By the time Li Chi’s company entered Liangzhou City that afternoon and settled into the large compound, the sun was already westering toward dusk.

Outside the compound, Liangzhou army soldiers had been posted in a ring — not only at the gate, but on the streets surrounding the compound on every side.

Yu Jiuling climbed up to the top of the wall and peered out. Someone heard the sound, turned to look — and moments later, a crossbow was leveled at her, and a soldier barked at her to get back down.

Yu Jiuling, furious, shouted that she was a friend of their Young General — why were they treating guests like this?

The Liangzhou soldiers paid her no mind whatsoever. Bolts trained on her, they looked perfectly ready to shoot her full of arrows the moment she made any attempt to vault over the wall.

Of course Yu Jiuling wasn’t going to gamble with her own life. Angry as she was, she climbed back down.

She returned to the courtyard and sat on the steps, seething.

—

At the same time, in the General’s residence.

Dantai Qi came to see his father. He walked quickly, then dropped to both knees with a thud.

“Your unworthy son comes to pay respects to his father.”

Dantai Qi was genuinely moved — yet kept his face composed and snorted, pausing deliberately before speaking.

“You still know how to come home, do you.”

“The fault is entirely mine,” Dantai Qi said. “Father, please don’t be angry.”

Dantai Qi walked to his son and extended a hand. Dantai Qi — the son — blinked, visibly thrown off, clearly unaccustomed to this. After a moment, he extended his own hand, and father and son’s hands clasped together.

Dantai Qi the elder helped his son to his feet, then looked him up and down, carefully and thoroughly, and finally made a dismissive sound: “How did you get so dark?”

When he had left Liangzhou, he had been a graceful young gentleman in fine robes — fair-skinned, handsome, with an air of uncommon refinement. In Liangzhou, who had not known the name of the dashing Dantai son?

Now he was back — darker, skin roughened, and most noticeably, none of his former care and meticulousness about his appearance. In the old days, he would never have tolerated clothes like this on his body. Even a trace of mud would have sent him off to change.

“Different, though,” Dantai Qi the elder said. “You seem steadier.”

Dantai Qi said quickly: “It’s all the influence of my companions. On this journey I made many excellent friends — true heroes, every one of them.”

Standing to one side, Helian Lian couldn’t hold back. He said with undisguised displeasure: “Young General, you’d best have less to do with those people in future. A pack of rebel outlaws — beneath the Young General’s standing.”

At those words, Dantai Qi’s expression changed at once. Something flashed through his mind and he wheeled on Helian Lian: “What have you done with them?!”

Helian Lian was startled by the sudden fury. In the past — how had the Young General ever turned on him over a handful of rebels?

Before leaving Liangzhou, the Young General had spoken of rebels with nothing but contempt. He had even declared that if he ever led an army, he would slaughter every rebel under heaven.

Now he had come back, not only having befriended some rebels, but having turned on Helian Lian because of them… Helian Lian could only imagine that the Young General had been deceived and manipulated by those people.

Helian Lian said: “Young General — these are people of rebellious standing. If the common folk were to learn that the Young General associated with them, it would harm your reputation.”

He paused, then continued: “So I arranged for them to stay in the empty compound on the east side of the city. They are not permitted to go out freely or to mingle with others. I was concerned that if they went around talking, it might create misunderstandings among the people.”

Dantai Qi said furiously: “There is no misunderstanding. They are rebels — yes. But they are my friends.”

“Jing’er!”

Dantai Qi the elder’s anger snapped like a whip: “What is the meaning of those words!”

Dantai Qi turned to face his father. “Black Wu raids the frontier at Xinzhou and Daizhou — two frontier passes in crisis — and the court sends not one soldier, Jizhou sends not one soldier. Yet it was these so-called rebels who fought to the death to hold those passes.”

“Wicked men stir up chaos, hiding behind the banner of spreading doctrine to harm the people. The local officials who should have dealt with the matter are in league with those wicked men. And yet it was these people who protected the innocent and brought order to the region.”

He looked at his father and said: “Father, I ask you — by that measure, who is more like a rebel, the Jizhou army, or them? Who is more like a rebel, the local officials, or them?”

Helian Lian said: “Young General, you must have been deceived by those rebels. Whatever they may have done, they are outlaws at their core — you shouldn’t speak up for them.”

“They’re outlaws?”

Dantai Qi could barely contain the fury building in him. He looked at Helian Lian and said loudly: “From Xinzhou Pass to Shanbei Pass — a thousand li from east to west — every single frontier garrison’s food, clothing, and supplies is being provided by them. Grain and goods, even military pay!”

He glared at Helian Lian. “You tell me — is that what outlaws do?!”

Helian Lian opened his mouth. After a pause he said: “It’s nothing but a trick to mislead people. A contemptible scheme by treacherous rebels…”

Dantai Qi grabbed Helian Lian by the front of his robes. Helian Lian flinched, a flash of fear crossing his eyes.

“I never imagined you were a man so incapable of telling right from wrong.”

Dantai Qi released him and shoved him back.

Dantai Qi the elder said in a dark voice: “Jing’er — you’ve gone too far!”

Dantai Qi turned and walked toward the door. “If Father also believes they are rebels, then your son can only tell you this: when they killed enemies, I was there. When they sowed grain and worked the land, I was there. When they gave aid to the people, I was there as well.”

As he walked he said loudly: “If they are rebels, then so am I. If Father wishes to deal with them, deal with me as well!”

With that he was already striding out the door, not looking back.

“You — how dare you!”

Dantai Qi the elder’s roar shook the hall.

From the courtyard, Dantai Qi shouted back: “This journey has taught me little else — but I have become quite good at daring.”

Dantai Qi the elder charged to the doorway. “Where are you going!”

Dantai Qi didn’t turn around. As he walked he called back: “My rebel brothers are all locked up by your men. I’m a rebel too — only right that I should be locked up alongside them.”

He left the General’s residence, reclaimed his horse, then grabbed his broken lance — looked at it for a moment, then tossed it back to a soldier: “Return it to my father.”

He urged his horse forward.

—

Before long, Dantai Qi arrived at the gate of the large compound. The soldiers posted there saw it was the Young General and immediately saluted.

“Out of my way.”

Dantai Qi cursed the gatekeepers, kicked the gate open, and strode inside.

Hearing the commotion at the gate, Li Chi and the others hurried over — and saw Dantai Qi entering with fury written across his face. No one quite knew what had happened.

Seeing Li Chi and the others, the anger on Dantai Qi’s face instantly gave way to guilt. For a moment he didn’t know what to say.

He walked quickly to them, clasped his hands, and bowed: “I’ve wronged all of you. The fault is mine. Curse me if you want.”

Li Chi said: “Cursing isn’t enough — you’re going to be beaten.”

He pointed at Dantai Qi: “Ninth Younger Sister — hit him. Give him a proper hammering with those little fists of yours.”

Yu Jiuling snickered, skipped forward, and commenced pummeling Dantai Qi in rapid succession — looking every bit the insufferable little pest.

Dantai Qi said: “I…”

Li Chi said: “You’ve been beaten — there’s nothing more to say.”

Yu Jiuling laughed: “Alright, alright — do you think any of us don’t know you feel awful? And who here was really going to take it personally?”

Mister Yan said: “Exactly — what couple has a grudge that lasts the night?”

Everyone turned to look at Mister Yan.

Even Ruoling’s eyes went wide, thinking to herself: *Is Mister Yan… letting his true nature show? There’s something almost endearing about it.*

—

Just as they were talking, the sound of horses came from outside — hooves thundering like drums, a sizeable party approaching.

Commander Dantai Qi came riding up to the compound gate, with Helian Lian and the other officers all behind him, and a company of Liangzhou elite cavalry at the rear.

Dantai Qi the son turned to face the gate. He stood in front of Li Chi and the others.

Dantai Qi the elder dismounted and entered the compound, his expression dark as iron. Dozens of officers and adjutants followed behind him. And beyond them, the Liangzhou soldiers — bristling with fighting spirit.

Li Chi said quietly: “Observe proper courtesy.”

Whatever one might say, this was Dantai Qi’s father. If things truly turned ugly, the one who would suffer most was Dantai Qi himself.

“Jing’er — come here!”

Dantai Qi the elder’s voice cracked like a command.

Dantai Qi’s son, however, was unusually obstinate. In the past, even though father and son found little to say to each other and quarreled whenever they were together, he had never disobeyed a direct order from his father. He simply disliked his father’s rigid sternness — disliked that his father seemed to look down on him at every turn — but he was not, at his core, a disrespectful or disloyal son.

Before this journey, Dantai Qi had always been supremely arrogant — and in truth, within the Liangzhou army, no one was his match. Yet his father always called him a frog at the bottom of a well.

Now that he had come back, Dantai Qi knew that he had indeed been a frog at the bottom of a well. He accepted his father’s judgment.

And yet now, the conflict seemed even sharper.

He looked at his father, and for the first time, defied his father’s command.

Dantai Qi said loudly: “Father always said that a true man of character must take responsibility for his actions. If I were to crawl to my knees in front of Father right now and beg forgiveness — accepting his assessment — what kind of man would I be? What kind of responsibility would that be?”

Dantai Qi the elder’s hand trembled slightly, tightening around the riding crop.

Helian Lian quickly pleaded: “Young General, what is the point of all this? These people have nothing but tricks for manipulating people — don’t let them lead you astray any further. Come over here. Don’t anger the Commander.”

Dantai Qi’s son laughed — the cold laugh of someone pushed past their limit.

He said with a cold smile: “You say they’re nothing but frauds and swindlers. Then do you dare test yourself against them?”

Helian Lian already had nothing but contempt for these rebels. He and all the others were men raised from proper military stock, and Dantai Qi the elder ran a tight command — to such soldiers, rebels were naturally objects of absolute contempt.

At Dantai Qi’s words, he said at once: “Why would I hesitate? Young General should ask whether *they* dare!”

Dantai Qi’s son looked toward Li Chi. Li Chi lowered his voice: “Don’t let things get any more strained between you and your father. Go over and speak with him properly. We’ll leave Liangzhou tomorrow. That’s all.”

Dantai Qi said: “If you leave, I leave with you.”

Li Chi said: “Don’t. If you just walk away, you’ll regret it and grieve later. He is your father. Don’t say things in the heat of the moment that you can’t take back.”

Dantai Qi said: “My mind is made up.”

Li Chi said: “Stow it.”

Dantai Qi: “…”

Seeing Li Chi and Dantai Qi speaking in low voices, Helian Lian assumed Li Chi and his people didn’t dare face him in a test of skill — which only deepened his contempt.

Helian Lian raised a hand and pointed at Li Chi’s group: “These people here — if any of them have real ability, defeat me and I’ll get on my knees and beg forgiveness right in front of them!”

At that moment, from beyond the outer gate, a voice replied in a level tone.

“With your standing — you think you’re worthy of our chief taking the field himself?”

Tang Pidi was carrying a bundle on his back, with a dozen or so followers behind him. Somehow he had found his way here to this gate.

Tang Pidi walked unhurriedly into the compound. The Liangzhou army soldiers moved to stop him. He swept a glance over them and said in an even voice: “Is this the manner of the Liangzhou army?”

Helian Lian barked: “Let him through!”

Tang Pidi walked through, took one look at Helian Lian, and gave a slight shake of his head.

He found his place in the open ground, nodded at Li Chi with a smile, then turned to look toward Dantai Qi the elder’s side and said: “I came to fetch our chief home. So please make it quick — don’t come at me one at a time. Come all at once. I’m in a hurry.”

—