Layla's elegant handwriting detailed Song's plan: up to thirty martial artists, recruited through each promised fifty taels of silver upon completion. The supposed target: grain shipments at the Bian docks, scheduled to arrive for inventory before the Crown Prince's birthday celebrations.

  "Arms up, Master," Xiao Qi instructed, lifting the heavy lamellar cuirass. The armor wasn't mine, it came from the central armory, still smelling of oil and leather polish. Each steel plate had been carefully lacquered black, standard issue for a grade-nine officer, though the fit was awkward on my taller frame. Incidentally it was the exact same kind of armor Wei Jin wore when I first met him. He and Wang Er had settled into their roles as Auntie Ying's assistants well, as far as Layla knows, apparently she's also been inviting Wei Jin to tea and asks me if I wanted to join them, I politely declined, and not merely because I still found it awkward to speak with Wei.

  "We are only maybe facing seven of them," I said as I put on my armor. “At least a handful are down in the south with the salt smuggle fiasco and another group doubtless guards him personally.” Or more likely were spying on Lord Feng at this point. I'm probably still fortunate that Song hasn't made a move yet, probably because he is careful now that he knows Vice Minister Feng is involved. When I reported the surveillance Lord Feng was disappointed but not surprised, a man of Song's calibre would have found out eventually, and now with the trusty Steward on patrol its unlikely anything overt would be attempted.

  That being said, Lord Feng has high hopes this grain heist will be the nail in Song's coffin. So I better not fail here.

  Xiao Qi pulled the side straps tight, his movements precise despite the concern creasing his brow. "Seven martial arts masters against twenty Wolves, Master. Even Lord Feng's men..."

  "Will be fine," I said with more confidence than I felt. I folded the report and tucked it into my belt pouch. "Besides, we just need to stop them long enough to secure the grain."

  He helped me with the helmet, its weight immediately making my neck ache. I'd tied my hair in a tight bun, but strands were already sticking to my neck with nervous sweat. As he adjusted the chin strap, Xiao Qi cleared his throat.

  "Master... may I ask you something?"

  The unusual hesitation in his voice made me look down. His ears were turning red. "Of course."

  "There's a girl," he said in a rush. "She comes to the cartography shop twice a week. Claims she's buying maps for her merchant father, but she spends most of the time asking about our techniques. Yesterday she brought me lotus seed cakes."

  I couldn't help the delighted grin that spread across my face. "Lotus seed cakes? That's practically a declaration of interest."

  "She's... she has ink stains on her fingers, Master. I think she knows how to read and write." His voice carried a note of wonder. "But I don't know how to... that is, what should I say to her?"

  For a moment, the weight of armor and impending danger lifted. This was normal, human, something from my old world that translated perfectly. "First, ask about her interests. If she likes to read, maybe suggest a book. Nothing too scholarly, maybe poetry."

  "Poetry?" His voice cracked slightly.

  "Li Bai is always safe. And Xiao Qi?" I caught his shoulder. "When she brings food next time, share it with her. Don't just thank her and eat it later. Sit together, even if it's just for a few minutes. Shared meals create intimacy."

  His face was now completely crimson, but he was nodding seriously, committing every word to memory.

  "And compliment something specific, not her beauty, that's too forward. Maybe her dedication to learning, or her choice in maps. Show you notice her as a person, not just a pretty face."

  "Yes, Master. Thank you, Master." He helped me buckle on the sword, his movements steadier now that he had something hopeful to focus on. "Please be careful."

  "I'll be back in four days," I promised, though the timeline made my stomach clench. "Keep the accounts in order. And Xiao Qi? If she mentions the upcoming festival, that's your invitation to suggest attending together."

  Trooper Meng was waiting in the courtyard with two horses, his own armor polished to a shine that made me look shabby by comparison. He'd traded his usual easy smile for professional alertness, though I caught him sneaking impressed glances at my armor.

  "Sir," he saluted crisply. "The mounts are ready. Commander Liu sends his regards and reminds you that your reports for the next week are... pre-submitted."

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  I almost laughed. Sun had been rewriting my penciled reports in proper brush and ink, creating a paper trail that placed me firmly in Chang'an for anyone checking records. That old fox had been doing this for some time, and claims his superiors refuse to read anything not in brush. At this point, he's got a solid column to include in his report for months to come. "Trooper Meng, if anyone asks, we're inspecting surplus equipment at the eastern warehouse."

  "Yes, sir. For the next four days, we'll be counting crossbow bolts very thoroughly."

  The ride to the western gathering point took an hour, the morning sun already warming the armor uncomfortably. The Feng Wolves were assembled in a drainage culvert just outside the city walls, nineteen men without armor, which would have been expressly illegal, but bearing shields and wearing thick leather hide, their faces hidden behind simple iron masks. They sat their horses with an eerie stillness.

  Their commander dismounted as we approached, removing his mask to reveal a face that belonged on an ancient bronze, all sharp angles and cold assessment. He was perhaps forty, with premature grey streaking his temples and a scar that ran from his left eyebrow into his hairline.

  "Scholar Zhang," his voice was like gravel over silk. "I am Lu Chengfeng, Third Fang Commander. The Steward informed me you would be... accompanying us."

  I did a double take. “Has your master approved your leave from peach blossom island?”

  “No… My master was from Henan and has long since passed away. Did you know him?” Lu asked, confused and I waved this line of conversation off with my hand and a shake of my head.

  "Forgive me for my mistake Commander Lu," I dismounted carefully, trying not to show how the armor was already chafing. "I've been briefed on the relay system. Four stages a day?"

  A ghost of approval flickered across his stern features. "Six stages if we push. The steppe saddles will help." He gestured to his men, who were adjusting strange, high-backed saddles with extended pommels. "We learned this from the Khitans. You can sleep without falling if you're tied properly."

  He pulled a length of silk rope from his saddlebag. "No shame in it, Scholar. Even my men use them on long pursuits. The knots release with one pull if you need to dismount quickly."

  I let him show me how to loop the rope around my waist and through iron rings on the saddle. The configuration would keep me upright even if I lost consciousness, though the thought of sleeping while galloping was incomprehensible.

  "Your man?" Lu Chengfeng looked at Trooper Meng.

  "He rides with us," I said firmly. Meng had gone pale looking at the Wolves, but his jaw was set with determination.

  "Then tie him well. We won't slow for anyone who falls." He raised his voice. "Mount up! First stage to Weinan County, two hour sprint!"

  He handed me a leather water flask and a cloth bag. "Dried meat and fruit. Eat in the saddle. Avoid too much water, we stop only to change horses."

  The first day destroyed my romantic notions about cavalry charges. Within an hour, my thighs were screaming, the armor felt like it weighed a thousand jin, and the constant pounding sent spikes of pain up my spine. The Wolves changed horses at each relay station with practiced efficiency, throwing themselves from exhausted mounts to fresh ones in single fluid motions. I needed help each time, my legs barely functioning. I'd done long road trips with my Fiancée before, but now I've really come to appreciate the comforts of a heated seat, suspension, and a windshield.

  By nightfall, I understood why Lu Chengfeng had insisted on the ropes. I dozed fitfully, jerking awake each time my body started to slide, the silk bonds the only thing keeping me mounted. Around me, the Wolves rode in shifts, five sleeping, ten alert, rotating every two hours with whispered commands.

  The second day was worse. My body had transcended pain into a state of floating disconnection. The cultivation breathing exercises helped marginally, that warm ember in my core pushing energy to my battered muscles, but it was like bailing water from a sinking ship with a teacup. Trooper Meng had stopped trying to speak, his face grey with exhaustion, though he managed to stay mounted without help.

  Lu Chengfeng rode beside me during one of the brief walking periods we allowed the horses. "You're doing better than expected, Scholar. Most officials would have demanded we stop after the first stage."

  "Most officials," I croaked through cracked lips, "aren't racing to prevent treason."

  "True." He studied the horizon where the sun was beginning its descent. "We'll reach BianZhou by full dark. The docks are two li from the relay station."

  "No rest?"

  "Would you prefer to arrive after the theft is complete?"

  Lord Feng's visage was a motivating one. "We go straight to the docks."

  The last five li to Bian were a nightmare of burning muscles and blurred vision. The city walls materialized from the darkness, torches marking the gates. We didn't enter through the main thoroughfare, Lu Chengfeng led us along a rutted canal path that skirted the walls, heading directly for the commercial docks.

  I could smell the river before I saw it, the muddy sweetness of the Yellow River mixing with tar, rotting fish, and the distinctive mustiness of grain storage. Massive warehouses loomed against the star-filled sky, their peaked roofs like mountains in silhouette. Everything was quiet except for the lap of water against the wooden pilings.

  Too quiet. Something was off

  "Weapons ready," Lu Chengfeng ordered softly. The whisper of steel clearing leather rippled through the unit. "Tight formation, warehouse by…"

  The impact drove the breath from my lungs. Something slammed into my chest with enough force to knock me back in the saddle, only the ropes keeping me mounted. I heard the sharp ring of metal on metal, felt something tumble past my leg to clatter on the cobblestones.

  Then the screaming started.

  Three Wolves cried out in unison, dark shapes toppling from their horses. One hit the ground with a wet crack that meant he wouldn't be getting up. Another crawled two paces before going still, something protruding from his neck. The third was trying to hold his stomach together, shoving something rope like back into his abdomen.

  "Ambush!" Lu Chengfeng roared leaping off his horse "Dismount and form circle!"

  I was alert now, adrenaline rushing through my veins. I yanked on the rope release on my saddle and leapt off as my exhausted horse reared in terror, and all around us, shadows detached themselves from the warehouse walls like demons given form.

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