Yu Chaozong looked at the fool standing in the road blocking his path, and couldn’t help but laugh. He asked, “What’s the price?”

Li Chi smiled and answered, “A jug of old wine and a bowl of meat — enough to face whatever storms may come.”

Yu Chaozong shook his head, still smiling. “Too cheap. Is there something more expensive? I can afford a little more.”

Li Chi answered, “May those of noble ambition rise from any station.”

Yu Chaozong nodded. “That’s the one.”

—

Half an hour later — the carriage company.

When Zhuang Wudi saw Yu Chaozong, he actually wept. He did not weep aloud, but the moisture in his eyes couldn’t lie — this was a man who rarely smiled and rarely spoke more than necessary, and yet here was this unexpected well of feeling. Yu Chaozong was quite moved himself, and hurried forward to take Zhuang Wudi’s hand.

“Second brother — you missed me so badly as all this?”

Zhuang Wudi, voice tight in his throat, said, “Finally…”

Yu Chaozong asked, “What?”

Zhuang Wudi said, “…a reason to drink.”

Yu Chaozong was speechless.

Yu Jiuling said, “You drink every day anyway.”

Zhuang Wudi was speechless.

Yu Chaozong said, “Second brother — since when do you put on performances like this?”

Zhuang Wudi looked over at Li Chi. Li Chi thought: that’s nothing to do with me.

—

In the reception hall, Yu Chaozong smiled and asked Li Chi, “You calculated that someone from Yanshan Camp would try to enter the city, so you were waiting at the city gates all along?”

Li Chi nodded. “The last person I expected was for Big Brother Yu himself to come.”

Yu Chaozong said, “My coming in person — it was not only because I missed you. There are also some pressing matters I needed to see to myself before I could feel at ease.”

He asked Li Chi, “Can you guess what was on my mind?”

Li Chi shook his head. “I cannot.”

Yu Chaozong’s expression shifted slightly. “What do you mean you cannot? Why not?”

Li Chi said, “Big Brother Yu should not yet be making a move on Jizhou City. Even with Prince Yu about to march, this idea should be set aside for now.”

Yu Chaozong sighed. “As I thought — only you could see right through me. But why not?”

Yu Jiuling said with a smirk to Xiahou Zuo, “Every time he says ‘pressing matters,’ I think of a brothel.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Keep your mouth shut…”

Zhuang Wudi lowered his voice. “Same.”

Xiahou Zuo stared.

Li Chi patiently explained all the particular circumstances of Jizhou City as things stood. Yu Chaozong listened carefully until Li Chi finished, then sat quietly thinking for a very long time — so long he even forgot to drink his water. It was plain that his mind was working ceaselessly, weighing every advantage and risk, deciding whether to take Jizhou City or not.

He was a decision-maker. Before every decision he owed it to himself to think as carefully as possible.

He had no choice but to weigh the drawbacks Li Chi described against the benefits. What were the benefits? A fortified city. But if they ended up trapped inside Jizhou City, all they would have was that one city, and a fortified city would become nothing but a grand coffin. A hundred thousand troops that could otherwise push out and take territory across a thousand miles — if pinned down defending Jizhou, those hundred thousand brothers might end up as nothing more than the rubble packed beneath Jizhou City’s foundations.

Yu Chaozong let out a long breath and looked at Li Chi. “I’ll listen to you. When I return I’ll tell the brothers — we are not taking Jizhou.”

Li Chi gave a soft sound of agreement, then introduced Tang Pidi to meet Yu Chaozong. After Tang Pidi explained the Hidden Tiger Three Thousand plan, Yu Chaozong’s eyes lit up.

“Three thousand men detached from the ranks means nothing at all — that number couldn’t take a single county seat. But concealed inside Jizhou City, those three thousand brothers could one day open the gates from within and take Jizhou from the inside out.”

Yu Chaozong rose and clasped his fists in a bow toward Tang Pidi. “Brother Tang, my thanks for this counsel of pure gold. Whether Yanshan Camp can one day secure Jizhou depends entirely on what you’ve just said.”

At this, Tang Pidi understood a little better why Li Chi held Yu Chaozong in such high regard.

Compared to men in official posts, compared to the leaders of other rebel forces, Yu Chaozong was a man of rare openness. He spoke plainly and meant it, without affected posturing. Most importantly, he had the magnanimity to welcome and accommodate others.

Yu Chaozong said, “Brother Tang — if you are willing, there is a seat waiting for you in Yanshan Camp.”

Tang Pidi shook his head. “My thanks for your trust, Chieftain — but I am not suited to great responsibilities. Better for me to stay at Li Chi’s side as a helper.”

Yu Chaozong said at once, “Very well, it is entirely as you see fit.”

Say what needed to be said, and never force anyone’s hand — this was Yu Chaozong’s way of dealing with people. So Tang Pidi, too, was finding that being around a man like Yu Chaozong was not unpleasant at all.

“Oh, right — Big Brother Yu, we may be heading out tomorrow.”

Li Chi smiled. “To do a piece of business worth two thousand taels. Once that money comes in, we can stockpile more grain, so when the three thousand brothers enter Jizhou, they won’t have to worry about empty stomachs.”

Yu Chaozong asked curiously, “What sort of business?”

—

At the same time — the Xu residence.

Xu Yuanqing sat down in the chair arranged at the north end of a large courtyard. Several hundred people stood in neat rows before him, their faces grave and composed, awaiting the master’s instructions.

“Master Chen — would you like to speak first?”

Xu Yuanqing addressed the man standing at his side — the personal bodyguard of Prince Yu’s heir, Yang Zhuo: Chen Fengliao.

Chen Fengliao shook his head. “This is for the Honorable Xu to explain. I am only here to assist and follow through. Everything is to be arranged and directed by the Honorable Xu. The young lord has said that full authority over this matter is placed in the Honorable Xu’s hands. I shall comply accordingly.”

Xu Yuanqing made a sound of acknowledgment and looked at the assembled men. “Then let me first introduce these individuals to you, so that tomorrow’s work goes smoothly.”

He looked toward the middle-aged man standing at the far right of the front row. The man was not especially tall, but powerfully built — broad shoulders, narrow waist, the shape of a bull’s head.

“This man is the Third Master of the former Golden Feather House in Jizhou City.”

Xu Yuanqing said, “On the surface, Golden Feather House appeared to be an underworld force that could stand against the Azure Formation — but in truth it had long since been absorbed into the Azure Formation. It simply preferred not to let that be known. Third Master Shi Su left Golden Feather House out of disgust with the Azure Formation’s methods. He has been under my protection for more than two years.”

Chen Fengliao was briefly taken aback at this. If Golden Feather House’s Third Master had been under Xu Yuanqing’s roof for more than two years, then the Xu family had known for more than two years that Golden Feather House was actually a front for the Azure Formation. At that time, even the regional governor, Lian Gongming, had been unaware of this.

The Xu family had known — and when Lian Gongming was being suppressed and crushed, not one word of information had been passed along. This said a great deal about how deep and silent the Xu family’s calculations ran.

If the Xu family had given Lian Gongming even the slightest advance warning back then, Lian Gongming’s covert forces would not have suffered such a swift and total collapse.

“This man.”

Xu Yuanqing indicated the second person: “He is an Elder of the Wind and Thunder Sect. The Sect’s master — one of the formation gates of the Azure Formation — was killed by Yao Wuhen, after which the senior disciple Yuan Bei took over and became the new master, assuming the same role in the Azure Formation. But Yuan Bei still owes this man a respectful form of address: Grand-Teacher Uncle.”

The second man appeared to be somewhere around sixty or seventy years old, and stood there with a slight sway, as though a stiff wind might knock him over. This left Chen Fengliao puzzled as to what use such a man could possibly serve.

Xu Yuanqing said, “Old Yuan’s full name is Yuan Qianshou. His standing in the Wind and Thunder Sect is high — the previous master was his martial nephew as well. The Wind and Thunder Sect’s foremost practitioner has never been whoever held the title of master. It has always been Old Yuan.”

Yuan Qianshou bowed his head. “The Honorable Xu flatters me.”

Xu Yuanqing then looked toward the third person and said, “She is called Gongshu Yingying. Master Chen need not trouble himself with what she is best at. He need only know that she can accomplish what others cannot. I believe Old Yuan would agree that if one needed to kill a man, Old Yuan might miss — but Gongshu Yingying would never miss.”

Yuan Qianshou glanced at the young woman, and something like faint unease passed through his eyes. He nodded. “I have genuine admiration for Miss Gongshu’s abilities.”

The middle-aged man in the first position — the one called Shi Su — flicked a glance at Gongshu Yingying, then immediately looked away. His expression held not only unease but clear revulsion.

Xu Yuanqing added a remark: “Miss Gongshu kills quickly — but she can also kill slowly. To my knowledge, the slowest she has ever taken was seven full days and still the man was not dead.”

Gongshu Yingying gave a shy smile. “That was not actually my slowest. My slowest was a wealthy young lord — he was born simply too handsome. I couldn’t bear to finish it quickly. That one took thirteen days.”

A chill ran through Chen Fengliao’s heart and down his back.

Xu Yuanqing indicated the fourth person. “This man prefers to travel the world alone. He is called Yao Busheng. He can kill a man five hundred li away and return before nightfall. His lightness techniques and footwork are likely without peer in the jianghu. His swordsmanship, too, is exceptional — few can match him in a contest of blades.”

He looked to the fifth person. “This man is called Zhong Dashu. His distinction is simple: strength gifted by nature. He can pull back a galloping horse with his bare hands, and level a charging bull with a single punch. In the truest sense, the valor of a single man at the gates who can hold back ten thousand.”

This man called Zhong Dashu stood more than a full head taller than Chen Fengliao — and Chen Fengliao was already a tall man. This figure did not even look human. He looked like a beast wearing a man’s shape.

Xu Yuanqing smiled. “These five individuals are here to assist Master Chen. Add several hundred capable fighters, and if we still cannot kill that person called Li Chi — then we can only say that Heaven itself refuses to claim him.”

Chen Fengliao smiled. He was thoroughly satisfied with these five.

“Excellent. Truly excellent. With the Honorable Xu’s arrangements as such, the young lord will be very gratified as well. Once this is done, I shall have a proper account to give the young lord, and the Honorable Xu shall have one to give as well. There is also one further matter…”

Chen Fengliao said, “The young lord has asked me to convey to the Honorable Xu that the young men selected by the Honorable Xu have already been assigned places within the personal guard barracks.”

Xu Yuanqing laughed heartily. “Then many thanks to His Highness.”

Chen Fengliao said, “We set out at first light tomorrow. A militia unit will clear the road for us. Let none of those present be late.”

Everyone present clasped their fists toward him in unison.

—

Prince Yu’s residence.

Prince Yu looked toward the military commissioner, Zeng Ling, and asked, “Have all the forces outside the city assembled?”

Zeng Ling answered, “With the exception of Yanshan Camp, all the various forces have arrived. I sent word requiring Yu Chaozong to dispatch fifty thousand troops. He did not send a single man. Even if he is still of use at present, he will need to be eliminated in time.”

“Mm…”

Prince Yu nodded. “But for now we cannot do without his Yanshan Camp — the northern passes still depend on him to hold them.”

He gave a cold laugh. “Yu Chaozong thinks he can still harbor grand ambitions of his own. A man’s heart is never satisfied — the snake that tries to swallow the elephant. A man of his origins, imagining he can contend for all under heaven — he will suffer for it before he understands. That saying, ‘in an age of chaos, any man may contend for the throne’ — it is nothing but a lie. All under heaven has never belonged to all under heaven.”

He rose and began to pace back and forth about the room. “Who do you think is best suited to remain and hold Jizhou?”

Zeng Ling said, “In truth, it would be most fitting for your subordinate to remain and hold Jizhou.”

Prince Yu sighed. “I know you are the best suited. But if you stay, I worry there will be no one who can keep Luo Jing in check…”

After a long silence he said, “The heir apparent remains to hold Jizhou — what do you think?”

Zeng Ling was silent for a long while as well.

Then he bowed and said, “The young lord… his temperament is not yet steady. If Xiahou were to remain and hold Jizhou, there would be no cause for concern at all. But the young lord truly falls short…”

Prince Yu fell into another long silence.

“You…”

After a long pause Prince Yu looked at Zeng Ling and said, “Help me go and see Xiahou. Ask whether he would be willing to meet with me. I would like to have a proper talk with him.”

—