"Not so?"
Yang Qing looked at Jiang Zhizhou. "Then have you received some news?"
At the sound of Yang Qing's voice, Jiang Zhizhou suddenly came to his senses. He took off his outer robe and pulled open the inner garment against his chest.
Bu Er and Yang Qing watched intently, neither saying a word.
After stripping off his inner garment as well, Jiang Zhizhou tugged its collar apart, revealing a narrow seam.
He pulled hard at the seam, tearing a wide opening.
He slipped his fingers into the opening and, a moment later, drew out a small scrap of cloth.
His expression grave, Jiang Zhizhou held up the scrap as though it were a priceless treasure and presented it to Yang Qing.
Yang Qing's expression sharpened. He accepted it with both hands and examined it closely, his face growing still more solemn.
There were only a few words on the scrap, but the signature was unmistakable: Chengyang Prefect.
Anyone else who saw it would have had no idea who this Chengyang Prefect was.
But the moment Yang Qing saw it, his heart lurched.
Chengyang Prefect was, in fact, an assumed title of Guards Suotu's. He greatly admired Lord Cai Kunyang, the renowned Chengyang Prefect of Western Chu's Former Dynasty, and had bestowed the same title upon himself.
Naturally, he had never made this title widely known. Yang Qing knew of it only because, while they were guarding Yan Pass together, he had happened to catch sight of a small seal in Suotu's hand.
Yang Qing still remembered Suotu explaining the seal's origins to him. Suotu had deeply admired Lord Cai's courage to act and remonstrate, declaring that he would take the man as his teacher.
Now, seeing that signature, Yang Qing knew Suotu meant to assure him that everything in