When Meng Jianqing returned to his camp, it was already midnight.

Seeing him emerge from the heavy encirclement, Hu Jinyong ordered his troops to withdraw. With perfect understanding, he asked nothing, merely patting each other’s shoulders before returning to their respective camps.

Over the next half month, the Yan army took the initiative to attack. Hu Jinyong, bearing the brunt of the assault, was unlucky enough to have his grain supplies burned and his camp raided. After retreating thirty li and making new camp, he angrily obtained intelligence from Meng Jianqing, marched fifty li overnight, robbed a batch of Yan army pay, and killed the escort officer in the process. Then the Yan army retaliated with a surprise attack on the southern army, but fell into an ambush. However, the vanguard was the Biyi Army trained by Han Xiaotian. Though Han Xiaotian had been assassinated, that force, while blunted at the tip, remained exceptionally fierce. They forcibly tore through the encirclement and broke out, then coordinated with reinforcements in a counter-encirclement.

In the chaotic situation, Meng Jianqing, having rested for ten days, burned three of Zhu Neng’s grain depots in one breath. Zhu Neng, unable to curse Daoyan for releasing the tiger, could only rage at Zhang Fan’s incompetence and sent him off to collect grain.

After this battle, Southern Army Commander Li Jinglong naturally praised Meng Jianqing highly. When southern army generals saw Meng Jianqing in Li Jinglong’s main tent, their attitudes toward him were much better than in recent days. However, the Fish Intestine Army’s existence had always been kept secret by the southern army, and the Yan army was unwilling to publicize the matter lest it affect morale. So praise aside, once outside the main tent, the Fish Intestine Army remained silent as ever.

When Meng Jianqing returned to camp, two guards approached with strange expressions, saying quietly: “Sir, Hebei Guangping Prefecture Educational Commissioner Li Keji is waiting for you in the tent.”

Meng Jianqing was startled.

Li Keji was a disciple of Yun Yanjiao’s martial uncle Tie Diqiu. Tie Diqiu ranked first among the seven great disciples of the Overseas Immortal Mountain, his literary and military talents unparalleled in his time, his eccentric temperament equally renowned throughout the realm. However, unlike other disciples, he hadn’t chosen to assist the Hongwu Emperor, instead maintaining close relations with the Jiangdong literati Zhang Shicheng had gathered, chanting poetry and enjoying the wind and moon. After Zhang Shicheng’s defeat, Tie Diqiu wandered everywhere with uncertain whereabouts, remaining a constant worry for the Hongwu Emperor. Therefore, when Li Keji passed the imperial examinations, the Hongwu Emperor sent him far to the barbarous lands of Yunnan and Guizhou, where he served as county instructor and prefectural educational commissioner, keeping him in limbo. After Emperor Jianwen’s accession, he was transferred to war-torn Hebei and promoted to Hebei Guangping Prefecture Educational Commissioner.

Someone like Li Keji was naturally a key target of Imperial Guard attention. Even after the Imperial Guard office was abolished, Meng Jianqing had never neglected monitoring his movements. The Hongwu and Jianwen Emperors always assigned Li Keji to dangerous, war-torn places as educational commissioner, which could be considered good utilization. These past two years, with Yan and southern armies fighting back and forth in Hebei, Guangping Prefecture had changed hands twice. However, whenever either side captured Guangping, they were tactfully courteous to Li Keji’s educational commissioner office – after all, no general wanted to offend the demon king Tie Diqiu. Though Tie Diqiu had been in seclusion for long, his reputation and influence remained.

Moreover, the people of Yunnan and Guizhou were fierce, quick to draw swords, and ignorant of Central Plains affairs and Tie Diqiu’s reputation. That Li Keji could spend several years in such places unharmed, peacefully teaching and solving doubts while earning the locals’ reverence as a deity, suggested Li Keji himself was extraordinary – best to be cautious.

The Fish Intestine Army recruited either former Imperial Guard personnel or underworld figures, all familiar with Li Keji’s reputation. With such a figure suddenly appearing, how could they not be nervous?

As for how Li Keji could find this place – such a figure naturally possessed supernatural abilities, not surprising at all.

But Meng Jianqing didn’t think so. Li Keji had always been a civil official who never mixed with underworld figures. For him to find this place now was highly suspicious. However, Meng Jianqing couldn’t imagine from whom Li Keji had learned of the Fish Intestine Army.

The tent’s lamplight was dim. Li Keji wore civilian clothes with a dark azure cloak, staring pensively at the sand table on the desk.

This sand table was made by Wei Huan. Though not as refined as Li Mo’s work, it was already first-rate within the southern army.

Various colored flags were planted on the sand table.

Had it been anyone else investigating military secrets, Meng Jianqing would have shown displeasure long ago. But just as the tent guards had allowed Li Keji into the main tent without objection, Meng Jianqing found nothing improper about the current situation.

Everyone felt that someone like Li Keji, a solitary cloud and wild crane figure, would never serve as a Yan army spy.

Hearing movement behind him, Li Keji turned and bowed: “Brother Meng, forgive the intrusion.”

Meng Jianqing smiled: “Brother Li is too polite. Please sit.”

They hadn’t met for years, and sitting face to face now, both felt as if worlds had passed.

After guards served tea and quietly withdrew, casting curious and respectful glances at Li Keji without his cloak, Li Keji said quietly: “Forgive this presumptuous visit, Brother Meng.”

Meng Jianqing replied that courtesy wasn’t necessary and asked what instructions Brother Li had, while thinking that this educational commissioner’s position seemed burdensome – his expression showed considerable fatigue.

He didn’t know that Li Keji saw the same in him.

Li Keji looked hesitantly at the sand table: “Do the red flags represent the Yan army grain depots Brother Meng has burned?”

If so, the results were quite impressive.

Meng Jianqing smiled without answering.

Li Keji studied it intently for a while, then sighed softly: “One general’s success built on ten thousand bones.”

Meng Jianqing still smiled: “Brother Li didn’t come specially just to sigh over this phrase, did he?”

Li Keji raised his head, eyes bright: “If I hoped Brother Meng could abandon burning grain depots, would you agree?”

Meng Jianqing was startled, a chill suddenly rising in his heart. If Li Keji decided to interfere… Having monitored Li Keji for years, he clearly understood Li Keji’s hidden strength and influence over other Overseas Immortal Mountain disciples. The Jingnan Campaign had lasted three years with the Overseas Immortal Mountain essentially standing aside. Were Li Keji’s words a clear signal of intervention?

Li Keji said slowly: “I originally felt this was merely family business between the Zhu uncle and nephew, unrelated to me.”

Moreover, both sides had treated him courteously.

But facing certain things, he couldn’t close his eyes.

Li Keji turned his gaze to the dim yellow lamp flame: “Guangping Prefecture has been levied for grain five times this year – twice by the Yan army, three times by the southern army. Even wealthy households now lack grain for winter. Eight or nine out of ten academy students can only survive on one bowl of gruel daily. In areas slightly distant from the city, travelers dare not journey alone, or they might become others’ meals. On my way here, I’ve seen over twenty mutilated corpses. This is just villagers attacking each other. If armies lack grain severely and plunder people for food, it would be even more terrifying. You know that reading ‘people ate each other’ in history books is very different from witnessing such scenes personally. Continuing this way, it won’t take long to see what Cao Mengde’s verse ‘White bones exposed in the wild, a thousand li without cock’s crow’ truly looks like.”

Meng Jianqing remained silent. He naturally knew all this, but he hadn’t seen it. The difference was that Li Keji had seen it.

Li Keji’s voice was somewhat ethereal in the flickering lamplight of the tent, but with his words, a vague compassionate sorrow slowly grew within the tent, seeping into body and heart like deep autumn’s cold…

Meng Jianqing was suddenly alarmed.

Good, here comes this trick again – always trying to control hearts and minds, winning without fighting. Truly an Overseas Immortal Mountain disciple. Even someone like Li Keji would unconsciously employ such methods.

He recentered his mind and laughed instead of growing angry: “If Brother Li wishes to save the world, you should speak these words to His Majesty and Prince Yan.”

Li Keji sighed: “The world is too vast, Heaven’s will hard to fathom, so I can only try to save those I see before me.”

What did he mean by this?

Meng Jianqing didn’t want to deal with the mysterious Heaven’s will that Overseas Immortal Mountain people loved to manipulate, saying directly: “Brother Li, you are still an educational commissioner appointed by the court.”

His behavior strongly suggested collaboration with the enemy.

Li Keji smiled bitterly: “I know. So I must see another person and try to persuade him. Only then would it be fair to Brother Meng.”

The other person must be someone in the Yan army, possibly Zhu Neng, perhaps someone of even higher status.

Meng Jianqing found it somewhat absurd: “Brother Li thinks he’s already persuaded me?”

His left hand was already bound by Daoyan – could he let his right hand be bound by Li Keji too?

Li Keji was silent for a long while before saying: “Brother Meng’s will is firm – indeed not someone easily persuaded. And I have only two hands; what I can do is very limited. So at this point, some things I know I dislike must nevertheless be done.”

He stood: “Within three days, someone will take a personal item of Brother Meng’s.”

Meng Jianqing smiled: “Red Thread stealing the box? When did Brother Li acquire such a person?”

Li Keji wouldn’t do such things himself. Having spent years in Yunnan and Guizhou earning local respect, he should have won over some or even many locals. Those people, raised in high mountains and dense forests, included many skilled in concealment and poison-making. If they heeded Li Keji’s call to serve as assassins or steal something, they would likely match the Fish Intestine Army… But Yunnan and Guizhou were thousands of li away – how could Li Keji have brought people with such foresight…

As if seeing Meng Jianqing’s racing thoughts, Li Keji sighed softly: “Let Brother Meng know – the one coming for your personal item will be my junior martial brother Shi Ganfeng.”

So it was him.

This was more troublesome than Yunnan-Guizhou locals. Shi Ganfeng’s lightness skill had been world-shocking ten years ago. He had once bet with Shen Guangli and actually stolen Shen Guangli’s official seal from the Imperial Guard’s dragnet. Reportedly, after leaving his master, he had only failed once – in Li Keji’s hands, which must be why he obediently followed Li Keji’s orders.

If Shi Ganfeng acted… Meng Jianqing pondered, then suddenly smiled: “Very well, we have an agreement. If Brother Li can obtain a personal item of mine within three days, the Fish Intestine Army won’t burn Yan army grain for three months, nor provide related intelligence to other generals.”

Daoyan’s agreement with him was also three months. Though this resulted from bargaining, clearly the situation would change within three months, or Daoyan would have insisted on a longer term. He would gamble on these three months.

His addition of the second condition slightly surprised Li Keji, who understood after a moment and sighed inwardly. No wonder the Yun siblings had chosen Meng Jianqing. Regardless, dealing with someone as good at assessing situations as Meng Jianqing was relatively relaxed and pleasant.

While seeing Li Keji off, Meng Jianqing remembered something and asked casually: “How did Brother Li know to come here seeking me for this discussion?”

The Fish Intestine Army’s existence was an unknowable secret to civil officials like Li Keji, let alone knowing who commanded it and finding him.

Li Keji raised his eyebrows with some surprise: “Junior Martial Sister Yun hasn’t explained to Brother Meng?”

Meng Jianqing’s heartbeat suddenly stopped.

It was actually Yun Yanjiao!

Li Keji wouldn’t lie about this, so it was indeed Yun Yanjiao who told him.

Meng Jianqing felt his thoughts freeze for a long time before flowing again.

Yun Yanjiao doing this must have her reasons.

If he couldn’t even trust her…

Collecting his thoughts, Meng Jianqing remembered another problem: from Li Keji’s tone, Yun Yanjiao should have arrived here long ago. Setting aside why Emperor Jianwen would let her come here, the key question was – why had Yun Yanjiao, who should have arrived early, still shown no sign until now?

Li Keji also sensed something was wrong, looking at him with concern: “I met Junior Martial Sister Yun yesterday noon at Guangping Prefecture’s east gate. After hearing my original plan, she suggested I come here to find Brother Meng. Her horse was fast. I was delayed on the road supervising local constables collecting and burying corpses, so I fell behind. I thought…”

Meng Jianqing steadied himself: “I’ll send people to search immediately. Brother Li, please go ahead. I won’t see you off.”