Wang Bin sat in a corner, reflecting on everything that had happened over these past few days. Each event felt as though it had taken place in a dream.

If he were to count from when he left the Jiedushi’s mansion, then this dream had offered only one brief spell of happiness — the short stretch of time when he had received the silver and drunk himself into a contented stupor.

But that happiness had been truly brief. The moment the drink wore off, it was gone without a trace, leaving nothing but endless worry and dread.

These past days on the boat he had lived in a state of constant anxiety — and yet he had also arrived at a kind of peace. Anxiety about the body, yet no longer torment in the heart.

If he survived this, he decided, he would go home and confess everything to his wife, and then find some ordinary work somewhere and live a steady, grounded life.

It is only those who have experienced great rises and great falls who come to understand how precious those four words — steady, grounded life — truly are.

Over these past days, he had seized every opportunity to toss a strip of torn cloth into the river. He genuinely did not know whether any of it was of use.

Every night when he could not sleep he would think through it again — why had he not regretted boarding the vessel.

He would also think through why he had been so afraid, and yet had still taken the risk of leaving markings.

He could not give himself an answer, because he did not believe himself to be a hero — and so he set aside the only answer that would have been correct, and was left with none.

He was the lead deckhand. All the ship workers on board deferred to him. Everyone knew they might well die in the end, and so they placed all their hopes on the person at the head.

Some of the deckhands knew he had been leaving markings. No one said anything to him — but they would, naturally and unobtrusively, cover for him.

Just as he was turning these things over in his mind, several Azure Cord Army soldiers came down from the upper deck and swept a glance over the ship workers: “All of you, move aside. Stop rowing for now.”

Everyone’s heart tightened with dread. Perhaps the end they had long been waiting for had finally arrived.

Each of them also understood clearly — they would not stay on the water forever. Those men would eventually change routes, and even if they did not, the vessel sent to meet them should be arriving soon.

Guo Wei walked unhurriedly down the gangway, a fragment of torn cloth in his hand — something his men had just dredged from the water.

When Wang Bin saw that cloth, his heart sank. The color drained from his face instantly.

“One of you has not been behaving.”

Guo Wei walked to face the assembled workers, swept his gaze across them, and said: “I had been thinking to myself — you are blameless people. Once we reach our destination, I would let you go. But since some of you wish to die, what can I do about that.”

These words — not one of the ship workers believed them. Men like these would never leave witnesses alive.

But no one dared meet his gaze. Heads lowered one by one. Wang Bin lowered his head as well. He knew his own courage was not great — if he made eye contact, something would certainly be read from his face.

“Still, I am a compassionate person.”

Guo Wei continued: “If you are willing to hand over the one who left these markings, I can spare the rest of you.”

Silence. A terrible silence.

Guo Wei waited a good long while without seeing anyone come forward. He let out a sigh. “Then we will have to try you one by one.”

With that, he looked at Wang Bin. “You are the lead deckhand. If someone was secretly leaving markings, you would know — because they all answer to you. You would notice every one of them. If you truly did not see who threw the cloth into the river, then it can only have been you who threw it.”

He pointed at Wang Bin. “Bring him here.”

Two Azure Cord Army soldiers stepped forward, seized Wang Bin by the arms, and dragged him out.

“It wasn’t me! It really wasn’t me!”

Wang Bin shouted and struggled — the panic, the terror, the desperate flailing — and the ship workers who watched it saw something different enter their eyes.

They looked at Wang Bin, and it seemed that in that moment, no one placed any hope in him any longer.

“Not you?”

Guo Wei smiled. “If it wasn’t you, then tell me who it was. If you dare say you don’t know, I’ll cut you down first.”

Wang Bin’s eyes darted instinctively to the other ship workers. And in that instant he felt a sudden flush of shame, because he once again felt his own cowardice.

“It was…”

Wang Bin gathered his courage, just about to say it was me — but before the word “me” could leave his mouth, a young ship worker stepped forward. “It was me.”

Guo Wei’s gaze snapped to the young man at once. They all looked at him. He appeared to be not even twenty years old.

Stockily built — years of working on the river had darkened his skin — but his eyes were bright.

He parted the others and stepped out, drew a deep breath, and said: “It was me. All the way here, it was me. I stole fabric from the cargo in the hold, cut it into pieces, and tossed a piece into the water every so often.”

Guo Wei actually smiled.

He walked in front of the young man and looked him up and down.

“Not afraid to die?”

he asked.

The young man smiled back — and shook his head. “Not afraid.”

Guo Wei asked: “Why not afraid?”

The young man answered: “Because those markings I left will surely be of use. Prince Ning’s forces will certainly catch up with you. You will all die. One of me dying in exchange for all of you dying — that’s not a bad trade. So, not afraid.”

Guo Wei said: “You have never seen how terrible death can be.”

He waved his hand. “Hold him down and gut him. Let the others watch.”

Several Azure Cord Army soldiers came forward, pinned the young man’s arms tight, and one of them drew a short blade.

“Wait!”

Wang Bin suddenly shouted at the top of his voice: “It wasn’t him! It was me!”

The words had barely left his mouth when all the ship workers began shouting at once.

“It wasn’t him! It was me!”

“It was me!”

“Not him! It was me!”

“If you’re going to kill someone, kill us all!”

“Right — since we’re going to die anyway, we’ll die together. If you dare kill those two, we’ll all stop working.”

“Everyone dies together!”

They shouted over one another, and then they began stepping forward.

Wang Bin looked at these people. Suddenly, his eyes were full of tears.

“Every single one of you, so brave…”

Guo Wei said: “You think I don’t dare kill all of you? You’re right — I don’t dare kill all of you. Because we haven’t reached our destination yet. If everyone dies, my men don’t know how to work a vessel. So you really have won.”

“But…”

Guo Wei pointed at Wang Bin, then at the young man. “Break the hands and feet of both of them. Leave them alive.”

He turned to look at the ship workers: “If you refuse to keep working, those two will certainly die.”

He then turned to a subordinate officer: “Keep a rotating watch on them. They are not permitted on the upper deck.”

“Yes, sir!”

The officer replied.

Before long, a group of Azure Cord Army soldiers came and blocked the ship workers off. A few more soldiers seized Wang Bin and the young man and broke all four of their limbs.

The two of them were left in a corner. They looked at each other — and neither seemed to feel any pain. They both grinned stupidly at each other.

Up on the deck, Guo Wei gave his orders: “Barring any unexpected developments, in roughly one more day we should reach the fork. Adviser Pei’s arranged escort carriage party will be waiting there. We leave the boat, go ashore. The boat is to be burned, and these men all burned with it.”

At that very moment, someone suddenly shouted: “A boat coming up fast from behind!”

Guo Wei was startled. He immediately ran to the stern, reached out, and took the far-seeing glass from his personal guard.

Behind their vessel, a strangely shaped boat was drawing near — a craft unlike anything any of them had ever seen. Its speed was terrifying.

“Archers to the stern!”

Guo Wei shouted the order at once.

His Azure Cord Army were well-trained. They moved immediately, forming three rows of archers at the stern.

From the time they spotted the approaching vessel as something strange to the moment it caught up with them — it had taken hardly any time at all. Its speed was at minimum double that of their merchant vessel.

Li Chi stood at the bow of the vessel closing in from behind. In his hand, he gripped a damp, soggy strip of cloth.

This was his vessel — the one Zhi Chi had built for him on the lake-heart island. Several months had passed. This was the first completed example.

The vessel was made of phoenixcypress wood. It had been on its way to Youzhou to let Prince Ning take a look. Li Chi had known the vessel was nearly here — which was why he had told Cao Lie he was going out of the city to intercept a boat on the canal.

This war vessel built of phoenixcypress wood had not yet been named. Zhi Chi had said: this vessel is of unmatched solidity, swift as a fierce wind.

“My Lord, how shall we engage?”

Yu Jiuling asked.

Li Chi looked down at the strip of cloth in his hand. He breathed in deep.

Then he asked Zhi Chi, who had personally come to deliver the vessel: “If we ram them, what happens?”

Zhi Chi answered: “Their vessel will breach and sink. This lord’s vessel will be completely unharmed. This old subject has every confidence in that.”

Li Chi said: “Then we ram them. If we board the vessel, they will use the ship workers as hostages. Sink the boat — and make the breach as large as possible.”

“Understood!”

Even old Zhi Chi grew excited. He waved the chess piece he kept in hand: “Ram them!”

Li Chi and the others stepped back a few paces, dropped into half-crouches, and braced themselves against the vessel, preparing for impact.

In front of Li Chi, the personal guard company’s soldiers raised great shields, knelt, and steadied them in place.

Closing in. A volley of arrows swept toward them.

A rapid series of sharp cracks rang out. Every arrow was stopped by the great shields.

Old Zhi Chi shouted: “Let our lord see whether this vessel is impressive or not!”

As he swung his flag again, the ramming spur at the bow of the vessel suddenly angled downward — the braces locked it in position — and the war vessel had already reached the merchant vessel’s stern.

“Ramming now!”

Zhi Chi shouted the call and lowered himself into a brace against the impact.

Boom!

The ramming spur drove through the merchant vessel. An instant later, the war vessel’s bow slammed into the merchant vessel’s stern.

Like a stone and an egg striking each other — the egg shattered immediately.

The entire stern of the vessel exploded apart. The archers stationed there were flung into the water.

Li Chi saw the merchant vessel’s bow actually lurch skyward from the force. In that instant, he shouted at once: “Into the water to rescue people!”

Many soldiers already in position leapt into the river and swam toward those who had fallen in.

The Azure Cord Army soldiers were all powerfully built men — but they were heavy infantry by trade. They would not know how to swim. And even if some did, how could their swimming compare to that of the ship workers?

The vessel had been rammed apart. If everyone went into the water, the ship workers — every one of them — could survive. But what of those Azure Cord Army heavyweights?

Li Chi reached out, seized his Minghong Blade, and made to leap across — then reconsidered. The blade was too heavy. If he went into the water carrying it, it would be a problem.

So he put the Minghong Blade back, leapt across to the shattered merchant vessel empty-handed.

He hit the deck and moved forward immediately.

Behind Li Chi, his personal guards leapt over one by one.

Yu Jiuling drew her blade: “Do we take prisoners?”

Li Chi strode forward, drove his fist into the temple of an Azure Cord Army soldier bearing down on him, and caved it in: “None!”

“Huu—!”

The personal guard company surged forward.

—