On the hillside.
Cao Lie looked at the man standing before him — a man he had not seen in many years. In his eyes there burned something fierce, something that came close to devotion.
“Shifu.”
Cao Lie bowed deeply.
Nie She reached out to steady him and shook his head. “You are the Young Lord. You should not bow to me — certainly not like this.”
Cao Lie smiled. “No matter who I am — in poverty or in fortune — you are my shifu. Nothing in this world can change that.”
Nie She smiled. The expression suited him.
He rarely smiled — to be precise, he rarely smiled in front of others. All his smiles belonged to his wife and child. Outside of that, there were almost no exceptions.
Almost — because the Cao Lie standing before him was that one exception.
He was the teacher who had first guided Cao Lie in the martial path. He was also the most powerful fighter in the Mountain River Seal. No one could order him to kill at will — unless he himself was willing.
Every target he had ever eliminated was someone he judged deserved to die.
On this point, not even Cao Lie’s father, the Gate Master of the Mountain River Seal, could influence him.
This was because Nie She was simply too powerful — powerful enough that even the Gate Master had reason to feel uneasy around him. And so his standing within the organization was beyond question.
It was precisely because of this that when Nie She chose to leave the Mountain River Seal and live an ordinary life, Cao Lie’s father harbored thoughts of killing him.
A man like Nie She — if he could not serve the Mountain River Seal, if he were to become someone else’s instrument, he would become the Mountain River Seal’s greatest threat.
A man like this, if he could not be of use — then he would be of use to no one.
At that time, Cao Lie’s father, Cao Ziluo, had made a decision — a decision made with absolute and unswerving resolve.
That decision was: even if it meant sacrificing all fifty of the Mountain River Seal’s top names on the Cloud Mist Rankings, Nie She would die.
And if that still was not enough — he would find a way to mobilize an army.
Cao Lie stepped forward. He told his father: you should understand — if you grant Nie She this, you are the one who has done him a favor. And the one who has done Nie She a favor will never appear on the list of those Nie She believes deserve to die.
He said: Nie She will never kill someone he does not believe deserves death. And gratitude and obligation — that is precisely what Nie She values most.
By saying this, Cao Lie meant to protect Nie She. He also meant to protect his father.
Cao Ziluo was moved by those words. Because of them, he changed his mind.
He had also been afraid — because Cao Ziluo understood perfectly well that in truth he might not have a second chance to strike. A man like Nie She: if the first attempt failed, what followed would be Nie She’s retribution. His people might fail to kill Nie She, but Nie She would not fail to kill him.
“Shifu is looking well.”
Cao Lie smiled. “Better than when you left Youzhou.”
Nie She replied: “Killing harms the vital breath. I said this once, long ago, but no one believed me. They thought it was the person being killed whose vital breath was harmed. They did not understand that one’s own vital breath is also diminished. I have not killed anyone since leaving Youzhou until today. That is why I look better.”
Cao Lie had only meant it as a light pleasantry, but Nie She answered with absolute seriousness.
If he were not the kind of man who treated every person and every matter with the same earnestness, he would not have become the Blade Emperor that everyone in the Mountain River Seal feared.
“Is the target inside the Shanhai Army’s camp?”
Nie She asked.
Cao Lie nodded. “Shifu, give me a little time. I’ll find a way to lure Mu Fengliu out of camp. The Shanhai Army has over a hundred thousand soldiers, and Shifu is alone…”
He hadn’t finished speaking when Nie She cut him off.
“I cannot wait.”
Cao Lie blinked. “Shifu has never been unable to wait before — because Shifu always chose to act only at the most opportune moment.”
Nie She replied: “Because at that time, I did not yet have a wife and child. I did not know what it meant to miss someone. And besides — you should still remember. For me: once the intent is formed, any moment is the best moment to kill.”
Cao Lie was momentarily speechless. He turned immediately to look at his subordinates. They were so startled by his gaze that they all bowed their heads at once.
Because no one had told Cao Lie that Nie She now had a child.
“Congratulations, Shifu!”
When Cao Lie turned back, his face had already recovered its smile. He bowed forward. “Then allow me to see Shifu off.”
Nie She understood what Cao Lie meant from the look in his eyes alone. If it could be said that the people who knew a son best were his parents, then for Cao Lie — beyond his own mother and father — the person who understood him most deeply was Nie She. After all, Cao Lie had trained at his side for a full ten years.
Even Cao Lie himself felt that Nie She knew him better than his own father.
Because Nie She now had a wife and child, Cao Lie no longer intended to ask Nie She to kill Mu Fengliu.
When a man becomes a husband, becomes a father — his life is worth far more than when he had nothing and no one.
“No matter. You won’t be able to talk me out of it anyway — I won’t leave until I’ve killed Mu Fengliu.”
Nie She smiled faintly and said: “But it won’t take long.”
Cao Lie was silent for a moment, then said: “Even if Shifu is in a hurry, surely you can wait three to five days.”
Nie She appeared to consider whether to refuse Cao Lie’s goodwill. After a moment’s thought, he nodded. “Fine. Three days, then.”
Cao Lie immediately brightened. In Nie She’s presence, he seemed to become that innocent, uncomplicated child again.
“Three days!”
Cao Lie extended a hand. “Pinky swear.”
Nie She looked at him. He smiled and said: “You shouldn’t still be this childish.”
Cao Lie said, with great seriousness: “Because I know — every time you and I have ever pinky-sworn, you have never once broken your word.”
And so, Nie She extended a hand. “Very well, then. Pinky swear.”
—
At the same moment, atop Longtou Pass.
Zao Yunian and Elder Zhang Zhenren sat facing each other in silence, having been quiet for quite some time.
When Elder Zhang Zhenren came to his senses, he knew this matter was going to be difficult.
He had somehow overlooked it — that Zao Yunian’s loyalty to Prince Ning Li Chi was no different from Zhuang Wudi’s. No distinction whatsoever.
Zhuang Wudi wanted to hold Longtou Pass to the death because he feared that if they failed to pin down the enemy here, Prince Ning’s position would be in dire straits — possibly his entire force annihilated, which could mean losing all of Jizhou, and from there, all of the Central Plains.
“Zhenren…”
After a long silence, Zao Yunian said, with something almost like pleading in his voice: “This matter truly cannot be handled the way Zhenren intends — and it truly cannot be handled the way Prince Ning intends either. I know that everyone who stays here will die. But our dying here is far better than our brothers dying out there blocking the Black Wu for the people of the Central Plains. Perhaps it is only because we held one more day that the Black Wu were driven back. Or perhaps it is because we held one day less that all of Prince Ning’s efforts came to nothing.”
Elder Zhang Zhenren sighed. “Before I left Dragon Tiger Mountain, I had never seen someone who was truly unafraid of death.”
Zao Yunian smiled. “None of us are unafraid. Prince Ning’s people — we’re all afraid to die. But we’re all greedy for something — and greedy people tend to have a clearer sense of what things are worth. That reckoning includes whether the price of dying is high enough.”
He looked at the old patriarch. “If the price is right — then we do it. Simply put: we don’t do losing business.”
After a long silence, Elder Zhang Zhenren raised his head to look at Zao Yunian. “Then grant me one condition.”
Zao Yunian quickly said: “Zhenren, please speak.”
Elder Zhang Zhenren said: “I will be the one to make the reckoning. I will be the one to judge the time. Station more scouts, and keep reporting to me at all times — how far the Qingzhou rebels are from Longtou Pass, and how long before they arrive.”
Zao Yunian immediately understood Elder Zhang Zhenren’s meaning. The old Zhenren’s position was: they could hold a while longer.
The measure of that time would be determined by one thing: the moment the Qingzhou rebels were close enough to Longtou Pass, they would withdraw.
Elder Zhang Zhenren saw a flicker of hesitation in Zao Yunian’s expression. He looked Zao Yunian in the eyes and said: “Have you considered this — what if the force you have in your hands right now is exactly the force that could ride to Beishan Pass and turn the battle there?”
Those words struck Zao Yunian deeply.
This world was full of infinite unknowns and possibilities. Elder Zhang Zhenren’s words could not be dismissed.
“Let me speak with Brother Zhuang.”
Zao Yunian rose: “Zhenren, wait for my word.”
Elder Zhang Zhenren nodded. “The right person will always, at the right time, make the right judgment, and appear in the right place.”
He looked at Zao Yunian. “I do not mean you and General Zhuang. I mean Prince Ning.”
Zao Yunian thought for a moment, then bowed deeply. “Understood.”
Elder Zhang Zhenren’s meaning was: the two of you believe you are right. But think carefully — is it you who are right, or is it Prince Ning?
—
At that same moment, in the capital of Dachu. Inside the Shiyuan Palace.
Emperor Yang Jing of Dachu stood in the empty great hall and stared at nothing for a very long time. His face appeared expressionless, yet the turmoil in his heart was something even he could not quiet.
Because a short time ago, he had received a piece of news.
A million-strong Black Wu army had come south. And the one who had stood at the gate of the nation and held it against them was Li Chi — the man he regarded as a rebel, the one he hated to the marrow of his bones, the Jizhou bandit chieftain.
He had already known for some time: the so-called “Young Lord Cao Du” who had stirred up such trouble in Daxing City was in fact Li Chi. Not because anyone had informed on him — but because he had pieced it together from reports and evidence gathered from many sources.
And in the moment he received word that Li Chi had led his army to hold Beishan Pass to the death, no one in the world could have felt a more complicated emotion than Yang Jing.
He did not know what had been in Li Chi’s heart when he made that decision. But he asked himself — if he were Li Chi, would he have made the same choice? He asked himself many times. The answer was always the same: he would not.
And so, when that current of doubt and self-negation rose within him — the Emperor of Dachu — the depth of Yang Jing’s anguish could only be imagined.
If he were the Jizhou rebel chieftain, he would not have gone to defend the nation’s gate.
Therefore, he knew he was not Li Chi’s equal. And to be struck by such a blow — he suffered from it. A suffering he could not endure.
“Your Majesty…”
The chief eunuch Zhen Xiaodao draped a heavy robe over the Emperor’s shoulders, his voice very soft. “Your Majesty has been standing here for quite some time. It is time to rest.”
The Emperor turned to look at Zhen Xiaodao. In that moment, the threads of red in the Emperor’s eyes made Zhen Xiaodao’s heart lurch.
The Emperor asked: “Xiaodao — do you think I am a failure?”
The question frightened Zhen Xiaodao badly. He hurried into a bow. “Your Majesty is certainly not — Your Majesty…”
He hadn’t finished speaking when Yang Jing cut him off with a slow shake of his head. “I am. Whatever you say, I am perfectly clear in my own mind. I am a failure.”
He turned and looked at the dragon throne — that symbol meant to represent absolute authority and status — and let out a self-mocking laugh.
“At this moment, the bravest decision I am capable of making is perhaps… to bestow a commendation on that Jizhou rebel. And even such a commendation would be nothing but words.”
“Xiaodao… do you know what just now — at this very moment — a thought came into my mind unbidden… that if I could find some way to negotiate a division of the realm with Li Chi, rule the south to his north… I would… actually be willing.”
The Emperor exhaled a long, slow breath.
“When that thought came to me,” he said with a bitter smile, “I had already lost.”
He closed his eyes. After a long silence, he spoke: “Send someone to the northern frontier. Find a way to reach Li Chi. Tell him one thing on my behalf… I thank him.”
—