Chapter Sixteen: Wen Huan Travels to Yangzhou

After Feng Tong slunk away, Xu You noticed the resentment glimmering in the eyes of the soldiers around him. He smiled faintly, choosing not to exploit the incident or fan the flames. In the end, Feng Tong was nothing more than a lackey of the Yuan family; these men had only limited respect for him, but their loyalty to the Yuans was beyond question. For Xu You, sowing discord between his men and Feng Tong would bring neither short-term benefit nor long-term gain. What purpose would such a fruitless endeavor serve?

A losing venture could still be worth pursuing if the loss today paved the way for tomorrow’s profit—that was the first lesson he had learned upon entering the world of private investment.

“My lord,” Zuo Min ventured, “there’s something I still don’t understand. In this assassination, only Slayer and Moon appeared. What of Flight and Shadow? Are they truly lurking in the darkness, lying in wait?”

With his hands clasped behind his back, Xu You watched as the helmsman gathered the frightened trackers who had scattered during the bloodshed. The massive vessel rumbled to life once more, driven forward by their impassioned shouts. In a low voice, he replied, “That question concerns me as well. At present, there are two possibilities. First, Flight and Shadow may simply not be here. Second, those two could be cowards who, seeing Slayer and Moon fall into a trap, abandoned them to save themselves.”

Zuo Min shook his head. “From what I’ve seen, Flight possesses courage. He doesn’t seem the type to forsake his comrades for his own safety.”

“Then only one possibility remains: Flight and Shadow, for some reason, could not arrive in time, leaving only Slayer and Moon to tail us.” Xu You spoke with calm assurance, as though everything was within his grasp. His measured words carried a subtle but powerful persuasiveness, convincing his audience almost in spite of themselves. “As General Deng surmised, the first arrow Moon fired was meant to force us to halt for the night at Bamboo Pier, rather than continue our journey in the darkness. The advantage is obvious—launching an attack at the pier is far easier than striking on open water. More importantly, perhaps, Flight and Shadow needed time to reach Bamboo Pier. By compelling us to stop there for the night, they created just the window they required.”

Enlightenment dawned on Zuo Min’s face. “Hearing your analysis, my doubts are dispelled. Yet there is another possibility: what if the Four Archers split into two groups—Slayer and Moon following our boat, while Flight and Shadow were already at Bamboo Pier, laying their trap?”

Xu You smiled. “If that were the case, Shadow would be a better tracker than Slayer, and the two would not have fought so desperately to kill me before the boat left Scarlet Leaf Shoal. If my guess is correct, Flight and Shadow are neither here nor at Bamboo Pier, but not far off—within a hundred li, preoccupied by some urgent matter. That’s why they failed to arrive in time.”

Zuo Min was taken aback. “Within a hundred li? How can you be so sure, my lord?”

Xu You glanced at him. “From Scarlet Leaf Shoal to the north, the terrain is flat and unobstructed. The signal fire Slayer set off could easily be seen for a hundred li or more.”

Zuo Min flushed, finally realizing why Xu You’s gaze had seemed so odd. It was an embarrassingly foolish question. But he could hardly be blamed—ever since Xu You had assumed command, displaying remarkable skill in planning, strategy, and coordination, Zuo Min had grown accustomed to following orders, his own initiative gradually waning. This was how he had come to make such a novice’s mistake.

Yet he was far from slow-witted. Recovering quickly, he caught the implication in Xu You’s words and felt a chill. “My lord, are you saying that we may yet encounter Flight and Shadow ahead?”

Staring out at the river, Xu You watched as the boat shuddered under the current’s might, steadied, and then glided smoothly forward. They had safely passed through Scarlet Leaf Shoal.

“Slayer, upon seeing Moon’s corpse, chose to fight to the death rather than seize the chance to flee. With both bodies in our possession, I doubt Flight, as the senior of the Four Archers, would be so heartless as to abandon them.”

It was a logical inference. With Slayer’s skills, he might not have been able to kill Xu You under heavy guard, but escape would have been easy enough. Yet, lured by Deng Tao’s threat to desecrate Moon’s corpse, he opted to fight to the end. It showed that, regardless of good or evil, as long as a person was not entirely devoid of humanity, there would always remain a sliver of tenderness in their heart.

And for a master manipulator like the Fox Marshal, such hidden tenderness was the very reason the Four Archers would meet their downfall.

Utterly convinced, Zuo Min exclaimed, “My lord, you truly possess the talent of the Marquis of Liu!”

The Marquis of Liu, Zhang Liang, was a byword for worldly wisdom. Xu You shot him a sidelong glance and joked, “General, flattery is beneath your dignity.”

Zuo Min blinked. “What is this ‘flattery’ you speak of?”

Xu You was momentarily at a loss, uncertain whether the phrase dated back only to the Song dynasty. He improvised, “You’ve never heard the tale? In the Wei Kingdom, there was a Chief Historian named Ding. He so fawned over his superior, the Provincial Governor, that at a banquet, seeing the Governor’s long beard stained with rice, he wiped it clean by hand. The Governor mocked him, saying, ‘Chief Historian, you are a great official of the province, a judge of men’s worth, a master of debate and reputation, and you can impeach the highest officials—yet you stoop to brush your superior’s beard?’ Thus the term ‘flattering the beard’ was born. As for ‘patting the horse,’ that’s a northern custom. Northerners ride horses, and the finer the steed, the greater the prestige. So when subordinates meet their superiors, they pat the horse’s rump and praise its grandeur. Put the two together, and you have ‘flattering the beard and patting the horse.’”

Though a man of arms, Zuo Min was also literate, yet he had never heard such an anecdote. He repeated the phrase to himself, then laughed. “My lord, your wit in conversation is surely a match for Yu Fahui, the ‘White Colt of the Empty Valley.’”

Yu Fahui?

Xu You recalled that in the history of his former world, there was a Wang Xun, styled Fahui, of the Eastern Jin. But in this era, everything had changed, and the memories he had absorbed contained not a word about any Yu Fahui. Clearly, the body’s previous owner had cared little for anything beyond martial arts. Now, however, was not the time for investigation. He replied, “You flatter me, General. I am but a soldier like yourself, a coarse soul compared to those famed orators.”

Zuo Min, realizing he had overstepped, fell silent. No matter how illustrious the Xu family had once been, now Xu You was but a commoner. Comparing him to the rising stars of the Yingchuan Yu clan was, perhaps, indeed presumptuous. He said no more, standing quietly behind Xu You.

The two men stood at the prow, watching as the slanting sun set the riverside maples ablaze. From somewhere on the wind came a lilting melody:

“Heard joy descends to Yangzhou,
I see you off at Chu Mountain’s brow.
You reach out, embrace me so—
The river’s waters refuse to flow.”

Among the people east of the Yangtze, folk songs are divided into Wu songs and Western ballads, most of them delicate and lingering love songs. This was the most popular Western ballad of the day, with its five-character lines, sung again and again, drifting over the shimmering waters and soothing the soul.

“I wonder which maiden is yearning for love tonight,” Zuo Min remarked, glancing back toward the cluster of boats barred from passage, whence the singing floated.

In the wild grows a slain deer, wrapped in white grass. There is a maiden yearning for love, and a worthy man woos her.

It was autumn, and yet there was a touch of spring in the air. Xu You smiled quietly, and for some reason, the hazy image of that mysterious woman arose once more in his mind.