Work on renovating the underground chamber had not paused since its discovery. From the very beginning Li Chi had sensed it would become something important — a place that could save lives.

Though Dachu’s situation was dire, the regions south of the Yangtze hadn’t fallen into the same chaos as Jizhou. Jizhou’s predicament was arguably the most complicated in all of central China. By rights the various warlords should have been angling southward — instead, in a strange twist of events, all of them had been drawn into Jizhou.

First the Yanzhou army had been crushed by the Youzhou army. Then the Jizhou army had defeated the Qingzhou army. Then the Yuzhou army had defeated the Jizhou army. Then the Qingzhou and Yuzhou armies had together pushed the Jizhou forces back inside Jizhou City.

This theater was far livelier than anything happening in the south.

In the south, under Prince Wu’s sweeping campaigns, the situation had already steadied considerably. The new emperor Yang Jing had placed all his hopes on Prince Wu.

He understood one thing clearly: give Prince Wu enough esteem, give him enough authority, and Prince Wu would keep winning battles. Because Prince Wu was Dachu’s undefeated war god.

The various warlord powers in the south were all biding their time. None of the regional commissioners wanted to be the first to clash head-on with Prince Wu — each was waiting for someone else to go first and take the blow. All the rebel armies had found corners to hole up in and were watching developments with great care, avoiding any engagement where possible.

In Jizhou, by contrast, people seemed to want to fight every day.

Set aside even the powerful forces already inside Jizhou — those not yet involved included the Yanshan Camp, the Youzhou army still looking for its moment, and the Yanzhou army which, though it had suffered a setback, was still by no means weak. Any one of those forces, transported to the south, would be enough to cause bloodshed and chaos on its own.

A force like the Yanshan Camp appearing in the south would have far greater impact there than here.

So what Li Chi had been thinking about first, for all these years, was not how to contend but how, above all else, to survive.

Mister Li’s writings had said: in the opening phase of great upheaval, those who enter the fray earliest will also exit it earliest.

In the early days of chaos, there was no need to spend too much energy on how to defeat one enemy after another — because many others were already thinking that same thought. By the time you entered later, you would find that many of the enemies you had puzzled so hard over had already been knocked out of the game.

Mister Li had called this strategy: lying low.

Li Chi didn’t fully grasp the meaning at first, but he felt Mister Li’s approach was extraordinarily shrewd.

On the surface it seemed like nothing more than timidity. But think it through, and the importance of survival in the early phase for later contention became clear.

Even now Li Chi had not the slightest doubt: a man like Mister Li, if he chose to participate directly, would surely be the last one standing.

Unfortunately, Mister Li only wanted to raise pigs.

—

Inside the underground chamber, after several rounds of moving things, Li Chi was tired and sat down for a short rest. Tang Pidi settled down beside him, glancing with some puzzlement toward the divine eagle and the hound, who were adjusting to their new surroundings nearby.

What was slightly surprising was that the divine eagle seemed entirely unbothered by the dim environment, while the hound, normally so imperious, looked somewhat tense, crouched motionless on the eagle’s back.

Tang Pidi smiled to himself. “It seems that in different places and different situations, even the meaning of words can shift.”

Li Chi asked, “For example?”

Tang Pidi pointed at the eagle and the hound. “If you called someone ‘lower than pigs and dogs’ anywhere else, it’d clearly be an insult. But here, saying something is lower than pigs and dogs — it doesn’t quite have the same ring.”

These two creatures — one a hulking behemoth of over a thousand catties, the other a ferocious king of the hunt.

“Have you decided what position to offer Luo Geng?” Tang Pidi asked.

Li Chi nodded. “For safety, we split the tunnel at the midpoint. This side is ours. The other side runs under the Shen Medical Hall — give that side to Luo Geng. The exit is in the Shen Medical Hall, so we hold the advantage.”

Tang Pidi said, “That’s what I was thinking too.”

The two exchanged a look and smiled.

“You should head out soon — Luo Geng said he’s coming to pay a visit today.”

Tang Pidi smiled. “Zeng Ling needs to keep you in good spirits, and Luo Geng needs to even more.”

Li Chi sighed. “Is being kept in good spirits really so pleasant?”

Tang Pidi glanced at him sideways. “Being kept in good spirits isn’t pleasant?”

Li Chi said, “In that case, you go — I’ll leave that pleasure to you.”

Tang Pidi said, “Here we go again.”

Li Chi smiled. “You deal with Luo Geng; I’ll deal with something else.”

Tang Pidi said, “Tell me first what you’re planning to deal with. If it sounds better, we’ll swap.”

Li Chi pointed into the distance. “I’ve been thinking about how to divert the water from the Little Jing River that flows nearby — without it being too obvious. The underground chamber has everything now except a water source.”

Tang Pidi said, “I actually forgot about the water situation too… But digging open a waterway is conspicuous work. The moment you start, people will be watching.”

Li Chi said, “There’ll be a way. I just haven’t thought of it yet. But the water problem is considerably bigger than the problem of meeting with Luo Geng — so I’ll tackle the harder one, and you take the easier one.”

Tang Pidi said, “Only a fool would believe that. You go meet Luo Geng; I’ll figure out the water.”

Li Chi said, “The water side will be more exhausting — it’s all manual labor. Better I take it.”

Tang Pidi said, “The more sincere and high-minded you sound, the less I believe you. So you’re going to meet Luo Geng.”

Li Chi got to his feet. “Fine, let’s do it that way.”

Tang Pidi was startled. He suddenly had the feeling something was off — had Li Chi just manipulated him again?

After Li Chi had left the underground chamber to wait for Luo Geng, Tang Pidi confirmed it: yes, he had been played. Li Chi had wanted him to handle this all along.

He walked deeper into the chamber and found Yu Jiuling standing there grinning at him. “What are you laughing at?” Tang Pidi couldn’t help asking.

Yu Jiuling said, “I’m not just laughing — that wouldn’t be complete. I’m laughing at the full package.”

Tang Pidi had a bad feeling about this.

Yu Jiuling said, “Li Chi told me to wait for you here. He said with several hundred people living down here, the waste situation needs to be addressed — not just people, we have a lot of animals, and animals produce a lot more than people do. The matter of choosing a latrine site and figuring out how to manage it — that’s now your responsibility.”

Tang Pidi stood there in a daze for quite a while, thinking: it really is true that anyone who becomes a leader has a devious streak.

—

About a hundred and fifty li north of Nanping River, Zhang Yuxu — now two days into the journey — looked at Peng Shiqii, who was nearly out of energy, and said in a tone of undisguised contempt, “You really are useless at everything.”

Peng Shiqii said, “We’re not carrying the same load. Mine is heavier than yours — of course I’m slower.”

Zhang Yuxu said, “Nonsense. You have one small bundle, with nothing of value in it. My bundle is bigger, and it has silver weighing it down.”

Peng Shiqii said, “I’m seventeen, man. It’s a lot to carry.”

Zhang Yuxu kicked him.

Peng Shiqii asked, “How much silver do we have left?”

Zhang Yuxu said, “Enough to make it to Jizhou. But we should find a way to earn a bit more along the road.”

Peng Shiqii thought about it and asked, “What kind of business could we do to earn money?”

Zhang Yuxu squinted at Peng Shiqii and curved his mouth in a way that immediately made Peng Shiqii uneasy.

Zhang Yuxu said, “I could sell you. Then you run away and find me again.”

Peng Shiqii spat. “Setting aside why I’d be the one getting sold — who’d even buy me? I’m useless at everything. I can outeat anyone. Who’d buy me for a pet?”

Zhang Yuxu’s smile turned lewd.

“A pet’s exactly right. You’re seventeen.”

Peng Shiqii thought about it. His face went red. He cursed, “Have you no shame!”

Zhang Yuxu said, “Still, it’s not the worst plan…”

—

An hour later, in the county seat.

Zhang Yuxu and Peng Shiqii stopped in a crowded spot. Zhang Yuxu gave a look, and Peng Shiqii immediately collapsed, convulsing violently on the ground.

Zhang Yuxu rushed over and said loudly, “Stranger, what’s the matter with you? That looks serious!”

Peng Shiqii flailed his limbs, then a moment later his eyes rolled back, foam appeared at the corners of his mouth, and he went still.

Zhang Yuxu produced a medicine vial — rather than reviving the patient, he lifted it and announced, “As you can see, this man has nearly lost all breath. Fortunately, I carry the miraculous elixir of Longhu Mountain — just one pill can bring a person back from the edge of death.”

He tipped out a pill and fed it into Peng Shiqii’s mouth. A moment later Peng Shiqii sat up, wide-eyed.

“What — what happened to me? Did I just die? Who saved me?!”

Zhang Yuxu held up the jade vial and called out in a ringing voice, “This is what saved you. This is my carefully refined medicinal elixir. One pill is all it takes to bring a man back from death’s door.”

After the two of them had put on quite a performance, they looked up and found their only audience was a bearded man standing there watching.

Zhang Yuxu asked, “Brother, you’ve just witnessed a miracle with your own eyes.”

The bearded man looked at him, chuckled warmly, and said a single phrase.

Then walked away.

Peng Shiqii sighed. “That trick doesn’t work.”

Just then, a wail broke out ahead of them. An old man had suddenly collapsed — apparently having fainted.

Zhang Yuxu sprinted over, parted the onlookers, crouched beside the old man, took his wrist, and asked the sobbing young girl beside him, “What happened to the old man?”

The girl called out to the old man as she spoke. “Grandfather hasn’t eaten anything for several days. He fainted just now while we were walking.”

Zhang Yuxu quickly took out the same vial. The pills were large — each one the size of a pigeon’s egg. He broke one open, dissolved several in water, and fed the mixture to the old man.

Not long after, the old man stirred, smacked his lips, and looked at his granddaughter in puzzlement. “Did someone kind feed me some porridge?”

Zhang Yuxu couldn’t even manage a blush, though he also didn’t have the nerve to claim he’d given the old man a miraculous divine elixir.

—

Half an hour later.

Peng Shiqii glanced at Zhang Yuxu. “We didn’t earn anything, and you’ve spent almost all your money on those two. I don’t think we can afford a single bun between us now.”

Zhang Yuxu sighed. “Saving people…”

Peng Shiqii looked at the large vial still in Zhang Yuxu’s hand. He tipped it and shook it. Three or four pellets rolled out.

“Even the corn flour’s almost gone…”

Just then, the fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl came running back, calling after them. They turned. She ran up and bowed deeply before them both.

“Thank you, benefactors, for saving his life.”

Zhang Yuxu quickly waved it off. “Not at all, not at all.”

The girl kept thanking them. Peng Shiqii said, “You’re in a hard way too. Was the silver we gave you enough? We have a bit more here if you need it.”

He reached over and took Zhang Yuxu’s coin purse, pressing it into the girl’s hands. “Take your grandfather somewhere to rest and recover. He’s old — don’t have him out on the road again so soon.”

Then he looked at the remaining pellets in the vial and stuffed those into the girl’s hands too. “If you get hungry, eat a few of these…”

The girl bowed and thanked them again, then left. This time it was Zhang Yuxu’s turn to look at Peng Shiqii. “We had almost nothing left, and now you’ve given it all away.”

Peng Shiqii said, “Saving people…”

The two looked at each other. Zhang Yuxu sighed. “I suppose we’d better stop trying to swindle people. With our skill set… it doesn’t suit us.”

Just then, a man who looked like a merchant walked over and smiled. “You two are good-hearted folk. I happen to need people — I want to escort some goods to Jizhou. If you’re willing, the pay won’t be lacking.”

Peng Shiqii asked, “Carrying what?”

The merchant replied, “I’m a buyer for Yongning Tongyuan Carriage Company in Jizhou City. I’ve just purchased a batch of medicinal materials to bring back.”

Peng Shiqii looked at Zhang Yuxu. “Feed us, pay us.”

Zhang Yuxu nodded. “We’re in.”

—