Linbing County.

Yu Jiuling and Peng Shiqī had been crouching in the undergrowth for nearly an hour before they finally spotted a likely target.

Five or six figures in grey Daoist robes strolled past, laughing and talking among themselves. Listening in, what they were saying amounted to which girls in town were pretty and how they might go about having them “serve the Divine Soldiers.”

Yu Jiuling shot Peng Shiqī a look. Peng Shiqī gave a nod, then burst out of the undergrowth and bellowed: “Stand and deliver!”

The so-called Divine Soldiers were utterly dumbfounded. This was the first time anyone had ever dared to block their path.

Peng Shiqī said: “Quick — take off your clothes!”

They were even more baffled.

Yu Jiuling seized the moment and came up from behind, driving his blade home one by one. After three or four had slumped down gurgling, the remaining two only then realized something was wrong — but by the time they turned around, it was too late.

Yu Jiuling’s martial skill might not have ranked among the best in Li Chi’s group, but he was more than sufficient against this kind of rabble.

And he was fast.

The last two were left unfinished because they needed their clothes. He and Peng Shiqī moved in and beat them down with their fists and feet instead.

Working swiftly, they dragged the bodies into the undergrowth and stripped off the robes. Yu Jiuling’s fit reasonably well; on Peng Shiqī, the grey robe was stretched to its limits.

Peng Shiqī came out twisting uncomfortably, belly sucked in, not daring to breathe.

Yu Jiuling said: “What are you so nervous about? You look like you’re up to something. Act natural.”

“Natural?” said Peng Shiqī.

He relaxed his stomach. With a tearing sound, the robe split open along a seam — turning into a midriff-baring affair.

Yu Jiuling laughed. “Well, that’s quite a look.”

Peng Shiqī asked: “We’re going in like this?”

Yu Jiuling said: “Exactly like this. The more brazen you are, the less anyone suspects.”

Peng Shiqī tore a strip of grey cloth from one of the bodies and wrapped it around his face.

Yu Jiuling said: “What good is covering your face when your belly is hanging out?”

Peng Shiqī said with perfect solemnity: “As long as the face is covered, it doesn’t matter if it’s the belly that’s showing. Hell, it could be anything else — no one will know it’s me.”

Yu Jiuling thought about this seriously and came to the disturbing conclusion that there was actually some weird logic to it.

He asked curiously: “Even really anything else — you wouldn’t care?”

Peng Shiqī said earnestly: “As long as no one takes a ruler to it, who’s to know who I am?”

Yu Jiuling kicked him: “Stop putting on airs!”

And just like that, the two of them walked into Linbing County. They were anxious at first, afraid of being found out.

But as they made their way along, every townsperson they passed bowed to them. Not a soul showed any suspicion, and their nerves settled considerably.

“They don’t dare question us,” Peng Shiqī murmured to Yu Jiuling. “Let’s find someone to ask — say we’re from another county and we’ve come to make a report.”

Yu Jiuling gave a sound of agreement and scanned for a suitable target.

A few townspeople had just come out of a nearby courtyard. Yu Jiuling jerked his head; Peng Shiqī understood instantly, and the two walked over.

The townspeople immediately bent low in greeting the moment they approached.

“Greetings, honored Divine Soldiers.”

Peng Shiqī gave a lofty nod. “A question. We two have come from Yuanzi County to report to the Grand Divine Official. Can you tell us where the Grand Divine Official may be found?”

An elderly man among them answered at once: “In answer to the honored Divine Soldiers, the Grand Divine Official is at the magistrate’s court.”

Peng Shiqī made a sound of acknowledgment. “And where do the Divine Soldiers lodge? We’ll need to rest there shortly.”

The old man pointed in a direction. “There’s a large compound over there. All the honored Divine Soldiers rest there — you’ll see the tents and banners.”

Peng Shiqī nodded. “Understood.”

The old man glanced at Peng Shiqī’s midriff-baring robe. Peng Shiqī frowned. “What are you looking at? This is my divine power manifesting through my body.”

The old man was so startled he dropped to his knees. “Forgive me, forgive me, honored Divine Soldier, please have mercy.”

Peng Shiqī gave a disdainful snort, turned, and walked away.

Yu Jiuling murmured beside him: “When you used to roam the jianghu, were you always this good at putting on airs?”

Peng Shiqī said: “No, no. I was even better. There was this one time — a wealthy merchant hired me to drive out evil spirits. Said strange things were happening in his home, the whole household in a state of terror.”

He kept walking as he talked. “I asked what exactly was happening. They said every night, past midnight, a white shape would drift about the courtyard — it only ever went to the west wing.”

“The west wing was where the merchant’s concubine lived…”

Peng Shiqī gave Yu Jiuling a look.

Yu Jiuling caught the implication immediately: “Nothing but a secret tryst. Someone faking a ghost.”

Peng Shiqī grinned. “Well, well. You know quite a bit.”

Yu Jiuling: “Get on with it… how did you handle it?”

Peng Shiqī said: “I had the merchant say nothing to anyone in the west wing about hiring me. That night, I put on a woman’s red skirt, painted my face white as a sheet, and bit down on a fake blood-red tongue…”

“When the time came, the fake ghost crept in under cover of darkness. I didn’t do anything — just let the two of them carry on. They were in the middle of quite vigorous activity when I stepped up right beside them. Didn’t say a word. Didn’t interrupt. Just stood there, watching.”

Yu Jiuling imagined the scene and felt a chill run down his spine.

“Then what?”

Peng Shiqī said: “After a while, I deliberately started breathing louder. The woman lying there looked over and spotted me. She let out an almighty shriek, and the man turned to look — and that was the end of him.”

Yu Jiuling burst out laughing.

Peng Shiqī said: “I just stood there staring at him and said: it’s been so long since I’ve met a male ghost. You’ve finished serving her — come serve me too.”

Yu Jiuling buried his face in his hands.

Peng Shiqī said: “The poor fellow was scared into a faint. After that, I collected my fee from the merchant and left. I never found out what happened in the end, but I imagine that even if the man wasn’t beaten to death, he was probably… well and truly finished.”

Yu Jiuling thought more about the sheer helplessness of being frightened out of your wits in that situation — the more he thought about it, the more appalling Peng Shiqī seemed.

Especially when he pictured Peng Shiqī in that getup — dressed as a female ghost, his general dimensions, a red skirt…

Peng Shiqī said: “There was one point where I made a mistake, though. When I opened my mouth to speak, I didn’t keep a tight enough grip on the fake tongue — it fell out.”

Yu Jiuling laughed: “If that fake tongue hadn’t dropped, the man wouldn’t have even fainted — you’d have scared him to death outright.”

The two of them talked as they walked, and by the time they were nearing the magistrate’s court, the grey-robed Divine Soldiers were appearing in ever greater numbers.

Even so, no one showed the slightest suspicion. The reason for this, it turned out, was another of Fang Yuzou’s schemes, designed to keep things running smoothly. Divine Soldiers recruited in Linbing County were posted elsewhere, while those recruited in other counties were stationed here to enforce the rules.

This ensured that those Divine Soldiers would have no ties to the local people — and would therefore have no hesitation in dealing harshly with them.

The two of them conferred briefly. Since no one suspected them, they might as well stroll right through the magistrate’s front gate.

Bold to the point of recklessness, they did exactly that — walking in through the main entrance.

Every Divine Soldier they met greeted them with a distinctive gesture that was apparently a custom they had invented themselves.

Left hand in a fist, thumb extended upright — something like a gesture meaning “you’re impressive” — then the right hand closing around that thumb, followed by a slight bow of the head.

Yu Jiuling and Peng Shiqī caught on quickly. The first time someone greeted them this way, they returned the gesture immediately. After that, they started giving it first, and anyone they met would return it without a second thought.

They passed through the front gate of the magistrate’s compound. Inside, a number of grey-robed Divine Soldiers were fashioning weapons, filling the air with a steady clanging.

They made their way toward the back, and soon reached the entrance to the main hall. In a single glance they saw a woman in red robes sitting inside, drinking.

The moment he spotted her, Peng Shiqī’s expression shifted slightly. He recognized her — he’d seen this woman back in Gao County.

He wheeled abruptly around.

But at that very moment, Que Nan had seen him too.

“You there!” she called out. “Stop right where you are!”

Both Yu Jiuling and Peng Shiqī tensed up inside — Peng Shiqī especially, imagining that if she recognized him, he’d likely be cut into pieces.

The two of them stopped where they were, not daring to turn around, just standing in place.

Que Nan grabbed her wine flask and came outside, walking in a weaving, unsteady line. She came up to Peng Shiqī and took one look at the midriff-baring robe.

“I cannot stand fat men. Especially fat Daoist men.”

Que Nan planted a kick on Peng Shiqī’s backside. “Can’t you find clothes that fit? Next time I see you looking like this, I’ll skin you alive.”

Peng Shiqī quickly bowed. “Yes, yes, my apologies. I’ll go find a proper outfit right away. The ones they issue really are too small.”

Que Nan’s brow arched sharply. “The clothes aren’t too small. You’re too fat.”

She reached out and began slapping Peng Shiqī’s exposed stomach with sharp, deliberate whacks.

“The clothes are too small? The clothes are too small?!”

Que Nan snapped: “The sight of you makes me furious. Get out of my sight, and don’t let me see you again.”

Yu Jiuling gave Peng Shiqī a hard kick from behind: “Aren’t you going to apologize?!”

Peng Shiqī dropped to his knees at once and said: “Yes, yes, it’s entirely my fault — I shouldn’t be this fat…”

Que Nan glanced at Yu Jiuling, feeling vaguely as if she’d seen him somewhere before. But she’d had too much to drink, and didn’t pay it much mind — assuming she must have crossed paths with him at some point.

“You’re quick on your feet,” she said to Yu Jiuling. “What’s your name?”

Yu Jiuling answered promptly: “In answer to the Divine Official, I am called Yu Shijiu.”

Peng Shiqī: “…”

Que Nan frowned. “Why such a terrible name?”

Yu Jiuling put on a helpless expression. “The name… it was given by my parents. I had no say in it…”

Que Nan was evidently drunk enough that, for some reason she could not have explained herself, she found Yu Jiuling somewhat agreeable to look at.

Under ordinary circumstances, that would have been completely impossible.

She kicked Peng Shiqī again. “Get lost.”

Peng Shiqī scrambled to his feet and bolted, glancing back at Yu Jiuling with an expression that said: aren’t you coming?

Yu Jiuling very much wanted to follow — but before he could take a step, Que Nan spoke.

“You — come inside. Massage my legs.”

Yu Jiuling’s inner reaction was: *ugh.*

He gave Peng Shiqī a look that said: you go ahead and report back, then followed with his most ingratiating manner in Que Nan’s wake into the main hall.

Peng Shiqī thought: is this woman blind?

Que Nan dropped into the chair with a thump, propped her legs up on the table before her, and said to Yu Jiuling: “What are you standing there for?”

Yu Jiuling bent down and began gently kneading her legs.

He sneaked a look at Que Nan’s face. She’d clearly already had quite a lot to drink — her face was flushed, though she didn’t look too bad overall.

Que Nan slouched sideways in the chair, eyes closed. “I said massage, not knead.”

Yu Jiuling thought to himself… *but kneading is so much more interesting.*

He didn’t dare say that aloud, of course.