The winter sun shone brilliantly as the biting wind howled from the distant north. Fine, dense white threads filled the space between heaven and earth. The old man stood amidst these fine white threads, his disheveled hair blown about wildly. His piercing gaze, like threads of wind cutting through the air, shot directly toward the top of Shuozhou Prefecture City wall.
He Simu heard Meng Wan whispering with others behind her, saying that Lin Huaide, Lin Jun’s uncle, had secretly provided the Taibai army with information about Danzhi’s grain transport schedule and had been betrayed and exposed to the Danzhi army.
The old man called out loudly: “Jun’er, did the provisions arrive?”
“They… they did…”
“Is there enough to eat?”
Lin Jun, red-eyed, pressed his lips together without answering.
How much was enough? Twenty-some days’ worth of food, in exchange for the lives of Lin Huaide’s family of more than twenty people—was that enough or not?
“Can you hold out?” Lin Huaide’s voice, neither sad nor happy, carried through the biting wind to the top of the wall, creating a sense of helplessness about the uncertain future.
The Danzhi soldiers standing beside Lin Huaide began to laugh as if waiting for the Great Liang soldiers within the isolated city to waver.
Receiving no answer, Lin Huaide fell silent for a moment, then slowly said: “Jun’er, do you remember your grandfather? When your grandfather was alive, among all his grandchildren, you were his favorite.”
“Your great-grandfather was a soldier under General Wu Nan and died in battle at Yunzhou without returning. At that time, your grandfather had just been born, and your great-grandmother stubbornly refused to flee south of the border river, raising your grandfather in Shuozhou. Your grandfather earned this foundation for the Lin family, which gave us—my family and your father’s family—what we have today, and created the Lin family of Shuozhou. Over these years, for our business and the Lin family, we’ve had to flatter and please the Huqi people everywhere, but you must remember how our ancestors died—they died to protect us. Your grandfather said that if one day Great Liang could cross the border river and drive the Huqi people out of the Central Plains, the Lin family, though merely a merchant family, would spare no effort to help, accepting death without hesitation.”
The Danzhi soldiers noticed Lin Huaide’s speech was going in the wrong direction and grabbed him, giving him a slap, ordering him to speak properly. Lin Huaide, however, said coldly and sternly: “Jun’er, listen carefully! Even if you cannot hold out, you must continue to hold out!”
“I’ve come to see you today to tell you that your uncle is going to report back to your grandfather, to tell him that the Lin family has not failed its trust, and Jun’er has not failed his trust!”
“One day, the rivers and mountains will return, and the golden age will be restored!”
Lin Jun stared blankly at the scene below the city wall. His eyes widened, his eye sockets reddened to the extreme, yet no tears flowed. Intense emotions surged violently in his eyes as if they would cast his soul out of his body. From below came piercing screams and wails. The Lin family’s fresh blood stained the frosted earth. Lin Huaide fell with eyes wide open into an expanding pool of blood, his throat slit by a sharp blade, yet a frozen smile remained on his face.
In his murky, aged eyes, it was as if he was proud of something, and also mocking something.
Lin Jun began to tremble uncontrollably. He no longer rushed toward the battlements but leaned against the wall and slowly bent down, his slender fingers trembling like cicada wings, gradually covering his eyes.
He curled up like a silkworm cocoon, making no sound at all.
All twenty-three members of Lin Huaide’s family were slaughtered at the foot of Shuozhou Prefecture City.
Chen Ying clung to the battlement, staring blankly at the one-sided massacre below the city wall. He Simu reached out to cover his eyes and pulled him back from the battlement.
Chen Ying didn’t struggle, only saying softly: “My father was killed like this too.”
Unarmed, slaughtered like livestock.
Surprisingly, this time Chen Ying didn’t cry.
He Simu watched as soul-fired lanterns rose from below the city, disappearing into the horizon under the dazzling sunlight. Having witnessed life and death countless times, she knew that anything said at this moment would be inappropriate, and could only squeeze Chen Ying’s shoulder reassuringly.
Human life is short, barely a hundred fleeting years; the entanglement of life and death ultimately cannot be broken through.
And yet there is no need to break through it.
If people had no attachments, life would probably be meaningless.
After returning to the Lin residence, Lin Jun didn’t eat anything all day. He sat silently in the pavilion of the courtyard, from high noon until sunset, through the quiet night.
The steward tried to persuade him several times, but Lin Jun refused to move. It wasn’t until Duan Xu visited the Lin residence at night, walking to Lin Jun, that he came to his senses, standing up somewhat surprised.
Duan Xu wore casual clothing with a round collar robe, bowing to Lin Jun: “Proprietor Lin, Xunxi has failed the Lin family.”
Lin Jun immediately shook his head and helped Duan Xu up, saying: “General Duan need not blame yourself… Everyone must die, my uncle…”
He seemed unable to continue. Duan Xu sighed and continued: “I heard your father passed away early, and your uncle cared for you greatly, like a father. The words he spoke at the foot of the city today were meant to spare you pain; I imagine he would not want to see you so dejected.”
Lin Jun was older than Duan Xu, so Duan Xu had always respectfully addressed him as “you” (in the formal sense). Lin Jun modestly said such formality was unnecessary.
But Duan Xu said: “I know the Lin family has suffered a great calamity, and your heart is heavy with grief, but I have a matter for which I need your help. It is a matter of great importance, and I hope you will agree.”
Lin Jun was startled, puzzled: “What matter?”
“I have a suspicion about the spy in the military, and I ask for Proprietor Lin’s help to confirm it.”
“Who is it?”
“Han Ling Qiu.”
Lin Jun looked at Duan Xu in surprise, as if unable to believe this was Han Ling Qiu’s doing: “What evidence does the General have?”
“Miss He’s ambush, the burning of provisions, the grain robbery ambush, the betrayal of the Lin family—each incident is connected to him. During the grain robbery ambush, the Huqi people ordered that Han Ling Qiu not be harmed. Han Ling Qiu originally came from Danzhi, and he claims to have lost his memory, but there are many suspicious points.”
“Lost his memory?” Lin Jun exclaimed.
“I believe he has intentionally concealed his martial skills, so I organized the martial arts competition to test his true abilities. I’ve heard that Proprietor Lin is also a martial arts enthusiast and has several skilled guests at home. At that time, could Proprietor Lin have them come to compete with Han Ling Qiu?”
Lin Jun nodded with a grave expression, bowing to Duan Xu: “I will handle this matter, and will not fail the General’s trust.”
Duan Xu patted Lin Jun’s shoulder, saying: “Proprietor Lin is not only the pride of the Lin family but also a pillar of Great Liang.”
After leaving Lin’s residence, Duan Xu turned and went to find Han Ling Qiu. He called over Han Ling Qiu, who was on patrol, and said to him: “Whatever suspicions you have about me, I am now your general, and you must obey my orders.”
Han Ling Qiu lowered his eyes and said: “Yes, what are the General’s instructions?”
“You’ve hidden your strength and haven’t fully revealed your martial skills, right?” Duan Xu asked straightforwardly.
Han Ling Qiu was very surprised and was about to say something when Duan Xu raised his hand to stop him. He continued directly: “In the martial arts competition a few days from now, I want you to win all matches, but still conceal your strength—don’t reveal it unless necessary.”
This strange request left Han Ling Qiu standing there stunned. After a moment’s reaction, he asked: “How does the General know I…”
“This is my order, you only need to say ‘yes.'”
Han Ling Qiu was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and said: “Yes.”
Duan Xu laughed softly, saying: “There’s one more thing I need to instruct you on, remember it well.”
When the moon reached its zenith, Duan Xu finally left the military camp. As usual, he carried a lantern and walked alone on the cold, moonlit street. Red lanterns and red silk hung on both sides of the street, and the couplets on the doors had been changed to new ones. The people in the city were happily preparing for the New Year.
They didn’t know that the city’s provisions would only last a month, didn’t know about the endless black tents outside the city, didn’t know about the twenty-three members of the Lin family whose blood was spilled at the foot of the city that day. This kind of peace, even happiness, seemed surprising and strange.
And the one concealing this walked calmly, carrying a lantern on this street filled with a festive atmosphere.
“Are you here?” he asked.
After a moment of silence around him, a pair of lotus-colored cloud boots silently stepped onto the ground beside him.
The Ghost King lantern at He Simu’s waist flickered with blue light that appeared and disappeared. She said casually: “Everything arranged?”
“Yes. You already know everything?”
“I’ve guessed most of it.”
“Let’s see how much you can guess by the end of this round.”
He Simu turned to look at the young man beside her. His clear eyes had a thousand-fathom cold pond, with no visible bottom. A person whose life span was barely a hundred years, who had lived not even twenty years, already had such eyes.
She asked: “Young General, how old are you? Aren’t you tired?”
Duan Xu’s eyes flickered. He tilted his head to look at He Simu and smiled but said nothing.
The New Year’s martial arts competition was held as scheduled on the morning of New Year’s Eve. He Simu, as the Taibai army’s wind angle diviner, was invited to the training field. She sat in the seat next to Duan Xu, who had also invited Lin Jun, who sat on his other side.
Duan Xu did not participate in the competition, nor did he allow the martial arts enthusiast Wu Sheng Liu to participate. Wu Sheng Liu was thoroughly angered by this, sitting in his seat with folded arms and a cold face, drinking but not speaking.
After several rounds of drawing lots and competitions, Han Ling Qiu unsurprisingly advanced all the way to the finals. His previous reputation in military competitions was also notable, having only lost to Wu Sheng Liu.
Also reaching the finals was the jianghu martial artist Master Song, whom Lin Jun had invited. Master Song was of similar build to Han Ling Qiu, broad-shouldered and strong, having easily defeated his opponents in the previous rounds, showing exceptional skill.
The two bowed to each other in the arena, and as soon as the drums sounded, they assumed their stances and began fighting. Duan Xu slightly narrowed his eyes, and Lin Jun anxiously leaned forward, while He Simu occasionally glanced at the arena while cracking melon seeds with Chen Ying.
Both were skilled fighters, exchanging blows without conceding, their figures tumbling back and forth across the training field, raising dust. After several rounds, they remained even.
According to Duan Xu, if Han Ling Qiu had been a death soldier of Tian Zhi Xiao, his abilities would have been superior to Master Song’s. Now, obeying Duan Xu’s orders, he hadn’t revealed much, but at this level, he probably couldn’t defeat Master Song.
He Simu cracked melon seeds, thinking that Duan Xu had truly given Lin and Han a difficult task—testing while hiding, and both sides needed to win.
As the situation grew tense, with Han Ling Qiu and Master Song unable to determine a winner after several rounds, Lin Jun frowned, watching for a long time before saying to Duan Xu: “If this continues, we won’t be able to see Captain Han’s true abilities. I heard Master Song say that in the jianghu, there is a style of competition where eyes are blindfolded that best tests one’s true ability.”
Duan Xu’s hand, holding his tea, paused. He smiled and said: “Very well, since we can’t determine a winner now, let’s compete this way.”
He called over Meng Wan and announced the modified rules.
Han Ling Qiu on the training field obviously hesitated. He raised his eyes and looked somewhat uncertainly toward Duan Xu, who gazed at him calmly. The gaze filled with doubt and unease hung in the clear sky for a moment. Han Ling Qiu lowered his head, thinking about something unknown, seemingly sighing, took the black cloth handed to him by a soldier, covered his eyes, and tied it securely.
This was a competition that no one had seen before, and the people around the training field watched with excitement as the two blindfolded men in the arena.
After Han Ling Qiu was blindfolded, the atmosphere around him changed subtly. He Simu saw that the wind around him, just like during Duan Xu and Wu Sheng Liu’s previous match, showed small fluctuations and distortions. When he ran forward to engage with Master Song, his speed was more than twice as fast as before, and his precision was not diminished at all, as if he had grown a third eye.
The blindfolded competition was said to be a jianghu custom, but Master Song was not as adapted to this style as Han Ling Qiu. His speed and accuracy had slightly decreased from before, and he showed hesitation in his movements. Amid the flying dust, Han Ling Qiu feinted several moves with Master Song, then accurately landed a punch in his chest. As Master Song retreated repeatedly, Han Ling Qiu stepped forward, grabbed his arm, turned sideways to throw him to the ground, and then accurately gripped Master Song’s neck.
Swift, precise, without fancy moves—just deadly.
He Simu put down the melon seeds in her hand, thinking that Master Song probably had several broken ribs, one of which had nearly pierced his heart.
Blindfolded, Han Ling Qiu’s attacks were almost deadly, much more fierce than before.
Without extremely cruel and meticulous training, a person would not have such a keen perception and powerful attacking ability.
The gongs and drums on the field sounded, and a soldier shouted: “Captain Han wins.”
Han Ling Qiu silently stood up, tore off the black cloth from his eyes, and bowed to Master Song: “I apologize.”
Everyone in the seats was shocked. The first to jump up was Wu Sheng Liu, who widened his eyes and shouted: “How did Brother Han… when did his martial arts become so formidable? I never knew! Why would he hide such a good thing!”
Amid a chorus of admiration, Duan Xu put down his teacup and calmly stood up from his seat.
He leisurely walked to the edge of the training field and announced in a clear voice: “Everyone, during these days of guarding Shuozhou Prefecture City, first the carriage of the wind angle diviner was ambushed, then the provisions were burned, the grain robbery was ambushed by Danzhi, and the Lin family’s first branch was betrayed. Each of these incidents indicates that there is a Danzhi spy among us. Today, I can finally determine who this spy is. It seems this person is indeed connected to each of the incidents above.”
Duan Xu’s gaze fell on Han Ling Qiu, who silently looked back at him, tightening his fist without speaking.
But Duan Xu smiled leisurely, turned around, and looked at Lin Jun beside him.
“Proprietor Lin, what do you think? Or perhaps I should ask you since we took control of the prefecture city, where have you hidden the real Lin Jun?”