In the last sliver of darkness before dawn, several figures in black withdrew from the shadows, exchanged glances, then vanished swiftly.

Before the sun rose in the east, they had already departed Qingmian County — but not along the route they had come by. Instead, they turned toward Meicheng.

The black-clad operative who had killed Yang Liulin was Fang Xidao, a Qianban of the Tingwei Bureau. The others, who had mapped out the city from within, were led by Gui Yuanshu.

After watching Qingmian County’s forces march out of the gates, they had slipped inside.

All three thousand garrison soldiers had been drawn out by Yang Liulin — for the Tingwei Bureau, this was a rare and golden opportunity.

Once inside, Gui Yuanshu swiftly divided his men and, at the fastest possible speed, hand-drew every location in the city worth surveying.

There was no need to worry about the grain depot moving — unless they stopped storing provisions here. But that was impossible; the Shu army at Kaoshanguan still depended on Qingmian County’s supplies.

With time to spare, Fang Xidao even led his men to thoroughly search the branch office of the Muying before Yang Liulin and his men returned.

Essentially every useful dossier and archive had been taken. The value of these documents was nearly incalculable.

For the Muying controlled all classified information, and though this was merely a branch office in Qingmian County, it housed critical materials — including the full roster of every garrison commander inside Kaoshanguan.

These were precisely the things that two previous branch offices and over two hundred Tingwei operatives had sacrificed themselves seeking — and never obtained.

After regrouping outside the city, they set off toward Meicheng — in defiance of Master Ye’s explicit orders.

Before leaving, Master Ye had said: once the mission succeeds, withdraw immediately. Do not linger.

But that was not the way of the brothers from the Tingwei Bureau and the Jiunji Division. They would never abandon their comrades.

—

Several days later, Master Ye and his group followed Fang Biehan into a forest.

*”This place looks like there’s no way out.”*

Master Ye peered ahead. The forest remained dense, with no end in sight.

*”There is no way out.”*

Fang Biehan’s reply sent a sudden chill through Master Ye’s chest.

*”Don’t misunderstand,”* Fang Biehan quickly explained. *”This forest is called the Sangyu Labyrinth — planted over several years by thousands of men under the founder of the Muying, decades ago.”*

*”At first, the intention was to sever Shu from the Great Chu and break away. The planned scale of the Sangyu Labyrinth was far larger than what exists today.”*

*”But for unknown reasons, the work stopped. Too much time has passed — no one knows why.”*

*”Even among the Muying,”* Fang Biehan continued, *”few know how to navigate it. The cavalry that pursued us may not know the path either.”*

He said gravely: *”Master Ye, if you trust me, follow behind me. I’ll guide you out — the way we came in is the way we go out. Otherwise, you’ll only keep circling in here.”*

*”Alright,”* Master Ye nodded. *”We follow you.”*

For reasons he couldn’t explain, Fang Biehan looked at Master Ye with grateful eyes — then turned his horse and led the way.

After roughly an hour of winding through the forest, Fang Biehan guided them back out through the same entrance they had used.

Glancing left and right — the pursuing cavalry was nowhere to be seen. Everyone quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

They rode back along the return route. Less than a day later, they were met by Gui Yuanshu and the others, who had come to receive them.

*”I’ll see you off,”* Fang Biehan said, glancing at Master Ye. *”Once you leave, don’t come back.”*

*”And you?”* Master Ye asked. *”Won’t you come with us?”*

Fang Biehan shook his head. *”I can’t leave with you. I have to go back and find Jiang Wei…”*

*”Find him?”* Master Ye said. *”Do you intend to kill him yourself? If you can’t, what would going back accomplish — dying by his hand?”*

Fang Biehan opened his mouth, but no rebuttal came.

*”By now you should understand clearly,”* Master Ye said. *”You cannot bring yourself to harm him — but he can bring himself to harm you. If you go back, there’s no chance of survival.”*

*”I don’t know what I’d go back to do,”* Fang Biehan said. *”Whether to kill him, or let him kill me — or perhaps only to ask him: were the promises we made, the vows we swore together, truly so easy to break?”*

Master Ye sighed. *”If I don’t stop you, going back means death. So what lies in your heart right now is probably not a real question — it is a wish to die.”*

*”We haven’t known each other long — but if you’re willing to come with us, these people…”* He gestured toward the Tingwei Bureau operatives and Gui Yuanshu’s group. *”…will be your friends from now on. Each one of them, a bond forged in life and death.”*

Fang Biehan froze — then couldn’t help scanning the faces before him, faces he had thought were strangers.

Yet somehow, the longer he looked, the more familiar they seemed to become.

It was a strange thing — as if his perception of Jiang Wei had traveled the reverse journey, from familiar to stranger. These men were traveling the other way: from strangers, to something that felt like home.

*”Come,”* Master Ye gently pulled at Fang Biehan. *”Follow us back. If you wish to step away from all of this, Prince Ning will see that you’re given a small courtyard, a patch of land, and a life of freedom.”*

*”Truly?”* Fang Biehan’s eyes flickered with something raw and unguarded.

*”A person like me — who knows so many of the Muying’s secrets — surely you’d keep me in the Tingwei Bureau once I’m back with you?”*

*”If you were an enemy we had captured,”* Master Ye said, *”then of course we would not let those secrets remain in your belly. But you are not our enemy. You saved us. The Tingwei Bureau has never raised its hand against a friend.”*

He held Fang Biehan’s gaze and said with conviction: *”That is what Prince Ning taught us.”*

Fang Biehan drew a long, deep breath, then nodded. *”Then I’ll go with you.”*

He turned to look back in the direction of Meicheng — toward Shu, the land where he had lived for so many years. His homeland.

About to set out on a journey with no return, these last few glances were his farewell to everything that had come before.

*”Let’s go.”*

Fang Biehan wheeled his horse and charged forward first.

—

Another day passed.

In a camp somewhere, cavalry commander Bai Qizhi dismounted and strode quickly to stand before Military Commissioner Pei Qi, dropping to one knee.

Pei Qi was seated beside a campfire, warming his hands. He glanced sideways at Bai Qizhi, his voice carrying a chill. *”Lost them?”*

*”Yes…”*

Bai Qizhi did not even dare to breathe, visibly terrified to his core.

*”How?”*

*”Among the Tingwei Bureau men, there was someone guiding them from our side — Fang Biehan, the Muying Zongqi of Qingmian County. He led them into a forest. I was impatient and chased them straight in…”*

At that, Pei Qi gave a quiet nod. *”The Sangyu Labyrinth.”*

*”Yes… My men and I circled in that forest for half a day. Had Liao Guan not sent men inside to look for us, we still wouldn’t have gotten out…”*

Pei Qi glanced sidelong at Jiang Wei, who had returned alongside Bai Qizhi. His expression grew colder still.

*”Fang Biehan is your sworn brother? I recall you recommended him for Zhongyuan Officer more than once.”*

*”Yes… Your lordship remembers correctly. I did recommend him several times.”*

Jiang Wei dropped to both knees with a thud.

*”My lord, I truly never imagined that Fang Biehan, because of Molili’s death, would commit such a foolish and reckless act.”*

*”Foolish and reckless?”*

Pei Qi suddenly laughed. *”You use four words to dismiss what is, in fact, the crime of treason?”*

Jiang Wei kowtowed repeatedly as he spoke: *”This subordinate is willing to accept punishment — for my own crimes and for Fang Biehan’s. Whatever pleases my lord — even if it means death by dismemberment — I make no complaint.”*

Pei Qi nodded slowly. *”Then death by dismemberment it is.”*

He waved a hand. *”Take him away.”*

His personal guards immediately stepped forward and dragged Jiang Wei backward.

The color had drained entirely from Jiang Wei’s face. At first he said nothing — but when they had hauled him some seven or eight zhang away, he finally called out:

*”My lord — I am still of use. I can still serve you.”*

Pei Qi raised his hand and crooked a finger. The two guards hauled Jiang Wei back.

*”First explain this to me: why did both Dou Qusheng and Yang Dingshan die, while you managed to survive?”*

Pei Qi leaned forward, eyes fixed on Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei, still kneeling, replied: *”It was only after arriving in Qingmian County that this subordinate sensed something was wrong. In those early days, I truly could not believe Fang Biehan had become a traitor.”*

*”I tested him several times in succession. He showed very few signs. Then one day, he suddenly brought the Vice Chief Tingwei before me.”*

Pei Qi’s brow furrowed slightly. *”Oh?”*

*”He told me,”* Jiang Wei continued hastily, *”that Molili had died by your lordship’s hand, by the hands of Dou Qusheng and the others — and that he wanted revenge. So he had joined forces with the Tingwei Bureau.”*

He looked up at Pei Qi briefly, then quickly lowered his gaze.

*”At that point, there was nothing this subordinate could do to stop him. I had only a dozen or so attendants — one misstep and not only would the news not reach you, I would have died in Qingmian County.”*

*”When an opportunity finally arose, I sent a man back to urgently report to you, my lord — but for reasons unknown to me, the man I sent did not go to you. He went to Dou Qusheng instead.”*

At that, Pei Qi inwardly let out a quiet breath.

Not because Jiang Wei’s words were so clever — but because they had struck precisely the right note.

Pei Qi knew Dou Qusheng all too well. It was no strange thing that Dou Qusheng had planted his own men in Jiang Wei’s inner circle. And of course Dou Qusheng’s man would report back to Dou Qusheng first — because a credit that large was not something Dou Qusheng could afford to let someone else claim.

From there, the rest of Jiang Wei’s explanation fell into place almost naturally.

He claimed he had not expected Dou Qusheng to withhold the news from Pei Qi — and instead come rushing over personally to intercept.

Pei Qi raised a hand. *”First tell me: how did you get the Tingwei Bureau people to come with you toward Meicheng?”*

That was indeed the key point.

But a man like Jiang Wei could not possibly have come unprepared.

*”In truth, my lord… it was I who convinced them to come to Meicheng — to assassinate you.”*

As he spoke those words, the expression on his face was extraordinarily complex.

Remarkably, Pei Qi believed him — the performance was that convincing.

*”Tell me then,”* Pei Qi said, *”do you think Fang Biehan, now that he has defected to the enemy, will become a dangerous threat?”*

*”He will!”* Jiang Wei said immediately. *”Fang Biehan must die!”*

Pei Qi smiled. *”And if I sent you to do it — would you?”*

*”I would!”* Jiang Wei raised his head and said loudly: *”This subordinate is willing to personally lead men to track down and kill Fang Biehan. If I cannot bring back his head, I will take my own life!”*

—