Chapter 69: Chapter 67: City Under Martial Law

Step 1: Contextual Analysis

Literary genre: This appears to be a Chinese fantasy/martial arts (wuxia/xianxia) web novel.

Language style: The text uses a mix of formal and informal language with descriptions of martial arts combat, strategic planning, and character interactions. It includes dialogue and narrative sections.

Tone: Serious, tense, with elements of danger and urgency. The characters are dealing with a crisis situation.

Plot keywords: martial arts, secret organizations, city lockdown, assassination, escape planning, hideout, snowstorm, infiltration

Characters:

- Wu Liangchen (武良辰): Male protagonist, appears to have martial arts skills and knows the city well

- Yang Lian’Er (杨莲儿): Female, appears to be the "White Lotus Saintess" (an important figurehead)

- Aunt Fan (樊姨): Female, appears to be an elder/guardian figure to Yang Lian’Er

- Xiao Rong (萧荣): Male, a powerful fighter from the Capital City Six Gates organization

- Zhan Feng (詹封): Male, the "Left Protector" of Heartless Dao who was killed

- Wu Mengchan (武梦婵): Female, Wu Liangchen’s younger sister

Now I’ll translate the text, following all the guidelines provided:

Step 2: Integrated Translation and Polishing

Wu Liangchen didn’t witness the subsequent massacre.

By the time the battle between Xiao Rong and Zhan Feng was reaching its conclusion, he had already quietly retreated.

When Zhan Feng died, Wu Liangchen had already descended from the roof’s back slope.

After hearing Xiao Rong’s words, his heart trembled slightly. He immediately concealed himself and retreated to the periphery, then with a single leap vanished into the vast snowfall. The entire process went unnoticed by anyone.

By now, the snow on the ground had accumulated more than a foot thick, yet it showed no signs of stopping.

Faintly, screams could be heard from behind him and outside the city, but they were quickly muffled by the heavy curtain of snow.

Wu Liangchen moved at extreme speed through the snow-covered Dinghai City, his mood incredibly heavy.

Although he hadn’t heard the conversation between Xiao Rong and Yan Guanhua, his intuition told him the situation would become extremely dire.

This Xiao Rong who had appeared from nowhere was clearly a formidable character. Even after wiping out the Heartless Dao and the refugee army, he likely wouldn’t stop easily.

Sure enough.

After killing Zhan Feng, Xiao Rong immediately ordered the execution of all refugees present, then sealed off the entire Dinghai City.

This was clearly not an idle threat—it definitely had specific purpose.

Wu Liangchen decided to immediately report this news to Aunt Fan and Yang Lian’Er, allowing them to take precautions.

Soon, Wu Liangchen returned to the Yang family home and met with Aunt Fan.

After he recounted everything he had witnessed, even the usually composed Aunt Fan became restless.

"Xiao Rong? It’s actually him!"

"Aunt Fan, you know this person?"

"Of course I do. He’s a top expert from the Capital City Six Gates. I never expected he would come personally, and even neutralize the Heartless Powder. This..." At this point, Aunt Fan suddenly realized something and quickly stopped herself.

Wu Liangchen seemed not to notice and said gravely, "Aunt Fan, Miss Lian, the city will certainly be thrown into turmoil. You must be extremely careful."

"Of course, you should be careful too," Aunt Fan replied.

Wu Liangchen didn’t linger long. After delivering the news, he left. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

After he departed, Aunt Fan wasted no time. She immediately went inside and told Yang Lian’Er everything that had happened.

Upon hearing of Xiao Rong’s arrival, his neutralization of the Heartless Powder, and his killing of Left Protector Zhan Feng, Yang Lian’Er’s expression changed dramatically.

"Aunt Fan, what should we do?"

"The safest option would be to leave Dinghai City as soon as possible, but I suspect Xiao Rong deliberately announced the city lockdown in public to lure us out."

"By now, his spies must be stationed throughout Dinghai City, including outside the walls. If we try to escape now, we could easily fall into his trap," Aunt Fan said gravely.

"So you think we should stay put for now?" Yang Lian’Er asked.

"That’s our only option at this point. We can only hope that traitor doesn’t know your disguised identity, otherwise we’re in trouble," Aunt Fan sighed.

"How did it come to this..." Yang Lian’Er looked bewildered.

Everything had been normal just moments ago, yet the situation had suddenly taken a drastic turn for the worse.

In truth, Yang Lian’Er had no interest in her identity, the principles upheld by the Heartless Dao, or their plans.

She only wanted to continue as before—singing opera when idle, reading books, enjoying Aunt Fan’s delicious cooking—without concerning herself with anything else.

She even disagreed with Left Protector’s method of controlling refugees with secret drugs to overthrow Dinghai City.

But her position as the White Lotus Saintess carried more symbolic significance than actual authority. Especially without having broken through the Emotionless Pass to reach the White Lotus Unimpeded Realm, she was merely a figurehead.

This was why Left Protector Zhan Feng, despite entering the city, hadn’t come to pay his respects.

Simply put, he didn’t take her seriously.

But while the Heartless Dao members didn’t consider her important, the Great Yan officials viewed her as their second biggest target after the Heartless Dao leader.

Now that Zhan Feng was dead, Xiao Rong would certainly focus on Yang Lian’Er.

Aunt Fan had already guessed this, which was why she was so worried, though she didn’t explicitly say so to Yang Lian’Er.

Their only hope now was that the traitor didn’t know Yang Lian’Er’s disguised identity, which would buy them some time.

Such a comprehensive city lockdown required enormous manpower and couldn’t be sustained indefinitely.

If they could hold out for a few days, the once-strict blockade would eventually collapse, making escape much simpler then.

Seeing Yang Lian’Er’s bewildered expression, Aunt Fan felt sympathy and gently comforted her, "It’s alright, young lady. Things might not be as bad as we think. Perhaps everything will return to normal tomorrow."

"Then we can temporarily leave Dinghai City to avoid the storm."

"Where will we go?"

"To Huangpu Guard. It’s Great Yan’s most prosperous city with people from various countries. We also have a base there, so it should be relatively safe."

By the time Wu Liangchen returned home, night had fallen.

The compound gates were tightly shut, and he could faintly hear footsteps from inside—clearly people on patrol.

Wu Liangchen didn’t bother them. He simply leaped over the back wall and returned home.

"Brother, what’s happening outside?"

"The refugees were defeated. The entire city is under lockdown. The situation is very tense." Wu Liangchen briefly explained the situation outside.

Wu Mengchan listened, her face turning pale with concern.

"Brother, you shouldn’t go out again for the next few days."

"I’ll be fine. Your brother has roamed Dinghai City for years. I know every rat hole in this place. Even with their lockdown, they can’t do anything to me," Wu Liangchen smiled.

Wu Mengchan didn’t press further.

She knew her brother’s temperament—once he decided to do something, no one could change his mind.

"Go make dinner. It’s snowing heavily today. Let’s have some wine together."

"Alright!"

Dinner was simple—two meat dishes, a pot of rice porridge, and several flatbreads.

Wu Liangchen took two flatbreads and a plate of food to give to the people patrolling the compound.

He wasn’t the only one—for the past two days, everyone in the compound had been voluntarily bringing food to the patrolling guards.

After all, they were protecting everyone’s safety, so providing meals was only natural.

The patrol guards showed considerable respect and awe toward Wu Liangchen when he appeared.

They had already heard about the incident on the street yesterday.

Shattering a thug with one punch—this kind of strength was certainly extraordinary.

So these men regarded him with both respect and fear, but also with some delight.

Having an expert like Wu Liangchen residing in the compound undoubtedly increased their security.

Facing his neighbors’ politeness and compliments, Wu Liangchen merely smiled, chatted briefly, and then returned home.