First thing the next morning, Yu Jiuling prepared to say his goodbyes and leave. He had barely slept the previous night, spending nearly the entire night sitting against the window in a daze. Before daylight had even arrived, he had already finished packing for the journey. What he most wanted to do was not actually go to the capital, Daxing — it was to return to Tang County and see whether there was any news.

Even knowing there couldn’t possibly be any good news, he couldn’t let it go. If a person could so easily let go of another person, they wouldn’t be human.

“I must be going.”

Yu Jiuling bowed to Li Diudiu and the others. “May we meet again someday. The kindness and warmth you’ve shown me is engraved in my heart. No need to see me off — let us part here.”

Li Diudiu said, “We’ll definitely see each other again.”

Yu Jiuling smiled. “Those who live will meet again. May everyone fare well.”

He clasped his hands in farewell, turned, and strode away.

Li Diudiu glanced at his master, Changmei Daoren. Changmei was also looking at him. The two of them looked at each other until they both shrugged at the same moment, then smiled at the same moment.

“Does your heart ache?” Changmei asked Li Diudiu.

Li Diudiu shook his head. “I thought it would. But not even a little. Strange.”

Changmei smiled and said, “I thought I wouldn’t ache at all, but I do ache. Also rather strange.”

After saying this both of them laughed again. The mention of whether or not their hearts ached was because Li Diudiu had asked his master Changmei to take out the remaining three hundred taels of silver notes. Li Diudiu thought about it and left a hundred taels for his master — after all, they still needed to keep staying at inns, and who knew when they might get their hands on several hundred taels again. The other two hundred he gave to Yu Jiuling.

Just the travel expenses to the capital would cost Yu Jiuling several taels of silver, and he would have to live frugally; the remaining money would all go toward settling the innkeeper’s family. Zhiyinjiu had most likely already been sealed and its assets confiscated. The mother and child with no income would have nothing to live on.

Fortunately the innkeeper had saved some silver — roughly a few dozen taels — and with the two hundred taels Li Diudiu had given, that was more than enough to live on for many years. Living normal days, a family’s annual expenses came to about seven or eight taels; even with two people and some extra incidentals, three hundred taels or so would be enough to raise the innkeeper’s wife’s child to adulthood.

“A month at an inn costs roughly two or three taels of silver. A hundred taels is more than enough for years. No need to worry.”

Changmei patted Li Diudiu on the shoulder. “Can’t buy a house now, but someday you will.”

Li Diudiu said, “Don’t put that much pressure on me. I’m still a child.”

Changmei laughed. “You’re already taller than my shoulders.”

Li Diudiu said, “So you intend to pile all the heavy burdens onto these still-tender young shoulders of mine?”

Changmei said, “You always say you’re tender and young. Every part of you is tender and young, except your scheming mind.”

Changmei laughed heartily at that, then as the laughter faded he went quiet. They watched Yu Jiuling’s figure gradually disappear at the edge of their vision. Even though they had been laughing moments ago, neither of them felt at ease inside.

A fine tavern. A fine family. A fine life — just like that, changed forever.

For Yu Jiuling, perhaps even the purpose of his life would change. His original intention had been to protect his home, to protect the innkeeper’s livelihood — that was why he had wanted to join the army, to achieve something, to rise above others.

But now, all of that was yesterday gone by — impossible to return to.

Just then Xiahou Zuo came from a distance. He had not returned all night and was worried about Li Diudiu and the others. He came jogging over by which point Yu Jiuling was already far away. He looked at Li Diudiu and the others, then looked in the direction they had just been watching. After a brief pause he asked, “Gone?”

“Gone.”

“Then gone he is.”

Xiahou Zuo let out a long breath and looked toward Li Diudiu. “I guessed you gave him the silver.”

Li Diudiu said, “If you guessed right, your reward is buying us breakfast.”

Xiahou Zuo sighed. “My pockets are even emptier than yours. Have you already forgotten that I spent all my money in Tang County?”

Li Diudiu said, “You, a genuine scoundrel, and you’ve run out of money?”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Don’t you know how hard the life of a scoundrel like me is — living at others’ mercy? The academy is on break right now, and those fellows have no place to go squeeze money from, which means I have no place to go squeeze money from. It’s the lean season between harvests…”

Li Diudiu burst out laughing, then looked toward his master. His master was pressing the hundred-tael note firmly back into his clothing, shielding it tightly.

Li Diudiu said, “See — my end of things is also rather difficult.”

Yan Qingzhi sighed from nearby. “Do you two think I’m terribly poor?”

Xiahou Zuo and Li Diudiu nodded at the same time.

Yan Qingzhi said, “Fine… you’re right, but I can still afford one breakfast. Tell me: what do you want to eat?”

Li Diudiu raised his hand. “Braised pork offal with flatbread!”

“Let’s go!”

Yan Qingzhi waved his hand grandly. “Off to eat!”

At the same time, back in Tang County.

The martial arts hall had kept its doors closed for two days, not daring to open. The Surveillance Bureau men were still in the county town and had not left. Although it had nothing to do with Tang Deep’s case, they didn’t dare wander out carelessly.

Gu Weishan’s disciple came back from buying breakfast outside and shared what he had learned. Upon hearing that the Zhiyinjiu tavern they had just recently visited had been sealed with official notices, everyone let out sighs of lament.

“Master.”

Gu Weishan looked toward Tang Deep and said, “I still have some savings. If I sell this property as well, I can raise some more money. I’m thinking of leaving Tang County. What do you say to heading north together?”

“Why?”

Tang Deep was taken aback and quickly urged, “If Tang Pidi and I have brought trouble to you, we can leave today. You don’t need to sell off your home and livelihood.”

“No, no, that’s not it.”

Gu Weishan hurried to explain. “Master, listen to me. Tang County is not safe here. In less than half a month it will be time to collect the summer grain harvest. Those bandits will certainly come. The garrison soldiers from Laihu County can’t be counted on, and the local troops in Tang County number only a hundred or so — mostly men who eat and do nothing, more than half of them old, weak, sick, or feeble. They couldn’t hold off bandits at all.”

“Rather than waiting here for death, we should make plans early. Master… my original thought was to head south — after all, the closer to the capital, the more stable things are. But looking at things now, there are bandits running rampant everywhere. If anything, heading north and getting closer to the frontier is where bandits dare not run wild.”

Tang Deep let out a long sigh upon hearing this.

The bandits didn’t dare approach the frontier not because those murderers and arsonists feared provoking Dachu’s frontier army, but because they were even more afraid of the Black Martial people to the north.

“Master.”

Gu Weishan said, “Yesterday I was already talking with a friend. He knows a merchant who happens to be looking to acquire property in Tang County. I’ve already agreed to sell the property to him today. We can set out first thing tomorrow morning, heading northwest toward the grasslands. Once past Yanshan Mountain there are no more bandits. I have a friend on the grasslands; we can settle there for a few years. Daizou is not far from there, and if it becomes stable again, we can go back and take a look.”

Tang Deep turned to his only son Tang Pidi and asked, “Pidi, what do you think?”

Tang Pidi said, “I’ll follow whatever Elder Brother arranges.”

Tang Deep nodded. “If we’re heading to the grasslands, it’s not without purpose. Once there, observe how the steppe cavalry is trained — study their equestrian and archery skills.”

Tang Pidi bowed his head. “Your son will obey your command.”

And so it was settled. Gu Weishan sold his property at a low price. This was not Jizhou — real estate prices here were nothing like that. Taking their saved silver, the three of them traveled light and simple. Gu Weishan had no wife or children, and his disciples could not very well abandon their families and follow him to the grasslands, so the parting was rather hasty.

Tang Pidi headed north to the grasslands; Yu Jiuling headed south to the capital. But Li Diudiu in Jizhou City still had to stay in Jizhou.

He had only just entered the Four-Page Academy not long ago. His future was here, waiting for him. Even though he couldn’t see clearly what that future held, he couldn’t betray ten years of his master’s devotion.

They finished breakfast. Li Diudiu let out a satisfied breath. The braised pork offal seller’s proprietor was bewildered — it was the first time he had seen a child this size put away six bowls.

Even the hardest-working laborers who made their living with their bodies, eating their fill, would be stuffed to bursting after four bowls. Yet this child, after finishing his fourth bowl, had looked at him with a face that clearly said *I want more, give me more.*

“Diudiu.”

Xiahou Zuo suddenly thought of something and smiled. “I just thought of a way to make money.”

Li Diudiu asked immediately, “What is it?”

Xiahou Zuo said, “With an appetite like yours, the output of a certain other kind must also be quite considerable…”

Li Diudiu: “Get out of here.”

He asked Xiahou Zuo, “Who did you go see last night? The Military Governor?”

“Yes, and more. I thought about it — if I only saw the Military Governor, when my father found out he’d be both disappointed and angry again, feeling his son is closer to other people. Even though I… in the end, I am still his son, aren’t I?”

“So I mentioned it to him as well when I went back. The Military Governor said if the Surveillance Bureau people come asking, he’ll handle it. My father told me: you don’t need to worry about it.”

Li Diudiu smiled and said, “So spend more time with him from now on. You’re going to the northern frontier next year, and he definitely won’t be happy about it, and you definitely haven’t told him yet — so visit him a few more times this year…”

“Hmph…”

Xiahou Zuo knocked him on the head. “You’re not grown, but you manage plenty.”

Li Diudiu pursed his lips.

Yan Qingzhi said thoughtfully, “Since we’ve eaten, we should still go back to the academy. We should tell the Principal what happened. If he learns that something has befallen Master Yuming, he’ll surely be grieved as well.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Yesterday I asked the Military Governor. He said the Recordkeeping Bureau has already taken over Master Yuming’s case and will arrange for a large escort to accompany him to the capital. Master Yuming has evidence in hand. The Recordkeeping Bureau can work with it — how much they can ultimately achieve still depends on the Emperor.”

Yan Qingzhi nodded. “In that case, when I speak to the Principal, I can at least feel somewhat less heavy-hearted.”

They were sitting at a roadside stall eating when, just as they were saying this, they watched a troop of elite Recordkeeping Bureau cavalry escort a carriage past them. By the size of the escort it must have been several hundred strong — in all likelihood the person in the carriage was Master Yuming.

And at just this moment, Master Yuming was feeling stifled inside and opened the carriage window. He saw Li Diudiu and the others watching from the roadside at a glance. The moment Li Diudiu and the others saw Master Yuming, they were all startled — after just one night without seeing him, how had Master Yuming’s hair turned completely white?

When Master Yuming saw them, a glimmer of joy passed through his eyes, but it was quickly overwhelmed by sorrow. Li Diudiu and the others saw it clearly: there was not a trace of ease in Master Yuming’s expression.

At that moment, Master Yuming suddenly laughed a few times, and then called out several lines in a loud voice.

*”If no parting grief dwelt in these eyes, I would not believe the world could turn one’s hair to white.”*

*”Though I know already that mountains have blocked the way, I lean again and again upon the railing, helpless against myself.”*

After saying this, the Master Yuming inside the carriage clasped his hands and bowed to Li Diudiu and the others. Li Diudiu and the others all stood at solemn attention and returned the salute.

In that moment, it was as though they were bidding farewell for this lifetime.

Alas — it was not *as though*.

It was truly a farewell for this lifetime.

—