Crystalline, clear night—a moon missing a piece hung leisurely in the sky. The Milky Way stretched like a ribbon, and looking up through gaps in the forest, the night sky resembled a blue sea.

"...And so, the story of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils ends..."

In the forest clearing before the broken temple, the bonfire crackled and popped as Ning Yi slowly finished the story's final segment, then shrugged with a smile: "I timed that perfectly."

Lu Hongti sat beside him poking at the fire with a stick, silent for a long while: "What about the Song Dynasty afterward?"

Ning Yi thought about it and rolled his eyes: "How would I know..."

"...What a boring story."

Time fell silent like this. It was already the night of June 23rd, approaching midnight into June 24th. In these nearly twenty days together, they'd mostly said everything that needed saying. Lu Hongti had taught him usable internal energy techniques that would show results with slow practice, while Ning Yi had already formulated a series of development plans for Lu Hongti's small bandit stronghold in Lüliang Mountains—something he'd been skilled at before. The problems shouldn't be major.

Of course, these plans and teachings covered everything from organizational division to combat allocation to alliance-building to scheming, but naturally weren't some pure large corporation model or Three Main Rules and Eight Points for Attention. The people of Lüliang Mountains operated through village and family structures—mechanized regulations would never work, only subtle adjustments through gradual influence.

A relatively healthy and stable structure naturally possessed enormous vitality and development potential—truly skilled controllers could see the chain reactions a small action might trigger. But since Ning Yi couldn't personally go to Lüliang Mountains, he could only design several key nodes for her. Once certain goals were achieved, she could simply change her subordinates' social structure, then naturally push the next moves. Lu Hongti commanded only a hundred-some people—Ning Yi could still predict many changes after simple division of labor. As long as Lu Hongti could establish passage of several basic rules, she could more healthily and naturally lead this small organization's development. Situations like this time where everyone clamored to kill Song Xian, ultimately forcing her to come out herself, shouldn't happen again.

Teaching management courses that could be practically applied in days or weeks was truly difficult. The subject itself had no fixed methods, so Ning Yi could only explain key principles and hope Lu Hongti's own wisdom could apply them flexibly. She wasn't stupid and had formidable martial arts—people with strong martial arts often possessed enormous personal charisma in such places. Problems shouldn't be major.

Organizational basics took up half, while the rest covered dealing with passing merchants and other Lüliang heroes, expanding their survival space, increasing mutual unity and cohesion, plus ideas and strategies for dealing with the Liao people, and so on.

This portion of proposals and opinions was quite mixed—Ning Yi had considered carefully. For example, providing partial protection to merchants passing through their territory to earn fixed resources. When influence grew larger, they could contact and negotiate with bosses of surrounding mountain strongholds about these matters. Of course, how to collect resources, how to distribute them, how to supervise, how to ensure fairness—this was most important. Ning Yi also provided some principled clauses and supervision methods, copied with brush into a small booklet for Lu Hongti to take back. If Lu Hongti could propose these effectively in the future, her influence would naturally increase.

For example, forming three or four elite five-person squads with special forces-style focused training. Mountain hunters and bandits might have outstanding individual abilities, but the mountains lacked purposeful, targeted training for division of labor and cooperation. Lu Hongti would train these people as ruthlessly as possible, give them good treatment, and incidentally create a privileged class within the small collective. Of course, there must be positive principled constraints—otherwise privilege would only bring negative effects. But with proper guidance, such privilege could also stimulate others' enthusiasm.

For example, having storytelling elders tell more stories about Liao brutality, about one or two heroes, resisting barbarians and Liao, serving the country loyally, while telling fewer tales of mountain spirits and fox demons. They could even specifically find someone with such talent—without being deliberate, just having Lu Hongti say a few simple words, and they'd naturally tell such stories at night. Simple public opinion control and incitement might seem simple at first glance, but under deliberate control over time, it would increase cohesion and unity.

Everything he could think of, future developments, were mostly copied into a small booklet. For secrecy, Ning Yi originally didn't want to do this. Lu Hongti wasn't very literate, but according to her, there was a decent grandfather in the stronghold who was quite knowledgeable. She'd consulted him on many matters before and would need to show him the booklet before acting. But this was probably only one reason—Ning Yi discovered she probably treated this as a military text tailored for Lüliang, planning to take it back. Several times he saw her treating that small booklet as extremely precious.

So be it. With her abilities, she shouldn't lose it and implicate him. And in just over ten days, it was indeed difficult to fully integrate everything discussed. If she could take a textbook back and have someone truly trustworthy assist, these matters might not fail. So he made two agreements with her.

"First, this book has nothing to do with me—you've never been entertained by the Blood Hand Butcher. Second, only someone truly selfless and trustworthy can see it and guide you. That Grandpa Liang you mentioned—if he's really seventy or eighty years old with no descendants, no power or selfish desires, it should be fine. Of course if you choose wrong, I want to say it's not really my concern, just that you might soon lose your position. You might be betrayed, and then I only hope... you can save your life. Don't force things—keep your life and run quickly..."

"You scholar know quite a lot..." After the story ended, Lu Hongti probably reminisced and felt sad for a while. "Honestly, I didn't think this way at first, but now I suddenly wonder... should I kidnap you back to Lüliang instead?"

Ning Yi laughed: "I only know crooked methods—you think too highly of me. Honestly, whether these things will specifically work, I'm not clear either."

"They're not crooked methods, I can tell." This time Lu Hongti shook her head. After a while, she asked: "Will you become an official in the future?"

"As a live-in son-in-law, it's hard to become an official. And this investigation of things I study—I'm afraid it really is what others call crooked paths."

"Oh right, tell me about that Chinese Ghost Story from that day. That time... I didn't get to hear the ending."

"No." By the bonfire, Ning Yi refused decisively. Lu Hongti froze for a moment: "Why?"

"Don't die. If we can meet again, I'll tell you then."

Lu Hongti thought for a while, first smiled, then turned her head and snorted coldly: "Sleep." She flopped down on the grass behind with a bang.

Ning Yi used smoking leaves to ward off mosquitoes a bit, then also lay down. The Milky Way flowed above. Lu Hongti stared at the sky for a while with open eyes: "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"Mosquito coils," Ning Yi said. "These past nights I've almost been smoked to death. At the Su household, mosquito coil smell wasn't great either. Current mosquito coils contain small amounts of arsenic—probably harmful to humans too. I'm thinking if there's a better mosquito coil formula. This should be relatively simple, but unfortunately I never studied it before. Very painful—no good mosquito coils, and MSG is hard to make too..."

Ning Yi rambled on as usual about his investigation of things. Some she could understand, some not. Lu Hongti lay there smiling, just listening and listening. Who knew how long passed before she finally fell deeply asleep.

No matter what, tomorrow she'd leave.

The next morning they rose, exchanged greetings as usual, washed faces, cooked congee. When fetching water, Lu Hongti felt her expression was somewhat wooden, so she adjusted it a bit by the water. Returning, she practiced a simple boxing set with Ning Yi, then they ate breakfast and sat on the temple steps for a while without speaking. Morning gradually passed until at some point, Lu Hongti finally stood, went into the temple for her bundle, slung it on her back, and walked out.

"I need to return to Lüliang." She smiled. "There's something I should still tell you."

"Hm?"

Amid Ning Yi's confusion, Lu Hongti smiled with mischievous satisfaction: "Though you really like martial arts, you can't become a first-rate expert—at most only second-rate."

She'd said this several times before. Ning Yi scoffed: "Didn't you already say? I only like being second-rate. I'm satisfied, don't plan on being first-rate. I don't even want to be first-rate."

"This is because you wouldn't tell me the Chinese Ghost Story last night, so I'm telling you." Lu Hongti smiled, walking forward until stopping before a large tree. The tree trunk was about as thick as a water bucket, with sunlight shining through from that direction. Lu Hongti turned back: "Do you know what a first-rate expert can do?"

Just as she finished speaking, Ning Yi saw her gaze focus. Her clothes rose up, her form like a drawn bow, surging forward!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The massive impact sounded three times in succession. Then Ning Yi saw her turn back, her skirt hem swirling in a circle through the air. In that instant she seemed to barely touch the ground, like treading on waves. Behind her, with cracking sounds, that entire tree trunk had broken. The crown began tilting, falling, branches and leaves dancing wildly. Wind pressure scattered in all directions as morning sunlight shone through from that side, bathing her in radiance.

"That's not right..."

Watching that spectacular scene, Ning Yi stood dumbfounded for a moment before murmuring and shaking his head. Lu Hongti seemed to laugh happily in the light particles: "I'm leaving."

"Wait."

"Hm?"

She paused. Ning Yi exhaled: "I consider you a friend."

"..." Lu Hongti looked at him, waiting for what came next.

"So... I won't go with you to Lüliang Mountains, but if you have trouble, you can come find me... So if something happens, remember—definitely don't die."

After a long silence, she nodded: "I'll wait for the day I can eat that roast chicken in Lüliang Mountains. You remember too—have your friend open a shop there. Take care."

"Take care."

He watched that figure turn and descend the mountain, gradually disappearing in the light until no longer visible. Only then did he stretch lazily and look back at the broken temple behind. Mountain wind blew over. After a long while, he took out a booklet from his chest and casually flipped through it—inside were the internal energy techniques Lu Hongti had left him.

"In the end I still got it..."

Saying this without much satisfaction, he patted the small booklet, sighed, then tucked it back in his chest and walked down the mountain.

His left hand remained bandaged, but after twenty days of rest and internal energy training, his spirit was already quite good. Soon he turned onto the main road from the small path. When Jiangning came into view, he noticed something—there were many more ragged, family-laden outsiders on the road. Thinking back, perhaps the refugee tide Master Qin and Old Kang had mentioned was heading this way.

The situation wasn't too serious yet and felt lighter after entering the city. Walking toward the Su residence, he looked at his bandaged left hand, wondering how to explain to Chan'er and the others. Passing a street corner, a carriage drove by. Su Tan'er's head suddenly popped out from the front, turning back to look at him, calling: "Stop, stop, stop..."

The carriage traveled over ten meters before stopping. Su Tan'er clearly saw his bandaged left hand, bit her lower lip, then her head disappeared into the carriage for a moment as if saying: "Liheng has returned." She jumped down from the carriage. On the other side, Chan'er, Juan'er, and Xing'er also jumped down in succession.

Su Tan'er held her skirts and jogged a few steps before slowing, as if waiting for Chan'er and Juan'er beside her to run over. She looked at Ning Yi's left hand, slightly frowning. Soon the three maids surrounded Ning Yi, anxiously discussing his left hand. Ning Yi looked at the approaching Su Tan'er and smiled helplessly. Su Tan'er exhaled with some complexity: "You're back?"

"Everything's fine now." On Jiangning's streets, in the bright morning sunlight, Ning Yi spoke these words.