Zhang Yuxu, the quite capable Daoist from Dragon Tiger Mountain, had once said — that on the battlefield before two armies, Yu Jiuling’s verbal abuse could be classified under the category of sorcery.

To be more specific: Yu Jiuling’s cursing was a magical attack, not a physical one.

Dongye City. Atop the city walls.

Chang Xing trained his spyglass on the figure outside the city cursing in the streets, his expression already as ugly as a man who had just been cuckolded.

It wasn’t even dawn yet, and that fellow outside had already reported for duty.

Just beyond the range of the archers on the walls, he had set up a table — and brought along soybean milk and fried dough sticks.

He’d take a couple of bites, then pick up the tin-sheet megaphone from the table and shout toward the walls.

“Hey! You fake Son of Heaven! You shameless creature! You imposter! You spineless great turtle — time to get up and take your morning dump!”

He ate while he cursed, not the least bit bothered by his own filth.

When he’d eaten his fill, he brewed a pot of tea, reclined in a deck chair, and cursed through the megaphone.

When he grew tired of reclining, he’d stand up to stretch — cursing as he moved about.

He could even curse while relieving himself.

At midday he had hotpot, cursing between bites.

In the afternoon he called up a few of his men, and the four of them played mahjong while taking turns cursing.

It had been nearly a full day now, and that fellow showed no sign of stopping.

“An outrage!”

Chang Xing slapped his palm hard against the city wall with a crack.

There were troops outside — Xiao Mao’s personal forces were arrayed before the city gates — but without his order, they couldn’t simply sally out on their own.

“Send Xiao Mao to hack that scoundrel down for me!”

Chang Xing roared.

Truth be told, enduring it until the afternoon had already taken no small effort on his part.

The moment the order went out, Xiao Mao — who had long since reached his breaking point — immediately dispatched cavalry to go kill Yu Jiuling.

The moment Yu Jiuling and his men saw someone coming out, they turned and fled, carrying the mahjong table as they ran.

On the second morning, before the roosters had even crowed, he was back.

One hand on his hip, the other raising the megaphone, shouting toward the city gates.

“Hey! Old traitor Chang Xing, you shameless wretch — time to get up and piss again!”

“Old traitor, you definitely didn’t sleep well last night. Don’t believe me? Go check for yourself — I’ll wager it’s running yellow!”

In the Ning Army camp, Li Chi was practicing his boxing.

When Yu Jiuling’s shouting drifted over to him, he couldn’t hold it in — he burst out laughing.

Ninth Sister was truly a dedicated and conscientious soul.

When Li Chi had finished breakfast and made his way to the space between the two armies, the sight of Yu Jiuling left him momentarily stunned.

He’d thought he already knew Ninth Sister well. Turned out, Ninth Sister’s talents were far more than just a little bit.

Yu Jiuling was in the middle of choreographing a dance routine for his men. Once he’d taught the soldiers the moves, he led them in performing it outside the city walls, dancing and chanting at the same time.

“Hey, you soft-bellied thing inside the city — have you eaten today? Watch your grandfather’s dance — bet that wrung a gasp of admiration right out of you!”

“Hey, you kept-man inside the city — haven’t grown a spine, have you? Watch your grandfather’s dance — bet you don’t dare come out and fight!”

Dantai Qi sighed and said, “If I were Chang Xing, I’d abandon Dongye City entirely just to kill Ninth Sister.”

Li Chi said, “Probably won’t be long now.”

Dantai Qi said, “We should find Ninth Sister a few more bodyguards going forward.”

Li Chi said, “The way I’m thinking about it, Ninth Sister’s future bodyguards are going to need their own bodyguards.”

Dantai Qi thought it over and said, “Maybe we should agree not to deploy Ninth Sister unless something truly critical comes up.”

Li Chi made a sound of agreement. “Indeed — there’s something almost unsporting about it.”

Up ahead, Yu Jiuling was still dancing away, his coquettish, preening steps the sort of thing that could make you vomit everything you’d eaten three days ago.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Chang Xing lost control. Desperate to be rid of that man, he ordered the archers outside to press forward.

The problem was that the rebel army’s weapons and equipment were considerably inferior — if they’d had the bed-crossbows of Dachu’s garrison troops…

A hundred of them would do — drag out five hundred and have them all trained on Yu Jiuling.

The moment the arrow formation pressed forward, Yu Jiuling and his men took to their heels.

The two days that followed were spent in just this spirit of warm, affectionate harmony between both sides.

No hard feelings were incurred.

That night.

Chang Xing flew into a fury and kicked the table over.

“Every one of you — always boasting about how capable you are. This one says he’s impressive, that one says the same.”

Chang Xing spun around and glared at his subordinates. “And when it actually comes to it, not a single one of you is any use!”

His general Yin Rong said shamefacedly, “My lord, we did send men out to trade insults — but that little scoundrel out there curses without ever repeating himself. His mouth is like a river. Our men simply can’t out-curse him.”

Another of Chang Xing’s generals, Xiao Mao, added, “That little wretch’s insults are completely unorthodox — there’s no telling what nonsense he’ll come out with next.”

Conventional cursing clearly had no effect.

Yin Rong said, “And that man’s face is so thick that no matter how much you insult him, he doesn’t get angry — the more you curse him, the more energized he gets.”

Chang Xing said furiously, “So we’re just supposed to let him humiliate me like this every single day outside the city?”

Xiao Mao said, “My lord need only wait two or three more days. The scouts we sent out to gather intelligence will be back soon.”

Earlier, Chang Xing had worried that Li Chi was using this as a lure to draw him out, with a large army lying in ambush somewhere behind. That was why he had ordered the gates held and no one sent out. He had dispatched two men, each leading their own detachment, to investigate behind Li Chi’s Ning Army positions. Barring any mishaps, those two would be returning soon.

These two men were also battle-hardened fighters in Chang Xing’s service — both had come from bandit backgrounds.

One was called Wan Zai, once a notorious lone brigand within the borders of Qingzhou. He had heard that the pay here was generous, so he came to offer his services.

The other was called Ren Jian, someone Chang Xing had met through his business dealings. Because of his formidable martial skill, Chang Xing had hired him, and he had served as a guard for Chang Xing’s merchant caravans ever since.

Chang Xing’s intention was to find out whether there were more troops behind Li Chi’s forces or not.

If there were, then continue holding the walls and wearing down the Ning Army’s supplies — they would be defeated without a battle.

If there weren’t — then this Li Chi was simply bluffing, and there would be nothing to wait for. Go out and destroy him.

These two days, though, had truly been difficult to endure.

“When something is abnormal, there is always a reason behind it.”

Yin Rong said, “If Li Chi truly came with only this little over ten thousand men, it means he’s confident that his troops can fight at ten-to-one odds.”

Xiao Mao said, “I’ve heard that this man is exceptionally skilled at training soldiers. His Ning Army has won battles against the court’s garrison troops — which would explain why Li Chi has such confidence.”

Chang Xing nodded. “He knows his numbers are too few to take Dongye City by storm, so he’s resorting to this contemptible trick to force us out and fight him on open ground.”

Yin Rong said, “But if he truly has only this ten thousand or so men — even if we go out and fight, why should we be afraid of him?”

Xiao Mao said, “My lord, why not summon Wu Naiyu? That man is full of resourcefulness. We could ask him—”

Xiao Mao’s words were cut off as Chang Xing waved his hand dismissively. “That fellow — even though he’s here in Dongye City, no matter what I ask, he refuses to speak. If his reputation weren’t so enormous — if moving against him and his wife wouldn’t shake the people’s hearts — I’d have killed him long ago.”

“My lord.”

Yin Rong lowered his voice and said, “If we want to be rid of this man, the present moment is also an opportunity.”

He leaned in and murmured, “Summon him. Ask him about the enemy situation. If he refuses to speak, my lord must not let your anger show.”

“Not only must you not show anger — bestow upon him a unit of troops and send him outside the city to meet the Ning Army in battle. Let the Ning Army kill him.”

Xiao Mao laughed and said, “And if he refuses to go — seize his wife. Would he really abandon even his own woman?”

Chang Xing thought it over carefully for a moment, then nodded. “Pass the order. Bring Wu Naiyu to me.”

At that same moment, in a small tavern somewhere in Dongye City.

Wu Naiyu — now past thirty years of age — sat behind the counter, writing by the dim glow of a lamp.

Yet to look at his face, he appeared no older than twenty-four or twenty-five.

His wife, Su Xiaoxiao, was tidying the tables, and when she glanced back and saw the lamp burning low, she went to light another and placed it beside him.

“What are you writing?”

Su Xiaoxiao asked gently.

Wu Naiyu smiled and said, “Just scribbling a few characters. I’ve been dreadfully lazy lately — haven’t kept up with my studies — my handwriting has grown ugly.”

Su Xiaoxiao looked at what was written on the paper.

*By my reckoning, that ugly brute will send men to apprehend me tonight.*

Seeing that line, Su Xiaoxiao’s brow arched slightly.

Wu Naiyu had a slender build and refined, handsome features — though in recent years he had genuinely been too lazy to practice his martial arts, and so a slight belly had developed. In earlier years he had trained quite diligently. People passing by the wicket fence of their small courtyard would always catch a glimpse of him going through his forms, his wife seated nearby watching.

Su Xiaoxiao was petite, reaching only to Wu Naiyu’s shoulder, and many people assumed she must be from the water towns of the south — they refused to believe she was from Jizhou.

Yet she was, in fact, not from Jizhou.

She had come to Jizhou at the age of five or six when she followed her parents north.

She never knew why the family had moved from the south to the north. When she asked her father and mother, they only said they no longer wished to live in the south.

She remembered that as a small child, at their home in the capital Daxing, there had always been a stream of visitors coming and going, lively and bustling. After the sudden move north, the household had grown quiet, and no visitors came any longer. Her parents stopped wearing fine silks and switched to coarse cloth, opening a small food stall in Jizhou.

“Don’t worry — how could that fool ever harm me?”

Wu Naiyu smiled and said, “He’s been trying to pressure me into advising him for years, and I’ve never said a word. He’s long wanted me dead.”

He rose and stretched as he spoke. “But he doesn’t dare do it outright, so this time he’ll probably try to use the Ning Army’s attack to dispose of me — most likely by giving me troops and sending me out to fight, letting the Ning Army do his killing for him.”

He looked at his wife and smiled. “Wait for me at home. I have a way to slip free.”

Su Xiaoxiao smiled back, her eyes full of admiration.

“A fool like Chang Xing could never harm you, of course.”

Su Xiaoxiao said with a smile, “I’ll wait for you at the agreed place. You’ve always said you have a belly full of talent but no chance to use it. Now Li Chi has led his army here — see whether he’s someone worth serving. If he is, stay in his camp and make something of yourself. If not, we’ll find another place to disappear.”

Wu Naiyu made a sound of assent. “I’ve heard the name of Prince Ning for a long time. He shouldn’t be too disappointing.”

At that moment, a shout came from outside the door.

“Is Mister Wu at home? The Prince of the Northern Frontier requests your presence.”

Wu Naiyu smiled at his wife. “Wait for me at that place. Don’t wander.”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded. “Understood.”

Wu Naiyu threw on his outer robe and stepped out the door. A squad of armored soldiers was waiting outside, the captain at the front making a gesture of invitation. “Mister Wu, please.”

Wu Naiyu walked out and followed the captain.

The captain made a signal to his men, and six or seven armored soldiers immediately pushed into the small tavern.

The six or seven of them entered and found Su Xiaoxiao in the middle of packing a bundle.

One of them sneered, “Planning to run? And where exactly would you run in this Dongye City?”

He reached out to grab her by the shoulder. “Come with us!”

A flash of cold light erupted.

A short sword a little over a foot long slid out from Su Xiaoxiao’s sleeve. In the lamplight, she moved — graceful as a startled swan taking flight.

The cold light burst apart into six or seven blooms, like flowers opening under the lamp.

The six or seven men crumpled to the floor, each with a single red dot at the throat.

Su Xiaoxiao picked up her bundle, strapped it across her back, reached out and grabbed a jar of wine, then slipped out through the rear window.

In years past, people had always caught glimpses of Wu Naiyu going through his forms in that small wicket-fenced courtyard, while she sat peacefully at the side watching, eyes full of adoration.

Nobody had ever known that she was the one guiding Wu Naiyu’s sword practice.

She had a short sword — just a foot and a half long.

Its name was Swimming Dragon.

—