The former Yuzhou Military Commissioner’s residence — now the Ning Army’s Grand Marshal Hall.
After watching Cao Lie depart and disappear into the distance, Li Chi let out a long breath.
Tang Pidi came in from outside and handed Li Chi a freshly washed apple. “Good one.”
Li Chi took it and looked at it. His own was large; the one Tang Pidi was eating was small.
He smiled at that.
Tang Pidi walked past him into the room. “Don’t overthink it. I took three total — ate two myself. That big one I couldn’t finish. Also, the big one might be a bit bad.”
Li Chi: “…”
After Tang Pidi sat down, he asked: “When do we move in?”
Li Chi returned to his seat, crouching on the chair while taking bites of the apple. “Let’s see when his father returns to Yuzhou City.”
“He’s a sharp man.”
Tang Pidi said: “And cunning.”
Li Chi asked: “You think he might change his mind at the last moment?”
Tang Pidi said: “More likely than not.”
Li Chi asked: “What makes you think so?”
Tang Pidi smiled and said: “Because in stories and oral histories, villains are always fickle — going back on their word is standard behavior for them. Only the righteous keep their promises without fail.”
He looked at Li Chi and added: “In stories and oral histories, you’d probably be the sort of villain that even other villains can’t stand.”
Li Chi thought about this, then nodded in agreement: “And the kind of villain that villains don’t want to be around.”
Tang Pidi said: “If I were handling this, I wouldn’t wait. From the current situation, Cao Lie’s father seems to be a man of extreme caution.”
Li Chi followed his thought: “So unless Cao Lie personally goes to him, even a letter in his own handwriting won’t bring him back.”
Tang Pidi said: “So if Cao Lie takes your bait, he should be leaving Yuzhou quite soon.”
Li Chi said: “Put the best person on him.”
As he said this, he looked down at the apple — and indeed, it was bad.
What’s more, it was freshly bad, because half a worm was sticking out.
Yu Jiuling, just arriving at the doorway, happened to hear that last line. He immediately puffed up his chest and strode in with his chin high.
“I had a vague feeling someone was calling my name.”
Tang Pidi looked at his posture and sighed. “Could you eat a little less? You’re nearly catching up with Little Zhang the True Adept and Peng Shiqī.”
Yu Jiuling thought this over and looked down at his own chest.
After a moment, he said to Li Chi: “Chief, maybe we should ask Brother Ning to play matchmaker for the Marshal — I mean, the Marshal sees me and thinks *big*…”
Tang Pidi nearly choked on his apple.
Li Chi quietly swapped his apple for Tang Pidi’s. Tang Pidi looked at him, then at the apple, and muttered: “Cruel.”
Li Chi sighed. “If we ask Brother Ning to play matchmaker for him, won’t that ruin his life?”
Yu Jiuling said: “That one — you know, that one.”
Only then did Li Chi remember — since Shen Shanhu had arrived in Yuzhou, she hadn’t gone back to Jizhou or returned to Yanzhou.
That straightforward, clear-eyed girl — he hadn’t seen any trace of her.
And so Li Chi looked toward Tang Pidi.
Tang Pidi said: “Why are you looking at me?”
Li Chi asked: “Where did the girl go?”
Tang Pidi replied: “She went to Chuixian County to suppress the bandits.”
Li Chi: “You actually sent a girl out to lead troops against bandits?”
Tang Pidi tilted his head upward, looking at the sky outside the window at that slightly wistful forty-five-degree angle, the corner of his mouth curving into a faint smile. “She said my rank and hers were too far apart — we weren’t a good match. So she went to fight, and when she’s actually earned a general’s rank through merit, then it would be more fitting…”
He didn’t finish the rest out loud.
What Shen Shanhu had actually said was: “You’re a Grand Marshal. I’m nothing. We’re not compatible. Once I’ve worked my way up to your rank, then you’d be worthy of me.”
Li Chi thought this woman was truly formidable.
Tang Pidi thought so too.
“About following Cao Lie.”
Li Chi looked toward Yu Jiuling. “If he leaves Yuzhou, there will certainly be no shortage of skilled fighters around him.”
Yu Jiuling said: “Skilled fighters still have to be able to hit me. Chief, trust me — I’ve genuinely taken the skills Daoist Changmei taught me seriously.”
Tang Pidi asked: “Why not send someone from the Tingwei? Those four young ones in the Tingwei are all quite capable.”
Li Chi shook his head. “We can’t use them — at least not now.”
He explained to Tang Pidi: “There’s a Mountain and River Seal operative inside the Tingwei. There might be more than one — but at minimum, there’s one with a high rank and formidable martial arts.”
“The reason I brought even the injured Zaoyun Jian here rather than leaving him in Jizhou was to make things easier for Zhang Tang.”
Tang Pidi nodded.
If one of those four turned out to be a Mountain and River Seal operative, keeping them near Zhang Tang would have made it impossible for Zhang Tang to slip away quietly from Jizhou.
And if Zhang Tang never reached Yuzhou, there’d have been no way to coordinate the two-pronged operation — one visible, one hidden.
Tang Pidi said: “Those four… well, we’ll deal with that later.”
He rose to his feet. “I’ll go pick a unit of crack scouts from my troops to go with Little Nine.”
Yu Jiuling waved a hand. “No need. Marshal, you really underestimate the Intelligence Division. Fighting on the open battlefield isn’t our strength — but this kind of work? This is what we’re made for.”
He clasped his fists together in a salute. “I’m off.”
Li Chi said: “Be careful.”
Yu Jiuling waved dismissively. “Chief, please have money ready for Old Yu when I get back — I intend to… ha ha ha ha… conquer Yuzhou!”
Tang Pidi asked Li Chi: “He’s been to the Shen Medical Hall?”
Li Chi replied: “He has. Nothing physically wrong.”
Tang Pidi said: “So it’s a mental ailment?”
Li Chi replied: “Hard to say.”
Tang Pidi said: “Fortunately, that condition isn’t hard to cure…”
Li Chi asked: “What about you?”
Tang Pidi glared at Li Chi. “What about me!”
Li Chi said: “In Yuzhou, aren’t you…”
Before he could finish, Tang Pidi pulled something from his robes and handed it to Li Chi. “Take a look.”
Li Chi took it. “What is this?”
Tang Pidi replied: “A protective talisman.”
Li Chi’s eyes lit up. “Not bad — did Shen Shanhu have it made for you? That girl really does treat you well.”
Tang Pidi replied: “Had it made… she wrote this herself. And it’s not just any talisman.”
Li Chi turned the talisman over and looked at it — folded into the shape of a heart, with a single line of small characters on the back.
The script was elegant but carried a faint edge of menace.
*Talisman for Rotting the Root of Debauchery.*
Below that, in parentheses: *(The entire root. To rot.)*
Tang Pidi held out his hand and took the talisman back. “Now you know what a protective talisman is? It protects you by making sure you’re not safe if you misbehave.”
Li Chi’s eyes narrowed slightly. “That shouldn’t be — you’re Tang Pidi, self-proclaimed as the most romantically unruly man in the world.”
Tang Pidi looked out the window again — that slightly wistful forty-five-degree angle, lips curving with the faintest smile.
“She’s… interesting.”
Li Chi: “Oh!”
He immediately jumped to his feet.
Tang Pidi asked: “What are you in such a hurry about?”
Li Chi replied: “I’m going to tell Gao Xining right now — let her play matchmaker for you two. You’ve gotten to this point already. If she still can’t seal the deal, then Gao Xining just isn’t fated for it.”
Tang Pidi immediately rose to his feet. “Keep your mouth shut!”
Li Chi: “What?”
Tang Pidi said: “*Her* as matchmaker? You might as well put a curse on me. That woman doesn’t bring good luck — that’s a *jinx.*”
Li Chi thought it over, then said with some hesitation: “It shouldn’t be… quite that bad?”
Meanwhile, at the Cao Garden.
Returning home, Cao Lie paced back and forth in his study.
He asked his trusted attendant: “Has Third Uncle returned?”
His man replied: “The Third Master went to Guihua Mountain Villa to deal with Gongsun Hengzhi, and then was going on to Jingzhou to handle some arrangements. Did you forget, young Marquis?”
Cao Lie breathed out slowly. “Send someone to catch up with him on the road. Something feels off.”
He had intended to have Cao Dengke come back and take his place again.
It was a peculiar thing — Cao Lie and his father shared only three or four tenths resemblance, but he and his third uncle, Cao Dengke, were seven or eight tenths alike. And Cao Dengke didn’t look especially old — with a slight disguise, the likeness became nine tenths.
“Never mind — no time now.”
Cao Lie said: “Go find me the other substitutes — I’ll pick one. Also, ask whether Chu Xu has returned.”
“Yes.”
The attendant immediately turned and ran out.
About two quarters of an hour later, six or seven men came in from outside. They were identical in height and build — wearing identical clothing, faces covered with identical masks, fans folded in their hands. At a passing glance, you might think one person had somehow multiplied.
“Take off your masks, all of you.”
Cao Lie gave the order.
The six or seven men promptly removed their masks. Cao Lie walked before them and studied each one carefully.
“What’s your name?”
Cao Lie pointed at one of them.
The man immediately lowered his head. “In answer to the young Marquis — my name is He Zhi.”
Cao Lie looked at another. “And yours?”
The other man bowed. “In answer to the young Marquis — my name is Gao Luwei.”
Cao Lie nodded. “You two stay. I have instructions for you. The rest — wait in the rear courtyard. I have matters to discuss with you there as well — I’ll be over shortly.”
The remaining men bowed in unison, then retreated with lowered heads.
These men had all been personally selected by Cao Lie as body doubles. A man like him understood perfectly the value of a crafty rabbit’s multiple burrows.
“You two are going out. He Zhi — half an hour from now, leave the Cao Garden. Head out of Yuzhou, travel in the direction of Jingzhou. Go for five days. After five days, come back.”
He Zhi lowered his head. “Understood.”
Cao Lie looked at Gao Luwei. “You — leave first thing tomorrow morning. Travel toward Fengzhou. Stay in the carriage as much as possible. From here to Fengzhou is at least seven days at road pace. You need to make the journey in five days. If you take more than five days, I’ll have you killed.”
Gao Luwei went pale with fright and nodded quickly. “Young Marquis, rest assured — I’ll travel day and night.”
Cao Lie said: “No less than five days, no more than five. Judge the timing yourself.”
“Yes.”
Gao Luwei made another sound of acknowledgment.
Cao Lie looked back toward the doorway. “Did they find out about Chu Xu?”
An attendant outside quickly stepped in. “In answer to the young Marquis — Chu Xu never returned to Guihua Mountain Villa. Our man watching him says he entered Shen Ruzhan’s residence and has not come out.”
Cao Lie frowned slightly, then nodded. “Fine — let him work his long game.”
He thought it through carefully once more and confirmed that this arrangement was sufficient to cloud Li Chi’s line of sight.
“I’ll head out myself shortly. Have my disguise ready. I’ll depart after He Zhi leaves.”
“Yes!”
The attendant made a sound of acknowledgment and hurried out to make arrangements.
Fengzhou — a formidable city under Yuzhou’s jurisdiction, seven days’ travel from Yuzhou City, and of extreme strategic importance.
And so the man in charge of Fengzhou had to be someone Li Chi trusted completely.
The current Prefect of Fengzhou was a young man of his teens: Xu Ji.
At this very moment, Xu Ji sat in his study working through a stack of documents. An attendant outside bowed and said: “Sir — there is a visitor requesting an audience.”
Xu Ji furrowed his brow slightly. “I’m not receiving anyone.”
The attendant immediately ran out.
Not long after, the attendant returned with a letter in hand, stepping inside to present it. “The visitor left this letter. He said that once you’ve read it, you’ll be willing to see him.”
Xu Ji took the letter and tossed it aside without opening it.
“Send him away. I said — I’m not receiving anyone.”
Xu Ji’s attention returned to his documents. These had been delivered by Tingwei soldiers — they contained a great deal of information about the Mountain and River Seal.