Tongguan is an immense checkpoint built against the side of a mountain, overlooking the Yellow River to the north. Having been built upon continuously for a millennium, it has already become the greatest city in the northwest which also acts as a natural stronghold against Xiliang. Looking out from higher ground on the last stretch of road just before reaching Tongguan, all youâll see is the turbulent, roiling Yellow River below, with white clouds and boundless blue skies above, the southern entrance to Xichuan covered in a verdant lush green. Looking off at the other end towards Xiliang though, and nothing but bleak desolation will fill the eye.
After the last several bouts of rain, a scent of autumn has seeped into the air. Merchants from Xiyu converge on this location to exchange their merchandise with one another, each speaking their own language. There are lots of Tangut â most of them are mixed and of non-Han origin with deep set eyes and tall noses, some dressed in multicoloured long robes, some dressed in lightweight leathers and skins, wearing turbans with a single black goose feather poking out of the edge.
The rarity of the feather indicates the wearerâs position within the tribe, and you can tell whether someone is a noble or a commoner from the feather in their turban.
When Wu Du enters the Tongguan Guard Headquarters with Duan Ling in tow, Bian Lingbai acts like his biggest enemy has come to town â there are guards at every corner armed to the teeth, and Duan Ling can tell that security is tight throughout the entire compound.
As soon the two of them enter the main hall, a guard closes the door behind them, leaving Bian Lingbai drinking in the hall on his own with Helan Jie sitting nearby without a word.
âGo ahead.â Bian Lingbai sits in the main hall, saying casually, âWhat you say will decide whether you get out of this room alive.â
Wu Du stands beneath shadowy daylight, looking down at him from above.
âBian Lingbai.â Wu Du says, âSurely you havenât been a local despot for so long that youâve forgotten how little youâre capable of? You think you can try to kill me with the number of men youâve got?â
Helan Jie rises in anger, but Bian Lingbai shouts at him, âSit down!â
Both sides fall quiet for a good while, and Wu Du takes several steps inside the room, pacing. âFor Great Chen, General Zhao had given his lifeâs blood, yet he ended up the way he did anyway. During the final battle of Xichuan, you were guarding Tongguan at the time so you couldnât have left your post without permission, thus you had no blame in it. The imperial court has also not charged you with treason. As for why though â youâre a smart man, Iâm sure you donât need me to lay it out for you.â
Bian Lingbai remains silent for a time, and meanwhile, Duan Ling is keeping his mouth shut through this entire conversation. This is part of the plan he and Wu Du cooked up on their way here; in regards to Mu Kuangdaâs wish to have Bian Lingbai killed, before they left for the trip, Duan Ling had hoped by some lucky coincidence that Bian Lingbai may turn out to be innocent, but once heâs thought the whole matter through he thinks the man hasnât any other option â Bian Lingbai must raise arms against the empire.
Why is that? Since this wretch had both taken part in the military takeover against Li Jianhong and sided with Zhao Kui during the civil war, the only reason the imperial court has made sure heâs pacified is because Great Chen needs a bulwark against Xiliang, and while it does have a military, it lacks capable commanders. And now that the capital is to be relocated, Xichuan will no longer have to face a direct threat from Xiliang. Besides, with a crown prince at court, in time heâll want to settle the score. Bian Lingbaiâs only option is to raise arms in rebellion â otherwise heâs just sitting around as death comes for him.
Bian Lingbai snorts derisively. âI regarded General Zhao as my mentor. I joined the army at fourteen, and since I began following him it has already been thirteen years. Iâve never done anything against the people nor have I ever done anything that deviated from my conscience. Even if the crown prince comes to see me today Iâll tell him the same thing!â
âThe crown prince wonât come see you. And he wonât listen to your explanation. But from what I can see here, it seems I fret too much â I wonât bother you any longer. Goodbye.â
Wu Du says to Duan Ling, âLetâs go.â
But Duan Ling is watching Bian Lingbai, not moving his feet.
In the same way, Bian Lingbai is watching Duan Ling.
Wu Du looks at Duan LIngâs eyes, but Duan Lingâs attention is not on Wu Du.
âDo you know my uncle?â Duan Ling says to Bian Lingbai.
Wu Du frowns slightly; Bian Lingbai heaves a long sigh.
This is also something the two of them discussed beforehand â Duan Ling will speak once Wu Du finishes speaking. From what Duan Ling has surmised, Bian Lingbai canât possibly sit by and ignore Zhao Kuiâs nephew if he needs help. If only for the sake of his reputation, Bian Lingbai will look after him. After all, Wu Du is essentially the confidant Zhao Kui has entrusted an orphan with.
Put it another way, if Bian Lingbai really does intend to turn against the government, then driving âZhao Rongâ away would not confer him any advantage. The letter has stated the situation quite clearly â this young man named Zhao Rong was elsewhere while his family was beheaded and their property confiscated; he only came to seek shelter with Bian Lingbai because he has nowhere left to go.
âYour uncle was my mentor. Come over here. Let me take a look at you.â
Duan Ling walks over slowly, and when Bian Lingbai is taking the measure of him by the skylight, he suddenly feels a bit nervous, for fear that anything can be gleaned from his facial features.
âIâve met your dad before. Saw him face to face briefly when I went to Shandong on business that one time.â
Duan Ling knows he really ought to break down and cry a bit, but alas without any feelings for Zhao Pu at all he can only stare at Bian Lingbaiâs hand. Bian Lingbai looks at him for a while but he canât tell anything from Duan Lingâs person. âAre you studying literature or the martial arts?â
âI learned a bit of both.â
âCan you read?â
Duan Ling gives him a nod, and Bian Lingbai says, âStay in the compound for now, and as for you âŠâ
âI stay with Wu Du.â Duan Ling says, âI go wherever he goes.â
The last thing Duan Ling wants is for Bian Lingbai to make Wu Du go away. That will throw his plan into disarray, and Wu Du will only be able to make his preparations in secret then. Having a Helan Jie around will also complicate things even more.
Bian Lingbai seem not to know what to do. Wu Du says, âIâm here to search for the whereabouts of that sword under Mu Kuangdaâs orders.â
âThereâs no use in asking me,â Bian Lingbai says frostily, âIf you wanted to present the Zhenshanhe to your new master, then youâve come to the wrong place.â
Wu Du throws the insult right back in his face, âWell naturally, itâs not like I expected for you and your inept underlings to ever manage to find the thing.â
Every single time Bian Lingbai has tried to humiliate Wu Du he has ended up with a verbal slap in the face instead, and it just fills him with fury. Wu Du adds, âIâm leaving once I make sure Zhao Rong is settled in. Otherwise the chancellor may get suspicious.â
Bian Lingbai lets out a heavy sigh, and waves a hand to let the servants know they should go get rooms ready for the two.
âZhao Rong,â Bian Lingbai says, âCome over when itâs dinner time.â
Duan Ling knows this means Bian Lingbai has accepted him. Perhaps heâll arrange for âZhao Rongâ to become a retainer in his estate, or perhaps out of the sentimental ties to his former mentor Zhao Kui, he may groom him. At any rate the mission has started rather smoothly â the rest is going to depend on Wu Du.
Bian Lingbai has had a guest room arranged for them, and he wanted to leave them servants as well, but Wu Du has sent them away. Their recovered clothes and things have been brought into the courtyard; presumably the Tongguan Guard has caught the mounted bandits, and theyâre returning all the items they found to their rightful owners. Duan Ling wants to sort everything away as soon as they get inside, but Wu Du stops him.
âWatch out you donât give yourself away. By rights you shouldnât know how to do chores.â
âZhao Rong has been living in exile,â Duan Ling says. âHe avoided a fatal disaster and he was saved by you, so the relationship between you two is not as master and servant. Itâs only right for him to try to do everything himself for sentimental reasons.â
Thatâs true, Wu Du supposes. They tidy up their new home for a bit, then Duan Ling goes inside and closes the door. But Wu Du is one step ahead of him, already lying on the bed.
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âWeâll have to stay here from now on,â Wu Du says, âwe may even have to stay for quite a while. I didnât expect him to accept this so readily though â you didnât even hand him the map yet. Think he believes you?â
âWhether he believes me or not is besides the point. Heâs not that smart. When someone shows up and asks him to take them in, heâd never suspect itâs because theyâre there to secretly investigate him. At most heâll make sure to keep his guard up and not say those things he shouldnât be saying around me. Whatâs more, heâs taken in even someone like Helan Jie, so whatâs one more?â
âYeah.â Wu Du lies there, looking pensive.
Duan Ling lies down to sleep next to him. Wu Du says, âWhy are you going to sleep too?â
Duan Ling has no idea what heâs going on about. âArenât you taking an afternoon nap?â
âIâm practising my martial arts.â
âWhat sort of martial arts?â Duan Ling pulls quite the face. âThe art of sleep?â
Wu Du ignores him, and spaces out for a bit. Duan Ling adds, âHe didnât interrogate me about Shandong at all.â
âHe didnât know Zhao Pu all that well. Take care what you say to him. Donât let your guard down.â
Duan Ling has been reviewing all the way to Tongguan, familiarising himself with everything about Shandong, but now that he hasnât been able to make use of any of the information, it makes him feel a bit frightened. Being left in such an unfamiliar environment leaves him somewhat anxious, and the only thing that gives him a sense of security is Wu Du.
âHey.â Duan Ling gives Wu Du a tap, only to realise that heâs fallen asleep.
Surprised, Duan Ling stares at him silently. It looks like he really is practising the art of sleep after all. He turns his head to the side to study Wu Duâs face; Wu Du has beautiful eyebrows, good bones, well-defined features thatâs a bit rugged around the edges. In deep sleep, that roguish air that circles him fades away, making him feel like a very gentle person.
Wu Du has spent the entire night before last running all over the place rescuing people one minute and chasing after bandits the next, and then last night he had to contend with Helan Jie staring at them the whole night through. Recalling these, Duan Ling thinks he must not have slept well, and so he doesnât wake him up. He gets up quietly and checks over their things to find that nothingâs missing, but everythingâs been searched. Bian Lingbai must still have suspicions about his identity.
Why is Helan Jie in Tongguan?
As Duan Ling heads towards the Bian estate at dusk to attend the banquet, he wonders if this proves that Bian Lingbai is one of the people who conspired to assassinate the late emperor. And when it comes down to it, who then was the one who advised Bian Lingbai to do so?
Wu Du is quite grumpy as heâs just woken up, and thereâs a slight but persistent furrow between his brows. As they enter the main hall however, they notice that Helan Jie is actually not there but that someone else is â the young woman they rescued along the way has already dressed for the evening, and judging by her appearance sheâs even younger than Duan Ling. They arrive as Bian Lingbai is speaking with the girl.
Duan Ling greets the two of them as a visitor would, and the girl suddenly blushes, falling silent.
âThis is Lady Yao, from the Yao family of Huaiyin.â Bian Lingbai says to Duan Ling, âYou two have already met.â
Duan Ling nods, and Bian Lingbai introduces him to the young woman, âThis is my older brotherâs son. His name is âBian Rongâ.â2
The young woman would be Yao Zhengâs younger paternal cousin, Yao Jing, and she nods at Duan Ling at the end of the introduction. An unwed young lady canât tell people her first name; even if Bian Lingbai is a military man and doesnât really think much of the rites, out of respect for the Yao family, he only gave them a simple introduction.
Duan Ling has already worn too many names in his lifetime. Life is like a stage, and he has been playing one role after another: Duan Ling, Li Ruo, Wang Shan, Zhao Rong, Bian Rong ⊠one barely exits before another takes the stage, and each face he wears is like a mask. Sitting in this brightly lit dining hall, Duan Ling is vaguely beset by an empty feeling.
âMarquess Yao sent her here to Tongguan,â Bian Lingbai continues, explaining to Duan Ling, âbecause theyâve arranged a marriage between her and a noble family in Xiliang. Who could have known though, that itâd lead to her getting targeted by bandits along the way. Good thing you and Wu Du came to her aid.â
âThank you very much for saving my life.â Yao Jing raises her cup, with a poise and grace that belies her age.
Duan Ling smiles at her, and says to Wu Du, âSheâs drinking to you, you know.â
Having just woken up, Wu Du doesnât feel like talking. He hums something in reply and drinks the wine without ceremony. Duan Ling then picks up his own cup and drinks it.