Chen Ji sat by a square table in the main room, his upper body bare, allowing the little monk to help him remove the layers of gray cloth wrapped around him.

A basin of steaming hot water was placed on the table, and the room was closed off from windows and doors, with the afternoon sunlight streaming through the paper windows, illuminating the rising steam.

As the little monk removed the cloth, he saw the wounds beneath and his fingers trembled slightly: "Doesn't it hurt, benefactor?"

Chen Ji did not respond.

The little monk threw the gray cloth on the ground, wrung out a cloth from the basin of hot water, and began to clean Chen Ji's wounds: "Benefactor, what is love?"

Chen Ji calmly asked back: "You can see the depths of people's hearts, yet you don't know what love is?"

The little monk said helplessly: "Because I can't see my own heart."

Chen Ji jokingly said: "To be able to see everyone's heart yet not understand your own, is indeed a form of fate's jest."

In a hurry, the little monk said: "It's not that I completely don't understand, it's just not as certain as seeing through divine skills."

Chen Ji slowly began: "You and Xiao..."

The little monk's motion of cleaning Chen Ji's wound suddenly became heavier, causing Chen Ji to inhale sharply in pain, interrupting his words.

"Sorry, sorry," the little monk hastily apologized.

Chen Ji asked curiously: "Didn't your master teach you?"

Recalling, the little monk said: "Master only said that fate is predetermined, all that comes are debts, and once they are paid, they leave. I asked him, how would I know who my tribulation is, and he said, 'You'll know when you meet them.'

Chen Ji sighed: "Do all monks in Yunzhou speak so cryptically? No wonder you haven't passed your tribulation in three lifetimes."

The little monk finished cleaning Chen Ji's wound and started wrapping it with clean white cloth: "Not really, Master says these things can't be clarified, for once made clear they become self-serving, like aiming at a target; if your eyes are only on that target, you'll miss the vast world."

Chen Ji smiled: "Your master is a wise man."

The little monk, having wrapped the white cloth, scratched his stubbly head: "Right, I think so too... But benefactor, you now have eyes only for the target; why not look at the world beyond?

Chen Ji was slightly taken aback, then smiled: "Next time Wuzhai comes down the mountain to debate scripture, I'll send you to debate with him."

The little monk hurriedly said: "I can't, I'm timid since childhood, my body shakes when debating scriptures with others. If anyone in Dazao Temple wants to debate with me, my master would just step in and beat them."

Chen Ji stood and put on his clothes, which Zhang Xia recently went inside the pass to buy, and they fit adequately.

He slowly tied his belt, and walked out the door: "Oh? Isn't your Buddhist Sect fond of debating scripture? They say the more you debate scripture, the clearer its meaning becomes."

The little monk followed him out the door: "Master says it's only mortals who need to debate scripture, the Buddha does not."

Chen Ji threw the bloodstained gray cloth into the stove beneath, watched as the firelight reflected on his face, and didn't feel at ease until the cloth burned into ashes.

...

...

At that moment, shouts were heard outside the house.

The courtyard gate opened, and Zhang Xia squeezed in from outside.

She stood outside the kitchen, looking at Chen Ji by the stove and said: "Ah Sheng and the others are back, they brought back the bodies of the Night Patrol and Yulin Army..."

Chen Ji softly asked: "How many from the Yulin Army perished?"

Zhang Xia glanced worriedly at Chen Ji: "I inquired a bit; this time, Yulin Army lost sixty-seven people, Zhou Chong and Zhou Li are gone, both stayed behind to hold off the Mo Blade Camp while covering the troops' retreat. Qi Zhenzhuo was severely injured, nearly losing his right hand..."

Zhang Xia looked at Chen Ji, before saying nothing more.

Chen Ji smoothed the wrinkles on his garment: "Let's go, we'll set off for the capital today."

Zhang Xia tried to dissuade: "Your wounds are severe, you should recuperate in the pass for a few days, wait for the Spy Department's Twelve Signs to return to the pass, then return to the capital together... The Yulin Army came under orders, going beyond the pass was their decision, it has nothing to do with you."

Chen Ji shook his head, speaking a truth that revealed cruelty: "With the heat, we can't delay the remains, their parents should see them before they are buried. If it drags on, the bodies will be unrecognizable."

Before leaving, Zhang Xia hesitated for a moment: "Inside Chongli Pass now are many derogatory words, you don't have to listen to them."

Chen Ji's body paused, then he realized Zhang Xia was worried about this matter.

He lifted his foot and walked out: "Rest assured."

Xiao Man muttered: "The border army of Chongli Pass is not as efficient as the Guyuan Border Army. The border army of Chongli Pass doesn't know what's good for them. Even though the young master got such heavy wounds to save others, they still spoke so harshly."

Chen Ji calmly said: "There's no right or wrong in this matter; they are just unaware of the situation."

Xiao Man lowered his head: "But it's clear that it's the court's directive to bring the envoys back to the Imperial Capital. What's it got to do with Mr. Guan? That Hong Zuer acts like a madman, unreasonable, insisting on holding onto the young master without letting go."

Chen Ji sighed softly: "They're not unreasonable; they also know that the enmity of Yuan Cheng should not be blamed on Princess Liyang... But their hatred runs deep. If they don't curse and vent, what else can they do? They can't possibly stifle themselves, right? If it were me, the Jing Dynasty envoys wouldn't have lived to see Chongli Pass."

Princess Liyang smiled and said: "Naturally, Mr. Chen is far more formidable than they are."

Xiao Man rolled his eyes exaggeratedly at Princess Liyang.

The group walked on the blue-brick road of Chongli Pass, receiving cold stares from passing soldiers and even blacksmiths stopped their ironwork to glare intently at them.

As they walked, Aunt Li, who had earlier styled Zhang Xia's hair and applied her face powder, approached them, holding her mother-of-pearl box in hand.

Chen Ji greeted her with a smile: "Aunt Li..."

But Aunt Li said nothing, pretending not to recognize them as she brushed past them.

Chen Ji stopped speaking and continued towards Peace Gate.

Peace Gate was silent; over twenty carts were parked beneath the tower, piled with over a hundred lifeless bodies without dignity, their faces ashen.

The soldiers surrounded the carts in solemn ranks.

Hong Zuer stood by the carts, speaking with an air of casualness as if discussing household matters: "Everyone, don't just stand around. If anyone has relatives living within the pass, call for their family to come over. The Xuanqian Mansion people can go fetch coffins and grass mats, Xuanyou Mansion can get charcoal and quicklime, Xuanzuo Mansion can dig pits, and the rest can lend a hand to push the carts to the South Gate outside the city. We need to bury them quickly; otherwise, if a plague breaks out within the pass, even more will die."

"Bai Zi, tell the Military Market that if anyone still owes money on interest, I'll find a way to make it up to them in the coming days. If I find out anyone withheld the court's compensation, they shouldn't dream of doing business at Chongli Pass anymore."

"The bows and Mo Blades we retrieved this time, the bows are to be handled by the General, and the Mo Blades are to be sold at the Military Market. Ah Sheng, keep the accounts, and split everything with the Night Patrol who survived. If anyone wants to buy military merit, come find me at night, don't let the court's Merit Officer see you. Dead men's military merit is useless; handing it over to the court only gets them some memorial tablets. That's worth nothing; better to sell them for silver to send to their families..."

Hong Zuer's tone was devoid of emotion, less like managing a funeral and more like a businessman settling accounts, each item meticulously tallied.

The crowd dispersed as instructed, and only then did he notice Chen Ji standing outside the crowd.

He cast a single glance at Chen Ji before wordlessly joining his colleagues to push the carts south. Midway, relatives of the Night Patrol arrived, crying aloud as they followed the carts.

But Hong Zuer did not stop, continuing to push the carts straight toward the southern outskirts of the city.

Beyond the South Gate of Chongli Pass, the Military Market was silent. Hong Zuer beckoned to a merchant: "Bring over two jars of liquor."

The merchant hurriedly brought two jars of liquor, and Hong Zuer handed the carts over to others, himself walking at the front, pouring the liquor on the packed dirt road, as if paving a way for those behind.

He muttered to himself: "In the next life, it doesn't matter where you reincarnate, just don't come to Chongli Pass."

Arriving outside the Military Market, Hong Zuer stopped and looked back.

The soldiers from Xuanqian Mansion arrived in a hurry, pulling dozens of thin coffins.[

At this moment, the Yulin Army also galloped from within the pass, all of them wounded. Duobao saw Zhou Chong and others on the carts, immediately dismounted, and stumbled forward, throwing himself on his comrades, weeping uncontrollably.

Qi Zhenzhuo rode up to Chen Ji, choking out: "Master..."

Hong Zuer turned to look at Chen Ji: "Officials and nobles use ice to escort coffins back to their roots, but here at Chongli Pass, we don't have such things. We can only use traditional methods. Lay two inches of charcoal at the bottom of the coffin, then place the bodies inside, and sprinkle quicklime on top. If you hurry, you should be able to hold on until the Imperial Capital."

Having said this, he left the cart bearing the Yulin Army's bodies where it was and, hunching his back, pulled the remaining carts towards West Mountain Cemetery: "Mr. Chen, as you said, different paths are not meant to collaborate; Chongli Pass is not a place for you. Let's pretend we've never met, and may you carry on to a bright future."

Hong Zuer returned the words Chen Ji had spoken that morning.

Chen Ji did not reply, nor did it seem necessary to. Not everything in this world needs to be resolved, nor can everything be resolved.

He silently worked with the Yulin Army to lay charcoal at the bottom of the coffins, placing each body into the coffins.

Li Xuan led over a warhorse: "Are you okay?"

Chen Ji wiped the sweat from his forehead, shaking his head silently.

Li Xuan whispered: "Don't think too much, our duty is only to receive the envoys..."

The wound on Chen Ji's back ached dully. He took the reins and looked back deeply at the towering Chongli Pass before mounting the horse: "Let's go."