The clappers marking the end of work had sounded three rounds, and the fires in the Craftsmen's Camp gradually went out.
Qin Tiexin scooped a dipper of water from the vat and scrubbed his face with it. The cold water jolted him awake, and only then did the hammering rhythms in his head fade a little-the Layered Edge Technique demanded precise points of impact, heavy and light blows overlapping. He had practiced in the Void Realm until well past midnight, and his wrists still ached.
"Tiexin."
Zhou Cang came out of the inner room, carrying a cloth bundle. "Did you understand what I taught today?"
"More or less," Qin Tiexin said honestly. "It's just the third strike. I can never quite find where to land it."
"That's wrist work." Zhou Cang squeezed around his wrist bone. "You need practice."
As they spoke, hoofbeats sounded outside the courtyard gate. Urgent and close together, nothing like an ordinary camp patrol.
Both men turned their heads.
The gate swung open, and Clerk Wang hurried in, his expression tense. "Master Zhou, Tiexin, quick, come to the front courtyard."
"What happened?"
"General Li is here. He asked for you by name."
Zhou Cang's brows twitched, but he said nothing. Qin Tiexin put down the dipper and followed him out.
Li Zhenwei stood in the front courtyard in a somewhat worn cloak. Two personal guards stood behind him, their backs ramrod straight. Clerk Wang attended him with a smile, sweat at his temples.
"Sir, this is Qin Tiexin."
Li Zhenwei turned around. He was thinner than when they had met last year, his eyes more sunken, but his gaze was brighter. He looked Qin Tiexin up and down and nodded. "You've grown taller again."
"General Li."
"Settled in here?"
"Yes."
"Getting enough to eat?"
"Yes."
It was still the same exchange of questions and answers. Li Zhenwei seemed used to it. He turned to Clerk Wang. "Let's talk inside."
They entered the main room and closed the door. Li Zhenwei took an iron token from inside his robe, dark and heavy-looking, and set it on the table.
"I need to borrow a man," he said. "Qin Tiexin. This concerns military affairs. I can't discuss the details."
Clerk Wang rubbed his hands. "General, Tiexin is learning some important craft skills right now. Having him leave so suddenly..."
"The grand general's orders," Li Zhenwei cut in.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Li Zhenwei looked at Qin Tiexin. "The army is selecting a group of men to form a new force. Men who can endure hardship and have a solid foundation." He paused. "Do you want to come?"
Qin Tiexin looked at the iron token on the table. Its corners had been worn smooth, and a tiger pattern was deeply engraved in its center.
He thought for a while.
"If I go, can I still come back to forge iron?"
The corners of Li Zhenwei's mouth lifted slightly, almost a smile, but not quite. "Anytime. But you have to stay alive."
"Then I'll go."
And just like that, it was settled. Li Zhenwei added a few instructions about secrecy, saying they should tell outsiders only that Qin Tiexin had been transferred elsewhere to help with work and would return in seven or eight days. Clerk Wang agreed repeatedly. Zhou Cang had not spoken the entire time. He squatted outside the threshold, rolling tobacco leaves.
"Midnight sharp, at the foot of West Mountain outside the city," Li Zhenwei finally told Qin Tiexin. "Someone will meet you. Travel light. Just bring what you need."
By the time the hoofbeats faded into the distance, dusk had fallen.
Qin Tiexin returned to his room to pack. Two changes of clothes, and two extra pairs of socks. He wrapped the notebook in oiled paper and tucked it inside his robe. He lifted Edgeless from the corner, wrapped it in coarse cloth, and retied the carrying straps. There was a small cloth pouch beneath his bed boards, holding several dozen copper coins he had saved. He took that too.
Just as he was about to leave, Zhou Cang came in.
He tossed over a small leather pouch, made of deerskin, somewhat worn, its opening tied with a thin cord.
"Three knives inside," Zhou Cang said. "I forged them to try things out. Each was quenched differently. Figure them out yourself."
Qin Tiexin caught it. It was heavy. He went to the wooden chest by the wall, opened it, and took out two jars of wine. Coarse earthenware jars sealed with red paper, nothing fine.
He handed them to Zhou Cang.
"Drink less," Qin Tiexin said.
Zhou Cang stared at the two jars, his Adam's apple bobbing. He took them, cradled them against his chest, and turned to leave. At the doorway, his steps paused.
"Be careful."
"Mm."
A quarter of an hour before midnight, Qin Tiexin left the Craftsmen's Camp.
The streets were empty. Wind swept through the alleys, making the hem of his clothes flap and rustle. He walked at an unhurried pace, Edgeless swaying gently on his back with each step. He had long since grown used to its weight.
There was a stand of mixed trees at the foot of West Mountain. As he approached, he saw a figure ahead, also carrying a bundle on his back.
The man heard his footsteps and turned.
It was Lin Feng.
Both paused in surprise. Lin Feng spoke first. "Brother Qin?"
"You're coming too?"
"General Li asked for me by name." As Lin Feng spoke, his gaze fell on the long object on Qin Tiexin's back. "That's..."
Qin Tiexin loosened the coarse cloth a little, revealing the dark hilt and a section of the blade.
Lin Feng's eyes widened. "At that size... can you wield it?"
"I can."
Lin Feng swallowed and asked no more. Just then, a man emerged from the trees, carrying a windproof lantern that cast a dim yellow glow.
"Qin Tiexin? Lin Feng?"
"Yes."
"Follow me."
The man turned and headed into the woods. Qin Tiexin and Lin Feng exchanged a glance and followed.
The path grew narrower, the trees denser, and loose stones and rotting leaves covered the ground. About a quarter of an hour later, two rock faces appeared ahead, with a narrow gap between them. Beyond the gap lay a valley.
More than a dozen men had already gathered in the valley. Some talked quietly in groups of three or five; others sat alone against the rock walls. Firelight shone from several tents, illuminating young faces.
Qin Tiexin found a flat rock and sat down, setting Edgeless upright beside him. Lin Feng sat next to him, hugging his knees.
More men arrived one after another. All were young or in their prime, tall and short, fat and thin, but all had hard gazes. No one raised his voice. Only murmurs and footsteps sounded in the valley.
When everyone had arrived, a pale blue-white had just begun to show at the edge of the sky.
Li Zhenwei emerged from the central tent and stepped onto a jutting rock in the valley.
"Form ranks."
The crowd stirred and quickly formed several rows. Qin Tiexin stood in the middle of the second row, with Lin Feng on his left.
"You don't need to know what you've come here to do." Li Zhenwei swept his gaze over them. "Pass, and you'll find out. Right now, your only task is to pass the selection."
He paused.
"The training here offers nothing but cruelty. Now that you've come, there's no turning back. Of the hundred of you, no more than fifty will remain."
Someone drew a sharp breath.
"Now, each of you will fill the pack in front of you with stones from the valley." Li Zhenwei pointed at the dusty gray packs on the ground. "You have four hours. Start here and cross the entire mountain. There's a camp on the other side. Anyone who fails to arrive or loses his way is eliminated."
With that, he stepped down from the rock and swung onto his horse. Several officers followed close behind, their hoofbeats clattering as they swiftly disappeared through the valley entrance.
The valley was silent for a moment.
Then someone cursed and bent to grab a pack. Only then did the others move. No one spoke; they simply filled their packs with stones.
Qin Tiexin hefted his. Filled, it weighed about sixty jin. He shouldered it and adjusted the straps-not heavy, considering he also had Edgeless on his back.
Lin Feng had shouldered his too and seemed to find it effortless.
They left the valley one behind the other. The daylight had brightened a little, enough to see the mountain path winding upward and disappearing deep into the woods.
Qin Tiexin strode forward. His legs were long and his steps steady, the weight on his back seemingly having no effect. Lin Feng kept beside him, breathing evenly and never falling a step behind.
The mountain path grew steeper. In places, they had to use both hands and feet. Qin Tiexin caught a rocky ridge and pushed off with his foot, hauling himself up. When he looked back, Lin Feng had already followed, his movements light and deft, gaining leverage with just a touch of his hand against the stone.
After about two hours, they crossed the first ridge. A thin sheen of sweat covered Qin Tiexin's forehead. He wiped it away and looked at Lin Feng.
Lin Feng's face was completely clear, without a single drop of sweat. His breathing remained even, as though he were walking on level ground.
Qin Tiexin said nothing and continued forward.
The descent was even harder, with loose stones that made it easy to slip. Qin Tiexin walked carefully, planting each step firmly. Beside him, Lin Feng moved lightly and nimbly, the loose stones making almost no sound beneath his feet.
Another hour later, they caught sight of the camp.
Several tents stood on level ground at the foot of the mountain, beside a small stream. Li Zhenwei sat on a rock by the stream, reading a register. He glanced up at them, then lowered his head again.
Qin Tiexin entered the camp and took off his pack. Lin Feng arrived too.
The others arrived one after another, all drenched in sweat and panting like oxen. Some collapsed onto the ground as soon as they arrived; others rushed to the stream and gulped down water.
As the four hours neared their end, eighty-two men had reached the camp. The rest had yet to arrive.
Li Zhenwei closed the register and stood.
"Those who haven't arrived are eliminated," he said. "Rest for a quarter of an hour. Then the next test."
Qin Tiexin sat on his pack and looked up at the sky. Dawn was only just breaking, morning light seeping from behind the ridge and staining the sky a pale gold.
He touched the leather pouch at his waist, then looked at Lin Feng.
Lin Feng was brushing bits of grass from his trouser legs, neither hurried nor slow.
The selection had only just begun.