That day, the party reached a remote relay station. Its gray walls and black-tiled roof, with limp banners hanging from their poles, exuded a desolate air in the fading light.
The area was sparsely populated, and the station master was an old man who knew little of the outside world.
After negotiating with the station master, Constable Wang paid the price of twenty copper coins and ten strips of dried fish before he was allowed to let the party rest temporarily in the abandoned stables and on the vacant ground surrounding the relay station.
Everyone collapsed where they stood, as though their bones had fallen apart. They barely even had the strength to speak.
Yet not long after they had settled down, an unusual burst of hoofbeats suddenly rang out beyond the station.
The faint tremors beneath their feet showed that there were many riders, and that they were approaching at astonishing speed.
Constable Wang rose with one hand on his saber and leaned out to look.
At the end of the imperial road, clouds of dust billowed as an elite cavalry unit came charging toward them at full gallop. Clad in black armor and flying black banners, they tore through the vast twilight like a bolt of lightning splitting the heavens and earth.
Their icy, murderous presence instantly dispelled the relay station’s gloom and desolation.
The unit arrived in the blink of an eye and came to a violent halt outside the station’s crumbling gate.
The fine steeds neighed and reared onto their hind legs.
Every rider wore dark iron armor, carried a powerful bow on his back, and bore a standard-issue saber at his waist. Their faces beneath their helmets were as hard and cold as iron, while the warhorses beneath them were magnificent, snorting clouds of searing white breath.
A banner as black as ink flew above them, embroidered with the fearsome mythical beast Bian.
“The Black Armored Guard!” Zhang Dapeng cried out, his voice filled with uncontrollable fear.
The Black Armored Guard was the emperor’s personal guard. They were responsible for guarding the imperial carriage, conducting patrols and arrests, and even overseeing the empire’s officials. Wherever they went, it was as though the emperor himself had arrived.
Why would they appear on this desolate road to exile?
The man at the head of the unit wore a dark cloak and was covered in dust from the journey.
He pushed back his hood, revealing a face that appeared to belong to a man of thirty-five or thirty-six, his gaze as sharp as an eagle’s.
He swung down from his horse. His black armor rang with every movement, and his actions were swift and graceful.
Constable Wang’s expression changed dramatically. He hurriedly straightened his clothes and ran forward to greet him, bowing deeply.
“My lord, I am Wang Zhen, a constable of the Jingzhao Prefecture. I have been ordered to escort the Zhan family’s exiles to the northern frontier. May I ask what brings you here?”
The man drew a black iron token from inside his robes. His voice was hard, like iron striking iron.
“I am Zhou Yan, commander of the Black Armored Guard. I have been ordered by His Majesty to investigate a case.”
His keen eyes swept over Constable Wang, then passed beyond him to the group of exiles in tattered clothing and fearful faces. At last, his gaze lingered for a moment on Zhan Haoting, who was leaning against a stable post. Even battered, wounded, and fallen on hard times, he still possessed an unmistakably upright bearing. Zhou Yan’s eyes then shifted briefly to Cheng Yao beside him.
His expression unreadable, he raised a hand.
“Constable Wang, come speak with me.”
Constable Wang did not dare delay. He respectfully invited Zhou Yan into the relay station, then waved for his men to “invite” Zhan Haoting and Cheng Yao inside as well.
Zhan Haoting could not stand and had to be carried inside by Zhan Haochen.
Beneath the dim glow of an oil lamp, Zhou Yan sat in the seat of honor, his gaze pressing down upon Zhan Haoting and his wife like something tangible.
“General Zhan, I trust you have been well,” Zhou Yan began. His tone was calm, yet it carried an invisible pressure. “I have been ordered to investigate a serious case. There are a few matters I need to verify with you both.”
Zhan Haoting raised his eyes and met Zhou Yan’s gaze. His expression was calm and unruffled, even carrying a trace of weakness from his still-unhealed injuries. “Please ask, Commander Zhou. This guilty subject will answer all he knows without concealment.”
For some reason, Zhou Yan found the words “guilty subject” particularly grating.
He did not beat around the bush. “About half a month ago, your exile convoy passed by an abandoned temple and was attacked by a herd of wild boars. At that time, two earth-shattering blasts rang out, shaking the surrounding area and frightening the boars away. How do General Zhan and your wife explain this?”
So it had come.
Cheng Yao’s heart tightened. The explosions caused by those two landmines had indeed drawn the attention of the bastard emperor all the way in the capital.
Yet she allowed just the right amount of fear to show on her face, instinctively edging closer to Zhan Haoting.
Zhan Haoting took her hand and gave it a gentle pat in reassurance.
Then he lifted his head. “Commander Zhou, at the time, this guilty subject was barely conscious and does not know the exact circumstances. According to what my clansmen said afterward, there were countless wild boars, charging fiercely, and we suffered heavy casualties. We vaguely heard tremendous blasts that made the earth tremble. Whether it was the mountain gods’ wrath, an earthquake, or some wandering martial hero throwing thunder bombs, this guilty subject does not know.”
Zhou Yan turned his sharp, hawklike gaze toward Cheng Yao. “Lady Cheng, were you present at the time?”
Cheng Yao raised her head, her voice trembling as though she still had not recovered from the fright. “In reply to Your Excellency, the clansmen caught a small wild boar. This criminal woman remembered my grandmother once saying that wild boars were ferocious by nature, so I urged everyone not to eat it and to release it instead. But no one listened. They even said some unpleasant things to me.
“This criminal woman took the entire family outside the ruined temple to hide, and only then did we escape disaster. When the boars attacked, I was digging for medicinal herbs near the temple. I was terrified and was about to hide when I heard an enormous sound. I thought it was thunder, so I hid beside a large rock and did not dare come out for a long while.”
Zhou Yan’s eagle-eyed stare lingered on her and Zhan Haoting for quite some time, as if seeking even the slightest flaw in their faces.
But Zhan Haoting’s grave weakness from his injuries was real, and Cheng Yao’s terror and lingering fear were remarkably convincing. Their accounts also largely matched—neither knew where the blasts had come from.
Zhou Yan pondered for a moment. “Constable Wang, is what these two have said true?”
Constable Wang then recounted the events of that night in the deserted village: how the exiles and the constables had been harmed by the villagers, and how he had gone to the local yamen to report the matter. He stated that he knew nothing of the explosions, then summoned several constables to give their accounts. What they said was largely the same as Zhan Haoting and Cheng Yao’s version.
In truth, Zhou Yan had already investigated these matters and knew them thoroughly. Calling people in for questioning again was merely to obtain more detailed information, to sift through every thread in hopes of finding some clue.
He had Zhan Haoting and Cheng Yao leave first, then asked the constables whether the two had ever left the convoy or come into contact with any strangers.
The constables did not know what they ought—or ought not—to say, and instinctively looked toward Constable Wang.
Before Constable Wang could speak, Zhang Dapeng rushed to answer. “In reply to Your Excellency, the two of them are highly suspicious. Not only have two loyal servants accompanied them throughout the journey to wait on and care for them, but they often slip away to secluded corners to apply medicine, acting furtively and mysteriously. And that Lady Cheng...”
Seeing the sudden sharp glint in Zhou Yan’s eyes, he abruptly stopped.
The couple, Zhan Haoting and his wife, were hiding plenty of secrets. But if he revealed everything, he would only be helping Zhou Yan earn credit. Not only would he gain nothing, he might even lose his life in the process!
The thought sent a cold sweat down his back.
Fortunately, the points he had mentioned were common knowledge and could hardly be considered a breach of confidence.
Zhou Yan’s gaze was as sharp as a torch. “Why did you stop? Continue.”
Zhang Dapeng collected himself and put on a fawning smile. “Yes, my lord. What I meant to say was that the ginger soup Lady Cheng brews is extraordinarily effective. It can heal wounds as well as cure illnesses. Who knows what miraculous medicine she might have added to it?”
Zhou Yan turned to Constable Wang. “What do you make of that ginger soup?”
Constable Wang’s heart jolted. Zhou Yan represented the emperor, so he had to weigh every word of his reply carefully. One careless statement could cost him his life!
After pondering for a moment, he cupped his hands and replied, “My lord, Lady Cheng’s grandmother was a female physician. It is possible that she secretly passed on her medical knowledge to Lady Cheng. Besides, she has two loyal servants escorting her, making it easy for her to obtain medicine from outside. She could have added anything to the ginger soup. However, strange as Lady Cheng may be, she is still only a woman. As for whether she could have had much to do with those two earth-shaking explosions, that remains doubtful.”
Zhou Yan’s eyes darkened. After a long silence, he asked a few more seemingly insignificant questions about the group’s itinerary, casualties, and the like. Constable Wang answered each one in turn.
Afterward, Zhou Yan left the post station and, accompanied by Constable Wang, inspected the group’s supplies.
When he saw the dried fish they had roasted, and caught the faint fragrance clinging to some of them—an aroma hardly befitting their status as convicts—his brows drew together slightly.
