang River. Feng Ning wanted to go there to see if she could find any recollections or clues.

Her plan was to go secretly and return secretly. If she found anything, she would tell the Long family after uncovering the truth; otherwise, no matter what she said now, the Long family would think she was playing tricks. If she didn't find anything, she would pretend she had never gone out, to avoid the Long family speculating.

Feng Ning hadn't expected that after walking a long way and finally reaching the city gate, she would find it tightly shut. The soldier guarding the gate told her that it wouldn't open until dawn, when the farmers would be out working in the fields. Feng Ning realized this was bad news and quickly pleaded with the soldier, explaining that her sister, who had married into a neighboring city, had suddenly fallen seriously ill and had no one to care for her; she was rushing to save her. But the soldier was helpless: "Miss, things are very strict these days. Look, I'm not the only one guarding the gate. Even if I could open it, I might lose my job. It's almost dawn now; it won't be long before it opens. Please wait a little longer."

Feng Ning stared longingly at the city gate, her expression pitiful. Seeing the beautiful woman in such a state, the soldier's heart softened, and he advised, "Don't worry, your sister definitely won't mind waiting for another hour. It's not safe for you, a lone woman, to leave the city at this time. Find a warm place to sit first, and I'll let you out as soon as the city gate opens."

Seeing his apparent predicament, Feng Ning sighed, nodded her thanks, and turned to leave. After walking a while, she saw a young swordsman standing not far from her with his arms crossed. Thinking he was also waiting to leave the city, she kindly called out, "You can't leave the city right now. Don't worry, you have to wait until dawn."

The young swordsman seemed surprised. Feng Ning thought to herself that he was just as unruly as she was, and must be from out of town. She waved goodbye, then lowered her head and walked along, pondering whether to return to the Dragon Mansion first or wait for the city gates to open.

She pondered for a while. The Long family was monitoring her so closely, and it wasn't easy for her to run away. Besides, she could only sneak out in the dark in the middle of the night, and the city gates were always closed. So going back now wouldn't solve the problem. Since she had already come out and traveled so far, she couldn't let it go to waste. She might as well get things done today before going back.

With that thought in mind, she swayed and staggered until she reached the entrance of an inn or restaurant. Lanterns were still lit there, providing some light. All the inn's doors were bolted shut, except for one that was half-open, letting those seeking food or lodging in the middle of the night know that business was still operating there. Feng Ning rubbed her stomach and swallowed, but she had no money and couldn't go in. She sighed and leaned against the corner of the inn's steps, waiting for the city gates to open.

A gentle night breeze blew, and she sat alone on the dark street. The lanterns overhead cast a solitary shadow. Looking at her own shadow beside her, Feng Ning felt a pang of sadness. She buried her head in her lap, hugging her knees and curling up into a ball. After a while, just as she was starting to feel drowsy, a strong smell of alcohol wafted over her, accompanied by the rough voices of two men approaching her.

Feng Ning, however, was alert and jumped up. Upon closer inspection, she saw that two men who had been drinking heavily had come out of the inn. Seeing a woman sitting at the door, they laughed and reached out to make advances towards her.

Feng Ning took two steps back, dodging their filthy claws. She frowned, wanting to curse, but then decided that leaving was the best option. So she glared at them fiercely and turned to walk towards the city gate. Unexpectedly, the two men caught up with her and blocked her path from both sides.

Feng Ning was truly enraged now. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she snapped, "What do you want?"

The drunkard in front of her had a flushed face, a smirk, and a particularly lewd look in his eyes: "Young lady, wandering the streets alone in the middle of the night, aren't you lonely?" The man behind her chuckled and added, "That's right, that's right, we've come to keep you company."

Feng Ning sneered, "Look at the two of you, even a sow wouldn't want you."

The drunkard, angered by the insults, yelled, "Damn it, you're asking for it! How dare you insult me? Do you know who I am?"

"pig."

"Go to hell!" Another drunkard clenched his fist and punched Feng Ning in the face. His fist was as big as a bucket, and his strength was as fast as the wind. In an instant, he was right in front of Feng Ning. He was a trained fighter. As soon as his fist moved, Feng Ning subconsciously moved as well. She shifted her feet, and just as the fist was about to hit her face, she turned her head, raised her hand, and swiftly grabbed the drunkard's pulse point.

The drunkard felt a sharp pain in his arm, and his entire arm became immobile. Feng Ning twisted her hand and kicked him, using skillful force to swing the large drunkard away. She shouted, "Go to hell!" The drunkard was slammed to the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.

The other man, seeing this, sobered up somewhat. He yelled, assumed a fighting stance, circled Feng Ning halfway, then leaped up and launched two downward punches at her. Feng Ning didn't have time to think; instinctively, she bent her body, twisting her waist with boneless grace, and with a quick shift of her feet, dodged the punches without even leaping. Following his attack, she twisted her wrist, gripped his wrist, pulled him forward, and simultaneously kicked him in the groin.

The man screamed, kneeling on the ground, curled up in a ball clutching his stomach, unable to speak. Feng Ning put her hands on her hips, kicked him again, and mimicked his earlier tone: "You're asking for it! How dare you bully me? Do you know who I am?"

The man struggled to lift his head and asked in a hoarse voice, "Who is it?"

Feng Ning was taken aback. He actually asked? She raised her head and said, "I won't tell you."

She seemed to hear a soft chuckle and sensed someone approaching from behind. Turning around, she saw the young swordsman she had encountered at the city gate. Just as she was about to speak, the drunkard who had been thrown to the ground earlier lunged at her. Feng Ning caught a glimpse of a flash of silver light out of the corner of her eye and quickly took two steps back to avoid it.

The swordsman raised his hand and instantly drew his longsword from his back. With a whoosh, the sword shot towards the drunkard, but the hilt struck the drunkard's wrist hard, knocking the dagger from his hand.

Feng Ning was stunned, wondering if she could strike with only the hilt of her sword if she attacked in the same way. She didn't know, but she did know that this swordsman was a master. The swordsman struck successfully, walked over to pick up his sword, and the drunkard was knocked to the ground by the long sword, sliding backward.

Feng Ning carefully examined the swordsman. His eyes were bright, his face was as smooth as jade, and his clothes were impeccably made of high-quality materials. His hair was neatly combed, his scabbard and hilt were polished to a gleaming shine, and his boots were spotless. He was quite different from the two who had tried to bully her. Feng Ning knew in her heart that this man was definitely not with those two and shouldn't have any ill intentions.

She clasped her hands in a fist salute to the swordsman and said, "Thank you."

The swordsman also looked her over, then asked, "Are you alright?" Feng Ning shook her head, looked down at the two people on the ground who were trying to run away, and shouted, "Don't move!"

The two men froze instantly, exchanged a furtive glance, and then abruptly turned to attack Feng Ning, hoping to use the attack as a pretext to escape. Feng Ning remained calm and met the attack with a palm strike. The swordsman also stepped forward, intercepting one of them. Together, they quickly defeated the two drunkards in just a few moves, leaving them crying for their parents and no longer daring to run away. They knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.

Feng Ning thought for a moment and said, "These two are no good, we can't just let it go like this." She went over and kicked them, saying fiercely, "Climb over to that stake." There were two large wooden stakes on the side of the market, which were probably used by merchants to tie their horses, park their cars, hang lanterns, and display flags.

The two men exchanged a flustered glance and actually crawled over. Feng Ning said again, "Take off your clothes." This time, the two men stopped moving. Feng Ning raised her hand as if to strike them and shouted again, "Take them off!"

The two of them shuddered and quickly stripped off. Feng Ning turned to look at the swordsman, who frowned, seemingly puzzled by her intentions. Feng Ning said to him, "Brother, could you do me a favor?"

The swordsman slowly moved over, and Feng Ning tore the two men's clothes into strips and handed them to the swordsman: "Please tie them up, brother."

The swordsman didn't take the sword, only glancing at the two men and then at Feng Ning. Feng Ning frowned, pointing at the two drunkards: "They're harassing a woman in the street! They only got lucky because they ran into me. If it were any other vulnerable woman, wouldn't she be in trouble? Besides, we only witnessed this once. Who knows what bad things they've done before? Letting them be displayed in the street, isn't that a good thing?"