With that stroke, Lai Yihu’s head rolled across the floor, and blood came pouring out in a rush, spreading quickly across the ground.

Meng Kedi looked at the body on the ground. Even a man like him — one who had been through countless battles — felt a chill.

“I had underestimated you all along. You’re truly ruthless.”

Meng Kedi said to Guo Ruren, “From the very first time you sought me out, I knew you were a dangerous man. I hadn’t imagined you’d be quite this dangerous.”

Guo Ruren looked at Meng Kedi and after a moment’s silence answered, “If the General had faced what I faced, you’d probably be the same.”

Meng Kedi said, “I’d be like you?”

He couldn’t help laughing. “I thought you were a clever man, and then you suddenly say something foolish.”

He looked at Guo Ruren and said, “You’re a servant — that’s why Lai Yihu could humiliate you as he pleased. He had to call me ‘Sworn Father’ to scheme against me. What standing do you have, to compare yourself with me?”

Guo Ruren’s expression shifted.

He breathed slowly out and said, “You’re right — I’m just a servant. But General’s grand ambitions seem, for now, to still be in need of this one servant.”

Meng Kedi asked, “Why would I be in need of you?”

Guo Ruren said, “Humble as I am, if the General wants to do certain things without the capital finding out, you’ll inevitably need me.”

He smiled too, as if all the cards were in his hand.

“General — no matter whether you want to kill Ding Shengjia, or wanted to kill Lai Yihu — what is it all in service of, at the bottom of things?”

He met Meng Kedi’s eyes without a flinch.

“The General wouldn’t say this to someone like me. But I, a man like me, happen to be exactly the clever person you mentioned.”

Guo Ruren paced back and forth as he spoke. “After the defeat in Jizhou, a few things became clear to the General.”

He held up one finger. “First: Prince Wu is in no position to deal with you right now — he has no choice but to use you — so all he did was curse you out, nothing more. But the moment Prince Wu returns, he will still hold you accountable for the loss of men and territory.”

“Second: you know Lai Yihu was sent by the Emperor to monitor you, which means you know Lai Yihu has certainly already reported your defeat to the court.”

Guo Ruren pointed at Meng Kedi. “The General thinks: you’ve guarded Anyang for so many years, and now just because of this one small defeat, your entire career may be ruined. You don’t accept that. To be precise — you’re furious. Just as Ding Shengjia is furious at you.”

“Third: whether Prince Wu deals with you, or the Emperor deals with you, who takes over Anyang? It certainly won’t be Ding Shengjia — he’s in trouble too. So it can only be Lai Yihu.”

Guo Ruren said, “You saw it clearly from the start. Lai Yihu was ambitious and wanted to replace you — to hold Anyang in his own hands.”

“You wanted to get rid of Ding Shengjia — not because he caused the defeat in Jizhou, but because he was one of Prince Wu’s old subordinates. If he ever found out what you were planning, he would certainly report it to Prince Wu in secret.”

Guo Ruren stopped. He looked Meng Kedi in the eyes and said, “General — you want to declare yourself independent. To hell with the court. To hell with Prince Wu. Anyone who wants to move against you — you won’t stand for it.”

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap…

Meng Kedi began to applaud.

He smiled and said, “I never imagined that the one who could see my intentions so clearly would be a servant of all people.”

Yet his smile still held contempt.

He continued, “I truly hadn’t expected that someone like you — a small man — would have such a meticulous mind. I thought you were just an inconsequential person, like your own name — Guo Ruren — a man passing through.”

Guo Ruren smiled. “But small men have their moment of turning the tables too. Small men have their dreams of turning the tables. And most importantly — small men can now see an opportunity.”

Guo Ruren said, “General, you don’t dare openly proclaim independence yet — you’re afraid of becoming a target for everyone. So you need to keep it hidden from the court.”

“Do you know when Lai Yihu sent his secret reports to the court? Do you know by what method he sent them? Do you know who received those reports?”

He glanced at the headless corpse on the ground.

“I worked every means to make Lai Yihu trust me. Every channel by which he communicated with the court — I know all of them, and it all passed through my hands.”

Guo Ruren’s gaze turned to Meng Kedi. “General — small men are not without great ability.”

Meng Kedi nodded. “You have truly given me a new view of you.”

Guo Ruren bowed. “Thank you, General.”

Meng Kedi looked at the people kneeling in the courtyard, silent for a moment, then asked, “Master Guo — do you know what should be done next?”

Guo Ruren felt something catch at the words “Master Guo.” A faint smile curved his lips.

He bowed and said, “In response to the General — I… this official knows.”

Meng Kedi asked, “Speak.”

Guo Ruren said, “General Lai Yihu, on account of a personal grudge with General Ding Shengjia — the two men’s followers brawled, with casualties on both sides.”

“This affair is a disgrace to the Anyang army, and the news must be kept contained. It would naturally be unacceptable for the court to learn of it.”

Meng Kedi shook his head slightly. “Not good enough.”

Guo Ruren considered for a moment, then continued, “General Ding Shengjia colluded with the great bandit of Jizhou, Li Chi, operating from within and without, intending to seize Anyang. He was discovered by General Lai Yihu, who moved swiftly to stop him — several hundred traitors were executed. A merit report should be submitted.”

“Ha ha ha ha…!” Meng Kedi laughed out loud. “Much better. I’ll write the memorial to the court requesting recognition of merit.”

Guo Ruren said, “The private letter to Duke of Bao Lai Yong’er — I’ll have a man deliver it.”

Meng Kedi nodded. “From this day forward, you are the campaign administrative secretary in my command — Fifth Rank, drawing a Fourth Rank salary. Serving in the field, advising on military affairs.”

Guo Ruren bowed again. “Thank you for the General’s patronage. This official will serve the General with all his heart.”

Meng Kedi said, “Whatever the court sends as a reward for General Lai — keep it for yourself, whatever it may be.”

“Thank you, General!”

Meng Kedi turned and looked at the jianghu figures, lingering a few moments on the Mohe chieftain.

He nodded. “These men aren’t bad.”

Guo Ruren said, “The matter of assassinating Li Chi — these men can handle it. If the General is willing to entrust this to me, I can take charge.”

Meng Kedi considered for a moment before answering, “We’ll speak of that later.”

He walked out, hands clasped behind his back.

Once Meng Kedi had gone, Guo Ruren waved a hand. “Kill everyone in this yard. Leave no one alive.”

But the Mohe chieftain didn’t move.

Guo Ruren asked, “Why don’t you act?”

The Mohe chieftain wore that same blank, expressionless face — as if nothing in the world had anything to do with him.

He said in a flat tone, “First — no payment. Second — I don’t kill people who are already on their knees begging.”

Guo Ruren said, “A man like you actually has principles?”

The Mohe chieftain answered, “You’ve guessed wrong. It’s because they’re no longer capable of resistance — there’s no interest in killing them.”

Guo Ruren said, “You’re this unmanageable — it seems I have no need to keep you people around.”

The Mohe chieftain stepped up to stand directly before Guo Ruren and looked him in the eye, enunciating each word with precision: “If it hadn’t been for us just now — do you not know that you’d already be dead?”

Guo Ruren fell silent.

As soon as Meng Kedi had left, orders could be heard being called out from all around — clearly the compound had been surrounded at some point by Anyang army elites.

And Guo Ruren had noticed it a moment before, just as Meng Kedi was laughing at him: things were not so simple.

He scanned his surroundings and found that at every vantage point around the compound, Anyang army archers were stationed.

A man like Meng Kedi — one who didn’t even trust Ding Shengjia — how could he have trusted Lai Yihu? How could he have trusted him… this small man?

And in that instant, Meng Kedi had genuinely wanted to kill Guo Ruren. Only because the Mohe warriors were present had he hesitated.

Meng Kedi took great pride in his martial ability — after years of battlefield carnage, having survived countless battles, that was proof enough of his ferocity. But he was not confident that, with Mohe warriors positioned all around him, he could have withdrawn unscathed.

Moreover, in the very instant he had formed that intent, he’d noticed the Mohe fighters quietly shifting their positions.

After a long moment of thought, Guo Ruren nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. But you should remember: since your purpose is to earn money, you would do well to think more carefully about your employer’s feelings.”

The Mohe chieftain said, “You need manpower. I’m not short of employers. Right now I could kill you and go find Meng Kedi — he probably wouldn’t turn us away.”

Guo Ruren fell silent again.

He genuinely disliked these frontier barbarians — these people had eyes only for silver. But right now he couldn’t do without them either. They were unlike ordinary jianghu fighters — trained, disciplined, and they killed without blinking.

“Since you don’t want to kill anyone, go back and rest.”

Guo Ruren said, “When I arrange for you to go north to Jizhou to kill Li Chi, I expect you to be a bit more cooperative.”

The Mohe chieftain replied, still perfectly flat, “Fifty thousand taels.”

“What?!”

Guo Ruren’s expression changed.

“Are you out of your mind?” He glared at the Mohe chieftain, already furious. “Do you really think I have no one else to use? The jianghu figures gathered in Anyang number in the hundreds if not a thousand — if I’m willing to put up five thousand taels, those willing to go kill Li Chi will be more than you can count!”

The Mohe chieftain answered, “If they’d do, be my guest.”

Guo Ruren said, “Don’t push your luck.”

The Mohe chieftain stepped directly before Guo Ruren. The two of them stood face to face.

He asked Guo Ruren, “Has it ever occurred to you — Meng Kedi won’t keep you around for long?”

Guo Ruren gave a slight snort.

The Mohe chieftain said, “One hundred thousand taels. I’ll help you kill Meng Kedi.”

Guo Ruren said, “If you could, you’d have done it just now.”

The Mohe chieftain replied in that same unhurried, indifferent tone, “First — the ambush troops were all around. If I’d moved, some of my own men would have died. Second — you hadn’t given me money.”

Guo Ruren said, “You’re too greedy.”

The Mohe chieftain said, “I’m in no hurry. You don’t have to agree.”

He gave a brief hand signal, and the Mohe warriors followed him out.

Guo Ruren breathed out a long, slow exhale.

Administrative secretary, they called it — but in this Anyang City, who would truly look up to him?

Since he had already set foot on this road, he could only steel himself and walk it to the end.

Those so-called great men looked down on him so thoroughly.

He raised his head and stared up at the sky. After a long silence, he called out in a loud voice: “Kill all these people — two hundred taels per head.”

The jianghu figures in the courtyard exchanged glances. Someone let out a shout and drew his blade, cutting down the person kneeling before him. With the first man moving, what followed became unspeakably savage.

The jianghu figures slaughtered with abandon. The hundreds of people kneeling in the yard were cut down one after another in rapid succession.

The blood-reek in the compound grew so thick that it seeped into the nose and set one’s head throbbing in waves.

Guo Ruren clasped his hands behind his back and walked away without looking back again.

Great men could blot out the sky with one hand.

Small men — they too dreamed of commanding wind and clouds.

—