Either way, in two days I’d have to go and die by Tu Hama’s hand. Of course, I won’t go down without a fight. If it comes to it, I’ll try to run… but who knows how that will end, Zhang Min reasoned silently. At least I should warn them I’m leaving, abandoning them here alone.

  “In two days, I’ll be leaving the fortress…” he finally said.

  “Wha-at?”

  “For how long? Will you come back?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What will happen to us?” the girls exchanged worried glances.

  “Take us with you! Please! Don’t abandon us here!” the eldest begged, collapsing to her knees.

  “I can’t. I won’t be going alone.”

  “Then why hide us here in the first place? You should’ve just let us die!” She reached toward his clothes but froze halfway, remembering how he had killed a bandit with a pickaxe. Trembling, she sank to the floor. “Just… kill us now. At least we won’t suffer.”

  “I…” Zhang Min’s voice broke.

  He suddenly wanted to apologize, to explain everything, but the words stuck in his throat. Unable to bear their tears, Zhang Min climbed out of the hideout into the night air. Never before had he felt so miserable. Even when assassins were sent after him, when he was framed, or beaten day after day, his soul had remained calm. But now, abandoning three girls to their fate, it felt as though he had carved out his own heart.

  “Don’t be weak,” he muttered to himself. “Life’s full of hard choices. This won’t be the first, and it won’t be the last. Remember what kind of world you live in now.”

  Without thinking, he slung the sack of leftover junk from the corner of the old shed over his shoulder and stepped outside. These were the items he’d set aside earlier, too worthless to store in the shelter and just taking up space. He planned to give them to Lin Bo.

  Night on the mountain was never truly silent. The wind whispered through the trees, night birds called from the thickets, and insects chirped in the grass. Zhang Min stood motionless in the field of weeds before the shed, his face lifted to the wind. His feet felt rooted to the earth, refusing to move.

  “I’ve still got two days to decide. Either the girls and I take the risk together… or I risk escaping on my own,” he muttered, lifting his hand as if trying to grasp the stars. “Ha. The sky’s laughably high.”

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  Suddenly, a soft chuckle came from behind him. Zhang Min spun around, sword clanging free of its sheath. Through the weeds, a figure approached with calm, steady steps a sword swaying at his hip. Sweat ran down Zhang Min’s back, his brows furrowed. He was about to strike when the stranger spoke.

  “Going somewhere far?”

  “Huh? Lao Yu? That you?” Zhang Min recognized him.

  “Yeah. Expecting someone else?” The shaggy drunk stopped twenty paces away.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “And you? Out for a stroll? Bringing a lot with you, I see. Where’d you get all that? A whole sack of loot! Hah! No need to answer, I saw your little performance at the warehouse yesterday.”

  “You’ve been following me? Since when?”

  “Hmm…” Lao Yu tapped his chin theatrically. “Since yesterday?”

  “I see…” Zhang Min tightened his grip on the sword and slid one foot forward.

  “Hey! You planning to attack me? I thought we were friends?”

  “What exactly did you see?”

  “Only you robbing the warehouse,” Lao Yu raised an eyebrow. “Was I supposed to see something else?”

  “What do you want?”

  “Eh, I came as a friend, and you’re threatening me… hurts my feelings,” the scruffy rogue sniffled in mock offense.

  “Out with it,” Zhang Min sheathed his weapon. “And keep your voice down.” He glanced around.

  “Then half that sack behind you is mine.”

  “Fine. Talk.”

  “No need to run off. In two days, the entire Brown Boar unit’s leaving the fort, not just Tu Hama’s men. Together you’ll travel as far as Shensi, then split up later,” Lao Yu said. “Three days on the road under Commander Tan Gui’s watch. No one will dare start a fight…”

  “How long have you known? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Zhang Min hissed, eyes wide.

  “Slipped my mind,” the shaggy rogue shrugged. “Oh! You’ve been so busy you probably didn’t notice—Tu Hama’s men have set up camp outside the fort. I think they’re hunting… certain rats who might try to escape at the last minute.” Lao Yu scratched his nose. “A couple of his guys have been hanging around near the stables for days. How’d you miss them?”

  “Damn it… so there’s no way out!”

  “So you really were planning to run?”

  “No.”

  “Well, good then. Worked out nicely, huh?” Lao Yu squinted slyly. “If you’d run, you’d be defying Tan Gui’s orders. And he doesn’t forgive that.” The hairy drunk dragged a finger across his neck. “They’d chase you all over the mountain like a rabbit. Heh-heh.”

  “Couldn’t be worse,” Zhang Min muttered, lowering his head in thought.

  Taking a sip from his gourd flask, Lao Yu watched him wrestle with his conscience but didn’t rush him. His tangled hair swayed in the wind, and a satisfied grin spread across his face. It had been a long time since the dull fortress had provided such entertainment. Ever since the newcomer and those four peasants arrived, the stagnant swamp had finally begun to stir.

  “You know, I never believed in fate or destiny,” Zhang Min said at last, lifting his head. “But now, maybe they’re trying to tell me something. It’s too early to give up. Right? Let’s see what fate has in store for me.”

  He strode back into the shed where he’d left the sack, then headed toward the pigsties.

  “Heh-heh-heh! What a guy!” the old bandit chuckled. “Without him, this place would be far too dull! Who else would’ve thought to argue with Hama, start fights all over the fortress, steal whole baskets of eggs or even rob a warehouse! I love this kid! Heh-heh-heh!” Then, catching himself, he shouted after him, “Hey! Mind if I take a look at what’s in the sack?

  “Do what you want, just put it back after,” Zhang Min called over his shoulder.