The torch jerked.
Firelight wavered, throwing a ring of twisted shadows across the cave wall.
The next instant—
Several dark figures slipped silently from behind the stone on either side.
They looked as if they had grown out of the rock itself.
Their footsteps were so light they were almost soundless.
Only the blades flashed once in the firelight.
Cold.
Long and narrow.
Black clothes. Black masks.
So uniform they might have been cut from the same mold.
"Don't move."
The voice was low and hoarse.
The knives were already there.
One icy point hovered at Wei's chest.
Another pressed against Minnow's throat.
The air froze.
"It's them! General! I brought them in!"
The old woodcutter suddenly darted to the other side, quick as a dog.
He pointed at Wei and Minnow, shouting hoarsely,
"I delivered them to you!"
The old face that had trembled with fear moments ago now flushed with excitement.
Like a servant begging for a reward.
Rough hands seized Wei and Minnow by the shoulders.
Two grips like iron clamps locked onto them.
Rope came up at once.
Fast. Efficient.
These men had done this before.
In a few swift movements the ropes bound them tight, knots cinched so hard their fingers couldn't move.
They didn't resist.
It would have meant nothing.
Wei lifted his head.
The fire flickered.
At the front of the group, someone stepped forward slowly.
A lean upper body.
Muscles stretched across bone like taut cables.
Dark skin.
Old scars crossing and crisscrossing his torso, as if countless blades had drawn a map of battles on his flesh.
Only a strip of black leather wrapped his waist.
The shape of it looked almost like a woman's skirt.
Wei's pupils shrank.
He recognized him.
The man who had nearly killed him before.
Qishan.
Wei's eyes turned red instantly.
Torches were jammed into cracks in the rock wall.
Flames leapt.
Smoke rolled along the ceiling.
Commander Qishan stood in the center of the cave.
His chest rose and fell like a beast fresh from the battlefield.
Firelight flickered across his face.
Deep-set eyes.
A heavy, shadowed gaze.
He looked first at the old woodcutter.
A slow, satisfied smile crept across his lips.
He lifted a hand and patted the man's shoulder.
The gesture was the same way one might praise an obedient dog.
The woodcutter flushed crimson with excitement.
"General, this man—"
He hadn't finished speaking.
Qishan stopped him with a single glance.
A guard stepped forward immediately.
Bang.
A savage kick struck the back of the woodcutter's knee.
He screamed and collapsed to the ground.
Before he could react, rope was already around him.
A few quick loops bound him tight.
The color drained from his face.
"General! You're trying to keep it all for your—"
A filthy rag was shoved into his mouth.
Qishan didn't even look at him.
It was like discarding a piece of trash.
Just then—
Footsteps sounded from deeper in the cave.
Two men were dragged forward.
Like pigs brought to slaughter.
Zhang San and Li Si.
They were tied up tight, blood at the corners of their mouths, clothes smeared with mud.
They had clearly just been beaten.
The moment Zhang San saw Qishan, he shrieked,
"Chief! You misunderstand!"
"I'm one of your people! I'll serve you!"
Li Si's voice trembled, echoing through the cave.
"Spare me, sir!"
"Me too! We're on the same side! Those three are the intruders!"
Qishan walked toward them slowly.
His steps were heavy.
Each one echoed against the stone.
He lowered his head and looked down at them.
"Oh?"
His tone was leisurely.
"On the same side?"
Zhang San plastered the most sincere smile he could onto his fat face.
"Yes, Chief. Your people!"
"Fine. Untie them," Qishan said easily.
Then he paused.
Because in the crowd—
Two people were still standing.
Wei.
And Minnow.
That alone made them stand out.
Minnow stood there silently.
Just watching.
His face expressionless.
Qishan turned his head.
A cruel grin spread across his face.
"Bandits? Villagers?"
His teeth gleamed white in the firelight.
"I was kidnapped by them," Minnow answered honestly.
Qishan waved it off lightly.
"Won't talk?"
"Then we kill them. Make fertilizer."
Minnow's face went pale, but he still said nothing.
Qishan turned to Wei.
Wei's eyes were burning.
Locked onto him.
Qishan narrowed his gaze.
Then suddenly recognized him.
"Well now."
He laughed.
"Isn't it you, little brat?"
"Hard to kill, aren't you?"
Wei's throat was dry.
His chest heaved.
Not long ago, this man had framed him.
Almost gotten him killed in the valley.
But right now—
There was something he wanted to know more.
Chun.
Wei's lips trembled violently.
They moved.
Finally forcing out a single word.
"Chun…"
The sound was rough, strained, but unmistakable.
When Minnow heard it clearly—
He whipped his head toward Wei.
Shock filled his eyes.
Wei.
Was speaking.
Qishan snorted.
"Dreaming above your station."
The local insult rolled off his tongue—mocking Wei as a nobody while inadvertently raising Chun's status.
"Still not over her?"
He stepped in front of Wei.
A rough hand slapped against Wei's neck, weighing him like livestock.
"She's not someone you get to think about."
Wei's knees slowly bent.
As if he couldn't hold himself up.
Qishan threw his head back and laughed.
"What's this?"
"Lost your spine already?"
"When you fought the Silver Warrior…"
"Weren't you quite the hero then?"
Minnow's eyes flared with anger.
He was about to speak—
But Wei grabbed his arm.
"You—"
Wei had already lowered his head.
His fingers moved quickly across the ground.
A thin layer of dust covered the cave floor.
His fingertip scraped through it.
Pushing aside dirt.
Leaving shallow marks.
One stroke.
Then another.
Crooked.
Uneven.
Minnow's expression changed instantly.
He understood.
Wei wasn't kneeling.
He was writing.
The posture—
was a crouch.
Wei quickly scratched out the words:
Where is Chun?
Qishan sneered.
"No harm telling you."
"She's in Tianjing City."
He leaned close and whispered,
"As for you? Just a useless worm."
Wei glared at him.
Then wrote again, fast.
I wounded your commander.
My father killed Yuan soldiers.
We fight standing.
You live kneeling.
The firelight illuminated the ground.
The words lay there like open-handed slaps across Qishan's face.
His expression darkened.
Slowly.
As if the fire itself had burned it red.
His eyes narrowed.
Staring at Wei's face.
Inch by inch.
Like studying a stone.
"You think," he said slowly,
"that crossing blades with a Silver Warrior…"
"makes you impressive?"
He gave a cold laugh.
"They barely even noticed you."
Before the last word finished—
Qishan's foot lashed out.
Bang.
Wei was kicked off his feet.
He rolled across the ground twice before slamming hard into the cave wall.
A muffled grunt escaped him.
Qishan walked over.
He grabbed Wei by the hair and yanked his head up.
Pain tore across his scalp.
Wei didn't make a sound.
Qishan dragged him upright like a dead dog.
A low chuckle slipped from his throat.
Cold.
"This one."
"Take him with me."
His eyes gleamed with cruelty.
"I'm going to—"
"have some fun killing him myself."