Xu Yang spoke at length, laying out the plan for the southerners to assassinate the Yuan governor. As Wei listened, his heart pounded, blood surging hot through his veins.
Then a discordant chuckle broke the air.
Minnow.
"Hero?"
He repeated the word softly.
Minnow lifted his head. Firelight flickered across his face.
"I'm just an ordinary man," he said evenly."Whoever becomes the southern emperor—it's all the same to me."
Someone in the hall coughed.
He went on as if he hadn't heard.
"Just a different name."
The firelight shimmered in his eyes like a thin sheen across water.
"And in the end, don't heroes still kneel to give thanks?"
The temperature in the chamber seemed to drop.
"Heroes just end up kneeling to someone new. When do the common people ever truly stand?"
His thumb rubbed absently at the center of his palm. There was an old scar there, faint, like the mark of a burn long ago.
Xu Yang stared at him, his gaze sharp.
For the first time, Wei saw that his teacher's eyes could be as keen as a drawn sword.
Then, in the next instant, he thought he must have imagined it.
Xu Yang's gentle smile returned.
"In this world, the one thing we never lack is fools," he said lightly."As long as they have a bowl of rice, they don't care whose feet they kneel before."
Qi Shan happened to read aloud the words Wei had written in the sand:
"But they won't die for you."
"Fool," Xu Yang said coolly."People like you will suffer greatly in this world."
Minnow opened his mouth to argue, but Xu Yang lifted a hand and stopped him.
"Young man," he said calmly,"if you reach my age and still hold the same views… then perhaps you'll be the one who's right."
Wei felt lost. He did not quite understand what the two men were truly arguing about.
Xu Yang had no wish to continue the debate. He turned instead to Wei and shifted the subject.
"I know you and Chun have known each other for a long time. But I've already promised her to one of my generals."
He spoke casually, as though discussing the weather.
"This brave general will soon travel to Tianjing City to assassinate the governor. As her friend, you should be happy for her."
He put particular weight on the word friend.
Wei froze where he stood, staring at him.
Xu Yang simply lifted his teacup. With a slender bamboo whisk, he gently beat the tea inside the bowl. Pale foam bloomed like fine snow across the surface, and a faint, bitter fragrance rose into the air—the old Song-style whisked tea.
Chun had once secretly learned the same method in their village and made him a bowl.
Now only that fading scent lingered in this mountain cave.
The words struck Wei like an invisible blade driven straight into his chest.
The air seemed to freeze.
His thoughts spiraled in confusion.
Chun… is going to be married?
His face drained of color. Heat surged into his chest, nearly driving him mad.
But he clenched his teeth, lowered his head, and wrote in the sand:
If she is willing, I won't stop her.
Xu Yang's fingers, which had been turning the teacup, paused midair.
When Minnow spoke the words aloud for Wei, surprise flickered plainly across Xu Yang's face.
For a moment, he said nothing.
The atmosphere in the side hall thickened, almost solid. Even Qi Shan frowned faintly.
A strange feeling stirred in Wei's chest.
He was no longer a child. Somewhere deep down, he sensed that Xu Yang was probing his emotions.
But he did not care.
He had not shouted. He had not raged. He had never imagined claiming another living person as his possession.
He simply respected Chun's choice.
Xu Yang studied the boy again. A trace of interest appeared in his eyes, mixed with a hint of hesitation.
Then he slowly turned back, speaking as though addressing everyone in the hall.
"The hope of the southern people does not lie only in blades."
His voice was mild, yet each word landed like a hammer striking the heart.
"Mind. Patience. Resolve. Those are what truly hold the world together."
Wei lowered his head. His fingers tightened on the fabric at his sleeve, feeling the faint dampness of sweat in his palm.
For the first time he realized—
He had heard words like these before.
But now Xu Yang stood in a different position, and they carried an entirely different weight.
His thoughts, his emotions—every one of them could be seen through at a glance. Tested with perfect precision.
Xu Yang continued, speaking with growing fervor.
"In this war against the Yuan, we must take part. We cannot stand aside."
"This concerns every one of us—our children, and our children's children."
The torchlight swayed. The golden splendor of the hall stretched and shifted, reflected across Wei's face.
Wei lowered his head and drew a deep breath.
He bent to write in the sand again.
Minnow grabbed his wrist, trying to stop him.
Wei shook him off.
I will go to Tianjing City.
The words stunned everyone into silence.
Xu Yang looked at him.
"Why?"
Wei wrote:
You need an outsider. Someone they won't suspect.
Xu Yang slowly sat down. His fingers tapped the rim of the teacup—unhurried, deliberate, each tap as if measuring the weight of Wei's soul.
After a moment, he suddenly sprang to his feet.
"Good!"
"Young men should have the fire of youth!"
"If you succeed, I'll arrange for you to see Chun."
Wei's heart jolted. His lips moved, but no sound came.
Everything felt like a chessboard Xu Yang had arranged long ago.
Wei was only a piece.
Yet sometimes a piece was the only path left to move.
He did not care whether he was a piece.
He only wanted a chance.
Xu Yang's gaze swept slowly across the room.
It was deep and burning—like fire, yet cold enough to pierce bone, as if it could cut through flesh and reach the most hidden corners of a person's heart.
Hands clasped behind his back, sleeves stirring faintly in the wind, he spoke in a low voice thick with restrained passion.
"The man who governs Tianjing City is called Taotie."
He paused, lifting his eyes slightly.
"A bastard son of the Great Yuan emperor. He rarely appears in public. But they say his hands are soaked in the blood of southerners—no fewer than a hundred thousand souls."
Silence fell.
"There is also a general in the city."
"One of the ten greatest martial artists in the world."
Xu Yang looked at them and smiled faintly.
"You are both fortunate… and unfortunate."