The rebel Guazhou troops were all dumbstruck. Even the crossbowmen stood there stupefied as wooden figures. Xuanzang stared blankly at the scene before him, tears flowing down his face.

“Aah—”

Niu Jinda’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He turned to go back, but was seized by the arm by Zhai Shu.

“Prefect Niu — do not let your brothers have died for nothing!”

Zhai Shu called out. “I will hold Wang Junke. You take the Dharma Master Xuanzang and break through!”

Niu Jinda wiped his tears, told Xuanzang to follow close behind him, and moved forward in great strides alongside Zhai Shu. Wang Junke stood at the center of the street with a cold smile, blocking their way. Zhai Shu charged to meet him; the two had barely exchanged a few blows when Niu Jinda’s double-bladed lance thrust in from a bizarre angle — the moment Wang Junke flicked away Zhai Shu’s broad sword, the lance blade drove into his flank with a thud. Wang Junke let out a cry and fell back in haste; fortunately he was wearing Bright-Armor, and the thrust had not gone deep.

“Sword-and-shield infantry — forward!”

Li Qi saw that Wang Junke could not hold back the two of them together and called out the order.

A whole company of sword-and-shield infantry advanced like a solid wall. Niu Jinda fought to assist Zhai Shu against Wang Junke while simultaneously sweeping out with his long lance, thrusting like lightning through the fleeting gaps between the shields and withdrawing the instant it struck — each thrust toppling a man with a cry of anguish. But this meant that Zhai Shu came under greatly increased pressure, and holding off Wang Junke became far more difficult for him; in moments he was struck multiple times, though Wang Junke, wary of Niu Jinda’s long lance, did not dare to extend his sword to its full force and was unable to inflict a serious wound. Still, Zhai Shu was plainly unable to hold out much longer.

Zhai Shu was like a man striding against torrential rain and violent surf; drenched in blood, he ground forward step by struggling step. He and Niu Jinda together — one sword, one lance — cut through Wang Junke and over a hundred sword-and-shield infantry, sending them stumbling and tumbling back step by step. Suddenly the way before them opened up, and to their own astonishment they had fought their way to the crossroads. The remaining mounted cavalry were still holding the wall of blood and flesh built by Niu Xi and the fallen men, and had Dugu Da and his troops pinned without a step’s advance.

Right there at the crossroads, Li Qi grew desperate and threw in another full company of sword-and-shield infantry, encircling Niu Jinda and Zhai Shu in a half-arc, absolutely refusing to let them break through the intersection. Both sides slaughtered each other with brutal ferocity at that street junction; corpses lay piled upon one another on the ground, and rivers of blood flowed. Having fought their way this far, Niu Jinda and Zhai Shu were also gradually spent; both men were covered in wounds.

“Grind them down!”

Li Qi’s eyes had gone red, and he screamed in a frenzy.

Then suddenly from the cross-street came a rumbling thunder of sound. Li Qi turned to look — and saw a carriage pulled by two horses bearing down madly from the intersecting street. Several soldiers stepped out to try to stop it, but the driver on the carriage whipped the horses with desperate urgency; the horses shrieked and crashed straight through, and several soldiers were sent flying by the impact.

The carriage smashed into the sword-and-shield infantry formation at the crossroads with a tremendous crash, sending those locked in combat tumbling into chaos on all sides. The carriage wheel rolled over a corpse and lurched upward, then tipped over at an angle and went airborne, and the two horses together with the great carriage swept sideways in a great arc, bowling over a whole swathe of troops — even Wang Junke was forced to scramble frantically out of its path.

Two figures leapt from the carriage as it flew, rolled on the ground, and came up beside Niu Jinda and Xuanzang. One of the men called out: “Master — let’s go!”

“How did you two come back?”

Only then did Xuanzang see clearly: it was Li Chan and Yuzao.

“Tonight, we have no regrets for this life!”

Li Chan laughed. “We came to choose the most brilliant way to die.”

“Less talking — fight!”

Yuzao wasted no words. She flicked up a fallen spear with the tip of her foot, leveled it at Wang Junke, and said: “Father — let me see something of your swordsmanship.”

“You wretched child!”

Wang Junke was nearly beside himself with rage.

“Do not hurt Chan’er!”

Li Qi in the distance, though furious beyond measure himself, hastily called out the warning.

Wang Junke drew a deep breath and was just about to raise his sword and advance when Li Chan, Zhai Shu, and Niu Jinda charged at him together. This was absolutely more than he could withstand; Wang Junke had no choice but to dodge out of the way.

Niu Jinda swung back, gave a sharp whistle, and the mounted cavalry holding the defense against Dugu Da and the aristocratic retainers immediately abandoned their defense of the wall of fallen comrades and withdrew rapidly. Dugu Da urged his troops in pursuit, but when the soldiers reached Niu Xi and the others — those figures who still stood unbroken even in death — a shudder of dread came over them, and for a good while none dared to cross.

The mounted cavalry rejoined with Niu Jinda and the others in one force, fighting forward with full strength, and finally cut through Wang Junke’s defensive line and charged toward the North Gate of the western city. Wang Junke and Dugu Da merged their forces and pressed close behind in hot pursuit.

Li Qi had long since stationed troops at the North Gate: a full battalion of soldiers stood in formation at the ready beneath the city gate.

Xuanzang called out: “Up the city wall!”

Yuzao and Li Chan charged ahead as the vanguard and ascended the city wall along the ramp. Niu Jinda held the center — protecting Xuanzang while using the advantage of his long lance’s reach to knock away enemies above on the ramp and hold back Wang Junke below. Zhai Shu led the mounted cavalry and aristocratic retainers, gathering at the foot of the ramp to hold back the swarming Guazhou troops.

Yuzao and Li Chan drove off the soldiers on the wall-top and made a clean ascent; Niu Jinda brought Xuanzang running up after them.

“Prefect Niu — the wall is too high, we cannot get down!”

Li Chan called out.

Niu Jinda looked below. The western city’s walls stood three zhang high, and just outside the walls was Guazhou’s outer city, where military barracks were stationed. Even if they jumped, they would only land in the middle of a great army.

“Head west along the wall!”

Xuanzang said. “Keep going until you reach the westernmost end of the outer city, and then you can jump down from the wall.”

The western city wall connected directly to the outer city wall. The outer city wall was relatively lower — like the outer city itself, standing only about two zhang in height.

“Kill the traitors!”

From below the city suddenly rang out Zhai Shu’s voice in a hoarse, bellowing battle cry.

The group bent low to look down, and saw Wang Junke leading a vast tide of soldiers that had completely engulfed Zhai Shu and the mounted cavalry. Zhai Shu’s figure flickered in and out of sight amid a forest of flashing blades and gleaming steel; his armor was shattered, his body drenched in blood, and still he swung his sword and fought on. Then — with a sickening sound — the swarming Guazhou troops raised their blades all at once, and Zhai Shu’s fighting silhouette finally vanished into the blaze of steel.

And the mounted cavalry were completely overwhelmed as well — not one survived.

Tears flowed down Niu Jinda’s face, but he spoke with resolve: “Let’s go. One day I will make them pay for this in blood.”

Yuzao and Li Chan ran along the narrow wall-top. Niu Jinda and Xuanzang followed close behind. Then suddenly, beyond the parapet, a white flash of light erupted. An enormous grey wolf leapt out, landing squarely on Niu Jinda. With a thunderous crash, the wolf’s force was so tremendous that it sent Niu Jinda tumbling off the wall in midair — and he came down with a crashing boom onto the roof of a dwelling below the city.

Every person on the walls and below was struck dumb with astonishment. The great wolf crouched atop the parapet and tilted its head back toward the bright moon in a long, sustained howl.

“Kuimu Wolf—”

Xuanzang was shaken with mingled shock and fury. He had never anticipated that Lv Sheng — or rather, Kuimu Wolf — would ultimately join this chaos, and at the most critical moment had shifted the entire balance of the situation, sending Niu Jinda straight into enemy hands.

“Ha ha—”

Kuimu Wolf gave a human laugh and called out: “The chaos of the mortal world — why not watch from the sidelines with cold eyes!”

Kuimu Wolf opened his mouth and spat, and a gust of black mist struck Xuanzang in the face. Xuanzang’s eyes went dark immediately, and he crumpled forward in a faint. Kuimu Wolf leapt and seized Xuanzang by the neck, gripping him with both forepaws, then carried him and flew away — vanishing into the depths of the eastern city wall in an instant.

“Master—”

Li Chan stood frozen, rooted to the spot. Just as he was about to give chase, he saw Wang Junke and Li Qi leading their soldiers ascending the city wall, staring at them with cold eyes.

“Wretched child!”

Li Qi was trembling with rage, raising the saber in his hand as if to strike, but in the end could not bring himself to strike the blow.

Wang Junke’s face had gone iron-grey. He walked toward the two of them with his broad sword raised. Yuzao and Li Chan reached out and gripped each other’s hands, exchanged a glance, and on their faces appeared a faint smile.

Li Chan cried out: “My wife and I will not consort with traitors! This life was given by my father — I return it now, and we owe each other nothing more!”

Wang Junke gave a furious grunt and swung his blade down.

“Junke, stop!”

Li Qi was horrified.

Wang Junke halted the blade midway. He reversed the sword in one swift motion — blade edge pulling back, pommel coming forward — and with two swift cracks struck them both on the back of the neck. Yuzao and Li Chan went dark before their eyes, and crumpled softly to the ground.

Li Qi rushed up the city wall and took Li Chan into his arms. Seeing that he had only fainted, he let out a breath of relief. A look of inexpressible anguish crossed his eyes. He gently smoothed Li Chan’s scattered hair and murmured: “No longer owing each other? No, Chan’er — I am the one who owes you.”

Wang Lishe quickly called for personal guards, who carried the two away to be held in the Prefectural Headquarters.

“Do not bind them — be careful not to chafe them. Simply shut them in a room.”

Li Qi instructed. “And send the best physician.”

Wang Junke shook his head repeatedly, walked to the edge of the city wall, and called down: “Has Niu Jinda been caught?”

Dugu Da looked up and called back: “My lord Wang, Niu Jinda is captured! He is alive, but unconscious.”

At that moment a group of soldiers walked out from among the rubble of the dwelling, four of them carrying Niu Jinda’s great body together. One more man had Niu Jinda’s double-bladed lance slung over his shoulder.

Wang Junke let out a long breath and called down: “Search him quickly! Are the fish tallies on him?”

Dugu Da came to himself as if waking from a dream, rushed over at once, and began searching Niu Jinda’s body. After a considerable while, he slowly raised his face. By the clear light of the bright moon, Wang Junke could see his complexion had gone deathly white.

“The fish tallies… are not there…”

Dugu Da murmured.

Li Qi shot to his feet, breaking out in a sweat over his entire body, and screamed in a hoarse voice: “Search! Search the rubble!”

Dugu Da rushed in a panic to lead troops into the ruins of the dwelling.

“Your Highness — the thing I feared most has come to pass.”

Wang Junke said.

“No, no — they can certainly be found… they must be in the rubble!”

Li Qi was at a complete loss. “They are definitely in the rubble!”

“Your Highness!”

Wang Junke gripped his arm and said through clenched teeth: “Steady yourself. The more dire the situation, the steadier you must be! Is this not something we anticipated long ago? Niu Jinda came to a banquet — the chances of him carrying the fish tallies were only fifty-fifty! If they are not on him, they will be in the mounted cavalry camp in the outer city.”

The two stood on the city wall and looked down at the outer city below. Guazhou’s outer city was vast in area — comparable to the western city, and more than double the size of the eastern city. It was long from east to west and narrow from north to south; in actuality it was the northern outer wall of Guazhou. Within it, what was primarily stationed were troops, along with military supplies, provisions, and grain. The residents were all people providing services for the military.

By now the troops garrisoned in the outer city had long since been roused by the sounds of fierce combat erupting in the western city. Yet separated by a city wall, no one knew what had happened; all the various units’ camps had begun moving into a state of alert, with soldiers holding torches moving around in all directions in the distance — from afar, they looked like countless serpents and dragons, winding and writhing.

“There are three thousand Guazhou garrison troops in the outer city. I will send men to sweep through them at once and find the fish tallies.”

Li Qi said.

“That will not do!”

Wang Junke moved quickly to stop him. “Your Highness, Niu Jinda’s mounted cavalry number three hundred and fifty men. Sweeping through them would be simple enough, but the outer city is too large. If even one person slips away, we will have failed completely.”

“Then what do you propose?”

Li Qi was once again without a plan.

“The officer commanding the mounted cavalry is Niu Jinda’s trusted aide, Qin Gang — an old brother who followed him since the days of Wagang, and someone I know well.”

Wang Junke said, turning it over in his mind. “I will take my five hundred Dunhuang troops over there, open a conversation with him, force my way into the camp, and take control of Qin Gang and his command. Then I can locate the fish tallies. As for what comes after — whether those Suzhou troops are killed or brought over to our side will depend on their choice.”

“Excellent!”

Li Qi was elated.

Wang Junke immediately descended the city wall, mustered his troops, and had someone open the North Gate. With a rumbling of hoofbeats, they rode out.

The five hundred troops traveled east along the road running through the outer city and before long reached the camp where the Suzhou troops were quartered. Guazhou was a major stronghold in the Hexi Corridor; this outer city had in fact been built specifically for billeting troops, with its streets laid out in extremely orderly fashion. Each ward was a single barracks, with rows upon rows of rammed-earth single-story buildings inside serving as soldier quarters.

The Suzhou mounted cavalry were quartered in Ward Bing-Six. The enclosure wall was a little over eight chi high, and inside was another partition wall four chi high. They had long since been stirred up by the sounds of shouting and fighting from the western city; soldiers were standing on the inner partition wall with their upper bodies visible above the outer wall, each face grim.

Wang Junke led his troops past the main gate of Ward Bing-Six without even a glance, his column rolling on.

The Suzhou troops watched in silence. Then suddenly one man called out loudly: “Is that my lord Wang? I am Qin Gang!”

Wang Junke had already passed the gate. He reined in his horse and looked up at the wall: “Ah, it is Captain Qin!”

“My lord, where are you headed?”

Qin Gang’s expression held a trace of anxious tension, though he smiled as he asked.

“Ah — these five hundred men I brought into the city, His Highness has assigned quarters for them in the outer city. I am taking them to their billets.”

Wang Junke said.

Qin Gang nodded in understanding: “My lord, a moment ago we heard shouting and fighting in the city, and I don’t know what happened. Our Prefect went to attend the wedding banquet for your daughter and His Highness’s young lord, and is also within the city. I sent men to find out what was going on, but the Guazhou troops guarding the walls would not let them in.”

“Something of a troublesome matter did indeed occur.”

Wang Junke said. “His Highness the Prince uncovered Turk agents planted within the city; these agents, desperate to escape, launched a surprise attack against the bridal procession. His Highness is conducting a sweep of the city, and I was worried for my daughter’s safety, so I brought five hundred troops in to assist.”

Qin Gang was alarmed: “What has become of Miss Twelve? Is she all right?”

“If she were all right, why would I be worried?”

Wang Junke let out a sigh, waved his hand at Zhao Ping, and said: “You take the column to Ward Ding-Nine. Captain Qin and I have not met in years — I will stay here and have a chat with him.”

“Yes, sir!”

Zhao Ping took the order, leading the column onward.

Wang Junke, accompanied by Ma Hongda and four or five others, turned their horses toward the ward gate, looking very much as though they intended to go in and talk with Qin Gang. Having had his curiosity piqued by the news of the attack on Yuzao, and seeing that Wang Junke had brought only a few men, Qin Gang was not on his guard. He told his troops to open the ward gate and came out himself to receive his guest.

Wang Junke and his men rode inside with composed expressions. The moment they were through the gate, Ma Hongda and the others suddenly swung their broad swords — and with a crack, severed the door bar. In the midst of Qin Gang’s shock, Wang Junke’s horse surged forward; in an instant it was upon him, and the flat of the broad sword smacked hard against Qin Gang’s body, sending him flying.

“Kill!”

Wang Junke pointed his broad sword, and the Dunhuang troops who had been moving onward made a sharp turn and surged through the gate like a flood.

Although the Suzhou mounted cavalry were well-trained, they had not formed up into any formation at this point. Even as the captains and squad leaders at every level organized resistance, they could not stand against a fully formed military array; they were cut into pieces, facing the fate of being surrounded and destroyed in turn.

Wang Junke gave no concern to these small matters. He dismounted, hauled Qin Gang to his feet, dragged him into the command hall, and shut the doors. Ma Hongda and the others stood guard outside. Shortly afterward, agonized screams from Qin Gang rang out from within — evidently torture was being applied.

Through the entire ward of Bing-Six the sounds of battle and slaughter shook the heavens, as the two sides — nearly a thousand men between them — fought in savage carnage inside the narrow confines of the barracks. As the fighting wore on, the constricted terrain broke both sides into scattered fragments, and it devolved almost into a massive free-for-all, and thus became all the more brutal — heads rolling, rivers of blood.

Less than a quarter of an hour had passed when the door of the command hall swung open. Wang Junke walked out, one hand holding the fish tallies, the other dragging Qin Gang. Qin Gang’s body was covered in bloodstains, and his expression was one of utter exhaustion.

“My lord — you got them?”

Ma Hongda was overjoyed.

Wang Junke smiled and raised the fish tallies in his hand with a flourish, then jerked Qin Gang to his feet: “Give the order — command them to surrender.”

Qin Gang had evidently been tortured severely. He raised his head and screamed in a hoarse voice: “Suzhou troops — hear my order! Lay down your weapons — do not resist!”

Ma Hongda seized Qin Gang and walked through the ward, while several messenger soldiers cried out in unison: “Captain Qin’s order: Suzhou troops lay down your weapons — do not resist!”

The call carried far out across the ward. The Suzhou troops still fighting to the death saw Qin Gang taken prisoner, and their fighting spirit collapsed in an instant. At the critical moment of life and death, at last someone threw down his weapons — and like a contagion, the other troops began throwing down their weapons one after another across the battlefield.

“Collect the weapons, strip off the armor, escort them into the city, and present them to His Highness the Prince of Linjiang as our prize!”

Wang Junke said.

“Do you see? You are completely defeated.”

On the outermost wall of the outer city, Xuanzang looked with grief at the collision of blood and fire inside Ward Bing-Six. Kuimu Wolf was still in the form of a wolf, crouching high atop the parapet, and from his mouth came a human voice, taunting Xuanzang as he spoke.

“Li Qi has captured Niu Jinda, annihilated two battalions of mounted cavalry, and even obtained the fish tallies. The combined force of two wan troops in the three prefectures of Guazhou, Shazhou, and Suzhou is now entirely in his control.”

Kuimu Wolf laughed. “When that time comes, Li Qi and Wang Junke will certainly launch a surprise attack on Ganzhou; Zhang Bi has only a mere five thousand men and will certainly be unable to hold. Once Ganzhou falls, Liangzhou is in peril.”

“Liangzhou is the key hub of the Hexi Corridor, garrisoned with fifty thousand troops. Li Dayong is a battle-hardened general — they cannot take Liangzhou.”

Xuanzang said slowly, as though offering himself a small and fragile consolation.

“Ha ha ha—”

Kuimu Wolf laughed heartily. “Do not forget the Turks! The Kehan Xieli is beset by enemies within and without, his state power greatly diminished. The Guazhou uprising is his finest opportunity to turn the tables, and he will certainly not let it pass — he will lead his armies south to attack Liangzhou. And Li Dayong, caught in a two-pronged attack, how could he not fall? Once Great Tang loses Liangzhou, the border moves back to Lanzhou. Li Qi and his territory connecting with Tuyuhun and the Turks would then form a continuous line — and the moment Tang forces dare step one foot beyond Lanzhou, they will face the combined strike of all three. This mortal world — truly, what a magnificent spectacle!”

Xuanzang looked at him with anger: “Kuimu Wolf — why do you so desire to see chaos descend upon the world of men?”

Kuimu Wolf displayed an expression of “bewilderment,” and for a long while said nothing, seeming to genuinely ponder the question.

“If you are truly a divine being of the heavens, what does this mortal world have to do with you? If you descended to earth to search for the serving-woman of Pixiang Palace — since you have already found Zhai Wen, you need only stay and be with her. Why then do you stir up rebellion at the frontier and plunge all of Hexi into a hell of blood and fire?”

Xuanzang pressed him step by step. “This is not a concern that would occupy a divine being. Because in the eyes of a divine being of the heavens, human conflict would be no more than ants biting each other. Is there any real interest in it?”

Kuimu Wolf “flared”: “I simply find it interesting — so what of it?”

“No — not because it is interesting. But because of hatred.”

Xuanzang fixed him with his gaze. “Because you are not a divine being of the heavens at all. You are only the malevolent impulse from Lv Sheng’s heart, given form. It is Lv Sheng who took his grievances, his hatred, and the agony of a heart full of ambitions with nowhere to send them — and fractured them outward into you: this monstrous creature.”

“Lies!”

Kuimu Wolf’s expression turned savage. His wolf claw shot out and seized Xuanzang by the throat, and he said with chilling menace: “Do you think I would not dare to kill you?”

Xuanzang’s face went red as he struggled with both hands to pry apart Kuimu Wolf’s forelimb, but he could not move it at all. Kuimu Wolf watched him coldly, and only when Xuanzang was on the verge of suffocation did he release his grip with a vicious smile. Xuanzang crouched down coughing violently for a long while before he straightened again: “The humble monk… the humble monk must still say… Lv Sheng, no matter whether you can hear me or not, I want you to know — every person alive in this world is surrounded by two kinds of people: friends and enemies. Your enemies may be many, but your friends are not few either. I, the humble monk, am one of them. There are also Zhai Wen, Yuzao, Li Chan, Li Chunfeng — and also Zhao Fu, Vice Prefect Zheng, Old Master Lv. Some of these people hold a devotion toward you that has never wavered; some have worked tirelessly on your behalf; some have thrown everything aside for your sake; and some have given their lives for you with willing hearts. Lv Sheng — this world has not treated you poorly, and this Great Tang has not treated you poorly. Heaven has never shown favor to one and slighted another; what it gives each person in gain and in loss is equal; in love and in hatred, equal too. Why is it that some people feel that all under heaven has wronged them? Because they see only the hatred and the loss, and never the devotion and the possession.”

Kuimu Wolf stared at him, seeming stunned. Xuanzang said, each word deliberate: “Lv Sheng — I know you can hear me. I know you are hidden beneath this body before me. Then I ask you to open your eyes and look: the night of the desert is not all cold. Reach out and touch it — beneath the sand, there is still warmth.”

Click — Kuimu Wolf’s sharp claws rested atop the battlement, and without realizing it, he bore down just slightly — as if trying to press his claws down beneath the sand. The blue brick cracked under the force.

On the road from the outer city leading to the western city, a vaulted city gate stood at the inner wall, and outside it great numbers of soldiers were gathered, shouting angrily.

Dugu Da went up the gate tower and looked down into the vaulted gate passage below; he immediately felt a headache coming on. He could see that below the vaulted gate passage, Wang Junke’s five hundred Dunhuang troops were escorting nearly three hundred Suzhou mounted cavalry prisoners, along with some of the outer city garrison troops maintaining order, all shouting and arguing loudly and cursing at the men on top of the gate.

“What is happening?”

Dugu Da asked the garrison captain.

That captain said helplessly: “Prefect, as you can see for yourself — my lord Wang defeated the Suzhou mounted cavalry, captured Qin Gang, and got the fish tallies. He is escorting the prisoners to come and present them to His Highness as our prize. But His Highness and yourself issued a strict order that both the eastern and western cities of Guazhou are under curfew tonight. With all this chaos of people — how am I supposed to let them in?”

“This is…”

Dugu Da was also somewhat at a loss. The control over Guazhou had only just been secured; Li Qi, half by persuasion and half by coercion, had brought the aristocratic clan heads of Guazhou and Dunhuang into the Prefectural Headquarters and was in the process of alternating between threats and inducements upon them. It was genuinely uncertain who supported His Highness and who harbored hidden treachery, and letting in so large and disorderly a crowd would indeed make the situation difficult to control. However, Wang Junke was different — he was not only the central figure in this rebellion, but held in his hand the fish tallies of Suzhou, representing a great meritorious deed that could not be denied its due recognition.

“My lord Wang!”

Dugu Da called out. “The city is conducting a sweep for rebel elements and the situation is turbulent. Would it not be better if you ordered your troops back to their billeting camp and came yourself with twenty or thirty men to pay respects to His Highness? How would that be?”

Wang Junke, mounted on horseback, said nothing. But his soldiers would not have it — one squad leader called out loudly: “His Highness intends to accomplish great things, yet now that we have done our part, he would discard us like a used millstone, would he?”

“Exactly!”

Another soldier roared. “We fought and bled for His Highness, with so many brothers dying — we came with joy to present our victory to His Highness, only to be shut out. Is this the wise ruler we are supposed to pledge our lives to serve?”

At these words, not only the Dunhuang troops but even the Guazhou troops who had joined Li Qi’s rebellion felt a twinge of unease in their hearts. Anyone willing to follow Li Qi from the very start of the rebellion was driven by the desire to seize fame and fortune in the upheaval. The uprising had barely even begun, and His Highness was already treating people this poorly — what hope was there for the future?

Dugu Da’s expression grew uncomfortable. He was in fact also running his own calculations: the Guazhou uprising had gone smoothly, His Highness was currently in negotiations with the clan heads, and when day broke the uprising would be declared and rewards and titles would be allocated according to merit. Though Wang Junke was the chief driving force behind the uprising, right now both the eastern and western cities were filled with his own Guazhou troops — by rights he ought to be claiming the lion’s share. But once Wang Junke’s troops were let in, the allocation of rewards would inevitably tip in Wang Junke’s favor.

Dugu Da’s heart was genuinely reluctant, but how was he to soothe the mood of Wang Junke and the soldiers outside? His mind churned in confusion.

At just that moment, Wang Lishe came rushing up the gate tower and called out: “Prefect Dugu — His Highness orders that my lord Wang and the soldiers of merit be admitted to the city.”

“But with so many people…”

Dugu Da was still hesitant.

“Prefect Dugu — you are muddled!”

Wang Lishe said in a low voice. “They hold the fish tallies — that means the six thousand troops of Suzhou! How can such a great meritorious deed go unrewarded? His Highness is about to declare the uprising — this is exactly what is meant by paying a thousand gold for a horse’s bones.”

Dugu Da silently nodded and gave the order to open the city.

The soldiers outside erupted in a cheer and crowded through the gate in noisy disorder. Wang Junke did not restrain them, only riding his horse at a leisurely pace at the tail end of the soldiers and prisoners. Dugu Da knew this was a show of power directed at himself — since he had already yielded, he had no intention of making an enemy of Wang Junke, and immediately broke into a smile as he descended from the city wall and approached Wang Junke.

“Ha ha — congratulations, my lord Wang!”

Dugu Da said with a smile. “Having seized the Suzhou fish tallies in one stroke, His Highness can now rest completely easy.”

Wang Junke sat high on his horse, staring down at him with a sidelong glance, and suddenly drew his broad sword and brought it down with a great shout: “Li Qi and Dugu Da have raised a mob in treasonous rebellion — kill them without mercy!”

Before Dugu Da had even processed what was happening, a flash of steel — and a head flew skyward.

“Kill!”

Ma Hongda raised his long lance, and the disorderly Dunhuang troops swiftly formed up into battle array and launched a ferocious assault against the Guazhou troops at the city gate.

Zhao Ping cut the ropes binding Qin Gang and handed him a broad sword. Qin Gang straightened up, and there was not the slightest trace of exhaustion in his bearing. He swung his sword and roared: “Suzhou mounted cavalry — destroy the rebels — save Prefect Niu!”

“Destroy the rebels — save Prefect Niu!”

The Suzhou mounted cavalry who had been prisoners retrieved their weapons from the wagons behind them and joined the Dunhuang troops.

“Move — take the eastern city!”

Wang Junke snapped his reins and his cavalry swept forward without pause, racing like the wind toward the gate of the eastern city.

Wang Lishe had been following behind Dugu Da as they descended from the wall; he had not yet made it down the ramp when he witnessed the entire scene before him, and was so terrified his soul nearly left his body. He stumbled and nearly fell where he stood. How could he not understand now — Wang Junke had harbored evil intent all along, having colluded secretly with the Suzhou mounted cavalry, and was now committing rebellion!

Below, the killing had already left bodies strewn across the ground, with fierce fighting everywhere. Wang Lishe slipped soundlessly up onto the city wall and ran east along the wall.

The so-called eastern and western cities of Guazhou were in fact created by building a wall across the middle of a single city, dividing it in two — but the outer circuit wall was connected. Wang Lishe scrambled and crawled frantically along the top of the wall, reached the northern wall of the eastern city, found a ramp, and descended — then tumbled in his haste and went rolling down the ramp, crashing to the bottom with his head battered and bleeding.

Wang Lishe forgot the pain and ran at full speed through the streets toward the Prefectural Headquarters.

Passing by the eastern city’s gate, he saw in the chaos of flickering torches that Wang Junke had already seized the city gate, and the soldiers guarding it were scattering and fleeing in all directions. Wang Lishe dared not slow down; he sprinted to the gates of the Prefectural Headquarters, where the garrison captain, Dong Jiang, was looking in the direction of the city gate with suspicious and unsettled eyes. Seeing Wang Lishe in such a wretched state, he was immediately startled.

“Vice Prefect Wang — what has happened?”

Dong Jiang asked.

“Rebellion… Wang Junke killed Prefect Dugu — rebellion!”

Wang Lishe screamed at the top of his lungs. “Quickly close the gate — report to His Highness!”

Dong Jiang was also frightened half out of his wits. Just then he saw at the far end of the street, Wang Junke riding a great horse and swinging his broad sword as he charged forward; anyone who offered resistance in his path was cut down, bodies tumbling in his wake on all sides — he looked like a god of slaughter.

Dong Jiang and Wang Lishe rallied the soldiers and retreated into the Prefectural Headquarters, then swung the great gates shut with a rumbling crash.

In the Hexi region, military strongholds were essentially built in a fortress style — the Prefectural Headquarters was no exception, with thick rammed-earth walls rising two zhang in height, topped with merlons and enemy-watch towers. The gates were fashioned from hardy Euphrates poplar, a full half-chi thick. Originally stationed there with five hundred troops in preparation to deal with Niu Jinda, Dong Jiang and Wang Lishe rallied the soldiers to mount the walls and defend them, and for the moment Wang Junke could not take it.

Wang Junke was not concerned. Li Qi was now nothing more than a turtle in a jar. He directed troops to sweep the surrounding area and secure key positions in the eastern city, then called over Ma Hongda: “Take heavy troops immediately and seize the Prefectural Headquarters jail. Get Niu Jinda, Cui Dunli, and those clan heads out, and make absolutely certain none of them is harmed.”

“Yes, sir!”

Ma Hongda led two hundred men racing off.

“Zhao Ping,”

Wang Junke said, “Go open the armory and bring out the trebuchets, siege ladders, and other siege equipment.”

“Yes, sir!”

Zhao Ping took fifty men and hurried off in haste.

Wang Junke said nothing further, only sitting on his horse, his broad sword trailing at his side, standing guard before the gate of the Prefectural Headquarters. On all sides, soldiers held torches that cast light over his face — and on that face was an excitement and ferocity he could not wholly contain.

Xuanzang and Kuimu Wolf had by this time come to the wall of the eastern city. A man and a wolf stood atop the wall, staring blankly at the sudden reversal of events in the city — both their minds roiling like storm-tossed seas. No one had anticipated it: the Guazhou uprising had been overturned in an instant. Wang Junke — had turned against them.

“Kui God! Kui God—”

Li Zhi came running over in a panic, stumbled midway and went down, then scrambled back up. “Wang Junke… Wang Junke has suddenly turned on Li Qi — to suppress the rebellion!”

“I can see that.”

Kuimu Wolf was still staring fixedly at the city below. “And then?”

“Right now Wang Junke has sent Wang Junsheng and others to each barracks to persuade the Guazhou troops who had not taken part in the rebellion to follow him in suppressing it.”

Li Zhi wore a grief-stricken expression. “We… have been played by Wang Junke!”

Kuimu Wolf said nothing.

Xuanzang let out a sigh: “Do you still consider yourself a divine being of the heavens? It seems that from beginning to end you were all being toyed with in the palm of Wang Junke’s hand. From the current state of events, Wang Junke’s true intent all along was only to feign allegiance to Li Qi’s rebellion — and his ultimate objective was to exterminate Li Qi. How laughable — you all thought you had things well in hand, binding the Dunhuang aristocratic clans together with Wang Junke, intending to use the charge of treason to annihilate the five great clans.”

Li Zhi jumped up and raged: “What nonsense are you spouting now?”

“The humble monk is not spouting nonsense, but reminding you — you are already trapped in a desperate position, life and death hanging in a single breath.”

Xuanzang said evenly. “Wang Junke’s sudden defection to the loyalist side and his success in suppressing Li Qi’s rebellion has washed clean the charge of treason from his own body. And so the Dunhuang aristocratic clans are likewise not guilty of treachery. If they respond with skill, they may even earn merit in this suppression of the rebellion.”

“And so what of that?”

Li Zhi’s expression turned savage.

“And so what of that?”

Xuanzang said coldly. “The five great clans are the victors — which means the only losers are Li Qi and yourselves.”

Li Zhi’s body went limp, and he dropped straight to the ground. This man, who had once dared to plot the rebellions of Zhang Hu and Li Tong, who had killed the Guazhou Commander-General and waged war against the court — now he seemed like a man whose spine had been ripped out.

“Kuimu Wolf — do you still not see clearly?”

Xuanzang called out. “Heaven’s way is without constancy, and human power has its limits. Open your eyes and look at the stars in the sky above and the earth beneath your feet — and ask yourself: who are you?”

“Who am I… who am I…”

Kuimu Wolf too seemed to have had the very sinews stripped from him. The great wolf body moved slowly along the parapet, those dim, luminous eyes filled with boundless bewilderment.

After walking some ten or more zhang, his body half-submerged in the darkness atop the wall, he could go no further. His legs gave way beneath him, and with a heavy thud he toppled from the parapet.

Xuanzang and Li Zhi were both startled, and rushed forward. Partway there, Li Zhi suddenly grabbed Xuanzang’s arm; the two stopped in their tracks, and what lay before their eyes made Xuanzang go cold to the marrow.

“What has Bodhi ever had to prove? Only today do I know that I am I. In the space between heaven and earth we have met — I am you, and you are me.”

Kuimu Wolf was murmuring, and then suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mass of dark black blood. “Three years of planning, swept away in a single night — and my lifespan is at its end. Why is this world so unyielding?”

Kuimu Wolf struggled to crawl along the ground. The blood he had spat out was seeping out through the cracks between the bones of his cheeks and flowing from his lower jaw.

“This is—”

Xuanzang murmured the two words, and then he saw Kuimu Wolf rise up on his hind legs, press a wolf claw against his face and the top of his head — with a crack, the entire wolf head split into four pieces and fell to the ground. Within the wolf head — was Lv Sheng’s pale, drawn face.

“You guessed correctly, Dharma Master.”

Lv Sheng looked at him with a desolate expression. “The wolf and I are indeed one body — this wolf head was merely a mechanical mask.”

With those words spoken, Lv Sheng pitched forward. Xuanzang rushed over and caught his body — and the moment he did, he felt a thick, furry sensation. Instinctively he tugged at it, but it would not budge, seeming to be grown into the flesh.

Li Zhi hurried over as well, pressed a hand to Lv Sheng’s forehead, and touched something blazing hot: “This is bad — the poison can no longer be contained.”

“What is happening?”

Xuanzang felt a rising dread in his heart. “Li Chunfeng understands medicine — I will go find him.”

“The poison has reached the bone. Even if Sun Simiao himself were here, there would be nothing to be done.”

Li Zhi said bleakly. “Originally he could have held on for another ten or more days, but tonight’s defeat has been such a blow that I fear he has simply lost the will to go on living.”

“What exactly happened?”

Xuanzang said, each word distinct.

“Dharma Master, you have already guessed it all — why ask again?”

Lv Sheng murmured. He raised his arm, peeled away a thin layer of skin from the back of his hand, and beneath the furry arm was affixed an intricate mechanism of steel and iron. At the front end of the mechanism were five razor-sharp tempered steel wolf claws, each one locked to one of Lv Sheng’s finger joints, moving as his fingers moved — clack clack — with remarkable ease. It was a true marvel of craftsmanship.

Lv Sheng twisted open several clasps on his arm; the wolf claws came free as a complete unit, revealing Lv Sheng’s undamaged arm beneath. The entire arm was covered in wolf fur.

“All your guesses about my techniques were right. But there is one thing you guessed wrong — you said I wore a wolf skin draped over my body. I did not.”

Lv Sheng looked steadily at Xuanzang, and on his face there was a smile, though his expression held boundless grief. “Because this wolf skin was not draped on me — it grew into me.”

“What?”

Xuanzang was stunned.

“Lv Sheng, do not say more!”

Li Zhi pleaded.

But Lv Sheng struggled to pick up the wolf claw from the ground and pressed it against his own furry arm. The razor-sharp wolf claw cut downward — and sliced straight into Lv Sheng’s skin. Blood immediately welled up and flowed. Lv Sheng smiled, then made another cut across his own chest; blood welled from that too. In a moment the wolf fur all over him was dampened and matted with blood.

“Look — my entire body, top to bottom, is wolf skin. Not draped on, but grown in.”

Lv Sheng said.

Xuanzang felt a thought rising in his mind — a thought that frightened even himself: “Could it be—”

“That is exactly it.”

Li Zhi said with bitter pain. “In those years when Lv Sheng was imprisoned in the underground dungeon of the clans, he endured unspeakable torment — they were trying to force him to reveal the whereabouts of the epitaph stele. To humiliate him, the clans stripped a complete wolf skin from a wolf and pressed it over his body.”

“As for how a wolf skin becomes grown into a human body — it is actually straightforward. No one has more experience of this than I do.”

Lv Sheng said with a smile. “First, they scrubbed the entire body with scalding water until the skin was soft but had not yet begun to break down. Then they began applying a medicinal ointment — something of the promoting-growth and activating-blood type, it seemed. I could only identify the moutan bark, chicken-blood vine, and frankincense, but there was also a powerful adhesive property to it. After that they took a wolf, skinned it alive, and while the skin was still warm, pressed it directly onto my skin. That wolf skin adhered to my skin and took root as if by fusion — chest, back, abdomen, all four limbs… then for several months they administered medicines to me, and after it healed, they had truly made a creature that was part man and part wolf. Hm — they called me ‘the man-dog,’ and they gave me a nickname: Dog Young Master.”

Lv Sheng laughed softly as he spoke, his tone as light and easy as if discussing something of no consequence. Xuanzang listened, and inside he felt as though he were being cut to pieces. Even having witnessed the horrors of Ni Li Prison, he had never imagined that the human world could contain such vicious people capable of such vicious acts. This was the champion scholar of Great Tang! This was the brilliant talent who had once composed the “Qin King Breaks the Battle Lines”! And he had been imprisoned, tortured, and transformed by the clans into the likeness of a wolf-dog.

Lv Sheng’s consciousness was gradually growing hazy; he slumped against the city wall and sat there without the strength to move.

Xuanzang’s tears flowed in torrents, and his voice was choked.

“In those years, my Li clan was already at odds beneath the surface with the other clans. When the Lv family came to Dunhuang and sought a marriage alliance with the Zhai clan, I was even a little envious of the Zhais for gaining such a fine son-in-law. Who could have imagined — that over a grudge eighty years old, things would escalate to such a state. First Old Master Lv was humiliated at the Zhai estate; then came the conflict between Lv Sheng, and the Zhai and Linghu clans. It grew like a storm, larger and more uncontrollable, until it was beyond containing. In the end, Old Master Lv was trapped in the ward, unable to seek medical care, and died of his illness. Lv Sheng dug up the graves of the eight great clans…”

Li Zhi’s expression was complex — he had in fact harbored considerable resentment toward Lv Sheng as well, since Lv Sheng had also dug up his own clan’s ancestral graves. “The seven great clans then joined forces to set a trap at Qingdun Garrison, and captured Lv Sheng.”

“His later escape — was it indeed your Li clan that assisted him in secret?”

Xuanzang asked in a low voice.

“Correct.”

Li Zhi said. “Before that, the Linghu clan had used the epitaph stele matter to seize hold of the other clans by their weak points, and my Li clan, unwilling to tolerate their bullying, had privately come to terms with Lv Sheng and redeemed the epitaph stele. But it was discovered not long afterward, and they forced my father to his death — and would not even permit his body to be transported home for burial, displaying it for three years at the Seven-Story Pagoda. At that time, consumed with hatred, I searched for their vulnerabilities. Within our aristocratic circles, the webs of connection run deep and complex, and I managed to learn that they had imprisoned Lv Sheng in an underground dungeon and were transforming him into a wolf-dog! And so I had the wolf claws and the wolf head constructed, had them smuggled secretly into the dungeon, and arranged for Lv Sheng to escape. Afterward the two of us spent three years planning and building the illusion that Kuimu Wolf, a divine star-spirit, had descended to earth — intending to use the power of the divine and the spectral to bring ruin upon the clans. Unfortunately, Lv Sheng’s body had been badly ravaged during his time in the dungeon; during the transformation into the wolf-dog, a malignant poison had invaded deep into his body. He should have been dead long ago, but for the sake of his plan for vengeance, he researched a medicine that greatly amplified one’s combat power. After testing it on his followers, they turned into the monstrous creatures known as Star Generals. Lv Sheng measured and reduced the dosage for his own use — his strength and agility surpassed those of ordinary people, but his body was already burning the last of its oil and the lamp was guttering. It can no longer sustain him.”

Xuanzang reached out to support Lv Sheng, and his hand touched something on Lv Sheng’s back — a pouch stitched to his back. Li Zhi opened the pouch and drew from it a robe, which he helped Lv Sheng put on. Xuanzang smiled bitterly — now he understood how Lv Sheng achieved his sudden transformations.

Li Zhi also drew from the pouch a medicinal pill — unmistakably the inner elixir that Kuimu Wolf had let Zhai Wen inhale at Yumen Pass. Li Zhi held the elixir beneath Lv Sheng’s nose. Lv Sheng drew several deep breaths, recovered a little strength, and opened his mouth to draw the elixir in.

“Do not swallow that!”

Li Zhi was horrified.

Lv Sheng swallowed the elixir with a gulp, and said between labored breaths: “Surely I cannot die tonight on this city wall. If heaven comes to collect me — even one more day of life is useful.”

Having swallowed the elixir, Lv Sheng’s spirits revived somewhat. He looked up at Xuanzang and smiled: “Dharma Master, there is still one thing you guessed wrong.”

“What is that?”

Xuanzang asked.

“You said my performance at Qingdun Garrison was staged for Li Chunfeng to witness, intending to use his voice to convey my grievances to the court.”

Lv Sheng said. “That is not so. I genuinely did not know that Li Chunfeng had come to Dunhuang. That performance was staged from the beginning for you to witness.”

“Oh?”

Xuanzang was surprised. “Why?”

“Because I wanted you to see my life.”

Lv Sheng said with a smile. “I took you from Qingdun Garrison to Yumen Pass, allowing you to uncover so many truths. Then I deliberately let you escape, and drove you to the Western Grottoes — because I wanted to show you, piece by piece and scene by scene, the life I had lived in Dunhuang. Because I wanted you to understand: why I was unable to uphold the promise and ideals of those years, why I fell into darkness midway and strayed from the path. Because I feel a sense of shame toward the dreams of my younger self — and if I could obtain your understanding, it would be as though my former self had forgiven my present self.”

These words brought tears streaming down Xuanzang’s face.

In all the days he had spent in Dunhuang, there were moments in the deep of night when his mind wandered back to a young man he had met at the Temple of Great Benevolence in the sixth year of Wude. He was handsome, and sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion speaking as if in a dream: There is something — the Buddhists call it Buddha, the Taoists call it the Way, rulers call it law, the men of learning call it Confucianism, and the common people call it dreams. It can cause person and person to hold each other in reverence; nation and nation to maintain lasting peace; the common people to live and work in prosperity and contentment; and the world to know war, famine, and suffering no more. It is something that cannot be touched and seen, cannot be grasped and felt, cannot be expressed in speech, and cannot be conveyed in writing…

He said: This is the wager of our lifetimes. Since it cannot be touched and seen, grasped and felt, expressed in speech, or conveyed in writing — then let us spend our entire lives searching for it.

The peerless scholar of Chang’an in those years — the foremost man of Wude — had come in the end to this: his half-life spent, crashing to its close in such a fashion.

“Enough, Dharma Master.”

Lv Sheng summoned his strength and rose to his feet. “You have witnessed my first half of life, each scene as it truly was. My days are numbered — let the Dharma Master now witness the manner of my final destruction.”

Lv Sheng picked up the wolf claws and the wolf head from the ground one by one and put them on again. In an instant he had once again become a ferocious, towering wolf.

He leapt lightly and landed on the parapet, looking out over the city below.

“What are you going to do?”

Xuanzang called out in alarm.

“Though I have been defeated, I cannot allow that shameless scoundrel Wang Junke to be the victor.”

With a sudden burst of motion, Kuimu Wolf leapt — over the battlements, over the bright moon — and was swallowed by the vast surrounding darkness.