“I am sorry to impose.”

The scholar shook his head repeatedly. The gaze with which he looked at Hua Zhi was bright to the point of being almost scorching. “We heard the commotion from earlier, but did not dare go out. Is there anything I can do for the Grand Preceptor?”

“Do nothing at all. I will wait here for help to come.” Hua Zhi had no lack of will to send someone to rescue Yu Mu and Jia Yang — but given that nearly everyone had hidden themselves away, any unusual appearance by anyone would arouse the enemy’s suspicion. With a mentality of “kill the wrong rather than let the right escape,” no one in this house would be safe. She could only wait.

At that moment, sounds came from outside. Hua Zhi stopped the young scholar from moving closer and looked out through the gap in the door herself. Several Chaoli Tribe members had followed and, without hesitation, traced the blood trail to the enclosing wall and climbed over.

Hua Zhi could only hope that these people had not been drilled by any strategist — that they could be fooled. If not, the moment they found no further blood trail on the other side, they would return.

Fortunately, after waiting a short while, none of them came back the way they had come.

Hua Zhi slid back down to the ground again, her whole body spent in the aftermath of all that tension. Her heart felt as if it might leap out through her mouth. She pressed her hand to her chest and steadied herself for a time, then stood and turned toward the scholar, bending at the waist to offer a formal bow. “You have saved my life. Hua Zhi holds this in deep gratitude.”

“I would not dare accept such a bow.” The scholar quickly stepped aside, his face reddening with excitement. He stole glance after glance at her.

Among scholars there were certainly those who looked down on Hua Zhi for occupying a place in the court as a woman. But there were also a considerable number who were utterly devoted in their admiration of her. Young people are inclined to rebel — they wish to be different, and Hua Zhi’s refusal to follow the expected path was precisely what they loved and admired.

This one before her was clearly among that latter kind.

Hua Zhi had never paid mind to such things, and she had no time to dwell on them now. She leaned close to the door so she could monitor the outside at any moment, and — out of habit — guided the older and younger members of the household toward a safer area. “Take your family to the neighbors. Be as careful as you can, and move quickly.”

“There is no need. There are so many households on this street — they will never know the Grand Preceptor is here.”

“But they can move through one household after another, killing everyone they find.” Hua Zhi’s voice carried a cold edge. “If they come back looking for me, my only option would be to go out and face them. And you — those who hid me — none of you would be spared. So please, leave immediately. Do not take anything with you. Afterward, the Hua Family will compensate you.”

The scholar looked back at his family with a flicker of hesitation, unsure whether to listen. If he simply walked away like this, others would forever look down on him for it — and he would not be able to face himself either. He understood well enough: the Grand Preceptor was trying to protect his family. She did not want innocent people to suffer harm because of her.

“Having read your books, you should know the meaning of knowing one’s limits. Staying here, you can be of no help to me. Leave immediately.”

The scholar’s face reddened, and he bowed his head in acknowledgment. He turned and ushered his family out of the room.

Just as Hua Zhi turned back to watch the door, she saw the scholar come running back in a hurry — one hand holding a flatbread, the other carrying a cup of water. He pressed both into Hua Zhi’s hands and then ran off again.

Hua Zhi looked down at them for a moment. Something that might have been a smile crossed her face. She lifted the bread and took a large bite. Zheng Zhi had once asked her whether it was worth wearing herself down to nothing for people who were not deserving of it — but Great Qing was not only its insufferable people. There was also the young man from just now. He had known full well the danger of sheltering her, yet he had sheltered her all the same. He had brought her food and water. This was the warmest thing a stranger could do for another person within all that was possible. There was one such person she had met herself — and countless more like him she would never have the chance to meet. How could it not be worth protecting?

When she finished the flatbread, her body at last found some small measure of strength. She examined her wounds and found she had been relatively lucky — with the exception of the gash on her back shoulder, which was deeper and still seeping blood, the rest were all surface wounds. But this body of hers truly could not take much more. This was certainly her punishment for spending the first fifteen years of her life far too comfortably, her limbs untrained and soft.

She tore a strip from her inner lining, using her teeth to help bind the wound shut. The effort left her gasping for breath. She had barely recovered from the pain when sounds came from outside again. She quickly pressed herself against the door and looked out.

Night was drawing close. The enemy had lit torches by now. She watched them — heads bowed, reading the blood trail along the ground, then apparently checking the other side of the wall before climbing back over. Whatever they had confirmed, they exchanged some words and pointed at several of the nearby houses.

A chill settled in Hua Zhi’s chest. She had not expected to wait this long only to face the worst outcome of all.

“Hua Zhi.” The voice rang out clear and loud, entirely without concealment now. “I will count to three. If you do not come out, I will set fire to this entire block.”

“Three!”

Hua Zhi drew a deep breath, gripped her dagger, and opened the door. In the torchlight, she descended the steps one step at a time. Measured against the Chaoli Tribe members surrounding her, her frame appeared all the smaller — yet her silhouette in that moment stood as tall as her own shadow.

Even as adversaries, those before her could not help but feel moved. “Worthy of being Hua Jingyuan’s descendant. She has his spirit.”

“Your command of the Great Qing official language is quite good.”

With a single sentence, Hua Zhi successfully made their faces go dark. Before the Chaoli Tribe had founded their nation, they had their own language — but during the century of their dynasty, they had on one hand oppressed the people of the Central Plains, treating them no better than livestock, while on the other hand being utterly captivated by the brilliance of Central Plains civilization. The result was that nearly two hundred years after the fall of their dynasty, they still spoke perfect Central Plains dialect, and had actually forgotten how to speak their own Chaoli tongue properly.

Hua Zhi’s remark humiliated them deeply. The one who had spoken first now had no face left to spare. At a wave of his hand, everyone closed in around her — but before they could act, Hua Zhi moved first. She flicked her wrist and flung something out. Since escape was now impossible, she would at least take someone down with her — one was worth it, and two was a gain.

The Chaoli Tribe members, having suffered from her poison before, instinctively assumed she had thrown more of it and drew back reflexively. But Hua Zhi pressed after them instead. The dagger moved quick and vicious toward the man nearest to her. He raised his sword to block — but Hua Zhi had already shifted her angle and slashed across. What had seemed like her first move was a feint. The man had been retreating and so his footing was already unsteady; the feint had thrown off his focus and cost him the advantage, and he could only watch helplessly as the dagger swept across under his jaw. A searing pain tore through him, and his head tipped back beyond his control. The cut had gone nearly halfway through his throat.

Yet as Hua Zhi’s strike followed through, she could not stop her own momentum, and she was about to pitch directly into the midst of the enemy. She threw care aside entirely, twisted her wrist again — the dagger swept across, cutting through yet another man’s chest in a sweep that sent a spray of blood through the air. The enemy’s blades came hacking at her from every direction.

There was nowhere left for Hua Zhi to dodge, and no strength left to dodge with. Her mind even, in the most ill-timed of moments, flashed a stray thought — she hoped her face would not be ruined the way Shao Yao’s once had been. Otherwise, her own grandmother truly might not recognize her. Yanxi… surely he would still be able to, she thought.

A searing pain burst through her leg. Her body rolled to the side on instinct. The enemy’s blade pursued close behind — and at the razor’s edge of that moment, the sound of something cutting through the air split the night.

Arrows. Hua Zhi recognized it instantly.

She went with the motion and rolled several more times in succession. The sounds of arrows, the crack of the long whip, and the clashing of swords and spears filled her ears. All the force drained out of her, and her whole body pressed flat against the ground.

She truly… had nothing left.