In early in the fourth month, Li Chi led his forces out of Fengzhou and headed for Yuzhou, leaving Xu Youru behind as Fengzhou’s prefect. The vacancies left by officials in Dengzhou were to be arranged once Li Chi reached Yuzhou.

Cao Lie, however, had no intention of rushing off. His work had only just begun.

If the King of Heaven’s Destiny, Yang Xuanji, had not abandoned his plan to keep stirring up trouble in Yuzhou’s rear, then he would certainly send more people to Dengzhou and Fengzhou — because they had at least established some groundwork here, making contact easier.

More to the point, the people who hadn’t yet been rooted out had no other path open to them. They could only continue serving as Yang Xuanji’s informants.

If Prince Ning’s people uncovered them, they died without question. Only if Yang Xuanji’s forces prevailed could they breathe easy — only then could they be said to have truly kept their lives.

Cao Lie walked as he spoke, asking Dong Dongdong, “This list — was it your Tingwei Army people who compiled it?”

Dong Dongdong shook his head. “I don’t think so. It was the intelligence forces’ Grand Commander Gui Yuanshu — Administrator Gui — who put it together.”

Cao Lie gave a nod and committed the name to memory.

Gui Yuanshu had spent many days embedded inside Fengzhou City, and in that time had not only identified these organizations potentially in covert contact with Yang Xuanji, but had also launched a strike on the city gate on the very day Luo Jing led his troops in, holding it open for Luo Jing’s entry.

A man like that — in the kind of tale a teahouse storyteller might spin — would be the sort of hero whose deeds left the audience smacking the table in admiration.

“Where are we going first, Young Master?”

Qi Qiangqi asked.

Cao Lie had studied the list carefully and already selected his target.

Within Fengzhou City there was a sect called the Marvelous Hand Sword Gate, with several hundred disciples. On the day Luo Jing led his forces into the city, those several hundred had been in the crowd that came to receive him.

But the suspicion was that they hadn’t come to receive him at all — they’d come to kill Gui Yuanshu, who had seized the gate. They simply hadn’t anticipated how quickly Gui Yuanshu took the gate, or how quickly Luo Jing entered the city.

The Marvelous Hand Sword Gate had an interesting history. Their sect master was not some accomplished martial artist but a merchant.

This man’s natural aptitude could not be described as merely average — it could be described as comprehensively abysmal.

What had driven him to become a jianghu master, no one could say. After making a fortune in trade, he had hired a host of martial arts masters and used the money to found the Marvelous Hand Sword Gate.

Every day he had these masters teach him — their sect master — martial arts, and then performed demonstrations in public, where these masters would be sent flying ten feet by a flick of his wrist.

Through this kind of elaborate deception, he had somehow built quite a reputation in Fengzhou’s martial world.

Some people in Fengzhou who knew his game stayed silent. But once his fame spread, people began arriving from far away hoping to study under him.

The sect master put on the manner of a reclusive sage and informed these aspirants that they were not qualified to be his disciples — he could only have his own disciples instruct them.

When someone inevitably grew indignant and challenged him, he remained entirely unperturbed. He would tell the challenger: defeat one of my disciples first, then come challenge me. Otherwise, no matter how prettily you argue, I won’t accept it — because if you can’t beat even my disciples, what grounds do you have to fight me?

By this scheme, the man’s reputation somehow only grew.

Cao Lie arrived at the front gate of the Marvelous Hand Sword Gate with Dong Dongdong and Qi Qiangqi. Whatever one thought of the operation inside, the sect’s exterior, at least, had a certain impressiveness.

Dong Dongdong lowered his voice and asked Cao Lie, “Shall we just go in and take them?”

Cao Lie glanced at Dong Dongdong and smiled. “Take them? Where’s the fun in that? Besides, I can’t be bothered.”

Two quarters of an hour later, in the reception hall of Gao Jingsheng — sect master of the Marvelous Hand Sword Gate — the finely costumed merchant looked Cao Lie over. “You’re the one who asked to talk business?”

Cao Lie nodded. “That’s me.”

Gao Jingsheng asked, “What sort of business?”

Cao Lie produced a thick stack of banknotes from within his robes, set them on the table, and slid them forward. “I’m buying your entire Marvelous Hand Sword Gate.”

Gao Jingsheng let out a chuckle. “You’re joking, surely. My Marvelous Hand Sword Gate is a distinguished sect of Yuzhou — we have some renown throughout the entire Yuzhou martial world. You want to buy it — you could, well…”

Before he could finish, Cao Lie pointed at the banknotes. “Ten thousand taels per note. Thirty notes here.”

Gao Jingsheng: “You want to buy it — we could certainly discuss the matter right now.”

Dong Dongdong looked at Qi Qiangqi and found Qi Qiangqi’s face equally stunned… This Young Master Cao had simply walked out of the house with three hundred thousand taels on his person?

Hadn’t he told Prince Ning he was completely down on his luck now?

What on earth did it look like when someone wealthy called themselves down on their luck?

Three hundred thousand taels was enough to move Gao Jingsheng. The way things were in Fengzhou right now, what kind of business could possibly thrive? Gao Jingsheng had spent years running his elaborate charade — taking in disciples brought in money, but relative to his expenses, it had always been a losing operation. Keeping that many skilled fighters around to play their roles in his act wasn’t cheap.

Cao Lie said, “I’m just a businessman. But I’ve had a dream since childhood — I’ve always wanted to be a jianghu master. I’ve always wanted to found a sect and be its leader.”

Gao Jingsheng nodded vigorously. “I understand that entirely. I relate to it deeply.”

Cao Lie went on, “But I’m lazy. Building a sect from scratch — I don’t have the patience. So I thought I’d borrow your Marvelous Hand Sword Gate for a while.”

Gao Jingsheng looked at the stack of banknotes and thought: take this money, find a quiet place to keep playing the game — Fengzhou had become too unstable anyway.

He looked at Cao Lie with a smile. “That could certainly be arranged, but as for the price…”

Cao Lie said calmly, “I know how you operate. Your disciples are genuine fighters, but you yourself aren’t much. You have your disciples act out scenes to make people believe you’re a master, don’t you?”

Gao Jingsheng laughed awkwardly, not quite managing a response.

Cao Lie said, “My plan is simple. You already have a reputation as a formidable man. When the time comes, I’ll challenge you publicly and defeat you with ease. That’s how my own name gets made.”

Gao Jingsheng’s expression shifted, and a trace of displeasure crossed his face. “Now that doesn’t seem quite right…”

Cao Lie said, “Play out one scene with me, and I’ll give you ten thousand taels. How many scenes can you play?”

Gao Jingsheng blinked. He thought: I could act out scenes until this man is in his grave.

He broke into an accommodating smile at once. “That’s something I know how to do — thoroughly familiar with it.”

The deal was struck quickly. Cao Lie asked Gao Jingsheng, “Could you show me how you usually fool people?”

In good spirits, Gao Jingsheng called in a dozen or so of his disciples, lined them up in a row, and pressed lightly on the first one — whereupon the last in the line went sailing backward more than ten feet.

He said to Cao Lie with a smile, “This is the ancient technique, long lost to the jianghu, known as Striking Through Mountains.”

Cao Lie said, “Skip the commentary. Just show me.”

Gao Jingsheng gave a sheepish smile, then beckoned one of his disciples over and had him place his hand on Gao Jingsheng’s shoulder. The moment contact was made, the disciple yelped in pain and started hopping about — yet his hand seemed stuck to Gao Jingsheng’s shoulder, no matter how he thrashed, unable to pull free.

Gao Jingsheng said, “And this is another technique long vanished from the jianghu — the Eighteen Falls of Clinging Cloth…”

Cao Lie pointed at that particular disciple. “He’s quite the performer. I want him to stay… actually no — they all stay. Triple the usual wages for everyone.”

The disciples erupted in cheers on the spot.

That night, Cao Lie took the whole contingent of disciples out for entertainment — first a restaurant, then a pleasure house — all at Young Master Cao’s expense.

Three full days of this followed, every night the same.

Within those three days, every last one of the Marvelous Hand Sword Gate’s people had warmed entirely to their new master.

And it was through those three days of casual conversation — one person offering a detail here, another a detail there — that Cao Lie pieced together the confirmation he needed: they had indeed been bought by the Xie family, and had been in contact with Yang Xuanji’s people.

On the fourth night, Cao Lie took them all out to drink until every man was dead drunk. Then two hundred Tingwei Army soldiers moved in and arrested the lot. The jianghu masters didn’t even manage to throw a single punch.

From inside the Marvelous Hand Sword Gate, letters exchanged with Xie Jingran were found, along with correspondence from Yang Xuanji’s subordinates.

Dong Dongdong and Qi Qiangqi stood there, thoroughly stupefied by what Cao Lie had just pulled off.

Cao Lie reclaimed from Gao Jingsheng every last banknote he had paid over, and also seized the Marvelous Hand Sword Gate’s assets.

At this moment, Cao Lie was carefully counting the Marvelous Hand Sword Gate’s silver.

He counted with great care. This made both Dong Dongdong and Qi Qiangqi somewhat ashamed — Young Master Cao could be this diligent, and here they were just watching. Wrong, deeply wrong.

They both stepped forward to help count, but Cao Lie waved them off. “No need to count. It’s enough.”

He pointed at the pile he had tallied. “This much I keep. The rest — don’t bother counting it, just send it straight to the authorities to be impounded.”

Dong Dongdong asked, “Young Master, what is the portion you counted out for?”

Cao Lie said gravely, “The amount I counted out is exactly what I spent over these four days. Spend this much, recover this much.”

Qi Qiangqi looked at Dong Dongdong. Their eyes said the same thing: this man is a master.

The two of them ordered the subordinates to box up the remaining silver and have it delivered to the prefectural offices for Xu Youru.

Then Cao Lie suddenly held up a hand. “Wait.”

He counted out another portion. “This is the interest.”

The two of them looked at each other again, and suddenly understood the distance between themselves and Cao Lie.

—

Meanwhile, on the southern front in Yuzhou.

Tens of thousands of Heaven’s Destiny Army troops began pressing forward, as if intent on a decisive battle with Tang Pidi — every force advancing together in a grand, sweeping display of momentum.

In the Ning Army camp, inside the central command tent.

Tang Pidi stood before the map, expression carrying a slight gravity.

In the tent, the Ning Army’s generals stood ramrod straight, waiting. The tent was so quiet that breathing could be heard.

After a moment, Tang Pidi turned away from the map, his gaze leaving it behind. He tossed down the charcoal pencil in his hand. “It’s a feint.”

He looked at the assembled generals. “Gao Zhen. Cheng Wujie.”

Two generals stepped forward and clasped their fists. “We’re here.”

Tang Pidi said, “Each of you take your own companies and do nothing but keep close watch on the Heaven’s Destiny Army’s movements. If they don’t attack you, you don’t attack them… but if they do come at you in earnest, then you go at them in earnest too. Though if my read is right, the moment you go at them in earnest, they’ll stop going at you in earnest.”

Gao Zhen and Cheng Wujie both smiled. Cheng Wujie said, “I was rather hoping for a real decisive battle with the Heaven’s Destiny Army.”

Tang Pidi smiled. “Then you’ll probably be disappointed.”

He looked at his personal guard. “Send out ten separate courier parties — ten men to a party, each taking a different route heading north. Every prefecture and county they pass through, they stop and alert the local magistrates’ offices to conduct thorough checks on all arrivals, particularly those traveling under the cover of merchant convoys and escort agencies.”

“When they reach Yuzhou, give a full briefing. Have Yuzhou prepare — Yang Xuanji will likely dispatch a large number of operatives, disguised and moving around our army’s defensive perimeter, into Yuzhou to attempt to disrupt the summer grain harvest.”

Once he finished giving his orders, a guard came in quickly from outside. “Report, Grand General — urgent dispatch from Yuzhou.”

Tang Pidi took the letter, unfolded it, and broke into a smile.

“Prince Ning has come to Yuzhou.”

With those six words out of his mouth, every general in the tent broke into cheers.

Tang Pidi exhaled slowly. “Yang Xuanji wants to make a show of force? Then let’s give him something real to contend with. Everyone put in extra effort — by the time Prince Ning arrives at Yuzhou City, let’s have a victory report waiting for him!”

“Yes!”

Tang Pidi turned back to the map. The places that needed to be struck had already been marked with the charcoal pencil.

“I want Prince Ning to arrive in Yuzhou and have cause for some anxiety. A great deal of anxiety.”

Tang Pidi smiled. “Anxiety over how to reward us — waking every day to reports of: won, won, and won again, damn it.”

—