What Master Wu had not expected was this: the day after they had finished with the Sang pirates, slaughtering the more than ten thousand who had come ashore without a single one escaping, the very next morning — barely past dawn — the Yong Province Army surrendered.

Out of the forest at the rear of the hill, first one or two men came out, then another few, and then groups, and then more groups.

The men walking at the front were carrying heads — heads with no blood dripping from them, clearly not freshly severed.

Before long, in an open clearing, Master Wu met these Yong Province soldiers who had come bearing heads.

“This one is the commander-in-chief’s. This is General Liu’s.”

“This one is General Zhao’s.”

“This one is General Song’s.”

The Yong Province soldiers set the heads down one by one, then stepped back in silence.

The man at the front was around thirty, a dark-complexioned fellow who looked like he had nothing left in him, his lips cracked and dry.

Master Wu asked: “What is your name?”

The man cupped his fists: “In answer to you, sir — I am called Yu Jianqiu.”

Master Wu was momentarily struck by the name. What a beautiful name it was.

Yu Jianqiu — one who foresees autumn, one who meets autumn. Autumn, the season of harvest. Parents who could give their child a name like that must have been beautiful people themselves.

The name sounded plain enough at a glance, yet when you sat with it, you found poetry in it — autumn spread across the mind’s eye.

“Why did you kill them?”

Master Wu asked.

Yu Jianqiu shook his head first, as though his feelings were deeply tangled. After a moment he let out a long sigh.

“No particular reason. We don’t want to fight anymore. We killed our own generals to surrender. We simply don’t want to fight anymore.”

He went quiet after that.

Behind Yu Jianqiu, a young man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven spoke up, his voice raw and hoarse.

“We all came from Yong Province. When we first took up arms, General Han told us we were going to conquer the world together — every man would become an official, every man would stand above others.”

“We don’t want to stand above anyone anymore. Life in Yong Province at home was hard — very hard — but what we want now is just to go home.”

Master Wu said: “You killed the rebel leaders. By rights, you should receive a reward.”

Yu Jianqiu shook his head: “No need. Can you let us go home? If you can…”

He suddenly knelt and knocked his forehead to the ground.

“If you can — I am grateful to you with this bow.”

He knelt and kowtowed; before Master Wu could stop them, everyone behind him did the same.

The whole clearing was filled with surrendered soldiers on their knees. They wanted nothing. They simply didn’t want to fight anymore.

“I’ll have someone take a count of your numbers and distribute travel funds.”

Master Wu said: “But right now all of you are going to the shore, boarding ships back to the mainland. No noise, no disorder. Walk in order. Is that clear?”

Yu Jianqiu nodded: “Clear.”

He said it with his head bowed, and began walking forward, not looking at anyone — perhaps unwilling to let anyone look at him either.

Master Wu had in truth not slept all night, having been in discussion with his commanders about how to break through the rear hill. And now, in this moment, Master Wu felt something inside him that was hard to name. Not disappointment. Not much joy either.

They had won. And it was a complete victory — they had crushed the rebels on Yunlai Island and killed over ten thousand Sang pirates besides.

Setting aside the Yong Province Army, the killing of those ten thousand-plus Sang pirates was the greatest victory against Sang coastal raiding in the entire history of Chu’s sea troubles.

A victory of this scale would earn every Ning soldier who had fought here a generous reward.

And yet the victors — these Ning soldiers — simply stood to the side in quiet, watching their surrendered enemies file in order down the hill.

One Ning soldier suddenly reached out and patted the shoulder of a Yong Province soldier passing before him.

“Brother. The fighting’s over. Take care of yourself.”

The Yong Province soldier stopped, looked startled, then nodded, and kept walking in silence. But after a few steps he suddenly crouched down and buried his face in his hands, and sobbed.

He cried, and soon others could no longer hold back whatever was coiled inside them. The sound of weeping grew and grew, until it was gut-tearing, heart-rending.

Master Wu watched and felt something heavy pressing in his chest.

“It’s over!” he said loudly, his voice carrying. “All of it is over! Ning Wang has fought every battle that needed fighting! The Central Plains will return to peace!”

“Go home! Live your lives steadily and well! Yong Province too belongs to Ning Wang now! Ning Wang will not treat one place well and another poorly — wherever other people find good days, the people of Yong Province will find them too, and soon!”

He called out loudly, his voice cutting clear and bright through that sound of weeping.

—

The outlet of Yunlai Island.

Master Wu spotted Li Ren. The young man had slept well through the night and looked considerably recovered.

The moment Li Ren saw Master Wu he stood and came to give his salute.

The girl with the shaved patch was still holding the back of his clothes, following directly behind him.

Her gaze still avoided everyone else — she only knew Li Ren. In her world, it seemed, there was only this one person left that she could trust.

Master Wu’s eyes indicated the girl: “What is this about?”

Li Ren laughed, a helpless sort of laugh: “Picked her up. She’s latched on and won’t let go. Very annoying.”

Master Wu laughed. He asked: “So what do you plan to do?”

Li Ren laughed that same helpless laugh: “What else can I do? Let her hang on, I suppose.”

Master Wu said: “Didn’t you just say she was very annoying?”

Li Ren glanced at the girl’s crown — that smooth, flat top — and shook his head: “Consider it a debt I owe her.”

Master Wu patted Li Ren on the shoulder: “You’ll still need to see her properly settled. Once you’re back on the mainland, you’ll all need to figure out what comes next — not just you and her, but you and your people.”

Li Ren gave an awkward smile and wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

Master Wu said: “I’m giving you seven days’ special leave. Rest well, take it easy. Once you’ve sorted things out with your people, let me know — I’ll make arrangements.”

Li Ren stood at attention and gave a military salute.

In the moment he drew himself up tall, the girl was startled — but seeing Li Ren like this, she imitated him exactly: standing straight, and returning the salute.

Master Wu burst out laughing and walked on ahead.

Master Wu left a detachment to clean up the battlefield on Yunlai Island, taking everything useful and destroying the rebel camp. He only asked that a few buildings be reasonably preserved for fishermen who might need to shelter there on their voyages — the sea was hard, and if they were caught in bad weather nearby, this place could offer some refuge.

—

Several days later. Fulou County.

Master Wu finished processing a stack of administrative matters and came out of his study to stretch.

Li Ren arrived with his Dao Bing men. At the courtyard gate, they all bowed deeply to Master Wu in unison.

“Come in, come in.”

Master Wu smiled and told his household staff to find seats. The space was small — the room certainly couldn’t hold a hundred-plus men, and the courtyard would barely manage.

“No need, sir — we’ll all stand.”

Li Ren came inside and signaled everyone to stand at ease.

These men hadn’t been soldiers long — and yet at this moment, every one of them looked for all the world like veterans.

“Sir, as agreed — from here on, we all belong to Ning Wang.”

Master Wu let out a laugh at this: “Of course it was agreed. What — are you trying to back out?”

Everyone shook their heads with smiles.

“All of you — from today forward — hold the rank of Captain in the Ning Army. What I promised, I will not disappoint.”

Master Wu said: “The matter of the sea threat at Qing Province is settled. I’ll be heading to Ji Province to meet Ning Wang. I will report your actions to him.”

He smiled and said: “You all should understand — now that the realm is nearly at peace, Ning Wang’s ascension to the throne will not be far off. This trip of mine is to report on the campaign, but also to attend the great ceremony.”

Everyone who heard this looked openly envious.

Master Wu smiled: “Envious?”

Everyone nodded.

Master Wu raised his chin slightly: “I said it on purpose.”

He looked at Li Ren: “You’ve performed a great service, so I have a special reward for you — and a special task.”

Li Ren stood at attention: “Please give the order, sir.”

Master Wu said: “The swordsmanship passed down by our Master — it was never meant for showing off strength or competing with others. You all know that, don’t you?”

“Yes!” Every head nodded.

Master Wu continued: “If the techniques passed down by our Master were used to train more men like you — to protect the eastern border people of our Central Plains — that too would surely bring honor to our Master’s spirit.”

He walked slowly through the courtyard as he spoke: “Previously, when Great General Shen Shanzhu took Qing Province, she left behind a group of veterans — men who, like you, were exceptional with the saber.”

“But those veterans were dispersed to various parts of Qing Province, responsible for training new recruits and garrisoning the localities.”

“I have an idea now — Li Ren, I’m going to call those men in from across Qing Province, to come here and train soldiers alongside you.”

He looked at Li Ren.

“My hope is that together, you can build a force for the eastern frontier that will make our enemies tremble. Perhaps in a year. Perhaps in several. Perhaps in many years to come — so that when foreign enemies come to the east and hear the name Dao Bing, they shudder, and dare not come.”

He looked into Li Ren’s eyes and asked: “Can you do it?”

Li Ren called out: “We can!”

Master Wu looked at the other Dao Bing men: “Can you do it?”

The group answered together, loud and clear:

“We can!”

Master Wu talked with them a while longer, then gestured for Li Ren to follow.

The two of them walked out of the main gate, Master Wu talking as he went: “There’s something I need to be straight with you.”

“Please speak, sir.”

“As I agreed with you — the others can all be made Captains. But you — that won’t do.”

Li Ren was startled.

Master Wu smiled: “You need to go be a General, and command troops properly. Let me remind you — in your spare time, don’t just go chasing romantic winds and snowy moonlight. Read more military texts, develop more skills. Don’t let your soldiers laugh at you someday.”

Li Ren’s face reddened. He lowered his head: “Sir, when have I ever had any romantic winds or snowy moonlight.”

Master Wu reached out and tugged at the corner of Li Ren’s clothing.

“This.”

Li Ren’s face — in an instant — went red as though he’d drunk several catties of wine. Thoroughly, completely red.

Master Wu laughed loudly.

“Young man — you will see far more beauty than I have. About yourself, about others, about what is yet to come.”

Master Wu raised his hand one more time and patted Li Ren on the shoulder: “Ending an age of chaos — that was our work to do. Creating an age of prosperity — that is yours to do now.”

Li Ren was silent for a moment, then stepped back two paces and bowed deeply: “Your subordinate will keep this in his heart — always.”

Master Wu said: “Good. Now go — go earn your hardships. You do your suffering, and I am off to Ji Province to drink wine and seek pleasure… and to take a proper look at that city they call Chang’an.”

Li Ren sighed.

Then he lifted his chin just slightly, and smiled: “I don’t envy you, sir. One day I’ll go there myself.”

Master Wu burst out laughing once more, and strode forward — sleeves sweeping wide.