Chapter 01: Enemies on a Narrow Road

Hearing Dou Yanshan’s refined and courteous greeting, Yun Ye shook his head. Looking at the burly men closing in from all directions, he forced a smile and clasped his hands together, saying: “After years of separation, your younger brother is still as safe and sound as before, but Brother Dou has grown much thinner.”

Dou Yanshan laughed so hard he bent at the waist. After finally suppressing his mirth, he stepped forward and grasped Yun Ye’s hand, saying: “Brother Yun dwells in a land of wealth and luxury, so naturally your splendid bearing remains unchanged. Unlike your younger brother who seeks survival in displacement and wandering, living through hardship and suffering—being able to maintain a human form when meeting Brother Yun is already a great fortune. How could I dare ask for more?”

Yun Ye pushed away Dou Yanshan’s hand and said solemnly: “Today I’ve fallen into your hands, so naturally I won’t entertain other thoughts. How about giving me a decent way to die?”

Dou Yanshan’s eyes held unconcealed joy, yet he deliberately put on a stern face and said: “What kind of words are these, Brother Yun? You and I are brothers reuniting—naturally we should spend nights talking by candlelight. Why bring up such a dreadful topic as death? Your younger brother was fortunate to receive the care of Queen Tango in Nanzhao. I acquired a small enterprise there, and with Queen Tango treating me with such generosity—sharing her clothes and food—before I knew it, I had already lived there for over a year. In my tedious moments, thinking of my countless old friends in Chang’an, I returned to the capital to visit them. I never imagined I would encounter Brother Yun here—truly a great fortune for your younger brother! Why don’t you join me back in Nanzhao to sojourn for some time? What do you say?”

Yun Ye raised his head to look at the sky. It was already time for weary birds to return to their nests, yet he wondered whether this exhausted bird would still have a chance to return home.

“Your younger brother suspects that the Queen Tango who shared her clothes and food with you must now be sleeping soundly beneath the earth. How could an ordinary barbarian queen endure Brother Dou’s enthusiastic hospitality? Now this enthusiasm has come before your younger brother. To refuse would probably be inappropriate. Very well, I’ve long heard that Nanzhao’s scenery is magnificently beautiful. What harm is there in traveling arm-in-arm with Brother Dou? But could you permit your younger brother to write a letter to his grandmother at home, so the old lady won’t worry?”

The corner of Dou Yanshan’s eye twitched, but he smiled and agreed, ordering his subordinates to carve out a pale patch on a tree trunk and providing brush and ink for Yun Ye, while he watched from the side.

Seeing that Yun Ye had finished writing, Dou Yanshan put on an air of being overwhelmed with honor and repeatedly apologized: “Oh my, you and I are brothers—how could I deserve the address from an elder? Brother Yun is too modest, too modest!”

“You wouldn’t want soldiers everywhere making it impossible for you to move an inch, would you?”

Dou Yanshan said nothing more and took the lead. The group followed a forest path and soon arrived at the Ba River. A large boat was moored on the water, hanging wind lanterns inscribed with “Hedong Inspector.” They must have reached their destination. Yun Ye stroked Wang Cai’s long face in farewell, hoping only that this gluttonous fool still remembered the way home.

The group boarded the ship. The boatman pushed against the riverbank with a bamboo pole, and the large vessel gradually left the shore, heading toward the center of the river.

Wang Cai seemed to only just realize that everyone had left, leaving him all alone on the shore. Growing anxious, he began running along the riverbank, calling out continuously. Seeing that the large boat showed no signs of stopping, he leaped from the bank. In the dark river water, only his head was visible as he struggled to swim toward the large vessel.

Unfortunately, the boat had already raised its sails and was going downstream. No matter how hard Wang Cai tried, he couldn’t catch up with the large boat. His anxious neighing could be heard intermittently across the water.

Tears streamed down Yun Ye’s face. If Wang Cai returned home, that would be the best outcome, but instead he was obstinately seeking his own death.

“Stop the boat, Dou Yanshan! Otherwise all you’ll get right now is my corpse.”

Dou Yanshan watched with interest as Wang Cai struggled in the river water, then looked at the tearful Yun Ye and said with a smile: “Brother Yun, it’s just a horse. Your younger brother bets it can still hold on for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. What do you think?”

“Stop the boat!” Yun Ye’s low voice seemed to be squeezed out from his throat. One leg was already over the gunwale—as long as Dou Yanshan insisted on continuing, he was prepared to end his own life right here. Although he didn’t know why Dou Yanshan didn’t immediately kill him, since he wasn’t killing him, that meant he was useful. His life was now Yun Ye’s only bargaining chip.

Dou Yanshan said viciously to Yun Ye: “Countless times in my dreams I’ve seen you, and each time I couldn’t wait to tear you to pieces immediately. But now that I’ve met you, I hesitated. To kill someone like you would be disrespectful to Heaven itself. So I decided to take you back to Nanzhao, to see if you have the same abilities in that desolate wasteland. Whether you live or die doesn’t concern me—as long as you suffer, my heart will be at ease. If you want me to save your horse, you must pay a price.”

Yun Ye immediately untied the jade pendant from his waist and said to Dou Yanshan: “With this jade pendant, you can withdraw five hundred taels of gold from the Luoyang bank. Rescue the horse, and I’ll tell you the password.”

Everyone turned to look at Dou Yanshan. From their faces showing signs of hunger, Yun Ye knew they lacked money—desperately so.

Dou Yanshan looked somewhat embarrassed. Indeed, for a nobleman who should never place himself in danger to be reduced to a horse bandit was something his proud heart could not accept.

Everyone has weaknesses. Dou Yanshan himself could be proud, but his subordinates needed food and clothing. Two years of hardship had elevated each person’s desire for money to the extreme.

Five hundred taels of gold—just to rescue a horse. Looking at the old steward’s white-haired head and pleading gaze, Dou Yanshan helplessly waved his hand.

Immediately the anchor dropped to the river bottom and the large boat stopped. Wang Cai was already kicking his legs feebly, about to be submerged by the river water at any moment. Seeing Yun Ye waiting for him ahead, he immediately gained new spirit and drifted with the current to the side of the large boat, biting onto the ship’s cable and refusing to let go.

For the sake of the gold, those people used a rope sling around Wang Cai’s belly and used a windlass to haul him up. One of them actually used a rope to strangle Wang Cai’s neck. Seeing Wang Cai’s tongue nearly protruding from being strangled, Yun Ye flew into a rage and kicked the idiot in the leg. A servant was a servant—knowing that Yun Ye was a marquis, he habitually prepared to kneel and beg forgiveness, but suddenly remembered that Yun Ye was merely a prisoner. He wanted to kick back, but restrained himself and sullenly went forward to continue helping Wang Cai aboard.

Once on the boat, Wang Cai didn’t even shake off the water from his body. His large head pressed against Yun Ye’s chest, acting spoiled, as if complaining that he shouldn’t have been left behind.

Dou Yanshan, who had been admiring the jade pendant, was startled awake by water droplets flying everywhere. He looked up angrily, only to discover Wang Cai shaking the water from his entire body in violent tremors.

It wouldn’t do to argue with livestock. He tucked the jade pendant into his chest and said to Yun Ye, who was wiping down Wang Cai: “Brother Yun, your younger brother used to have a few jade pendants like this, but in the end they all became money and grain. If you don’t support a family, you don’t know the hardships involved. Only after this great change in my family did I realize how difficult it is to start from scratch. I truly admire Brother Yun’s cloud-overturning, rain-summoning methods of making money. Why don’t we discuss it?”

After drying Wang Cai’s body and draping his own outer robe over him, Yun Ye picked up on Dou Yanshan’s words: “What exactly do you want? I destroyed your family—describing the enmity between us as deep as the sea wouldn’t be excessive. I’ve never seen anyone take revenge like you. If we keep talking, once we become close friends, your grandfather and father beneath the nine springs won’t forgive you either.”

“Ha ha ha!” Dou Yanshan laughed wildly. Sitting cross-legged beneath the wind lantern, looking at the pitch-black riverbank, he said word by word: “You think too highly of yourself. You think that by inciting some rioters you could destroy the Dou family that has been passed down for a thousand years? Among the rioters, the first to break through the Dou family estate were death warriors from the Bai Qi Si hidden among them.”

“If there had only been rioters, the Dou family’s guards would have only needed to kill the ringleaders and they would have fled in disarray. Would they have dared continue attacking the Dou estate?”

“I don’t believe you have the ability to command the Bai Qi Si. That is the Emperor’s prerogative—whoever touches it dies.”

“It was the Emperor who wanted to destroy the Dou family. You were merely one chess piece in it all.”

“The Yin family dug up the Li family’s ancestral graves, yet they still lived comfortably in Chang’an, acting tyrannically. As long as it benefits the family, what does this little enmity between you and me amount to? Grandfather and Father would also applaud my wise decisions.”

The cold wind on the river surface was bone-chillingly icy. Yun Ye had no interest in talking to a megalomaniac who wanted to be emperor. Wang Cai was already unbearably cold—settling Wang Cai properly was far more meaningful than talking to a madman.

“Where is my cabin? You’re not going to make me sleep on the deck, are you?”

“No, I’ll give you a good cabin.”

Yun Ye’s cabin was indeed not bad—very large, filled with dry straw, with a fishy stench that couldn’t dissipate. This cabin had originally been a place for keeping horses.

Wang Cai really wanted some alcohol. The two fellows Dou Yanshan sent to monitor Yun Ye were drinking. Smelling the wine’s fragrance, Wang Cai carried his money pouch in his mouth and presented it to the servant who had strangled his neck, wanting to exchange it for some wine. Master Wang Cai never drank anyone’s wine for free.

He didn’t get the wine, the money pouch was gone, and he received a slap on the head. Robbed, Wang Cai could only burrow into the straw pile, listlessly chewing dry straw.

“Damn it, even wealthy families’ horses have money pouches, and quite a bit of money too. After hiding in the forest for two years, we brothers aren’t even as well-off as a horse.”

“Talk less. The young master has been worried sick about money these days. Our family has money, but it’s all hidden in Chang’an and we can’t retrieve it. Xinghua Ward has been beautifully renovated now, and we can’t even find our family’s place. The money is gone—don’t know which bastard got lucky.”

Only now did Yun Ye have the peace of mind to lie in the dry straw and consider his and Wang Cai’s situation. The continuous blows of recent days had made him almost forget about the existence of his enemies.

Li Jing and Ma Zhou had torn Yun Ye’s pride and self-respect to shreds, and now Dou Yanshan was added to the mix.

Without even thinking, he knew what kind of situation he would face. Though each of Dou Yanshan’s words was spoken elegantly, Yun Ye could clearly sense the hatred in his heart.

Every action and statement from Li Jing was for the army’s invincible victories.

Ma Zhou would rather stab him than betray Yun Ye and the Academy, claiming it was for the farmers throughout the realm.

They all had reasons, all were doing what they considered right with high-sounding justifications. Could it be that all the fault was his?

Now with his life hanging by a thread, why wasn’t he worried about his fate? What crowded into his mind was still those shameless betrayals and schemes.

Couldn’t they just speak plainly? Did they have to go in circles to achieve their goals? Was this so-called wisdom?

Dou Yanshan’s performance was nauseating. Who knew how far the journey ahead could go? What a pity—he would never see his children again…