The summer downpour came crashing down. Outside the valley, in the marketplace, the pooled muddy water had already risen past the calf. Lou Shuwan sat in a tavern on the second floor of the market, watching the chaos unfold below.

Thunder, rain, cursing, and clamor all mingled together in that astonishing curtain of rain, the water washing down all manner of filth from above. In the shops on the ground floor, people scrambled both to hold back the rising water and to haul their goods up to the market’s second story. Many beggars, with nowhere to shelter, ran through the flooded streets; some tried to duck into shopfronts, only to be driven out by owners wielding knives and clubs. Men caked black with grime cursed loudly in the street, while women with children in tow could only huddle nearby and weep.

The market was packed beyond capacity; horses belonging to the martial-world travelers had mostly been led up to the second and third floors of the market as well — their owners, presumably, having some money or standing to their name. But there were still some with nowhere to go — amid the heavy rain, one horse, apparently unable to find shelter, came stumbling down through the floodwater from above, a man chasing after it through the muck.

Not far off, at the edge of the market, a large crowd of men had been organized to dig open the drainage ditches. Overseeing them was a chieftain from Green Wood Stronghold, who had earlier led a group knocking door to door on the merchants, demanding they send people to help — pay for labor or contribute their own hands, whichever they preferred; those who refused would simply be driven out of the market. Now a great crowd worked furiously in the rain, and a long stretch of the ditch had already been cleared.

Though Lou Shuwan was seated in what was already the most expensive private box the market had to offer, the surroundings remained a scene of noisy disorder — passersby came and went along the central corridor, the sound of hooves and a rank stench drifting through now and then, and cursing and shouting never seemed to let up. She had been sitting on the street-facing side for a while when she heard someone behind her say, “Heh, girlie, not bad-looking at all — where’d you come from? How much for the night?”

The voice came from just beyond a single wooden partition; someone had leaned out to look down and caught sight of her profile. Lou Shuwan had dressed as close to the local style of the martial world as she could manage, but her looks and bearing still stood out, and the man had simply assumed she was a girl from a nearby brothel. Grinning, he reached his hand out toward her. Lou Shuwan drew back and said, “Keep your hands to yourself — some people you can’t afford to provoke.”

“Heh, and who exactly can’t I afford to provoke?”

Grinning, the man leaned his upper body further out over the railing, trying to peer into Lou Shuwan’s compartment. Qiu Guyan, who had been sitting silently in the corner, was already on his feet; he glanced at the man once, then opened the door and went out.

“What the—” the man waved a hand, and then there came a burst of commotion from next door, followed by a heavy thud — the man had been thrown clean off the second floor by Qiu Guyan, landing in the filthy water of the street below.

“You son of a—! What the hell do you think you’re—” Scrambling up out of the muck, the man bellowed in the rain, shouting out some kind of name, then called for a group of men to charge up from the side. Next door, Qiu Guyan and his men blocked the stairs, and a chaotic scuffle broke out — amid squawking chickens and yelping dogs and general uproar, one man after another was knocked down into the mud. As Lou Shuwan leaned against the railing watching this, Qiu Guyan had already come back, approaching her. “Miss Lou, watch out — they might throw hidden weapons.”

Lou Shuwan nodded and sat back a little further inside.

After a while, another commotion rose up, and someone came in through the door — it was Yu Yulin, along with a man dressed in black, the two of them talking amiably as they entered. The black-clad man’s eyes lit up noticeably at the sight of Lou Shuwan, but Yu Yulin quickly made the introductions. “Chief Chen, allow me to introduce our Tiger King’s own military advisor, Miss Lou. Don’t let her being a woman fool you — she gives no ground to any man, and the Tiger King thinks the world of her. A great deal of the Tiger King’s business dealings are handled by Advisor Lou herself. Advisor, this is Chen Jiu, second-in-command of Chen Family Gorge — a straightforward man, Hero Chen, and a fine friend to have.”

“An honor, an honor.” Chen Jiu cupped his hands toward Lou Shuwan somewhat hesitantly, glanced at Yu Yulin, and only then spoke. “If General Yu hadn’t made the introduction, I never would have known Lüliang had such a heroine among us. But… is this a place we can speak freely?”

“No trouble at all.” Yu Yulin waved a hand, and his men set about clearing the wooden market space around them, sending another wave of chaos scattering in their wake.

Lou Shuwan rose with a smile and cupped her hands as well. “Hero Chen, an honor. Please, sit. General Yu, you too.”

Chen Jiu walked over, spread his hands, and waited for Yu Yulin to sit before taking his own seat. He’d initially taken Lou Shuwan for some hired escort or courtesan and had let his eyes wander a little rudely, but by now he’d reined that in, his manner turning bluff and hearty, though not without a certain shrewdness underneath.

“Advisor Lou, is it. Lüliang’s a deadly place — we mountain folk don’t have much dealing with the outside world, but the Tiger King’s reputation, that I know well, and I’ve long admired him. Whenever people like General Yu or yourself come by to make friends, I, Chen Jiu, am only too glad of it. But today, Miss Lou calling me over here — I suspect it’s a bit more than just making friends.”

He’d already exchanged plenty of words with Yu Yulin beforehand, so there was little need for him to beat around the bush now. Lou Shuwan rose with a smile, though, and poured him a cup of tea. “Hero Chen, what a thing to say. Before I set out, the Tiger King himself said that the heroes of Lüliang are all men of great spirit and generosity — other things might be set aside, but friendship should never be neglected. So today, meeting Brother Chen, my main purpose really is just to make a friend. Unless, of course, Brother Chen looks down on this humble sister…”

She lifted her teacup and offered it to him in a toast. Chen Jiu laughed, took up his cup, and said to Yu Yulin, “Your Advisor Lou really does know how to talk.” Then he drained the cup in one gulp. “I’ll take this friendship.”

Lou Shuwan refilled his cup, her words soft yet direct, without a trace of hesitation. “Truly, meeting Brother Chen deserved fine wine, but this humble girl can’t drink, so tea will have to do.”

“Ah, we mountain folk don’t drink all day either, you know,” Chen Jiu said, waving a hand. “Since we’re friends now, let’s speak plainly. This time, General Yu and Advisor Lou coming here — I imagine your purpose is the same as everyone else gathered at Green Wood Stronghold. Only, General Yu’s been going around visiting the nearby strongholds these past few days, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. Frankly, if the Tiger King really means to establish himself in Lüliang, my Chen Family Gorge would be willing — but my Chen Family Gorge has crossed swords with Little Sparrowhawk more than once or twice…”

Among the major powers of Lüliang Mountain, Green Wood Stronghold currently led the pack. Beyond it stood Little Sparrowhawk Qiu Mengtang; “Black Skull King” Luan Sanlang; the Fang brothers of the Fang family; and the group led by Chen Family Gorge’s “Mountain-Ravager King” Chen Zhenhai — the rest were all scattered, minor forces. Tian Hu was well known in the underworld, and in his early efforts to extend his reach into Lüliang, plenty had been willing to submit to him — but the cost of absorbing so many groups had proven too great for too little return, forcing the Tiger King to be selective about whom he chose to support.

This time, with multiple factions converging on Green Wood Stronghold, some of the nearby strongholds had sent people over as well, just to watch the show and get a read on the situation. Groups like the Qi family’s representatives, the Wusheng Army’s men, and Dong Pang’er’s people had all been negotiating with Green Wood Stronghold the whole time — but Tian Hu’s people, in the two days since arriving, had instead spent their time reaching out to the nearby mountain strongholds and bandit camps. As second-in-command of Chen Family Gorge, Chen Jiu found this rather puzzling: Tian Hu had always backed Qiu Mengtang before, precisely because taking on too many groups directly wasn’t worth the cost — so now, even if it was just to gather leverage to pressure Green Wood Stronghold, was the Tiger King really planning to shoulder the burden of the whole of Lüliang?

Everyone here was a hungry wolf; no one held onto a stronghold and fought to the death over it unless driven by real necessity. But if the Tiger King thought he could spin some tale and fool them all, well — they weren’t the type to release the hawk before spotting the hare. It wasn’t going to be that simple. Amid his own doubts, Yu Yulin had come to see him today, only for it to turn out that the one really running things was this striking woman. Once he’d voiced his confusion, he watched as she poured more tea and shook her head.

“There’s something Brother Chen doesn’t know yet. Little Sparrowhawk is already dead — his stronghold is, for now, under our management.”

“Oh? So the Tiger King intends to…”

“I know what you’re thinking, Brother Chen. But that’s not what we want.”

With Little Sparrowhawk Qiu Mengtang dead, and Tian Hu reaching out to everyone again, the natural assumption was that he meant to prop up his next proxy — and if that were true, Chen Family Gorge might well have a shot at the position itself. But before he could finish saying so, Lou Shuwan was already smiling and shaking her head. Chen Jiu straightened up in his seat.

“Then what you want is…”

“To tell Brother Chen how Qiu Mengtang died.”

“…How did he die?”

“The Blood Bodhisattva killed him,” Lou Shuwan said. “General Yu was there the day it happened, and had his own encounter with the Blood Bodhisattva. In front of several hundred men, she killed Qiu Mengtang and walked away without a soul daring to stop her. I don’t understand martial arts myself, so I can’t explain exactly how it happened — Brother Chen, you should ask General Yu about the details.”

Rain and thunder crashed outside. Chen Jiu frowned and looked over at Yu Yulin, who nodded and recounted the scene from that night. When he finished, Chen Jiu looked back at Lou Shuwan. “And so what?” he said. “The Blood Bodhisattva’s skill is unmatched in all of Lüliang — everyone’s known that since she killed the old wolf lord. Her master was even more skilled, and even he died on the Liao battlefield years ago. What is it you’re trying to say, Miss Lou?”

“Only to explain to everyone the future of Lüliang Mountain.”

“Hmph… I see.” Chen Jiu thought it over, then looked at her and started to laugh, going on for a good while. “Miss Lou, what you’re saying is that with the Blood Bodhisattva this formidable, backed by Green Wood Stronghold’s growing might, she’ll sweep clean across all of Lüliang, and the rest of us will be left with nothing. Miss Lou, that’s not very honest of you. When outsiders come to Lüliang and ask us brothers for help, there’s always some payment involved. What you’re after here is getting something for nothing…”

He finished with a cold laugh, pointing at Lou Shuwan. “Miss Lou, you really don’t treat me as a friend at all…” His expression turned cold, and he stood to leave.

Lou Shuwan listened to all this with a smile, her fingers braced in front of her; as he moved to leave, her expression, too, turned into a cold smile, and she looked out the window. “Such foolish thinking…”

Seeing things about to end badly, Yu Yulin hastily rose to stop Chen Jiu.

…

“Chief Chen, let’s talk this through properly…”

“What’s left to talk about!”

“At least hear Advisor Lou out fully…”

“Nothing more to hear, General Yu. Seems you put a bit too much faith in a woman’s schemes…”

Amid the pulling and tugging at the door, Lou Shuwan sat off to the side with a cold smile, and only then rose, turning toward him with a smile. “Brother Chen, at the very least, let this humble girl finish what she has to say. Then, if you still think I’m wrong, you’ll say so — that way, at least, you won’t wrong an honest person, don’t you think?” Her earlier remark, “such foolish thinking,” hadn’t been spoken quietly at all — Chen Jiu had clearly heard it — and yet now, smiling and speaking pleasantly, she wore an entirely different face, one that looked rather false. Chen Jiu was so infuriated he nearly laughed, and turned to look at her.

After a moment, he said, “Fine. Go on, then. What difference does it make from what I already think?”

He ground his teeth, walked back to his seat, and fixed his gaze on Lou Shuwan. Yu Yulin came back too, wearing a somewhat helpless expression.

“What this humble girl means to say is exactly this — Green Wood Stronghold is about to sweep across all of Lüliang, and the rest of you are about to be left with nothing.”

Chen Jiu spread his hands, his expression plainly saying: “And so what? I couldn’t care less.”

“But it’s different from what Brother Chen is thinking… entirely different.” She smiled. “I know what you’re thinking — a stronghold that’s suddenly grown this large, led by a formidably skilled mistress. It looks impressive, sure, but Lüliang has always been a place where power changes hands — no one holds the advantage for long… Qiu Mengtang said those very words, right before he died. I remember it clearly. Before I came to Green Wood Stronghold, I thought the same thing. But after arriving, I found this time is entirely different.”

Amid Chen Jiu’s cold smile, Lou Shuwan said, “Because of the pacification decree.”

“Because Military Affairs Commissioner Tan Zhen issued this pacification decree, the situation across much of the north has already shifted. And all of you are still just watching the show… After I arrived, I realized — every single one of you is just watching the show.” The woman spoke fluently, her gaze steady. “Green Wood Stronghold, even now, only has a little over six thousand people. The outsiders converging on Green Wood Stronghold this time — us included — already number over a thousand, and every one of them capable fighters, so right now the place is packed to bursting, inside and out. It looks like Green Wood Stronghold could lose control of the situation at any moment, and you’re all delighted by that, sending people to watch and wait for the trouble to break out. So let me ask you — what happens if nothing goes wrong?”

“Everyone favors Green Wood Stronghold for the lion’s share of pacification appointments. Why?” Lou Shuwan said. “Because they have the smuggling routes through the mountains, because they’re the largest power here, and because they can turn a profit. Do you know how much business the Qi family alone does south of here? How much money would one more open route be worth to them? Green Wood Stronghold can help them make money. What can you do? Aside from me, aside from the Tiger King, no one cares about you at all.”

Lightning flashed outside the window, followed by a crack of thunder. Lou Shuwan’s expression stayed calm as still water, her eyes fixed on Chen Jiu.

“Going forward, if nothing changes, they’ll accept the pacification. After that, they’ll be officials, and you’ll be bandits. Right now, there may seem to be little difference between you — but let me tell you, when everyone in Lüliang is a bandit, that’s one thing. When the biggest power in Lüliang is an official, and you’re still bandits — that’s something else entirely…”

The woman’s pace slowed, and she held up a finger. “For the sake of military merit, they’ll strike at you. For the sake of trade routes, they’ll strike at you. For the sake of appearances, they’ll strike at you. And if they’re simply in a bad mood that day, they’ll strike at you too. That’s the difference between officials and bandits — once that line exists, no one’s talking about the honor of the martial world anymore. And once that shifts, once it takes hold, you’re still down here in the mountains fighting each other, sure, but you at least still follow certain rules. After that, there’ll only be fighting — no more rules at all…”

As she went on, Lou Shuwan’s tone grew slower, and more cutting. Chen Jiu frowned. “You say so, and it’s just so?”

“Lüliang Mountain has stayed the same for years and years — you think I can just say it’ll change, and it changes?” Lou Shuwan laughed too, then looked at him. “But this time, it really will change… Brother Chen, I’ve met with several people so far, and you’re the first one to walk out halfway through hearing me out. You’re a clever man. So once you calm down, you’ll understand even better than I do what happens if Green Wood Stronghold becomes an official power while the rest of you remain bandits. There’s no need for me to spell it out further — you’ll work it out yourself.”

“…The pacification decree, is it.” Chen Jiu thought it over, then laughed. “Then we could accept pacification too.”

Lou Shuwan laughed as well. “Then Brother Chen ought to think about what it would look like, Lüliang Mountain full of officials all at once… You’re a bandit now — maybe he only beats you when he’s in a bad mood. Once you’re an official too, he’ll have no choice but to kill you outright… don’t you think?”

Friction between bandit strongholds was, after all, about interests, and could very often coexist. But if you imagined the kind of naked power struggles that happened among officials out in the wider world, transplanted onto a place like Lüliang, it really would become a fight to the death, with no room for anything else. Chen Jiu, though he understood these matters only shallowly, could well imagine as much, just as Lou Shuwan had described. His expression shifted several times. Lou Shuwan tapped her fingertips together lightly and spoke again.

“Either keep living as bandits, or find some way to accept pacification yourselves — but Green Wood Stronghold will still be the great officials, and you’ll only be minor ones… All of this is already laid out plainly before you, and yet you sit here watching the show, quite happily too. That’s right — this time, coming to Lüliang, I’m here carrying out the Tiger King’s mission, hoping to walk away with some gain for our side. But looking at your current position, I can’t help feeling a chill in my heart. If I called you foolish and blind, would that really be unfair?”

Chen Jiu’s lips parted slightly; after a moment, he said, “And what can we do about it, then? Miss Lou, this ‘gain’ you speak of — you just want us to go stir up trouble for Green Wood Stronghold, so you can use that as leverage against them. You’ll borrow our strength, and we’ll be the ones doing the fighting, while you take most of the profit. That’s the calculation you’re making — trying to order people around with nothing but empty words. And you expect me to just agree?”

“First, I’ve no wish to stir up trouble,” Lou Shuwan said, taking a breath. “Second, it isn’t yet time for that.”

“Let’s hear what you actually want, then.” Amid the rain, Chen Jiu’s expression had gone flat. His tone was still gruff, but by now he’d clearly been moved — though, being a clever man, he knew better than to draw conclusions before weighing things carefully. Having said this much, Lou Shuwan nodded.

“It’s only when things reach the point of mutual destruction that we’ll need you to actually fight. This humble girl handles business under the Tiger King — I’m a businesswoman by nature, and in business, it’s simply a matter of laying out one’s stakes and then negotiating. To build Green Wood Stronghold up to this size, that Blood Bodhisattva must be someone worth negotiating with. As for the ones coming to Lüliang this time — families like the Qi — they look down on the likes of you. They’ll always do business with whoever’s largest. But right now, in Lüliang, the forces genuinely capable of threatening Green Wood Stronghold are you, Brother Chen, and Third Master Luan of the Black Skull King’s people. If the rest of you band together, Green Wood Stronghold will have reason to be afraid — and once they’re afraid, they’ll have no choice but to negotiate.”

Chen Jiu thought it over. “How would you have us negotiate?”

Lou Shuwan smiled, sensing that her pitch had already landed close to its mark.

“The method, in truth, is simple. The imperial court is vast, and yet it only does business with a handful of players. Lüliang Mountain is large too, but in the end, it can only support one alliance living well off the fat of the land. As I see it, Green Wood Stronghold won’t want to be entirely subordinate to anyone either — if they align with the Qi family or the Wusheng Army, they’ll be picked clean to the bone. To stay safe, Green Wood Stronghold’s only real option is to join forces with you, with Third Master Luan, with the Fang brothers, and the rest. As I see it, why not let the Blood Bodhisattva be the leader, with the rest of you as chieftains beneath her, echoing the Tiger King’s presence to the south — build up this trade route together, and this humble girl’s task becomes that much easier to carry out…”

“To make this happen, I’ll need all of your support — and you, in turn, will need the Tiger King’s name and backing. I’ll do my best to see that none of your forces get swallowed up. To manage that, a few things need to hold: first, the shares each family holds in this route need to be spelled out clearly — once everyone’s been contacted, I’ll sit down and work that out with all of you together. Second, the alliance must be made public, announced openly throughout Lüliang, so everyone becomes, in name, subjects of the court. Third, aligning north-south with the Tiger King is a far better arrangement than partnering with any of the others — the Tiger King is a man of the greenwood himself; he uses this route to do business, but control of the route stays firmly in your hands. We won’t interfere much, but we can guarantee, at the very least, that there won’t be infighting among you — and I doubt the Blood Bodhisattva would want to make enemies of all of you only to then find herself at odds with the Tiger King as well…”

Amid the thunder, the rain continued pouring down in sheets. Once they’d left the market, the sky outside was dark and overcast. Lou Shuwan and her people had been lodged within the inner stronghold by Green Wood Stronghold; on the mountain path back, Yu Yulin found himself genuinely impressed by Lou Shuwan’s performance these past two days. Though the two of them had served under Tian Hu together, Yu Yulin handled the army, and had never really understood much about how Lou Shuwan herself operated — until now.

The purpose of Lou Shuwan’s trip had been to push forward an alliance between Tian Hu and Green Wood Stronghold. But with Green Wood Stronghold expanding so rapidly, Tian Hu’s leverage here clearly wasn’t strong enough — even if they agreed to do business, there was no guarantee of getting much benefit out of it. Before setting out, Tian Hu’s side had even been willing to have Tian Shi marry into the stronghold to secure the partnership — but once she’d arrived at Green Wood Stronghold, Lou Shuwan had clearly found a far better approach.

Within two days, she had already persuaded envoys from several strongholds in succession — these men might not have full authority to speak for their own chiefs, but as far as Yu Yulin could tell, Lou Shuwan’s arguments were remarkably persuasive. Once most of the forces in Lüliang were united to press Green Wood Stronghold, combined with the Tiger King’s backing, this trip to Lüliang would yield an excellent result indeed.

Just as Ning Yi had once planned for Green Wood Stronghold — though it was meant to serve as a smuggling hub, what he valued most was Hongti’s firm grip on the stronghold. Once the stronghold became a coalition of multiple factions each pursuing their own interests, growth might come quickly, but the stronghold would lose its fighting strength in the process, and from then on, anyone with something to gain could muscle their way in. And that was precisely Lou Shuwan’s aim — to force Green Wood Stronghold from single dominance into shared ownership among many parties, so that once the Tiger King made his move to join in, no one would be in any position to refuse him.

In theory, as things stood, Green Wood Stronghold couldn’t afford to make enemies of a united front of everyone else — so long as most of the parties could be brought together, they’d be able to negotiate with the Blood Bodhisattva and force her to compromise… With these thoughts running through her mind, she turned her gaze toward the cluster of courtyards partway up the mountainside — that was where the Bamboo Trading House’s people were currently staying. The two lodgings, in fact, weren’t far apart at all.

Now that everyone had converged on Green Wood Stronghold, the other side was likely active too — and if he had any interest at all, he might well have already spotted her.

And yet, over these two days, the people she’d set to watch that side had seen no sign of any activity, nor picked up much word about their movements. Ning Yi… hadn’t even shown himself.

Where have you gone, what are you doing… In the pouring rain, Lou Shuwan thought this over, blinking, and drew a difficult breath.

I’ve already made my move — you’ve seen it, haven’t you… if you’ve seen it, don’t pretend you haven’t! Some Demon of the Heart, is it… Let’s see how you answer this move — I’d very much like to see it!

Gritting her teeth, she walked on in silence…