Whispers, a jittery unease spreading through the crowd like wind through grass.

“Who is that?”

“Li Tianyou… the younger brother of Great General Li Tianrun, Protector of the Realm…”

“What’s he doing here…”

“With that kind of standing—someone must have done something…”

Up at the Four Seasons Hall, though most of the many guests Zhu Yanlin had invited had already left, there were still forty or fifty people lingering about, and counting the waitstaff already in the establishment and the courtesans brought in to liven the mood, the numbers were larger still.

Of these forty or fifty, most had some connection to Fang La’s current organization, but there were also those like Liu Xiyang, who felt Qi Yuankang’s affair had nothing to do with them and had simply stayed on for the sake of Zhu Yanlin, Lou Jingzhi, and the others. Some were young men originally part of Fang La’s rebel army, staying mostly for the sake of the courtesans who had remained—having already been through battle many times, they now sought out the girls they fancied to chat and flirt with, offering their attentions.

Partly it was a matter of “not my concern, so why worry,” and partly because their surroundings had grown somewhat more stable, and most of those present had some grasp of poetry and prose, admiring that air of the accomplished scholar untouched by favor or disgrace. From the start of the citywide unrest until now, the mood at the Four Seasons Hall had remained, on the whole, unhurried. But as this company of soldiers came up the stairs—and especially once Li Tianyou was recognized at their head—everyone present was genuinely startled.

Zhu Yanlin’s expression had turned rigid from the very start, his brow furrowed, his gaze shifting uneasily; even Lou Jingzhi had risen from his seat without quite meaning to. In fairness, everyone here had risen from rebellion, and among the stars of Fang La’s army, Li Tianyou himself was rather unremarkable, nothing special. But his elder brother, Li Tianrun, was truly a first-rate figure within the army, and no one could afford to take lightly the name “younger brother of the Great General, Protector of the Realm.”

At present, the talk in Hangzhou was all of stabilizing the hearts of the people; even something as major as Qi Yuankang’s treason, Zhu Yanlin and the others could be fairly sure would not touch them, merely reciting poetry as they were. But at a moment like this tonight, with Li Tianyou suddenly leading troops here, everyone’s first thought could only be that Qi Yuankang’s affair had spread further—that someone here was about to be swept up in the purge along with him. Even Lou Jingzhi, son of the Left Chancellor, felt a flicker of suspicion: was this the beginning of some political struggle tied to Li Tianrun’s return, one that might drag his own family in as well?

When Li Tianyou walked straight to a table at the side and sat down, and people saw who was seated there, many let out a breath of relief. Some who recognized the two—Liu Xiyang among them, and Zhu Yanlin as well—guessed in their hearts that it was the newly risen Lou family being brought down. Lou Shuwan, for her part, went even paler than before.

Under Hangzhou’s current circumstances, though the word from above was that the new dynasty had just been established and everything needed stabilizing, the bloodshed of two months earlier was still fresh in everyone’s memory. People carried blades and spoke with them; lives drifted like duckweed, and no one could feel truly safe. The Lou family, though flourishing under Fang Qifo’s patronage, could just as easily be wiped out entirely—that would hardly be difficult to imagine.

Once it became clear the matter did not concern him, Zhu Yanlin finally recovered his composure and, in his role as host, made his way over. With his standing, so long as the other side wasn’t drawing blades, the two sides could still exchange words.

Meanwhile, Li Tianyou and Ning Liheng stared at each other for several seconds, a flicker of triumph in Li Tianyou’s eyes—got you at last. Liu Jin stood at Ning Liheng’s side, hand on his blade, glaring fiercely at the men Li Tianyou had brought with him. He was a disciple of A’Chang, but still young, and none of the others thought much of him. On the streets of Hangzhou these days, there was no shortage of young men who had carried a blade and killed with it. Since Li Tianyou had not yet given the order, the dozen or so men simply sat down around them. Only when Zhu Yanlin approached did an aide lean in and murmur something to Li Tianyou, at which point he finally rose to his feet.

“Academician Zhu.” He cupped his hands in greeting, then gestured toward a spot slightly further off, his voice carrying, full of vigor. “Young Master Lou is here too—forgive the disturbance.”

“Uncle Li.” Lou Jingzhi cupped his hands in return and sat down to watch how things unfolded. Zhu Yanlin said, “General Li, today I am the one hosting this gathering—might I ask…”

“The Pacification Battalion has come tonight to settle an old grievance—this matter concerns no one else. I did not know earlier that Academician Zhu was hosting a banquet, and I have been rude in intruding. Once tonight’s business is settled, I shall come another day to apologize properly. I hope the Academician will forgive me.”

The claim that he had not known Zhu Yanlin was hosting a banquet was, of course, a lie, but Li Tianyou’s tone now was firm and resolute, leaving no doubt of his determination. And the grievance of the Pacification Battalion was not, in truth, Li Tianyou’s own grievance—the Pacification Battalion was, in every sense, Li Tianrun’s own force, and it was Li Tianrun himself who truly stood behind it. Zhu Yanlin hesitated slightly. “This… may I ask what grievance the General speaks of? If it could perhaps be resolved…”

“It cannot be resolved!” Before he had even finished speaking, Li Tianyou answered coldly. Zhu Yanlin’s expression stiffened, though inwardly he felt a measure of relief—as host, he was in principle obligated to try to mediate, but with the other side taking such a hard line, he could step back gracefully without losing too much face. Having said this much, Li Tianyou merely glanced once toward Lou Jingzhi, then paid Zhu Yanlin no further mind. He drew a breath, sat back down across from Ning Liheng, and after a moment, began to laugh.

“After all this time, we’ve finally caught you—it wasn’t easy… Ning Liheng, you already know what’s coming to you, don’t you!”

…

“…Ning Liheng, you already know what’s coming to you, don’t you!”

When she heard those words, Lou Shuwan’s mind was still a blur.

It wasn’t that she was a woman of weak nerves. It was because of what she had lived through when the army broke into the city—for anyone caught up in it, the experience had been simply too horrifying. Unless one had seen it with one’s own eyes, lived through it firsthand, no one could understand that particular terror of being utterly unable to protect oneself. Officials, wealthy men, commoners alike—during that stretch of time the whole city had known no peace. People were slaughtered in waves; women who were violated suffered an agony beyond words. Some women of great households, unable to flee in time, were seized by the soldiers and violated day after day; those who dared take their own lives at least found a swift release, but that “swift” release was all it was—the terror leading up to that act of suicide was itself almost unbearable.

In truth, women may not even have suffered the worst of it at the time. She herself had once witnessed captured officials subjected to slow slicing, buried alive, even flayed. During that period, people had simply gone mad. Though the Lou family had Fang Qifo’s protection, in the days before order was restored they were still repeatedly harassed by intruders, and she had hidden in her room all day, not daring to go out. Even so, fragments of what was happening outside still reached her ears, piece by piece. Even within the estate, some of the maidservants who had shown their faces carelessly were seized—some before they had even managed to leave the household grounds. One of the maids at her side vanished one day; when they later asked around, it turned out that while going about her duties near the outer wall of the courtyard, she had been seized by a band of soldiers who broke in from outside and bound her with rope. By the time she was found, she was already dead—stripped bare, covered in blood…

These things, in the end, could never be accounted for.

Some people, struck by such horror, never recovered. Others found within it the strength to push themselves forward. Later, once things had genuinely calmed somewhat, and her elder brother had returned, she had come out to help manage the family’s affairs, because she understood it was necessary. But now… now that such a possibility had returned, she found herself truly terrified once more.

What finally brought her back to her senses was the name Ning Liheng. Before her mind had even fully caught up, she saw the man beside her laugh and say, in a clear voice, “What’s coming to me, I couldn’t say—but since you’ve come looking, feel free to come at me. Whether you’d rather come one at a time, or all together.”

Something jolted through her heart, and Lou Shuwan rose to her feet, staring fixedly at the man beside her.

This turn of events had come without warning, and Ning Liheng, in truth, had no particularly good way of responding to it. But since there was no room left for the matter to be turned around, he was not a man given to cowering. He placed both hands on the table, and the sharp edge and pressure he usually kept veiled beneath his composure now showed faintly through, as he squared off against the dozen-plus men before him. The others present, who had until now thought him nothing more than a mild-mannered scholar, could hardly believe what they were seeing—it was almost as if he had lost his mind.

Beside Ning Liheng, Liu Jin suddenly stepped forward. At the same moment, five or six of the men who had come with Li Tianyou also rose to their feet, hands going to their weapons, their bearing fixed on the young man—not because they thought him especially dangerous, but to guard against him lunging recklessly at Li Tianyou with a blade, which would cost them a great deal of face.

Li Tianyou, furious, was on the verge of laughing it off and speaking when someone else spoke first—Lou Shuwan, who had abruptly risen and glanced at Ning Liheng. She hesitated only briefly before reacting. “General Li… this one is from the Lou family…”

“I know your Lou family!” Li Tianyou said. “I’ve met your father, Lou Jinlin. The Marshal gave your Lou family the chance to manage the grain trade, and I respect the Marshal for it! But this matter today—miss, weigh your own worth carefully. A blood debt of thousands of lives! If you think yourself entitled to interfere, then interfere. If you feel you are not, then leave at once.”

“But…” Lou Shuwan faltered. She knew that if the higher-ups had not already decided to move against her family, she could still say a few words, plead a little, and no one would simply cut her down on the spot. But for the moment, she too had been shaken by Li Tianyou’s talk of “a blood debt of thousands of lives.” She looked at Ning Liheng, at that bright, faintly lion-like smile on his face, unable to understand how a scholar like him could possibly be entangled in something like this.

Many present were equally shaken by what Li Tianyou had said. At the same time, Liu Jin took another half-step forward and called out loudly, “General Li, mind your words. Master Ning is no great official of that dog court! Back when Master Ning was among the refugees, he acted only to protect himself. Everyone fought for their own side—there’s no cause to call it a blood feud between us! He has since turned from darkness to light, and now serves our Overlord Blade Battalion faithfully. Whatever grudges there were should be wiped clean. If you have complaints, take them up with the Overlord Blade Battalion. To bully one man with so many like this—what kind of hero does that make you!”

“Who do you think you are, speaking to me like that!” Li Tianyou snorted coldly. “This man has thousands of lives on his hands, and your Overlord Blade Battalion says it’s forgiven, says it’s wiped clean, just like that? What airs you people put on. If it weren’t for the sake of keeping peace in the city, I wouldn’t bother holding back—do you think my Pacification Battalion is afraid of your mere eight hundred men at Overlord Blade Manor? I’ll kill him today, and if you people want revenge for it later, you’re welcome to come.”

“Those aren’t my words to answer for—that’s for my Master to decide. I, Liu Jin, am nobody important, but my Master had me follow Master Ning. If you want to touch him, you’ll have to step over my corpse first!”

A gaunt, tall man off to the side drew his sword. “Taking your life won’t be hard at all.”

“Then come.” The young guard’s blade rang as he drew it, his stance settling into the opening posture of the Overlord Blade style called “Guarding the Pillar of Heaven”—precise and disciplined, clearly the product of long training. The Overlord Blade style placed the greatest weight on bearing and presence, and though this opening stance was called “guarding,” with his feet sunk low and blade held to the side, it plainly carried the spirit of a man ready to die alongside his enemy. For a moment, the air on both sides drew taut and grim. The dozen-odd men Li Tianyou had brought carried a variety of weapons—clearly elite fighters of the Pacification Battalion, drawn from the ranks of the martial underworld. Ning Liheng had only this one man at his side, but from the young man’s bearing, if these men truly meant to harm Ning Liheng, they would have to trample over his corpse first. The instant Li Tianyou gave the nod, blood might be spilled within moments.

At this point, behind Lou Shuwan—who still stood at a loss—the two martial escorts she had hired had already drawn near. It was not that they had any real intention of joining the fight; both men, seeing Li Tianyou’s presence, along with the rest of the Lou family’s servants, already knew this was not a fight to provoke, and even as men of the martial world, they would not have dared step in. But once they saw that Li Tianyou seemed to have no intention of troubling the Lou family, the Tiger-Slaying Ascetic Qin Gulai and the Lingshan Fairy Wei Lingxue drew closer.

But the moment they approached with their weapons in hand, a man of about forty at Li Tianyou’s side looked over and said, “Qin Gulai—if you want to work as a bodyguard, go be a bodyguard, but daring to meddle in this affair? Since when did you grow the guts—have you grown tired of living?”

The man’s tone was contemptuous, plainly holding this fierce-faced Tiger-Slaying Ascetic in low regard—perhaps even less regard than he held for Liu Jin. Qin Gulai looked rather embarrassed and cupped his hands, saying gravely, “Master Luo, good to meet you. I work as a bodyguard—there’s no shame in that.” This was only meant as a face-saving retreat, and the other side would not press further because of it. He turned back to Lou Shuwan and said, “Miss, this is not a fight we can afford to get into.” Then, after a pause, he added, “I doubt the Lou family can afford it either.”

“But—but…” Lou Shuwan felt utterly at a loss. She was genuinely afraid of offending Li Tianyou. But instinct told her that Ning Liheng might have backing of his own that carried some weight, and since the Li family clearly had no intention of dealing fully with her own family, perhaps she could still say something. If she pressed a little harder, had those around her lend a hand—Liu Jin, after all, was standing so resolutely firm at Ning Liheng’s side—perhaps there was a chance to keep Li Tianyou from taking Liheng’s life. Afterward, if her father took her side, offered apologies where needed, the whole affair might yet be smoothed over.

This was the kind of instinct she had cultivated through years of dealing with people in business, but for the moment, she did not dare gamble on it. Just as she stood there anxious and uncertain, a voice sounded from not far away.

“Master Qin is right, Shuwan. This is not something we can manage.”

The voice was mild and unhurried. Lou Shuwan turned her head sharply and saw, at the top of the stairs, a man in white robes much like her own, his features bearing some resemblance to hers, though somewhat older, with a faint air of weariness and melancholy about his brows. Several attendants followed him, among them a few practitioners of the martial arts.

“Brother, you… you have to say something for him…”

The newcomer was Lou Shuwang. Compared to Lou Shuwan and Lou Shuheng, his influence—both within the Lou family and outside it—now far exceeded that of his younger siblings. Seeing him appear, Lou Shuwan first felt a surge of relief, then her heart sank once more.

“I can’t help. Over in the eastern district, Lord Qi Yuankang has already been executed, but the unrest in the city hasn’t settled yet. I knew you were at the Four Seasons Hall, so I came by to pick you up on the way.”

He walked over as he said this, then cupped his hands toward Ning Liheng. “Ning Liheng. You and I—the Su and Lou families—did indeed have some dealings once. But there was no small clash between us that day on West Lake as well; while it never became outright enmity, it can hardly be called friendship anymore either. As for today’s matter, my own family has trouble enough protecting itself and cannot speak for you. Whatever grudges you’ve earned with others, take care of yourself.”

Ning Liheng, still facing off against Li Tianyou, glanced briefly at the man from the corner of his eye as he approached; only once Lou Shuwang had finished speaking did he turn his head to look at him properly, then smiled and nodded. “Just as you say. This matter has nothing to do with your Lou family. Miss Lou, please, go on back.”

“But… Brother…”

Lou Shuwan tried to say more, but Lou Shuwang cupped his hands and said, “Miss Wei, would you trouble yourself?” The woman named Wei Lingxue nodded, her hand flashing out and striking Lou Shuwan on the back of the neck, catching her as she slumped, unconscious.

Lou Shuwang let out a sigh, then went to exchange a greeting with Lou Jingzhi. As he was about to leave, Li Tianyou called after him, “Young Lou—did you just say Qi Yuankang is already dead?”

Lou Shuwang nodded, walked over to Li Tianyou’s side and cupped his hands in a bow, then spoke, his voice rather low.

“I heard… that General Chao led troops to surround the Qi residence entirely… someone sent in a poem… and then… they took Lord Qi’s head.”

Ning Liheng’s thoughts at that moment were not on Qi Yuankang, and since Lou Shuwang had not spoken very loudly, he caught only scattered fragments. After Lou Shuwang left, a grim, killing silence settled over the space. Ning Liheng stood up straight, and the dozen or so men around Li Tianyou rose along with him. Beside him, Liu Jin drew a deep breath, bracing himself to fight to the death.

In truth, what Li Tianyou and his men feared most was probably Liu Jin himself. Liu Dabiao was known to be fiercely protective; if Liu Jin, fighting to the death here, were killed, then it was quite possible Li Tianrun himself would have to answer for the Overlord Blade Battalion’s retaliation. But given how things stood now, even if the standoff continued, Li Tianyou would inevitably have to strike.

Ning Liheng reached out and pressed his hand down on the back of Liu Jin’s blade.

Nearly everyone present turned to look at him.

“When a thing can’t be done, let it go. There’s no point in you dying here for nothing. This is my fight—I can fight it myself. If you live, they won’t trouble you. If I die, you can collect my body, and pass word to Liu Dabiao to avenge me. That much, you can manage.”

Having said this, he swung his right hand out abruptly—a flash of blade light, and it struck the center axis of the wooden table before him. Splinters flew as half the table split with a crack. He stepped back two paces before turning to face the crowd.

“Who’s coming!”

He had always presented himself as a mild scholar, yet the bearing he now carried seemed to hold everyone present in place. Li Tianyou drew his thumb across the corner of his mouth, a hint of bloodlust in his eyes, while among the crowd, people looked on in stunned silence, including several wide-eyed courtesans, who began whispering among themselves.

“Who exactly is this man…”

“Didn’t I hear… he’s supposed to be the foremost talent of Jiangning…”

“He’s the one who wrote ‘Watching the Sea Tide’…”

“General Li said he has thousands of lives on his hands…”

“Why did that young Lou master say ‘the Su and Lou families’ just now…”

“…He married into her family.”