The summer of Youzhou city seemed beautiful as well. If a person could settle into ease, perhaps they would discover beauty in more places.

Nature holds a remarkable power — the green of one tree and the green of another are not, in fact, the same shade. Only then does one realize that a single color is not just one color. What you call green encompasses many greens; what you call red encompasses many reds.

The effect of color is probably somewhat greater for men.

Take, for instance, the new shades of lip rouge a cosmetics shop has just introduced — women are delighted. But if you ask a man to describe what shade of red each one is, he would likely be at a complete loss.

If you showed a man many different shades of red and asked which he preferred, he would probably wave you off with a random answer. But if you showed him many different shades of green and asked the same question — he would probably not prefer any of them, and might feel like hitting someone.

Which is why the ancients said: red and green are hard to pair.

Li Chi was only now beginning to understand just how many shades red could come in.

Inside the largest cosmetics shop in Youzhou, when the proprietor spread dozens of varieties of lip rouge before Li Chi, Li Chi felt certain he must be looking at an illusion.

He had come to buy gifts for Gao Xining. Though he had not mentioned it before setting out, she had known — Li Chi would certainly go to buy them.

Ever since their arrival in the Yan Mountains, the young women there had had nowhere to go for even a stroll, and so their lives had grown somewhat rough and plain. Now that he had come to a great city like Youzhou, Li Chi naturally would not return empty-handed. And so, before he had left, Gao Xining had told him: don’t only bring a gift for her.

If he was going to buy, then everyone should have one, and the amounts should all be equal.

In that moment, Gao Xining had looked rather like a mother gently teaching her dim-witted son how to pursue a girl.

Though this particular mother had also never been pursued before, and had very little experience in the matter — still, she thought things through considerably more thoroughly than Li Chi.

“Did Miss Gao actually say to bring a gift for every single person?”

Mister Yan asked.

He was thinking that perhaps he should bring something for Miss Ruoling too. That young woman had shed half her body weight for his sake — the difficulty of that process had not escaped Mister Yan’s notice.

From a stout, powerfully built woman who wielded a great hammer as her weapon, she had become a fair-skinned, lovely woman with long legs who still wielded a great hammer as her weapon. The transformation had been grueling, and it moved him.

A girl in the first bloom of youth treating him with such devotion — he truly felt both touched and guilty.

He asked Li Chi only as a small probe. If Li Chi said yes, Mister Yan was thinking perhaps he need not buy separately — or perhaps he could buy an extra portion and see if it would make Miss Ruoling twice as happy.

Li Chi said: “That’s right. She said if you’re going to buy, buy for everyone — not just the younger girls. Dry Mother, Auntie Wu, and Madame Sun all need to be included.”

Mister Yan suddenly thought of something, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

He said: “I have a feeling that Gao Xining is diligently training you to be a scoundrel.”

Li Chi froze, and when he thought back over things, it did rather seem that way.

He said to Mister Yan: “She also told me to memorize the names of all the different lip rouge shades, so I’ll know for the future… and not just the lip rouge — the face powder too, and other things. She wants me to memorize all of it.”

Mister Yan looked at those dozens of lip rouge shades and shook his head: “I would sooner memorize a catalogue of weapons.”

He said to Li Chi: “With so many to choose from — how does one even begin? Difficult. Difficult. So very difficult.”

Li Chi said: “Not difficult.”

He asked the proprietor: “If you added up the value of everything in your shop, roughly how much would it come to?”

This was confidence. This was bearing.

The proprietor blinked, instinctively scanned his own shop, then asked with careful deference: “Esteemed customer — are you looking to purchase my entire shop?”

Li Chi replied with nonchalant ease: “No. I only want to know what everything here adds up to.”

The proprietor deliberated carefully and arrived at an approximate figure: “Seven or eight thousand taels of silver, at least.”

Mister Yan looked at Li Chi. Li Chi gave an embarrassed smile: “In that case — let us discuss the price of each item individually.”

Mister Yan: “Hmph.”

Just then, Luo Jing, who had been standing to the side, asked: “Are you buying this out for your future wife?”

Li Chi said: “You know how it is — the mountains have nothing.”

Luo Jing nodded and looked at the proprietor. The proprietor hadn’t recognized Luo Jing, but sensed that this man was distinguished and commanding — clearly a figure of consequence. The way Luo Jing phrased the question, then looked at him, strongly implied he was about to pay on behalf of the man who had just asked — so the proprietor grew tense again, and barely concealed his excitement.

In these times, business was not easy, even in Youzhou, where customers were plentiful. But who didn’t want to land a big sale now and then?

Seeing the proprietor’s eager and expectant gaze, Luo Jing clasped his hands behind his back, smiled serenely, and said: “I’m not buying either. I was just asking him.”

Mister Yan watched it happen clearly — the light in the proprietor’s eyes went from earnest anticipation to absolutely nothing.

“Load it in the cart.”

Li Chi suddenly said.

The proprietor blinked. He stared at Li Chi with bewilderment as Li Chi drew out several banknotes and handed them over.

The proprietor took them with trembling, excited hands — then his expression fell: “Sir, these are Jizhou banknotes.”

Li Chi then remembered — though these were Great Chu notes in principle redeemable anywhere, in the current state of the world, Jizhou banknotes in Youzhou were meaningless. As good as a stack of waste paper.

Luo Jing glanced at him, smiled, and said: “Give me the notes.”

Li Chi didn’t quite follow, but handed them over. Luo Jing pocketed the notes and turned to instruct his attendants: “Someone escort the proprietor to the General’s mansion to collect the silver.”

Then he looked at Li Chi: “When I get to Jizhou, I’ll redeem your notes there.”

Li Chi’s face lit up with gratitude. Luo Jing smiled: “No need for thanks — a small matter.”

Li Chi said: “No — you took too much.”

Luo Jing: “…”

Li Chi burst out laughing, then said to Luo Jing: “No need for this. I’ll handle it myself.”

He turned to Yu Jiuling: “Go get the gold leaves from the cart.”

Yu Jiuling went back to their carriage and opened the underside — there was a hidden compartment, which even Youzhou’s soldiers had failed to discover when they had confiscated the carriage. Yu Jiuling opened the compartment and pulled out a small chest, then brought it back into the shop and opened it — packed full of gold leaves.

These were what the Prince of Ease had once given to Li Chi — there was a great, great many of them.

Luo Jing saw all that gold and his eyes went a little wide. He had not expected Li Chi to be traveling with so much gold and silver on him.

Then he felt a faint prick of chagrin: “You — so guileless, and yet I was just about to do you a kindness by paying, making it a favor I was owed. And you won’t even let me have that small gesture.”

Li Chi said: “Anything else, perhaps. Not this.”

Luo Jing asked: “Why not?”

Li Chi said: “I’m buying this for my own woman. How could I use someone else’s silver?”

Luo Jing: “Your woman… needs this much?”

Li Chi said: “Everything I have is hers.”

Luo Jing was stunned.

Then he thought to himself — this man sets such store by his woman. Perhaps I overestimated him. A man like this is unlikely to accomplish great things…

After settling up, there was still gold remaining in the chest. Yu Jiuling looked at Li Chi with great seriousness and said: “I would like to buy some things.”

Li Chi said: “Go ahead.”

Yu Jiuling nodded, then turned to Luo Jing and asked: “General Luo — do you know where in Youzhou city one might find someone raising pigs?”

Luo Jing was bewildered again.

Yu Jiuling said: “I intend to put theory into practice.”

Li Chi patted Yu Jiuling on the shoulder: “That’s the spirit!”

Luo Jing thought to himself — what in the hell is wrong with this entire group of people.

And so on the journey back to the Yan Mountains, the procession looked rather peculiar. The lead carts were piled with cosmetics and the like, along with bolts of fine silks and fabrics. The carts behind carried load after load of pigs, large and small, grunting and squealing all the way — which actually kept spirits from flagging.

Behind those, the carts bore the weapons, armor, and equipment extorted from Luo Jing. Luo Jing had even specifically dispatched several hundred cavalry to escort them on their way.

On the cart, Mister Yan had picked out a box of face powder and held out a tael of silver to Li Chi: “This one counts as my own purchase.”

Li Chi didn’t follow at first, and blinked at Mister Yan with those great eyes of his: “Sir — you actually use this kind of thing?”

Mister Yan: “Pah!”

Yu Jiuling said: “No wonder the sir’s complexion always looks so fine — so that’s how it is, you are that sort of sir.”

Mister Yan said: “Get lost.”

By now Li Chi had understood. He took the silver and pocketed it. Even Yu Jiuling was bewildered — he asked Li Chi: “You actually took it?”

Li Chi said: “Buying things for your own woman — how could you use someone else’s silver?”

Yu Jiuling still hadn’t pieced it together — but he saw Mister Yan’s face suddenly flush red.

In that instant, Yu Jiuling finally understood. His eyes went wide, filled with utter disbelief, as though he had just stumbled upon the ultimate secret of existence.

Because of this reaction, Mister Yan’s face grew even redder.

Yu Jiuling stared at Mister Yan. Mister Yan knew what Yu Jiuling was about to ask. He had already steeled himself — having purchased that box of face powder, if Yu Jiuling asked him directly, he would answer directly: *yes, I bought it for my woman.*

Yu Jiuling stared at Mister Yan with enormous eyes: “You… you are whose woman? You are actually a woman?!”

Li Chi booted Yu Jiuling off the cart with one kick. Mister Yan added another kick for good measure — so Yu Jiuling ended up with two bootprints on his backside.

Li Chi said to Mister Yan: “Going forward, when we recruit new people, we really ought to administer some kind of test for basic reasoning.”

Mister Yan nodded: “Indeed. Fortunately there aren’t many like him.”

Yu Jiuling picked himself up off the ground, rubbed his backside, and shamelessly came trotting back after them.

Youzhou City.

Standing on the city wall, Luo Jing watched the distant procession until it disappeared from view, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.

His most capable subordinate, Luo Zhijie, asked: “Young General — can this man truly be trusted?”

Luo Jing replied with a question: “Why do you feel he cannot be trusted?”

Luo Zhijie thought it over and answered: “This man seems somewhat mercenary, with a great many petty tricks, and so…”

Luo Jing said: “He lets every bit of his mercenary nature and every petty trick show plainly on the surface. Compared to a man who hides all his mercenary nature and petty tricks — is he not considerably more trustworthy?”

Luo Zhijie’s heart stirred — he felt the Young General’s words carried great depth.

“A man like him — the moment he comes to negotiate with you, you need not question whether he can be trusted.”

Luo Jing slowly exhaled: “In this world, there are not many people left who can be trusted the way he can be trusted. Because everything he wants is out in the open. What is not out in the open — he will not scheme for it… unless, that is, you are his enemy.”

Luo Zhijie laughed: “Still, it is of little consequence. A man who sets such store by his woman is unlikely to become any great threat.”

Luo Jing shook his head: “I was just thinking the same thing.”

After a moment he continued: “But that line of thinking must be wrong. I don’t know where the error is, yet it is certainly wrong.”

He gazed into the distance and said, almost to himself: “Perhaps that kind of logic holds for other men. Not for him. He is the one-of-a-kind sort.”

—