“I knew it.”

Duan Hen sat on a roof beam, watching the important figures below who were huddled together murmuring to one another, and he could not help but speak.

Everyone in the room looked up at him, and each face shifted — none of them could have imagined that someone had been hiding here all along.

There were dozens of people in this room, each of considerable standing.

Over here were Third-Rank officials. Over there were Third-Rank generals. At the front, Second-Rank. Those without the standing to be near the front were all Fourth-Rank. In this room full of important figures, there was not even a single Fifth-Rank official to be seen.

A roomful of powerful men — quite an impressive sight. Even at morning court, officials of this rank rarely all gathered in one place so neatly.

“I killed one of your people, and you were bound to panic. When you panic, you always gather somewhere to huddle together and figure out a plan.”

Duan Hen leaped down from the beam, picked up a pastry from the table, and spoke with his mouth half full as he chewed. “Every single one of you — you’re worse than I am.”

He sat down, completely ignoring the looks they were giving him.

“The blade in that woman’s bedding was real, and she genuinely intended to kill the Empress. But there was no letter in her clothing. Do any of you think about these things? For something like this, would anyone actually leave a letter as evidence? That letter was put there by me.”

Duan Hen scanned the room. “I used to think that important people like yourselves were truly clever — at the very least far cleverer than me. But then His Majesty… hmm, my Elder Brother… tore up that so-called letter on the spot, and you all took it to mean that he is still that same weak man, that he still does not dare move against you — after all, there are so many of you, aren’t there? As they say, the law cannot punish the masses?”

“Duan Hen, have you lost your mind?”

A Third-Rank official stared at him with open contempt.

“We are here deliberating on affairs of state. You have burst in uninvited — are you a spy sent by traitors, here to eavesdrop on state secrets?”

Duan Hen had just been raising a second pastry to his mouth. Upon hearing this, he immediately dusted off the crumbs clinging to his hand, rubbed his palm on his clothes, and began to applaud.

“This is precisely what is most admirable about people like you — officials — and I have always respected this quality. Making black into white and white into black, doing it entirely as you please.”

Duan Hen clapped his hands together as he spoke. “Crude men like me generally just stab people in the dark. But not you — you have dark hearts.”

The foremost Second-Rank official frowned. “Have you considered the consequences of what you are doing?”

“Oh, I have.”

Duan Hen propped his legs up on the table. “The consequence is that I sweep the lot of you up in one fell swoop. Everything you’ve said and done — I’ve heard it and seen it.”

The Second-Rank official laughed. “Do you truly believe that a lowly person like you can turn the world upside down in Daxing City?”

Duan Hen said, “Does killing people count as turning the world upside down?”

He rose, walked to the doorway, and yanked the door wide open.

In the moment he did, those important men saw it — a great many figures dressed in black came vaulting over the outer wall and began fighting with their guards.

“You see — how could a single lowly person turn the world upside down in Daxing? We are a whole crowd of lowly people.”

Duan Hen stood in the doorway, turning to look back at those important men. “Now you ought to think it over — do you kneel and beg for mercy, or do you summon your courage and fight me?”

He drew the short blade from his waist. “Forget it, I won’t waste more words with you. My Elder Brother is waiting for me to report back… and one more thing — His Majesty… there I go again, wrong title — my Elder Brother calculated that you would gather together to plan a response, so he tore up that letter on purpose. You were so obedient — he figured out exactly what you would do, and you did it.”

He glanced down at his short blade. “I still prefer shorter blades. Short blades — when you kill, the blood sprays onto you. I like blood.”

Slaughter.

This roomful of men, each accustomed to the finest silks and foods — they truly could not fight.

And Duan Hen was perhaps the most lethal killer in the world, so the fate of these important men was easy enough to imagine.

It was not long before dozens of bodies lay on the floor, every one of them with a slit throat — perhaps the most bloody method of killing there is, because when you open a major artery, the blood sprays far and wide.

Duan Hen stood in the room, soaked in blood, scanned the scene around him, then looked down at his own dripping clothes, and burst into laughter.

“In all my years of killing, I have never felt a kill as satisfying as today’s.”

He kicked at a man who had not yet fully died and said in a tone of mock sympathy, “All this time you wanted to scheme against His Majesty… well, His Majesty it is. You thought you could scheme against him. But none of you ever considered — once an Emperor is willing to kill for a woman, and you still don’t know to be afraid of him… then that is truly your own stupidity.”

Having said this, he turned and walked out. In the courtyard, his followers — several hundred of them — had already cut down a fair number as well.

These important men’s personal guards were naturally no weaklings, so Duan Hen’s followers had not gained any significant advantage.

But once Duan Hen stepped out of the building, everything changed. His short blade swept through the courtyard like a new rain of blood and carnage.

This slaughter — destined never to be written into the historical records — lasted no more than half an hour.

Duan Hen killed every last person here. And of his own followers, more than half were dead or wounded.

Yet Duan Hen felt no grief over it. When had he ever grieved over a life?

When he pulled open the outer gate and stepped out into the street, Duan Hen saw many Imperial Guard soldiers standing in the road. At their head was the Imperial Guard Commander Hui Chunqiu.

“Return to the barracks — His Majesty is waiting for you. I will handle things here.”

Hui Chunqiu said.

Duan Hen gave a nod. As he passed by Hui Chunqiu, he suddenly stopped and raised his blood-smeared hand, patting it against Hui Chunqiu’s face a few times.

Patting away, he said, “The next time you see me, show a little more respect. I am His Majesty’s sworn brother — by rights I should be a prince, and when you see me, you ought to kneel.”

Hui Chunqiu bowed, “This subject will remember.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha…”

Duan Hen laughed loudly. “You’re a decent man — you know what’s good for you. I like that.”

He then waved a hand. “Let’s go — all of you follow me back to the barracks. I’ll take you to find my Elder Brother and claim our reward.”

The group cheered all at once and swarmed around Duan Hen as they departed.

Hui Chunqiu looked back for a moment, as though sighing helplessly.

He pointed toward the compound. His men charged inside at once, and shortly after, fire broke out in the courtyard — the flames quickly illuminated the night sky.

Daxing, at the Ministry of War training ground. In one of the rooms still lit by lamplight.

The Emperor glanced once at Duan Hen, who was drenched in blood from head to toe, then stood and handed him a cup of tea.

Duan Hen took it and said with a grin, “Elder Brother, you are truly remarkable — how did you see at a single glance that those scoundrels intended to harm Her Majesty the Empress?”

The Emperor returned to his seat behind the writing desk, his tone calm. “When we were at the training ground, I saw them watching the Empress. I knew what they were thinking. I recognized that kind of look.”

Duan Hen had been killing half the night and was parched. He tested the temperature of the tea — neither too cold nor too hot — and drank it down in one gulp.

“Just from one look, you could tell?”

Duan Hen gave an approving raise of his thumb.

“And Elder Brother, how did you figure out that the one called Zhu’er was suspicious?”

Duan Hen asked again out of curiosity.

The Emperor smiled and said, “All the other palace maids were afraid of you. She alone dared to step forward. That was out of character — because she and the Empress were not even close, given how recently the Empress had entered the palace.”

Duan Hen thought it over carefully and found himself even more impressed with the Emperor.

“Actually…”

The Emperor paused briefly, then continued, “Whether she was or not was beside the point. At that moment, someone like her was needed.”

Duan Hen heard this and froze. An inexplicable unease stirred in his heart.

The Emperor said, “They had certainly arranged for someone to make an attempt on the Empress. As long as someone made a move and failed, they would all gather together — asking one another what had gone wrong, who had made the attempt. People gathered together are easier to deal with. Otherwise, if they’re scattered, what if one escapes?”

Duan Hen’s eyes went wide. “So… Your Majesty… Elder Brother, you didn’t actually know for certain whether Zhu’er was really involved?”

The Emperor shook his head. “That’s not quite the right way to put it. She is now, isn’t she?”

The chill in Duan Hen’s heart deepened. He looked at the man before him and felt, for the first time, something he had never felt before.

Even in the old days, when he had knelt and kowtowed to the Emperor, he had never been afraid.

“Right, one more thing.”

The Emperor asked, “Your followers — did you bring them back? They did things for me, they earned merit. I still intend to reward them.”

Duan Hen pointed outside. “All out there waiting for His Majesty to summon them.”

The Emperor said, “Let’s go — together.”

Duan Hen answered in agreement, stood up, and suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

The Emperor seemed not to notice and did not wait for him — he stepped out of the room first. Duan Hen felt a heaviness in his head and a strange wobble in his step. The unease in his heart grew stronger and stronger. He stumbled after the Emperor out the door — and then he saw that the training ground was already ringed by a great many people.

“These men.”

The Emperor gestured toward them. “All of them have been training alongside me this past month. They are also my friends. They will one day go to fight to protect their families, to protect Daxing. Every one of them has been working hard in training — yet none of them have ever seen blood or killed a man. When actual battle comes, I worry they will be afraid.”

The Emperor looked toward Duan Hen. “So I thought — your people can do me one more favor… let my soldiers see some blood.”

The moment the Emperor finished speaking, he raised his hand.

The Dachu soldiers encircling the area began to loose arrows. Duan Hen’s men were pinned down completely. Screams rang out — and then quickly fell silent.

The new recruits drew their blades and moved in, cutting down those still alive after the arrows, and delivering a final blow to those already dead.

Duan Hen turned to leave — this had been his second instinct.

His first had been to seize the Emperor immediately.

But he had no strength at all now. So — the cup of tea the Emperor had given him just now. Something had been in it.

“It is not poison.”

The Emperor spoke in a level tone. “Poison has an unpleasant smell. A sedative does not. You are a martial world expert — and the lowest sort of martial world expert at that. To deal with someone like you, one must be careful. I had other means, but in the end I decided to do it myself.”

The Emperor turned to face Duan Hen. Duan Hen had already collapsed to the ground.

The Emperor said, “I put in a very heavy dose. Enough to lay out even an ox, by all accounts.”

Hui Chunqiu, who had returned to the training ground, stepped to the Emperor’s side and bowed. “Your Majesty, allow this subject to handle it.”

The Emperor extended his hand. “I will do it myself.”

Hui Chunqiu drew his blade and held it out to the Emperor.

The Emperor walked to stand before Duan Hen and looked down into his eyes. “One last thing to tell you — my woman, I can protect myself.”

The Emperor gripped the blade in both hands, let out a fierce shout, and with a single stroke, sent Duan Hen’s head falling.

After the blow, the Emperor held the pose of his swing for a long moment. Then he slowly exhaled. “I am also going to the front lines to fight. I too have never shed blood with my own hands. So I also needed you to do me this final favor.”

The Emperor handed the blade back to Hui Chunqiu.

“Over twenty thousand new recruits — witnessing blood from a hundred or so people is not quite enough.”

The Emperor raised his hand. “Bring my war horse.”

One of the Imperial Guards led a horse forward. The Emperor mounted, turned to face his soldiers, and called out, “Tonight — I lead you to collect military pay. How much you collect is up to your own ability.”

The Emperor spurred his horse forward. The soldiers surged after him in a flood.

—