Chapter 852: Entering the tiger's den alone, the Hongmen Banquet hides murderous intent

Sui Prefecture Governor's Office, secret chamber.

The flame of the copper oil lamp cast a swaying, uncertain shadow on the stone wall. When Zhao Chongde stood up from the tiger-skin chair, his kneecaps made an unpleasant cracking sound.

He walked to the stone door of the secret chamber, turned back, walked to the desk, and turned back again.

Back and forth, it was already the seventeenth time.

Zhou Hu stood in the corner of the secret chamber, his fingers gripping the hilt of his blade, his voice pressed extremely low.

"Governor, news from the Blood Wolf Head should have come back last night."

Zhao Chongde's footsteps stopped at the desk, his palms pressed on the surface, his knuckles turning white.

"Wait a little longer."

Zhou Hu's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Governor, the two scouts sent to meet them haven't returned either. This matter..."

Zhao Chongde slapped the desk heavily. The teacup jumped and fell back; the lid slid to the edge of the desk, hanging without falling.

"I said wait a little longer!"

The secret chamber was silent for five breaths.

Zhao Chongde's breathing slowly turned from rapid to heavy. The muscles on his scarred face tightened one by one, as if something were drilling out from his bones.

He turned around and walked to the Sui Prefecture terrain map hanging on the stone wall, his finger stopping at the location of Black Wind Pass for two breaths.

"Zhou Hu."

"Your subordinate is here."

Zhao Chongde's voice squeezed out from between his teeth, every word carrying a restlessness that had been suppressed for too long.

"Tell me, two hundred riders of the Blood Wolf Head against ten people—is it possible they flipped over?"

Zhou Hu's lips moved twice, his voice faltering by half a beat.

"Governor, two hundred against ten—even if those ten were made of iron, it's impossible..."

Before he could finish, a sound of footsteps reached the corridor outside the secret chamber, the sound of armor colliding exploding from afar all the way to the door.

The stone door was pushed open from the outside.

A scout covered in sweat stumbled in. The sound of his knees hitting the stone slab echoed twice in the secret chamber, his voice hoarse to the point of breaking.

"Governor! Something terrible has happened!"

Zhao Chongde's pupils contracted a circle.

The scout's forehead knocked against the stone slab, his voice reaching the limit of his throat.

"Chen Yan's honor guard and heavy armored cavalry have already crossed Black Wind Pass and are less than thirty li outside Sui Prefecture City!"

Zhao Chongde's fingers clenched into fists at his sides, his knuckles making a series of cracking sounds.

"How many people?"

The scout's voice trembled by three parts.

"The banner I saw from afar was the black banner of the five hundred Beiwei Death Guards, along with the Pillar of State's purple robe and gold belt honor guard."

Zhao Chongde's back pressed against the stone wall, his entire center of gravity retreating half a step. The bloodshot eyes churned with something that made even Zhou Hu feel his spine tighten.

"What about the Blood Wolf Head?"

The scout knocked his forehead against the stone slab again.

"Your subordinate found a large number of bandit corpses on the outskirts of Black Wind Pass, at least one hundred and fifty, all slaughtered within the canyon, not a single survivor."

The air in the secret chamber solidified into an iron plate after those words landed.

Zhao Chongde's lips moved twice, the color draining from his face within three breaths, turning from iron-gray to a sickening pale.

Zhou Hu's hand tightened on his hilt by three parts, his voice squeezing out from the bottom of his throat.

"Governor, the Blood Wolf Head has been wiped out. Chen Yan must already know it was us. He's here to settle the score!"

Zhao Chongde smashed his fist against the stone wall. The skin on his knuckles broke, and blood seeped out, but he didn't even look at it.

"What are you panicking about!"

He turned from the stone wall, the pale color on his scarred face suppressed within two breaths by something more intense—a ruthlessness that only emerges after being pushed into a corner.

"He brought five hundred people; I have seven thousand in my hands!"

Zhou Hu's voice grew urgent by two parts.

"Governor, but he is a Pillar of State, a Pillar State Grand General of the Court. If we move openly..."

Zhao Chongde grabbed Zhou Hu's armor collar, pulling him close until their noses were almost touching.

"Move openly? Do I look like someone that stupid?"

He released Zhou Hu's collar, turned, and walked in long strides to the desk, slapping the surface heavily.

"Pass down the order: mobilize five hundred loyal blade-and-axe executioners, all in heavy armor with sharp blades, and have them lie in wait behind the partition walls and screens of the Governor's Office main hall."

Zhou Hu's Adam's apple bobbed.

"The Governor means..."

Zhao Chongde's voice turned cold, cold enough to make the flame of the copper lamp in the secret chamber flicker twice.

"Hongmen Banquet."

He pulled a palm-sized porcelain bottle from a hidden compartment in the desk. The bottle had no markings, the mouth sealed with wax.

"This is Soft Bone Fragrance from the Western Regions, colorless and odorless. Half a cup of tea in the wine will make a person's body go limp, unable to even hold chopsticks."

He tossed the bottle to Zhou Hu.

"Put this in Chen Yan's wine. Once he drinks it and his limbs go soft, I'll throw the cup as a signal, and the five hundred axe-men will swarm out and mince him into meat paste."

Zhou Hu caught the bottle, his fingers tightening on it by two parts.

"Governor, what if he doesn't drink?"

Zhao Chongde sneered, the smile making the three scars on his face even more ferocious.

"If he doesn't drink, it doesn't matter. Five hundred heavy-armored axe-men surrounding and killing one person within three zhang—even if he's made of iron, he'll be smashed to slag."

He strode toward the stone door of the secret chamber, slapping the door frame heavily.

"Afterward, we'll say marauders attacked the city and the Pillar of State unfortunately perished. I'll personally lead troops to pursue the marauders, chase for three days without catching them, and then tearfully submit a petition of apology to the Court."

Zhou Hu's teeth ground together.

"Governor, he still has those five hundred Beiwei Death Guards outside the city..."

Zhao Chongde turned back, the bloodshot eyes burning with a fire one dared not look at.

"A snake cannot function without a head. Once Chen Yan is dead, those five hundred people will be a pile of scattered sand. I'll surround them with seven thousand men; what kind of waves can they make?"

He crossed the threshold of the stone door and strode toward the end of the corridor, the sound of armor colliding becoming more urgent with every step.

"Go, bring out my most magnificent Governor's official robes. I want to personally go to the city gate to welcome this living Yama."

His voice echoed twice at the end of the corridor, carrying a determination of burning the boats.

"I want to see just how many lives this nineteen-year-old brat really has."

Two hours later, outside Sui Prefecture City Gate.

The loess plateau at the end of autumn was bleached white by the afternoon sun, and a thin layer of dust hung over the official road outside the city gate. The gate stood wide open, with twenty armored garrison soldiers standing on each side, their long spears polished to a gleaming shine.

Zhao Chongde stood in the very center of the city gate, wearing the full official robes of the Sui Prefecture Governor—purple robes, jade belt, gold crown on his head, and an instrument blade inlaid with jewels at his waist. He was meticulously groomed from head to toe.

A smile hung on his face, warm to the extreme—a contrast with the three ferocious scars on his face that made one feel something was wrong but couldn't say what.

Zhou Hu stood half a step behind him, his fingers gripping the porcelain bottle in his sleeve, the sweat from his fingertips making the bottle slippery.

At the end of the official road, the dust was torn apart by a force.

The black iron-armored formation of the five hundred Beiwei Death Guards crushed forward from the horizon. The yellow sand kicked up by the hooves formed a curtain that blocked the sky and sun. The dull thud of iron armor colliding traveled from afar, knocking against the chest of everyone at the city gate.

Zhao Chongde's smile remained motionless, but the fingers in his sleeve tightened by two parts.

The iron-armored formation stopped three hundred paces outside the city gate.

Then, something unexpected happened.

In the center of the formation, a black steed walked slowly out of the ranks. The figure on its back, wearing purple robes and a gold belt, showed a clear silhouette in the sunlight, the hilt of the horizontal blade at his waist making a metallic clink as he jolted.

Chen Yan rode to the very front of the formation and turned back to say something to Ye Zhuxi behind him.

Ye Zhuxi's brow furrowed, her lips moving twice as if arguing something.

Chen Yan waved his hand in the air, his tone brooking no argument.

The five hundred Beiwei Death Guards stopped in place and did not follow.

Only one person remained beside Chen Yan.

Hongye.

One person, one horse, plus Hongye's chestnut horse—two horses, two people, walking slowly toward the Sui Prefecture city gate.

Zhao Chongde's pupils contracted a circle the moment he saw this, then expanded back rapidly, the arc of his mouth deepening by three parts.

Zhou Hu's voice came from behind him, pressed low enough that only two people could hear.

"Governor, he only brought one person into the city."

Zhao Chongde's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice carrying an irrepressible ecstasy.

"Heaven helps me."

He released the fingers in his sleeve and strode forward to meet them, the smile on his face warm enough to scald someone.

"The Pillar of State has graced Sui Prefecture with his presence. Your subordinate failed to welcome you from afar—a sin, a sin!"

Chen Yan reined in his horse ten paces before the city gate. The black horse's front hooves pawed the loess, the mane tossed by the horse's head sweeping into the wind.

He looked down at the burly figure with the plastered-on smile at the city gate, the curve of his lips widening by two degrees.

"Governor Zhao, quite the grand display."

Zhao Chongde walked quickly to the side of the black horse, cupping his hands high above his head, the arc of his bow just right.

"The Pillar of State jokes. Your subordinate has been looking forward to the Pillar of State in Sui Prefecture for several months. Today, finally seeing the heavenly countenance, your subordinate's heart is stirred beyond words."

Chen Yan vaulted off his horse, his boots landing on the loess, the hem of his cloak sweeping across the tips of Zhao Chongde's boots as he landed.

His gaze swept over Zhao Chongde's scarred face and then shifted to the armored garrison soldiers on both sides of the gate, his voice flat.

"Governor Zhao manages the army well; the soldiers at the city gate are quite spirited."

Zhao Chongde's smile grew warmer by three parts, his arm gesturing toward the inside of the city.

"The Pillar of State flatters me. In all these years in Sui Prefecture, your subordinate has relied on these brothers to hold up the facade—nothing compared to the tiger-wolf army you've trained in Xia Prefecture."

His gaze paused for half a breath on the figure in moon-white sleeves behind Chen Yan, his voice carrying a trace of imperceptible probing.

"Why did the Pillar of State only bring one attendant? Your subordinate has prepared fine wine and dishes in the city. The Pillar of State might as well let the brothers outside the city come in to rest their feet."

Chen Yan's finger tapped lightly on the hilt of the horizontal blade, his voice carrying a casualness that made Zhao Chongde's spine feel slightly tight.

"No need. My people will camp outside the city. I am here to inspect the military and political affairs of Sui Prefecture, not to fight a war. Why bring so many people into the city?"

A fleeting light flashed in the depths of Zhao Chongde's eyes, which he suppressed extremely quickly, the smile on his face becoming even more attentive by three parts.

"The Pillar of State is bold; your subordinate admires it. Please, please, please come in!"

He stepped aside by half a step, his arm guiding Chen Yan toward the city gate tunnel, his pace so attentive it was almost a trot.

Chen Yan strode into the city gate tunnel, the sound of his boots on the blue stone slabs echoing in the tunnel, the hem of his cloak dragging a long arc behind him.

Hongye followed three steps behind him, her hands hanging at her sides, only half an inch between her fingertips and the hilt of the short sword in her sleeve. Her calm eyes turned half a circle in the shadows of the city gate tunnel, scanning every suspicious gap on the walls on both sides.

Zhao Chongde followed on Chen Yan's left, talking incessantly about the local customs and military anecdotes of Sui Prefecture, his tone as warm as if he were entertaining a close friend he hadn't seen in years.

His right hand was behind his back, making a gesture to Zhou Hu behind him.

Five fingers, clenched into a fist, then extended.

Ready.

Sui Prefecture Governor's Office, main hall.

The display in the main hall was three parts more luxurious than the welcoming banquet at the Lingzhou Inspector's Office. The long desk was filled with exquisite dishes and fruits, the silver wine pot reflecting a soft luster in the candlelight, and the curtains on both sides were of fine Shu brocade, embroidered with patterns of landscapes, flowers, and birds.

In the open space in the center of the hall, six dancers were dancing gracefully to the sound of strings and bamboo, the thin gauze skirts raising circles of arcs as they spun, stirring the air in the hall until it was warm and cozy.

Zhao Chongde ushered Chen Yan to the main seat and sat in the guest seat on the left, his posture extremely low.

"Pillar of State, this is the best grape wine in Sui Prefecture, sent by a Western Regions merchant last autumn. Your subordinate has been reluctant to drink it, just waiting for a distinguished guest to arrive."

He personally filled a silver wine cup with the amber liquid, holding it with both hands and handing it to Chen Yan, his arms extended straight, his posture respectful to the extreme.

Chen Yan took the wine cup, his fingers turning half a circle on the rim, and brought the cup beneath his nose to sniff.

"Good wine."

He placed the wine cup on the desk in front of him, his fingers withdrawing from the rim and resting on the edge of the armrest.

Zhao Chongde's gaze paused on the wine cup for one breath, the smile on his mouth motionless.

"The Pillar of State won't taste it?"

Chen Yan leaned back into the chair, his fingers tapping on the armrest, his voice carrying a leisure that made Zhao Chongde's spine feel slightly cold.

"No rush. I have a habit: I like to chat about serious matters before drinking."

Zhao Chongde's smile stiffened for less than half a breath, then returned to its original state.

"The Pillar of State, please speak; your subordinate is all ears."

Chen Yan's gaze withdrew from the dancers and fell on Zhao Chongde's face, his voice flat, but every word was like a stone thrown into a calm water surface.

"Governor Zhao, the establishment of the Sui Prefecture camp is seven thousand men, right?"

Zhao Chongde's fingers clenched on his knees.

"Returning to the Pillar of State, exactly seven thousand."

Chen Yan's finger tapped on the armrest.

"For seven thousand men, according to the Court's allocation standard, it should be forty thousand taels of silver per month."

Zhao Chongde's Adam's apple bobbed.

"The Pillar of State is correct."

Chen Yan's voice dropped by another half, low enough that Zhao Chongde had to lean forward two inches to hear clearly.

"But my people have checked: the actual number of soldiers registered in the Sui Prefecture camp is only four thousand eight hundred. The remaining two thousand two hundred spots are empty."

The first crack finally appeared in the smile on Zhao Chongde's face.

Chen Yan's finger lifted from the armrest and pointed toward Zhao Chongde.

"Two thousand two hundred empty pay spots, eating up thirteen thousand taels of silver per month. Over twelve years, Governor Zhao, how much silver have you eaten from the Court?"

A layer of fine sweat beads seeped out on Zhao Chongde's forehead, but his voice remained steady.

"Pillar of State, there are some misunderstandings here. Sui Prefecture is located on the frontier, and the turnover of soldiers is high. Some brothers died in battle and couldn't be removed from the register in time..."

Chen Yan interrupted him.

"Died in battle and couldn't be removed from the register in time?"

His voice carried a trace of a smile that made Zhao Chongde's spine feel a chill.

"Governor Zhao, among those seven thousand men under your command, three thousand are your direct line brought from your hometown. These three thousand haven't died a single one in twelve years—they are quite capable of living."

Zhao Chongde's fingers clenched on his knees until his knuckles made a slight cracking sound. Sweat beads on his forehead flowed down his temples, soaking into the collar of his purple robes.

Chen Yan shifted his gaze from his face to the silver cup filled with amber liquid on the desk, his finger lightly tracing an arc on the rim.

"Governor Zhao, do you think this wine is good?"

Zhao Chongde's voice strained by half a beat.

"Good, of course it's good."

Chen Yan's mouth twitched.

"Then Governor Zhao, will you taste a mouthful for me first?"

Zhao Chongde's fingers paused on his knees for one breath, then he smiled, extremely naturally.

"The Pillar of State jokes. There is no reason for the host to drink the guest's wine first."

Chen Yan didn't answer, his finger tracing another circle on the rim of the wine cup, his voice light as if talking to himself.

"True, my rules are indeed a bit much."

He picked up the wine cup and brought it to his lips, the rim stopping for one breath against his lower lip.

Zhao Chongde's gaze was nailed to the wine cup, his pupils churning with an irrepressible anticipation.

Chen Yan's lips touched the rim, then he put the wine cup back.

He didn't drink.

Zhao Chongde's brow twitched.

When Chen Yan put the wine cup back on the desk, the temperature in his voice dropped by another three parts.

"Governor Zhao, I will ask you one more thing."

Zhao Chongde's smile was already a bit difficult to maintain, his voice carrying a trace of imperceptible tremor as it squeezed from his throat.

"The Pillar of State, please ask."

Chen Yan's fingers withdrew from the wine cup and tucked into the side seam of his cloak, his voice as flat as a stagnant pool.

"That canyon at Black Wind Pass—how many times has Governor Zhao walked through it?"

Zhao Chongde's pupils contracted to two pinpricks the moment those five words landed.

His voice stuck for a beat, then caught up extremely quickly.

"Black Wind Pass? Your subordinate has of course walked through it. It is the only way from Sui Prefecture to Lingzhou. Your subordinate walks that road every year when patrolling the border."

The arc of Chen Yan's mouth deepened by another two parts.

"Is that so? Then does Governor Zhao know that a major event happened at Black Wind Pass three days ago?"

Zhao Chongde's fingers clenched on his knees until his knuckles made a series of cracking sounds, but the smile still hung on his face, though the edges of the smile had begun to stiffen.

"What major event? Your subordinate has been in the office handling official business these past few days and hasn't had time to hear about it."

Chen Yan looked at him, the things churning in those eyes reflected in the candlelight, making Zhao Chongde feel as if he were being watched by a venomous snake coiled in the shadows.

"Haven't heard?"

Chen Yan's fingers withdrew from the side seam of his cloak and slowly reached into his sleeve.

"Then I will let Governor Zhao hear about it."

Zhao Chongde's back pressed against the chair, his entire body's muscles tightening to the limit at the same instant.

His right hand moved slightly in his sleeve, making half a gesture toward the screen.

Ready to act.

Chen Yan pulled his hand from his sleeve.

There was something extra in his hand.

That thing was slapped onto the desk with a "clack," the sound of metal colliding with red wood exploding in the main hall, drowning out the string and bamboo music and the dancers' footsteps.

A horizontal blade lay on the desk.

The blade was two inches longer than an ordinary curved blade, the spine a fraction thicker, the unique folded forging pattern on the edge reflecting a dense, wavy dark pattern in the candlelight.

There were dried bloodstains on the blade, the dark brown blood scabs reflecting a luster that made one's stomach churn in the candlelight.

The area on the hilt that had been repeatedly polished by a file—the outline of the indentation was clear in the candlelight.

The moment Zhao Chongde's gaze fell on that blade, he felt as if he had been drenched by a bucket of ice water poured from the nine heavens.

The smile he had maintained for two full hours shattered into slag within that breath.

Chen Yan leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tracing a line along the spine of the horizontal blade, his voice light as if saying a final goodbye to a dying man.

"Sui Prefecture Weaponry Bureau, twelve-layer folded forging, fine steel blade that just came out last month."

His gaze lifted from the blade and fell on Zhao Chongde's face, which no longer had a trace of blood.

"Governor Zhao, do you want to explain to me why the military blades of your Sui Prefecture Weaponry Bureau appeared in the hands of the horse bandits at Black Wind Pass?" ===== CHAPTER 853 =====