Futile Devices Scans

The next morning, Li Si woke from deep sleep with a splitting headache.

He wanted to raise a hand and rub his temples, but his arms would not move. His whole body could not move. He opened his eyes and looked around in confusion, only to see Zhang San’s face right before him.

Li Si’s eyes widened in shock. Zhang San’s straight nose was right beside his lips; if Li Si lifted his mouth even slightly, he would touch it. Their breaths tangled together, shockingly intimate.

Li Si’s head stopped hurting quite so much, but his face burned until it hurt. He turned his head away and endured for a long while before carefully turning his neck back to observe the situation. He himself was wrapped in a quilt like a caterpillar, while Zhang San was lying sideways across him, his head resting on Li Si’s shoulder, his injured left arm draped across Li Si’s chest, and his left leg pressing down on him. Between one man and one quilt, Li Si was bound up tightly.

Li Si struggled and wriggled a few times, only to discover he truly could not save himself. He could only call softly, “Brother Xiao.”

“Brother Xiao…”

“Xiao… the enemy army is here!”

Zhang San sprang upright! With his eyes still closed, he reached toward the bedside for his saber, found nothing, and nearly fell off the bed himself. Only after quite some time did he crawl back in wretched disarray and ask drowsily, “What is it?”

Li Si struggled a little. “Let me go.”

Zhang San said, “Ah, oh.”

He groped around for a long while before finally finding the quilt corner he had crushed into a mess and unwrapped Li Si. Awkwardly, he said, “You were drunk, and I was afraid you’d roll around in the night, so I wrapped you a little more tightly.”

Li Si had not rolled around at night. As for who had actually rolled around, that was hard to say.

The two of them awkwardly got up and dressed, then washed up in the room using last night’s basin of water. Seeing that Li Si’s face was still red to the ears, Zhang San asked, “Are you still not recovered from the wine? Do you still feel unwell?”

Li Si avoided his closeness and mumbled, “Mm.”

Zhang San also shifted a little farther to the side.

——

Once they were properly dressed, they ate one of the flatbreads they had hidden the night before with the cold tea. Then they set off for the prefectural yamen to pay another visit to Prefect Zhang.

The two waited outside the prefectural yamen for a while. The old steward of the Zhang household personally came to receive them, saying that Prefect Zhang had spent the whole night rushing out several appointment orders and promotion documents for Young Officer Zhang. He had only just risen from rest and was having breakfast, so the steward asked the two of them to wait in the study first.

When the two heard that Prefect Zhang was having breakfast, they stared at the Zhang household steward with two pairs of expectant eyes. The old steward walked ahead to lead the way and tried to pretend he saw nothing. Unfortunately, the two young men’s four eyes burned so intensely at his back that he felt scorched.

The old steward could only invite them to sit in the front hall and have two portions of food sent over as well. Just like the simple meal from last night, it was plain fare—some porridge, flatbread, and stewed beans. Yet the two were very satisfied. They wolfed it down and successfully freeloaded a filling meal.

Li Si even hid two more flatbreads in his clothes before following the steward and Zhang San to the study, perfectly content.

——

The study of the prefectural yamen was also something novel to the two of them, and both looked around curiously. There were three rooms in the study: the left room held the writing desk, the middle room was for receiving guests, and the right room held bookshelves. From afar, Li Si saw several military texts placed on the writing desk and recognized a few volumes of the Seven Military Classics and the Essentials of the Military Classics, both official military texts of Great Xuan that he had read in the army camp. There were also a few volumes titled Discourses on Preparedness, but he did not know who had written them and had never seen them before, so he craned his neck, blinking, trying to make out the author’s name.

Zhang San could not read, so he simply turned his head this way and that, looking at the calligraphy, paintings, curios, and decorations in the room.

The old steward was afraid these two rough-handed youths might damage something valuable, so he stood at the doorway and kept a close watch on them. Fortunately, although the two were curious, they knew proper manners. They merely stood in the middle of the reception room and looked around, without wandering off or touching anything.

——

Prefect Zhang arrived in a hurry. “Envoy Li, General Zhang, you have waited long. Please sit.”

Only after Prefect Zhang sat did the two take their seats below him. The old steward served tea around the room, then withdrew.

Prefect Zhang made polite conversation. “This prefect noticed the young envoy seemed interested in the military texts on the writing desk. Have you read any of them?”

Li Si answered honestly, “I have read the Seven Military Classics and the Essentials. I do not know what Discourses on Preparedness is.”

Prefect Zhang rose and personally brought the two volumes of Discourses on Preparedness over to Li Si. Li Si also stood, thanked him, and received them with both hands.

Prefect Zhang introduced the book. “This text is known as Doctor He’s Discourses on Preparedness. It was written by a military studies doctor during the Yuanyou era of our dynasty. The author was originally a Confucian scholar who loved researching military affairs throughout history. He used ancient events to discuss present matters and wrote this book. In discussing warfare, he speaks of ‘momentum.’ He believes that there are times when troops should be used and times when they should not be used. Whether discussing war or peace, one must act according to the current situation and assess the momentum.”

Author’s Notes: A military studies doctor was an official post in Great Xuan’s military education system, held by civil officials or generals versed in military affairs.

Li Si listened seriously and remained silent. Zhang San also listened seriously, but he could not understand such literary phrasing. His completely illiterate tiger eyes stared brightly at Prefect Zhang, his face clearly saying, “What are you saying? Please kindly speak like a normal person.”

Prefect Zhang coughed and explained, “In other words, when facing a strong enemy, whether one should fight or seek peace depends on the present circumstances.”

Zhang San’s tiger eyes blinked. He understood now and asked, “This subordinate dares ask: in Prefectural Lord’s view, what is the current situation? The Xiao army has besieged the city until now. Can peace still be sought?”

Prefect Zhang sighed. “Whether Great Xuan should fight or negotiate with the Xiao has been endlessly debated in court. Before the Xiao surrounded Kuiyuan, this prefect also supported Grand Preceptor Tong’s peace talks. On the surface, war is a military matter, but in truth, it is a matter of the people. What it consumes is the people’s blood, sweat, and resources. Once defeated, a city is destroyed and its people wiped out—that is truly a human tragedy. But Grand Preceptor Tong’s peace talks failed, and he fled south with the army. In the current situation, peace is absolutely impossible, and defeat is absolutely unacceptable. The Xiao have already destroyed the Northern Lang Kingdom. Now they invade Great Xuan not merely to plunder wealth, but to destroy our nation and exterminate our people. If we retreat even one step, Great Xuan will have no place left to bury itself.”

Zhang San continued listening seriously and nodded.

Prefect Zhang went on, “Chief Commander Wang strongly recommended you to this prefect, saying that you often served as vanguard, possess great courage and insight, and are best at maneuvering through desperate situations. Three years ago, when Grand Preceptor Tong led the army to attack the Northern Lang Kingdom, the entire army was defeated and scattered. You gathered more than a hundred routed soldiers and maneuvered your way back to the unit, even bringing back dozens of Lang soldiers’ heads. Because of that, you were promoted to squad leader.”

Zhang San cupped his fists. “I dare not claim such praise.”

He himself did not feel he possessed anything extraordinary. It was only because he had offended his superiors in the past and was often thrown into death missions that he had trained himself into someone who could both hide and fight. At that time, it was also because he was already under Chief Commander Wang’s command that his merit was finally reported and he was promoted. Grand Preceptor Tong later disguised that great defeat as a great victory, deceiving the Emperor by saying the Lang army’s losses were even worse. Though the Xuan army had clearly suffered over a hundred thousand casualties, he had the thick skin to return in triumph.

Prefect Zhang continued, “This prefect knows that you are also someone skilled at judging circumstances. I entrust Ant County to you. As for the Constable Liu you mentioned earlier, I also drafted the documents last night promoting him to county commandant, to serve under your orders.”

Zhang San stood to receive the command, then accepted from Prefect Zhang a sealed bamboo tube containing all the documents, as well as a waist token inscribed “Zhang San, Training Commissioner of Ant County.” He tucked them into his clothes.

Prefect Zhang deliberately added, “Your authority now stands above the county magistrate’s. If he bends the law for selfish reasons and delays important military or civil matters, find a pretext and behead him. This prefect will bear responsibility for you. No one will investigate your guilt.”

Zhang San had been worried that the county magistrate would bear a grudge over Daoist Ma’s death and obstruct matters. This was exactly the sentence he had been waiting for, and he nodded repeatedly.

——

After finishing Zhang San’s matter, Prefect Zhang turned to Li Si. “Envoy Li.”

Li Si set down the military text, left his seat, stood, and saluted. “Yes.”

“This prefect invited you here today to explain the task assigned by the Emperor. According to the Emperor’s secret decree, your party should have numbered fifty people. Why have only you arrived?”

Li Si said, “Twenty-four died on the way. Aside from me, twenty-five remain in Ant County.”

“Good, good. It is good that there are still men left.” Prefect Zhang sighed. “This assignment began because of the immortal master, Divine Firmament True Master.”

At those words, surprise appeared in Li Si’s eyes.

The first time Li Si had heard the name Divine Firmament True Master was from the eunuch who delivered orders on the night they left the capital. Later, the Command Envoy had also mentioned him before dying. The eunuch had said this True Master had protected the Emperor’s health and that Daoist Ma was his eldest disciple, who would also protect the soldiers’ safety. In the end, Daoist Ma had instead caused more than twenty people to die.

How had this mission begun because of him?

Prefect Zhang continued, “This True Master is skilled in immortal fire arts and used them to cure the Emperor’s strange illness. Now that the capital faces the enemy and is in extreme danger, this True Master offered the Emperor a plan: to perform a pure offering ritual to protect Great Xuan’s national fortune and preserve the capital’s safety. But he needs to find someone of imperial blood whose birth hour and five elements are pure yang and pure fire, using that person’s ‘fire lineage’ to aid the sacrifice…”

Author’s Notes: A pure offering ritual is a Daoist rite in which an altar is set up to pray for peace, blessings, disaster relief, plague expulsion, and protection from calamity.

By this point, the matter had become so unbelievable and absurd that Li Si’s expression grew even more blank, and Zhang San, beside him, also frowned as he listened.

Prefect Zhang himself knew the matter was ridiculous and sighed before continuing. “The Emperor ordered men to search the imperial clan registers, and they discovered a distant imperial kinsman of pure yang and pure fire who currently lives in Kuiyuan. Therefore, he commanded this prefect to find the man and have your party escort him back to the capital to assist Divine Firmament True Master in his ritual.”

After these words fell, the hall remained silent for a long time.

Li Si’s expression went blank. His face turned pale, and his breathing gradually grew heavy.

Fifty soldiers had risked their lives to travel a thousand li to this war-torn place. Before they had even set out, one man had been beheaded. On the road, more than twenty more had died in vain. And all of it had merely been because an “immortal master” wanted to perform a ritual?

Li Si thought of Second Uncle’s gray-white face, the Command Envoy’s dying sigh, the corpses of his comrades amid the rubble…

His fists clenched and trembled. His teeth ground together with a creak, and an extremely clear fury gradually appeared on his face.

Zhang San suddenly stood, pressed him back into his chair, and pried open his tightly clenched fists. Thin streams of blood had already seeped out along his fingertips.

“Prefectural Lord, please forgive him!” Zhang San soothed him while turning back to explain. “The young envoy’s own uncle was also part of the escort team and died unexpectedly on the road. He has remembered his kin and lost control in distress…”

Prefect Zhang also knew how absurd the secret decree was. Even he himself had once been angered enough to speak words of great disrespect, so he waved a hand. “No matter. Let the young envoy rest for a moment. Someone, bring fresh tea.”

The old steward hurried forward and replaced everyone’s tea with a new cup of hot tea.

Zhang San wrapped both arms around Li Si. With one hand, he held the teacup to Li Si’s lips and let him drink a few sips. With the other, he patted his back, guiding him to breathe slowly.

Li Si’s hands were trembling and still clenched tightly. Zhang San held his hand and patiently coaxed him to loosen his fingers.

——

After a while, Li Si held Zhang San’s hand in return and shook his head slightly, indicating that he was fine now.

Only then did Zhang San release him, using warm fingers to wipe away a few drops of cold sweat from his forehead.

Li Si’s face remained pale, but he forced his voice steady. “Prefectural Lord, please continue.”

Prefect Zhang sighed. “Then this prefect will continue. Yesterday, this prefect ordered an investigation and found that this noble young master in Kuiyuan is descended from the founding emperor. His branch of the family became collateral from his great-grandfather’s generation. His grandfather was once granted the rank of earl for merit. His father was a second son and did not inherit the title, but once served as a minor official here in Kuiyuan. He was in very poor health and passed away many years ago. This young master is the only son of the family. Because he is still young, he has not yet entered official service and is currently being maintained idly in his residence.”

—— In short, he was an impoverished member of the imperial clan with no title, no honors, no stipend, and no father.

Prefect Zhang continued, “This morning, I already sent people to his residence to notify him and summon him to receive the imperial decree. Envoy Li need only wait here a little while.”

——

Not long afterward, the old steward came to report that someone had arrived from the young nobleman’s residence.

It was not the young nobleman himself.

The person who followed the old steward inside was another old steward—the old steward of that impoverished young nobleman’s impoverished household. The impoverished old steward was advanced in years, dressed neatly but plainly, his hair entirely white. Trembling as he supported himself on the doorway, he entered while weeping bitterly.

“Prefectural Lord! This old servant has waited many days. At last, I have finally seen you!”

Prefect Zhang immediately rose and personally helped the old steward take a seat. “Elder, please sit and speak slowly. Bring tea!”

The old steward’s hands trembled as he declined the tea and hurriedly said, “Prefectural Lord, for the past month, this old servant has come to the prefectural yamen many times seeking an audience. But every time, you were either supervising the defense atop the walls, inspecting the city, or arranging city affairs. I failed to see you even once!”

Prefect Zhang frowned and looked toward his own steward.

The steward hurriedly explained, “It truly was unfortunate timing. There was not a single occasion when Your Excellency was present.”

Prefect Zhang scolded him, “Did you not even ask what matter the elder had come for?”

The steward answered guiltily, “Earlier, he said bandits had attacked his household and kidnapped a hostage. My lord, you know that when the Xiao first surrounded the city, many wealthy households suffered at the hands of bandits. There were simply too many such incidents, and Your Excellency had no time to deal with each one personally. Later, after you appointed General Wang to maintain order in the city and he arrested a large number of brigands, I assumed this elder’s matter had already been resolved. Not wishing to trouble Your Excellency further, I did not report it again.”

Prefect Zhang flung the teacup from his hand. The porcelain shattered on the floor.

The steward shuddered and immediately dropped to his knees. “My lord, forgive me! This old servant knows his mistake! I dare not do it again!”

Prefect Zhang waved him away and then turned back to the impoverished old steward. “Elder, do not worry. Have some tea first and tell us slowly. What exactly happened at your residence?”

——

The impoverished old steward cradled the teacup in trembling hands and said tearfully, “More than twenty days ago, before the Xiao army besieged the city, our young master was abducted by a group of bandits! The bandits left word demanding three thousand strings of cash as ransom. They forbade us from reporting the matter to the authorities and said that the moment they saw government soldiers, they would kill the hostage on the spot…”

As he spoke, he choked up again.

The expressions of the three men present all turned grave. They immediately sensed that things were not looking good.

After comforting the elder for a few moments, Prefect Zhang continued, “What happened afterward?”

“Our former master and former mistress both passed away several years ago. The young master is still too young to manage the household, and there is little family wealth left. This old servant pawned everything valuable in the residence and even mortgaged the estate itself, yet still could not gather the three thousand strings. A few days later, the Xiao army surrounded the city. Those bandits never returned to demand money again, and our young master has never been heard from since…”

The old steward choked back sobs and wiped away tears again.

By this point, everyone understood that the young master was most likely doomed. No wonder the Zhang household steward had not reported the matter. The young master had probably been taken outside the city. Once the Xiao army surrounded Kuiyuan, no one could even leave the city, much less search for him.

Prefect Zhang quickly asked, “Did those bandits leave behind any clues?”

The old steward nodded and pulled a tattered letter from his robes. “When they took our young master away, they left this ransom note.”

Prefect Zhang examined the letter first. The handwriting was ugly and crooked, detailing the ransom demand and warning them not to report the matter. There was no signature at the end, only a symbol resembling the Big Dipper, which the kidnappers had apparently used as their identifying mark.

He handed the letter to Zhang San and Li Si as well.

Li Si looked it over but saw nothing unusual in the writing.

Zhang San, however, let out a loud, “Huh?”

Prefect Zhang asked, “What is it?”

Zhang San frowned. “I’ve seen this recently. Envoy Li, take another look.”

Tilting his head, Li Si examined it carefully again. He remained certain he had never seen it before and turned his puzzled dark eyes toward Zhang San.

Zhang San immediately understood that he alone had seen it and stopped expecting any help from Li Si. He closed his eyes and thought hard for a long while before suddenly slapping his thigh excitedly.

“The Seven-Star Formation! It’s that maze outside the earthen fortress! Li Si! You went through it too!”

Li Si blinked blankly. All he remembered were layers of dark earthen walls in the middle of the night.

Zhang San said, “I smashed that Seven-Star Formation apart. Later, the farmers found a diagram and told me it had been left behind by the bandits. I had them rebuild it according to the diagram. Then you smashed it apart again, remember? There was a symbol in the lower-right corner of that formation diagram. It’s exactly the same as the one on this paper!”

The moment they heard this, everyone stared at the excited Zhang San.

Prefect Zhang hurriedly asked, “Then the bandits you encountered are very likely the same people who kidnapped the young master. Where are they now?”

Zhang San’s expression froze. All his excitement instantly collapsed.

“Ahem. They occupied the earthen fortress, oppressed a group of refugees, and robbed and murdered many travelers. The night I entered the fortress…” He coughed. “I killed every last one of them.”

Prefect Zhang: “…”

Chief Commander Wang had told him that Young General Zhang possessed “great courage and insight.” More than that—he was truly a killing general.

After thinking carefully, Zhang San added, “There were still twenty or thirty refugees in the fortress at the time. Most of them later headed south. There wasn’t any lone young nobleman among them. Besides, the young master is from Kuiyuan. He likely wouldn’t have rushed south. He should have remained in the fortress if he were there.”

The impoverished old steward cried out, “Then where has our young master gone? Could he already have fallen victim to those bandits? Young Master! Wuuu! Master! Mistress! This old servant has failed the trust you placed in me before your deaths! It is this old servant’s incompetence! Wuuu…”

Seeing the old man weeping so miserably, Li Si copied the way Zhang San had comforted him before. He first stepped forward and hugged the old steward, then fed him tea, patted his back, and even reached out to hold the old man’s hand.

Zhang San: “…”

Unable to bear watching any longer, he pulled Li Si away. “Why are you touching people at random?”

Then Zhang San hurriedly comforted the elder himself. “Elder, don’t panic. There are still some farmers living in the fortress. They were all once held captive by those bandits. I’ll go back and ask them. Someone should have seen the young master and know where he went.”

The impoverished old steward choked with gratitude. “Thank you, young sir! Thank you! Please, I beg you, you must save our young master!”

“Rest assured, elder. First tell us: how old is your young master? What does he look like? Is there anything by which we can identify him?”

Wiping away his tears, the old steward produced a jade pendant from his robes. A dragon was carved into it, and it was obviously a valuable heirloom.

“Our young master’s given name is Shen. He is fourteen years old this year, with a round face, narrow eyes, and a somewhat slight build. This jade pendant has been passed down through his family for generations as proof of descent from the Founding Emperor. He usually wore it at all times. On the day he was kidnapped, it was found beneath the courtyard wall of the residence. It must have fallen there when the bandits forcibly carried him over the wall.”

Zhang San accepted the jade pendant. Since Li Si was the imperial envoy acting under decree, Zhang San immediately tucked it into Li Si’s robe.

“Rest assured, elder. We will do everything we can to find the young master.”

——

After bidding farewell to the prefect, Zhang San and Li Si left the prefectural yamen and even escorted the old steward back to the impoverished residence on their way.

Just before parting, the old steward suddenly called out, “Young sirs.”

Li Si instinctively reached for the old man’s outstretched hand again, only for Zhang San to swat his hand away.

“Why are you touching people again?”

Supporting the elder himself, Zhang San said, “Please speak, elder.”

The old steward lowered his voice. “Earlier, before the prefect, this old servant dared not mention it. The matter would have sounded disrespectful. Since the two of you are helping us search for the young master, I will no longer conceal it. Our young master has a distinctive feature. When he was young and mischievous, he fell from a tree and struck his forehead, leaving two scars.”

The old steward gestured to the left and right sides of his own forehead.

“The servants in the residence used to joke,” he said after a pause, “that the scars looked like a pair of dragon horns.”

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