Jin Hu was in a difficult position. Not in the war—that was going just fine. Lord Ienaga was a skilled commander, able to cooperate well with Jin Hu and Jiaguo’s army, and the most recent communication from Jiaguo had provided intelligence that was likely to lead to a major breakthrough.

The problem was that he’d gotten a little too deep in his facade. As Jin Hu, he’d managed to gain Yoshika’s trust and find himself placed temporarily at the head of Jiaguo’s army as they continued their campaign across Yamato. An odd position for a rogue cultivator from Qin, but Jiaguo and its founders were odd to begin with. For Qin Zhao, however, it was disastrous.

He had no place leading an invasion of Yamato. Should his involvement become known, the consequences would be dire for not only him, but for all the people of both Jiaguo and Yamato. It would be a problem for Yoshika as well, except that the crux of his problem was that they had most likely died.

He’d planned to simply slip back into his role as a competent but forgettable advisor once she returned. Perhaps privately reveal his true identity so that he could finish his business in Jiaguo and slip away unnoticed.

Then Yoshika had put him at the head of the army and promptly vanished. A month later, and still she had yet to return. The new intelligence from Jiaguo indicated that Shogun Hayakawa was in league with demons, and that the lands around the capital had been stripped bare. From that, Qin Zhao surmised that Yoshika had gone there herself—likely in an attempt to save Takeda Rika—and then fallen in battle.

It wasn’t surprising, per se. If anything, it was all too common a tale for such geniuses. It had, however, happened at a very inconvenient time, and quite a bit sooner than he’d expected. That left him in the awkward position of being stuck in a mission that he not only had no incentive to complete, but which had a very real chance of actively harming his interests.

Still, he had sworn to protect Long Ruiling as long as it didn’t interfere with his other oaths, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t vexed by the death of his disciples. He’d have to engineer Jin Hu’s disappearance at some point, but until then he’d be happy to get some revenge on Yoshika’s killers by disrupting their plans.

At least without Yoshika present, he could be a little bit more liberal in the use of his qi. He sensed a disturbance at the edge of the camp which would have gone completely unnoticed if he’d still been completely suppressing his aura.

He made his way across the camp to investigate. Due to Jiaguo’s relatively small army, they’d been sharing a camp with Ienaga’s forces. For the most part, it had been a good way to break down the barriers between Jiaguo’s diverse force and the more monolithic Yamato armies. The demons still had a difficult time winning anyone over, but interestingly it was their former adversaries who gave them the most credit.

Yamato culture had a fascinating quirk when it came to loyalty. The prisoners that had been weighing them down had almost immediately become an asset once their lord was defeated. As far as they were concerned, Hayakawa Kaede had proven herself as a leader worth following. Those soldiers remembered the mercy they’d been shown by the so-called ‘oni’ serving as Jiaguo’s vanguard, and were quickly becoming their strongest advocates.

Jin Hu set those ruminations aside as he arrived at the source of the disturbance. Takeda Chiyo was at the camp entrance, facing off with a frazzled young woman holding a baby in her arms.

“You should be ashamed of yourself, Kasai! If you weren’t using that child as a shield, I’d have you cut down where you stand. Go back where you came from, and tell your master that we don’t tolerate spies!”

The woman wilted under Takeda’s verbal assault, and Jin Hu recognized her as Kasai Hanako, one of his former students. He couldn’t reveal that he knew her, but he stepped in to intervene.

“What’s going on here?”

Takeda turned to him and saluted.

“Sir Jin, we caught this Hayakawa spy trying to sneak her way into our camp.”

Kasai let out an exasperated sigh, bouncing the crying baby on her hip as she tried to soothe it.

“Shh, it’s okay honey, Mommy’s here. Nobody’s mad at you.”

She looked up at Takeda and scowled.

“I wasn’t trying to sneak anywhere, you zealot. You have no idea how much I’m risking by coming here. What kind of spy brings a crying child to—?”

“The kind that’s hoping to trick their enemy into being sympathetic! It’s not going to work!”

Jin Hu frowned. He could sense that Kasai had no ill intentions, but there was no way for him to vouch for her when Takeda Chiyo was already on edge and highly suspicious of any outsiders. He needed to direct the conversation carefully.

“If I may, Miss...Kasai, was it?”

“Kasai Hanako, and this is my daughter Tomoka.”

Tomoka...Jin Hu couldn’t be certain just from hearing it, but it was possible—even likely—that her name used the same characters as Yoshika. Even if the spelling was different, the similarity was enough that it was likely intentional. He bowed respectfully.

“You may call me Jin Hu. Why did you bring your daughter on a visit to an enemy camp? You acknowledged the risks yourself.”

Kasai shook her head, frowning.

“You’re not the ones I’m worried about. I brought Tomoka because I don’t plan on returning. My husband can’t desert so easily, but I can only pray that the kami will see him safely through the war so that he can return to us.”

Takeda scoffed.

“A likely story.”

Jin Hu held up a hand.

“Please, let her speak. Miss Kasai, what was so important that you would risk so much to come here?”

“I know where Ienaga Yumi is, and what happened to Yoshika.”

Takeda’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean ‘what happened to Yoshika’?”

Before Kasai could answer, Jin Hu stepped in to interrupt.

“I believe that we should discuss this somewhere more secure—in private.”

Takeda looked askance at him.

“Lord Ienaga will want to hear this as well. Are you keeping something from us?”

It was just as well that Jin only had his own speculation to go on, otherwise that might have been difficult to answer.

“This is the first I’m hearing of it, but such sensitive information should be handled cautiously. Lord Ienaga is, of course, welcome to join us.”

 

---

 

Kasai Hanako soon found herself in the middle of a makeshift interrogation chamber, with the full attention of the camp leaders. Ienaga and his chief advisor Takeda Keiji joined Jin Hu and Ito Yuuki. The young officer was a little out of place, but Jin Hu thought that it would be best to have at least one Yamato native present to represent Jiaguo.

Chiyo had begrudgingly agreed to watch over Kasai Tomoka during the interrogation. She’d clearly wanted to join the interrogation, but after fighting with her grandfather so fiercely for a chance to stay on the front lines, she had little room left to argue.

Jin Hu politely allowed the former Shogun to take the initiative.

“Miss Kasai Hanako of Shoda. You came from a family of little renown before becoming champion of the Shoda prefecture, earning your way into the grand academy, and returning as one of Shogun Hayakawa’s prized new unified cultivators.”

She blinked, put off balance by the apparent level of familiarity the former Shogun had with her.

“Um, yes. Though I’m not sure ‘prized’ is the word I’d use. We were put to work training a new generation of fighters to integrate the new disciplines, but the Shogun wasn’t very happy with how slow the results were.”

“I see. And why is a provincial champion like yourself not fighting on the front lines?”

“Well, for one thing, that title is over five years old. The main reason, though, is Tomoka. I’ve been exempted from military duty while I raise my daughter. Not sure why you’d be asking since it’s a policy that you enacted.”

Ienaga chuckled.

“I guess my mind’s not what it used to be. Alright then, let’s get to the point. What news do you bring of my daughter?”

“She’s alive, albeit barely. Master Ienaga escaped from Hayakawa and fled all the way to the northern front, but she’s too badly injured to force her way across to return to Ienaga territory. My family has been sheltering her for now, but I don’t know how long we can keep it up without being discovered—especially now that I’ve taken the chance to come here.”

Takeda Keiji leaned forward.

“What about Rika? Did she say anything about my granddaughter?”

Kasai shook her head.

“No, but she was being escorted by Harada Jun and Ishihara Nao, former acquaintances from the academy. They said that they’d last seen Takeda Rika at the capital just before Ienaga broke out. Master Ienaga wasn’t in any shape to do much talking, but from what little she was able to get out, there are two things we know—the Shogun is in league with oni, and Yoshika is dead.”

Suddenly all eyes fell on Jin Hu. Ienaga scowled at him.

“Did you know about this? The entire campaign hinges on Hayakawa Kaede to give us a legitimate claim. If she’s dead...”

Jin sighed—things were getting worse by the minute. At the rate things were going, it was growing distressingly likely that he’d be forced to reveal his true identity.

“After her sudden departure last month, I was never certain of her fate. I surmised that she may have been involved in the recovery of the latest intelligence coming from Hayakawa province, but held out hope that she was merely injured, or on her way back to the front.”

“You should have told us! This changes everything. If we don’t have Hayakawa Kaede—”

Kasai stood up and smacked the table in front of her.

“You knew about the demons?! Why haven’t you made that public? I don’t think even half our side knows what they’re even fighting for!”

Ienaga scoffed.

“Nor should they. Soldiers follow the commands of their lords. What good would it do to accuse the Shogun of aligning with oni when our side is doing the same?”

For the first time in the rapidly dissolving interrogation, Ito Yuuki found his voice.

“I’d hardly consider Yang Qiu and her fellows to be on the same level as Sovereign Longyan.”

“You and I know that, but to the rest of the world it makes no difference.”

Lord Ienaga turned his attention back to Kasai.

“You say that you’re sheltering Yumi in your home in Shoda?”

“Yes, along with your spies. If they find them, my entire family is done for. I beg you to grant us asylum.”

“You’ll have it. We’ll move on Shoda as soon as we can—Takeda, draft up a plan of attack.”

Jin Hu pursed his lips.

“Lord Ienaga, that would be a significant departure from the strategy we’ve established—”

“Sir Jin, you’re a good man for an imperial, and it’s been a pleasure working with you, but without Hayakawa Kaede, there is no alliance. I’m rescuing my daughter, then ordering a full retreat. We won’t involve ourselves any further in Jiaguo’s feud with the Shogun.”

“Even at the cost of your own people’s lives? Fed to the demons like cattle to serve whatever pact the Shogun has made with them?”

The former shogun shook his head and sighed.

“That’s his business. Without your leader, Jiaguo has nothing to offer. I need to focus on making sure my people survive whatever comes next.”

Just as Jin Hu was about to protest, a shockingly powerful domain swept across the camp. Everyone in the room reacted immediately, reaching for weapons or otherwise preparing themselves for a fight. A feminine voice filled the room.

“That won’t be necessary, Lord Ienaga.”

Lee Jia appeared in a flash of light, startling everyone in the room except Jin Hu. Kasai Hanako relaxed at the sight of her, but the Yamato generals remained on edge. In her typical fashion, Lee Jia completely ignored sense and sanity and focused on the least important person present.

“Hana! It’s so good to see you again. I was worried when I heard that you and the others were fighting on the other side.”

Kasai chuckled nervously.

“I’m glad you're alive, Jia, but if you keep ignoring them I’m not sure you’re going to stay that way.”

Jia turned to the generals, meeting Jin Hu’s eyes along the way. He saw a glimmer of recognition in her gaze and cursed himself internally. She knew.

At some point in the motion that Qin Zhao couldn’t place, Lee Jia ceased to be and Hayakawa Kaede stood in her place.

“Lord Ienaga, I apologize for our extended absence. There was an emergency that required our immediate attention, and it took some time before we were able to return. Now that we’re back, I’d like to discuss more about this plan to rescue Master Yumi.”