Ning Yi had no idea that Lu Hongti had overheard his earlier conversation with his wife from the rooftop, and so naturally he couldn’t draw any particular connections from her reaction. From beginning to end, he had merely been speaking off the cuff, without much calculation behind it. The speaker meant nothing by it; the listener took it to heart.

Of course, even though a heroine like Hongti might, in certain moments, grow unusually sentimental, that didn’t mean her heart had been moved to any great degree. In fact, one could say that although she didn’t dislike Ning Yi, and even felt admiration and appreciation for him, in her heart, she had already dismissed the thoughts and possibilities she’d entertained when she first came down from the mountains. Having recognized that this man before her did not belong to the same world as her, everything else became simple.

Having already decided to return to Jiangning as soon as possible, the next morning Ning Yi used the Tang family’s connections to find an official boat. Throughout the region south of the Yangtze, wealthy and official merchant families were deeply interconnected, and the goodwill he had earned along the road of their earlier flight carried influence even here in Zhenjiang. Though a figure like Tang Xiuxuan wasn’t in Zhenjiang himself, upon learning that Ning Yi was passing through, various members of the Tang family, along with wealthy families and relatives who had received his kindness, hurried over to see him off, all expressing that should any trouble arise in the future, he need only come to them, and they would spare no effort to help. The Su family being merchants, if there was any business to be done, those with connections also exchanged the usual pleasantries.

Back when they had fled, after Ning Yi had fallen unconscious, the whole group had fallen into dire straits. Later, upon learning that the pursuers wanted to capture Ning Yi specifically, someone within the group had used certain tactics to try to draw the pursuers’ attention toward him as much as possible. For instance, during the ambush and camp-burning by An Xifu and the others, a squad had been specifically assigned to “protect” Ning Yi — which was, in reality, nothing more than an unnecessary move meant to draw attention to him. After being captured, Ning Yi had vaguely pieced together the intent behind the whole affair, but given the circumstances at the time, he had decided not to pursue the matter — the other party had simply been taking advantage of the situation as it unfolded, not acting out of genuine malice. After all, Ning Yi had never expected particularly high moral character from those around him at the time, nor had he considered that person a true companion, so such a thing happening hadn’t been entirely unexpected.

Now that he had returned safely, since they wished to build goodwill with him, he saw no reason to stand on ceremony. The business he had been prepared to abandon when leaving Hangzhou because of the Lou family could now, through these connections, be extended directly along the Grand Canal.

Su Tan’er’s pregnancy was now nearly nine months along, and every day’s delay brought her closer to giving birth. So that noon, the whole family boarded the boat. This official pleasure-boat was the largest vessel currently available on the inland waterways, and even against the current of the Yangtze, it remained quite steady throughout the journey. The boat had two decks, and Ning Yi and the others were arranged in rooms on the lower deck, where the least motion could be felt. According to plan, they would rest for a few hours that night, and by the following evening, they would reach Jiangning.

On the twenty-eighth of February in the tenth year of Jinghan, under bright spring sunlight, the enormous pleasure-boat moved slowly upstream against the current of the Yangtze, lush green forests lining both banks, with fields of rice paddies, farmhouses, and villages occasionally flashing into view. Lu Hongti stood at the bow, watching it all, and told Ning Yi of her intention to leave.

“Once we disembark tomorrow evening, I’ll head north — I won’t be entering the city.”

Ning Yi fell silent for a moment beside her. “I know you’re eager to get back, but a few more days won’t make much difference. Besides, the ideas I meant to give you aren’t fully organized yet. Stay a few more days — let me show you around Jiangning properly.”

Lu Hongti smiled. “I know you’ve already got it mostly organized. That’s just how you are — you don’t put things off.”

“It’s a bad habit…”

“And once you get back, your household will surely have a great deal to deal with. It wouldn’t be right to make you spare the attention to entertain me on top of that. Besides, I really have been away too long this time — the sooner I get back, the better. There’s a lot I need to do too.”

Lu Hongti’s words were sincere, not mere pleasantries, and Ning Yi thought it over. “If it’s just household matters, there’s really not much to be busy with, it’s all quite simple. But since you’re…”

“I really am worried about the stockade. I’ve been away so long, my heart’s been with them the whole time,” Lu Hongti said with a smile.

“Mm.” Ning Yi nodded. “Then I’ll have everything ready by tonight.”

“Thank you.” Lu Hongti cupped her hands in a gesture of thanks.

“We’re both people of the martial world — no need for such polite formalities.”

“Ha ha…” At his words, Lu Hongti laughed, her whole body shaking. “I’ve written you a little notebook too — not the kind of secret manual from those martial-arts stories of yours, but it should be useful to you. You’ll probably never become a top-tier master, but if you keep at it, in three to five years, you’ll have more than enough to defend yourself.”

“I keep meaning to ask… what exactly do you mean by ‘top-tier master’?”

“That Manor Lord Xigua connected to the Overlord Blade Camp, Chief Liu Tiannan, Chen Fan, his master Fang Qifo, and also Li Tianrun, Wang Yin — even Bao Daoyi, whom you killed — all of them count as top-tier. You’re too easily distracted, and your foundation isn’t solid — you’ll probably never reach that level in this lifetime.” Lu Hongti’s words carried a note of amusement.

Naturally, Ning Yi wasn’t the type to be discouraged by such a thing — if Lu Hongti had told him he could duel these people one-on-one, that’s when he’d have thought the world had gone strange. He thought it over for a moment. “What about Fang Shuchang and his group?”

“Those seven — roughly on that level, yes. The top-ranked among them, Mister Du Sha, has already reached the threshold of top-tier. Currently the strongest is probably that ‘Ashen Evil Blade’ Luo Bingren, though he tends to keep a low profile. But the one with the best natural talent is the lowest-ranked, Qian Luoning — in the future, his achievements will likely surpass all his companions. You’ll never catch up to him. If you work hard going forward… hmm, you might end up roughly on par with Fang Shuchang as he is now.”

Her own martial skill was probably already master-level by this point, so her evaluations were unlikely to be wrong. Having said this, she looked at Ning Yi for a moment, then murmured with a hint of a sigh, “Though, whether one’s combat strength is high or low isn’t really the right measure to judge you by…” — likely thinking of how twisted and decisive Ning Yi’s temperament was, and how he could always turn people’s hearts and human nature to his own purposes, far beyond what an ordinary person could manage.

Naturally, she wouldn’t say such things to Ning Yi directly. They chatted a bit more, and then she sighed. “Actually, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask this whole trip…”

“What is it?”

“Those things you did at the Overlord Blade Manor, the things you told Miss Liu — could they really be achieved?”

Ning Yi glanced at her. “Anyone who asks such things is usually one of those warm-hearted types…”

“Hm?”

“I don’t know,” Ning Yi said. “I don’t know what will happen if we keep at it. If we do it seriously, it might work. It’s possible that in a hundred, two hundred years, someone might realize some of it. Or it’s possible these ideas get buried for four or five hundred years before anyone rediscovers them. But either way, as long as it’s within eight hundred years, we can say we got there first…”

Lu Hongti didn’t understand what he meant by “eight hundred years,” but Ning Yi often said strange things, and she had grown used to it. She only saw him smile and shake his head, continuing, “You don’t need to think about all that for now… well, you can think about it if you like, but there’s nothing to be done about it yet. As for your side, focus on the practical things first. Honestly, the siege of Hangzhou has been resolved, and I’m not even sure anymore whether I really need to go to the capital. And besides… if I really end up causing some unforgivable trouble, I might just have to come seek refuge with you.”

“Hm?” Lu Hongti blinked, quite interested.

“People, when they set out to do things, always start out just wanting to accomplish something. But along the way, you run into all sorts of people and situations — you offend people you shouldn’t have, use methods you shouldn’t have — and in the end, these things end up outweighing your original intentions. You know, most of the officials in the court are actually capable people. At the start, they too had a heart for serving their country. But gradually, as the interests gathered behind them changed, as their direction shifted, the interests they needed to protect in front of them became more important than their original ideals. I’m probably not much different from them — and I’ll probably have even fewer scruples than they do. So someday, I might just end up an outlaw.”

“I’d welcome that.” Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Hongti said it with a smile. “To put it bluntly — if that day really comes, all the better. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“I’ll try to hold back.”

They both laughed, and after a while, Lu Hongti glanced back to see that Su Tan’er and the others weren’t around, and lowered her voice. “Your wife really is very good to you, you know? During the time I was watching over her in Huzhou, all the servants around her said that if you had really died, your wife probably wouldn’t have cared even about the child in her womb — she would have followed you down. For a woman to go that far, it means she truly loves you. I… I admire her, a little.”

Ning Yi nodded gravely. “…I know.”

“And what about Miss Nie in Jiangning? She’s also a good woman — I know she had a rough life early on, fell into a difficult profession, but she’s always kept herself clean, and now she loves you wholeheartedly too. If you abandon her, she’ll have nothing left. What will you do?”

To this question, Ning Yi, surprisingly, didn’t hesitate much at all. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know… but you men always seem to want three wives and four concubines, ha, and yet somehow you keep running into good women — and then there’s that Miss Liu too…”

“Hey.” Ning Yi turned his head, smiling at her. “That’s really too much, there’s no need to drag me into everything…”

“You answered so quickly just now — that shows you’ve been thinking about all this too. So you’re not entirely heartless after all,” Lu Hongti said with a smile. “So what’s your answer, then? What conclusion have you come to?”

Ning Yi looked at her. “If, for Tan’er’s sake, I broke things off with Yun Zhu completely and never saw her again, what would you think?”

Lu Hongti looked at him without speaking, her brow furrowing slightly.

“And if, for Yun Zhu’s sake, I left the Su family behind — what would you think then?”

“…”

Lu Hongti frowned but still didn’t answer. Though this was an age of three wives and four concubines, where the expectation of fidelity in men was rather looser, the reason she’d asked was probably still because she hoped Ning Yi himself could be a somewhat more complete, admirable person.

Ning Yi lowered his head, looking at his own hands, the backs, the palms. “Actually, there was a time when I wanted to leave the Su family for Yun Zhu’s sake. In the end, I didn’t go through with it. Lately, I’ve actually been considering breaking things off with Yun Zhu for Tan’er’s sake, but…”

Ning Yi shook his head and smiled, and in the end said nothing more. Lu Hongti pursed her lips, then smiled faintly herself, as if finding it amusing that even Ning Yi could be so conflicted. They talked a while longer like this, and by evening, after dinner, the boat stopped at a village along the way, where they would rest for the night, renting a farmhouse courtyard to stay in. After the lamps were lit and everyone settled in, Lu Hongti heard Ning Yi’s voice drifting from the courtyard: “So, once upon a time, there was a scholar named Ning Caichen, who…”

Xiao Chan was speaking: “Young Master—er, husband, husband, I’ve heard this story before…” Though Xiao Chan had been married to Ning Yi for some time now, she still often slipped and called him “young master.”

“You’ve heard it before, so you can hear it again.”

Lu Hongti knew this family got along quite harmoniously — chatting in the evenings, telling stories, playing chess or cards, and even when Juan’er and Xing’er were embroidering or stitching soles for shoes, Ning Yi always managed to find something to do alongside them. She stepped outside, and sure enough, Su Tan’er was sitting there under the eaves as well — the weather had warmed enough now that sitting in the courtyard to admire the moon and stars was pleasant, though it being the end of the lunar month, there were only stars in the sky tonight.

The story Ning Yi was telling was one Su Tan’er had heard, but never finished, more than a year ago — a tale called A Chinese Ghost Story. As she came out, Su Tan’er and the others waved her over, and she pulled up a stool and sat down beside Su Tan’er, at the spot farthest from Ning Yi.

“…So, when Ning Caichen met Nie Xiaoqian at the Lanruo Temple… Yan Chixia gave a great shout — ‘Heaven and Earth without limit, Yin and Yang lend their power!’ — and eight magic swords flew at once toward the black mountain demon… Finally, after Nie Xiaoqian finished saying this to Ning Caichen…”

Under the scattered starlight, Ning Yi sat there and finished telling this not-too-long story, and afterward, at Xiao Chan’s urging, told another ghost story called The Plum Maiden. From beginning to end, he never once exchanged words with Lu Hongti.

By the time the stories ended, the night had grown deep. The next morning, the official boat set off early, and by afternoon, they had already drawn close to Jiangning. Lu Hongti packed up her small bundle, preparing to disembark near Jiangning.

“That story I promised to tell you — I’ve finally finished it.”

“I thought you’d hold out on the second one too.”

“That would make it into the Thousand and One Nights, wouldn’t it…”

As he handed over the notebooks he had written, Ning Yi said this, then laughed and handed her a stack of banknotes. “Twenty-four thousand taels of silver in total — the most I can pull together right now. Consider it my investment, or the Su family’s investment, if you like.”

Lu Hongti frowned. “We’re not really short on that, over there…”

“Money makes money — this isn’t for your own internal use, it’s for buying things from merchants, to get the investment moving. These notes can be cashed anywhere within the pass, they won’t refuse them. Good weapons and armor matter most, and training troops takes investment too — food and supplies as well, though don’t go coddling them either, make them eat and live and suffer together, train them to the death, ha, but that part you understand better than I do. Military strength is the foundation — with economic operations, it can be expanded. Everything’s in there. Your Grandfather Liang is quite formidable, show it to him. I’ll still be waiting for the day I need to come seek refuge with you.”

“Then I’ll look forward to that day coming sooner.” Lu Hongti accepted the banknotes, smiling as she looked at him, seeming to want to say something more, but in the end just smiled and said, “Take good care of Miss Su, and Miss Nie too. They deserve it, and you… deserve them too. Don’t let them down. Don’t ruin it.”

Ning Yi nodded. “I know. Next time, I’ll tell you more stories, and you can tell me about Lüliang too. If there’s ever trouble, come find me in the capital — I’m on your side.”

Lu Hongti looked at him, her expression shifting through several emotions, and after a moment of silence, she smiled broadly and nodded. “Alright.”

Lu Hongti disembarked on the northern bank of the Yangtze, and after saying they’d meet again someday, Ning Yi returned to the boat. They watched this formidable yet solitary martial artist mount her horse and gradually ride off into the distant mountains.

Half an hour later, the boat entered Jiangning, docking at the pier.

Jiangning remained the same bustling scene as always, people coming and going along the docks. They went to the nearby Su family warehouse to fetch a carriage, and the manager there came to greet Su Tan’er and Ning Yi, telling them of recent changes at home. In truth, when Su Tan’er had originally said she was going to Hangzhou for a change of scenery, if all had gone well, the Su family might have remained peaceful and undisturbed. But once the fighting broke out in Hangzhou, and Ning Yi and the others lost contact from there, the second and third branches of the Su family had certainly stirred — over such a long stretch of time, no doubt many things had already changed.

Listening to the news the manager brought, Su Tan’er leaned against Ning Yi, smiling faintly, and Ning Yi helped her up into the carriage.

The sun had already set, casting a lingering spring red over the distance. “Let’s go,” he said, looking at the distant streets of Jiangning. “Let’s see what’s become of home.”

The carriage rolled through the streets, sunlight fading, the wind stirring the willows along the road as if waving to them. Ning Yi looked out through the carriage window at the passing scenery, the tributaries of the Qinhuai River occasionally sliding into view, the sunset’s glimmer rippling on the water’s surface. Ning Yi knew that somewhere in this city, along a bend in the river, there stood a small building — and someone was there too, waiting for his return.