Thunder rumbled overhead.

It had been two or three years since the defeat of the Jurchens, and the Huaxia Army was only now beginning its shift from a military government to an ordinary civilian one. These days, the mid- and upper-level staff of every department still came almost entirely from military backgrounds. Peng Yueyun had come up through the Western Army, and now that he’d entered the Inspection Committee, whenever the paperwork got tedious, he took to working out every day to blow off steam. Xu Shaoyuan, on the other hand, had come from the Secretariat and joined the land reform work team; his first task every morning was still physical drill.

The two sides had already been squared off, tempers flaring on both ends, while the others held themselves back somewhat — but once Peng Yueyun, their immediate superior, let out a furious roar, the rest of the group’s emotions boiled over too. The men standing at the front lunged at those across from them, and the tall soldiers on the other side got ready to fight back.

By now Xu Shaoyuan had gotten a clear look at who’d arrived. “Peng Yueyun, you—”

To one side, Tang Minjie let go of the hand covering his forehead and abruptly stood, shouting, “Little Huang! Hold him back!” Little Huang was the group member standing closest to Peng Yueyun at that moment, and hearing Tang Minjie’s furious bellow, he flinched and spun around to block Peng Yueyun’s path.

“Get out of my way!” Peng Yueyun shoved him aside.

Tang Minjie pushed forward through the crowd, but still found a moment to wave to the side. “Take the hoe out of her hands!” — meaning Cheng Min, over there.

In the two months since he’d arrived at the fourth squad, Tang Minjie had already earned some authority among its members, but there was no way Little Huang could actually stop Peng Yueyun. Once he’d been shoved aside, Peng Yueyun lunged straight at the center of the standoff. By then the front line had already broken into fighting — Xu Shaoyuan, a big man, hauled two soldiers who were throwing punches back by force, cursing loudly all the while.

Peng Yueyun had just charged in, ready to throw a punch, when a hand suddenly seized his collar. He was strong, and dragged the person a step forward before catching himself and not daring to move further — because that hand was smeared with fresh blood. It was Tang Minjie, still bleeding from his forehead, his build slight and his strength unremarkable, one lens of his glasses cracked, looking every bit the frail, disheveled scholar — yet standing there in the middle of it all, gripping Peng Yueyun, he bellowed, “Everyone stop! Stop it!”

Just then, someone across the way cried out, “Ah—!”

Tang Minjie narrowed his eyes and tried to lunge forward, but Peng Yueyun, still held by the collar, stepped sideways and raised an arm to shield his head. There was a loud crack — the young, hot-tempered soldier across from them had swung a stool and shattered it against him. Peng Yueyun stood there without flinching, without even blinking.

Meanwhile, Xu Shaoyuan grabbed the young soldier by the back of his collar, hurled him down onto the floor with a crash that sent several tables and chairs clattering apart, then kicked another one of his own subordinates clean off his feet.

Outside, the rain seemed to pause for an instant amid the chaos, then went on drifting down. The people in the hall watched the scene unfold; someone let out a low whistle. The hotel’s guards hadn’t stepped in — they just stood off to the side and watched. They were old soldiers themselves, and knew that the superior of the superior of their superior could probably be traced all the way up to someone like Marquis Hou, and that when men like this got riled up, it was best not to wade in and get dragged into it yourself. Better to wait until the fight was over, then haul the lot of them off to the military tribunal.

Lin Jingmei only narrowed her eyes for the briefest instant, at the moment her husband was struck.

Peng Yueyun stood still once Tang Minjie had a grip on him, his back to Xu Shaoyuan and the others. He slapped the back of his own head and roared, “Come on then! Hit me here again!” Tang Minjie hauled him backward with a hard yank.

There was still movement inside the hall. Someone stepped out from not far off, looked at the wreckage on the floor, and asked, “Oh? What’s going on? I could hear it from way over there — who’s gone and upset our little brother Fang Cheng… uh… uh…”

The man who’d just happened to walk out was Lin Qiu. At the Ministry of Commerce he ranked above Lin Jingmei, and over the past year or so he’d become quite the rising star, known especially for his social finesse. This time, with so many people called back to Chengdu, no one was quite sure who he’d come to visit. But having spoken rashly before finishing his sentence, the moment he spotted Peng Yueyun and Lin Jingmei, he knew this had turned into real trouble, and he wished he could shrink right back through the doorway.

All he could do now was rub his chin carefully to smooth over the awkwardness.

People on both sides moved to stop the fighting. With Peng Yueyun having taken a hit, things had grown more complicated, and both sides ceased their brawling. Tang Minjie, blood on his clothes, stood in the middle, signaling for restraint on both sides. On the floor, the young soldier who’d been knocked into the pile of tables and chairs scrambled straight back to his feet, shouting, “I’m not afraid of you! I don’t care what connections you have — today I want justice!”

Xu Shaoyuan closed in on him. “You call this seeking justice?!”

“There’s no justice to be had! I want his life for it! An eye for an eye — for my brother Fang Lu!”

“I, Peng Yueyun, will trade lives with you!” Peng Yueyun shouted from behind Tang Minjie, trying to step forward, only to be blocked again.

“And you call yourself a soldier!” Xu Shaoyuan kicked Fang Cheng, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Fang Cheng clutched his stomach. “It’s the military law that’s unjust! They’re the ones who are unjust! Squad Leader Xu, you met my brother — you all know what kind of man he was!”

At this, Tang Minjie, his left hand extended, his right still pressed to his forehead, finally spoke. “Who is your brother?”

“My brother is Fang Lu! Tang Minjie framed him, stepped on him to climb into his position, and now he’s playing the part of the grieving hypocrite! Or maybe all of you have simply feasted on the blood of your own people for so long you’ve forgotten how many you’ve wronged! Tang Minjie! Even with all the power you hold, I’m not afraid of you—”

“What Fang Lu? Where did this come from.” Peng Yueyun stepped forward. “Say it plainly and I’ll deal with you all over again!”

“My brother is already dead! Go ahead and deal with me too! Just come after me, Fang Cheng, and be done with it!”

“That’s enough.” Tang Minjie pushed Peng Yueyun back and waved his hand at those around him. “That’s enough.”

Then he sat back down on a chair.

Getting struck had left him dazed at first, but now that he understood the reason, he found he held no particular resentment — only a tangle of complicated feelings.

Because of what he’d done before, his record since returning to the Huaxia Army had always been shrouded in mystery, with many entries left deliberately vague. Fang Lu’s case regarding the land-reform issues in Wenpu County had a detailed account on file, but he had taken his own life to bear the blame for it. Afterward, Tang Minjie had been promoted into the Inspection Committee, and others, digging quietly on their own, had come to the conclusion — not without some logic — that he’d risen by informing on Fang Lu.

Trace it back further, and the trail might well lead to Peng Yueyun, which only muddied the matter further.

Xu Shaoyuan stepped closer to Fang Cheng. “The higher-ups already reached a conclusion about your brother’s case.”

“I don’t believe their conclusion — it never explained anything properly!”

“That’s because Fang Lu killed himself to protect those worthless friends of his.”

“I don’t believe that. My brother was a selfless, great man. He was just—” Fang Cheng pointed at Tang Minjie. “He was framed and sold out by people looking to climb the ranks, people looking for a stepping stone! By his superiors — and by connections in the imperial family, no less—”

“What nonsense are you spouting!” Xu Shaoyuan cut him off.

Peng Yueyun’s eyes had gone wide as well.

“I’ll say it! What’s there to be afraid of! I, Fang Cheng, have always walked a straight and honest path — come and investigate me if you dare! My whole life has been clean. Every month I’ve given my stipend to the children of my fallen comrades — and now I’ll be giving it to my brother’s child too. Come on! Investigate me! Tang Minjie, maybe I have no future left in this life, and I don’t need one — but if you won’t watch yourself, then I’ll be watching you until the day I die!”

The rain hissed down. Peng Yueyun wanted to speak, but Tang Minjie held his clothes in a death grip. Only after hearing all of this did Tang Minjie finally say, “Fine.”

He went on, “I’ll investigate you properly. You watch me, I’ll watch you — that works out well.”

His words were plain and cold. The young soldier across from him stood up straighter. “Good! You said it yourself — I’ll watch you until I’ve dug out every rotten thing hiding behind you!”

“Who are you calling rotten!” Peng Yueyun stepped forward again, only to be pulled helplessly back once more.

Xu Shaoyuan turned to Fang Cheng. “I’ll watch you, all right — do you honestly think today’s incident just ends here?”

“No, it doesn’t end here.” The guard who’d been watching the show, along with the hotel’s head of security, stepped forward — but no sooner had he said this than Lin Qiu walked up and cut in. “No, it doesn’t end here — all these broken bottles and jars need paying for.” He draped an arm over the security chief’s shoulder.

Xu Shaoyuan glanced over. “Right, right, we’ll pay for it, we’ll cover it.”

The chief looked at the man beside him, recognized Lin Qiu, and frowned slightly. “This isn’t a small matter — there’s blood involved, gentlemen…”

At this, Tang Minjie spoke up. “It was just a misunderstanding. I cut my forehead falling down myself. I won’t be pressing the matter.”

In the crowd, Cheng Min looked ready to burst out in anger again, but Lin Qiu clapped his hands loudly. “There — there, see! That settles it! Just a misunderstanding, right, old Sun, we’re all on the same side here… Of course, this — this gentleman here, falling and cutting himself like that — Old Xu, you all bear some responsibility too. You’ll need to cover the medical fees, and the glasses, ha ha ha ha…”

These days Lin Qiu had become something of a fixture in Chengdu society, and he came bustling out now with his easy laughter, smoothing things over. Xu Shaoyuan, gripping Fang Cheng’s collar, sternly warned him to keep quiet, muttering, “We’ll pay, we’ll pay…” The head of security, clearly uncomfortable, finally decided to laugh it off as well.

Just then, a voice rang out.

“This isn’t a misunderstanding, Director Lin. I don’t think it should be handled this way.”

Lin Jingmei walked over, bag in hand, her gaze ice-cold.

“Ah, Little Lin…” Lin Qiu gave a laugh and let out a sigh.

“You’re all soldiers, brawling like this in public — the impact of this is far too great. Everyone who took part will write a self-criticism report and submit it to the Military Tribunal on your own initiative. If you haven’t done so by the day after tomorrow, I’ll be reporting this according to regulation, and then they’ll come looking for you themselves.”

“Ah.” Lin Qiu scratched his head, out of options.

“As for you.” Lin Jingmei walked straight up to Fang Cheng and stopped in front of him. “In the span of a single day, you assaulted an active-duty officer and a government official, causing one of them to bleed from a head wound. Whether that counts as assault or attempted murder is a matter for debate. You can turn yourself in to the Military Tribunal now, in hopes of leniency, or your squad leader can escort you there. Fang Cheng, I may indeed be the very connection to the imperial family you were implying just now — but what I’m telling you is by the book, in accordance with regulation. Do you have any objection?”

“I have no objection. You’re right!” Fang Cheng straightened his back and met Lin Jingmei’s gaze. “My brother’s case has always been vague, full of unresolved questions. I’ve submitted two appeals to my superiors and received nothing but empty platitudes in return. I had no other road left, so today I threw caution to the wind. The Military Tribunal can punish me for it, but—”

“Tang Minjie.” His gaze shifted that way. “Remember this — as long as I’m alive, I’ll be watching you—”

Tang Minjie sat there with his hand pressed to his forehead, head down. “Same here.”

Fang Cheng walked toward the guards. Everyone around wore complicated expressions. Tang Minjie tugged at Peng Yueyun and said quietly, “Tell them the bleeding has nothing to do with him.” Lin Jingmei, meanwhile, was already walking over to the head of security, saying in a low voice, “Since the injured man himself says the bleeding was from a fall, you can use your discretion at the Tribunal — no need to record it.” Only then did Xu Shaoyuan and Lin Qiu’s brows finally relax.

With things somewhat calmer, the two sides went their separate ways. Cheng Min came over to press a hand to Tang Minjie’s forehead, while Peng Yueyun walked up, ready to lay blame. “Old Xu, what kind of soldiers are you training — don’t you know this man saved my life!”

“Old Tang from the second cohort, of course I know that,” Xu Shaoyuan said, frowning, utterly at a loss. “That young man is a good soldier too, and his brother Fang Lu — the two of them owed each other their lives…”

“What’s the story with this Fang Lu?”

“You don’t know?” Xu Shaoyuan pointed toward Tang Minjie. “Fang Lu’s case broke in Wenpu — wasn’t it right after that, that Old Tang got transferred to your unit? You really don’t know this?”

“My brother’s a piece of gold — he’ll shine wherever he ends up. Having him transferred to my unit was my good fortune. Why should I care how it came about?”

“The whole business with Old Tang runs deep. Every time I’ve tried to dig upward, I get shut down — told it’s top secret, better not to pry. But that explanation isn’t going to satisfy Fang Cheng. You saw him — a young man full of ideals and drive, actually a fine soldier at heart…”

“Who the hell said he wasn’t a fine soldier…” Peng Yueyun glared, then turned to look at Tang Minjie. “Tell him to wait and see — he’d better not let me find any problems.”

“He’s already in enough trouble as it is…” Xu Shaoyuan sighed, then added, “Can your Inspection Committee really threaten people like that? Setting up a target and then investigating it isn’t exactly proper procedure…”

“This is the first time in my life I’ve done it,” Peng Yueyun said, unrepentant. “But my brother saved my life. Whoever comes after him, I’ll fight to the death.”

Lin Jingmei sighed. “You sound just like that Fang Cheng, honestly.”

Off to the side, seeing the mood had eased, Lin Qiu came over and started smoothing things over again with his easy laughter.

After a while, Tang Minjie, still sitting there with his hand pressed to his forehead, called out, “Isn’t the doctor here yet?” He added, “I’m in agony.”

Up north, there was no telling how much torture he’d endured, and yet he’d kept up his easy laughter even then, chilling the hearts of a whole crew of Jurchen executioners — yet now, back in Chengdu, he was crying out in pain. Peng Yueyun hurried over to comfort him.

Before long, the doctor arrived.

This unexpected episode ate up a fair amount of time. The doctor cleaned and stitched Tang Minjie’s wound, and by the time they returned to their rooms, the sky outside had gone fully dark, the thunderstorm gradually tapering off, though drizzle still pattered down along the road.

Lin Qiu offered to host a dinner, but everyone politely declined his invitation. The incident had been started by one of Xu Shaoyuan’s own men, and he still had a great deal of cleanup to handle — he needed to plead on Fang Cheng’s behalf, and would likely have to write his own self-criticism as well — so he could only apologize to Peng Yueyun and the others for now.

Lin Jingmei calmed everyone down, made sure there were no loose ends, went to the kitchen to arrange for a nutritious meal, and then set off with Peng Yueyun toward Tang Minjie’s room. Along the way, Peng Yueyun said, “Do you think I should look into this Fang Cheng?”

“I think you should.”

“You think there’s something off about him?”

“If there is something off about him, then it’s no problem at all for you, Senior Brother. But if there’s nothing wrong with him, it might really turn into a problem of your own.” Lin Jingmei sighed. “You should look into the Fang Lu matter too, while you’re at it — it concerns Senior Brother, so keep your wits about you.”

“As long as he came to serve under me, I’m happy about it — why would I care about the reasons behind it? Don’t you think so?”

The two of them arrived at Tang Minjie’s room, where Cheng Min was bustling in and out, pressing the bandaged Tang Minjie down onto the bed and forcing him to lie still.

Peng Yueyun and Lin Jingmei both watched, amused.

Once the two of them arrived, Cheng Min finally stepped out. Lin Jingmei came forward. “Senior Brother, do you still remember me?”

Tang Minjie pushed the covers aside and sat up. “Little Mei — my, how you’ve grown. This is embarrassing, being seen like this.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother, for holding Little Peng back just now — and for saving him once again.”

Peng Yueyun scratched his head off to the side. “I’m the one who got beaten, you know.”

“Tough as nails, you are — better you took the hit than him. Otherwise it wouldn’t have just been a self-criticism report.” Lin Jingmei shot him a look.

“Huh? A self-criticism from me too? I’m the one who got hit just now, Jingmei! I didn’t even land a punch — I didn’t get the chance!”

“But you’re the one who gave the order.” Lin Jingmei’s expression turned stern. “Eight hundred words! We’re writing it together when we get back!”

“Heh heh, well, that’s more like it…”

The two of them carried on their little display of affection for a while, leaving Tang Minjie both amused and exasperated. Only then did they turn back to ask after his injury. In truth, Tang Minjie’s combat skills weren’t much to speak of, though his ability to dodge wasn’t bad — the chair that had been thrown had only grazed the corner of his forehead without landing squarely, so Tang Minjie himself didn’t think much of it.

Before coming, they’d planned to bring up any number of topics, but faced with his injury, there was naturally little room for small talk, and no appetite for a meal either. Lin Jingmei gave him a rough rundown of what had happened that day with Xu Shaoyuan and Lin Qiu, and then the two of them prepared to take their leave, telling him to rest well.

They said their goodbyes, and Lin Jingmei walked to the door — but hesitated, then turned and came back.

“Actually, there’s something…” She looked uneasy.

Tang Minjie smiled at her, then formally rose from the bed and put his shoes on. “I told you, I’m fine. If it’s something important, just say it.”

“Father left a few days ago, and before he did, he gave me a file to pass on to you, Senior Brother…”

She took the file out of her bag and handed it to Tang Minjie, then began briefing him on the recent situation in the city.

“…From what’s been leaking out lately, it looks like there’s a force operating in the shadows of the army, one that traces back to Zou Xu… According to Father, they were never in a position to stir up any real trouble on their own. But once the land reform began, Father also carried out a large-scale purge of internal corruption, and that’s what set off all this talk of ‘winning the realm’ versus ‘holding the realm.’ Zou Xu has been embedded with us for a long time — he understands us, and he’s afraid of us too — so over the past six months or so, he’s finally managed to find enough of a pretext to stir up unrest among the mid-level ranks of the army…”

As Tang Minjie listened, he opened the file and skimmed through it, nodding slightly. He asked, “Was the mutiny on the twenty-first also arranged by Zou Xu?”

“With thousands of miles between us, the details couldn’t have been arranged directly — but it was certainly his people stirring things up slowly, bit by bit.”

“Mm.” Tang Minjie nodded.

“Father already had some plans in place for this,” Lin Jingmei went on. “Their choice to act is, in a way, only exposing them further — so this period can also be used to carry out another purge of the government and the military at the same time…”

“So these few people…” Tang Minjie lifted the file in his hand. “It looks like they’ve already been identified — what’s the purpose here…”

“Father said the identities of these particular people are somewhat delicate, but he didn’t explain the details to me.” Lin Jingmei frowned as well. “What he told me was this: the reason these few were exposed in the first place was that one of our own comrades discovered them — but this comrade’s identity is extremely sensitive, and there are longer-term plans riding on it. So when it comes time to pull out these nails, it needs to be done carefully, without exposing this comrade in the process…”

“Which is to say, I’ll need to dig them out from a different angle entirely…” Tang Minjie nodded. “Did the teacher give any clues about this comrade’s identity?”

“No. Father said you should judge that for yourself.”

“Understood.”

Without asking anything further, Tang Minjie nodded and put the file away.

Peng Yueyun and his wife rose to take their leave.

Not far off, at the hotel’s entrance, Lin Qiu gazed up at the sky, humming a little tune, strolling slowly away. He’d had a bit to drink, though not enough to be drunk — there were still two more banquets to get to that evening.

Chengdu. The sky was thick with rain clouds.

Beneath that sky, the night lay woven in darkness.