Hua Zhi looked up at the ceiling — the only movement that cost her no effort right now. “It wouldn’t have been the same. If I were helpless, I would stay home and not leave the capital a single step. But because I can protect myself, I chose to come south in person, so this deal could be concluded exactly as I wanted.”

Whether it was because of her injuries or something else, a wave of longing washed over Hua Zhi in this moment, and her voice came out more low and husky than usual. “Cao Cao, do you know what kind of person my grandfather was?” Shao Yao raised her head — though she did not know why Huahua was bringing this up, she answered honestly and shook her head. She had never paid much attention to the court ministers of old.

Hua Zhi smiled. “Don’t let his age fool you — he was actually remarkably naive, and stubbornly loyal to a fault. He believed there were no useless rulers, only useless ministers. He said that if ministers were all capable, even a somewhat muddled ruler could never bring ruin to a great dynasty. He told me that when he was small, he despised reading more than anything, and his great-grandfather punished him by making him kneel in the ancestral hall, making him count characters, making him label every object in the house and paste the labels on. His great-grandfather tried every means imaginable to make him love books — but not only did it fail to reform him, it drove him to the point where the sight of a book made him nauseous. And still his great-grandfather would not relent. He told me he wanted to run away from home back then, and never come back.”

Hua Zhi closed her eyes, her lashes trembling faintly. “One time he did hide. He was in the ancestral hall the whole time, but no one found him. Everyone in the household was frantic, yet no matter how others called for him, he refused to come out. Then he watched his great-grandfather go into the ancestral hall and kneel before all the spirit tablets and weep. He said the Hua Family’s legacy could end if it must, and he would never force the boy again — once he was dead, he would go below and beg forgiveness of their ancestors. So long as the child could come home safe. It was only then that Grandfather understood what the Hua Family name truly represented. No one forced him after that, yet he surpassed everyone’s expectations. He was a clean and upright old man — his robes had to be spotless, every single wrinkle an occasion to change. His heart, too, had to be clean, as though a filter had been placed before it, allowing nothing foul to enter.”

Hua Zhi opened her eyes, meeting Shao Yao’s dazed gaze, and her smile turned gentle. “So you see, Cao Cao, the Hua Family must be built up by my own hands. Everything the Hua Family possesses must be earned through our own efforts. Even if we can only barely protect ourselves, even if we can only hold our small corner of the world — we have not taken shortcuts, we have not bowed our heads, and we have no shame before our own hearts. Only then, when he one day returns, will he be able to accept everything the Hua Family has without unease. Naive, perhaps — but how could I bear to disappoint him?”

“Even if it always means carrying wounds like this?”

“To be honest, I never once imagined I would need to fight someone blade to blade, staking my life against theirs.” In the peaceful era she had grown up in, that burden had belonged to those who bore the world on their backs. “But I am the one who came out alive. That is enough.”

Shao Yao bit her lip. The ache in her heart, rather than finding release, only grew more suffocating — and she did not know why.

Perhaps it was because Huahua spoke of it all with such tranquility, as if it were nothing. Or perhaps it was because the feeling Huahua held for Old Master Hua moved her deeply.

Bao Xia came in carrying water, the smell of liquor following her through the door. “I asked the innkeeper for their strongest wine and poured some in.”

“Well taught.” Hua Zhi praised with gentle teasing. “Liu Zi was also injured — remember to go clean his wounds too when you have a moment.”

“I know.”

With that, Hua Zhi’s mind finally eased. Her vision had been going dark at the edges — and with the inevitable pain of the cleaning to come, it was better to just lose consciousness. She stopped fighting herself.

Her focus dissolved, and she knew nothing more.

Bao Xia carefully helped her young mistress lie down, turned aside to wipe her face, then together with Shao Yao began cleaning her wounds. If only she could, she would have wished for every one of these injuries to be on her own body instead.

Here the skirmish had just ended. In Yuzhou, however, the battle had entered its most ferocious hour.

Gu Yanxi wore his mask, standing in the courtyard with a long bow in hand. Beside him were bamboo quivers of arrows — one was already empty, another nearly half spent. Around him, the other members of the Seven Lodges Division were in similar condition, yet the attackers had not ceased, and neither had they.

Every member of the Seven Lodges Division was versed in multiple weapons but specialized in four: the whip, the bow, twin hooks, and the sword. The first two were for ranged combat, the latter two for close quarters — in combination, their combat strength doubled.

Now it was the pairing of bow and twin hooks at work. Anyone who showed their head without being attended to by the long bow was caught by the twin hooks, dispatched on the spot. Their leader had given the order: no survivors needed.

The quivers were empty.

Gu Yanxi cast aside the bow and drew the long whip from his waist. The Seven Lodges Division members all followed his lead.

“Slower.”

Everyone understood — the next strikes they landed were three parts more ruthless than before.

At that moment Gu Yanxi suddenly turned to look toward the covered walkway. Hao Yue stood there, with Chen Qing at her side. Gu Yanxi did not trouble himself with niceties. “Please return to your quarters.”

Hao Yue laughed softly and began to move forward, her composure utterly unruffled. “I am not a burden.”

Gu Yanxi snapped his long whip — the tip cracked directly before Hao Yue, stopping her in her tracks. “Please return to your quarters.”

Hao Yue seemed to recognize that his word was final. She held his gaze for a long moment, then without protest truly withdrew from the courtyard.

Chen Qing was about to speak when he caught sight of the Third Division’s people dropping from the rooftop — and quickly closed his mouth.

“Leader, the enemy is making a move. The men in the rear have begun to retreat.”

“Can you make out which direction they’re retreating to?”

“North.”

Gu Yanxi studied the enemies who were still forcing their way in from the front. If the other side truly intended to withdraw, they should all withdraw together — not have the rear pull back while the front remained unchanged. Retreating north…

Something was wrong!

“They know Yuan Shifang’s whereabouts. Leave these ones and their lives here — go reinforce the Qingliu Camp.”

“Yes.”

Yet when they arrived, the situation at the Qinglius Camp was far worse than anticipated. The ground was strewn with fallen figures, the vast majority wearing the military uniform of the Great Qing dynasty. The ratio was one to ten, perhaps worse.

One to ten — Lu Yanxi felt a silent shock. This was the gap between the Great Qing dynasty and the Chaoli tribe. For years the Chaoli had been suppressed and confined to a corner, yet their fighting strength had not diminished in the slightest. This people… were truly terrifying.

There was no time for further reflection. He signaled with his hands, and the Seven Lodges Division members fanned out in groups of four toward every direction. Chen Qing remained, as ever, at Gu Yanxi’s side.

The two of them located the command tent — the fighting there was the most intense. Lu Peiyu had only a single deputy general remaining at his side. Both men were wounded, standing back to back against nine opponents. From within the tent, another figure emerged — someone with Yuan Shiwen slung over his shoulder.

Gu Yanxi and Chen Qing moved in seamless coordination: one went for the man carrying the captive, the other went for Yuan Shiwen. In a single exchange, they had the person retrieved.

Seeing this, Lu Peiyu finally allowed himself to breathe again. Whatever else had happened, as long as Yuan Shifang had not been lost, they had not truly been defeated!

He threw the man to the ground, and Gu Yanxi’s whip struck out again, coiling around the man who had abandoned Lu Peiyu to attack him instead and hurling him hard into the earth. This technique was one all Seven Lodges Division members knew — and the one who had devised this ferocious style of fighting was none other than Gu Yanxi himself.