Li Diudiu hadn’t thought of that physician while still inside the military camp—but shortly after leaving, he began to feel that something was off. Everything Prince Yu had said to Xiahou Zuo—had it been deliberate?
He didn’t dare gamble that it wasn’t, and even if it wasn’t, he had to treat it as if it was.
Because this wasn’t just his life on the line. His master was here too.
On the surface, the whole way out of camp he’d been chatting idly with his master, bantering as usual. But inside his head, he’d been thinking the entire time.
It didn’t take long for him to reason through it: someone like Yu Chaozong would never choose a physician’s clinic without some consideration for safety. So the people at that clinic were very likely connected to Yanshan Camp.
If he hadn’t arrived at that conclusion, he might have thought of something else entirely—and he certainly wouldn’t have dared risk leading his master into Yanshan.
If he’d been handling this alone, he would have been willing to take greater risks.
For the sake of rescuing someone he deeply respected like Yu Chaozong, to put his master—his closest family—in jeopardy was not a mistake Li Diudiu was foolish enough to make.
His master had told him that shooting an arrow with a letter tied to the tip into Yanshan Camp would be enough. Li Diudiu hadn’t agreed in the moment—not because he was unwilling, but because he was working out a more reliable plan.
Fortunately, the moment he left the camp, he’d thought of the physician’s clinic. He just hadn’t anticipated that Prince Yu’s men would walk up to them directly.
Under normal circumstances he would have expected those men to watch from a distance, giving him the chance to shake the surveillance and go to the clinic to test the waters.
If the clinic turned out to have no connection to Yu Chaozong or Yanshan Camp, Li Diudiu had no intention of taking further risks—not with his master involved.
But Prince Yu’s men had cut off that option the moment they arrived at the gate, and Li Diudiu had been forced to change his plan on the spot. It was in that instant that a bold idea surfaced in his mind.
Send his master into a brothel.
The whole walk in was escorted by Constable Captain Liu Que’s men. Li Diudiu couldn’t speak his plan aloud—but he was absolutely certain of the understanding between himself and his master.
And Li Diudiu also knew that even after those two constables left, there were likely people watching the Spring River Pavilion from both inside and out. Any unusual move on his part at that moment could have brought deadly consequences for both him and his master.
His master had said: acts of virtue and righteousness should not be left undone, but they must be measured against one’s capacity.
So he had gritted his teeth, steeled himself against the pain, and scattered banknotes one after another—then told the young women to make the reception for his master enthusiastic.
When Changmei Daoren heard that little scoundrel say “make it enthusiastic,” he understood exactly what the brat had in mind.
Master and disciple, not a single word exchanged between them—yet working in perfect unison, as if they’d rehearsed the plan dozens, hundreds of times.
In truth, neither of them thought there was anything remarkable about this kind of understanding. All these years on the road together, running various small cons to get by—hadn’t it always worked this way? All it took was a look, and everything was clear.
Li Diudiu had also bet correctly: the physician at that clinic was indeed one of Yu Chaozong’s men.
When Yu Chaozong had gathered his followers and spoken of establishing contacts in the county towns nearby, he had arranged one visible safehouse in each town on the surface—but in reality, two. This hadn’t been Yu Chaozong’s own plan. Third Leader Zhou Daoshou had approached Yu Chaozong after everything was already arranged and told him privately that one safehouse per county wasn’t enough—if something went wrong there’d be no backup—and suggested placing a second covert one in each location.
He convinced Yu Chaozong with this reasoning, adding that the people in the second location must have no contact with those in the first, so they could provide covert protection and remain better hidden.
With his message delivered, Li Diudiu could breathe easy. He and his master left the county and headed back. With people watching them now, going to Yanshan would only invite further danger.
Changmei Daoren suddenly thought of something and turned to Li Diudiu with a serious look: “If Xiahou finds out about this, what will you tell him?”
Li Diudiu asked back: “Finds out about what?”
Changmei’s face reddened slightly. He coughed a few times and said: “You told Xiahou you were going to Yanshan. Instead you turned around and went to Qianlie County. He’s bound to ask—his father might even tell him about it—and if he does…”
Li Diudiu said: “I’ll just tell him my stomach wasn’t well and I went to the county town to see a physician. Or that I wanted to buy something.”
Changmei Daoren let out a long breath: “That works, then…”
Before long they were back at the camp. Xiahou Zuo had just returned from taking his leave of his father and was surprised to see Li Diudiu and Changmei Daoren back so soon.
Prince Yu, being no fool, had no intention of telling Xiahou Zuo that he’d had people follow Li Diudiu and his master. But Changmei Daoren—for no clear reason—felt deeply guilty, and guilty in a rather conspicuous way.
The moment he saw Xiahou Zuo, he tugged at Li Diudiu’s sleeve and murmured: “Don’t you dare say a word.”
Li Diudiu nodded: “Trust me, Master. Am I that kind of person?”
Then he turned to walk toward Xiahou Zuo, and said as he went: “Guess where we ended up?”
Changmei Daoren nearly choked.
Of course Li Diudiu wouldn’t actually say—some jokes weren’t meant to be told carelessly. As close as he was with his master, opening that particular door would cause real damage to the old man. The old face still had to be preserved.
“Where did you two go?”
Xiahou Zuo asked curiously.
Li Diudiu said: “We took a trip to Qianlie County. Picked up some medicine for the animals—I was worried the dog and the bird might have trouble adjusting to a different place, so I figured I’d get some herbs ready just in case.”
Changmei Daoren’s heart settled.
Xiahou Zuo smiled: “Didn’t you say you were going to take a trip up Yanshan? Why the sudden change of plan?”
Li Diudiu said: “We were going to go to Yanshan at first, but partway there, Master’s back gave out from all the riding, so we turned around and went to the county town instead.”
Xiahou Zuo naturally had no reason to doubt a back giving out from riding—Changmei Daoren’s back had already been in bad shape just from sitting in the carriage on the way here, let alone on horseback.
“Let’s pack our things—early tomorrow morning we head back to Jizhou.”
Xiahou Zuo bumped Li Diudiu’s shoulder: “On the way back we could take a detour, pass through Xinzhou—want to ask around about where Liu Shengying lives?”
“No, no, no…”
Li Diudiu shook his head repeatedly: “Let’s just get back to Jizhou as soon as possible.”
He looked over at the cages holding the dog and the bird, thinking about bringing them back—Gao Xining would definitely love these two little ones.
“Alright, forget it then.”
Xiahou Zuo looked at Changmei Daoren: “I’ll have someone add more padding to the carriage. It looks like your walking is off, too—your back really is in a bad way, isn’t it?”
Changmei Daoren gave a sheepish smile: “It is, it is… it really is a bit sore.”
—
Meanwhile, at Yanshan Camp.
Second Leader Bi Datong paced back and forth in his room, his expression terrible. If he hadn’t made the decisive call to send his trusted man Guan Shanling to his death, it might have been him going instead.
Liu Guihang, a subordinate leader who had come to Yanshan with him, leaned close and said: “Boss, should we send someone to call back the men we dispatched to the Left Guard of the Imperial Army’s camp? If the big leader finds out about this, we’re all done for.”
“Not yet.”
Bi Datong said: “The big leader hasn’t noticed anything—that man’s too trusting, he doesn’t suspect me at all. If we send people out right now and it’s spotted, that’ll only be worse. Tell all the men: no one leaves camp for the time being…”
He turned to Liu Guihang and said: “The big leader doesn’t suspect me. It’s Third Leader—that man…”
Liu Guihang said: “But boss, the men we sent to the Left Guard’s camp still don’t know what happened on our end. If they come back and Third Leader intercepts them—brings them straight to the big leader—won’t everything be exposed?”
Bi Datong heard this and his expression changed sharply. If Liu Guihang hadn’t pointed it out, he would have overlooked it entirely.
Third Leader Zhou Daoshou clearly already had deep suspicions about him—he’d be watching closely these days, and if Bi Datong’s men returned from the Left Guard’s camp, Zhou Daoshou might very well grab them on the spot, drag them back, and have them tortured before taking them to the big leader.
And the men he’d sent to the Left Guard’s camp—they might not be able to hold up under interrogation.
Bi Datong thought for a moment, then turned to Liu Guihang and ordered: “Third Leader suspects me, but he doesn’t suspect Fifth or Sixth Leader. Go and find them right now—tell them to each pick out a group of skilled fighters and set up an ambush halfway, then kill every man I sent to the Left Guard’s camp.”
Liu Guihang was shocked: “Kill… our own men?”
Bi Datong looked down at his severed hand, teeth clenched: “Kill them all. Otherwise what was the point of losing this hand? We weather this stretch and then figure out the next move—this needs more careful planning now.”
Liu Guihang nodded: “Understood. I’ll go find the Fifth and Sixth Leaders right away.”
That night, it happened to be Sixth Leader Gao He’s compound holding the watch. Big Leader Yu Chaozong had always insisted on fairness, so camp security rotated among the seven strongholds. Eventually, because Seventh Leader’s stronghold had too few men, and Seventh Leader himself was a loose cannon who never seemed up to serious responsibility—and he’d said himself he didn’t want to carry any—the seventh stronghold had dropped out of the rotation. Now six strongholds took turns.
That night Sixth Leader Gao He, while his men held the watch, picked out a group of skilled fighters to set up the ambush against Bi Datong’s returning men. He was alarmed too—he was in this just as deep.
Fifth Leader Tian Zhanyuan said to him: “Sixth Brother, we can’t just kill those few men who went to the Imperial Army camp. Didn’t our boss say earlier that someone had saved him on the mountain? What are the odds that someone just happened to be there to save him?”
Gao He was taken aback and looked at Tian Zhanyuan: “Fifth Brother, what are you getting at?”
“I suspect those people aren’t officers from the government at all. They might be men arranged by the big leader himself… do you really think a man of his standing hasn’t arranged anyone in Jizhou? I don’t believe it—a man with his history can’t have nothing in place.”
Gao He said: “But even if they’re men arranged by the big leader, we have no idea who they are. Moving recklessly would only expose us.”
“Sixth Brother, I don’t think you’re following what I mean. What I mean is—if the big leader has arranged men in Jizhou, and they’re connected to the government, doesn’t that suggest he’s been planning to surrender to the authorities behind our backs?”
Gao He shook his head repeatedly: “The big leader isn’t that kind of person.”
Tian Zhanyuan gave a cold huff: “What you mean is, he’s not that kind of person, but we are?”
Gao He couldn’t find an answer and just gave an awkward laugh.
Tian Zhanyuan said: “If those people are the big leader’s operatives planted in Jizhou, it would make perfect sense that they rescued him on the mountain. And those people will definitely not give up trying to trace back through official channels who arranged the ambush…”
Gao He understood.
He looked at Tian Zhanyuan: “What do we do, then?”
Tian Zhanyuan said: “Tomorrow I’ll go to the big leader and tell him my wife’s illness has flared up again—that I want to take her to Jizhou quietly to see a physician. The big leader won’t suspect anything. Then I’ll go to Jizhou personally and flush those people out.”
He looked at Gao He: “I’ll need you to back me up tomorrow.”
Gao He agreed: “Don’t worry—I know what to do.”
Tian Zhanyuan looked out at the night sky and let out a slow, heavy sigh: “This business was handled badly. We’re all in danger of losing our lives because of it. So every trace needs to be cleaned up completely… better to kill ten thousand innocent ones than let a single guilty one slip through.”
—