Under cover of night, Master Ye left Qingmian County. Once outside the city, his group split up and went in different directions, wary of being followed in the shadows — for this was the Mu Camp’s home ground, and shadowing people was precisely their specialty.

When they returned to the forest and found their original hiding place empty, Master Ye and the others knew something had happened, and hurried to the second location.

A hidden sentry intercepted them before they reached it. Only then did they breathe a small sigh of relief.

After meeting with Gui Yuanshu and the others, Master Ye recounted everything in detail.

Gui Yuanshu felt the plan was far too dangerous, yet not entirely impossible.

But in that moment, An Xiaozhuang — the Court of Justice’s Hundred Chief — erupted. He had been silent all this while, and now he became a completely different person.

“Absolutely not. We cannot go.” An Xiaozhuang said urgently. “Master Ye, you don’t know how ruthless and cruel the enemy is. Working together with them will never end well.”

Master Ye said, “But this is our only option.”

An Xiaozhuang said, “They’ve killed so many of our people — aren’t they afraid of our retaliation? I am firmly opposed to this. They have nothing but ill intent.”

Master Ye said, “Which is why only I will go, with a few people. The majority of you will remain here, and only emerge when the time comes to enter Kao Shan Pass.”

“No!” An Xiaozhuang remained utterly resolute. “Master Ye — over forty brothers died at their hands. How can you still think they can be trusted?”

“Xiao An.” Master Ye walked over to him and spoke with calm sincerity. “I know your concern is justified. The enemy is cruel, and truly cannot be trusted. But I cannot abandon even a one-in-ten-thousand chance. Even if it really is just one in ten thousand.”

“Think of how many soldiers — how many brothers on the front lines — would not have to die on the battlefield if we succeed in opening that pass.”

“If one life — mine — can buy survival for that many brothers, no danger is frightening enough to stop me. Because if it works, we gain everything.”

He placed a hand on An Xiaozhuang’s shoulder. “You and Director Gui stay behind. If something truly does happen to us, you must still bring whatever intelligence we’ve gathered back.”

“Yes…” An Xiaozhuang forced out that one syllable through gritted teeth, his eyes already reddening.

Master Ye looked to Gui Yuanshu. “I’ll take two Thousand Chiefs with me — Yu Hongyi and Chen Dingjia. A few capable Court officers as well.”

Gui Yuanshu said, “My concern is this: Jiang Wei may be using our hands to eliminate his rivals, then turning around to eliminate us — and using all of it to consolidate his own position.”

Master Ye said, “I’ve considered that. There is indeed a very real chance of that. Even so — this is what we do. We take every chance, however slim.”

Gui Yuanshu nodded. “The reason I agreed to let you go, Master Ye… is precisely because of those words. This is what we do.”

Master Ye smiled. “From the day I first followed His Highness until now, I’ve never really encountered anything truly dangerous. So perhaps things will go as they always have — smoothly, successfully, with no need to worry too much.”

Gui Yuanshu said, “Have you calculated the distance and travel time?”

Master Ye said, “I didn’t originally know the exact distance from Qingmian County to Mei City. But Jiang Wei gave me a map as a show of good faith.” He retrieved the map and handed it to Gui Yuanshu. “This is the original. I’ve already copied one overnight.”

“I’ve worked out the timing from the map. If all goes smoothly — going to Mei City to kill Dou Qusheng and returning — half a month should be sufficient.”

Master Ye said, “So you’ll need to endure a bit more discomfort. Find somewhere to stay hidden, and wait for us to return before doing anything else.”

Gui Yuanshu clasped his hands. “May Master Ye return in triumph.”

“Many thanks.” Master Ye returned the salute, then led two Thousand Chiefs and twenty Court officers back toward Qingmian County at a swift pace.

Gui Yuanshu stared after Master Ye’s retreating form, murmuring to himself: “If something truly happens to Master Ye and the others, those people will never be allowed to surrender again.”

Hundred Chief An Xiaozhuang watched them go, his expression complex, fists clenched tight.

Gui Yuanshu gave his shoulder a light pat. “Master Ye’s martial arts are extraordinary. You don’t need to worry so much.”

An Xiaozhuang shook his head. “I still don’t trust them. Not a single one of those people.”

Gui Yuanshu nodded quietly in agreement.

Back in Qingmian County, Jiang Wei and Fang Biehan were already waiting in the main hall. Master Ye’s group was led inside by a guide, arriving at the Mu Camp branch office compound without delay.

“We’ve made our decision,” Jiang Wei said directly. “As long as you help us kill Dou Qusheng, we are both willing to surrender to Prince Ning, and will personally cooperate with your people from the Court of Justice to do everything possible to take Kao Shan Pass.”

Master Ye said, “We’ve also made ours. I brought back capable reinforcements this time. Killing Dou Qusheng — leave that to us.”

Jiang Wei studied the two people who had walked in behind Master Ye, and gave a slight nod. “There is, however, one matter that needs to be dealt with first, or it could become a problem.”

Master Ye asked, “What is it?”

Jiang Wei said, “The county has a garrison of three thousand, most of them stationed near the granary. If we don’t deal with their commander, something could go wrong.”

Master Ye understood this was Jiang Wei testing their abilities, and nodded. “If you believe eliminating that commander won’t expose anything, I can send people to kill him.”

Jiang Wei said, “Once he’s dead, the troops will inevitably fall into confusion, but Fang Biehan can seize that moment to take command — which actually works in our favor.”

Master Ye nodded. “Just send someone to guide the way.”

Fang Biehan said, “I’ve already arranged a meeting with him at Shenghua Tavern in the city, under the pretense of urgent business. He’ll have guards with him, so be careful.”

Master Ye made no further comment and turned to leave. Thousand Chief Chen Dingjia said, “There’s no need for Master Ye to go personally. Wait here — I’ll go with them.”

Yu Hongyi gave Master Ye a look and a nod. Master Ye agreed and let him go.

Over these past years, Master Ye had spent little time at the Court of Justice, traveling almost constantly on assignments. He therefore didn’t know much about these rising younger talents in the organization’s ranks.

But seeing how calm Yu Hongyi was, he assumed there was nothing to worry about, and so did not insist on going himself.

In earlier times, people like Yu Hongyi had trained under Master Ye’s own guidance — many a Hundred Chief had been personally cultivated by him. But with Master Ye away for years at a stretch, that cultivation had largely passed to others.

“Just one person?” Jiang Wei smiled slightly. “I thought the Court of Justice was known for doing things carefully. Isn’t this being a bit overconfident?”

Master Ye smiled. “Sending one person — that is the Court of Justice being careful.”

Jiang Wei said nothing more, and ordered someone to lead the way.

Several Mu Camp soldiers escorted Chen Dingjia out. The others sat down, poured tea, and began discussing the journey to Mei City while they waited for news.

The hot tea wasn’t even half finished before Chen Dingjia returned, carrying a head by the hair.

The soldiers who had guided him looked visibly shaken — still not quite recovered from whatever they had just witnessed.

Jiang Wei rose to his feet and went to verify it was genuinely the commander — it was. But the shock in his heart only deepened.

He looked at Chen Dingjia, and for a moment was at a complete loss for words.

Master Ye said to Chen Dingjia, “Go wash your hands. Come have some tea.”

Chen Dingjia said yes, casually dropped the head, and went off to find water.

Fang Biehan exhaled slowly. He went and picked up the head, told his men to follow, and went to handle the cleanup at the barracks.

The soldiers of Shu Province held the Mu Camp in particular dread. Even a garrison commander of fairly high standing would address a Mu Camp Banner Officer with nothing but politeness and deference.

It was because Pei Qi was a deeply suspicious man by nature — incapable of trusting anyone completely. His control over the military, in particular, had pushed the power of the Mu Camp to its absolute limits. These commanders hated and feared the Mu Camp in equal measure, for a single word from a Mu Camp operative could condemn any one of them.

Jiang Wei’s interest in Master Ye had grown considerably.

“As I understand it,” he said, “there is only one person in the Court of Justice who bears the surname Ye — and he is the Deputy Chief Justice of the entire Court.”

Jiang Wei smiled. “To witness the Deputy Chief Justice’s bearing with my own eyes is an honor.”

Master Ye said, “If you truly help me take Kao Shan Pass, you’ll meet the Chief Justice himself. And you’ll meet Prince Ning as well.”

Jiang Wei said cheerfully, “So if we see this through, I’ll have to rely on Deputy Chief Justice Ye to look after us.”

Master Ye laughed as well. “Spare yourself the hollow courtesies. A man like you — wherever you end up, you’ll rely on your own abilities, nothing else.”

“Ha ha ha ha…” Jiang Wei burst out laughing.

Not long after, Fang Biehan returned with his men, reporting that the barracks had been brought under control. He had assigned Banner Officer Pei Shujian to keep watch.

As long as Mu Camp personnel were present, the barracks would not fall into disorder.

Master Ye asked, “If the troops from Kao Shan Pass come to collect grain and discover their commander has been killed, they will likely report it immediately.”

Fang Biehan said, “I’ve already given orders — any Kao Shan Pass personnel arriving for grain will be handled directly by Mu Camp officers. The garrison troops are not to have any contact with them.”

Jiang Wei said, “As long as we move fast enough, there and back in less than half a month — nothing major will go wrong.”

Master Ye nodded. “Then we can lay out the full plan now?”

Jiang Wei said, “We can.”

He called for blank paper, picked up a brush, and wrote and sketched for about a quarter of an hour — producing a complete map from memory. Not just any map. A full layout of Mei City.

His abilities, visible even in that, spoke for themselves.

“Here.” Jiang Wei pointed to a location on the map. “This is the main hall of the Mu Camp. Dou Qusheng is there every day during daylight hours.”

“However, he keeps three favored concubines in the city, each in a separate private residence, all under heavy guard. And this man is extremely cautious — he always waits until he is partway there before deciding which residence to go to. So it’s impossible to determine in advance which one he’ll visit.”

Jiang Wei marked the three residences on the map. “My relations with him have always been hostile, but that is precisely why I’ve managed to identify all three of his residences.”

Master Ye nodded. “When do we depart?”

Jiang Wei said, “Rest now. There’s still about two hours of sleep to be had. We leave at first light. Five days to reach Mei City, roughly.”

Master Ye asked, “What is Dou Qusheng’s level of martial ability?”

Jiang Wei said, “His martial arts… are unfathomably deep. Everyone knows he is the greatest fighter in the Mu Camp.”

Master Ye said, “Once we’re in Mei City, give me a few days to move about freely and investigate on my own. No interference. Agree to that and we leave at dawn. If not — there’s no point going.”

“Agreed,” Jiang Wei said. “As long as you can kill Dou Qusheng, I’ll agree to any condition you name.”

—