Yanshan Camp.

The same sky, the same moon — but the people gazing up at it were different. Li Chi and Tang Pidi were in Jizhou City; Yu Chaozong was here in Yanshan Camp.

Yu Chaozong seemed genuinely impatient. Otherwise he wouldn’t have listened to Zheng Gongru’s suggestion and written that personal letter to Luo Geng.

He knew the letter would move Luo Geng. What was difficult was that he also believed Luo Geng wanted to swallow Jizhou City — and swallow Yanshan Camp along with it.

Taking Jizhou City would mean gaining one city, however much symbolic weight it carried. But absorbing Yanshan Camp meant gaining a hundred thousand elite soldiers, vast stores of provisions, and the cities of Xinzhou and Daizhou as well — more than doubling one’s strength by any measure.

“Chief,” Zheng Gongru said, watching Yu Chaozong’s expression carefully before offering a small smile. “When it comes to Luo Geng, the chief need not worry too much.”

He kept his tone measured and even — projecting confidence, though he was well aware of how he looked: his appearance was grotesque, his frame slight and small. These things made him feel inferior, and the more he felt that way, the more he forced himself to appear confident in other respects.

“Luo Geng will take the bait,” Zheng Gongru said. “We’ve cast two hooks.”

Yu Chaozong nodded, then said offhandedly: “It would be better if Third Brother were here. With his perceptiveness, he’d help me see this more clearly.”

Zheng Gongru’s expression shifted. Fortunately Yu Chaozong wasn’t looking at him, and he bowed his head quickly to conceal it.

Whenever the thought of Li Chi arose, no matter the time or place, Zheng Gongru felt a surge of anger he couldn’t suppress.

He had previously laid out for Yu Chaozong the plan to use two hooks to draw in Luo Geng, and he was confident it would work. But Li Chi had strongly urged Yu Chaozong not to act against Jizhou City for the time being, asking him to wait patiently for Li Chi’s own scheme to succeed.

Yu Chaozong had genuinely intended to follow Li Chi’s advice — he truly believed Li Chi’s vision reached further than anyone else’s. So no matter how many times Zheng Gongru had tried to persuade him, he had always refused.

After several failed attempts, Zheng Gongru had shifted approach.

Since Yu Chaozong listened so closely to Li Chi, it was pointless to keep pushing him toward Jizhou City. Push too hard and he’d only create suspicion — counterproductive. So Zheng Gongru had changed direction: Youzhou instead.

In truth, his scheme was nothing new — it closely resembled the plan he’d used to take Xinzhou and Daizhou. His reasoning was simple: if Luo Geng in Youzhou were drawn into attacking Jizhou City by Li Chi’s maneuvering, Yanshan Camp could seize the opportunity to take Youzhou while it was undefended.

The letter Yu Chaozong sent to Luo Geng was the bait meant to draw Luo Geng out. And Zheng Gongru’s second hook was this: if Luo Geng insisted that Yanshan Camp commit to moving simultaneously, Yanshan Camp could agree — and then simply sit back and watch the others tear each other apart.

Sending troops was not the same as actually fighting. Once all sides had ground each other down, Yanshan Camp could sweep in and deal with whoever remained. This approach wasn’t at odds with Li Chi’s plan either.

Zheng Gongru’s thinking had evolved: if he couldn’t quickly drive a wedge between Yu Chaozong and Li Chi, then his best move was to align himself with Li Chi’s agenda — act in accordance with Li Chi’s plans, not against them. That way, Yu Chaozong would see him as straightforward and trustworthy, and become more willing to confide in him.

Yu Chaozong had considered it carefully and concluded that Zheng Gongru’s scheme could complement Li Chi’s plan rather than undermine it. So he’d agreed.

After all, it was only a letter. Whether it achieved anything or not, Yanshan Camp had nothing to lose.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Yu Chaozong said, suddenly remembering something with a smile. “Your luck really has been poor — right when you went to Yun Yin Mountain, Third Brother happened to take his people there too. He wrote me a letter giving me a general account of what happened.”

He looked at Zheng Gongru. “If you’d had better luck, you’d have run into them and avoided taking such heavy losses. You wouldn’t have been so badly hurt, and you wouldn’t have lost so many brothers.”

Zheng Gongru’s face went white. Yu Chaozong wasn’t looking at him, so he bowed his head immediately to hide it.

“That… Third Brother — in the letter, what… what did he write?”

“Third Brother said he’d gone to Yun Yin Mountain to bring over some very capable healers who are now in Jizhou City,” Yu Chaozong replied. “He’s also taken control of all the medicinal trade in the city, which will be a great advantage for Yanshan Camp going forward.”

Zheng Gongru swallowed with difficulty. “And Third Brother didn’t… mention anything else that happened on Yun Yin Mountain?”

Yu Chaozong looked at him. “No. Most of the letter was about his read on the current situation in Jizhou. The visit to Yun Yin Mountain was only a brief mention. Why — is there something you wanted to know?”

“Nothing specific,” Zheng Gongru said carefully. “It’s just — the mountain only has one path, chief. If the timing was close, how could they have not crossed paths? I’ve always found that strange.”

“You’re right,” Yu Chaozong said. “Which is exactly why I said your luck wasn’t good. If you’d run into Third Brother, he’d certainly have kept you from getting so badly hurt and losing so many men. Perhaps it was simply fate.”

Zheng Gongru quietly let out a long breath of relief. So Li Chi hadn’t known he’d been on Yun Yin Mountain. If he had, Li Chi would certainly have told Yu Chaozong in full detail.

But in that very moment, Zheng Gongru made a firm resolution: he had to eliminate Li Chi, and soon.

If he waited too long, Li Chi might return and meet Yu Chaozong in person — and then the matter of Yun Yin Mountain would come out entirely. Given the trust Yu Chaozong placed in Li Chi, even without that, Yu Chaozong would side with Li Chi.

A further thought struck him unbidden: so it was Li Chi who had defeated the Northern Wanderers. He had fled when Li Chi’s group was still fighting off the bandits on the hillside — neither of them had seen the other. Otherwise he would never have presented the Northern Wanderers’ leader’s head to claim credit. That was a buried charge, liable to go off without warning at any moment.

“Chief,” Zheng Gongru said, steeling himself. “I hold the Third Chief in the highest regard — so I’d like to ask a favor, if the chief is willing. Could you give me the task of relaying messages to Third Brother? I’ve been thinking about making a trip to Jizhou myself, to discuss Yanshan Camp’s future strategy with him in detail.”

The words were reasonably well crafted. Yu Chaozong wouldn’t think to suspect that someone urgently volunteering to visit Third Brother Li Chi was in fact a man who desperately wanted Li Chi dead.

“Well…” Yu Chaozong considered. “You’re welcome to write Third Brother a letter — share your thinking with him. Your mind is meticulous; if Third Brother reads it, it might open up new ideas for him.”

Zheng Gongru felt a stab of disappointment, but immediately nodded. “Then I’ll put my thoughts down in writing as soon as I return. I’ll get it to someone to carry to Jizhou without delay.”

Yu Chaozong gave a soft sound of assent. “That’s not a difficult thing to arrange. Use your own judgment.”

Zheng Gongru bowed. “Thank you, chief.”

He excused himself and left. All the way back, his mind churned over how to be rid of Li Chi — but his thoughts were too tangled to settle into any clear plan.

He understood the trust Yu Chaozong placed in Li Chi. He knew there was also a Second Chief at Li Chi’s side.

And his own resources were thin. The men at his disposal were ordinary fighters of no particular skill — sending them to kill Li Chi would be a joke.

So the only way to remove Li Chi was through scheme and stratagem.

His original plan had been to gradually reshape Yu Chaozong’s perception of Li Chi — to erode that trust over time and take his place. But that was far too slow. Before he could succeed, Li Chi might return and meet Yu Chaozong face to face.

He walked and thought. He needed someone he could use right away — and he would need to recruit reinforcements quickly.

By the time he returned to his camp, one approach had come to him. It was only a stopgap, but it would do for now.

“Zhang Chaozhen.”

Zheng Gongru called out.

A trusted subordinate hurried in and bowed. “What are your orders?”

“How many men do we have right now — reliable, useful men?”

Zhang Chaozhen replied: “When we went to Yun Yin Mountain, we took losses. Of the veterans who’ve been with you from the start, only about a hundred and some remain.”

“A hundred is enough.” Zheng Gongru said: “Here’s what you’ll do. Tomorrow, pick fifty capable fighters — select the best we have. Set out at first light.”

Zhang Chaozhen asked: “Where to?”

“All communication with Jizhou runs through our outpost outside the city. If I remember correctly, the place where Yanshan Camp’s scouts are stationed outside Jizhou should be Dafang Town?”

Zhang Chaozhen nodded. “That sounds right, I’ve heard the same.”

“I’m going to write a letter to be sent to Jizhou — which gives you an excuse to leave, since I’ve already told Yu Chaozong I’d be doing that. You can also use it as a pretext to confirm the exact location of the scouts’ post. If they really are in Dafang Town, then…”

Zhang Chaozhen understood.

“Wipe out the Yanshan Camp scouts in Dafang Town. That way, any letters Li Chi sends out of the city will have to go through Dafang Town first. We intercept them — and we could even forge his handwriting and alter the content of his letters?”

Zhang Chaozhen looked rather pleased with himself.

Zheng Gongru laughed. “No wonder you’re the one I trust most. Your thinking and mine are one and the same. Tomorrow you’ll go, find the location of the Dafang Town contact point, eliminate everyone there, and at minimum we cut the line of communication between Yu Chaozong and Li Chi’s side.”

He exhaled slowly. “Then we find a way to eliminate Li Chi.”

Zhang Chaozhen suddenly thought of something.

“If we take Dafang Town, and if Li Chi’s people don’t recognize the faces there — we could impersonate a message from Yu Chaozong.”

He smiled. “For instance, we tell Li Chi that Yu Chaozong grew impatient and has personally come to Dafang Town, and wants Li Chi to come meet him — alone, so as not to attract attention.”

He made a slashing gesture.

“If Li Chi comes unsuspecting, he’ll have no defenses up. Killing him then wouldn’t be so difficult. Would he really be on guard against Yu Chaozong?”

Zheng Gongru’s eyes lit up.

“Good. When you set out tomorrow, go to Xinzhou first. My mother should have recruited some men there by now. I told her — don’t spare the money, bring in as many skilled fighters from the jianghu as possible. Go see whether she has anyone useful, and bring as many as you can.”

Zhang Chaozhen nodded at once. “Understood. Tomorrow I’ll head for Xinzhou first and call on your mother.”

Zheng Gongru relaxed fractionally.

Li Chi — every day that man remained alive was another day he stood like a stumbling block on the road ahead.

—