Xiao Gangzi came back carrying two wild rabbits and a mountain pheasant. Old Sun looked at them and smiled. “Not bad luck at all — quite a haul.”

Xiao Gangzi said, “Master, you don’t know — when I went to see that elder sister today, she was completely different.”

Old Sun asked curiously, “Different how?”

Xiao Gangzi said, “She wouldn’t take my money — I tossed the coin pouch down and ran. It was only halfway back that I remembered — she was actually wearing a skirt today.”

No matter when you saw that young woman, she was always plainly dressed — a cotton jacket, linen trousers, a pair of hand-sewn cloth shoes with thick layered soles.

Old Sun didn’t seem to pay much attention to this, and just replied lightly, “A woman alone at home — what’s odd about dressing however she pleases? Hmm? Were you staring at her? And now you come back telling me you didn’t have time to look.”

Xiao Gangzi waved his hands frantically. “Master always says — staring at another man’s woman is what a lowlife does. I’m no lowlife.”

Old Sun clapped Xiao Gangzi on the shoulder. “Once you’re married, stare at your own wife all you want. Staring at someone else’s woman — well, if she’s truly beautiful and you can’t help a glance…”

Xiao Gangzi curled his lip. “Master, you’re shameless.”

Old Sun rapped him on the head. “What do you know? When you’re married you’ll understand — getting to look is already quite good.”

He pointed at the game. “Go clean those.”

Xiao Gangzi gave an affirmative sound, then turned back with a sly grin. “Master, wild rabbit has a strong earthy taste. You’d better marinate it in seasoning first.”

He made a gesture mimicking urinating.

Old Sun glared at him. “Don’t you dare cause trouble!”

Then, smiling, “A little bit is fine.”

Xiao Gangzi said, “I’ll only add one mouthful’s worth.”

Old Sun replied, “You stupid child — since when is urine measured by the mouthful?”

Xiao Gangzi laughed his silly laugh and took the game outside to clean it.

Meanwhile, inside the bamboo-fenced yard on the mountain.

Zhao Zhuangkuo knelt there trembling violently. He had brought more than ten men with him, but he couldn’t even tell how any of them had died.

He himself hadn’t died, but he knew he wasn’t far from death.

This woman who looked so serene and tranquil — when she killed, she was more venomous than a viper, more ruthless than a she-wolf.

A moment ago, a child had come — from the voice he could tell it was Xiao Gangzi, the apprentice boy from the estate’s kitchen. He had strained with everything he had to make some noise, but the woman had dislocated his jaw and broken all four of his limbs. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak.

He had used every last ounce of strength, enduring the agonizing pain, to roll his body over, hoping to knock over the clothing rack — but the distance was slightly too great. The rack only swayed without toppling.

Zhao Zhuangkuo hadn’t even considered whether, even if he managed to make some sound, that young apprentice boy could have saved him.

When the young woman had been changing clothes, he’d been forced to watch from where he lay — that breathtakingly beautiful back, under any other circumstances, would have made his blood surge. In the situation he was in, he had no capacity for such thoughts.

“I’ve seen you before.”

The young woman spoke. Her voice wasn’t a typical woman’s voice — slightly husky, faintly rough — yet not at all unpleasant. On the contrary, it held a kind of bewitching quality that drew people in.

“You people saw me outside the estate as well.”

The young woman asked, “So — you were sent to bring me there?”

Zhao Zhuangkuo nodded — nodding rapidly, his only hope being that his current attitude would be good enough that this female demon might spare his life.

They had found the place. Zhao Zhuangkuo had spotted the woman from outside the yard and ordered his men to go in and take her.

Then he watched his men fall one by one, each clutching their throat, every one in nearly the same position.

He never saw the woman move. His men were already down in a heap. He turned to run. In two breaths she caught up, and moments later his four limbs were broken.

And then, just at that moment, the young woman had furrowed her brow and glanced into the distance before dragging him back inside the house and casually dislocating his jaw.

“Who sent you? Was it the man who stepped out of the carriage and came over to buy from me?”

The young woman asked again.

Zhao Zhuangkuo’s first instinct was to nod, but then he shook his head.

The young woman murmured to herself, “Doesn’t matter.”

She made a casual flicking motion. A faint gleam of silver flashed and vanished. A thin red line appeared across Zhao Zhuangkuo’s throat, and moments later the line burst open, blood spurting out.

And at that moment, the young woman was already outside in the bamboo-fenced yard.

Her gaze held traces of reluctance. She had put considerable effort into this small yard, and what she was most loath to leave was the swing bed she had only just built.

A gauze canopy around it, lying in its gentle sway, reading a few volumes — it was truly supremely comfortable.

She loved this life of undisturbed solitude, loved being alone with herself. Since that person had left, there had been no one else who could come close to her.

He had said the world was vast, and to be confined to one place would be wasting the one life you lived — so he left, just like that.

But he also said: there are so many people in the world, yet he was bound to only her — no matter how far he wandered, he would always come back.

She had been furious with him at the time — thought he was nothing but a reckless scoundrel.

But after he left, she missed him so terribly. The ache lasted so long that it stopped hurting, and she grew accustomed to it.

She thought: perhaps when he came back, the ache would come back too.

How truly she was reluctant to leave this swing bed.

Then something occurred to her, and the corner of her mouth curved faintly upward. She had originally been planning — having already acted here, having already killed people, she might as well leave this place.

But because she was reluctant to part with that swing bed, she thought — why not simply kill everyone? With them all dead, no one would come to disturb her anymore.

So she turned her gaze toward the estate, casting her mind back to the man who had stepped down from the carriage and walked over to her.

From his every movement and bearing, it was obvious he had martial cultivation. But — what did it matter?

—

The estate.

Xiao Gangzi came in grinning and, catching his master’s eye, leaned close and whispered, “They won’t taste it, will they?”

Old Sun smiled. “Just make it spicy enough, and they won’t taste a thing.”

Xiao Gangzi replied, “Things that can’t be tasted are smelled. And things that are smelled are sniffed out.”

Old Sun shot back, “Nonsense — things that are smelled are smelled.”

Old Sun asked, “You relieved yourself first and then didn’t wash your hands?”

Xiao Gangzi replied, “Didn’t wash.”

Old Sun looked at his own hands — which had taken the game from Xiao Gangzi — and delivered a kick to Xiao Gangzi’s backside. “You little wretch.”

Xiao Gangzi laughed his foolish laugh.

Old Sun kept strict rules about who could enter the kitchen. When he was cooking, absolutely no outsiders were permitted inside — anyone who entered would be cursed out, and pots and pans might be hurled at them. After being scolded and driven off two or three times, people had learned their lesson and no one dared wander in anymore.

Master and apprentice bustled about, cleaned and prepared the ingredients quickly, and sent the dishes out one by one.

But Gui Yuanshu, sitting in the reception hall, had no appetite. He couldn’t be certain whether these seemingly attentive local officials had any good intentions.

That was simply this world — you didn’t have to harm others, but you absolutely could not afford not to be on guard against others.

“Let’s not rush to eat and drink.”

Gui Yuanshu smiled. “I am going to Daxing City to attend to an important matter. If I carry this matter out successfully, my lord will certainly reward the effort handsomely.”

He paused briefly. Zheng Shunshun was sharp-witted enough to pick up the thread immediately.

Zheng Shunshun said to Magistrate Zhang, “What my lord means is: if you wish the Prince to remember you, Magistrate Zhang, you must have some merit to show for it. Without merit, even if my lord mentions you before the Prince, it would carry little weight.”

Magistrate Zhang hastened to reply, “Yes, yes, quite right — of course one must render service to the Prince. If my lord requires anything of me, just say the word! Just say the word!”

Zheng Shunshun glanced at Gui Yuanshu, who gave a composed and dignified nod.

So Zheng Shunshun leaned forward, expression earnest, and said, “My lord is going to Jingzhou to make contact with a number of great noble families and prominent individuals — naturally including many important court figures. What they are to discuss, you need not know.”

Magistrate Zhang and Magistrate Qian both nodded vigorously. “Of course not, we wouldn’t dare ask, wouldn’t dare listen.”

Zheng Shunshun continued. “For my lord to make contact with these people — given that it’s his first time there — what approach would be most appropriate?”

Magistrate Zhang understood at once. “I see perfectly, I see perfectly — I’ll go back and prepare a collection of gifts for Lord Li to take along. They may prove useful in the capital.”

Zheng Shunshun looked at him with an expression of approval at a promising student and nodded in satisfaction. “For Magistrate Zhang to serve the Prince with such wholehearted dedication — when my lord speaks of it before the Prince, he will have much more to say.”

Magistrate Zhang replied, “Whatever is within my power to do, I will exhaust every effort.”

Zheng Shunshun gave an affirmative sound and looked toward Gui Yuanshu.

Gui Yuanshu gave a soft cough. “The dishes aren’t all here yet — but that needn’t stop us from drinking a cup first. Think of it as an early celebration of my mission’s success. With two such estimable gentlemen lending their assistance, I believe this journey will prove twice as effective with half the effort.”

Magistrate Zhang and Magistrate Qian immediately rose to their feet, the two of them competing to pour wine for Gui Yuanshu and Zheng Shunshun.

Just at that moment, unusual sounds came from outside, and Ding Man appeared at the doorway. “My lord — something has happened.”

Gui Yuanshu rose at once, his expression darkening.

Magistrate Zhang and Magistrate Qian were startled, though neither knew what had occurred.

Ding Man said, “Someone has entered the premises — moving with extraordinary speed. We couldn’t keep up — in the blink of an eye, they were gone.”

Gui Yuanshu strode quickly toward the door. “Rally the men — everyone gather together, don’t scatter.”

While he was still speaking, he suddenly noticed a figure standing at the doorway.

Ding Man had entered through that very door just now — there had certainly been no one there at that moment. Yet in the space of conversation, the figure seemed to have been standing there for quite some time.

She wore a long robe of vivid violet-purple, looking remarkably exquisite and magnificent. As the wind came from her direction, everyone seemed to catch the trace of a faint fragrance.

That fragrance was unmistakably light, yet somehow unmistakably present — a contradiction that puzzled Gui Yuanshu. He turned it over briefly and realized: it was the scent of lilac.

Yet this was not the season for lilac to bloom.

At the same moment, in the kitchen.

Old Sun, busily at work, suddenly stopped short at something. His hand holding the wok actually trembled — as though he had burned himself.

Xiao Gangzi quickly asked, “Master, did you burn yourself?”

Old Sun shook his head, then turned to Xiao Gangzi and asked, “You said she changed into a skirt? What kind of skirt?”

Xiao Gangzi thought back, uncertain. “Very beautiful — it looked purple… yes, it was definitely purple.”

Old Sun’s expression changed drastically. He flung down the wok in his hand — it hit the floor with a resonant clang.

The sound made Xiao Gangzi jump. When he looked up, his master was already gone.

—