Xu Yuanqing didn’t believe he absolutely couldn’t beat this person who had appeared out of nowhere — he simply wasn’t certain. But given his position and his priorities, he wouldn’t entangle himself with someone unless he had more than a ninety percent chance of success.

Li Chi’s preparations had clearly foiled his ambush. Continuing to fight offered no guarantee of killing Li Chi, and he risked injuring himself in the process. Xu Yuanqing wasn’t about to gamble his safety on someone like Li Chi.

He wouldn’t risk himself for his subordinates either. A man patient enough to wait as long as he had would never act on impulse.

So he called out immediately and withdrew.

Yuan Qianshou had been watching for an opening all along. He looked every bit the frail old man teetering at the edge of his years — slight in build, seemingly too weak to truss a chicken. He had remained in the carriage throughout, because he understood his role perfectly. Even after the pretense had been stripped away, he was still the wild card.

But Xu Yuanqing’s shout forced him to abandon his plan. He had nearly decided to go stumbling out in a show of helplessness, making everyone think he truly didn’t know martial arts.

Now he had no choice but to act.

A streak of light shot out from the carriage, flying straight at Yu Chaozong’s back. In the instant before it arrived, Tang Pidi’s iron spike darted in from the side, striking it with a sharp clang and sending it spinning away.

Everyone assumed it would simply fall to the ground — but instead it flew back.

Yuan Qianshou vaulted out of the carriage, touching the tip of his foot lightly on a coachman’s head to launch himself into the air. The streak of light returned to his hand, and he flung it out again.

A chain blade.

In his hand was a very slender but exceptionally sturdy chain. The blade itself was short — barely under two feet — but it was heavy, its width nearly double that of the standard Dachu straight sword, which meant this stubby weapon was actually heavier than a full-length blade.

The heavier the blade, the greater the force when thrown.

Tang Pidi gave his iron spike a flick and struck the flat of the blade with precision, deflecting it again. Yuan Qianshou’s mastery of the chain blade was extraordinary — borrowing the force of Tang Pidi’s deflection, he swung it behind himself.

In the time this exchange took, Xu Yuanqing had gained enough distance to escape.

As he ran, Xu Yuanqing shouted for his men to go kill Li Chi and the others. The assassins surged forward like a tide, and Xu Yuanqing vanished into the crowd.

In the forest, Gongshu Yingying beckoned to him. He dashed over at once, and she shook out a cloth, draping it over both of them before they sped away into the trees.

Stray arrows flew in pursuit, striking the cloth — yet it didn’t break.

Yuan Qianshou dropped from the air, recalled the chain blade with a flick of his wrist, and seeing that Xu Yuanqing had already retreated, felt no urge to linger. He turned to leave.

Tang Pidi kicked a long sword lying on the ground, sending it flying straight at Yuan Qianshou’s back.

Yuan Qianshou seemed to hear it coming. He sidestepped, and the sword pierced through one of his subordinates’ chests instead.

He glanced back at Tang Pidi, then snapped his wrist and sent the chain blade flying again, forcing Tang Pidi to fall back.

His left hand rose and scattered something — a handful of tiny hidden projectiles aimed at Tang Pidi. Tang Pidi pushed off the ground and threw himself sideways to dodge. In an instant, he was over ten feet away.

A dense spray of iron nails riddled the ground, as though a sudden downpour had swept through.

Yuan Qianshou used the moment to escape.

He was gone. But Shi Su was not so fortunate. The third-ranking master of the Wind-Thunder Sect was trapped in the press of bodies. Speed and footwork were never his strengths — his swordsmanship ran toward raw power and ferocity. To disengage, he needed speed he didn’t have, and the men around him were too many. He had no choice but to fight to the last.

Li Chi’s chest was burning with pain. Xu Yuanqing’s punch had done far more damage than he had let on — he simply hadn’t shown it.

That inch-punch, launched from barely an inch away from Li Chi’s chest, had struck with terrifying force, sending Li Chi flying roughly ten feet. It was a power Li Chi honestly couldn’t replicate.

That was forty years of relentless cultivation from a man of considerable natural talent. No matter how gifted Li Chi was, there was no way he could surpass forty years of hard work in fewer than ten.

And if Xu Yuanqing hadn’t been gifted, how could he have reached such a level in the first place?

After holding on for a little longer, Li Chi finally couldn’t keep standing. His legs buckled, and he sank into a crouch.

Yu Chaozong had been about to give chase to Xu Yuanqing, and Tang Pidi was occupied with Yuan Qianshou’s chain blade — but Yu Chaozong didn’t follow through. His foot was already in motion when he saw Li Chi’s face twist in pain as he dropped to the ground.

So Yu Chaozong immediately abandoned any thought of pursuit and stood at Li Chi’s side to guard him. The fighting continued — though the leaders had fled, their subordinates remained.

But these men were no match for Li Chi’s people. Before the attack, Xu Yuanqing’s men had assumed Li Chi’s group couldn’t be much — just a gang of couriers from a transport company, after all. What they didn’t know was that these “couriers” had once been fierce bandits, and after Tang Pidi arrived he had drilled them mercilessly every day, especially in formation fighting, which made an enormous difference in actual combat.

And then Yu Chaozong had arrived with men who were scouts handpicked from the hundred thousand troops of Yanshan Camp. No one became a scout without exceptional ability.

These were vicious, battle-hardened veterans. Every last one of them.

Before long the outcome became clear, and Xu Yuanqing’s men were steadily overwhelmed.

Li Chi knew victory was assured, yet the old man — Shi Ci — had gotten away. He didn’t know that the old man was one of the most important figures in the Xu family, the top candidate to become its next patriarch.

Still, he felt a genuine pang of regret at letting him go.

His chest ached terribly. Without the heart-guard mirror he wore, that punch might well have killed him.

Yu Chaozong crouched beside him and asked, “Ribs broken?”

Li Chi nodded. “Maybe cracked. But not broken.”

Yu Chaozong turned, still crouching, and said, “Get on my back. Let’s head back to the city and get you treated.”

Li Chi shook his head quickly. “No need, I can walk.”

“What are you trying to prove between brothers?” Yu Chaozong said. “I’ll carry you to the carriage — just don’t move.”

His tone left no room for argument. Li Chi had no choice but to drape himself over Yu Chaozong’s back. As Yu Chaozong carried him forward, he called out, “Clear the way!”

His sharp-eyed personal guards drew their swords and carved a path. Tang Pidi, not far off, watched the scene — and something settled in his eyes, something like quiet approval.

Seeing that Li Chi was in Yu Chaozong’s care, he turned and charged toward Shi Su.

Yu Chaozong carried Li Chi to one of the large carriages. His men helped Li Chi inside, and Yu Chaozong climbed up onto the driver’s seat to take the reins himself.

They pulled away from the fighting and headed back toward Jizhou City.

About six or seven li down the road, Yu Chaozong spotted two dark shapes ahead. He ordered his men to stay alert.

As they drew closer, one of the figures turned out to be Yu Jiuling — gasping for breath, barely able to lift his feet, lurching forward as though each step might be his last. The man behind him was in even worse shape, wobbling just to keep his balance. Both looked utterly spent, yet neither had stopped moving, creeping forward at about the pace of a garden snail.

The moment Yu Jiuling saw who was on the carriage, his whole body relaxed. He tried to call out a greeting, but he had no breath left for words. He pitched forward onto the ground and lay there heaving, unable to stand again.

Yao Busheng — catching sight of the carriage and quickly realizing these must be the young thief’s companions — wanted to turn and run. He summoned every last ounce of energy, but his body hadn’t quite finished turning.

Yu Chaozong gave a quiet order to have him bound. His men rushed over — but before they even touched Yao Busheng, he collapsed on his own.

The Yanshan Camp soldiers moved swiftly, trussing Yao Busheng up and stuffing a gag in his mouth before hoisting him into the carriage.

Yu Jiuling was lifted in as well. He lay on the carriage floor without even the strength to roll over, managing only to tilt his head and look across at Li Chi, who was looking back at him.

After a long moment gathering his breath, Yu Jiuling mustered enough strength to speak. He looked at Li Chi with great seriousness and asked, “Did you powder your face? What shop is that from — highly recommend it, your skin is really white…”

Li Chi: “Ptch!”

—

Two hours later, at the transport company.

Xiahou Yili finished examining Li Chi’s injuries and went to prepare medicinal herbs. With her training directly passed down from Yunyin Mountain, treating wounds was her greatest strength.

Yu Jiuling, lying flat on his back, called over to her: “Check me over too, will you? Give me a look, at least…”

Xiahou Yili glanced back. “You’re fine. Lie still for a couple of days and you’ll recover.”

“I feel like I need some medicine.”

She rolled her eyes and left.

Yu Jiuling turned to Li Chi. “How is that fair? Neither of us can move, but she checks you and not me.”

“You’re ugly,” Li Chi said.

Yu Jiuling: “…”

“You asked.”

“You didn’t have to say it.”

“I’m straightforward.”

“Straightforward my — “

“My, my,” Li Chi said, “aren’t you feeling brave.”

“You can’t move, I can’t move — what do I have to be afraid of? Come on then, hit me.”

Li Chi shot a kick across the gap between their beds — roughly two feet apart — and caught Yu Jiuling squarely, sending him tumbling off the edge.

“Foolish,” Li Chi said. “When I say I can’t move, I mean moving hurts. I can still move my legs just fine. You, on the other hand, truly cannot move.”

Yu Jiuling lay flat on the floor, trying to crawl back up onto the bed. He had absolutely no strength left.

He pressed his forehead to the floor and looked up at Li Chi. “You’re genuinely heartless.”

“I can’t lift my leg high enough to kick your mouth,” Li Chi said, “otherwise I would have.”

Yu Jiuling: “…”

Gao Xining had been standing to one side the whole time. She had been beside herself with worry, but watching Li Chi like this, a measure of calm returned to her.

Li Chi knew perfectly well what he was doing — he’d kicked Yu Jiuling while fighting through the pain, precisely so he could look relaxed. So Gao Xining wouldn’t worry so much.

Yu Jiuling looked at Li Chi. He saw Li Chi looking at Gao Xining. He saw Gao Xining looking at Li Chi. And the full meaning of that kick slowly dawned on him.

He lay there in silence for a moment, and felt a sudden, unexpected urge to cry.

“I just run my mouth a little,” he said, “and you’re genuinely not human…”

Li Chi looked over and smiled. “Be good. I’ll have someone carry you back in a moment.”

Gao Xining unwrapped two lollipops, tucked one into Li Chi’s mouth and one into Yu Jiuling’s, and said with a short huff, “Both of you, be quiet.”

Yu Jiuling mumbled around the candy: “Fair lady of heavenly beauty, could you possibly help me up… the floor is rather cold.”

Gao Xining reached over and pulled the blanket off the bed, draping it over Yu Jiuling where he lay on the floor.

“Better?” she asked.

Yu Jiuling: “You’re… also genuinely not human…”

—