Yun Ye thought he had already grown accustomed to life in the jungle, but how could he have known he would be startled three times in one night? Looking out through the smoke vent at the top of the fire pit, he could only see the continuously twinkling stars—an extremely rare sight in the jungle. “No three feet of flat land, no three days of clear skies”—this was how later generations would describe this land.

He dared not think about what might be happening at home. Grandmother, Xinyue, Na Rimu, oh, and his own little child. He wondered if Xinyue had broken her habit of patting the child’s back while nursing, always making the baby spit up milk, yet still daring to claim the child was full. Had Grandmother finished reciting her Buddhist scriptures today? Without him there to keep her company and talk, would she feel lonely? Hopefully Na Rimu wouldn’t be picking jewelry from Xinyue’s jewelry box again—last time Xinyue had given her a severe beating, and he didn’t know if she’d learned her lesson.

Runniang, now that your brother isn’t here, please don’t climb over the wall anymore to meet your lover. Qin Lao’er has already received several beatings with the family rod over this matter. Daya, you must not exchange flirtatious glances with Dan Ying—that bastard is a pauper who still owes our family a pile of rotten debts.

Thinking further about the little ones, and about Shishi and Xiao Wu, Yun Ye felt as if a massive boulder was pressing on his chest, leaving him breathless with suffocating distress.

He could only hope they would understand the markers he’d left behind. If Li’er could see them, he would certainly discover the secret—that man existed solely to uncover other people’s secrets. The deep emotions expressed in words were nothing but a joke to him.

Outside there was no wind, not a sound at all. Occasionally, the distant cry of an ape drifted over, making the black night even more silent. “The mountain becomes more secluded with birdsong”—that was precisely this principle.

Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, he simply rose and dressed. Wang Cai, whose body was buried in the hay pile, alertly raised his head, saw it was Yun Ye, then buried his head back in the straw and closed his eyes to continue sleeping.

“I’m very hungry. If you still have rice, you can give me a little more now.”

Tange’s crisp voice came from across the room. If one only heard the voice, in the darkness it would bring unlimited reverie, but unfortunately Yun Ye knew that sleeping on the bed opposite was a large woman—a very large woman.

Using a bamboo tube to blow on the charcoal in the fire pit, orange-red flames soon emerged. Tange, having regained some strength, struggled to get up, wanting to come to the fire pit’s edge.

“Careful, I’ve strung several silk threads across the room. Go slowly, don’t hurt yourself.”

“I saw you string the threads—how could thin ropes hurt anyone? You rely on them for protection?” She had only taken two steps when the silk thread cut into her. By the firelight, Yun Ye saw blood flowing out.

Tange stopped and retreated slightly, looking at the wound on her arm and saying, “Your rope is very sturdy.”

Yun Ye remained noncommittal. He took a piece of dried yam and placed it over the fire to roast. The outer skin quickly became charred black, and with a rub of his hand, the skin fell off. The finger-thick dried yam emitted a scorched fragrance similar to roasted bread.

He handed half to Tange, who had crawled over, then passed the remaining half behind him. Immediately came the crunching sounds—Wang Cai never missed anything edible.

The food was scarce, better than nothing. Two or three pieces of dried yam could never fill the bellies of two people and one horse. No wonder Dou Yanshan had said the hunger he once experienced was so terrible—when your stomach cramps together, apart from food, your mind holds nothing else.

Dou Yanshan was stingy. He had only provided rations for Yun Ye alone. If made into porridge, it would barely be enough for two people to eat, but adding a horse made it far from sufficient.

This was his new method of preventing Yun Ye from escaping. Without food, one couldn’t walk out of the jungle—even a child understood this principle. The simplest methods in the world are often the most effective. Don’t say that a person could traverse the wilderness relying solely on jungle knowledge—that was just a legend. Why did an exploration team need at least three people? There was good reason for this. Only three people could barely provide mutual support; even two people weren’t enough.

There was indeed much food in the jungle, but most of it was prepared for wild beasts. Without a strong stomach, one couldn’t digest that primitive food.

“Why do you feed grain to your horse, even going hungry yourself to let it eat its fill? Aren’t horses supposed to just eat grass?” Tange had never seen anyone treat their horse so well.

“I’ll only explain this once, so listen carefully. To me, Wang Cai is my brother. He’s not a horse—he’s my companion, one of the most important lives in my life.”

He didn’t want to tell her about Wang Cai. He hadn’t even told Xinyue these things. Some secrets were perhaps better kept in one’s heart. Wang Cai was the creature closest to his secret, and Yun Ye even felt a familial connection toward Wang Cai.

In the Yun household, everyone knew that if you accidentally neglected the Marquis while serving him, it was fine—the Marquis would laugh it off. But if you mistreated Wang Cai, the Marquis would fly into a rage and punish without mercy.

Xiao Ya was Yun Ye’s most beloved sister. Whatever trouble she caused, she wouldn’t be punished—except for when she burned Wang Cai’s tail with a candle. Yun Ye’s face had been dark for three days. After that, Xiao Ya never dared tease Wang Cai again.

“Who are you? I can tell you’re not an ordinary person. My guest is very proud, but he seems filled with goodwill toward you. You say you’re enemies—is that possible?”

“Dou Yanshan used to be a noble young master. He came to Nanzhao because his family was destroyed by someone. His grandfather was frightened to death, his father committed suicide, his family members scattered in all directions, some becoming slaves and servants. Do you know? I was one of the chief culprits who caused his family’s destruction. So there’s no possibility of reconciliation between us—only a fight to the death. I believe you wouldn’t share the same sky with him either, so we’re natural allies.”

Tange, having been a queen for many years, considered matters very thoroughly. After thinking for a while, she asked with difficulty, “What do you want from us? We’re too poor. I won’t give you our ancestors’ ritual vessels. We don’t have enough grain to eat, so we can’t give you any. I’ve heard that women of the Great Tang are very beautiful, so you wouldn’t fancy the women in our tribe. We only have these things. What exactly do you want? Ama said that to receive help, one must be able to pay the price. I’m afraid I can’t pay the price you want.”

“Your Ama is a cautious person. The compensation I want is for you to escort me out of the jungle. I’m a person from the civilized world—I can’t stand staying in your place for even a day. I have no designs on you. I just want to go home.”

“I don’t trust Tang people. The Nanzhao headmen won’t trust Tang people either. You occupy the most fertile land, the gentlest rivers. Your grain is so abundant you can’t finish eating it. I’ve heard you also have many clothes—each person has two sets, right? So why do you still want to seize the last piece of land where we can survive? Ama said you have an endless desire for land, always wanting to occupy all the land. Even if each of you had a piece of land as large as a snow mountain, you still couldn’t farm it all.”

“If you’re truly his enemy, then don’t help him. Let me kill him and avenge my six men.” Tange possessed foresight that other tribespeople lacked. No matter what Yun Ye said, she wouldn’t believe it anymore. Even if Yun Ye now said the sky was dark, she would reflexively shake her head. Dou Yanshan had given her an unforgettable education—for example, the deaths of her six men.

The alliance hadn’t formed. Even the most foolish tribesperson, after suffering one major loss, would cautiously choose their own actions, preferring to die in battle rather than trust an unreliable friend. Moreover, this friend seemed even more dangerous than the previous one.

Since the matter couldn’t be negotiated, he gave up hope. Yun Ye lay on his bed and fell asleep in an instant. Being troubled and anxious now served no purpose—better to rest well and face tomorrow’s trials.

Day broke, but there was no sun. The sky was filled with clouds, and the air itself seemed damp. Taking a breath was refreshing—this was the effect of the forest oxygen bar. Stretching lazily, he rolled out of bed and first collected those thin ropes—this was his last line of defense.

Taking Wang Cai out the door, he found the Dou family’s old steward looking depressed. Upon seeing Yun Ye, he bowed in greeting. He was a very refined person—clearly knowing Yun Ye was his family’s mortal enemy, he still firmly remembered his own status.

“Did Marquis Yun sleep comfortably last night? This humble place is simple and crude—it has wronged the Marquis. If we were in Chang’an, my family’s small building with its luxurious furnishings would surely satisfy the Marquis. But that beautiful small building—this old slave watched it turn to ashes with my own eyes. Does Marquis Yun still remember that small building?”

Yun Ye seemed not to hear the sarcasm in the old steward’s words and said brazenly, “Yesterday I saw Brother Dou suddenly sporting several fleshy pillars that looked imposingly magnificent. I wonder if those fleshy pillars have grown even larger? Why don’t I go visit Brother Dou to properly fulfill a guest’s duty?”

Even with the best temper, the old steward, thinking of how his young master’s head had swollen until it was no different from a pig’s head, pointed at Yun Ye and said loudly, “Marquis Yun, don’t go too far! Yesterday you clearly saw there were leeches on the banyan tree but deliberately didn’t say anything, causing my young master to be bitten by more than ten leeches. How vicious your heart is!”

Thinking of how yesterday Dou Yanshan’s neck had been covered with blood-engorged red leeches that bounced around when he ran, making it look like his neck had grown many red hairs—it had made Yun Ye both delighted and alarmed. Nothing in the jungle was simple.

“Old Dou, you’ve been the Dou family steward for at least fifty years, right? How have you regressed so much? You’d even do something like turning people into candles? Don’t you have daughters or granddaughters? If children you painstakingly raised were made into candles and lit, how would you feel? So what I do is upright and honorable. If a family like the Dou family that devours people without spitting out bones still prospers without retribution, would Heaven still have eyes?”

The old steward wanted to argue but was stopped by Yun Ye, who said, “Your young master just wants some gold, doesn’t he? Are there any servants in your household who know a bit of carpentry? I need his help to make several items so we can pan for gold, to avoid all of you starving to death in the jungle.”