A pot of red broth and thinly sliced meat. Two jugs of aged wine. Du Yan ate and drank his fill, patted his stomach, and let out a long, slow breath.

He murmured to himself—*strange, with nothing left weighing on me, even the food goes down easier.*

Then he picked up the medicine bottle from the table. He knew what it was. The Tingwei Army’s final gesture of decency toward him.

*A whole corpse.*

There should have been more, and better, gestures of decency—but he had made the wrong choice. And it wasn’t a wrong choice made at the beginning; it was a wrong choice made when he finally came to his senses, and by then it was already too late.

The small jade bottle held medicinal pellets. One pellet was enough to kill a bull, let alone a man.

He tipped all the pellets out and swallowed them at once.

He rose slowly, walked toward the door of the interrogation room. No one blocked him.

He came to the doorway, and looked out—just in time to see the most beautiful sunset to the west.

Good. In this final moment, he had fine wine, fine food, and fine scenery. The world had not failed him. Only he had failed the world.

He sat down on the steps.

“The red broth was good.”

After those words, blood began to seep from the corner of his mouth.

Moments later, he died there, seated on the steps.

Not far away, Gao Xining looked toward that scene—just looked, for a long while, her chest heavy.

Lead Officer Yu Hongyi stood behind her, silent for a moment, then said, “Deputy Tingwei—it wasn’t your fault.”

Gao Xining nodded.

Before she had sent Yu Hongyi, Fang Xidao, and Shang Qingzhu to intercept Du Yan, she had even held out a private hope that Du Yan might come to her on his own—come to her and come clean.

If he had done that, Gao Xining could not have brought herself to punish him severely.

Even when the three of them had gone after him and caught him—if Du Yan had returned with them willingly, he would not have had to die.

But in his final moment, he chose to draw his blade against his Tingwei Army comrades. And so he had to die.

“I hope he is the last one in the Tingwei Army.”

With those words, Gao Xining turned and left.

—

The rear courtyard of the General’s Residence.

Li Chi sat on the low wall and watched Yu Jiuling lecturing Shendiao.

Shendiao lay on the ground, panting, with the look of a creature that was either indignant or aggrieved.

The unspoken sentiment seemed to be: *You people and us pigs—can you really compare us? You’re applying your moral standards to judge me. But why isn’t anyone making me wear clothes? Pigs go without covering every day, and somehow that never strikes you as a problem.*

Of course, this was all Yu Jiuling’s conjecture.

Yu Jiuling shook his head in despair. “Tell me—did I read you wrong? That unapologetic, resentful expression of yours—that’s no way for a decent pig to carry himself.”

Apparently tired of listening, Shendiao got up, turned his large backside, and waddled away.

Yu Jiuling looked at Li Chi. “Look at him—still throwing a tantrum. What’s the point of keeping such a troublemaker? Let’s eat him.”

Li Chi jerked his chin toward the gate. Yu Jiuling looked back—and there was Gao Xining returning.

So Yu Jiuling said at once: “How could you suggest such a thing? Even though Shendiao has made some mistakes—these are the kind of mistakes any male pig might make—and you want to eat him? I’m the first one to object. That’s our Ning-gege’s pig, raised with love and care…”

*Thwack.*

Yu Jiuling took one on the back of the head.

He rubbed his skull, pretended he’d only just noticed Gao Xining, and said with righteous conviction: “Ning-gege, our leader won’t hear of eating Shendiao—I’ve been talking him out of it this whole time, but I just can’t seem to stop him.”

Gao Xining said, “Come here—let Ning-gege tell you how wonderful you are.”

Yu Jiuling dove behind Li Chi’s back with a speed that defied explanation.

Li Chi sighed. “You just falsely accused me—and now you hide behind me. You’d make a terrible villain. You’d outsmart yourself.”

Yu Jiuling said, “Me, a villain? With this face, in any story, I’d be the absolute lead—righteous, sunny, strikingly handsome…”

While he was still talking, Shendiao trotted to just beside him and relieved himself.

A very considerable amount.

Yu Jiuling: “Oh *come on*…”

Gao Xining came and sat down on the low wall beside Li Chi. She was quiet.

Li Chi asked, “Feeling troubled?”

Gao Xining nodded.

Li Chi asked, “Would eating something fix it?”

Gao Xining shook her head.

Li Chi said, “Then Little Sister, you and I should go eat—Ning-gege doesn’t have an appetite.”

Gao Xining: “???? “

Yu Jiuling said, “Leader, if you want to shorten your lifespan, why drag me into it…”

Li Chi laughed. “Then why don’t we go for a stroll?”

He looked at Gao Xining. “We’ve been in Yuzhou and never had a proper look around. I hear that besides Cao Garden, there’s another garden called Zhou Garden that’s supposed to be beautiful—with a river running through it, so you can take a boat and see the scenery from the water.”

Gao Xining turned it over. That actually sounded appealing.

Yu Jiuling said, “A boat? What kind of boat? The kind with red lanterns hanging, with music and singing and wine?”

“Report!”

Just then, a guard came rushing in with both hands presenting a letter. “Intelligence from the scouts—sent from the capital, Daxing.”

Li Chi looked at Yu Jiuling. “You’ve done well—getting someone placed in Daxing, and with news arriving this fast.”

Yu Jiuling said proudly, “Give me a bit more time, and I won’t just have agents—I’ll be raising pigs in Daxing too.”

Li Chi opened the sealed report, glanced at it—and his brow lifted slightly.

“This Emperor Yang Jing—interesting.”

He passed the report to Gao Xining. She read it, and smiled too.

Gao Xining said, “He must be out of options.”

Soon after the intelligence agents reached Dachu’s imperial capital, they had stumbled across a significant event.

The reigning Emperor of Dachu, Yang Jing, was announcing a grand convocation to be held in the capital.

Regardless of origin, regardless of background—anyone with a heart to serve the nation was welcome. Bring five hundred men to the convocation, and it didn’t matter if you were a mountain bandit, a highway raider, or a roving jianghu fighter—bring five hundred men and you’d receive a sixth-rank captain’s commission, an iron breastplate, a saber, and a warhorse.

Bring a thousand men, and you’d be made a fifth-rank general, with the breastplate, saber, and horse—plus a gold plaque marking your status.

The imperial decree, in plain terms, declared: regardless of who you are or what you’ve done, if you’re willing to fight for Dachu, the court will give you a formal rank.

Li Chi said, “It’s mediocre, honestly. The incentives aren’t great.”

Yu Jiuling, who knew Li Chi as well as anyone, nodded at once. “Exactly—they didn’t even mention money.”

Gao Xining, large eyes narrowed to a slight squint. “You are not going.”

Li Chi let out a sheepish laugh. “How could I go? I haven’t lost my mind—I’d be risking my neck walking into the Dachu capital of all places… yes, I want to go.”

Gao Xining made a short sound of disapproval.

Li Chi said, “I just want to see—how many troops this Emperor can actually gather. Because this is clearly aimed at us.”

Yuzhou was the heart of the Central Plains. Having lost Yuzhou, the Ning Army was bearing down directly on Jingzhou. The man the Emperor had placed such hopes in—Yu Chaozong’s strategist—had been killed in battle, his hundred thousand troops dissolved like smoke and scattered like clouds.

Not one force left inside Yuzhou could be assembled to resist the Ning Army. If they were allowed to press further south unchecked, it wouldn’t be long before the Ning Army was encamped at the northern frontier of Jingzhou.

And at that point, the Ning Army’s threat to Dachu would surpass that of Li Xionghu in the southeast and Yang Xuanji in the southwest alike.

“You should know how dangerous this journey would be,” Gao Xining said. “You are Prince Ning. Lord of two provinces.”

Li Chi said, “I know—I’m just…”

Before he could finish, Tang Pidi walked in with a group—Gao Zhen, Cheng Wujie, Dantai Yajing, and Luo Jing, who had just returned from leading troops to mop up the remaining resistance.

Gao Xining saw these five enter and couldn’t hold back a quiet sigh. “This is going to be a disaster.”

Tang Pidi said, as he walked: “You’ve already heard the news?”

Li Chi nodded. “I have.”

Tang Pidi said, “The intelligence came in two copies—one to me, one bound for Jizhou. They didn’t know Your Highness had already come to Yuzhou, so I had them redirected here.”

Li Chi made an acknowledging sound, smiled slightly. “So you’ve decided to arrange for someone to go to Daxing and see what’s what?”

Tang Pidi said, “What—you haven’t talked Gao Xining around yet?”

Li Chi said, “Are you living inside my stomach?”

Luo Jing let out a laugh. Li Chi shot him a glare. “What are you laughing at?”

Luo Jing said, “If he’s actually living in your stomach—then he really would be inside a stomach.”

Tang Pidi sighed. “Who’s being insulted here?”

Luo Jing thought about it. Right—that wasn’t directed at Li Chi at all. More like something he’d said about Tang Pidi.

So he said, somewhat apologetically, “That was genuinely a mistake—though I don’t particularly care…”

Li Chi said, “If it really comes to going to Daxing, no one is more suited than me. I’m not singling anyone out…”

He swept a look around, then said, “Old Tang, come stand behind me.”

Tang Pidi asked, “Why?”

Li Chi said, “Just come.”

Tang Pidi moved behind Li Chi.

Li Chi said, “I’m not singling anyone out. What I mean is—everyone standing in front of me falls short of me.”

Luo Jing: “Oh *come on*!”

Li Chi said, “That one’s debatable.”

Luo Jing snorted.

Li Chi said, “In martial skill—you’re all my equal, at minimum. I’d say we’re all evenly matched at worst.”

“But can any of you read fortunes? Can any of you deceive people? Can any of you write well enough to support yourselves?”

They exchanged glances. Li Chi did have a point.

Li Chi said, “And besides—would Emperor Yang Jing ever imagine I’d come wandering into Daxing?”

Tang Pidi said, “You’re the right choice.”

Gao Xining: “Ugh!”

She looked at Tang Pidi. “He is…”

Tang Pidi said, “He’s in charge—that’s correct, he shouldn’t take unnecessary risks—that’s also correct. But he is genuinely the most suitable person.”

Li Chi said to Gao Xining, “I’ll bring you with me.”

Gao Xining thought about it, then nodded. “It’s not entirely out of the question.”

She looked at Li Chi. “The condition is: I arrange for the Tingwei Army to enter Daxing and prepare in advance. Every move you make, you discuss with me first.”

Li Chi nodded. “Whatever you say.”

Gao Xining immediately turned to the attendant at her side. “Invite Lead Officers Shang Qingzhu, Fang Xidao, Zao Yunjian, and Yu Hongyi to come for a planning meeting.”

The attendant acknowledged at once and ran out.

Yu Jiuling crouched next to Li Chi, fingers hooked into Li Chi’s sleeve, swaying back and forth.

Li Chi said, “Of course you’re coming—you’re the Director-General of Intelligence. Our people in Daxing now are all your agents.”

Yu Jiuling broke into a grin, already daydreaming about the bright lights and pleasures of Daxing.

“I’m not suited to go,” Luo Jing said. “I can’t rule out that someone would recognize me. When the court sent officials back and forth to Youzhou, there were no small number of people, and even more fled from Youzhou to Daxing. Besides, the old villain Yang Jiju made multiple trips to Youzhou—and no shortage of his people stayed behind in Daxing.”

He looked at Li Chi and said seriously, “Most importantly—I can’t suppress this presence I carry.”

Li Chi: “Stand down.”

Cheng Wujie raised his hand. “I’m perfectly suited to go!”

Li Chi said, “You won’t work either—those two giant hammers of yours are too conspicuous.”

Cheng Wujie thought about it. If he couldn’t bring his hammers, what was the point of going at all.

The final decision: Li Chi had Gao Xining send a large contingent of Tingwei Army operatives ahead to Daxing to prepare, with all four of the young Lead Officers going. Then Li Chi would bring Gao Xining, Yu Jiuling, and Dantai Yajing, plus a squad of Li Chi’s personal guard.

This lineup, Li Chi felt, shouldn’t present any serious problems.

Tang Pidi felt that if he brought half his people, there also shouldn’t be any serious problems.

……

……