Vortex of a Shadow War

In the darkness, four cargo boats drifted downstream, their lights swaying.

Yang Ge lay behind a small mound, staring unblinkingly at the shimmering river. His mouth felt parched, and sweat kept seeping from his palms.

"Sir, try to relax."

Fang Ke crouched beside Yang Ge and tied a strip of white cloth around his arm. Hearing his heartbeat racing like a drum, he softened his voice and offered a quiet reminder. "Take a few deep breaths and let them out slowly. Don't grip your weapon too tightly, either. That can hurt the web of your hand and your wrist."

"Once the fighting starts, don't move too fast or too slowly. Stay with our brothers and push forward together. Don't panic if you run into an expert. We have more of those than they do."

Seeing how composed he was, Yang Ge said sheepishly, "I've made a fool of myself."

Fang Ke smiled. "It's perfectly normal to be nervous on your first mission, sir. On my first mission, I was so scared I nearly wet my trousers."

Yang Ge knew he was trying to reassure him, so he joked in return. "Actually, I need to piss right now, too... Wait, why have the boats stopped? Have we been discovered?"

Fang Ke turned to glance at them and casually brought his Ox-Tail Saber around in front of him. His expression remained calm. "That's normal. In our line of work, how could it ever be easy to get something done smoothly without a single hitch?"

Looking at Fang Ke's young face, barely past twenty, Yang Ge could not quite describe what he felt.

The four cargo boats stopped on the river, rocking with the current. A moment later, an aged yet powerful voice rang out. "May I ask what line of business our friends are in, playing tricks on the Xie Family like this? The night wind is bitterly cold. Why not come aboard for a cup of hot tea and a chat?"

The voice was like muffled thunder, commanding without anger, brimming with the confidence of a great household.

The next instant, a light chuckle came from the opposite bank. "We of the Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn't dare drink the Xie Family's tea. If word got out, the Censorate would impeach us again for colluding with the meritorious nobles-wolves and jackals hunting together, wallowing in the same filth!"

Though his tone was light, his voice boomed like thunder as well. Invisible waves of sound seemed to roll outward, battering aside the night wind.

Yang Ge recognized Shen Fa's voice.

The instant those words fell, figures began darting back and forth aboard the four cargo boats. Even from far away, Yang Ge could hear the rapid, dense thudding of feet on the wooden decks.

Soon, however, the hurried footsteps subsided. The aged voice spoke again at just the right moment, with a little more laughter than before. "Forgive this old man his failing senses. Which lord do I have the honor of addressing?"

Shen Fa's light chuckle sounded again. "Fourth Master Xie, we both know what's going on. Stop pretending to be confused when you understand perfectly well. Now that I've laid it out, do you really think you can laugh your way out of tonight's business?"

The aged voice laughed amiably. "So it's my worthy nephew of the Shen family. Your fourth uncle's hearing must be failing. But might there be some misunderstanding tonight? Even if the Xie Family has transported a little cargo it shouldn't have, surely that hardly warrants troubling you to come in person!"

Shen Fa replied with interest, "Finally getting scared? It's not too late. Come back to the capital with me without making trouble, and perhaps you'll still get another chance to hear me call you Fourth Uncle. But if you insist on following this road into the dark... I'm afraid no one will be able to fish your Xie Family out!"

The aged voice sounded utterly bewildered. "What are you saying, nephew? We're branches sprouting from the same root. Naturally, your fourth uncle trusts you completely... But surely you must tell me what all this commotion tonight is about?"

Shen Fa heaved a deep sigh. "Why do you people never shed a tear until you see the coffin? Would the Embroidered Uniform Guard dare move against you without ironclad proof? Since I'm here, that means the matter has already been nailed shut. Your only choice now is whether your entire Xie Family household will hold out to the bitter end, or whether you'll confess everything and let everyone take their share of the beating... Weigh the consequences very carefully. One more step, and you'll be at the gates of hell!"

The verbal clash and battle of wits between the old man and the young man drew blood with every stroke, striking not merely to kill, but to pierce the heart.

On the riverbank, Yang Ge, who had finally understood the drama he was watching, completely lost his composure!

He was no fool. Shen Fa and that Fourth Master Xie were practically playing with their cards faceup. How could he fail to realize that he had been dragged into the vortex of a shadow war between Great Wei and the Tartars, between the emperor and the great clans?

This was a millstone of flesh and blood where even the powerful could have all nine branches of their kin wiped off the board with one careless move. Was it something a common nobody like him could meddle in?

If things blew up later, what choice would he have but to follow Shen Fa down this road into the dark?

Fine, fine, fine. So this is how you make me pledge my loyalty, Shen Fa?

Furious at his own foolishness, he slapped himself. Even Little Yellow knows not to trust strangers. At your age, how can you still have less sense than a dog?

While Yang Ge wrestled with regret and resentment,

the confrontation on the river took another turn.

There was a bang.

A burly man in a short hemp outfit, dressed as a boatman, smashed through the cabin of one cargo boat and shot into the air. In a strange, heavily nasal accent, he roared, "You damned coward! Even now, do you think killing me will cover up your filthy dealings with the Grasslands? Kill all these Flower Dogs together! That's the only way any of us will survive!"

The brute certainly had quick wits, but before he could finish, another figure burst through the cabin and silently struck at him with both bare palms.

The burly man twisted aside. His attacker's palm struck empty air, and a tiger's roar rang out. With a boom, the calm river exploded, sending spray more than ten feet high!

The instant the second figure burst out of the cabin, Shen Fa shouted from the opposite bank, "Attack!"

Countless torches flared to life at once, lighting the dark river brightly.

Immediately afterward, a mass of figures rushed out, flinging square wooden boards across the river like skipping stones.

Then dozens of agile figures charged forward together, gleaming long sabers in hand. Stepping on the boards floating on the river, they sped toward the four cargo boats.

"Sir, it's our turn!"

While Yang Ge was still staring at the string of changes on the river, torn with indecision, Fang Ke, lying beside him, had already seized his gleaming saber, sprung up, and raced away.

"Fuck!"

Yang Ge angrily slapped himself again, then sprang up with his great axe. In a few strides, he swept across the riverbank and caught up with Fang Ke.

He knew a huge pit lay before him.

He also knew that anyone who jumped into a pit while knowing it was there must have a few holes in his head.

But he knew better still that sometimes even the wrong choice was better than making no choice at all.

Just like now...

Choose wrong, and he would be caught in the vortex of the shadow war between Great Wei and the Tartars, between the emperor and the great clans, with no control over his own fate from then on.

But refusing to choose would not necessarily free him from this great vortex, either-and he would also lose whatever value he held in Shen Fa's eyes.

There'll be another chapter later~