Great Qian’s imperial capital.

The tall, sturdy demon-horses slowed their pace. More than a dozen armored soldiers recognized the carriage at a glance as Qingzhou’s General’s own, and saluted in unison.

Jiang Yuanhua stepped out of the carriage and held the document out to them.

“…”

The soldiers watched the document float toward them through midair, and hurried to bow and receive it with both hands.

Qingzhou must be in trouble again, it seemed — the General hadn’t brought along so much as a single attendant, and wasn’t even willing to show his face, sending out his divine spirit directly instead.

They glanced at the lowered curtain of the carriage, with not the slightest thought of checking behind it.

A divine spirit proved a man’s identity far more reliably than any face ever could.

They flipped quickly through the booklet, then returned it with both hands, calling out in loud, clear voices, “Please, General, enter the city.”

The four demon-horses set off again.

Jiang Yuanhua climbed back into the carriage as well.

By rights, Qingzhou’s carriage was a matter of no concern at all to most people in the imperial capital.

Whatever happened across the Nine Provinces, this towering imperial city stood eternal.

But as the carriage rolled into the city, a young servant in a blue robe suddenly froze in his tracks at the roadside. Once he’d confirmed his eyes hadn’t deceived him, he wheeled around at once and dashed off toward the western side of the city.

Gasping for breath the entire way, he finally came tearing into a grand, opulent estate.

He smoothed down his clothes and worked to steady his breathing.

The Princely Household of Ji kept strict rules of decorum — even a lowly servant had to mind the estate’s bearing, and if anyone caught him making a spectacle of himself, a beating to the death wouldn’t be out of the question.

Today, though, was a stroke of good fortune. A reward of silver was surely coming his way.

The blue-robed servant, proper and respectful, requested an audience with two of the handmaidens, keeping his head bowed low. “Sisters, this lowly one went to the southern part of the city today and saw something I’d like to report to the Princess.”

“Speak.” One of the handmaidens shot him a careless glance, not thinking much of it.

“This lowly one saw… Qingzhou’s General has come to the capital.” The blue-robed servant clamped his mouth shut once he’d said it — after all, while this might curry favor with the Princess, it also carried more than a whiff of deliberately prying into the household’s private affairs.

At those words, both handmaidens’ expressions shifted slightly. They exchanged a glance, and one of them turned at once, hurrying off.

Within the courtyard.

The Princess of Ji listened quietly as the handmaiden finished speaking, then gently set down the teacup in her hand.

After a long silence, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly, and with an air of deliberate indifference, she said flatly, “Meeting that girl last time, I’d thought Qingzhou had quite the backbone, and admired it, even. Turns out it’s nothing more than this, after all.”

The handmaiden stood waiting carefully off to the side.

The Princess always kept her composure befitting her station, never letting her emotions show — but after that incident last time, even the household staff could tell she’d been genuinely furious for days on end.

She asked, softly, “If Qingzhou’s General comes to call, will the Princess receive him?”

“See him? Why wouldn’t I.”

A flicker of mischief crossed the Princess’s eyes, and she said casually, “Only, I happen to be feeling rather unwell these days, and the Prince isn’t in residence at the moment. If General Jiang is willing, he’s welcome to wait outside the estate for ten days, half a month, however long he likes. If he isn’t willing to wait, well — he can always head straight back to Qingzhou.”

That disciple of his had been so insufferably proud, the first time — clearly her teacher had raised her well.

Now that the fire was finally licking at his own eyebrows, he knew to come running.

Qingzhou might be in a hurry. She certainly wasn’t.

Let him sit and wait, honestly and properly, until whenever her own anger happened to run its course.

As for lending a hand…

Hmph. The Princess of Ji remembered the heartache of sending her own son off to Xuanguang Cave. Not everything in this world got a second chance.

“This servant understands.”

The handmaiden nodded, bowed respectfully, and withdrew from the courtyard.

She summoned a few guards at once and passed along the Princess’s instructions. “Oh, and when you do see the man — no need to be too polite about it. Keep your manner a touch cold and hard.”

That whole crude lot from the Demon Suppression Division had grown so used to the Nine Provinces that they’d forgotten the proper deference owed to a Princely Household. This time, the Princess meant to teach them a lesson they’d remember, a little lesson in what proper imperial-capital decorum looked like.

The War Temple.

The carriage came to a slow stop before the towering main hall.

To either side, before the gates belonging to the demon-hunters’ guild and the Demon Suppression Division’s central offices respectively, stood crowds of court-affiliated powerhouses from every province, all come for their War Temple refinement.

Whatever bad luck had struck last time, no one quite knew!

The order had been clearly set, schedules and all — and then the War Temple had simply suspended refinement across all Nine Provinces outright. It had taken this long, after everything, before they’d finally reopened it.

One of the demon-hunters had finally made it to the very front of the line.

Just as he was about to step inside, his eyelid twitched twice, and on instinct he glanced back over his shoulder — and at the sight of the crest carved into the approaching carriage, let out a quiet breath of relief.

Not bad. Just a General.

High-ranking as the man’s status might be, he had no need for refinement — this had to be some other matter.

The demon-hunter started to turn away — and then saw a tall figure step down from the carriage.

Confusion rose in his eyes, and the longer he stared, the more familiar the figure seemed. “…”

He’d traded the grim black armor for something else, but that young face was every bit as calm and unreadable as ever.

Goddammit! Timed to the minute, was he?!

The demon-hunter’s hands began to tremble. Last time, the moment this very young man had walked in, the War Temple had shut its doors entirely — and even now, the word “tenfold” still echoed in his ears.

“Let me in! I got here first!”

He bolted, charging straight into the demon-hunters’ guild hall.

Everyone else turned to stare, somewhat startled by the man’s sudden outburst, then followed his gaze toward the carriage as well.

A flicker of surprise rose in their own eyes just as quickly.

A carriage from the Demon Suppression Division, and yet the man wore plain black robes… was this really a General?

“This young?”

“Just an illusion technique, surely. Some old codger playing at youth.”

A few of them murmured quietly among themselves, though on the surface they still cupped their fists in respectful salute.

Shen Yi gave a small nod, then turned his gaze toward the War Temple.

“I’ll go hand in the report. Wait here a moment — you don’t know the place, so don’t go wandering off.” Jiang Yuanhua called over his shoulder, drifting off to the right with the prepared report in hand.

This visit concerned War Temple business — even with a General come in person, the proper process had to be followed.

“Alright.”

Shen Yi stood quietly where he was.

A moment later, a figure in a blue-green robe ambled out from the main hall — an old man, eyelids drooping, who shot the young man a glance. “Back already, and you’re not coming in? What are you standing around out here for?”

He waved a hand. “Come along with this old man.”

“Shen Yi greets Commander Wu.”

Shen Yi gave a slight cupped-fist salute, then glanced over at the Demon Suppression Division’s central offices.

He’d always held a fair degree of respect for those who actively delivered treasures into his hands.

“No need to worry over that. This old man will have someone fetch him along shortly.”

Commander Wu shook his head, looking entirely unconcerned by a divine spirit on the verge of dissolution, and led the young man off toward a spacious courtyard at the rear of the War Temple.

Watching the two of them go, the rest of the crowd stood stunned. The Temple Custodian was just leaving, like that? And what about the refinement schedule…

Whatever could be so important in Qingzhou that it had the Custodian casually tossing the rest of them aside without a second thought?

Surely it couldn’t be that demons had overrun the place, could it?

Besides, even if demons had overrun it, given the temperament of this particular crowd at the War Temple, the odds were they wouldn’t have bothered lifting a finger anyway.

A while later, Jiang Yuanhua finally drifted back out of the central offices.

He noticed the whole crowd staring, in perfect unison, toward the very same direction.

What was there to even look at?

Jiang Yuanhua, out of habit, looked over the same way along with everyone else, and only a moment later did the realization hit him. “Where’d he go?”

(End of Chapter)