After killing Yefuzhi with one stroke, Daxin Tuonuo returned to his quarters with the letter in hand.
The Sword Sect disciples waiting outside bowed as he arrived. He gave a casual wave, gesturing them to keep their distance.
Back inside his room, he tossed the letter on the table. His expression now appeared even darker than when he had been killing.
Because he had just realized — Yefuzhi might well have died wrongly.
Yet he could no longer verify it either way, for he could not possibly confront Han Sanzhou with this letter in hand.
The letter’s content was simple. In essence, it thanked Yefuzhi for his assistance in the matter of Han Sanzhou being enfeoffed as a prince by the Black Wu Khan. The gold and silver were a token of gratitude. It also expressed the hope that Yefuzhi would continue to help in the future — for instance, if Blood Floating Tower were ever assigned tasks, to arrange for them to be ones with relatively little danger.
At the letter’s close, Han Sanzhou added that the clever scheme Yefuzhi had devised had worked perfectly.
He had feigned hostility with Yefuzhi, the two of them performing mutual contempt — so that whoever the Black Wu Empire sent next would not suspect any closeness between them.
Han Sanzhou further wrote that they should maintain this dynamic going forward: let the outside world think them at odds. Only by appearing to be enemies could they join hands to accomplish more and profit further.
Now, Daxin Tuonuo felt as though a stone had lodged in his chest — a suffocating, inexpressible discomfort. As if someone had spat directly in his face.
If the letter’s contents were true, then Yefuzhi had not died wrongly — but what a waste his death was.
If the letter’s contents were false, then Yefuzhi had died a wrongful death — and it was a profound humiliation for the Sword Sect.
But going to confront Han Sanzhou now would accomplish nothing.
The more he thought about it, the more infuriated he became. Daxin Tuonuo rose several times, sat back down, his expression cycling through a dozen shades of complexity.
Picking a fight with Han Sanzhou right now was clearly unwise. This was Blood Floating Tower’s encampment, and there were four thousand hardened outlaws here.
But come morning, when someone discovered Yefuzhi’s body — what then?
—
Across the camp.
Xu Suqing leaned against the window frame, watching the darkness outside. Earlier, a white shadow had swept past, and he had seen it perfectly clearly.
“Chief, with Yefuzhi gone, things will be easier for us going forward.”
Xiao Ting looked toward Xu Suqing and said, “Now we just wait to see what face that Daxin Tuonuo puts on tomorrow.”
Xu Suqing smiled faintly. “Whether it’s easier or harder — that’s not what I care about. When Yefuzhi first arrived, he was insufferably arrogant and presumptuous. That alone was enough for him to die.”
Xiao Ting was taken aback.
He had assumed that Xu Suqing’s elaborate scheme to have Yefuzhi killed was because Yefuzhi was the Black Wu man who understood them best. With Yefuzhi dead, their future actions would be less likely to be seen through.
But looking at it now — the Chief had not been thinking that far ahead at all. He simply could not tolerate Yefuzhi being alive.
“Next is him.”
Xu Suqing pointed upward as he spoke. Daxin Tuonuo was quartered on the third floor of the wooden building.
Xiao Ting glanced at the others present. The three other Holy Generals were also watching him.
Without knowing quite when it had happened, their Chief had become someone they no longer recognized.
Looking at Xu Suqing now, no matter how they looked, there was something unfamiliar about him — yet this was a man they had lived and died alongside for over a decade.
“All of you, go rest.”
Xu Suqing smiled and said, “Tomorrow morning there’ll be a fine show to watch. Don’t stay up too late — save your energy for it.”
The others exchanged glances, none of them saying a word more, and bowed their way out.
Once everyone was gone, Xu Suqing stood alone at the window, watching the night. A faint, enigmatic smile played at the corner of his lips.
“Central Plains people… Black Wu people… what are they to me?”
After a long silence, he murmured to himself.
He turned and walked toward the bed, continuing under his breath: “Since I’ve already decided to go back — of course I’ll choose the way that leaves rivers of blood in my wake. As for whose blood flows… as long as it isn’t mine…”
—
About two or three *li* outside the Blood Floating Tower encampment.
Master Ye crouched behind a clump of dry grass, holding a brass telescope trained on the encampment for a while.
The northern desert night was exceptionally dark and exceptionally cold. At this distance, one might catch a glimpse of things in daylight — but in the darkness, nothing could be made out clearly.
“Sir,” said Shang Qingzhu beside him, lowering his voice, “our scouts reported today that a group of Black Wu men rode in — including people from the Sword Sect.”
Master Ye gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment. “The fact that Blood Floating Tower has thrown in with the Black Wu is now beyond recovery. The Black Wu keep coming here — clearly there is some scheme being hatched. But what they’re scheming is not hard to deduce.”
Shang Qingzhu said quickly, “Sir, your subordinate hasn’t worked it out yet.”
Master Ye gestured that they could head back — there was no reason to keep watching. They had long since confirmed the location of Blood Floating Tower’s encampment, and that was the most valuable intelligence.
On the way back, Master Ye explained.
“If the Black Wu intend to do what they have always done — march their armies up to the border and begin assaulting the passes — do you think they would have any reason to care this much about a gang of bandits?”
Shang Qingzhu thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Not really. Blood Floating Tower may have several thousand fighters, but they’re all just bandits. They’re feared out here on the wasteland, but if you sent those few thousand men to assault a fortified city, they wouldn’t last us two days of fighting.”
Master Ye said, “So the moment the Black Wu seek out Blood Floating Tower, it tells us they’re *not* trying to use them to storm a city. What is it about Xu Suqing and his people that the Black Wu would most value?”
As the Magistrate Bureau’s chief instructor, Master Ye had a habit of guiding his subordinates through reasoning with questions rather than simply telling them the answer. It made them think faster and understand more deeply.
This was why the Magistrate Bureau’s people held Master Ye in such reverence — his help to each of them was profound.
Shang Qingzhu replied without hesitation, “Terrain. The Black Wu value Blood Floating Tower’s knowledge of the northern wastes.”
Master Ye smiled slightly, then asked again, “And why would the Black Wu need to care about the terrain of the northern wastes? They’ve made multiple southward campaigns over the centuries and have never once paid attention to this terrain.”
Shang Qingzhu’s eyes brightened. He looked at Master Ye and said, “This time, the Black Wu intend to fight us *here* — differently from before. They want to do battle with us on the northern wastes.”
Master Ye nodded. “They may have had that idea before, but wishing for it was useless — Chu’s border armies never had the ability to march out through the passes and fight them in the open.”
Shang Qingzhu said, “Now that our Great Ning has just been founded, we’re at our strongest — flush with soldiers and morale. The Black Wu think their moment has come.”
Master Ye said, “Precisely. They believe we might venture out beyond the gates to engage them on the field.”
Shang Qingzhu laughed. “Then they might just…”
Master Ye: “Be right.”
The two men looked at each other, and both began to laugh.
They traveled through the night back toward the border city. Several days later, as they approached the walls, they sensed something different about the city.
Looking again, they understood — the imperial dragon banner flew above the ramparts. The Emperor had arrived.
Master Ye and his party hurried inside. Before they had even asked where the Emperor was, they were led up to the city walls.
On the far side of the wall, Li Chi and Xiahou Zhuo were in discussion. When Li Chi saw Master Ye return, he broke into a wide smile.
“You’ve had a hard journey, Master Ye.”
Master Ye tried to drop to his knees in obeisance, but Li Chi would not allow it — he caught him before he could kneel.
“Your Majesty, your subject is guilty — through my negligence, thousands of border soldiers lost their lives—”
“I know all of it. It has nothing to do with you, Master Ye.”
Li Chi pulled Master Ye upright and walked with him to meet the others on the wall.
“This Xu Suqing appears to be seeking revenge.”
Li Chi said, “I’ve already had people confirm it — Han Sanzhou is the very same Xu Suqing whose name once rang through every corner of the northern jianghu.”
He looked at Master Ye. “When I was wandering the jianghu in Jizhou with my Shifu, I heard his name more than once. There was even a saying that spread widely then — *’The tales of the jianghu, heard in the jianghu — who in all the world does not know Qing?’*”
Master Ye said, “At that time in the northern jianghu, there truly was no one who didn’t know of him.”
Li Chi said, “Back then I even asked my Shifu — if I trained hard, could I become someone like Xu Suqing? Shifu said: what sets Xu Suqing apart is not his martial skill, but his character.”
He shook his head with a faint sigh. “What destroyed him was Chu’s officials. And now what he wants to destroy is a Central Plains that has only barely found peace again. Neither can be forgiven.”
Master Ye reported in detail everything he had gathered. When Li Chi heard that the Black Wu might also be intending to draw Ning’s army into a decisive battle beyond the border, his expression did not change at all.
For as soon as Li Chi had arrived here and learned the particulars of Xu Suqing’s situation, his very first conclusion had been that the Black Wu wanted to fight beyond the border gates.
This vast northern plain — both the Black Wu and Li Chi had chosen it as their battlefield.
The difference was that the Black Wu chose it because they believed their cavalry was superior in open battle, while Li Chi chose it because he wanted the war fought *outside* Ning’s gates.
Xiahou Zhuo said, “The fact that the Black Wu seem so intent on a gang of bandits tells us everything — it was plain from the moment they used Blood Floating Tower to hurt our border brothers.”
Li Chi nodded. “Exactly. Stoke the hatred.”
Tang Pidi also nodded. “Use a gang of bandits to fan our anger and fury into flame. Without destroying Blood Floating Tower, there’s no way to settle this blood debt.”
Xiahou Zhuo said, “So unless something unexpected happens, Blood Floating Tower will soon reveal some opening — baiting us to attack.”
Tang Pidi said, “They don’t need to reveal anything. We’ll go whether they show us an opening or not.”
Xiahou Zhuo nodded. “Right — and that’s the gap the Black Wu can exploit. Use Blood Floating Tower to draw us out, and let the scale of the battle grow and grow.”
Tang Pidi continued, “Yes. If we send ten thousand men to wipe out Blood Floating Tower, the Black Wu will immediately encircle them with several tens of thousands. We’ll be forced to send reinforcements — and the Black Wu will send more in response. And so, using nothing more than a gang of bandits, they drag our hundreds of thousands of Northern Expedition troops deep into this endless northern plain.”
Li Chi smiled slightly and looked at Tang Pidi. “You’ve already seen through everything the enemy intends. So — how do you respond?”
Tang Pidi: “Blood Floating Tower must be destroyed.”
That was the answer.
Li Chi looked out toward the northern plain. After a moment’s silence, he said, “The northern plain is so vast — it would be a shame to bury only a gang of bandits in it.”
—