At the post-station.

Yu Jiuling opened the chests and looked them over, actually showing a flicker of disdain — which made Li Chi feel it was necessary to give Yu Jiuling a targeted lesson in proper attitudes.

“Why do you look so displeased?” Li Chi asked.

“The silver in these two chests,” Yu Jiuling said, “all told, barely comes to ten thousand taels.”

“Why have you become so full of yourself?” Li Chi asked.

“Hm?”

“Think carefully about when this started,” Li Chi said. “Think about when you began floating above the ground. Swindling silver is our calling. Back in the day we’d put in every effort for a few taels. Now there are ten thousand taels sitting right here, and you have the nerve to sneer?”

Yu Jiuling paused, and began to feel that Li Chi was making a remarkably compelling point. He started to think he’d been somewhat unprofessional.

“You,” Li Chi said, “are displeased because the take was smaller than last time.”

Yu Jiuling grew faintly uneasy, sensing he had perhaps gone a bit too far.

“A qualified swindler,” Li Chi continued, “is never displeased that a given take is smaller than the last. How have you lost even that basic awareness?”

“I was wrong,” Yu Jiuling said.

A moment later he blinked, worked hard at thinking something through, and said to Li Chi: “But swindling isn’t actually our calling, is it.”

“Then explain where this silver came from.”

“Hang on, let me think some more…”

“You should reflect on yourself,” Li Chi said. “So this silver we swindled won’t be split with you — consider it a penalty for your poor attitude.”

“I’m getting the feeling,” Yu Jiuling said, “that the whole long speech you just gave was just to arrive at this one sentence.”

“Without all that lead-up,” Li Chi said, “docking your share directly would seem rather blunt. Inelegant. Think about it — I first criticized you, then docked your pay. Doesn’t that feel much more reasonable?”

Yu Jiuling thought about it and nodded. “It does feel considerably more reasonable.”

Li Chi gave a satisfied nod. “Good. Off with you.”

“Right.”

He turned and walked away.

Dantai Yajing fixed Li Chi with a long look. Li Chi felt his skin prickle and asked: “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Cult,” said Dantai Yajing.

Li Chi burst out laughing. He said to Dantai Yajing: “I’ll split what was meant for Yu Jiuling and give half to you. What do you say?”

“Enlightened,” said Dantai Yajing.

Li Chi: “Ah… capital corrupts human nature. It really is… too delightful.”

At that moment Yu Jiuling came back in, looked very seriously at Li Chi, and said: “Hang on, chief — something doesn’t add up. The more I think about it, the more I feel like you just didn’t want to share.”

Dantai Yajing said: “Nonsense! The chief is a man of the utmost integrity.”

Li Chi said: “Yu Jiuling, would you like to know what it takes to be a proper leader? If you’d like to know, you can think of that share of silver as your tuition — what you learn from me will serve you your whole life, worth far more than a bit of silver.”

Yu Jiuling figured the silver was gone regardless, so he nodded and said: “All right then, let’s hear it.”

Li Chi said: “A leader is a person of authority — they must take their character seriously. First and foremost, a leader cannot be without conscience. Because if a person in authority is without conscience… then they’re even more delightful.”

“…”

“Would you like to reclaim your share of the silver?” Li Chi asked.

Yu Jiuling nodded. “Yes!”

Li Chi pointed at one of their traveling trunks. “Open it.”

Yu Jiuling opened the trunk, only to find it stuffed with women’s clothing — colorful, all manner of styles.

Li Chi said: “Change into it, go reconnoiter near Zhengqing Temple, come back with information, and I’ll return your silver.”

“You want me to wear women’s clothes?”

He bit his teeth together. “Fine. For silver, I’ll wear it.”

He grabbed a set of clothes and went to change in the other room. Li Chi looked at Dantai Yajing and said: “There you have it — capital distorting human nature once again…”

“A cult, as I said,” Dantai Yajing replied.

That night, Yu Jiuling changed into a flowing women’s gown — deep red — and Li Chi even furnished him with a green paper umbrella, explaining that it made him more conspicuous.

Yu Jiuling gazed at his own reflection in the bronze mirror, feelings that defied expression washing over him for a long moment.

Then Li Chi looked at Dantai Yajing and said: “Now that Yu Jiuling has become a real Yu Jiumei, a delicate young woman wandering out alone at night is a bit implausible.”

Dantai Yajing immediately took two steps back. “No.”

“It’s all for the mission.”

“No.”

“Can you really bear to watch Yu Jiumei go out alone, when suddenly several hulking men leap out of the bushes—”

“I can bear it,” Dantai Yajing said. “My conscience doesn’t twinge in the slightest. In fact, I find the prospect mildly entertaining.”

Half an hour later, the dashing young lord Dantai Yajing and the charming young maiden Yu Jiumei walked out of the post-station and caused quite a stir.

The Gujing County constables standing guard outside had noticed earlier that the General’s party included female companions, so they had no suspicions. And it was nearly deep night — with poor lighting, Yu Jiuling kept his head bowed, playing at being demure, and no one could make out his face clearly.

Dantai Yajing kept a fierce grip on his composure as Yu Jiuling took his arm, two competing voices rising and falling within him in rapid succession.

One voice said: Hit him.

The other said: Hold on — he’s innocent in all this too…

Outside the post-station, two constables watched the couple walk away, then looked at each other. One of them couldn’t quite help himself and, in a hushed voice, said:

“That woman… very broad-shouldered.”

The other constable said: “Mm… good birthing hips, by the look of it.”

Dantai Yajing had told the constables he and his wife were going for a stroll. The constables had initially offered to escort them, but Dantai Yajing kept insisting they needn’t, and the constables didn’t dare simply follow.

Half an hour after they had gone, Deputy Magistrate Gao Youxin came hurrying up to Magistrate Liu Shengchun’s front door and pounded on it urgently.

The head steward was irritated, but a glance told him it was the Deputy Magistrate himself, and he bowed hurriedly.

“Quick, let me in — something has happened!”

Gao Youxin called out, his voice gone slightly hoarse.

Moments later, Liu Shengchun came running out in his robe, half-dressed from having been asleep. He took one look at Gao Youxin and demanded: “What’s happened?”

Gao Youxin said: “Someone just ran to the yamen from Inspector Li’s party — I happened to be on duty tonight, staying at the yamen. They reported that one of General Li’s fifth-rank officers went out for a night stroll with his wife, and something happened!”

Liu Shengchun swallowed, heart already pounding too fast to bear. “How… how serious is it?”

“They say the General’s wife was seized by assailants, right outside Zhengqing Temple. The General says he watched it happen — she was carried off by several people in Daoist robes.”

“Ah!”

Liu Shengchun was thoroughly alarmed. “Could it have been Fang Yuzhu’s people?”

Gao Youxin said: “That’s what I thought too, which is why I rushed here to discuss it with you. What do we do?”

“Damn him!”

Liu Shengchun said: “We split up — I’ll go to the post-station and stall for time, you go to Zhengqing Temple and find Fang Yuzhu. If the woman is unharmed, get her out!”

“Understood!”

Gao Youxin immediately left.

Liu Shengchun didn’t dare delay either; he brought people and rushed to the post-station to seek out Li Chi.

When Gao Youxin arrived at Zhengqing Temple in a panic, he found that the Inspector’s men were already there — dozens of armed guards, and General Li himself.

Liu Shengchun had certainly made a wasted trip; he’d be along soon enough. For now, Gao Youxin was on his own.

So Gao Youxin steeled himself and went before Li Chi. He snuck a glance at the man’s face, saw it dark with fury, and couldn’t find where to begin.

“This is Zhengqing Temple, which you told me was housing a Daoist priest come from Dragon Tiger Mountain to save lives and aid the suffering?!”

Li Chi said furiously: “Explain yourself!”

Gao Youxin hastily said: “This official asks your forgiveness — I still don’t know exactly what has happened. Please give me a moment, and I’ll go in and find out.”

Li Chi said: “If you hadn’t arrived when you did, I’d already have ordered men to charge in. Criminals like this, daring to seize a General’s wife — utterly beyond the pale!”

“Please, sir, calm yourself.”

Gao Youxin said: “This official will go and make inquiries at once.”

He wiped the sweat from his brow and ran to the temple gate, calling out: “I am Gao Youxin, Deputy Magistrate of this county — open the gate!”

The people inside heard the Deputy Magistrate’s voice and hurried to open it. Gao Youxin glared at the one who opened it: “Where is Daoist Fang?!”

The man hastily replied: “The Daoist is in the main hall, sir — but what has happened?”

Gao Youxin had no patience for him and strode toward the main hall. He’d barely taken a few steps before Fang Yuzhu and Jù Hé came out to meet him.

“Deputy Magistrate Gao, what has happened?”

Fang Yuzhu asked as he came forward.

“How dare you ask me that?!”

Gao Youxin walked up to him and snapped: “Did I not tell you clearly — there is an Inspector in the city, keep your people in check, no one goes wandering about. What have your people done?!”

“My people…” Fang Yuzhu was genuinely puzzled — deeply puzzled. He had no idea what had happened. His disciples had just come in to report that dozens of mounted men had surrounded the gate, every one of them armed.

Fang Yuzhu had assumed it was enemies come to kill him, and immediately ordered everyone to stand ready to fight their way out.

Then Gao Youxin arrived.

“Sir, truly, I don’t know what has happened,” Fang Yuzhu said urgently. “And as instructed, I told everyone to stay inside — none of my people have gone out all day. Not a single one.”

Gao Youxin said furiously: “Not a single one? One of the Inspector’s generals took his wife for a night stroll — they came past this temple and several Daoist priests seized the wife and brought her inside. Was the General lying to frame you?!”

That gave Fang Yuzhu a genuine start. He immediately turned and asked: “Did anyone go out just now?”

Jù Hé swept the room with her eyes and replied: “Shouldn’t have. We gave the order multiple times to stay inside — if anyone had gone, I would have known.”

“Count everyone!”

Jù Hé quickly gathered all the disciples and counted them — indeed, not one was missing.

Fang Yuzhu stepped before them and said in a low, firm voice: “If anyone slipped out and seized someone else’s wife, step forward now. Don’t make me find you myself.”

Everyone was bewildered; they had truly not gone out, and when they corroborated with each other, all accounts were consistent.

“Sir.” Having confirmed that none of his people had gone out, Fang Yuzhu turned back to Gao Youxin. “Might there be a mistake? My people were truly all inside. Could it be that some bandits seized her and it happened to be right outside our gates?”

Gao Youxin thought this wasn’t entirely impossible, and was just about to give Fang Yuzhu some instructions — namely that when General Li came in shortly, Fang Yuzhu should be on his best behavior—

“He’s a fraud!”

At that moment, from the direction of the outhouse at the side of the courtyard, a shrill voice cried out: “I’m here! They grabbed me and hid me here! I’m the General’s wife!”

The voice was — extremely shrill.

—