When Fan Changyu woke up, she only felt pain all over her body.

What entered her sight was a patched bed canopy. She propped herself up halfway with her right arm and looked around the small room—low walls built from packed yellow earth, the drafty gaps patched over with nailed planks. The only square table and two stools inside were so old they were full of wormholes.

She remembered that before losing consciousness, she had still been pressed underwater by that bandit chief—was she saved by someone?

Fan Changyu lowered her head and glanced at the clothes on her body; they weren’t her own. Her wounds had been bandaged, and her dislocated arm had been set back in place.

She held onto the old bedpost and stood up. The moment she strained her back and waist, a sharp pain made her bare her teeth.

Fan Changyu thought to herself that her waist hadn’t been injured—why did it hurt so much? Could it be she’d hit something during the fight and hadn’t noticed at the time?

After so many upheavals, the moment her feet touched the ground she instinctively searched for her boning knife. When she found the knife and the pair of deerskin bracers Yan Zheng had given her on the low stool by the bed, her heart finally loosened a bit.

Her fingertips brushed the smooth yet tough leather surface of the bracers. She lowered her gaze, about to fasten one around her right wrist, when sudden hurried footsteps sounded outside.

Fan Changyu’s expression changed; she instantly pressed herself against the wall and moved to the door. Through the half-finger-wide crack in the old wooden door, she peered outside.

It seemed to be a small farmhouse courtyard. Two armored soldiers with sabers stood under the eaves, and another soldier strode quickly into the yard.

Fan Changyu’s expression relaxed slightly—it seemed she had been rescued by the same government troops who had been chasing the boat from the shore that day.

She just didn’t know why she was still being kept here.

“Mar— is the master inside? The Jizhou Prefecture troops are searching this way. We can hardly hold them back…” The soldier who entered the yard lowered his voice.

The heart that Fan Changyu had just set down rose again. Weren’t they the Jizhou Prefecture soldiers themselves? Why would they be blocking their own people?

The other soldier guarding the courtyard said, “A message came from Yansong Mountain. The master went to question someone. Take men to guard the mountain pass first. Once the master returns, I’ll report it to him.”

The soldier who had come to deliver the message then left in quick strides.

Fan Changyu leaned against the door, her whole body tense and alert.

She didn’t know who this “master” they spoke of was.

But they were all dressed like military officers, and within the territory of Jizhou, they seemed to be at odds with the Jizhou authorities… Could it be that they were bandits disguised as soldiers?

That realization made Fan Changyu’s whole body shiver.

Just then, the two soldiers outside began to chat idly. One said, “We can’t stay here long. If we run into the people from Jizhou Prefecture, the master’s identity will be exposed. Once he returns, whether that woman inside is awake or not, we’ll have to set out immediately.”

The other clicked his tongue. “I think the master’s oddly concerned about that woman. Last night she was seized by a nightmare and went into convulsions. The master, afraid she’d bite her tongue, put his own finger between her teeth. His index finger’s got a bloody ring of teeth marks now!”

Fan Changyu still remembered the nightmare she’d had last night. Hearing that she’d bitten the man they called “master,” she couldn’t help but frown.

She was about to listen for more when she suddenly heard the tapping sound of a bamboo cane hitting the ground outside. Peering through the crack, she saw a gray-haired blind old woman walking from under the eaves.

One of the soldiers guarding the door asked, “Old lady, what brings you here?”

The old woman held a pile of clothes in her arms and smiled kindly. “Your young madam’s clothes from when she fell into the water yesterday—I dried them for her and came to bring them over.”

The soldier, seemingly mindful of the separation between men and women, didn’t offer to take them himself. He stepped aside and said, “Please, go right in.”

As the old woman tapped her way inside with her bamboo stick, Fan Changyu silently and swiftly retreated to the bed, slipped off her shoes, and lay down again, feigning sleep.

The old woman felt her way to the bedside, set down the clothes, tucked in Fan Changyu’s blanket, and touched her forehead. Speaking softly to herself, she murmured, “Good girl, thank heaven you’re not feverish anymore. How did you end up meeting bandits on the river with your husband—what suffering you’ve endured. Still, it’s a blessing you’ve got such a considerate husband…”

After muttering on for a while, she groped her way to the brazier, added two sticks of firewood, and left, closing the door behind her.

When she entered, one of the guards outside had glanced into the room. Seeing a raised mound under the quilt, he assumed Fan Changyu was still asleep and turned his eyes away, resuming his post.

The moment the door closed, Fan Changyu opened her eyes.

After hearing the old woman’s words, she became even more certain that this group was not government troops. If they were truly officials who had rescued her, why would they claim she had met bandits on a boat—and even pretend that she and some man were husband and wife?

As for the “master” those men outside had mentioned, Fan Changyu instinctively thought of Sui Yuanqing.

That man was one of the rebel king’s followers. After being wounded by Yan Zheng, he’d escaped downriver and been saved by the men from Qingfeng Stronghold. Now, leading this gang of bandits disguised as soldiers, he was surely up to no good!

The Jizhou Prefecture troops were nearby. She had to find a way to get out and report this.

Fan Changyu didn’t know how many of the bandits were outside and dared not act rashly. After thinking it through, she smoothed out the bracers and tucked them into her chest like armor over her heart, then tied the boning knife to her thigh, covering it with her skirt.

Next, she deliberately kicked over a long bench, creating a clatter to make it seem she had fallen.

As expected, the guards outside immediately pushed open the door. Inside, Fan Changyu was bracing herself against the table with one hand, looking as if she might collapse at any moment, her face pale. “I need to go to the latrine,” she said weakly.

One of the soldiers blurted out crudely, “There’s a chamber pot in the corner—”

His companion elbowed him sharply, reminding him that there was a young woman inside—and one favored by their lord, no less. Realizing his words had been improper, he shut his mouth at once.

Fan Changyu put on a pained, urgent expression. “Officer, my stomach hurts.”

That clearly couldn’t be resolved indoors. The two soldiers, not daring to question why she’d suddenly awoken only to complain of stomach pain—and mindful that she was someone their lord had taken an interest in—didn’t dare approach her themselves. Instead, they called for the old woman to help her to the latrine.

The old woman’s latrine was built behind the house. Fan Changyu let herself be supported outside, using the opportunity to observe how many bandits were in or around the courtyard—and to her surprise, there were only the two by the doorway.

That made things much easier.

As the old woman helped her back toward the house, just as they passed under the eaves, Fan Changyu suddenly swung a fist at the guard on the right. The soldier was caught completely off guard—blood streamed from his nose as he stared at her in stunned confusion before collapsing unconscious to the ground.

The guard on the left froze, unable even to speak. With the old woman standing between them, Fan Changyu worried he might harm her. She snatched the bamboo cane from the old woman’s hand and swept it hard against his neck. The cane snapped in two, and the soldier crumpled, fainting on the spot.

The old woman stood dazed, her face pale with confusion. “What… what happened?”

Fan Changyu didn’t know when Sui Yuanqing and the other bandits might return. Though her movements had been quick, her palms were slick with sweat. She crouched in front of the old woman and said softly, “These men are bad people. The one who brought me here is not my husband. Granny, please climb on my back—I’ll carry you away.”

The old woman was frightened senseless, and when she climbed onto Fan Changyu’s back, she still sounded worried. “Girl, your arm was dislocated—how can you carry an old bag of bones like me?”

The old woman was thin, and Fan Changyu had no trouble carrying her with one arm. After stepping outside, she quickly glanced around to get her bearings and said, “Just hold tightly onto my shoulders.”

The snow on the ground hadn’t melted yet, and though it wasn’t snowing now, it would be difficult to hide any tracks left behind on the snow.

If she didn’t want to be caught again, she had to find the Jizhou officials before the bandits caught up.

Fan Changyu remembered hearing those “soldiers” mention guarding the mountain pass earlier. If her guess was right, the real Jizhou troops should be stationed there.

She asked the old woman, “Granny, which road is the quickest way to the mountain pass?”

Fortunately, though the old woman was blind, she was very familiar with the roads around her home. “Follow the road in front of the house westward. When you reach a three-way fork, take the middle path,” she said.

Fan Changyu memorized the directions and, still carrying the old woman, broke into a run.

· ─ ·✶· ─ · 

A scout had come to report about the campaign to suppress the bandits at Yansong Mountain. Not wanting to speak of such matters in the old woman’s courtyard and risk causing a disturbance, Xie Zheng had taken his men outside to discuss it.

When he returned and saw that the two guards stationed in the courtyard had been knocked unconscious, his expression darkened. He pushed the door open to find the room empty, and at once assumed Fan Changyu had been abducted. His gaze turned icy cold.

One of the guards who had gone out with him noticed there was no blood on the ground. Kneeling beside the fallen men, he checked their breathing and quickly reported, “My lord, they’re still alive!”

He pressed his fingers hard against one man’s philtrum, and the guard who had been struck unconscious by Fan Changyu slowly came to. When he saw Xie Zheng standing before him, his face like water turned to ice, he was so terrified he dropped to his knees. “My lord, this subordinate deserves death!”

Xie Zheng’s eyes flicked to the broken bamboo cane lying by the steps. His gaze was frosted over, a chill sinking into the air.

No one had ever dared snatch someone away right under his nose.

The main roads leading here had been sealed by his men. To avoid alarming the old woman, he had brought only three personal guards with him.

Who could possibly have the skill to evade the cavalry stationed at the mountain pass and sneak in unseen?

A thin anger, born of affront, burned beneath his eyes. “Who took her?”

The guard answered miserably, “It was the young lady who knocked us out.”

Xie Zheng froze for a moment, his handsome brows furrowing in confusion. “Why would she knock you out?”

The guard said, “This subordinate doesn’t know. The young lady woke up and said her stomach hurt. Seeing how weak she looked, we let the old woman help her to the latrine. Who knew that when she came back, she suddenly punched Anzi unconscious, then grabbed the old woman’s bamboo stick and struck me down as well.”

Another guard who had gone to inspect the rooms came out and reported, “The old woman is missing too.”

After a brief moment of thought, Xie Zheng understood. Fan Changyu must have misunderstood something and mistaken them for villains, which was why she’d taken the old woman and fled.

He asked, “While this lord was away, did anything else happen in the courtyard?”

The guard who had been knocked out by her thought for a moment and said, “A scout came from the mountain pass to report that the Jizhou troops were attempting to search this mountain again. But since you were away, my lord, this subordinate took it upon himself to order them to continue holding position and not allow the Jizhou troops up the mountain.”

Xie Zheng lowered his gaze and murmured, “So that’s it.”

She must have woken up right around then, realized that the men in the courtyard wore military uniforms yet weren’t on the same side as the Jizhou soldiers, and mistook them for bandits.

Just then, another scout galloped up the narrow trail, dismounted in haste, and dropped to one knee with his fist clasped. “My lord, the young lady you rescued yesterday—she’s carrying an old woman on her back and heading down the mountain. Should we stop her?”

Xie Zheng lifted his gaze toward the snow-covered slopes, saying nothing.

To eradicate the remnants of the bandits who had fled to Yansong Mountain, most of the hundred light cavalry he’d brought had already been dispatched there.

He had returned here only because he thought she might be in danger. Now that she was safe, and with the front-line campaign still urgent—plus Li Huai’an, that clear-stream official, watching every move in Jizhou—it was indeed not wise for him to linger any longer.

He said, “Withdraw the men guarding the mountain pass. We return to Lucheng.”

The scout received the order, vaulted back onto his horse, and rode off to deliver the message.

In the courtyard, a few of the personal guards rested for a moment before leading their horses out from the nearby pine forest.

When Xie Zheng mounted his horse, he glanced once toward the path down the mountain. A faint unwillingness still stirred in his chest. Pulling out the half-face human-skin mask he had prepared before taking command of this campaign, he pressed it to his face. To his guards, he said, “You withdraw first. I’ll be back shortly.”

With that, he yanked the reins and spurred his horse down the mountain road, leaving the guards staring at one another in silence.

· ─ ·✶· ─ · 

Fan Changyu was carrying the old woman along the road when she suddenly heard the clamor of hoofbeats coming up the mountain. She didn’t know whether they belonged to the bandits disguised as soldiers or to the real Jizhou troops. After a moment’s thought, she carried the old woman into the pine forest beside the road to hide.

To ensure safety, she whispered to the old woman, “Granny, stay here quietly and don’t make a sound. I’ll go take a look. If they’re really government troops, I’ll come back to fetch you.”

The old woman clutched her hand and urged her repeatedly to be careful.

Fan Changyu took a tree branch and, while retreating out of the woods, brushed over the footprints she had left. When she reached the main road and was about to scout ahead toward the mountain pass to see if there were soldiers, she suddenly heard hoofbeats again behind her.

This time, the sound was steady—only one horse—but it was approaching at great speed.

Fan Changyu had just thought of diving back into the pine woods when the rider came into view.

Afraid that if she hid, the rider might follow and discover the old woman, she gritted her teeth. Since there was only one man, perhaps she could overpower him if she went all out. So she chose instead to keep running forward.

The mountain road was steep and winding; from this mid-slope, one could even glimpse the foot of the mountain.

When Fan Changyu saw, far below, a troop of soldiers bearing the Jizhou banners riding up the road, she was overjoyed. She ran while shouting, “Help! Help me!”

The Jizhou soldiers below heard her cry and looked up toward the mountainside. Someone quickly shouted back, “Don’t be afraid, miss! I’m bringing men to rescue you!”

Only then did Fan Changyu see that among the black mass of soldiers was a man in a sky-blue scholar’s robe—it was the kind young man who had once given her a ride.

This moment of distant recognition, when reflected in Xie Zheng’s eyes as he galloped closer, was a thorn in his heart.

A jagged scarred mask of human skin covered his face, one eye concealed—anyone familiar with him would hardly recognize him now.

He was only a few zhang away from Fan Changyu when he clamped his legs tight against his horse’s flanks. As the warhorse surged forward, he reached out to grab her and haul her up onto the saddle.

Fan Changyu reacted instantly—dodging his grasp, she abandoned the main road altogether and flung herself down the steep slope at the side of the mountain path.

Below the steep slope was the next stretch of the winding mountain road—no matter what, sliding straight down would be faster than circling around on horseback.

What she hadn’t expected, however, was that the man chasing her—the one disguised as an officer—would actually abandon his horse and slide down after her.