The night had deepened somewhat. Yun Xi suddenly remembered something and asked Tian Si, “By the way, you mentioned before that you didn’t want to stay at the Jingzhao Prefecture office anymore, and that you’d still like to serve under me?”

Tian Si nodded. “Yes. I — I want to follow you.”

Yun Xi hesitated. “But now that I’m a colonel, I’ll often have to leave the capital on assignments.”

It wasn’t that she was unwilling to have Tian Si by her side, but he was nearing thirty. For half his life he had devoted himself entirely to his younger brother Tian Ze, seeing to every need of his food, clothing, and lodging. Now that Tian Ze had passed the provincial examination and had good prospects ahead, Tian Si ought to think of himself and settle down soon. If he followed her into the army, spending most of the year away from the capital, what family would still want to match their daughter to him?

Tian Si explained, “The Marquis of Loyalty and Valor’s household has shown me — shown me great kindness, so I, I want to follow you.”

Seeing her concern, he added, “My greatest — greatest wish is for Wang’an to do well, to have good prospects. As for marriage, I haven’t — haven’t thought about it. Let fate decide.”

Hearing the certainty in his tone, Yun Xi nodded. “Very well. I’ll speak with Lord Zhang about it. As long as the Jingzhao Prefecture is willing to release you, you can come back and serve under me.”

Zhang Huailu was the type who avoided conflict at all costs, unwilling to offend anyone if he could help it. Now that Yun Xi had become a colonel and won His Majesty’s favor, surely he wouldn’t refuse over the loan of a single clerk?

With Yun Xi’s word, the matter was as good as settled.

Just as Tian Si was feeling pleased, a commotion suddenly rose from outside. It was already the hour of xu-zheng — by rights the officers and soldiers should have been settling down for the night. Why such a disturbance?

Tian Si and Yun Xi looked out the window and saw what appeared to be Liu Fuyin, leading several men, trying to approach the relay station, only to be blocked by the imperial guards. The two sides were arguing fiercely.

“Let’s go take a look.” Seeing this, Yun Xi picked up the sword resting on the table and headed toward the camp.

Outside the camp, Liu Fuyin was protesting his innocence loudly while demanding to see the Third Young Master.

Yun Xi listened for a moment but couldn’t quite make sense of it. Fortunately Ke Yong had been there from the start, and upon seeing Yun Xi and Tian Si approach, he explained, “It seems that right after nightfall, Lord Liu offended the Third Young Master somehow. The Third Young Master grew angry and ordered Liu Fuyin and all his officials driven away.”

Tian Si was stunned. “The — the Third Young Master wants to drive them out?”

Though rumor had it the Young Prince was difficult to serve, in the nearly a year Tian Si had spent around him, he had only ever found Cheng Chang easygoing and courteous. When had he ever seen him truly angry?

Ke Yong said, “I’m puzzled too. But it seems the order to drive them out wasn’t spoken directly by the Third Young Master himself — it was relayed by Doctor Yu, or someone, to Lord Liu. Lord Liu doesn’t believe it and wants to see the Third Young Master in person. A moment ago some of the guards, unsure what to do, went to ask the Third Young Master directly, but he wasn’t in his room.”

Yun Xi paused. “The Third Young Master isn’t in his room?” She asked, “Then where did he go?”

“Not sure. I heard he went out for a walk,” Ke Yong said. “But Sun Haiping insists the Third Young Master did give the order — to drive Lord Liu out before dawn. Lord Liu claims he’s been wronged, and says he won’t leave until he sees the Third Young Master himself. Right now Commander Zhang has men holding Lord Liu back while also going to fetch the Third Young Master.”

Yun Xi had been curious how Liu Fuyin had managed to offend Cheng Chang, but hearing that he’d gone “for a walk,” she glanced around at the desolate wilderness — where exactly would he go walking out here?

Worried for Cheng Chang’s safety, she gripped her sword and was about to go search for him when Ke Yong, looking past her shoulder, said in surprise, “Third Young Master.”

She turned to see Cheng Chang approaching the camp with Zhang Dahu and Sun Haiping in tow.

The guards waiting at the camp hurried forward to report. “Third Young Master, Lord Liu insists on seeing you. We couldn’t hold him back, and we already went to inform you once, but your attendant said you had gone… for a walk, and weren’t in your room.”

Hearing the phrase “for a walk,” Cheng Chang immediately knew it was something Sun Haiping had made up to fob off the guards.

He had indeed not been in his room a moment ago — he had gone to find Yun Xi. Seeing her door left ajar with Tian Si inside talking to her, he’d found himself unable to either enter or retreat, and had simply stood outside for a while. Then, hearing the commotion from the camp, puzzled, he had walked to the corner of the corridor and looked out through the window. In just that brief span, Yun Xi, sword in hand, had hurried downstairs with Tian Si and out of the relay station, never noticing him standing at the corner just behind her room.

The guard continued, “Doctor Yu just now said he was summoned by you tonight for questioning, and that you wished Lord Liu and his officials to leave. We’re not certain whether what Doctor Yu said truly reflects your wishes, Third Young Master.”

Cheng Chang nodded. “It is my wish.”

At this, everyone present was stunned.

Tian Si, Ke Yong, and the others were curious about what had provoked the Third Young Master’s anger; the assembled soldiers wondered how Liu Fuyin had managed to stir up such a commotion without a sound — hadn’t everything been perfectly fine during the day?

“Third Young Master —” The moment Liu Fuyin heard this, he knew things had gone badly, and immediately dropped to his knees. “This official knows his fault. This official truly harbored ill intentions, encouraging Yu’er to feign illness to deceive you and Colonel Yun. It is entirely this official’s wrongdoing, an unforgivable crime. I beg the Third Young Master’s mercy, please forgive this official.”

Cheng Chang stood there quietly, saying nothing.

Seeing that his resolve seemed unshaken, Liu Fuyin gritted his teeth and shuffled forward on his knees toward Yun Xi instead. “Colonel Yun, though this official’s conduct today was somewhat base, it was not truly meant to steal credit from you deliberately, but rather because… because this official is originally from Jinling. I once served in the Jinling prefecture office and was only later transferred to Dongyang. My aged mother at home longs deeply for her hometown, and I wished to bring her back to Jinling. I had no choice but to resort to this shameful scheme, hoping that by achieving some merit and earning a promotion, I might be able to bring my whole family back to our homeland.”

“Colonel Yun, might you, out of consideration for this official’s filial devotion, put in a good word with the Third Young Master and beg him to show this official leniency?”

Hearing this, Yun Xi was momentarily at a loss.

From the implication of his words, had the Third Young Master grown angry and driven him out because he’d discovered Liu Fuyin’s scheme to steal her credit?

She didn’t quite know what to say. Seeing a man of his age kneeling before her, she said, “Lord Liu, please rise.”

His official rank was higher than hers, and he was old enough to be her father — kneeling to Cheng Chang was one thing, but how could he kneel to her?

Liu Fuyin had no intention of rising, and continued on his own, “Colonel Yun, in truth this official already made careful inquiries. Your journey to find the Third Young Master took you from White Cloud Temple all the way to the fishing village on the East Sea, traveling countless miles, hardly sleeping day or night. The guards and officials who accompanied you mostly gave up along the way; even Prince Cong’s household had begun preparing for a funeral. Only you continued the search without rest — truly, Heaven rewards the diligent. Your devotion and loyalty to the Third Young Master is something Heaven itself can attest to. Even if this official wished to steal credit from you, he could never truly succeed.”

Yun Xi: “…”

She knew that the “devotion” in his words referred to loyalty and duty, but with her own guilty conscience, she found herself momentarily speechless.

Seeing her apparent indifference, Liu Fuyin turned to Cheng Chang instead. “Third Young Master, however shameful this official’s intentions, however base his methods, this official has, if nothing else, endured hardship escorting you back to the capital all this way. Even if you value Colonel Yun ten thousand times over, surely you cannot simply drive this official away like this.”

Cheng Chang: “…”

Explain yourself — what exactly do you mean by “value her ten thousand times over”? How would you even know something like that?

Liu Fuyin pressed on. “Colonel Yun, I beg you to say a word on this official’s behalf to the Third Young Master. Your words carry the most weight with him. Just this afternoon, the moment the Third Young Master heard from Commander Zhang that you were ill, he stopped traveling at once and ordered the carriage turned around to come find you at the relay station — clear proof of how deeply he values you. So… please, show this official mercy, forgive him. It was truly a moment of folly that led this official to have Yu’er feign illness to deceive you. Please forgive this official — if you forgive him, then the Third Young Master will forgive him too.”

Yun Xi: “…”

Cheng Chang: “…”

With that, Liu Fuyin was about to kowtow to both Yun Xi and Cheng Chang.

In truth, he didn’t much care about losing the credit. What worried him was that being sent back midway with so many officials in tow would cause too much of a stir. Once they returned to the capital, Prince Cong would certainly ask about it, and if Prince Cong knew, His Majesty would inevitably know too. Liu Fuyin would have offended the most exalted people in the realm all at once — not only would his chances of promotion vanish, but he might not even keep his official post.

So, setting aside all pride, he was determined to see this affair resolved favorably.

Sun Haiping glanced at Cheng Chang’s uncertain expression and immediately scolded, “How dare you! What kind of man do you take our Young Prince for? Do you think he’d go back on his word? When told to get out, you should have left at once!”

“Exactly,” Zhang Dahu chimed in immediately. “It’s only because Colonel Yun is so honest and forgiving that she’d let this slide without holding it against you. Our Young Prince will certainly hold you accountable to the very end!”

Sun Haiping shot Zhang Dahu a wordless look, then smoothed his stern expression and respectfully offered Cheng Chang a suggestion. “But Young Prince, as detestable as this petty official is, driving so many people out in the middle of the night would cause quite a stir. If I may suggest, why not simply have them kneel through the night, or give each man ten strokes of the cane, and let the matter be settled?”

Cheng Chang understood Sun Haiping’s meaning — he was reminding him that such a dramatic expulsion would surely draw Prince Cong’s questions once they returned to the capital. How would he explain it then?

But Cheng Chang was, after all, a person from the twenty-first century, and people of the twenty-first century tended to deal with things they disliked by simply cutting them off. He respected the individual and couldn’t bring himself to inflict something as physically and mentally harmful as kneeling all night or caning. Following the principle of “out of sight, out of mind,” sending them away was, within his own moral framework, the most appropriate solution.

As Cheng Chang was still considering this, he heard Yun Xi say, “Third Young Master, why not simply punish Liu Fuyin alone? The officials who accompanied him have done nothing wrong — they too have worked diligently to escort you home this whole journey.”

Cheng Chang glanced at her. Since she had said as much, insisting on driving everyone out would seem petty.

So he nodded. “Very well.”

Seeing Cheng Chang soften, Liu Fuyin hastily volunteered his own punishment. “The Third Young Master is truly magnanimous. Tonight, upon returning to my tent, I shall copy out the sutra of merit ten times, and write a letter of confession to present to you tomorrow morning. Once back in the capital, I shall not accept even the smallest reward from the court.”

With that, he kowtowed once to Cheng Chang, rose with a bent back, and withdrew.

Once Liu Fuyin had left, a few nearby guards mentioned that the officials, having heard they were to leave, had already begun breaking camp, and now needed to pitch it again — they excused themselves to go see to it.

Sun Haiping raised his eyes to glance at Cheng Chang, then at Yun Xi, and suddenly clutched his stomach, groaning, “Oh no, my stomach’s been rumbling all night, I must have eaten something bad. Oh, I can’t hold it — I need to find the outhouse.”

With that, he grabbed Zhang Dahu and started dragging him along.

Zhang Dahu, baffled, said, “Wait — you’re going to the outhouse, why are you pulling me? I need to escort the Young Prince back to the relay station —” Before he could finish, Sun Haiping snatched the wind lamp from his hand.

Sun Haiping stepped back a few paces, pressed the lamp into Yun Xi’s hands, and said with a slight bow, “Colonel Yun, if you would be so kind.” Then he turned and dragged Zhang Dahu away with him.

The camp, so noisy just moments before, fell suddenly quiet. It wasn’t that there was no one around, but only a few guards remained on watch, standing far off in the distance.

Yun Xi stood there, eyes lowered, thinking over Liu Fuyin’s earlier words, unsure what to say.

It wasn’t that she suspected Cheng Chang harbored any particular feelings for her — she simply hadn’t expected that he still valued her, at least somewhat, just as he always had.

If that was so, why had he grown distant from her these past few days?

Seeing Yun Xi standing there, hands clasped around the lamp’s pole, looking at a loss, Cheng Chang said gently, “Give me the lamp. I’ll carry it.”

Yun Xi startled slightly, then answered, “Yes.” After handing the lamp to Cheng Chang, she stood dazed for a moment before cupping her hands. “Third Young Master, allow this humble officer to escort you back to the relay station.”

Cheng Chang said, “Very well.”

The relay station was some distance away. Cheng Chang held up the lamp to light the way while Yun Xi used her sword to clear the wild grass along the path.

The grass grew unevenly, some short, some tall, tangled and wild. Farther off, aside from the two lanterns before the relay station and the scattered campfires across the wilderness, only the bright moon hung in the vast sky above.

The withered branches and desolate hills of daytime had all melted into the darkness of night, blurred and indistinct, their bleakness no longer visible. Even in the bitter cold, it didn’t feel especially chilly — if anything, the small glow of the lamp beside her seemed to lend a touch of warmth.

Yun Xi’s mind had calmed by now, and she apologized, “I’ve troubled the Third Young Master. Because I feigned illness today, you had to return specially to the relay station, delaying the journey.”

Cheng Chang glanced at her but didn’t mention that. Instead he said, “I haven’t had the chance to properly thank you for going to such lengths to find me. Otherwise I don’t know when I would have made it back to Jinling.”

In truth, it wasn’t that he’d deliberately avoided thanking her promptly.

To everyone else, he had simply gone missing for two months. But only he knew what he had actually experienced during that time.

Two lives on parallel tracks, dying and being reborn.

He had returned to the twenty-first century on the brink of death, and returned again from the same brink.

Two brushes with death, drifting through some crack in time and space — even now he found it hard to comprehend or accept.

“It wasn’t me,” Yun Xi said. “It was the Third Young Master’s own good character that brought him fortune. Otherwise, no matter how hard I searched, I would never have found you.”

She pressed her lips together, then added, “Besides, the court had only just made me a colonel at the time — I couldn’t simply draw a salary from the court without doing my duty. The Third Young Master is a member of the imperial family, the future heir of a princely house. Finding you was my responsibility. There’s no need to thank me.”

She had originally hoped Cheng Chang wouldn’t misunderstand her search for him as merely a bid for merit before the court. Now, oddly, she almost wished he would misunderstand it that way.

Because she feared far more that he might see through her true feelings, and grow distant from her because of it.

Yun Xi said, “And I’ve also heard that the reason the Third Young Master went missing was to investigate my father’s case.”

Having said this, she assumed Cheng Chang wouldn’t respond — after all, he had already told her not to trouble herself over his affairs any further.

But to her surprise, Cheng Chang nodded. “Yes.”

He thought for a moment. “At the time, I went to question Luo Shu in the Ministry of Justice’s prison, and she told me your father, the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor, had been wrongfully accused. Afterward I had people investigate, and it happened that we found someone who could prove your father’s innocence, being held at Pure Wind Court in White Cloud Temple. On the day of the summer heat-ending sacrifice to Heaven, I went to Pure Wind Court to question him. Halfway through, I sensed something was wrong. I thought to flee, but that ‘noble one’ had already set an ambush all around. The four guards accompanying me, in protecting me, all…”

Cheng Chang paused. “I was chased all the way to the edge of a cliff, and then… I fell.”

In truth, calling it a fall wasn’t entirely accurate.

It had been that strange twilight hour when demons stir, mist rising thick, the setting sun blood-red, a lake of rippling water transforming into an all-consuming fog that led him plunging into the unknown.

He vaguely remembered seeing a butterfly, as if in some dream of Zhuangzi.

Yun Xi said, “It was my carelessness. Knowing full well that Luo Shu was untrustworthy, I still let the Third Young Master go question her alone. I should have requested to stay in the capital another day or two, to accompany you when you went to see her.”

“It’s not your fault. And I think, though Luo Shu was untrustworthy, the one who repeatedly passed word to that ‘noble one’ may not have been her,” Cheng Chang said.

He tried to recall the details of that day’s meeting with Luo Shu, but some of it had grown hazy. Fortunately, a scribe had recorded his questioning at the time, so he could simply review the file once back in the capital. He continued, “Once we’re back in Jinling, I’ll sort through everything, and once I have a clearer picture, I’ll discuss it with you.”

Yun Xi paused, stopping in her tracks, and looked at Cheng Chang. “The Third Young Master still wishes for this humble officer’s help in investigating this case?”

The night was very still, the lamplight tracing the fine, clear lines of his face against the mountain moonlight.

She quickly looked away, lowering her eyes. “I thought you no longer wanted my help.”

Cheng Chang said, “I’ve thought it over. Since that ‘noble one’ used your father’s case to lure me into a trap, they must already know you’re connected to it. Given that, we might as well investigate together — the sooner we get to the bottom of it, the sooner we can both rest easy. It will mean troubling you further, though.”

Yun Xi quickly shook her head, smiling. “It’s no trouble at all. I’m glad to serve the Third Young Master.”

Seeing her smile, Cheng Chang couldn’t help smiling too. By the time they finished speaking, they had reached the relay station. He said, “Go rest. It’s late.”

Yun Xi shook her head again. “Not yet. I’ll go check on the camp once more. We’re not far from Jinling now — in a day or two, the Young Prince of the Second Rank will arrive with the Palace Guard to join us, and I hear Prince Cong and the Princess Consort will be accompanying him. With all this commotion tonight, I’m worried the officials under Liu Fuyin might act up. I’ll go take a look and make sure everything along the way is properly arranged, so this whole procession doesn’t lose its composure in front of Prince Cong and the Princess Consort.”

With that, she waved to Cheng Chang and walked briskly off toward the camp.