The square in the distance was still bustling. The “Dragon Sage” was continuing the execution of the captured members of the Fairness Party, drawing a large crowd of onlookers.

Zuo Xiuquan, who had understood the intentions of the other side, had already left ahead of the others. Though in these years of war and chaos everyone had grown used to all manner of bloody scenes, as a gentleman who had spent his life among books, he had no taste for watching more than ten people beheaded and nearly a hundred more flogged with military rods one after another. On his way out, he had also taken Yinping and Yue Yun away from the square.

“Although it’s unlikely Zhou Shang will make trouble at this moment, if that Wei Xuwen really has gone mad and sends men to storm this square, even skilled as you both are in martial arts, you might not manage to get out.”

He had seen what the “Fair King” was capable of, and, escorted by several of the Beikui Army’s finest, he went back to think over the possibility of negotiating with the man. Yinping and Yue Yun, however, were more curious about the excitement within the city, and so they lingered in the market street near the square, waiting to see if anything further would develop.

The market street near the great square was in utter disorder; traces of past clashes could be seen everywhere. Many of the houses and shops, originally built of blue brick, had suffered heavy damage. Yue Yun and his sister, who was disguised as a man, walked for a while before finding a stall with a makeshift awning selling tea, and sat down.

“Instructor Cheng already said a few times before that He Wen’s parents, wife, and children all died at the hands of former officials of the Wu Dynasty. Later he followed the fleeing commoners south and was left stranded in the killing grounds of Jiangnan — he won’t be taking imperial orders again. This time Elder Zuo is offering a warm face to a cold backside; he’s bound to come back empty-handed.”

Yue Yun, seventeen this year, was now the same height as his sister, who was disguised as a man, but his body was solid and well-muscled from years in the army, and he had the look of someone brimming with masculine vigor. He was also at that age of youthful spirit and confidence, having already formed his own opinions on many matters, and spoke of them with considerable self-assurance.

Of course, we might still remember that even when he was younger, he had already shown a straightforward, courageous character. Back when he had been captured by the many brutal men who had thrown in with the Jurchens, he had cursed and resisted all the way without a trace of fear. Now he simply had more understanding of the world — though he had grown less endearing for it, he was also maturing in his own way.

Yinping, two years older than him, smiled faintly. “Politics are never that simple. He Wen may not be fond of us here in the southeast, but when Instructor Cheng shipped grain and supplies over to help this region, he still accepted them.”

“You yourself say it’s political — of course he’ll take advantage when it’s free, but once he’s taken it, that doesn’t mean he’ll feel obliged to us.”

“You’re right about that.” The boy serving tea brought over two bowls that looked thoroughly unappetizing. Yinping moved her bowl aside, not bothering to argue with her brother. “Still, looking at things since we entered the city, of all of them, only this ‘Dragon Sage’ has shown a bit of spirit today with what he’s done. As for the rest, which one do you actually think well of?”

“Elder Zuo seems to have settled on He Wen and Gao Chang for now, but honestly, I don’t think highly of any of them.” Yue Yun swept a disdainful gaze over the marketplace, watching the restless men of the martial world coming and going — some swaggering with menace, others keeping their eyes lowered, members of the Fairness Party among them. “They say the Heavenly King Gao is the least troublesome of the Fairness Party’s five factions, and that he’s good at managing his troops, but from what I’ve seen, his men are nothing but a bunch of thugs. If it came to a real fight against our Beikui Army, we’d cut through them without a second thought. As for He Wen, I’ll bet the talks fall apart. They may be discussing the bigger picture, but He Wen is still just a man — the blood feud of his whole family isn’t something that just goes away so easily. And we’re not the Huaxia Army; we can’t make him bow his head.”

“You always have your own opinions.” Yinping laughed.

“Want to make a bet, then?”

“Bet on what?”

“I’ll bet… that the talks with He Wen fall through. As for Gao Chang, if he’s willing to cooperate with us after He Wen’s situation is settled, I’ve got nothing to say against it — though I still don’t think much of him.”

“And just how many people do you actually think much of?”

“I think highly of the whole Huaxia Army! Just like Father says — if one day we get to fight a proper, honorable battle, even dying on the battlefield would be a hero’s death, glorious even in defeat.” Yue Yun said this while throwing a spirited punch at the air beside him, then lowered his voice. “Sister, do you think there might be people from the Huaxia Army here this time too?”

“And if there were, what would you do?”

“Get to know them, of course! You don’t know this, but Brother Wenhuai and I are close — I’ve asked him about all sorts of things going on in the southwest. If we met, we’d hit it off right away,” Yue Yun said with a grin. “And who knows, maybe we could even spar with them sometime. Or… maybe I could even find you a good husband from among them… ah—”

Before he could finish, Yinping’s arm flicked out, and a sharp flick of her finger landed squarely on her unreliable little brother’s forehead. “What nonsense are you spouting!”

“…I’m just telling the truth.” Yue Yun rubbed his head, laughing with his head bowed. “Actually, I heard from Uncle Gao and the others that if Brother Wenhuai and the rest didn’t already have wives, arranging a match with you would’ve been ideal. Though I hear the sisters-in-law who came from the southwest are all formidable heroines in their own right — not the kind of women an ordinary person would dare provoke… Also, there’s apparently talk now of sending you into the palace to be made a consort. But even though His Majesty is a ruler of restoration, I don’t want you going into the palace, Sister — there’s no freedom in there.”

He sat there laying it all out as if it were settled fact, and Yinping’s face flushed, caught somewhere between annoyance and amusement. “You, a boy who hasn’t even grown a proper beard yet, have already arranged every last detail. Who I marry in the future is none of your business — are you trying to chase your own sister out of the house so you don’t have to share the family fortune?”

“Father doesn’t even have any money on him. Sure, he’s generous with gifts to others, but he won’t let me touch a single coin — even buying a pot of wine, he’s stingy about it. Our family’s a bunch of paupers.” Yue Yun chuckled, shameless, leaning closer. “Besides, I actually do have a bit of a beard now — look, Sister. Whenever it grows in I shave it off. Uncle Gao and the others say if you shave it enough times now, it’ll grow back thick and black later, and look imposing.”

“Get away from me.” Yinping pressed his face and turned it aside.

Yue Yun turned back around, grinning, and drank his tea. The two of them sat like that for a while, and then Yinping said, “The matter of entering the palace was mentioned to me once — it wasn’t about becoming a consort, but about wanting me to guard His Majesty’s safety. Of course, if I really did go in… there might have to be some consideration of status and title.” She paused briefly, then looked at her brother with a teasing smile. “They also thought about you — sending us both into the palace, with me as a consort and you as the little eunuch who waits on the consort.”

“Uh…” The corner of Yue Yun’s mouth twitched, as if someone had stuffed a mouthful of filth down his throat.

“…There aren’t many people around His Majesty he can truly trust, especially this past year — with him pushing to honor the throne and drive out threats, pulling power back to the center, and then opening up maritime trade and clashing with several of the big merchant-sailors, all sorts of problems have been quietly piling up underneath. You spend all day in the barracks brawling with people for the thrill of it and have no idea…”

Yue Yun fell silent for a moment. “…So if it really came down to it and you were sent into the palace, would you actually be willing to become a consort?”

“His Majesty refused.” Yinping smiled faintly. “He said he wouldn’t ruin a young woman’s reputation, and that the matter wasn’t to be brought up again. You spend your days listening to nothing but gossip and rumors — what do you even know.”

“…” Yue Yun lowered his head for a moment, then nodded, picked up his tea bowl, and raised it with both hands toward the southeast. “If that’s how it is, then His Majesty deserves to have me, Yue Yun, serve him with my life.”

“His Majesty’s reforms now are a narrow path — only by making it through does the future open up; the slightest misstep and there’s no recovering. So then, as long as it doesn’t harm our foundation, having more friends is always a good thing. Never mind He Wen and the Heavenly King Gao — even the others… even that most unworthy Zhou Shang — as long as he’s willing to talk, Lord Zuo will go and talk with him…”

Yinping’s words were gentle, and by the time she reached the heart of the matter, Yue Yun fell silent for a while, no longer arguing the point further.

The two siblings had lived through years of war and had seen every manner of atrocity with their own eyes. But as far as their own family was concerned, their father, Yue Fei, had always conducted himself with utmost integrity, and the current emperor, Jun Wu — once the crown prince — had likewise never shown any moral failing. Nineteen-year-old Yinping had already begun to accept the complexity of the world, but seventeen-year-old Yue Yun still had something of a purist streak. Since entering the city this time, what he especially could not stand were the so-called “King Yama” Zhou Shang and the “Wheel-Turning King” Xu Zhaonan… Of course, given how much was at stake for the bigger picture, whatever opinions he held, he was still, at heart, willing to be a soldier who followed orders.

The two of them drank a few more sips of tea. No sound of major unrest came from the square in the distance — it seemed Zhou Shang’s side truly did not intend to break things off and leave. Just then, Yue Yun tugged at his sister’s sleeve and pointed toward one end of the street. “Look.”

What they saw was a hidden scuffle unfolding in the crowd. The one making the move was a young girl carrying a bundle on her back, and the other was a man of the martial underworld who seemed to be trying to stop her. The girl kept herself tucked into the crowd, easy to overlook — but to anyone paying attention, it was clear she seemed to be evading pursuit. A tall, gaunt man of the martial world cut her off at the edge of the street; the two exchanged a glance, and the man reached out to block her path. The girl swept his hand aside, and the two of them grappled and countered each other’s moves, trading two exchanges right there in the crowd.

This swift exchange drew little attention from the people around them. After the hidden clash, the girl shifted her body, leapt up sharply, and struck a reverse palm blow to the back of the tall, gaunt man’s head. The strike landed precisely on the acupoint — the tall man didn’t even have time to cry out before his body swayed and he crumpled soundlessly to one side.

“That’s… the technique of the Tan Gong Sword?” Yinping’s eyes narrowed.

Yue Yun’s gaze swept down the long street, and in that instant he caught sight of several particular pairs of eyes fixed on the scene. He said in a low voice, “She’s been spotted.”

The earlier exchange between the two hadn’t drawn much notice, but the martial-world man had been rather tall, and when he suddenly trembled and collapsed, his companions further down the street noticed the disturbance.

“Father once said that the Tan Gong Sword style is fierce and unforgiving. The first time the Jurchens marched south, one of its elders, moved by our grandmaster’s example, assassinated Nian Han and died for it. I just don’t know how the successors of that sword style have fared since…”

Yue Yun spoke quietly, then lifted his tea bowl and glanced at his sister. A moment later, he drained what was left in one gulp.

Yinping likewise lowered her head and lifted her own bowl, her eyes glinting with amusement. “Judging by that strike just now, both her skill and technique are rather ordinary.”

“Well, she’s still young, after all…”

Yue Yun stood up, and Yinping had no choice but to rise and follow. The two siblings’ figures moved forward, blending into the flow of passersby…