The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The news spread faster than he had expected.

The next day at noon, Liu Heng, the "Mixed River Dragon" from the reed marshes south of the city, heard the news that the Wudang Boxing Academy was setting up a challenge.

He didn't hear it from the street; rather, his patrol found a letter tied to an arrow shaft on the outskirts of the reeds.

The letter contained only a few words, the gist of which was that a large shipment from a security escort agency would pass through the canal that evening, and the news was only partially revealed.

Liu Heng turned the letter over and over several times, then grinned at the henchman who had delivered the message: "Someone's trying to fish for fish. I'll see what kind of fish they are. Those old guys from the Wudang boxing gym dare to stick their claws out in my territory. They've got a death wish."

He ignored the letter, got up and walked to the edge of the water village, gazing at the setting sun gradually sinking over the canal in the distance.

Unbeknownst to him, deep within the reeds behind him, a pair of eyes were coldly watching him.

Yin Liting sneaked into the reed marshes at the third watch of the night.

He was dressed in black, his face painted dark green with grass juice, lying motionless in the mud, even his breathing was extremely shallow.

He ignored the mosquitoes biting his face, and when a leech crawled into his sleeve, he pinched it off and threw it aside before continuing to lie there.

They lay in wait from dusk till dawn, and from dawn till afternoon, figuring out the changing of the guard, patrol routes, and the locations of hidden sentries in the water village.

Liu Heng changes shifts every two hours, with a short break of about half a cup of tea between shifts.

The sentries in the village were hidden under the wooden plank road and concealed by reeds.

Liu Heng's own bedroom was built by the water, with the canal right outside the window, and it was a hundred paces away from the barracks of the other gang members.

He quietly left the reed marshes and waded through waist-high mud.

He washed the grass juice off his face by the canal, changed into clean clothes, and strode back to the boxing gym.

"We've figured out Liu Heng's background." Yin Liting's voice was still a little hoarse when he entered.

Zhang Songxi handed him a bowl of herbal tea, which he took and gulped down in one go.

Liu Heng had about a hundred men under his command, two fourth-rank officials as his deputies, and Liu Heng himself was at the peak of the sixth rank.

The news also included the change of shifts time and the fact that Liu Heng was going to personally lead men to rob an official ship on the canal at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) tonight.

After a moment of silence, Song Yuanqiao said that robbing the official ship was a good idea, so we could arrest the people and catch them red-handed.

He then turned to Yu Lianzhou, who had just come down from the arena: "Lianzhou, do you still have the strength to fight Liu Heng again today?"

Yu Lianzhou placed his longsword on the stone table, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "The Iron Sword Sect used half its strength; that's enough to defeat Liu Heng."

Upon hearing that he was going to sweep the water fortress, Yin Liting immediately put down his teacup, saying that he hadn't had enough of his swordplay and wanted to stretch his muscles.

Yu Daiyan pushed his wheelchair slowly from the backyard, stopped in front of the stone table, closed a boxing manual, and said that he was not able to go into the water and would meet him on the shore.

Zhang Songxi unfolded the map and pointed to a slope on the north side of the reed marsh, saying there was a peach orchard there.

With convenient access in all directions and close to the official road, Daiyan prepared horses and medicine chests here so that he could provide immediate assistance should anyone be injured.

Song Yuanqiao took the Longquan sword off the wall and hung it on his waist. His gaze swept over his four junior brothers: "Tonight, when we sweep through the water stronghold, our primary target is Liu Heng."

"Capturing a live animal and sending it to the prefectural government office is worth far more than bringing back a corpse."

"The secondary objective is the stolen goods on the official ship; those are physical evidence, and without even one piece, it would be difficult for the prefect to convict the suspect."

"After scouting out the outposts at Liting, we'll take out the hidden sentries first, and then capture Liu Heng from the front at Lianzhou."

"Songxi and Liting should clear the area around the water fortress. Anyone of rank four or above who resists should be beaten until they can no longer resist."

"I'm providing support on the water to prevent anyone from jumping in and escaping."

He paused, then turned to look at Yu Daiyan. "Daiyan, provide support on shore. If anything unexpected happens, send a signal."

Yu Daiyan nodded slightly.

At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) that night, three small boats silently glided across the water on the west side of the reed marshes south of the city.

One person stands on each of the small boats.

Song Yuanqiao stood with his hands behind his back at the stern of the boat, his gray-white robe fluttering slightly in the night wind, and the Longquan sword at his waist still sheathed.

Yin Liting was on another boat, a long sword resting across his knees.

Zhang Songxi stood on the third boat, with a rope around his waist.

The three men, like three silent arrows, quietly pierced into the depths of the reeds in the night.

Yu Lianzhou was not on any ship.

He chose to wade through waist-high mud alone in the dark, sneaking into the blind spot of the outposts on the front of the water fortress—the fastest but also the most dangerous route.

Leeches lurked in the mud, and rotten grass lay beneath his feet; every step could have plunged him in. Yet he walked steadily, his breathing barely audible, blending seamlessly into the night.

This was Yin Liting's second time sneaking into the reeds tonight. He had spent several hours lying in the mud last night and had already memorized the location of the sentries.

He moved silently through the reeds like an eel, approaching each sentry silently from behind.

With a precise strike to the back of the neck with the hilt of the sword, the sentry collapsed limply onto the muddy beach before he could even utter a sound.

He eliminated six hidden sentries on the outer perimeter of the water fortress and passed the remaining two visible sentry positions to Zhang Songxi.

Zhang Songxi untied the rope from his waist and, taking advantage of the night breeze, precisely looped the rope around the wooden stakes where the two sentry posts were located.

At the same time, they pulled the two into the water. Yin Liting then struck them with the hilt of his sword in the water. After two muffled thuds, the reed marshes returned to silence.

He held up one finger to Zhang Songxi.

It means the outer perimeter has been cleared.

At the same moment, Liu Heng was standing on the deck of the official ship with his ghost-head broadsword.

The cargo crates on the ship had been pried open most of the way, and inside were official silks procured by the Runzhou Prefectural Government.

They were neatly stacked in the box, each piece wrapped in oiled paper, and the seal was stamped with the prefect's official seal.

Liu Heng picked up a bolt of official silk, weighed it in his hand, grinned with satisfaction, and ordered his men to move it quickly and transport it all back to the water fortress before dawn.

Just as he turned around, a short scream suddenly came from the bow of the boat, followed by the muffled thud of a heavy object falling into the water.

He turned around abruptly and saw a burly man, soaking wet, dressed in an indigo blue outfit, standing at the far end of the deck. The long sword in his hand gleamed coldly in the moonlight as he walked towards him step by step.

"Who goes there!" Liu Heng shouted, holding his sword to his chest.

"Yu Lianzhou of Wudang." Yu Lianzhou's sword tip pointed at the deck, and every step he took on the wooden planks was as steady as a rock. The water stains on the soles of his boots left a trail of wet marks on the deck.

Several henchmen, who had just been knocked unconscious by the sword's spine, floated on the surface of the canal behind him, bobbing up and down like dead fish.

Liu Heng's pupils contracted slightly, and without saying another word, he swung his Ghost Head Blade, imbued with the powerful aura of a sixth-grade peak cultivator, toward Yu Lianzhou's face.

This strike was the "River-Severing Strike," the signature move of the River-Crossing Dragon. No fewer than ten镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) had died by this strike.

Yu Lianzhou dodged to the side, the blade grazing his nose as it slashed down, the force of the wind severing a strand of hair from his temple.

He spun his longsword, the spine of which gently rested against the blade, using the force against it to deflect the power of the ghost-headed saber.

Liu Heng felt as if his knife had pierced through a ball of cotton, the force completely neutralized.

He changed his move extremely quickly, sweeping his blade across Yu Lianzhou's waist and abdomen. Yu Lianzhou lightly touched the deck with his toes and shifted three feet to the side. The longsword slid down the back of the blade, and the tip of the sword lightly touched Liu Heng's wrist.

This subtle detail, neither too deep nor too shallow, precisely pinpointed the location of his wrist pulse.

Liu Heng's wrist went numb, and he almost dropped the ghost-head saber. He roared and grabbed the hilt with his left hand, wielding the ghost-head saber with both hands and slashing wildly, his sword strikes as fierce as a storm.

Yu Lianzhou moved through the shadows of the blades, each step perfectly timed to the intervals between the shifts in the blade's momentum, the tip of his sword never leaving within three feet of Liu Heng's throat.

Ten moves have passed.

Yu Lianzhou's swordplay suddenly shifted rapidly, transforming from a seemingly sealed and closed style into a white snake spitting its tongue. The tip of his sword pierced through the barrier of blades and plunged into Liu Heng's right shoulder.

The sword tip pierced through his shoulder blade from below and emerged from behind his shoulder, pinning him to the ship's cabin wall.

Liu Heng screamed and released his ghost-headed sword, which fell onto the deck and created a dent.

Yu Lianzhou drew his longsword and sheathed it. Blood from the sword slid down the spine and dripped onto the deck, spreading out a small patch of dark red.

He stepped forward and pulled Liu Heng off the cabin wall, then pulled a rope from his waist.

In no time, he tied his hands behind his back and fastened them into a pig's trotter knot, his movements as swift and efficient as an old porter on the dock.

The fighting on the perimeter ended simultaneously.

Zhang Songxi and Yin Liting subdued all the henchmen left behind in the water village.

Those who resisted were knocked to the ground and piled up haphazardly, while those who surrendered with their weapons in hand huddled in a corner.

Not a single box of the official silk was missing; it was neatly stacked in the ship's hold, and the prefect's seal on the seal was intact.

Song Yuanqiao leaped from another boat onto the deck of the official ship, bent down to confirm Liu Heng's identity, and turned to Zhang Songxi, saying, "Songxi, go to the prefectural government office to report that the Wudang martial arts school has captured the leader of the bandits who hijacked the official ship, and ask the prefect to come and examine the stolen goods."

Zhang Songxi responded and jumped onto the small boat, speeding towards Runzhou City on the upper reaches of the canal.

The torches in the water village flickered in the night wind, illuminating Liu Heng, who was bound like a dumpling on the deck, and his face full of resentment, as well as the cargo ship on the canal loaded with official silk.

Song Yuanqiao stood at the bow of the boat, gazing at the myriad lights of Runzhou City. The night wind ruffled his gray beard, and the Longquan sword at his waist remained unsheathed.

He knew that after tonight, the signboard of the Wudang Boxing School would no longer be the old, faded wooden plaque in Willow Leaf Alley.