章 54: Northward

We set out to the north border that morning, with Zhi, Heng Li, and the Empress to see us off since the Emperor was apparently indisposed.

She approached me and thanked me for helping Li, who had asked her to come and see me for a ‘treatment’. I rolled my eyes at the term, but quickly scanned her, not finding anything wrong. Clearly, the poisoner had very specific targets within the palace. I asked her to take good care of my sister and the Emperor in my absence, to which she simply smiled.

On the saddle again, we rode all the way to the Ji river where we took a boat that would lead us to Ji and eventually the Huang-He. Seeing the place where I once embarked with Fa Min and Ling was a bit of a wake-up call for me. So many things had changed in the previous months that not only my friends weren’t with me, but I was marching into war and in a completely different atmosphere.