On the walk back to the inn, Hua Pingyang deliberately slowed his pace, watching the two figures walking side by side in the moonlight, and could not help but think of the words his father had spoken to the Hua Family members after dinner that day.

Had the Hua Family’s calamity not struck, A’Zhi could have lived out her life in peace and comfort — a reasonably good husband, a few obedient and clever children, a family in a position of influence that would neither make things difficult for her nor allow her in-laws to do so either. Everyone would have praised her as truly fortunate.

From what she had shown since then, it was clear she possessed ten thousand talents yet had been willing to keep them hidden, content to live those measured, flawless days that no one could find fault with. Since it was the Hua Family’s misfortune that had forced her to cast those conventions aside, then the Hua Family had no standing to say she had lost her propriety.

If A’Zhi and this man could grow old together — that would be best of all. If the two of them were ultimately parted, then A’Zhi would forever be the eldest young lady of the Hua Family, and anyone who dared look down on her even slightly would be expelled from the household at once.

His father was willing to invite the curses of future descendants if it meant ensuring A’Zhi’s wellbeing — not necessarily because he doubted that the Hua Family’s children and grandchildren would remember this debt of gratitude, but simply because he cared for her too deeply. Not long ago she had been a young lady reluctant to even step outside her door, and yet she had suddenly become the great pillar holding everything up — and what she upheld was not only the household in the capital, but this one in the north as well.

Before her first visit, they had been doing nothing but enduring — with no direction, no hope, uncertain of what lay ahead, simply pushing through day after day. He had to worry both about the Hua Family’s future and about whether the elderly patriarch could hold on.

But then A’Zhi came. What she brought was not only the gold and silver that eased their daily lives — she brought hope. She poured that hope into their hearts, kindled in them a longing for the future, and allowed their spirits to settle.

It was from that visit onward that the Hua Family finally recovered their vitality. The resentment lessened; the unity grew. The younger generation, after shifts that left their hands raw and blistered, would tend to one another’s wounds. They learned to care for and look after their elders. They took on tasks they had never once imagined themselves doing — all so that others might be spared a little hardship.

This was A’Zhi’s doing.

No one knew how much she had endured, how much she had sacrificed in the process of forcing herself to grow — but they understood the hardship within it, which was precisely why they did not know how to repay this young woman who had somehow become impervious overnight. All they could do was protect her in this manner, at the cost of a layer of their own skin, preserving for her the widest retreat possible.

Watching the man who instinctively reached out to steady A’Zhi even as she stepped over a threshold, Hua Pingyang lowered his head with a quiet smile. As things stood, matters might not necessarily come to that point. Now that he had come to know A’Zhi’s worth, had come to see how she differed from other women — he did not believe this Master Lu would be willing to set down a rare and exquisite delicacy in favor of a cup of plain, tasteless water.

“The road tomorrow will be long. Rest early.”

“Yes.” Hua Zhi gave a small curtsy, then turned and smiled at Yanxi before entering her room.

The two men stood facing each other for a moment, each sizing the other up. Hua Pingyang cupped his hands and bowed. “I shall trouble Master Lu to watch over her along the way.”

Gu Yanxi returned the courtesy. “It is only right. Please set your mind at ease.”

On the last night before departure, even knowing she needed to conserve her strength for the journey ahead, Hua Zhi lay awake for a long while. If only she could, she truly wished to stay a few more days — but there was still a great deal to be managed in the capital, the net she was weaving was not yet wide enough, and she could not afford to indulge herself like this.

She turned over again, and eventually drifted into a hazy sleep. She did not know how much time had passed when a commotion suddenly broke out outside. She sat up in one motion, confirming she had not misheard, then swiftly and neatly dressed and got out of bed. At that moment, someone knocked at her door.

“A’Zhi?”

It was Yanxi. Hua Zhi went quickly to open the door. The moment Gu Yanxi saw her alert, guarded expression, he knew she had not just woken. “There may be trouble at the border. I need to go and see.”

“Take everyone with you.”

Gu Yanxi adjusted his cuffs. “I’ll leave one person with you.”

The door beside them opened as well. Hua Pingyang was still tying his sash as he asked, “Is this a night raid?”

“The details are still unclear.” Gu Yanxi answered him, then looked back at A’Zhi. “Stay in the inn for now. Do not go out. Assess the situation as it unfolds.”

“Understood. Be careful.”

Gu Yanxi gave a nod toward Hua Pingyang, took a few steps forward, then stopped, turned, and walked back. He pressed a dagger into her hand before striding swiftly away.

Hua Pingyang’s brow twitched, but he said nothing more. Instead, he found himself wondering about this Master Lu’s true identity. If enemy forces were truly launching a night raid, that should be a matter for the border garrison commanders — what business did he have rushing over there? It did not seem like he was simply going to offer his combat ability either. Whose household was he from?

He turned it over in his mind without arriving at anyone who could match this man, and eventually let it go. “Yinshan Pass is generally stable. Nothing will go wrong. Go back and rest.”

“Yes. Fourth Uncle should rest as well.” Hua Zhi could hardly sleep in truth. She returned to her room and sat at the table to wait. The sounds outside were not loud — only a faint noise carried over from a distance. It did seem that enemy forces were indeed harassing the border.

After letting her thoughts drift for a while, Hua Zhi heard a knock at her door. Thinking it was Jia Yang — the guard Yanxi had left behind — coming to report something, she went quickly to open it. But the person outside was entirely unexpected: it was Zeng Xian’s son. How the child had found his way here in such circumstances was beyond her — truly a calf with no fear of tigers.

She crouched down at once. “Why have you come here? Has something happened to your father?”

The child pressed his lips together and managed a few words. “Father says the Hua Family is in danger.”

Those childish words struck Hua Zhi like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Hua Pingyang had opened his door at the sound of the knock and happened to catch them as well. His face darkened as he pressed, “Did your father say anything else?”

The child shook his head.

Hua Zhi steadied herself and immediately brought the child inside. “It’s dangerous out there — stay here for now. If the older brother who was with me earlier comes back, tell him to go to the Hua Family at once. Can you remember that?”

The child nodded, without a trace of fear on his face from beginning to end.

Hua Zhi seized the dagger and ran toward the Hua Family home. Hua Pingyang and Jia Yang — the guard Gu Yanxi had left behind — immediately followed.

The distance was no more than a few hundred steps, yet through the cool night breeze, Hua Zhi found herself breaking into a cold sweat. With every step closer, her heart beat faster, terrified she might arrive too late.

When she drew near enough to hear that there was no disturbance, that the Hua Family’s lights were on yet all appeared tranquil, her heart plummeted back into her chest. She stopped and bent over her knees, gasping for breath.

But before she could even catch that breath, the upheaval struck.

From the alleyways on both the left and right — previously empty — a group of people emerged from each side, totaling roughly twenty or so in all. Every one of them was dressed in dark night-raid attire, faces covered in black — the unmistakable garb of killers and arsonists.

Hua Zhi bit down on the tip of her tongue. “Jia Yang — you take the left. I’ll take the right.”

“Yes.”

The two of them split apart and charged in opposite directions. The men in black had apparently not anticipated being spotted before they even reached their target, let alone having their initiative stolen from them — and immediately fought back.

Jia Yang wielded a long whip and did not close the distance; snapping it out to lash the ground was the signature move of his lineage, which he had duly inherited. On the other side, Hua Zhi had barely closed in on her opponents before Jia Yang had already drawn first blood.

Hua Zhi struck for vital points with every move. She had her principles, her lines she would not cross — but in the face of danger to those she loved, none of that counted for anything.

These people wanted the lives of the defenseless Hua Family members.