The destruction of Xingtang Temple left a deep sorrow in the hearts of everyone who witnessed it. Li Shimin was consumed with fury, yet before an entire collapsed mountain peak, even the emperor of the mortal world could find no trace to search.

The whole company returned to Huoyi in a bedraggled and wretched state. Li Shimin had Du Chuke locate several wealthy households, and everyone dispersed to take lodging there — bathing, washing up, and resting properly through the night. Not until noon of the second day had the injured been more or less settled. The moment Li Shimin had a free moment, he had Fa Ya brought before him.

“Old monk — what skill, what cunning!” Li Shimin said coldly.

Fa Ya smiled bitterly: “Your Majesty, since it clearly belongs to the realm of the Underworld, why must you insist on proving it was man-made before you will let it rest? When old monk first approached Official Pei Ji to collaborate, it was only to provide a pretext — the aim was to let the matter become known throughout the court and the realm. But the one who invited Your Majesty to tour the Underworld was indeed Yan Mouluo.”

“Still stiff-necked!” Li Shimin was beside himself, and gave a cold laugh: “Do you think that now Xingtang Temple is destroyed, I have no means to deal with you? Do not forget — there is still Cui Jue!”

“Cui Jue has long since died,” Fa Ya shook his head. “Old monk does not believe Your Majesty has any means to retrieve him from the Underworld.”

Even Xuanzang had little sympathy for this old monk’s die-hard stubbornness. What was the point of it? With Pei Ji’s betrayal, this plan held no secrets whatsoever — why continue to provoke His Majesty?

Li Shimin gave a cold laugh: “Is that so? I have already directed Yuchi Jingde to quietly put surveillance on Cui Jue’s former wife. His daughter’s whereabouts I am unaware of — but it remains to be seen whether Cui Jue can truly bring himself to abandon the wife he married in life!”

Fa Ya’s expression did not change: “Your Majesty will come to a day of regret.”

Li Shimin gritted his teeth without speaking. Just at that moment, an officer came hurrying in: “Your Majesty — Cui Jue has appeared!”

Li Shimin’s spirit leapt. Wei Zheng, Du Ruhui, Du Chuke, Xuanzang, and the rest all shot to their feet. Li Shimin said: “Where is he now?”

“A quarter-hour ago, Cui Jue suddenly appeared in the rear courtyard of the county office, then vanished. General Yuchi broke down the building and found a hidden passage. He led men in pursuit and then sent someone out to report that the passage leads out of the city to the east, commanding the Imperial Guards to mobilize at once and capture him!”

“Excellent! Summon a thousand cavalry — I shall personally lead the force to capture him!” Li Shimin was flushed with excitement. He glanced sidelong at Fa Ya: “Keep this old monk under close guard. I shall let him see for himself how the adjudicator of the Underworld falls into my hands!”

The collapse of Xingtang Temple had brought death and injury to many, and Huoyi’s county magistrate Guo Zai was in a state of frantic busyness, overwhelmed from all directions. Gathering medicines, requisitioning physicians, clearing out houses to shelter the injured as well as the Emperor’s enormous entourage — every single task was a headache for this fierce tiger county magistrate. He had also heard of the events within Xingtang Temple — that the Emperor’s soul had toured the Underworld and been received by the Underworld adjudicator Cui Jue — and Guo Zai was left thunderstruck, a surge of intense unease rising in his heart.

The terrible plight of the Xingtang Temple injured also filled him with dread. Lu Luo had disappeared several days ago and remained missing to this day. Guo Zai was quietly worried — could she have gone to Xingtang Temple? A few days ago he had asked Li Youniang, but she had hemmed and hawed without giving a clear answer, making him increasingly suspicious. At midday, after settling the work in his hands, he felt more and more uneasy in his heart, and entrusted a colleague with his duties before heading back to the rear courtyard of the county office to question Li Youniang clearly.

He had barely reached his own front door when he paused — standing at the entrance were several dozen Imperial Guards in full armor, bows at their waists and straight-bladed swords in their hands. Guo Zai asked in bewilderment: “Gentlemen, why are you standing guard before my humble residence? No wounded have been quartered in the rear compound, I believe?”

A Guard officer frowned: “Who are you?”

“I am the Magistrate of Huoyi, Guo Zai,” Guo Zai said, clasping his hands.

The officer exchanged glances with those around him, then nodded. With a clatter, they surrounded him, and the officer smiled coldly: “So you are Magistrate Guo? Master Wei Zheng has given orders — the moment Guo Zai is sighted, detain him at once.”

Guo Zai was shocked: “What crime has this official committed? Why should I be detained?”

“This I am not at liberty to say — Master Wei has been looking for you for some time, but with the county in such chaos he could not find you. How convenient that you have come to us yourself.” The officer said coldly: “Someone — take him inside! Await Master Wei’s orders.”

Guo Zai had an enormous build, and the officer feared he might be difficult to handle. With a wave of the hand, over ten men pressed in from all sides, and archers were ready at a distance as well. Guo Zai dared not resist, and allowed himself to be bound and pushed into the rear compound. Once inside, he found his maidservant Mo Lan and his young servant Qiu’er both weeping miserably, bound and trussed up and thrown in the reception hall. Seeing their own master also brought in as a prisoner, they wailed and cried: “Master, Master — save us! We’ve done nothing wrong!”

Guo Zai said with great annoyance: “What in the world is going on? Why have you also been tied up? Where is the Lady of the House?”

“Master, about an hour ago, the Lady was taken away by a black-clad, masked person!” Mo Lan wept. “And then a tall general came crashing in with his men. They found a hidden passage in your room and went in. Then they tied us up and put us under guard!”

“Master, what crime have you committed?” Qiu’er also wept. “We haven’t been involved in any wrongdoing with you.”

Guo Zai was furious, and kicked Qiu’er into a ball that rolled away and groaned, then stared wide-eyed: “The Lady has been abducted? Who did this?”

“We don’t know!” Mo Lan cried.

“Where did they take her?” Guo Zai was nearly out of his mind.

“This servant overheard the Lady speaking with that person — the person mentioned something about the Eagle Hawk Ford…” Mo Lan said in fright.

Guo Zai froze. “The Lady knew this person?”

“This servant is unsure,” Mo Lan said, “but the Lady did not appear frightened — she went along with that person quite calmly.”

Guo Zai was baffled. Seeing over ten Guards standing at the doorway, he asked urgently: “Gentlemen, do you know who abducted my Lady?”

The Guards exchanged glances and laughed coldly: “Naturally we don’t know. But General Yuchi has personally gone in pursuit. Just wait until you see the bodies and you’ll know.”

“What did you say?” Guo Zai’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat. “Pursuit… General Yuchi went in pursuit…”

He suddenly let out a tiger’s roar. The Guards were taken aback and rushed into the hall, only to see Guo Zai lunge toward the weapon rack on the wall where a long-handled battle sword hung. With both arms behind his back, he drew the blade across the ropes, and with a sharp slicing sound the ropes were cut through in multiple places. Reaching out his arm, he took the fifty-jin battle sword in hand.

“Guo Zai — are you committing treason?” the Guard officer demanded in a sharp voice.

Guo Zai held his battle sword, his hair and beard standing on end, his enormous frame towering two heads above the rest like some divine warrior. He roared: “If my Lady comes to any harm, I will cut you all down to the last man! Everyone, get out of my way—”

“Seize him—” the officer shouted in fury.

Over ten Guards bellowed and surged forward. Guo Zai gave a long laugh, swung the battle sword, and brought it down in a sweeping blow at one of the Guards. With a tremendous crack, the Guard’s straight sword could not withstand the ferocious force — the battle sword landed with all the force of a falling gate, sending the man and his sword flying sideways. With a thunderous crash the man smashed through the window frame and sailed out into the courtyard.

There, in that cramped reception hall, Guo Zai and the dozen Guards broke into a fierce and desperate battle. The ferocity of a veteran battlefield soldier blazed to life once more — the battle sword swept and struck with unstoppable force, and no one could stand against him. He had gone red-eyed, and a single blow of the sword sent Guards flying in pieces. In an instant, arms and legs were flying through the air and flesh and blood were scattered everywhere, and in no time at all, the dozen Guards lay dead or wounded across the floor.

The officer who had his leg shattered by one blow struggled and called out: “Guo Zai, you are a court official — this is treason!”

Guo Zai wiped the blood from his face, spat, and said: “The world is vast, but my Lady comes first! Whoever dares harm my Lady — be it a mountain, I will cut it in two with one stroke!”

He strode out of the hall. The Guards outside heard the commotion and came charging in with shouts. Guo Zai dragged his sword with him — anyone who stood in his path, he cut down with a single blow. Not one person could stop him for even half a step! Corpses covered the courtyard, blood flowed across the ground, and by the time he walked out of the rear compound, not a single one of the several dozen Guards was still standing.

Guo Zai came out into the street. It was crowded and chaotic, with countless townspeople jostling in the streets and muttering among themselves, while Imperial Guards rode past continuously in both directions. Just then a Guard came galloping toward him. Guo Zai stepped in front of the horse and bellowed: “Dismount!”

“You’re looking for death! I carry the Emperor’s orders—” the Guard shouted wide-eyed.

Guo Zai could not be bothered with words. He reached out his arm, grabbed the man’s belt, and with a flick of his arm yanked him down from the saddle and casually tossed him two zhang away. Guo Zai vaulted upward and landed on the still-galloping warhorse, shook the reins, and the horse went thundering off toward the west of the city. When the townspeople suddenly saw their usually mild-mannered county magistrate galloping through on horseback with a great sword, his entire body covered in blood, they scattered to both sides, all rather baffled: “What has come over the honest county magistrate today?”

The Eagle Hawk Ford lay on the banks of the Fen River, twenty li from the west gate of the county town. Guo Zai had been county magistrate here for six years and knew the terrain well. He rode at a gallop out of the west gate and headed for the Fen River. Beyond the city lay rolling hills and dense forest, and a main road ran straight to the Eagle Hawk Ford. Guo Zai pushed ahead without hesitation at full speed.

As he rode, he suddenly heard behind him the thundering of hooves — he had grown up in military service and could tell by the sound that behind him there were no fewer than a thousand mounted soldiers bearing down at full gallop. He glanced back hurriedly, and in the distance some three li to the southeast, a dark tide of cavalry rounded the hills and came sweeping after him. Guo Zai was somewhat puzzled, and then realized it was likely Yuchi Jingde — but strange that he should be coming from the southeast. Had he been led off in the wrong direction?

He guessed rightly. The pursuing force had indeed gone off in the wrong direction — but the one who had guessed wrong was Guo Zai himself, for it was not only Yuchi Jingde behind him: the Emperor Li Shimin himself was there too! Yuchi Jingde, having followed Cui Jue out through the hidden passage, found that the passage emerged at the earth god shrine to the east of the city, and had word sent to the Emperor to head for the east gate. But Li Shimin led a thousand elite cavalry to the earth god shrine east of the city and happened to meet Yuchi Jingde just crawling out from the well there, covered in dirt and grime. After joining up, they confirmed their direction and turned to pursue Cui Jue westward.

For Guo Zai, the fact that his Lady had not been overtaken was just as well — if Yuchi Jingde’s large force had arrived, and in the chaos of battle something happened to his Lady, that would truly be a cause for regret beyond remedy. He dug his heels in and rode at full gallop. After another ten li of pursuit, he suddenly spotted in the distance a single warhorse running ahead, with two riders on it. The woman seated behind, her arms wrapped around the rider’s waist — it was his Lady!

“Lady—” Guo Zai was overjoyed and shouted out: “Have no fear — I am coming to rescue you — You ahead, stop! Let go of my Lady at once, or this official will take your head!”

The two riders ahead turned to look and, seeing it was Guo Zai, were both taken aback. The rider exchanged a few words with Li Youniang, then dug his heels in and rode even faster. Guo Zai was furious, but he was also unafraid — with two people on the other horse, it could not run as fast as his own. He galloped on.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two horses were nearly nose to tail. Guo Zai bellowed: “Villain, let go of my Lady—” and raised his sword to strike.

“Husband, do not—” Li Youniang quickly turned back, her face filled with panic.

“Why not?” Guo Zai asked in surprise.

“He…” Li Youniang hesitated a moment. Seeing there was no way to shake off Guo Zai, she finally steeled herself and said, “He is my husband—”

“Your… husband…” Guo Zai was dumbfounded, and thought to himself: has his Lady been frightened out of her wits? Is he not her husband?

Then immediately something felt wrong, and sure enough, Li Youniang said anxiously: “He is… he is my first husband — Cui Jue!”

“Ah—” Guo Zai was frozen in place.

At this moment the two horses were riding side by side. The man on the other horse turned his head, pulled down the black cloth covering his face, and revealed a handsome and refined face — and then gave a slight smile. Although Guo Zai had never seen Cui Jue in his life, he had heard of him so often from colleagues in the county that his ears were nearly calloused: this man was good-looking, talented, an able and capable administrator. However much jealousy Guo Zai felt, at least he had been able to console himself with the thought that the man was dead. Now a man who had been dead for seven years had suddenly appeared alive before him and had even enticed away his own wife. Guo Zai felt his heart as if someone had cut it out with a knife — a tearing, heart-rending pain!

“Lady,” Guo Zai bellowed in fury, pointing at Cui Jue with his battle sword, “what is the meaning of this?”

“Do not ask,” Li Youniang said with tear-filled eyes. “It is I who have wronged you. Originally I intended to spend the rest of my life with you — but since I learned that Cui Lang was still alive, my heart has been in turmoil. I simply… simply cannot refuse him…”

“Ah—” Guo Zai gave a wrenching, anguished roar, and suddenly with a furious slash of his blade — crack — severed the head of Cui Jue’s warhorse in a single stroke. The two riders tumbled off. Li Youniang, who had just seen Guo Zai’s blade come down, closed her eyes in despair and thought: so be it. Since I have failed him, dying under his blade is a fitting end — better than enduring this endless anguish and confusion.

But instead she felt her body drop, falling forward. Just as she was about to strike the ground, Guo Zai dove from his horse, threw away his battle sword, reached out and caught her by the waist, rolled across the ground to avoid the carcass of the horse, and gently held Li Youniang in his arms.

Cui Jue fared badly — without Guo Zai’s agility, he nearly broke every bone in his body in the fall. With great effort he managed to get to his feet. Seeing his wife held in Guo Zai’s arms, he was instantly furious: “Guo Zai, let go of Youniang! What right do you have to hold her?”

Guo Zai heard this and was all the more furious. He shot to his feet and glared at him: “She is my Lady, and I have every right in the world to hold her! You—”

Cui Jue saw that the Eagle Hawk Ford was only one or two li away, the thundering sound of the Fen River’s waters reaching his ears. He had a boat ready at the ford — once they set sail downstream, entering a branch waterway and slipping into a secret cavern within a mountain, even if Li Shimin searched heaven and earth he could not find them, and from then on they could live out their days carefree in the hills and forests. But at this very last moment, this rough and uncouth brute had ruined everything.

By now, the sound of a thousand-soldier cavalry bearing down was growing louder. Both anxious and enraged, Cui Jue said: “I did not truly die, and she is not a widow — by what right did you marry her? I have yet to charge you with the great crime of taking advantage of another man’s wife while he was absent, and instead you come here to slander me! Guo Zai, out of consideration for how well you have cared for Youniang all these years, I will not hold this against you. Let go of Youniang and get out of here quickly — otherwise when the army behind you arrives, none of us will survive!”

“You clearly died… How can you say I took advantage… you were not really dead…” Guo Zai was thick-tongued and no match for Cui Jue in argument, his belly full of grievance but unable to get it out, and could only bellow wordlessly in rage. Suddenly he felt the person in his arms stir. He looked up at Li Youniang in bewilderment.

Li Youniang jumped down from his arms, walked lightly over to Cui Jue’s side, and turned to bow humbly in Guo Zai’s direction: “Husband, I am a tainted woman and unworthy of your love and regard. This kindness and grace, I will repay you in a future life. But Cui Lang is my husband from my first marriage — now that I know he is alive, I can only follow him, through fire and blade, through the scorn of ten thousand voices. I will have no regrets. Husband, you are a good man, a court official. Cui Lang has now committed the crime of plotting against the Emperor’s life — anyone connected to him will not come to a good end. You had best leave quickly!”

Guo Zai’s tears flowed freely, and he murmured: “Lady, the person you have been meeting with secretly this past year — was it this man?”

Li Youniang’s face went deathly pale: “You… you knew?”

“I may be dull and slow, but I am not a fool — how could I not have known?” This giant of a man suddenly broke into wretched, heaving sobs. “I had known all along that you were meeting with someone in secret. The sedative incense was potent enough, but when I woke in the night and fell off the bed, how could I fail to notice in the morning that my entire body ached and my underclothes were covered in dust? Did you think I would feel no suspicion at all?”

Cui Jue and Li Youniang looked at one another in stunned silence. Thinking of the reckless times she had shared with Cui Jue, Li Youniang could not help but flush crimson: “Husband, I… I have wronged you…”

“You wronged me… wronged me…” Guo Zai suddenly gave a bitter, anguished laugh. “Lady, do you know how much pain I have been carrying in my heart this past year? My family was slaughtered by the Tujue people — not a single person left in this world. I had nothing and no one, and then I found you, and Lu Luo, and a home. Do you know how much I treasured that? I knew about your affair but did not dare say a word. I pretended not to know and went on facing you with a smile every day. Because I was afraid — afraid that once I said something, you would leave me. And my home would fall apart. Leaving me again as I was in that summer — surrounded by the bodies of my parents, wife, and children, in that pain and despair. I truly could not face that again… I would rather tell everyone you had been afflicted by some evil spirit, and even had a high monk come to perform rituals over you… That was all just my way of trying to wake you from this madness—”

Cui Jue was profoundly shaken. He suddenly walked up to Guo Zai, fell to his knees with a thud, and bowed: “Brother Guo, I apologize to you. I am no better than a beast — jealous that you had married Youniang, I deliberately humiliated you. I bow my head to ask your forgiveness.”

Guo Zai made no reply. Cui Jue sighed, and then suddenly drew a dagger from his clothing and plunged it into his own abdomen with a sickening thrust. Guo Zai and Li Youniang were instantly thunderstruck. Cui Jue gritted his teeth against the terrible pain, his voice low: “The humiliation I inflicted upon Brother Guo cannot be erased by a single apology. I would rather suffer the blade upon my body three times over, to show that I mutilate myself as an act of penance, and hope only that Brother Guo can forgive Youniang.” With that, he pulled the dagger free, and thrust it in once more.

The pain was so acute his entire body broke out in cold sweat, his face contorted in agony. Li Youniang let out a sharp cry: “What are you doing? You will kill yourself!”

She lunged forward and tore the dagger from his hand, hurling it away into the distance, then the two of them together knelt before Guo Zai. Weeping, she said: “Husband — have mercy, and let us go! If the army behind us catches up, Cui Lang will die! Cui Lang and I will go away and live in hiding from this day forward, never to be seen again in this world. Lu Luo will still need you to look after her — please, raise her to adulthood. We husband and wife will never forget your great kindness for as long as we live! Husband—”

Guo Zai let out a long sigh. His powerful frame crumpled heavily to the ground, and he murmured: “Where is Lu Luo? Is she all right?”

“She is safe.” Cui Jue said. “I made arrangements long since to have her sent away — she is in Jinzhou now.”

Guo Zai sat in a daze for a long time without speaking. By now Li Shimin’s army had crested the nearest hill, and the black mass of cavalry appeared two li in the distance. Guo Zai finally waved his hand: “Enough — go. Go!”

He reached into his coat and pulled out a packet of medicine, tossing it to Cui Jue: “I was attending to the wounded in the county just now, and happened to have a packet of medicine for sword wounds. Apply it to the wound — don’t die, and take good care of Youniang.”

The two were overjoyed, and thanked him with one voice. Supporting each other, they turned to go.

Guo Zai said in a low voice: “Take my horse! I will hold off the army here — I am afraid I will not have the chance to look after Lu Luo any longer. When the time comes, take her with you. Don’t let her suffer any more hardship.”

Li Youniang was streaming with tears, and stood staring at this powerfully built man in a daze. Cui Jue lowered his head and pulled her away, helping her onto the warhorse. The two rode off toward the Eagle Hawk Ford.

“For the lovers to be united at last — but what of me…” Guo Zai watched the distant backs of the two departing figures and gave a grim, hollow laugh. Then, suddenly, the powerful frame straightened. He held the battle sword in both hands, planted his feet, and stood astride the road — towering and immovable, like a colossus of a god!

The cavalry led by Li Shimin came bearing down in an instant. From a distance, they saw a massive figure gripping a battle sword blocking the road. Yuchi Jingde raised his command flag. At the front, two officers leveled their long lances, and leaning forward over their horses, they charged with the speed of the horses lending power to the thrust. Two people, two horses, two lances — gleaming lance tips full of a bone-chilling cold light, driving straight at Guo Zai.

The two lances came screaming in like a storm wind and tempest rain. Guo Zai stood motionless, staring calmly at the lance tips. When they came within five chi of him, he made his move — like a bolt of lightning he was at the right side of the horses, sidestepping the lance coming from the left. First he raised his sword and swept it sideways, knocking aside the right officer’s lance, then let out a tiger’s roar and brought the battle sword down with both hands in a powerful overhead chop.

The officer had not expected this giant to be so swift. Seeing the sword come down, he was terrified out of his wits, and raised his lance crosswise to block. Guo Zai’s strength was immense, and the battle sword heavy and keen — with a shattering crack the lance shaft snapped in two, and the blow carried through, cleaving the officer’s body open, the blade cutting all the way down through the saddle and catching in the spine of the warhorse.

Blood of man and horse flew in all directions. Guo Zai raised his sword and stood there, eyes cold, looking at the other officer. That officer had missed his thrust and had ridden past, and now turned his horse back. Seeing his comrade killed, he let out a great shout, and came charging back with his horse, his lance couched at Guo Zai’s chest. Guo Zai was even more ferociously reckless — he charged straight at the oncoming warhorse. As the lance came driving in, his battle sword swung and knocked it aside, and then his entire body slammed with tremendous force into the horse’s belly.

The galloping horse was moving at tremendous speed. The officer had never expected Guo Zai to be so audacious, and had no time to avoid the collision — horse and rider were struck head-on. The horse let out a long shriek and went down with a crash. The officer was launched from the saddle and struck the ground heavily.

The exchange was over in a single breath: one officer dead, one injured.

“Hss—” Li Shimin, riding in the midst of the cavalry, tightened his reins and brought his warhorse to a halt. The cavalry were all elite, each of them absolutely disciplined — and simultaneously pulled up their mounts. The entire cavalry formation broke into a trot for three or four zhang before stopping in perfect unison.

Li Shimin and Yuchi Jingde — who had ranged across countless battlefields — possessed extremely keen and discerning eyes. Snapping a lance shaft, matching sheer force against a charging warhorse — what immense strength this man had! What ferocious skill! Who was this person?

When they had pulled their mounts to a halt, the two of them finally got a clear look at Guo Zai’s face, and were both instantly stunned.

“Guo Zai?” Li Shimin was taken aback. “What are you doing here?”

Guo Zai, seeing the Emperor, was equally startled. He had not expected Li Shimin himself to be personally leading the chase after Cui Jue. This at once placed him in an acutely awkward situation — standing against the Emperor meant treason, and his lifetime’s honor would be forfeit; but if he did not block Li Shimin, Youniang would lose her life. Guo Zai’s face muscles twitched and contorted, his powerful frame trembling faintly. After a long moment he finally threw down his sword and fell to his knees: “This official did not know it was Your Majesty who had come. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

“Oh, I understand.” Li Shimin suddenly realized. “The woman Cui Jue took away — that is your Lady, is it not?”

“It is,” Guo Zai said in a low voice. “My wife, Youniang.”

Li Shimin was furious: “In that case, why are you blocking my way? I am pursuing the rebel Cui Jue — Cui Jue has abducted your Lady, and you should be joining me to capture him together! You fool!”

“Your Majesty’s rebuke is deserved.” Guo Zai smiled bitterly. “I had already caught up with them, and meant to rescue Youniang — but she refuses to come with me, because Cui Jue is her husband from her first marriage… I love Youniang deeply and truly cannot bear to watch her die before my eyes, and so I let them go.”

Li Shimin’s expression grew dark. In his heart he was quite fond of this fierce tiger county magistrate — a veteran battlefield fighter who would have been a formidable commander. He had intended to take him back to Chang’an and give him a position of importance. But he had become entangled in something like this. After a long silence, Li Shimin finally sighed: “Guo Zai — for the sake of a husband and wife’s bond, for the sake of a woman who has abandoned you, you disregarded the bond between sovereign and subject and raised your sword against me?”

“This official dares not disregard the bond between sovereign and subject, and is unwilling to give up the bond of husband and wife.” Guo Zai shook his head where he knelt. “Nor do I dare show disrespect toward Your Majesty.”

“Then what do you intend?” Li Shimin said coldly. “In this world there is no such thing as a perfect solution that satisfies everyone!”

“There is!” Guo Zai raised his head, and said in a bold, unwavering voice: “I ask Your Majesty to grant me death! By now Youniang has likely already reached the Eagle Hawk Ford — my bond of husband and wife is fulfilled. But I have obstructed Your Majesty — that is a capital offense. I beg Your Majesty to grant me death!”

Li Shimin looked at this county magistrate — as powerfully built as a god — with a complex expression. Kneeling on the ground, he was almost as tall as an ordinary man standing up. A formidable warrior like this on the battlefield would have been a tiger general to open up frontiers and build great achievements. And yet he could not get past the single word: love.

“Your Majesty—” Wei Zheng came galloping forward urgently: “We cannot delay further. Cui Jue is cunning and resourceful — once he reaches the ford, I fear we can only watch him escape.”

Li Shimin made no answer. He looked at Guo Zai: “If I do not kill you, will you stand here blocking this road and not let me pass?”

“Yes!” Guo Zai said resolutely. He struck his forehead to the ground with great force. “I beg Your Majesty to grant me death!”

Li Shimin gritted his teeth, raised his arm. A flicker of reluctance crossed his eyes, and then his hand came down in a decisive sweep. He bellowed: “Loose—”

Three hundred cavalry simultaneously leveled their crossbows, pulled the triggers, and with a thunderous thrumming, the air was filled with the shriek of bolts ripping through it. Thud thud thud… in that instant, no fewer than thirty crossbow bolts drove into Guo Zai’s body, turning him into something as dense with shafts as a hedgehog.

Yet Guo Zai’s back remained straight as he knelt on the ground. A look of quiet contentment spread slowly over his face, and he murmured: “My gratitude to Your Majesty—”

His powerful frame crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of thick dust.

Li Shimin’s face showed grief and regret. Such an honest and formidable warrior — how rarely one came across such a man — and he had died by his own arrows for the sake of a woman! His resentment toward Cui Jue grew even more intense. He shouted: “After them!”

The warhorses’ hooves surged up and galloped thunderously past Guo Zai, bearing down on the Eagle Hawk Ford. After the main force had passed, yet another horse came — this time the rider was a monk: Xuanzang. He dismounted beside Guo Zai’s body, and looking upon this magistrate of honest, simple character and sincere and open dealings, Xuanzang could not hold back his warm tears. With great effort he dragged the body to the side of the road, laid it face up, then sat cross-legged beside him, and silently began to recite The Sutra of the Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva: “…At that time the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvas of all the worlds came together in a single form. With tears and deep sorrow, they addressed the Buddha, saying: I, from kalpas immeasurable past, through the compassion of the Buddha, have obtained spiritual powers inconceivable, and vast wisdom. My emanations fill a hundred thousand ten million worlds, equal in number to the sands of the Ganges. In every world I create a hundred thousand ten million manifestations. Each manifestation delivers a hundred thousand ten million beings. Causing them to take refuge in the Three Jewels and forever depart from the cycle of birth and death, to attain the bliss of nirvana.”

Li Shimin’s heart was burning with urgency as he galloped forward. Cui Jue was his only remaining hope. Only this man could prove the false and man-made nature of the Underworld, and make that so-called scheming monk bow his head in defeat before him.

I may allow you to use the Eighteen Ni Li Prisons to intimidate the world — but I will never allow you to intimidate me! Li Shimin thought, grinding his teeth.

He had expected that Cui Jue had been riding for some time by now and would long since have reached the Fen River, perhaps already setting sail downstream. Li Shimin’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest. But as the cavalry gave chase down the road, arriving at the riverbank, they saw in the distance that a swift boat was moored at the Eagle Hawk Ford, but on the riverside walkway, two figures sat side by side — a man and a woman, shoulder to shoulder, leaning against each other, gazing out at the roaring, surging Fen River.

Li Shimin was stunned. The cavalry reached the riverbank and pulled up at once. Everyone dismounted, and under the protection of Yuchi Jingde and a group of Imperial Guards, Li Shimin, Wei Zheng, and the rest stepped onto the walkway, stopping ten zhang behind the two figures. The entire walkway was covered in flowing blood — a trail of it leading all the way to where they sat. Who had wounded him? Li Shimin wondered with puzzlement.

He did not know that Cui Jue, in order to make his apology to Guo Zai, had driven the dagger into himself twice. Though the stabs had not struck vital points in the abdomen, the massive blood loss had already left him unable to hold on — he had fallen from his horse once on the way there, and the two of them had practically dragged themselves step by step to reach the walkway. Once they arrived, however, Cui Jue could no longer hold on at all. The two held each other, knowing that life had reached its end, and instead of fighting it, they let go of all restraint. They let the little life-saving boat drift in the water, and sat on the walkway, took off their shoes and stockings, and dipped their bare feet in the water, feeling that freedom, that exhilaration, that unboundedness.

“Cui Jue?” Li Shimin said coldly.

Cui Jue did not turn around, and replied mildly: “Your Majesty — are you well?”

Hearing that familiar voice, Li Shimin’s fury surged from within him, and he gave a cold laugh toward the sky: “Excellent — I am very well. But you are not at all well. Ha — what fine methods, creating the Underworld and putting on a grand performance with me. Now that you have fallen into my hands, I shall let the whole world see the true face of this Underworld adjudicator!”

“Ha ha ha ha.” Cui Jue still did not turn around. One hand pressed to his abdomen, he gave a great laugh: “Your Majesty has been deceived! The Underworld is the Underworld, and the mortal world is the mortal world — how could human effort create the Underworld? Does Your Majesty still not repent, and realize that the one who truly deceived you is not Cui Jue, but the powerful officials at your side?”

“How dare you still deny it!” Wei Zheng erupted in fury: “The person who built Xingtang Temple and created the Underworld to intimidate the Emperor — that person was you, Cui Jue!”

“Cui Jue is Cui Jue, and I am I — let Master Wei not confuse the two. I am merely an ordinary man who wishes only to go far away with the woman I love, to live carefree in the hills and forests. I don’t know any Underworld adjudicator you speak of.” Cui Jue gave a grim, bitter laugh, and then a movement jarred his wound, and he gave a pained groan.

Li Youniang let out a cry and poured all the remaining wound medicine in a single rush over the wound, but blood welled like a spring — how could it be stopped? “My husband…”

Li Youniang was streaming with tears. Cui Jue looked at her with a smile: “Youniang, it is I who was wrong — abandoning you for so many years. At this moment, I know at last that everything in this world is illusion, and only you are real.”

Li Youniang buried her face in his chest and sobbed quietly. “I have no regrets. When you are gone, Youniang will not live on alone. I hope that the Underworld below truly exists — and even if I were to be cast into the Eighteen Ni Li Prisons, as long as I could see you, Youniang would be content.”

Cui Jue smiled. “Once in the Underworld, who would dare lay a hand on you? Since we cannot live in the mortal world, let us go to the Underworld together! Is it not said that I am Cui Jue, that I am the adjudicator of the Ni Li Prison? Perhaps Yan Mouluo will mistake me for the real one and appoint me adjudicator after all! Ha ha ha ha… cough cough—”

Li Shimin was filled with doubt and suspicion — this man was clearly Cui Jue! How could he go on denying it even at this point?

“Turn around and face me!” Li Shimin commanded.

Cui Jue turned around with a great laugh, his mouth full of blood and foam, and murmured: “Your Majesty — we shall meet again in the Underworld…”

His head fell to one side, and he died in Li Shimin’s arms. Li Shimin gave a violent shudder and released the body in haste, stumbling back four or five steps, standing there as if his wits had gone entirely. Along with Wei Zheng and all the others — they were all struck as still as wooden carvings.

For the man before them was not the elegant and graceful talent of the three Jinzhou provinces they had known. The figure before them had no facial skin at all — the nose had been cut away — a faceless man! His face was mottled and blotched, covered in knife scars and hideous blemishes — his entire face had been peeled away! Judging by the color of the scars, this was not recent — it appeared to have been done many years ago. This man looked nothing whatsoever like the Cui Jue in anyone’s memories, nor like the Cui Jue they had seen in the Underworld the previous night.

Li Shimin was speechless. Wei Zheng was speechless. Everyone was speechless.

“Amitabha…” Behind everyone, a sound of Buddhist invocation rose, and Xuanzang’s figure walked slowly forward, gazing with great compassion at the faceless man sitting at the end of the walkway.

“Ha ha — the Dharma Master is here at last?” The faceless man raised his hand and beckoned to him.

Xuanzang walked slowly over. The faceless man took hold of his hand, and a clot of dark blood welled up from his mouth — which he forced back down with great effort. He gave a low laugh: “Let me say one thing to you.”

Xuanzang leaned his ear close. The faceless man murmured: “If you see Chang Jie again, tell him — I thank him. From this day I no longer hate him.”

Xuanzang was thoroughly puzzled, but nodded. With all the experience he possessed, it was clear that this man’s life was already extinguished.

“No — you are Cui Jue! You must be Cui Jue!” Li Shimin seemed to have gone mad, his fury surging. He came charging forward, seized the faceless man by his lapels, and demanded with a frantic voice: “Tell me the truth — are you or are you not? Answer me—”

The faceless man gave a hoarse, laughing reply, his mouth pouring blood and foam, murmuring: “Your Majesty — we shall meet again in the Underworld…”

His head fell to one side, and died in Li Shimin’s arms. Li Shimin gave a violent shudder, let the body go in haste, and stumbled back four or five steps, standing there as if turned to stone.

Li Youniang gathered the faceless man’s body into her arms with careful, gentle movements, as though afraid of hurting him, yet also as though she were holding something weightless as air. She patted him softly, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes, murmuring softly as she sang, as though coaxing a child to sleep:

Do not say the painted face breaks a traveler’s heart, with powdered breast and gentle hands, white like lotus flowers. Smoke parts in three tiers of green above the crown, while sword-like beams cut through one inch of light within the eyes. Her dance outstrips the willow — the waist more supple still, her song begrudges strung pearl beads — the melody too long. Though she may not be the daughter of a prince or lord, she loves the one who at Linqiong would sell his verses for a living.

Brocade lanes, fragrant, short on orchid scents, a grace like yours is rare as wind and flow. A heart confused in dawn-dreams, the window still in dark, the powder falls, the scented skin, the sweat not dry. On both cheeks rosy peach blooms from the mirror’s edge, one gaze of spring waters photographed cold into another’s soul. I sigh for myself — this land is not my home, unable, like the flowers, to be seen year after year.

“Cui Lang — let us go home now. You will be able to look at me for all eternity…”

She said this last with great joy, then drew the dagger from the faceless man’s abdomen, and drove it into her own chest with fierce resolve.

Her body swayed and fell, and the two corpses of those who had loved each other leaned against each other, sitting quietly at the Eagle Hawk Ford, keeping company with the ceaseless flowing water.