Night fell over the Northern Wasteland. In this bitter, harsh land, darkness made it feel even more like the underworld. The crumbling houses of the village transformed into leering demons and monsters — and the howling wind became those monsters shrieking and baring their claws.

Yu Hongyi’s people lit fires. No need to hide — after all, as far as anyone approaching would know, the people here were still bandits, not Tingwei Bureau officers.

The few prisoners were bound to one side. They still did not seem to have recovered from their fright, each one head down, not daring so much as to glance up.

These men had killed plenty in their time. It was not as if killing a lot made a person unafraid to die.

“When the men Han Sanzhou sends to collect tribute come here — is it ever anyone important among his people?”

Yu Hongyi asked.

One of the bandits quickly answered: “We’re small fry. Han Sanzhou’s people don’t even spare us a proper look. He knows we can’t resist, so why would he ever bother sending someone significant? It’s always just whoever, a few random people — never the same ones twice.”

He glanced at Yu Hongyi, seemingly out of genuine curiosity — or perhaps just looking for something to say.

“*Daren*… are you a general?”

Yu Hongyi said, “No. I’m a *qianban* of the Tingwei Bureau.”

The bandit blinked, then murmured to himself, “Tingwei Bureau, is it… I’ve heard of them. They say that in the Central Plains these days, no matter how large a rivers-and-lakes faction might be, the name Tingwei Bureau sends a chill through them. I just never imagined that people like us — so insignificant that even Han Sanzhou doesn’t bother looking at us properly — would be handled by a *qianban* personally…”

Yu Hongyi glanced at him. That glance carried a weight with several layers of meaning, one of which was perhaps slightly more legible than the rest — something to the effect of: *you’re really quite lucky, you know that?*

The bandit paused, then continued: “Han Sanzhou has a few capable lieutenants he’s titled Sacred Generals. They only show their faces for the bigger factions — when collecting from the major ones.”

Yu Hongyi asked, “Then do you know where the nearest major faction is from here?”

The bandit froze again. He looked at Yu Hongyi: “*Daren*, you have this many people…”

Because of Yu Hongyi’s gaze, whatever he had been about to say died in his throat before it reached the air.

He rushed to explain himself: “I’m only worried about *Daren* running into trouble. I truly mean nothing else by it — truly… *Daren*, the nearest major faction from here is one called *Fangshan Hu* — the Mountain-Release Tiger. They have something like seven or eight hundred men. They never spare us a proper look either. Their camp is about a hundred *li* from here.”

Yu Hongyi thought it through. She would deal with whoever came to this camp tomorrow first, then intercept Han Sanzhou’s people on the way — that should be enough time. From here, the distance to Han Sanzhou’s so-called *Northern Sacred Land* was relatively short, which was just right for cutting off anyone headed to the *Fangshan Hu* faction.

The northern wind howled through the night. Yu Hongyi had things on her mind and did not sleep much.

Once dawn arrived, she deployed her people and settled in to wait for Han Sanzhou’s collectors.

Given the weather and the distance, she estimated the reinforcements Master Ye sent would arrive later than Han Sanzhou’s men. But since whoever came to collect tribute from this small camp was unlikely to be anyone particularly skilled or numerous, there was no need for concern.

Yet from morning to well past midday, still no one came — and Yu Hongyi began to feel a nagging unease.

She looked at the bandit who had talked before. He had been frightened badly enough that the moment he caught her looking at him, he flinched.

Before Yu Hongyi could ask anything, he rushed to explain: “Last night the wind and sand were heavy. Han Sanzhou’s men may have been slowed on the road. They’ll definitely come. They always come.”

Yu Hongyi could not be bothered to worry about him. He was just a small-time nobody.

She instructed her people to eat and rest in shifts. She had barely finished speaking when a *Tingwei* keeping watch on the outer perimeter came sprinting back.

“*Qianban*, something’s wrong.”

The *Tingwei* lowered his voice: “There’s a cavalry force coming. Looks like no fewer than a hundred and seventy or eighty riders — they’re flying the Blood Butcher’s banner.”

Yu Hongyi’s heart lurched. Dealing with ordinary bandits, she had twelve or so people now — setting an ambush, the odds were decent, and she was not particularly concerned. But these were Blood Butcher people, and they were moving in a group that large — whoever led them might well be someone significant.

Retreating was no longer possible. The Blood Butcher force had already reached the outskirts of the village. Better to deal with this inside the village than to be chased down across open wasteland by the Blood Butcher.

“Do as I say.”

Yu Hongyi gave the order, then unhooked her repeating crossbow.

The incoming party was not a hundred-odd riders — it was two hundred and forty.

At their head was none other than one of Han Sanzhou’s Four Sacred Generals — the one with the extraordinarily powerful build: Liao Tinglou.

This man stood a full head — and then some — above the average person. By rough estimate, he was close to seven *chi*. Given that ten *chi* made a *zhang*, one could readily imagine the scale of him.

Precisely because Liao Tinglou was so large and heavy, ordinary warhorses could not carry him on long journeys, and so his mount was a camel.

Liao Tinglou had been out at the *Fangshan Hu* faction collecting tribute. After what had happened helping the Black Wu strike the Ning forces, Han Sanzhou worried that sending out small units to collect tribute would get them hunted down by Ning scouts — so he had simply sent two of his Four Sacred Generals out with several hundred men each.

On his way back from the *Fangshan Hu* faction, Liao Tinglou had not only collected the tribute but had also ordered the *Fangshan Hu* faction to gather and march to rendezvous with Han Sanzhou. This smaller camp, with its hundred-odd riders — Liao Tinglou honestly could not be bothered with them in the normal way of things. He was only stopping because it was conveniently on his route.

When he rode into the camp, Liao Tinglou saw a few bandits come forward to greet him. He could not help but give a grunt of mild displeasure.

The man leading the welcoming party was Yu Hongyi.

“Sacred General.”

The moment Yu Hongyi spotted Liao Tinglou, she quickly bent into a bow — her posture conveying a particularly abject deference.

“Who are you? Where’s your boss?”

Liao Tinglou showed no suspicion — he simply asked off-handedly.

Yu Hongyi immediately answered: “Sacred General… this month our earnings were truly pitiful. Today is the day the tribute comes due, and our boss didn’t dare miss it — he took the unit out three days ago to try to bring something in. He hasn’t come back yet.”

Liao Tinglou did not particularly care. A bandit faction of this size was beneath his notice.

“In that case…”

Liao Tinglou hesitated for just a moment, then said, “When your boss comes back, tell him to bring everyone — and bring this month’s tribute — and report to our Great King at the *Northern Sacred Land*…”

He gave his camel a nudge. “Move out.”

His riders all wheeled their mounts and began to turn away. This place held absolutely no appeal for them.

Seeing the man about to leave — which was not what she had expected — Yu Hongyi’s mind moved quickly and she found her words.

She bowed and called after him: “Sacred General, our boss knew today was important, so he should be back any moment. The Sacred General and the brothers must not have eaten — I’ll go prepare something hot right now. The Sacred General can rest his feet for a while. Who knows — the boss might be back before you’ve even finished eating.”

Liao Tinglou sat atop his camel and seemed to go still for a moment. Then he turned his head back toward Yu Hongyi and smiled. “You’re a clever one. Resourceful. Then go and prepare the food.”

With fewer people, Yu Hongyi needed a reason to keep these men here long enough to act. And the *Tingwei* Bureau carried medicine — even if they couldn’t knock everyone out, putting half of them down would tip the odds considerably.

So Yu Hongyi hurried back in and told her people to start cooking.

Liao Tinglou gestured left and right with two fingers. The Blood Butcher riders split off in two groups and fanned out to survey the flanks — clearly, they operated with considerably more discipline than ordinary bandit factions.

Once he had entered the courtyard, Liao Tinglou found a spot and sat down, sweeping a glance around.

“You people really are living wretchedly.”

When he spotted that the kitchen held nothing but a small pile of cabbage and a small pile of potatoes, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Yu Hongyi quickly said, “Sacred General, we apologize for the meager hospitality — we truly have nothing decent to offer. But at least there’s a hot meal.”

Liao Tinglou waved a hand. “Fine, I’m hungry. Whatever it is, make it quickly.”

Yu Hongyi answered and turned back toward the kitchen.

She positioned herself near the doorway to keep watch for her men — so they could get the medicine into the food without interruption.

About half an hour later, Yu Hongyi and her people carried the food out and placed it before Liao Tinglou.

“Sacred General, please eat. There’s more in the pot.”

She turned to withdraw — but had not yet taken a step when Liao Tinglou called out to stop her.

“Hold on.”

Liao Tinglou pointed at the food and dishes in front of him. “I find I’m not very hungry after all. Consider this a gift for your people.”

Yu Hongyi immediately smiled. “This was prepared for the Sacred General — how could we dare…”

Liao Tinglou smiled. “If you yourself don’t want to eat it, how about I feed it to you personally?”

Yu Hongyi took a sudden step back, flipped aside the covered basket beside her, seized the repeating crossbow, and unleashed a rapid volley straight at Liao Tinglou.

But Liao Tinglou didn’t dodge. He didn’t even rise from his seat.

He simply dipped his head. The visor of his iron helmet swung down. The crossbow bolts struck his body and his face — and not a single one penetrated.

“Coming looking for death yourself.”

Liao Tinglou gave a contemptuous laugh.

He slowly rose, looked around, and spotted a stone grinding wheel nearby. He picked it up and hurled it at Yu Hongyi.

“Those people, when they see me, don’t even dare breathe in my direction — they put as much distance between us as possible. And yet *you* had the audacity to invite me to stay for a meal?”

After hurling the grinding wheel, Liao Tinglou hoisted two stone benches — one in each hand — and flung them at Yu Hongyi in rapid succession.

Yu Hongyi had barely dodged the grinding wheel when the stone benches came at her from the front.

She already felt a flicker of regret. She should have just set up the ambush directly from the start.

The Chief *Tingwei* and Master Ye had told her countless times — never underestimate any enemy. And here she had done exactly that. Deep down, she had assumed that bandit factions were full of crude, brutal men with little in the way of cleverness.

She had been wrong.

The first bench came flying and Yu Hongyi dodged it. The second was impossible to avoid.

That great hulking fool of a Liao Tinglou — his mind was sharp and intricate. The two stone benches had been thrown in different directions on purpose.

The first was aimed straight at her. The second was thrown to anticipate and intercept her dodge.

Yu Hongyi gritted her teeth and thrust both hands forward to catch the bench. The moment she made contact, a tremendous force surged up through her arms.

Yu Hongyi twisted her body, redirecting the momentum and hurling the bench away. It crashed into the courtyard wall with a boom, punching a hole straight through.

But Liao Tinglou was already striding toward her. “Another Tingwei Bureau person. You people truly don’t know the meaning of death — you actually dare to come looking for trouble.”