The river was shallow and clear, so the fish swimming back and forth were perfectly visible.

Which made it exceedingly aggravating — when you could see everything so clearly, you couldn’t catch a thing.

Li Chi thought about the boasts he’d made on the way down the mountain, then looked at Cao Lie’s expression — somewhere between a smirk and an outright grin — and decided to resort to shamelessness.

When he made that decision, Cao Lie saw it. And it wasn’t only Cao Lie — basically everyone did.

Li Chi’s personal guards had already unclipped their crossbows, ready to hand one over — only to receive a look from Li Chi that said *do I look like that kind of person?*

That look completely stumped the guard. His inner thought was probably: *My lord… aren’t you, though?*

Then they heard Li Chi turn around and holler: “Wife! Your turn!”

Gao Xining came over carrying a bag of pebbles, pausing to shoot Li Chi a glare — which Li Chi utterly ignored.

Gao Xining casually flicked a few stones, and two fish floated to the surface. Hit squarely on the head — she’d stunned them clean.

Cao Lie looked at the fish, then at Li Chi, then at Gao Xining, uncertain what to compliment first.

He felt it would be odd to say nothing — but what to say…

“Sister-in-law, your skill is extraordinary!”

That was all he managed to squeeze out.

Gao Xining was perfectly composed. She smiled and replied: “I’ve been practicing on your brother. Nothing remarkable about it.”

Cao Lie looked at Li Chi. Li Chi was working out how to smile in a way that was polite without being awkward.

Then Li Chi forced out: “Next time I’ll have your sister-in-law practice on you too.”

Cao Lie: “…Thank you so much.”

Gao Xining grabbed a handful of pebbles: “Why wait? No time like the present.”

Cao Lie: “Sister-in-law… I didn’t come all this way to offer you target practice.”

Gao Xining: “Don’t stand on ceremony between brothers. The Prince of Ning has always said that being my practice target is one of the great blessings of his life.”

Cao Lie: “That’s because he had no choice.”

Gao Xining: “Hmm?”

Cao Lie: “You and the Prince of Ning are heaven’s perfect match.”

Soldiers retrieved the fish, and Li Chi had someone set up an iron pot on the riverbank. He personally cooked for Cao Lie.

His culinary skills had genuinely advanced at remarkable speed over these years. The fragrance of the pot-simmered fish drifted on the wind for some distance.

Cao Lie crouched nearby feeding the fire. In this moment, he felt truly at ease for the first time in a long while. Back in Yuzhou, everyone said he was a man who knew how to enjoy life — carefree and at ease every day. But only he knew that all that ease was a performance. No matter how skilled a performer, even when the performance has become an art and can fool everyone’s eyes, it can never indefinitely fool one’s own heart.

The Prince of Ning was going to great lengths to protect him. He had to play along well — give no one an opening, leave no handle for anyone to grab.

Honestly, what he longed for most now was for Li Chi to proclaim himself Emperor as soon as possible. Then he could hand over his responsibilities and find a pleasant place to retire early.

“You just said you want to hand over the water and land transport businesses to the military?”

Li Chi asked, still cooking.

Cao Lie crouched nearby: “Just praise me in a few words — sincerely, with the right attitude.”

“Praise you? Not a chance.”

Li Chi glanced at him. “Why would I take your legitimate business from you? Stop thinking all sorts of nonsense. Run your business well, and keep watch over the jianghu.”

Cao Lie said: “My abilities are genuinely mediocre. If you have me watching the jianghu, I won’t have energy left to run the business well…”

Before he could finish, Li Chi kicked him lightly on the backside. “Let proper people handle the proper business. The improper business — you watch that yourself.”

To keep watch over the jianghu, one naturally needed the improper business.

No one could simply erase the dark side of jianghu — not even an emperor. Not even an immortal.

Since it couldn’t be erased, the answer was to control it. With both the dark side and the light side held in one’s hands — what was there to fear from the darkness?

Li Chi said: “I know you’ve already brought the Cao fleet and land caravan here. Here’s what I’ll do — I’ll pay you market rate. Whatever the going price per run, I’ll record every bit of it.”

Cao Lie: “But…”

Li Chi: “Once I’ve beaten Pei Qi, I’ll search his family assets. If there’s enough, I’ll give it all to you.”

Cao Lie: “And if there isn’t enough?”

Li Chi: “You actually have the nerve to ask?”

Cao Lie: “…”

Li Chi sighed. “After all these years, you still don’t know my character? Do you think I’d leave you short?”

Cao Lie: “So you *would* owe me.”

Li Chi smiled slightly. “Me owing you — that should sit pretty well.”

Cao Lie nodded, said nothing, but felt a warmth flood through him, spreading to every corner of his being in an instant.

The Prince of Ning had said: *I owe Cao Lie.* Did those words not carry enough weight?

In the future, no matter who tried to raise the matter of Cao Lie’s origins, with the Prince of Ning’s words on record — no one could touch him.

“This campaign into Shuzhou…”

Li Chi added seasoning to the pot. “I’ve found that jianghu forces have been heavily exploited by Pei Qi. His earlier intelligence on us came almost entirely through jianghu people.”

Cao Lie: “That’s in no small part due to my family… in no small part my family’s responsibility.”

Li Chi: “Remove *no small*.”

Cao Lie: “…”

Li Chi: “So this matter — only you can handle it.”

Cao Lie looked up, blinking what appeared to be innocently wide eyes: “The transport business comes with payment — does this one?”

Li Chi: “Of course.”

Cao Lie was just starting to smile when Li Chi continued: “Half of what you earn from this goes to me. I’m already being generous — I won’t ask for more.”

Cao Lie: “Should I not have come?”

Li Chi: “If you hadn’t come, I was planning to return to Yuzhou after finishing with Shuzhou to find you anyway. You coming to find me, versus me coming to find you — do you think those are the same?”

Cao Lie thought about it. “If you came to find me, probably I wouldn’t have anything left — you’d leave me two out of ten at most.”

Li Chi: “Then you’d be wrong. If I came to *you*, that means I’d be asking you a favor — so I couldn’t take a single copper coin, and would even need to offer you some compensation. But since *you* came to *me*, that means you’re asking me…”

Cao Lie exhaled heavily: “The Cao family has been in business for generations, and our ancestors were praised as the pinnacle of ruthless merchants. With me, the family name has been disgraced — what little ruthlessness I’ve learned is nothing compared to yours. Next to you, I’m a soft-hearted little lamb.”

Li Chi: “Let’s talk serious business.”

Cao Lie straightened: “What serious business?”

Li Chi lowered his voice: “Whatever silver you earn investigating the jianghu — half comes to me. And note: to *me*, not to the future imperial treasury. Understood?”

Cao Lie: “You’ve truly opened my eyes.”

He looked at Li Chi: “What will your descendants think of you? If they knew that the founding Emperor of Great Ning — their venerable ancestor — had filled his private treasury through the dark channels of jianghu… what would they think? Would they follow your example?”

Li Chi: “If they want to learn, let them…”

He glanced back at Gao Xining, then dropped his voice even lower: “Judging by my own relationship with my wife, most of my descendants will probably be afraid of *their* wives too. So I’m really just laying out a path for them — they’ll thank their old ancestor for it.”

Cao Lie stared at Li Chi, once again at a loss for words.

Li Chi: “No need to be surprised. It’s all about being prepared.”

Cao Lie sighed: “You make me hesitant to marry and have children. Being carefree suits me just fine.”

Li Chi: “You know Zhang Tang?”

Cao Lie: “What about him?”

Li Chi: “He had the same plan at first — until one day I had someone slip something into his drink…”

Cao Lie: “…”

Li Chi laughed for a moment, then said: “Now, the real business. Since you’ve come to Shuzhou, the timing is good.”

“Throughout Shuzhou, Pei Qi still has large numbers of jianghu operatives. The ones inside the Meishan camp don’t count — they’re sealed in and can’t get out. I’m talking about those still active across Shuzhou, still resisting in the shadows.”

Li Chi paused, then continued: “Not long ago, Dantai sent word that in the territories he’s taken, the local officials he’s appointed have been having problems — over a dozen have already been assassinated.”

He looked at Cao Lie: “Jianghu people are strong on loyalty. But sometimes they don’t ask about right and wrong — they only know loyalty.”

Cao Lie understood.

Li Chi: “Consider this your first practice run in Shuzhou… You didn’t bring enough people. I’ll have Gui Yuanshu assign you a team from the Military Intelligence Division, and send you a unit of Black Cavalry.”

Cao Lie shook his head: “No need. I can manage.”

Li Chi: “This is no small matter. I won’t force it on you if you say no — but if you fail, I’ll confiscate your family’s assets.”

Cao Lie: “Then please give me as many people as you can spare.”

Li Chi: “You pay the wages of whoever I send you.”

Cao Lie: “…”

Li Chi looked at him and sighed: “Idle and aimless every day, and still managed to *lose* weight — you can’t even act properly… I’m throwing you into the jianghu to take command of everything, large and small. Next time I see you, you’re to have settled the jianghu matter for me — and gained twenty *jin* of weight. If you haven’t put on the weight, I’ll confiscate your assets too.”

Cao Lie: “If you want to just come out and say it, you don’t need to go through all this trouble…”

Li Chi: “Hmm?”

Cao Lie: “This subordinate is at the Prince of Ning’s disposal — ten thousand deaths would not be enough.”

Li Chi looked at the fish in the pot — nearly done. He called for someone to bring the serving dishes.

“So many young people set out with dreams of bringing peace and prosperity to the people. They’re going to their posts with genuine hearts, wanting to give ordinary people a stable and flourishing life — and they’re killed before they’ve even started. That’s not just a matter of a few people dying. It’s someone trying to strangle the future.”

Li Chi looked at Cao Lie: “Tell me — why can’t those who want to be good officials simply do what they want to do?”

Cao Lie rose to his feet, standing straight.

He looked at Li Chi and said with gravity: “Since I’ve taken on this matter, I will see it done. Those who have killed shall not escape ten thousand *li* away. Those without rules — I will draw a cage around them.”

Li Chi made a sound of assent.

He ladled the food and said: “I don’t care how many heads you take. But when you return, I will ask you: every blood debt — was it repaid in blood?”

He paused, his tone weighted slightly as he added:

“You know me. Wiping out entire households — I’ve done it more than a few times.”

These were words Li Chi would say only to Cao Lie.

Cao Lie stood tall: “Those who know no reverence, who know no rules — let them die, and the others will learn to be reverent.”

—