Xu Yang's voice suddenly rose.
"You've never seen a true master before, have you?"
His gaze darkened.
"If you ever see him—stay far away. Surviving is more important than anything else."
Then his tone shifted again, lifting with renewed fervor.
"You can die here… or do something for our Southern Song."
He looked at them meaningfully.
Before anyone could react, Li Si had already thrown himself to the ground.
"General! On our shoulders lies the blood debt of our people, the humiliation of the court. I am willing to serve Your Majesty!"
He kept switching between"General" and"Your Majesty." Anyone with eyes could see he was simply afraid to die. Wei's lip curled, his contempt plain.
"Good!"
To everyone's surprise, Xu Yang bent down and helped Li Si up, clapping him heavily on the shoulder.
"Good! As long as you can be of use to us in Tianjing City, you will become great heroes of the southern people—martyrs whose names will be sung by future generations!"
The firelight reflected off his face. His eyes burned; his voice rang with grand conviction.
"I wish you success," he said.
"Return in triumph."
Wei stood before him, baffled. Minnow, however, watched Xu Yang's performance with cold eyes, saying nothing.
"You are… very young," Xu Yang remarked lightly. His voice sounded distant, as if carried from far away."But I cannot yet see your value."
He turned his gaze to Wei.
"And you, Wei. You're wounded all over, and deaf and mute besides. I worry about your future."
Wei looked back at him, his thoughts tangled.
"Here's what we'll do," Xu Yang continued."Qi Shan will train you in some basic skills. Wei, you should first treat your illness. We have a miracle physician here—I'll ask him to examine you."
"Right now, Tianjing City is accepting refugees. They're giving out land, even housing. You'll blend in with them."
"In the future, just run a few errands for us from time to time. That alone will be a great contribution."
He looked at Wei with a measured smile.
"I have faith in you. Can you do it?"
Wei's throat tightened.
At the moment his name was called, a strange flicker of pride rose in him.
Then that pride turned heavy, like a blade laid across his shoulders.
When Xu Yang learned that Minnow had no interest at all in going to Tianjing City, he merely smiled.
"The children will decide for you."
In the distance, several children were dragged forward.
Their little faces were pale, their clothes ragged—no different from real refugees.
Xu Yang gently pulled the smallest one closer. From his sleeve he produced a small handful of honey-glazed jujubes. Each date was coated in a thin layer of sugar, golden and fragrant with the sweetness once found in the night markets of Lin'an.
He placed them in the child's hand, his voice warm—like the days he used to tell stories at the village school.
"Eat. You'll need strength for the long road."
The child froze, then took a trembling bite. The honey melted across his tongue, and light flared suddenly in his eyes.
Around him, the other children swallowed hard. Their gazes fixed on the few remaining dates like nails driven into wood.
Wei's heart sank.
Chun had loved those honeyed jujubes most of all. Every Lantern Festival, Xu Yang would bring a small packet back from town and share them with the schoolchildren.
Now he was using them like this—trading the sweetness of a lost homeland for the children's lives.
Xu Yang's expression remained gentle as he lifted his eyes toward Minnow.
"And you?"
Minnow's hand clenched instantly.
For a moment, Wei saw something sink deep into his eyes.
As if he had always known it would come to this.
"So that's it," Minnow said quietly."The hope of the southern people… is bought with children."
Xu Yang did not respond. Instead, he ordered Qi Shan:
"Go. Bring those two as well."
Zhang San and Li Si were pushed forward.
They stared blankly at the sheet of paper laid out before them, covered in writing, unable to understand.
Qi Shan explained coldly.
"This is a declaration of allegiance. Sign it, and you live. Betray us—and this paper goes straight to the Yuan authorities in the city."
Zhang San's hand trembled as he pressed down his thumbprint.
Li Si followed immediately, muttering,"My mother's still waiting for me back home…"
Qi Shan glanced at him coldly, as if he hadn't heard a word, then turned to Wei.
"And you?"
Wei stared at that face.
The face of the man who had taken Chun away.
Something clogged his chest.
He stepped forward and slammed his thumbprint onto the paper.
Qi Shan looked up, a trace of satisfaction on his face.
"Very good."
He bent down, his voice so low only Wei could hear.
"Chun asked me to pass along her greetings."
Wei's heart stopped.
But his face remained blank as he pointed to his ear, feigning deafness.
Qi Shan grinned viciously and continued anyway.
"She's already in Tianjing City. Left just yesterday. If you'd come one day earlier, maybe you'd have seen her."
"Heh heh heh—"
The sound of his laughter made something deep in Wei's bones recoil.
Qi Shan straightened and swept a cold glance over the group.
"You're all going to Tianjing City."
"To work as spies."
"There are people inside who will contact you. Just follow their orders."
Then he waved his hand.
"Take them away."
Qi Shan led the four of them along a mountain path nearly swallowed by weeds.
The trail rose and dipped. Stones slipped underfoot. Branches scraped their faces. The surrounding cliffs rose layer upon layer like the spines of some enormous beast, pressing the sky into a narrow strip of blue overhead.
They walked for a full hour.
Then, after climbing over a massive boulder, the view suddenly opened.
Deep within the mountains lay a hidden camp.
A few crude wooden huts were tucked among the trees, so well concealed they nearly blended into the forest itself.
Qi Shan stopped and slowly turned back.
His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, swept across the four faces one by one.
"On the way here…"
His voice was quiet but heavy with pressure.
"Did any of you notice something unusual?"
Wei shook his head.
Truthfully, he hadn't paid much attention. Most of his focus had been on the terrain—the steep mountains and dense forest. A good place to hide.
Well… that, and one other thing.
Qi Shan's leather skirt.
Wei couldn't stop wondering:
Under that thing… was he naked, or wearing some kind of shorts?
Zhang San tilted his head up and glanced around blankly.
"Trees… grass… nothing special."
Li Si hurried to add, afraid of being left out.
"And mountains, big brother! Don't forget the mountains!"
Qi Shan shot him a glare.
"Idiot! Where around here isn't mountains?"
Li Si immediately shrank back, not daring to speak again.
Minnow, meanwhile, frowned and thought for a moment.
"On the way here… we passed through several woods."
"Mm."
Qi Shan nodded faintly.
"But one of those woods—no birds flew up."
Qi Shan's eyes lit up.
"Why?"
Minnow hesitated, then said carefully,
"If people rarely enter a forest, birds usually scatter when someone walks in."
"But that patch was quiet."
"So… people must pass through there often."
Qi Shan's mouth curled upward.
"Good."
There was clear approval in his voice now.
"Go on."
Under the intense gaze, Minnow's face flushed red, but he forced himself to continue.
"And… there was a grave mound by the roadside."
"In mountains this deep, there shouldn't be graves."
Qi Shan nodded repeatedly.
"Good, good—"
The light in his eyes was like someone who had just stumbled upon treasure.
"Very good."
Minnow flushed deeper, even his ears turning red.
Wei stared at him from the side, eyes nearly bulging.
When did this kid start noticing things like that?
But Minnow was gaining momentum.
"There was also a dirt mound dug open by wild dogs."
"The bones inside… had burn marks."
"That means someone made a fire there."
The moment he finished—
"Hahahahaha!"
Qi Shan suddenly burst into loud laughter.
The sound rolled through the forest, startling several birds into flight with a rush of wings.
When he had laughed enough, he waved his hand.
"Good!"
"From now on—"
He pointed at Minnow.
"You all listen to him."
"He's your captain."
The air fell silent.
Minnow's entire face turned crimson.
Wei clicked his tongue beside him.
This kid.
Praise him twice and his tail will be sticking straight up into the sky.