The wind's howl, the crane's cry

"Lord Yang is right. You'd better think carefully about the consequences!"

Wei Li's eyes remained fixed on the man slumped on the ground.

"I'll talk! I really will!"

The man cried out and raised his head with difficulty. "I was acting on Deputy General Zou's orders when I set fire to the provisions."

"Deputy General Zou?"

Yang Qing stared into the man's eyes. "Then tell me, why would Deputy General Zou do such a thing?"

"Because Deputy General Wei had him punished under military law. Deputy General Zou resented it, so he found a way to have his guards secretly let him out, and he obtained some lamp oil."

"Afterward, to keep word from getting out, he ordered me to dispose of those two men."

"But I never expected Deputy General Zou to turn on us afterward and try to silence the two of us as well. I had no choice but to strike back to save myself."

"So Deputy General Zou was behind all of this..."

Yang Qing paused. "That comes as quite a surprise."

"My lord, Deputy General Zou is a calculating, ruthless man. Unless I had absolutely no choice, I would never have dared lay a hand on him! All I wanted was to save my own skin."

Wei Li spoke from beside him. "A wretch with a wolf's heart and a dog's lungs will only bring disaster if we let him live! Guards, drag Deputy General Zou outside and beat him to death!"

Yang Qing raised a hand. "Wait!"

"Lord Yang," Wei Li said, "the evidence is conclusive. Surely you don't intend to shield this man Zou?"

Yang Qing shook his head. "There is still one thing I don't understand."

He turned back to the man sitting on the ground. "There are ten jars of lamp oil left in the storehouse."

"No, there are eleven. There were twelve to begin with..."

The man hurriedly interrupted.

But before he finished speaking, his heart gave a jolt, and the rest of his words lodged in his throat.

Unable to swallow them or spit them out, he choked until his eyes rolled back.

Yang Qing smiled faintly. "I haven't been with the army long, but I remember quite clearly that Deputy General Zou has always been the only person permitted to enter that storehouse. He alone knows what is inside..."

The chill in Yang Qing's eyes deepened. "So how did you know exactly what was in there?"

"Well..."

The man's gaze began to wander again. He did not dare meet Yang Qing's eyes.

"Deputy General Zou told me, of course. That was how I knew."

"Deputy General Wei, what is the punishment in the army for someone who falsely accuses an officer?"

Yang Qing looked at Wei Li.

"If the accusation is proven false, two hundred strokes of the military cudgel."

Two hundred strokes!

The man, who had already been trembling with terror, stretched out his legs and fainted.

"Lord Yang, how do you think we should handle this...?"

Looking at the unconscious man, anyone with eyes could see the truth of the matter. That was why Wei Li asked.

"Administer the two hundred strokes, without exception!"

There was a pointed meaning in Yang Qing's words. "Deputy General Wei, the situation in the army is complicated now. You will have to take greater care."

Wei Li agreed. "You are quite right, Lord Yang."

Yang Qing's gaze settled on Zou Donghai. "I will take Deputy General Zou with me."

"Well, Lord Yang, surely that would be inappropriate?"

On hearing that Yang Qing intended to take Zou Donghai away, Wei Li could barely restrain himself.

"Do you mean that you fear I might secretly harm Deputy General Zou, just as that scoundrel did?"

A hint of a smile hovered on Yang Qing's face.

"How could I possibly say something so outrageous? You must have misunderstood, Lord Yang."

"In that case, I won't stay here and disturb you while you attend to military affairs."

Yang Qing gestured to Bu Er. "Take Deputy General Zou back."

Bu Er hoisted Zou Donghai onto his back and swiftly left Wei Li's tent.

Yang Qing followed at a leisurely pace.

Only Wei Li remained in the tent.

His eyes bulged, bloodshot throughout. His fists were clenched so tightly that his fingertips had turned blue.

"All undone at the final step! All undone at the final step!"

His roar did not carry outside. The guards stationed there heard only a few muffled sounds from within the tent, followed by utter silence.

Back in his own tent, Yang Qing turned to Bu Er. "How are his injuries?"

"If I hadn't arrived in time, Deputy General Zou would already have gone to the Yellow Springs," Bu Er said.

"Make sure he receives proper treatment." Storm clouds shifted in Yang Qing's eyes.

Several days passed in a flash.

Zou Donghai's condition had stabilized, but he had yet to regain consciousness.

Apart from visiting Chen Lin, Yang Qing had spent the past few days in his tent, never setting foot outside.

That night, Yang Qing had only just lain down when he sensed a shadow flit past outside the tent.

He rose abruptly. Bu Er held his sword against his chest and stood close beside Yang Qing, motionless.

The tent flap opened a crack, and an indistinct figure slipped inside.

At the same time, an almost imperceptible scent of blood drifted in on the night breeze.

As the figure entered, Bu Er shook his fire striker alight.

"What brings you here in the middle of the night?"

With his outer robe draped over his shoulders, Yang Qing sat upright on the bed and calmly regarded the figure.

The visitor removed his cloak, and that faint scent of blood surfaced again.

"Little Zhou?"

Once Yang Qing saw the visitor's face clearly, his sword-like brows knitted tightly together.

Jiang Zhizhou took a silk scroll from inside his robe and handed it to Yang Qing. "This is the intelligence I gathered after returning to Northern Liang. Those people have now shifted their target from Chen Lin to you."

"This place is fraught with danger. You shouldn't stay here long."

Yang Qing took the silk scroll from Jiang Zhizhou and read it carefully. His expression tightened.

Gripping the scroll in both hands, he paced back and forth inside the tent.

Then Yang Qing paused and turned to Bu Er. "Apply some medicine to his wounds."

Jiang Zhizhou waved a hand. "No need, no need. It's only a minor injury, nothing serious. You're the one who needs to make a decision soon."

"According to what you've written here, Northern Liang's army will be at the gates of our Yan Pass within days?"

"That's right. They're coming prepared. This time, there will be a rain of blood and a wind reeking of slaughter."

Jiang Zhizhou was still speaking, but Yang Qing's gaze had already settled on him.

He stared so intently, and for so long, that even Jiang Zhizhou, absorbed in his own thoughts, noticed something was amiss.

"Little Zhou..."

Before Yang Qing could say anything more, Jiang Zhizhou turned his face away. "I'm only doing this because I lived in Yan Prefecture for years and don't want to see it plunged into war. You don't need to thank me."

With that, he quickly turned and left the tent.

Yang Qing walked slowly outside. He stood beneath the pitch-black sky for a long while before returning to his tent.

"Bu Er, take a message to Physician Yan. Go now."

Bu Er nodded slightly, then turned and left the tent, heading toward the command tent.

By then, Yang Qing had lost all desire to sleep.

He gripped the silk scroll tightly, his lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes burning bright in the darkness.