The cool night air crept in, bit by bit. The atmosphere was thick with the damp, fresh fragrance unique to the woodlands.
The night was deep and exceptionally quiet. From time to time, the cry of a nocturnal bird drifted down from the dense canopy above. Something beat its wings as it flew over my head, stirring a faint, musky scent in the air. I watched this night hunter glide all the way to the eaves of the rear hall of Baiyun Temple.
Suddenly, every light in Baiyun Temple was extinguished.
My spirits jolted. It wasn't yet the hour of the Ox; it seemed something had prompted our people to strike early.
Straining my ears, I could indeed hear the faint sounds of combat drifting toward us. However, from our hiding spot, nothing was visible. Though anxiety gnawed at me, I didn't dare make a sound.
Abruptly, a shrill birdcall pierced the air from the direction of the temple. The men hidden below us immediately gave a sharp, short response. No sooner had the echoes of these two cries faded than a lithe figure leapt from my front left. Like a night bird, they took a graceful spring into the air, landing unerringly at the source of the sound. A rustle of leaves followed, and then came a very faint whistle from Ming Yue.
The sounds of fighting within Baiyun Temple gradually moved toward our position.
Amidst the rustling of branches, several people rushed into our vicinity. Judging by the footsteps, there were between ten and twenty of them. A few were breathing heavily, sounding as though they were already wounded.
It wasn't until the leaders of the group had nearly passed my side that I heard Ming Yue’s sharp command: "Strike!"
My blade, still in its scabbard, swung out instantly, striking the lead man squarely in the shin. He let out a muffled groan and fell heavily to the ground. I lunged forward, tapping several of his acupoints with lightning speed.
Before I could even straighten up, a bright steel blade, carrying a chilling intent to kill, whistled through the air toward me. I rolled away immediately; the edge of the blade grazed my waist as it sliced past. I lashed out with a kick to the man's leg, and as he stumbled back, I drew my blade in one fluid motion. The edge swept down from his forearm, slicing all the way to his abdomen. Before the blood could spray, I rolled away to the side. The man collapsed backward without a sound.
I stood up. By now, the once-silent forest was filled with the sounds of slaughter, and the night wind brushing past my face carried the thick, metallic scent of blood. In the heavy darkness, it was difficult to distinguish features even face-to-face, but our people had tied white cloths around their shoulders before the operation to identify one another.
Amidst the shifting shadows, I suddenly saw two figures with white cloths on their shoulders stagger and collapse silently into the grass ahead. Immediately after, a tall figure leapt nimbly over their bodies and darted toward me.
I raised my blade to meet him. This man’s reactions were incredibly swift; before my blade could get close, his own weapon rose to meet it. With a sharp *clang*, he parried my Xuanwu Blade. Simultaneously, his footwork shifted, and his long blade spun, slicing diagonally toward my waist. I flipped backward, kicking out at the flat of his blade at the same time.
He retreated two steps, his long blade raised, his posture growing increasingly cautious.
The sounds of battle echoed all around us, yet this man seemed oblivious to them. He did not move, and neither did I.
For some reason, this silent confrontation felt strangely familiar.
A severed branch suddenly fell between us. Under the sparse starlight, the man’s gaze seemed to flicker. I took the opening and lunged. The brilliant flash of his steel and the eerie green glow of the Xuanwu Blade became entangled. Wherever the blade-qi passed, leaves fluttered down from the trees, swirling uncannily around us. The Xuanwu Blade broke through his guard, thrusting fiercely toward his throat. The man dodged sharply to the side, but the tip of my blade caught his black mask. With a sharp *rip*, the entire cloth was torn away.
In that instant, I was struck as if by lightning.
The faint starlight fell upon his lean face—it really was Ming Shao.
His face bore a look of ruthless ferocity I had never seen before. In the brief moment I stood frozen in shock, he delivered a powerful kick to my chest.
My body felt as if it were flying backward before slamming heavily into a tree trunk. A shower of leaves rattled down upon me. The backlash of the blade-qi caused the blood in my chest to churn. Before I could even raise a hand to my sternum, a metallic sweetness rose in my throat, and I spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Ming Shao rushed forward, his long blade raised high, bringing with it a whistling, cold wind.
And I simply stared up at him, dazed, lacking even the strength to move. For a moment, I felt a strange calm, as if I had even forgotten how to grieve—so this was the fate Heaven had arranged for us.
The blade swept down with terrifying speed. My forehead could already feel the sharp, biting chill of the wind it stirred.
In that split second, a longsword flashed from the side like a bolt of lightning. With a crisp *clang*, a brilliant burst of sparks ignited in the darkness.
His strike thwarted, Ming Shao’s figure retreated rapidly.
At that moment, two companions with swords emerged from behind Ming Shao. With a flurry of strikes, they forced Feng Tong back and shielded Ming Shao as they vanished quickly into the darkness.
As the hour of the Ox approached, the encirclement finally ended. On our side, ten were wounded and three were dead.
From the Restoration Society, twenty-two were wounded and fourteen were dead. Six had escaped. One of them, I already knew.
I should have been shocked, but in truth, aside from that initial jolt when I tore off his mask, I felt no additional impact. Perhaps it was because Feng Tong had already warned me: if the person I saw on the night of the Lantern Festival truly was him, he certainly wouldn't be there just for a stroll...
He looked leaner than before, the contours of his face harder. But the gentle warmth I once knew—that feeling like seawater warmed by the sun—had vanished without a trace.
I never knew Ming Shao could be so full of murderous intent.
At the same time, the question that had been haunting me finally had an answer: Ying Hui was never some wandering loner. And Chu De was truly worthy of his name; even after leaving the North, he could still maneuver from a thousand miles away. As for the true leader of the Restoration Society, there could be no one else but the Great Marshal Chu himself. It was just that he likely never imagined the hidden move he had planted would one day be used against a sudden "rebel" like me.
Thinking of this, I suddenly felt a flicker of suspicion regarding his fall from power. Could a man like him truly be outmaneuvered by Han Gao? Or was his surrender of military power and retreat to the southern borders a gambit in itself?
This sudden thought made me shudder, and I involuntarily linked it to something else.
If this was a gambit, it could only be one orchestrated by him and Ming De together. Which meant Ming De had never truly been at odds with the Prince of Jing—if it was a trap, the only target could be the Han clan. Then what was the purpose of everything Ming De had done back then? And Ming Shao, who was in the thick of it—was he in on the secret? Or was he, like me, a fool played like a puppet in Ming De’s hands?
My head began to throb again.
Then, I began to marvel at my own reaction.
I wasn't as heartbroken as I had expected. Instead, I felt... disappointment.
"That kick hit your Tanzhong point, disrupting your internal breath," Feng Tong’s voice came from above me. "It is not serious."
I leaned quietly in Feng Tong’s arms. The tumultuous waves in my mind slowly subsided, gradually turning into a heart full of bitterness. No matter how unwilling I was, things had reached this point; there was absolutely no turning back. Whether he knew the truth back then or not, what meaning did it have for me now?
I carefully turned my face, letting a single tear vanish silently into the soft fabric of his outer robe.
The window of the dungeon was very small; only at dusk did a faint light filter through.
Pine torches were lit in the corridor, their dim yellow glow casting long shadows through the arm-thick bars into the murky cell.
Across the bars, Li Rong’s silhouette appeared blurred. Especially since he sat there against the wall, motionless, I even suspected he might have fainted.
He slowly turned his head toward me. I expected him to start cursing again, but after waiting a moment, I heard nothing. He just stared at me without blinking, his eyes slightly vacant, as if he were looking at me but also seeing something far beyond.
I tapped on the bars. His gaze shifted slightly, focusing on my face.
"I know someone came to rescue you last night," I said calmly. "Was it Ying Hui?"
He leaned back, looking exhausted, but shook his head.
"When did you last see Marshal Chu?" I asked again.
Li Rong’s body gave a slight shiver. His scattered gaze began to sharpen, but he said nothing.
"The Restoration Society was established early," I said, my hand brushing the rough wood of the bars as I sighed. "You probably haven't even seen Marshal Chu, have you?"
"So what if I haven't?" Li Rong’s voice was slightly hoarse. He didn't know that this was exactly the response I was waiting for. My suspicion was finally confirmed. Aside from exhaustion, I felt a hint of weariness.
"Even if I haven't seen the Marshal, I am still a citizen of the Flame Heaven Kingdom."
"And what about Shao Ming?" I asked immediately. "He holds a high rank; surely you haven't seen him either."
"Brother Shao? I naturally..." Li Rong abruptly cut himself off, his eyes widening as a flash of panic crossed his face.
Hearing that half-sentence, I felt as if a water vat had been shattered in front of me, drenching me unexpectedly.
I should have realized. Ming Shao would be the person Chu De trusted most. And in handling such a secretive matter, he naturally wouldn't use his real name.
"When was the last time you saw Shao Ming?" I looked at him. I didn't know what my expression was, but the way Li Rong looked at me suddenly changed.
"The night before the assassination attempt on President Zhang," he said with an air of indifference, as if certain we couldn't do anything to them.
"Then who was it that came to raid the jail yesterday?" I countered. "Ying Hui?"
Li Rong shook his head and closed his eyes, looking very tired. "Stop trying to bait me. I won't say another word."
"One last question," I said, my voice sounding incredibly weary even to my own ears. "How long has it been since you joined this organization?"
He kept his eyes closed, motionless.
Just as I thought I wouldn't get an answer and turned to leave, a ghostly voice spoke from behind me: "One year."
After a moment of silence, I said slowly, "Li Rong, I know you all hate me for forcibly buying your land. But you are an educated man; you should be able to realize: if more than half the population is starving, how can a nation speak of prosperity?"
Li Rong looked at me with a complex expression, but said nothing.
Walking out of the dungeon, I was surprised to see a travel-worn Jie Ziqian.
Having not seen him for several months, he looked even leaner, his brow clouded with anxiety. Before I could speak, he waved his hand twice. "I have urgent news. Find a quiet place, quickly."
The quietest place in the prefectural office was Feng Pu’s inner chamber.
Before a pot of hot tea could even be placed on the table, Jie Ziqian impatiently blurted out a shocking piece of news: three days ago, a major event occurred in Quanzhou, the capital of Great Chu. Two of the reigning Emperor Yi Kai’s elder brothers, Prince Hong’an and Prince Qing’an, were both assassinated on the same night.
I stared at him, dumbfounded, my mind descending into chaos once more.
Prince Hong’an was the eldest brother of the King of Great Chu, Yi Kai, and he was also the high-ranking official we had spent a fortune to cultivate. Originally, we intended to use him to restrain Yi Kai, preventing him from reaching out to form an alliance with Flame Heaven. I never expected...
After dropping this bombshell, Jie Ziqian ignored me and drained his teacup in one gulp, then reached out to refill it.
"Prince Hong’an..." I started, but suddenly didn't know what to say.
Jie Ziqian sighed. "Who would have thought that His Majesty Yi Kai, who always seemed so devoted to his brothers, would prove everyone wrong..."
Devoted to his brothers? What brotherly devotion exists within an imperial family?
What I hadn't expected was that Yi Kai would choose this moment to strike.
Could this really just be a coincidence?
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
白云寺 | Baiyun Temple | A famous temple on a branch of Mt. Qingliang.
光复会 | Restoration Society | A secret organization (Guangfu Association) loyal to the former regime/Chu De.
玄武刀 | Xuanwu Blade | The protagonist's signature weapon; glows with an eerie green light.
明韶 | Ming Shao | A key character, former love interest of the protagonist, now revealed as an enemy.
邵鸣 | Shao Ming | Ming Shao's alias within the Restoration Society.
大楚国 | Great Chu | A neighboring kingdom.
全州 | Quanzhou | The capital city of Great Chu.
易凯 | Yi Kai | The current Emperor/King of Great Chu.
宏安王 | Prince Hong’an | The eldest brother of Yi Kai, a high-ranking noble in Great Chu.
庆安王 | Prince Qing’an | Another brother of Yi Kai.
檀中 | Tanzhong | An acupoint located in the center of the chest (CV17).
介子迁 | Jie Ziqian | An ally/messenger for the protagonist's faction.
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