Ning Chen and the others came out of the mountains and went straight for the city of Xiuzhou.

They reached it toward evening, and went in separately.

Yuan Zishi had been right. The city of Xiuzhou was being searched hard.

But the four of them had changed their faces now, to the point where they did not know themselves.

Nothing went wrong, and they got into the city without trouble.

Once inside, the four of them parted from Yuan Zishi.

They went to the inn where they had stayed before.

Ning Chen came back to the same inn.

Inside, Ning Chen ran his eyes around. It was the supper hour and there were a good many guests.

"Eating or staying?"

The inn's boy came up to them, all attention.

Ning Chen wasted no words. "Eating."

Eating meant a meal and then on your way.

"Sit down, gentlemen!"

They came to a corner table and sat down, and ordered several of the house dishes.

The four of them sat waiting a while, and then the food began to come.

These last few days in the mountains they had eaten nothing but game, and without salt, until their mouths had gone flat as water.

The four of them fell on it.

Halfway through, Ning Chen put down his chopsticks and asked the boy where the privy was.

"It's in the rear courtyard, sir. This small man will take you."

"No need. I'll find it myself."

Ning Chen came out into the rear courtyard, looked things over, and then instead of going to the privy he went to the stables on the other side of a wall.

At the stables Ning Chen ran his eyes around. There was nobody there.

But Diaochan was gone.

So he had guessed right. They had picked Diaochan out for a warhorse first, seen that something was wrong, and sent word to Qiu Mingde to take him.

No—the order must have gone to every magistrate under Xiuzhou's authority.

Because they had no way of knowing which county he would go to.

And after that Qiu Mingde must have…