Changping Pass — which Prince Qi had once regarded as the obstacle blocking Xie Changgeng’s eastward advance — had long since changed hands. Situated at a central position that made it convenient for communication with the capital and for receiving intelligence from the lower Yangtze, and blessed with terrain that served as a natural garrison ground, the pass had become Xie Changgeng’s chosen location. Last month, after concluding the campaign against the King of Zhao, he had pulled his troops back here to rest temporarily.

On this day, Xie Changgeng received a secret message from the capital.

Zhao Xitai had previously made contact with Empress Dowager Liu through loyalists of the Zhao imperial house within the capital, telling her that he was now like a stray dog, cornered and helpless, barely managing to hold on. He claimed that if Xie Changgeng sent his armies to Jianghuai, he would have no way to withstand them. The current situation was very different from what it had been years ago, he said — it was precisely because of his existence as the Eastern Court that Xie Changgeng had continued to allow her to remain on the throne. Once he was gone, her court would fall along with him, and Xie Changgeng would certainly not spare her life either. He claimed to be consumed by fear, and at a complete loss, with no alternative but to beg Empress Dowager Liu to find a way to stop Xie Changgeng — doing so would not only save him, but save herself as well. He further promised that should Empress Dowager Liu manage to regain control of the capital court, he would agree to pardon him and his father for their previous act of rebellion against her, and he would submit and pledge allegiance to her. Thrown into fear, Empress Dowager Liu could not sleep at night. She secretly summoned her trusted confidants with increasing frequency, seemingly plotting something in secret.

Xie Changgeng passed the secret letter among Liu Guan and several others to read. After they had finished, their expressions were grave.

Liu Guan said, “No wonder Empress Dowager Liu has recently been raising the matter of marriage under the pretext of attending to the Old Madam — using it as a reason to bring it up before the Old Madam. It seems this was not intended to please her at all, but rather a desperate last resort, scheming for something else.”

Liu An said with a cold laugh, “The Prince of Qin has kept the people in the palace in place until now only because there has been no pretext — no convenient reason to make a clean break with them. The timing is nearly right now. Since they are bringing trouble upon themselves, the Prince of Qin should play along and string them on — watch how they scheme — and then follow the current, turn it to his advantage, and strike back at the opportune moment. That way, being compelled to act becomes the justification, and we can sweep all these people away cleanly. We would then immediately rally support for the Prince of Qin to take the throne, with no lingering threats whatsoever. After that, we send our forces south, sweep through Jianghuai, and who among the remnants of the old dynasty would dare say otherwise!”

Everyone agreed. Amid the voices of assent, one man suddenly said, “With Zhao Xitai using this to incite Empress Dowager Liu against the Prince of Qin on one side, he will certainly also seek a military alliance with Changsha to secure his position on the other. The military strength of Changsha is now nothing to be dismissed. If both sides combine their forces, the resistance will surely increase significantly. We should instruct Li Liang in Fuzhou to send troops against Changsha…”

He was speaking when he suddenly seemed to catch himself. He stopped abruptly, glanced at Xie Changgeng seated at the head, cleared his throat, and amended his words: “Not to actually attack them, of course — have him mass troops at the border without engaging, to make Changsha hesitate. That would serve the same purpose.”

The animated atmosphere of a moment ago gradually deflated. Several pairs of eyes turned toward Xie Changgeng seated at the head of the room.

Xie Changgeng was silent for a long while, then said, “Leave Changsha for now. Send people to gather intelligence there. If there are truly signs of a combined military action, it will not be too late to act then.”

Though he and the regent of Changsha had long since dissolved their marital bond, they had shared a history — and the men present all had a very favorable impression of the Princess Regent, holding her in considerable esteem. Hearing him settle the matter this way, none of them raised any further objection. They responded in unison, when a report came from outside the door: at the pass gate, a young boy had arrived, apparently having traveled a great distance. He was requesting an audience with the Prince of Qin. The soldiers had initially paid him no mind, but the boy produced a sword and said it was a token given to him by the Prince of Qin, asking them to pass it in. Only then did the soldiers not dare to be dismissive, and reported it to their superior. The deputy general had served the Prince of Qin for many years. He recognized it as the Prince’s personal sword — the one he used to carry at his side — and so had it brought in.

Xie Changgeng did not even wait for the man to finish speaking before he rose and strode to stand before the deputy general, grabbed the sword the man held up in both hands, took one look at it, and lifted his eyes sharply. “Where is the child?”

“Waiting outside the pass gate…”

Xie Changgeng left the astonished men in the hall behind him and walked out with rapid strides, hurrying to the pass gate.

A slender young boy stood alone in an open corner outside the gate, dusty from a long journey, holding a horse’s reins, a sturdy horse beside him, waiting quietly. He heard the heavy sound of the great gate behind him being opened, turned his head, and spotted the man striding out from within. His eyes lit up and a look of delighted surprise broke across his face. He called out to him — “Lord Xie!” — and immediately ran toward him.

His steps were slightly unsteady, as though his legs were troubled, yet he never stopped.

Though three years had passed and the boy at the gate was no longer the child he remembered, Xie Changgeng recognized him at a single glance. It was Xi’er.

Just moments ago, seeing the sword he had given this child, he had been half-disbelieving — how could the boy possibly have come here at a time like this? And how could that woman have possibly let him travel to him?

His heart was filled with a feeling he could scarcely believe, yet the moment he laid eyes on the boy, the moment he heard the long-missed call of “Lord Xie” — a surge of joyful excitement that he had not known for a very long time rushed through him.

He strode to stand before the young boy, gazing at him without blinking, and after a moment, slowly raised both hands and gently placed them on the boy’s still-slender young shoulders. Then he closed his hands and gripped firmly, and smiled.

“Xi’er! How did you come to be here? You came alone?” he asked.

The young boy seemed to feel the familiar warmth conveyed by those steady hands resting on his shoulders.

“Yes, it’s me. Lord Xie, I rode here on Xiaolong Ma. Along the way, many people were saying that Lord Xie had just pacified the King of Zhao and had stationed troops here, and was about to march against the Eastern Court. So I followed the word of mouth and found my way here.”

He answered, his eyes going faintly red at the rims.

Xie Changgeng glanced at the horse behind him — that Hexi warhorse now as magnificent as a dragon — his gaze passing over the saddlebag hanging at its side. The hands gripping the boy tightened further.

He nodded. “Come — follow Lord Xie inside first. We can talk at leisure.”

Beneath the countless watching eyes from above and below the pass walls, he led the boy through the gate.

“Your legs — are you injured?” The moment they were inside, Xie Changgeng asked.

“I’m fine. Lord Xie, I came to confirm something with you.” There was no one nearby, and he spoke with urgency.

Xie Changgeng nodded. “What is it? Speak.”

“Lord Xie, I remember that you once told me you would no longer make things difficult for my mother. I want to know — does what you told me still hold?”

Xie Changgeng was taken aback. He met the young boy’s intent, unwavering gaze and paused for a moment. “You came alone from Changsha and sought me out — just for this?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “This is extremely important! Lord Xie, my mother does not believe you, and she tells me I should not believe you either. But I do believe you. So I had to come and confirm it with you again myself, so that my mother could be at ease!”

“Lord Xie — do the words you once spoke to me still hold true?”

Xie Changgeng immediately understood everything.

He looked at the young boy before him and was silent for a moment. Then, slowly, he said: “Xi’er, Lord Xie once told you — what is given away is not taken back. The words Lord Xie has spoken to you are the same.”

“You have come at exactly the right time. When you return, convey this to your mother: there are matters in this world that cannot be resolved without war, and there are also matters that war cannot necessarily settle. Xie may be a flood and a menace, but so long as Changsha does not step forward to intercept him, Xie will not send a single soldier toward Dongting for as long as he draws breath.”

“There are matters that cannot be resolved without war, and there are also matters that war cannot necessarily settle.”

Xi’er’s eyes lit up with joy. He quickly repeated the words twice under his breath, then looked up and said, “I’ve memorized it! Lord Xie, I knew you wouldn’t deceive me! This is wonderful! I’ll go back at once and pass this to my mother, so she can set her mind at ease!”

“To be honest, Lord Xie — I slipped away on my own without telling anyone, and I need to return soon.” He said this quietly, then gave Xie Changgeng a deep bow.

Xie Changgeng smiled faintly. “I could tell.”

He stopped the boy, who was eager to be on his way, and pressed him down into a seat. “How did you injure your legs? Rest here for a few days and let the wound heal. I’ll have someone escort you home. Don’t be in such a rush — there are postal relay stations all the way south. Today I’ll first have an urgent message sent at eight hundred li speed to pass your news along to your mother.”

Xi’er said gratefully, “Lord Xie, you are truly good to me. Then I’ll write a letter to my mother right now — please help me send it along!”

Xie Changgeng nodded with a smile and fetched him brush and ink with his own hands. He watched as the boy finished the letter quickly, then had it sent on its way. He then crouched down and personally examined the wound on the boy’s legs. Rolling up the trouser leg, he found a cut on the lower calf — not yet scabbed over, the wound slightly festered and swollen, but thankfully confined to the flesh and skin.

Xie Changgeng saw at once that it was a scrape made by some kind of blade.

“Lord Xie, there is no need to worry — it is a small wound I got myself by carelessness on the road. I brought medicine for cuts before I left. These past days, it had already been getting much better. With the rush of these last few days of travel, I haven’t had time to apply it, so it swelled up again.”

Seeing Xie Changgeng’s furrowed brow, Xi’er immediately spoke up.

“You ran into bandits?”

Under his all-seeing gaze, the young boy finally admitted in a low voice that one evening it had grown dark and he had been greedy to cover more ground by taking a shortcut he had been told about, when two bandits appeared and tried to steal his horse and his belongings. A struggle broke out, and that was how he was injured.

“I shot one with my crossbow — the arrow hit him in the throat. The other one got scared and ran. After that, I stuck to the official road during the day and didn’t run into any more bad people.”

“Lord Xie, don’t worry. Though I ran into bad people on the road, I also met far more good ones. Those people were poor but warm-hearted — they pointed me the right way, some even let me stay the night and warned me what to watch out for ahead. Coming all this way, I saw many things I had never seen before. It gave me a great deal to think about.”

“There absolutely cannot be a next time. Do you hear me?” He spoke to the young boy, who had recounted his experiences on the road in such an even-toned voice, with a firm and strict manner.

“Understood. When I get home, I will go to my mother and beg her forgiveness on bended knee.” He lowered his eyes and said in a quiet voice.

Xie Changgeng looked at the child’s beautiful eyes — eyes that stirred in him a feeling of recognition — and hesitated for a moment.

“Xi’er, why did you disobey your mother and insist on coming to find me?” he could not help but ask.

The young boy slowly raised his eyes and looked at him.

“Lord Xie, even though you and my mother no longer have anything to do with each other, if there is even the slightest chance, I still don’t want you two to be enemies at war. Mother doesn’t trust you — but I have believed in every word you said to me that day, without a single moment of doubt. I remember when I was small, and you took me to Tianshan to bring Mother back. When we met enemies on the road and urgently needed to light a beacon fire, I said I would go and do it — but you would not agree, and went on instead to find the next one. On that day in Yuecheng, the way you looked at me when you spoke to me was exactly the same as it was back then. I haven’t forgotten.”

Xie Changgeng’s hand stopped in midair.

He looked at this child for a long while, then slowly raised his hand and ruffled his head, and said no more, continuing to bandage the wound.

The boy was young and the wound was only in the flesh — it healed quickly. After resting for a few days, the wound had already formed a scab. The child had been eager to return from the start, and as it happened, word arrived that a search party sent out by Changsha had already tracked them this far. He had them courteously received and arranged for Xi’er to set off on the journey home.

Those among Xie Changgeng’s men who had not previously known Xi’er were taken aback that this child, who looked not yet ten years old, had dared to travel alone all the way from Changsha. Liu An, Liang Tuan, and the other old hands from Hexi, however, were not the least bit surprised. When asked about it, they recounted some of the things the boy had done at an even younger age, and at that the others finally understood. By comparison, this feat did indeed seem quite ordinary. Today as Xi’er was about to leave, they all followed Xie Changgeng to see him off at the pass gate. Getting a closer look, everyone found themselves staring at the two faces, feeling an inward astonishment they could not quite name.

“Young lord! Safe travels!”

Liu An, Liang Tuan, and the others dismounted to bid him farewell, their manner extremely respectful.

Three years prior, after Xie Changgeng’s mother had been brought back from Changsha, she had for a time repeatedly sent people to have the child brought back as well. Though Xie Changgeng had eventually put a stop to this and the matter had been left unresolved, several of the people closest to Xie Changgeng had all come to know of it. Each had their private speculations, but no one dared speak of it aloud.

Xi’er first bid farewell to Xie Changgeng, then returned the salute to Liu An, Liang Tuan, and the others one by one, asking them all to stay. His conduct showed remarkable poise. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back to Xie Changgeng. “Lord Xie, if one day you return to the capital and happen to pass by the Huguo Temple, please convey my greetings to my master and tell him I am well now. If an opportunity arises in the future, I will go back and pay my respects to him in person.”

Xie Changgeng inclined his head.

“Thank you for the trouble, Lord Xie.”

He bowed once more, then turned and swiftly mounted his horse. Together with those who had come to receive him, he rode south at a gallop.

Xie Changgeng watched until the party ahead disappeared from sight, then turned and gave his order: “Return to the capital.”