Jiang Wei had declared he was willing to eliminate Fang Biehan. Looking at his expression, Pei Qi pressed down his killing intent.

The fire of his fury at that moment was something only he could fathom — but this was the very worst time to kill Jiang Wei as well.

The deaths of Dou Qusheng and Yang Dingshan had already dealt a severe blow to the Muying. Such a vast institution could well descend into chaos.

If the Muying fell into disarray, it could drag the entire internal command structure of the Shu army into turmoil — the Muying’s influence was deeply entangled in everything.

For Pei Qi to kill Jiang Wei on top of that would only make it harder to stabilize morale.

After Jiang Wei departed, Pei Qi instructed his men: *”Go and see how close Xue Lingcheng is.”*

The man acknowledged the order and sprinted off.

Seated atop the slope, Pei Qi sent everyone else away. He needed quiet.

Several deep breaths, and he forced his mind to gradually steady — after all the storms he had weathered over the years, this much self-discipline he still possessed.

The most visible loss this time seemed to be the Muying’s devastation — but the real loss, the deepest wound, was not there. It was in Qingmian County.

The Muying held an enormous volume of secrets. Once that intelligence fell into the hands of the Tingwei Bureau, the impact on future campaigns could be fatal.

That was the gravest loss — but it was not the most dangerous threat. The most dangerous threat was still Fang Biehan. He was a Zongqi, which meant he knew far more. And worse, he was a Zongqi driven by hatred — odds were he would join the Tingwei Bureau and use it as a weapon of revenge.

Lost in these thoughts, the newly appointed young Zhongyuan Officer Xue Lingcheng finally arrived, his own composure somewhat shaken.

He had a rough picture of what had happened. As a trusted confidant of Dou Qusheng, learning that his patron was dead had naturally left him rattled.

*”My lord.”*

Xue Lingcheng arrived and immediately bowed low.

*”Rise and speak.”*

Pei Qi looked at Xue Lingcheng and gave him a brief summary of the situation, then asked: *”Given what has happened, Jiang Wei wants to take men and hunt down Fang Biehan. What do you make of that?”*

Xue Lingcheng quickly replied: *”This subordinate believes there are three things that must be done at once. First: I should return immediately to the Muying headquarters and formally announce the deaths of Commissioner Dou and Commissioner Yang. This cannot be concealed — in fact, the opposite: it should be proclaimed widely. Say it was the Tingwei Bureau, who bribed one of our Zongqi to carry out the deed. But also announce that you, my lord, trust all personnel — and will not conduct a purge within the Muying.”*

Pei Qi nodded, signaling him to continue.

*”Let everyone know that Liao Guan Jiang Wei, out of vengeance for his fallen brothers, is personally selecting men to pursue the traitor. Stress that Jiang Wei was Fang Biehan’s sworn brother — yet for the sake of the Muying, he has sworn to kill him with his own hands. This will stoke a unified desire for revenge across the Muying ranks.”*

Seeing no shift in Pei Qi’s expression, Xue Lingcheng pressed on: *”Second: my lord should decree that whoever kills Fang Biehan will be promoted directly to Zhongyuan Officer.”*

Pei Qi nodded. *”Continue.”*

This was of course an empty promise. If some ordinary soldier got lucky and killed Fang Biehan, would you truly make him a Zhongyuan Officer?

Give him a posthumous title for bravery at most — the dead kind.

Once Fang Biehan was dead, whoever had killed him was irrelevant. What mattered was that Pei Qi had ten thousand ways to ensure that Zhongyuan Officer position ended up in the hands of someone loyal to him.

*”Third,”* Xue Lingcheng continued, *”I request your lordship’s permission to personally select a group of men to follow Jiang Wei’s team covertly.”*

Pei Qi glanced at him. Xue Lingcheng said: *”This subordinate does not trust Jiang Wei.”*

Pei Qi gave a quiet grunt. *”Neither do I.”*

He paused, then said: *”Do not interfere with Jiang Wei’s selection of men from within the Muying. Whoever he chooses, let him have them — even if he picks your men. As for you… go into my personal guards and shadow corps to choose.”*

He removed a token and held it out. *”With my token, no one will dare disobey your orders.”*

*”Yes!”*

Xue Lingcheng accepted the token, bowed deeply, and swiftly turned to leave.

Only then did Pei Qi let out a long, heavy breath. He rose, issued a command, and the column set off directly for Qingmian County.

Though going there would likely accomplish nothing — the Tingwei Bureau operatives had probably long since fled — he had to go. His presence alone was what would truly steady the troops.

*”Send word back to Meicheng: arrange a proper burial, with appropriate ceremony, for Dou Qusheng and Yang Dingshan. Burnish their reputations well.”*

Pei Qi mounted his horse and cast one last glance at the distant figure of Jiang Wei, riding hard into the distance. A flash of killing intent crossed his eyes and vanished.

He knew Jiang Wei deserved to die. He also knew Jiang Wei was useful.

And were the conflicts among the Muying’s men not something he himself had engineered?

Without conflict, the Muying would be a monolith — and that would give him cause for unease.

He was not Li Chi, Prince of Ning. He lacked the ability to trust his subordinates unconditionally.

Only by letting his subordinates work against each other could he benefit from the middle. Dou Qusheng and the others had spent years trying to bring Jiang Wei down and never succeeded — if that was not the result of Pei Qi quietly maintaining the balance all along, then one could only say Jiang Wei was blessed with remarkable fortune.

Pei Qi understood Jiang Wei. A man who would do anything to climb higher — anything at all.

Look at him. To advance his own position, he had not hesitated to betray his sworn brother Molili. Now he was volunteering to personally hunt down and kill another sworn brother.

Was such a man not useful?

Of course he was. But not for long. Because when he climbed high enough, he might even dare to kill Pei Qi himself.

—

Meanwhile, Master Ye and his team had shaken their pursuers. After regrouping with Gui Yuanshu and the others, they held a quick discussion and swiftly began retreating along the route they had come. They bypassed Qingmian County entirely and headed directly into the mountains, taking the small trail out, with the single goal of leaving Shu as fast as possible.

In truth, Master Ye had deceived Jiang Wei earlier. He had told Jiang Wei that Xia Houzuo’s two hundred thousand troops were nearly at the gates of Kaoshanguan.

That was far from possible. After such a string of major battles, the Ning Army could not march on Shu without rest — they would never win that way. So in reality, there was no great army at their backs. There was a reception team at Kaoshanguan, but they were all Tingwei Bureau and Jiunji Division personnel.

—

At the same time, in Daxing City.

Li Chi stood on the city wall, gazing into the distance. He had been standing there for quite some time.

Early that morning, someone had come ahead to deliver news — General Tang Pidi and General Shen Shanhu were almost here. Li Chi had not even eaten breakfast before climbing the wall to wait.

Gao Xining stood at his side, also looking out at the horizon.

The wind moved across them both, their robes swaying softly. From a distance, they looked like a perfectly matched pair — Emperor and Empress surveying the realm.

If they shed their court garments and stood instead on a mountain peak, they would look to any onlooker like immortal companions.

*”These past few days, those three old men have been muttering and conspiring together — no one knows what they’re planning,”* Gao Xining said with a light laugh. *”Probably because Old Tang is coming back to get married, so their hearts have softened a little.”*

*”They’re all three getting married too?”* Li Chi said.

Gao Xining stared at him.

*”That scheme you and I hatched back then,”* Li Chi said with a grin, *”was completely derailed by your hopeless performance in your primary job.”*

He had once told Gao Xining to pick up her official duties as a matchmaker and find all three old men a companion.

But when had Gao Xining ever done that job properly? She had been playing matchmaker for years and couldn’t even get herself married.

*”I really do deserve the blame,”* Gao Xining sighed. *”If I’d succeeded, there would be three old ladies keeping them in line right now — what trouble could they possibly stir up then!”*

*”There’s a phrase,”* Li Chi said, *”that Li Xiansheng once taught me. It fits you perfectly right now.”*

*”What phrase?”*

*”All talk.”*

Gao Xining stared at him again.

*”Can’t win over those three old men? I can’t even win over three old ladies?”*

*”With your abilities,”* Li Chi said, *”you’d probably turn our three formidable opponents into six.”*

Gao Xining pinched him on the backside. Firm. Taut, too.

*”We should change our strategy,”* she said with a smile.

*”Tell me.”*

*”They keep saying the auspicious time hasn’t come and we can’t marry yet — fine. Then we simply won’t. Even if they urge us, we refuse. Let them worry about it themselves.”*

*”Inspired,”* Li Chi said.

*”Right?”*

*”At minimum, until the ‘auspicious time’ they keep talking about actually arrives — they’ll be very pleased with your strategy.”*

Gao Xining stared at him.

Just then, a plume of dust rose in the distance. A cavalry column was approaching.

Li Chi immediately turned and started down from the wall. Gao Xining followed.

After a few steps, she paused and pursed her lips. *”Why is it that every time you’re going to see a man, you always seem more eager than when you’re seeing a woman?”*

*”I only have one woman,”* Li Chi said. *”I have men to spare.”*

*”Pfft… you haven’t even managed to secure that one woman yet. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”*

Outside the city gates, Li Chi stood by the road and waited. All the civil and military officials of the Ning Army followed, forming a grand reception. A returning general deserved this honor.

Tang Pidi and Shen Shanhu halted their horses at a distance, dismounted, and walked the rest of the way on foot. While still some distance away, both dropped to their knees in a bow.

Tang Pidi was keenly aware that within the Ning Army at this moment, not everyone spoke of him with a single voice. In any world, there would always be those with darker hearts — and if his conduct showed even the slightest impropriety when returning to see Prince Ning, there would be those who noted it carefully and brought it up later to cause trouble.

They would call him arrogant, dismissive, or worse, harboring ulterior motives.

So many apparently smiling faces surrounded him — and most wore expressions of deference. But envy was something certain people simply could not control.

Had he ridden his horse up to the near distance before dismounting, it would have been remembered and scrutinized.

Before Tang Pidi had even fully prostrated himself, Li Chi had already strode forward and pulled him to his feet. *”Let me help you up.”*

Then to Gao Xining: *”You help her.”*

Gao Xining smiled warmly and raised Shen Shanhu to her feet.

Li Chi lowered his voice at Tang Pidi’s ear. *”Stop performing. I’m too lazy to perform, it’s exhausting.”*

Tang Pidi let out a quiet laugh, then replied: *”It’s not entirely a performance. It’s teaching them how things should be done.”*

After exchanging a few light remarks, Li Chi said: *”Little Ninth is waiting inside. She got injured — walking is inconvenient.”*

Tang Pidi’s brow lifted slightly. *”How?”*

—