In the blink of an eye Su Pingchuan was nearly upon them. Xiao Nanhui signaled Yaoyi to pull his head back in: “Stay hidden for now — whatever you do, don’t come out unless I say so.”

Yaoyi did as told, and had just closed the small window when Su Pingchuan’s voice carried over.

“Who goes there ahead?”

This Su Pingchuan — was he made of cast iron? He was far too by-the-book. Every single time it was the same routine. One had to give him credit for unwavering consistency.

Xiao Nanhui took her time responding to him, waiting until he drew close before announcing herself: “General Su, I am Xiao Nanhui. Might I ask what urgent business brings you here in such a hurry?”

Once Su Pingchuan made out Xiao Nanhui’s face, his expression turned somewhat peculiar — likely because the awkward entanglement between the two of them made it hard to determine whether they counted as acquaintances or strangers.

“So it is Officer Xiao. I just received a report that someone was gathering on the northern hillside to covertly peep at and defile the ladies of the inner palace, and I have come to investigate.”

Defile the ladies, at that. The charge Xu Shu had hung on them was a remarkably large hat.

Xiao Nanhui showed a row of white teeth and feigned puzzlement: “The ladies of the inner palace are all within those palace walls. This place is still some distance from the city gates — I wonder what General Su means by ‘defiling ladies’ here?”

Su Pingchuan gave a cold snort: “Does defilement necessarily require physical contact? Those are women selected for His Majesty’s behalf — even for an outsider to observe them from afar from a distance could be considered an offense.”

Xiao Nanhui nodded: “I see. Then General, please go quickly and apprehend the offender — I will not detain you further.”

With that she gave a mounted salute, called out to Jixiang, and made to leave together with the carriage at her side.

“Stop.”

Su Pingchuan’s dark horse seemed to share its master’s intentions, raising its hooves and blocking the carriage.

“Officer Xiao, why such haste? And who might be in this carriage?”

The scene was strikingly familiar — only this time, the person in the carriage had no medallion from the Chancellor’s Mansion. If he were caught, Wangchen Tower would be changing proprietors.

“The person in the carriage is a friend of mine. We have just come down from the hills after admiring the flowers. My dear Pingchuan, could you be suspecting me of harboring an offender? I, Xiao Nanhui, pledge on the name of the Marquis Mansion that he is perfectly innocent.”

The sound of “my dear Pingchuan” made even her own skin crawl as she said it. Su Pingchuan, hearing it, stiffened visibly.

Xiao Nanhui had already invoked the Qinghuai Marquis Mansion. Even if he wished to push further, he could not do so without causing an outright rupture.

“Officer Xiao has spoken so plainly that it would be unreasonable of me to insist on searching the carriage.”

Xiao Nanhui laughed in a forthright manner: “Quite right, quite right. My friend is the timid sort — the sight of weapons makes him ill. Please, Pingchuan, let him off and let him head home early—”

“He may go. But you are to stay.”

Xiao Nanhui was caught off guard, unable for a moment to fathom what game he was playing. But given the situation there was no room for deliberation — one able to leave was better than none. She promptly rapped on the carriage compartment, signaling the driver to make a quick retreat.

True to his word, Su Pingchuan made no move to stop the carriage until it had driven well out of sight. Then he spoke coldly: “Just now I extended considerable face to the Qinghuai Marquis Mansion. I wonder if Officer Xiao would be willing to return that favor to the Duke Xuanyuan’s estate?”

You don’t need to keep invoking the Marquis Mansion and the Duke’s estate at me, one after another.

I’m right here — if you have something to say, just say it!

Xiao Nanhui smiled pleasantly and nodded: “But of course — and what would Pingchuan need from me?”

The vein at Su Pingchuan’s temple leapt in time with each utterance of “Pingchuan” from Xiao Nanhui’s lips. He said flatly: “Cease addressing me by those three characters.”

Which three characters? “My dear Pingchuan”? If not “dear Pingchuan,” then “dear Brother Pingchuan”?

What a joke!

I am older than you, for heaven’s sake!

Xiao Nanhui kept a tactful smile on her face: “Then what would Pingchuan need from me?”

Su Pingchuan faltered again, and after a long pause seemed to have given up arguing over forms of address. He spoke in a flat, heavy tone: “Let you and I have a proper, straightforward contest — how does that sound?”

Ha! So that was it — he had been waiting to even a score. Just this? As if I could possibly be afraid of you!

“Whatever Pingchuan wishes.”

In all of Xiao Nanhui’s years of fighting, never once had an opponent come to her with such a reckoning air as this. It was a first.

At Su Pingchuan’s request, the two of them found an open clearing.

With their owners engaged in a contest, both horses were led to a nearby spot. Su Pingchuan’s big black horse stood as motionless as a stone statue before an imperial mausoleum — dignified, formidable, utterly still, gazing devotedly toward its master, as if it understood that this was a contest.

Then there was Jixiang. From the moment Xiao Nanhui had loosened its reins, it had been rump in the air, nose to the ground, rooting around each and every tree root. Xiao Nanhui felt that never mind who won or lost — the horse was not even the slightest bit concerned with whether she lived or died.

On this side, the two of them had just squared off when Su Pingchuan swept his sword from its scabbard with a sharp rasp, startling Xiao Nanhui.

“I came out of the city today to keep a friend company and did not bring a weapon.”

Only then did Su Pingchuan slowly sheathe his sword again. He glanced around, then tossed Xiao Nanhui a tree branch.

“I’ve heard Officer Xiao trained under the Qinghuai Marquis and practices spear technique. This is a branch of white wax wood — make do with it. I’ll keep my sword sheathed and spar with you that way. What do you say?”

Xiao Nanhui looked at the bare, stubby branch in her hand, then at the fine sword in Su Pingchuan’s — clearly the work of a master craftsman — and her face was all but inscribed with the words “this is not great.” Still, thinking that Yaoyi probably had not managed to get back to the city yet, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and nod: “That will do, that will do.”

Su Pingchuan gripped his sword single-handed, blade pointing downward, taking up a peculiar and threatening opening stance: “It may only be a sparring match, but there will inevitably be some knocks and scrapes. Officer Xiao, please do not fault me later if I strike a touch heavily.”

By now Xiao Nanhui had figured out what was going on — he was holding a grudge over something from ten years ago and had come to settle accounts.

But good heavens, all I did back then was knock out one of your teeth — and you were in the middle of losing it to begin with, were you not? Yet now from the look of things, you mean to cut me down!

“Wait.” Xiao Nanhui shifted the branch from one hand to the other, her palm already damp with sweat. “This is only a sparring match — there is to be no fighting to the death.”

Su Pingchuan’s eyes lit up, as if he intended that Xiao Nanhui would not be leaving today in one piece, yet his mouth said: “But of course.” Then he threw out a provocative glance whose meaning was plain: What’s the matter? Are you afraid?

Before the last word had even faded, he shot forward from his spot — moving with a speed that made Xiao Nanhui’s heart lurch.

His footwork was nothing like the rigid drills of a military camp. It was more like the product of training under a master of the rivers and lakes.

Xiao Nanhui tightened her grip on the branch, pouring full force into her feet. Spear technique rewards holding steady while meeting all changes — she did not move from her position but narrowed her eyes and fixed them on his forms.

His scabbard met the branch, and Xiao Nanhui felt the shock rattle through her hands. She immediately spun to deflect the force, though her tiger’s mouth still went somewhat numb.

This young man’s strength was genuinely formidable. Xiao Nanhui thought he had no business practicing swordsmanship at all — he should have gone and trained with a crescent-moon halberd weighing over seventy catties.

One exchange passed, and though neither could claim clear advantage, Su Pingchuan had plainly come out ahead.

He looked at Xiao Nanhui with a degree of satisfaction: “We’re only just beginning — be sure you keep hold of that branch.”

The moment he said that, he revealed himself. He was, at bottom, someone who could not keep his composure.

Xiao Nanhui reined in her energy and turned serious. Setting aside the comparison of martial skill, there was one thing Su Pingchuan could not match her in — the focus and steadiness forged on the battlefield. She had campaigned for years alongside Xiao Zhun, had seen life and death firsthand, and no small sparring match could unsettle her thoughts no matter what.

After ten more exchanges, Xiao Nanhui had begun to read his rhythm fairly well. Su Pingchuan’s footwork was varied and his strikes fierce and powerful, but compared to someone like Bolao — deep in skill and fiendishly cunning — there was still a gap, particularly when it came to underhanded moves. He had clearly not mastered that art, and several mid-technique shifts in approach had all been blocked and turned aside by Xiao Nanhui.

With every advance deflected, Su Pingchuan had grown visibly anxious, and his previously well-rounded technique began to show flaws. Xiao Nanhui’s gaze was swift as lightning — she seized upon an opening and launched her long branch in a single-handed sweeping blow.

This move was originally devised for two cavalry riders meeting head-on, a preemptive strike to hook the opponent’s saddle on one side and unseat the rider in one motion, followed by a second strike for the finish.

But Xiao Nanhui had forgotten — they were not on horseback at all. The branch came sweeping in with fierce momentum and sliced cleanly in along the inside of Su Pingchuan’s thigh.

Su Pingchuan moved urgently to counter the blow, bracing hard at the inner thigh — and then came a sharp tearing sound, followed by a rush of cool air below.

Xiao Nanhui stared blankly at the strip of fabric wound around the end of the branch in her hand, then raised her eyes to look at Su Pingchuan’s lower half and blinked, registering somewhat belatedly what had happened.

It was all right — his inner garment was still on.

Over there, Su Pingchuan shook his leg in disbelief and found that two thin flaps of cloth were barely covering his lower body. The moment he understood what had happened, his handsome face reddened at a visible speed, all the way down to the base of his neck.

Xiao Nanhui swallowed, pulled the strip of fabric from the branch, and held it out to him with both hands: “Well — see if you can put it back on—”

“Do not come closer!”

Su Pingchuan let out a shout and retreated more than a dozen steps. He glanced left and right in search of a tree or a thicket to duck behind, only to find himself in an open clearing with no cover to be found.

Xiao Nanhui’s outstretched hand froze in midair. It had been a perfectly ordinary sparring match — to end in such a fashion was more than she had bargained for, and she too was at something of a loss.

“As for today’s match — as long as Pingchuan does not bring it up, I will never breathe a word of it to anyone—”

Su Pingchuan, who was gathering tree branches to cover himself, caught these words and shot her a ferocious glare.

Xiao Nanhui smiled ruefully.

She had been hoping this encounter might allow the two of them to bury the hatchet. As it turned out, they had gone straight from awkward to even more awkward.

She called over Jixiang, who had been hunting for mushrooms in the distance, swung herself into the saddle, and still felt somewhat ill at ease.

“You’re probably in a difficult position right now. From here to the city gate is still a stretch of road — not far, but not nothing either. I could ride back to the city and bring you a change of clothes. Half a shichen at most—”

“No need!”

Su Pingchuan’s anger made his breath unsteady. It seemed one more word might push him into an outright oath. Xiao Nanhui weighed matters back and forth and decided to leave him a moment’s peace, so she spurred her horse away.

The horse had carried her several hundred meters when the boldness of the sparring match began to ebb. She found herself suddenly not quite daring to look back.

She was afraid too — afraid of catching sight of something she ought not to see.

What a mortifying day it had been.