Yu Jiuling could think of absolutely no way to break the current standoff. The only option was to see how Yu Chaozong would handle it. If Yu Chaozong refused to hand over Li Chi and the others, then a fight seemed like the natural outcome.

Even if it didn’t come to blows, the men below would say that Yu Chaozong had been secretly colluding with the imperial court to keep everything for himself — that he didn’t want everyone to submit to Prince Yu, yet he’d been keeping close ties with the military commissioner’s people.

If everyone believed that, what right would Yu Chaozong have to remain the chief leader anymore?

Second-in-command Bi Datong would step forward at that moment, putting on his sanctimonious act, saying it wasn’t really the chief’s fault — after all, those were government men — and who could blame the chief for not wanting to personally kill them?

Taking advantage of this moment of shifting loyalties, even without fighting, they could force Yu Chaozong out. And the Yanshan Camp that Yu Chaozong had painstakingly built up would fall completely into Bi Datong’s hands.

Li Chi looked down from above. Not seeing Bi Datong in the crowd, he knew it wasn’t yet time for him to make his entrance.

Only once the men below had pushed Yu Chaozong to a certain point — when a fight seemed inevitable — would Bi Datong appear. Then he would appeal to their emotions and reason, talk them all down.

Of course, this would come with conditions. And that condition was naturally Yu Chaozong’s departure.

Yu Chaozong’s expression darkened as he looked at Niu Yongli, his voice hoarse as he asked: “Yongli, you’ve been at my side for so many years. Why would you lie?”

Niu Yongli said: “I didn’t lie. Every single word I said was true.”

Li Hengge, a squad captain and trusted aide to Yu Chaozong, cried out in fury: “You didn’t lie? We all saw it clearly — Brother Li and the others never left the chief’s stronghold. Are you the only one who saw it right, or did all of us?”

Niu Yongli said: “That I wouldn’t know. Who’s to say some aren’t unwilling to speak the truth because they’re trying to ingratiate themselves with the chief, or because they consider themselves the chief’s trusted men and just go along with whatever he says?”

He walked to the edge of the wooden wall and called out loudly: “What I did today, I don’t regret. If you all think I’m lying, then hack me to pieces right now — I won’t lift a finger to fight back.”

The crowd below was already buzzing with talk, all saying that Yu Chaozong’s reputation for righteousness and honor had apparently been nothing but an act.

Yu Jiuling glanced at Li Chi. Li Chi looked the same as ever — completely undisturbed.

Zhuang Wudi’s fury could no longer be contained. His hand gripped his blade hilt, and in the next moment that blade could sweep down and split Niu Yongli apart.

“I’ll handle this.”

Li Chi pressed his hand down on Zhuang Wudi’s, then stepped forward several paces to stand beside Niu Yongli. Niu Yongli immediately sidestepped away, looking at Li Chi and asking: “What do you think you’re doing?!”

Li Chi didn’t even acknowledge him. He walked to the edge of the wooden wall and sat down, letting both legs dangle over the outside, swinging them with casual ease.

“Do you believe it was I who killed the third-in-command?”

He asked.

None of the soldiers answered. The Sixth, Gao He, gave a cold laugh and said: “You showed up out of nowhere, and you came back with the Seventh. The very night you returned, Third Brother was dead. Maybe you weren’t just planning to kill Third Brother — maybe you wanted to wipe out all the leaders of Yanshan Camp in a single night.”

Li Chi actually nodded and said: “Kill all of you, leaving only Yu Chaozong. Then when Prince Yu offers his amnesty, all the benefits would go to Yu Chaozong alone. Does that make sense?”

The Sixth’s expression shifted. A moment later he called out: “I’m not suspecting the chief — but I know you’re the killer!”

Li Chi smiled: “Yu Chaozong — Chief Yu — didn’t want to accept Prince Yu’s amnesty. What about the rest of you? You all wanted to accept it, didn’t you? As far as I know, the third-in-command also stood with Chief Yu — the chief didn’t want to accept, and neither did he.”

The Sixth immediately said: “So you killed him!”

Li Chi nodded: “That does seem quite logical.”

He unhooked an iron plaque from his belt and tossed it down. It landed with a clatter near the Sixth’s feet. Li Chi pointed at the plaque: “Pick it up and take a look.”

The Sixth hesitated for a moment, not daring to pick it up himself, and had one of his men retrieve it. The man looked at the plaque and was left dumbfounded by the characters reading “Prince Yu’s Estate.” The Sixth took it, looked at it, and was equally dumbfounded.

Li Chi smiled: “Frightened into a stupor? Tell your men around you — do you recognize the characters ‘Prince Yu’s Estate’ or not?”

He paused briefly and continued: “By rights, if you all want to submit to Prince Yu, you should be on my side. Yet now you’re trying to force Chief Yu into killing me — and once Prince Yu finds out and flies into a rage, he may withdraw his amnesty offer from Yanshan Camp entirely. He might even send armies to attack.”

Li Chi kept smiling as he went on: “Now this whole situation can’t be explained away anymore. It’s Prince Yu who sent me here, to secretly kill off the third-in-command who opposed the amnesty. Doesn’t that make the most sense? Honestly, I think that’s the most logical explanation — otherwise, why would I kill the third-in-command?”

The Sixth instinctively glanced back into the crowd. The situation was now beyond his control.

“What is going on?!”

A thunderous shout rang out from within the crowd.

Second-in-command Bi Datong came striding up, and without another word, he slapped the Sixth across the face.

“How dare you — surrounding the chief’s stronghold with troops?!”

The Sixth’s head was ringing from the blow, but he couldn’t say a word. He looked at Bi Datong with an expression of shock.

Bi Datong seemed to have reached the peak of his fury. He raised his hand and gave the Sixth another slap: “Get out of my sight!”

The blow sent stars bursting across the Sixth’s vision. He spun around twice on the spot.

Bi Datong said: “Have you all lost your minds — threatening the chief?! Don’t you know that every good day you’ve had was built by the chief’s own hands? You pack of animals!”

Everyone was stunned into silence.

Li Chi clapped his hands — clap, clap, clap — as he said: “When we were drinking together, I said that Second-in-command has an exceptional bearing — you can tell at a glance that he’s a man who knows what’s right and when to advance and retreat, a man destined for wealth and greatness.”

Though Bi Datong had struck and cursed the men, he still reached out and took that iron plaque from Prince Yu’s Estate to examine it — and his expression couldn’t help but turn sour.

He had dealings with people from Prince Yu’s Estate often enough to know that the estate’s plaques came in ranks. Common servants and attendants carried wooden plaques; only those of a certain standing were given iron ones.

Li Chi’s iron plaque was something Xiahou Zuo had procured for him — its rank could hardly be low.

He stared at the plaque in his hand as his mind turned over the situation again and again.

Li Chi sat there, still casually swinging his legs, looking as if he were thoroughly enjoying watching a show.

Just as everyone was deadlocked, he suddenly pressed both hands against the wooden wall and vaulted off the edge.

That wooden wall was a full three zhang high. An ordinary person who jumped from that height would almost certainly break their legs.

Li Chi landed without his body swaying even once. He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled calmly toward Bi Datong, while the men behind Bi Datong instinctively stepped back.

“Second-in-command, let’s work through this situation.”

Li Chi walked up to Bi Datong and looked him in the eyes: “In your opinion — do you think it was I who killed the third-in-command?”

What could Bi Datong say?

Li Chi now represented Prince Yu’s Estate, and the weight of that iron plaque was substantial. If Bi Datong said yes, it was you who killed the third-in-command — then what would all the men he’d brought think? A man from Prince Yu’s Estate had come here to kill someone. Would they still dare to so easily defect to the Prince’s side?

Killing the third-in-command who opposed the amnesty — that did seem like exactly the sort of thing Prince Yu’s Estate would do.

But if he flatly denied that the man was from Prince Yu’s Estate, insisted the plaque was fake, and then killed him anyway?

What if this person really was sent by Prince Yu?

“That’s impossible!”

Bi Datong said: “You are the chief’s honored guest, and a man of rank from the estate. I’m certain there must be some misunderstanding in all of this.”

He looked toward the Sixth, who had retreated to the side: “What exactly happened?!”

When Bi Datong turned, his back was to Li Chi and to the men on the wall. His hand, held in front of him, made a brief gesture toward the direction of Fourth-in-command Wu Xionqi — a subtle, quick movement, like a natural swing of the arm as he turned.

But the Sixth understood immediately. He raised his arm and pointed at Fourth-in-command Wu Xionqi: “It was Fourth Brother who told me everything. I don’t actually know anything — I didn’t see anything. Fourth Brother said a man dressed in black came to kill him, and Third Brother sacrificed himself to save him. He managed to grab the black-clad man’s mask and tore it off — and he recognized it was Li Chi.”

Wu Xionqi’s face went pale.

Li Chi turned with a cheerful smile to face Wu Xionqi: “Fourth-in-command, you wouldn’t have mistaken anyone, so it must definitely have been me who did the killing.”

Wu Xionqi instinctively backed up several steps, looking urgently toward Bi Datong and calling out: “Second Brother!”

Bi Datong gave a look, and the Sixth suddenly lunged from the side, driving a blade into Wu Xionqi’s lower back.

“You despicable wretch — how dare you frame me!” the Sixth snarled as he stabbed repeatedly. “After all the trust I placed in you! You deceived me! You actually incited me to lead men and surround the chief’s stronghold — how can I ever face the chief again after this!”

Wu Xionqi died without even time to react.

After the killing, the Sixth — Gao He — dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly toward Yu Chaozong.

“Chief, I was foolish — I let the Fourth trick me. I’m not asking you to spare me. I brought this on myself. Do with me as you see fit, chief!”

As he spoke he kowtowed, and before long he was actually weeping.

Li Chi remarked admiringly: “A truly passionate and righteous man.”

Second-in-command Bi Datong walked up to Li Chi and smiled with something of a fawning quality: “Official Li, as you can see, this really was all a misunderstanding. Who could have guessed that the Fourth would have such nerve — framing you and framing the chief.”

He straightened up and continued: “I’d heard long ago that the Fourth wanted to submit to the Prince, but the chief had some reservations, as did Third Brother. But if there are matters to discuss, we’re all brothers — we can talk it through. Who could have imagined that he and Third Brother fell out so badly over their differences that he was moved to kill, and then tried to frame you and the chief as well? A man like that got what he deserved!”

Then, suddenly, he let out a great wail and threw himself down beside the corpse of Third-in-command Zhou Daoshou, crying out: “But my poor Third Brother — to die so wrongly! I, as your Second Brother, failed to look after you. Blame it all on your Second Brother.”

Li Chi watched him weeping with such heartrending grief, and couldn’t help exclaiming in admiration: “Truly a loyal and devoted brother, full of genuine feeling.”

On the wooden wall, Yu Chaozong’s hands gripped the railing so tightly that the veins across his knuckles stood out in sharp relief.

A moment later, Yu Chaozong called out loudly: “Bring my third brother’s body inside. Everyone else — return to your own posts.”

The soldiers of Yanshan Camp were all dazed, none of them knowing what to do. The remaining leaders looked toward Bi Datong, who waved a hand: “What are you all still standing around for? Go!”

And so the great force that had arrived so menacingly retreated like an ebbing tide — they had come with fierce momentum, and left with something of a shambling, awkward step.

Li Chi glanced at Bi Datong, and just at that moment, Bi Datong happened to glance back at him.

In that instant, there was only one thought in Li Chi’s mind — this Bi Datong, he must be what the master called an ambitious schemer. A pity the stage was still too small. Given a larger stage, he might genuinely have been able to stage a grand and spectacular performance.

—