Such Patience

Chang'an, Daming Palace.

At the peak of the realm's power, it welcomed tribute from every corner of the world.

Every brick and tile here had been steeped in eight hundred years of wind, frost, and blood.

Inside Changle Palace, a woman in a bright yellow court gown, her hair piled high, sat upright on the phoenix couch.

She looked to be about forty. Well cared for, she still bore traces of the peerless beauty of her youth between her brows and eyes. Yet the fine lines at the corners of her eyes and the calm, unruffled gaze betrayed the passage of time.

She was none other than the current Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager Liu.

"Mother, I've recently acquired several fine Duan inkstones. I've brought them here to present to you."

Below the couch stood a young man in a prince's python robe, bowing respectfully. He looked much like the Empress Dowager, though his features were more delicate and feminine.

The Empress Dowager didn't look at the precious inkstones the eunuchs had brought forward. She merely took a sip of tea.

"You've been thoughtful."

"If you like them, Mother, I can search for more."

"There's no need."

The Empress Dowager set down her teacup with a soft clink. "I now devote myself to worshipping Buddha and reciting sutras. I have no use for such things anymore."

"But you spend your days either cockfighting and dog racing or gathering these useless trinkets. Have you made even the slightest progress?"

The smile on the young man's face stiffened, but he soon put on a look of wounded grievance. "Mother, you know perfectly well that I..."

"That you what?" the Empress Dowager interrupted. "You're a prince with no duties, so you can simply let yourself go?"

"I wouldn't dare!"

The atmosphere in the palace grew tense.

The old eunuch standing nearby kept his eyes lowered and didn't dare breathe too loudly.

After a long while,

the Empress Dowager sighed softly. "Get up."

She waved for the eunuchs to take the inkstones away.

"I'm not blaming you," she said, her voice softening. "It's just... seeing you like this weighs on my heart."

"Back then... if it hadn't been for him, how could you have ended up like this? You were born crown prince. The realm of Great Tang should have been yours."

"Mother... please be careful what you say."

"Careful?" The Empress Dowager suddenly laughed. "At this point, what is there that I can't say?"

"I raised him with painstaking care, taught him to read and write... I can say that I treated him with every kindness."

"But how did he repay me?"

The young man remained silent.

Of course he felt resentment.

But what use was it to say so now?

"Enough..."

The sharpness in the Empress Dowager's eyes gradually faded, leaving only weariness.

"Leave."

"Your son... takes his leave."

Watching his figure disappear beyond the palace doors, she waved for the palace maids and eunuchs to leave as well.

The vast palace was left with only her.

"Come in."

She spoke calmly toward an empty corner.

A shadow slowly appeared.

"Your Majesty."

"Speak."

"Jiang Xun's daughter, Jiang Yuechu, not only survived, but has now become a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau in Longyou Circuit."

"Hmm?"

The Empress Dowager looked up, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

"How could this happen? What of Pei Changqing, who was escorting her?"

"Pei Changqing and a squad of Demon Suppression Guards under his command have all gone missing. People from the Longyou Circuit Commandery investigated. They only said that... they encountered a Great Demon."

"Encountered a Great Demon?" The Empress Dowager gave a cold laugh. "Pei Changqing was a String-Hearing Realm martial artist, after all, and his squad was made up of the Demon Suppression Bureau's elite. Even if they'd run into a Bone Resonance Great Demon, they should have been able to send back some word."

"There is... something suspicious about this."

"The Demon Suppression Bureau seems to still be investigating. But according to our people, the Longyou Circuit Commandery hasn't made a big fuss over it. Instead... they recruited Jiang Yuechu straight into the Mysterious Battalion."

The Empress Dowager furrowed her brow.

Strange.

The Demon Suppression Bureau had always been fiercely protective of its own.

An entire squad of its people had vanished without explanation, and Jiang Yuechu, the sole survivor, hadn't been seized and tortured with every method under the sun until she'd spilled everything. That alone was extraordinary luck.

But not only was she unharmed, she had even joined the Demon Suppression Bureau?

For the people of the Demon Suppression Bureau to let go of the grudge over their comrades' deaths and recruit her into their ranks...

That girl must be hiding something.

She naturally remembered Jiang Yuechu.

Raised in the inner quarters, she rarely left home. Her greatest pleasure was reading poetry and painting a few strokes.

She was timid and gentle by nature, and even blushed when she met strangers.

How had such a weak girl, without the strength to truss a chicken, survived what should have been a fatal predicament?

And what had she done to make the Demon Suppression Bureau regard her so favorably?

Besides, such abilities couldn't have appeared overnight.

This girl must have known something all along. She'd simply been biding her time.

The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes, then suddenly smiled.

"What a Jiang Yuechu... So patient and restrained... What exactly is she plotting?"

Ganzhou.

On the official road, eight Crimson-Eyed Stallions kicked up clouds of dust as they galloped onward.

Crimson-Eyed Stallions were demon horses specially bred by the Demon Suppression Bureau. They were swift, yet even so, the ride from Liangzhou Prefecture to Zhangye in Ganzhou had taken three full days.

Three days without rest, traveling day and night.

Even the men of the Demon Suppression Bureau, all sturdy and strong, now showed traces of fatigue.

Liu Chen reined in his horse, pulled a waterskin from his robes, and took a long drink. Then he turned, his gaze instinctively settling on the figure at the end of the party.

The wind and sand were so fierce that it was hard to keep one's eyes open.

The girl wore a black outfit traced with red, which made her look even more slender, as if a stronger gust might sweep her away.

And yet she sat steady in the saddle, her back straight as a spear. One hand held the reins, while the other rested casually on the hilt of the blade at her waist.

The sand swept across her fair face without leaving a trace. Instead, it ruffled a few strands of her hair, revealing her smooth forehead.

"Um..."

Liu Chen cleared his throat and deliberately dropped back a few horse lengths, drawing level with Jiang Yuechu.

"Getting used to it?"

It was her first mission, after all. Traveling day and night like this was hard even for veterans of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

All the more for a young girl.

But then he remembered that this seemingly frail body had killed a Bone Resonance Great Demon with a single punch.

His question had been utterly pointless...

For a moment, he even felt his face grow warm.

Jiang Yuechu answered indifferently, "I'm fine."

Her tone was neither warm nor cold.

Liu Chen nodded. He didn't take offense; he was already used to her manner.

The party continued onward.

Amid the silence, Jiang Yuechu suddenly spoke.

"What happened to the one who drew his blade in Jincheng County that day?"

The men who had been riding with their heads down instinctively slowed their horses and pricked up their ears.

Liu Chen turned to her, somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected Jiang Yuechu to ask about someone else.

"You mean... Lord Xu?"

"Mm."

The surprise on Liu Chen's face quickly gave way to a shadow of sadness.

"He's crippled."

Crippled.

Just two simple words, yet they said everything.

"His meridians are completely severed, his qi and blood depleted. They used the best medicine the commandery had. They saved his life, but as for his cultivation..."

"Lord Wei visited him several times. He wanted him to stay at the commandery as a clerk and live out the rest of his life in peace."

"But he refused."

Liu Chen gave a bitter smile. "A few days ago, he submitted his resignation and went back to his hometown."

The mood among the party grew even heavier.

Even Zhao Hu wore a rueful expression.

Xu Nian had been a notable figure in the Longyou Circuit Demon Suppression Bureau.

He had entered the String-Hearing Realm in his twenties and broken through to Bone Resonance at forty. With the Prison-Suppressing Blade, he had slain countless demons and monsters and saved countless common folk.

Yet even a man like him, after one moment's carelessness, had ended up in such a state.