The Choice of the Dragon Vein

“His Majesty has his reasons.” Qin Zhao unfurled the imperial edict and read those few lines again. “The south suffered floods and the north droughts this spring. The treasury is empty. Eighty thousand troops defend the northern border against three hundred thousand… Yujing is doing the math.”

“So we’re just supposed to watch them charge right up to the Dragon Vein?!”

Qin Zhao rolled up the edict, moving slowly.

“The edict says,” he said, raising his eyes to the dark northern sky, “that we must not engage them first. It doesn’t say… we can’t fight back if forced to.”

Wei Changfeng froze.

Qin Zhao had already turned away. “Take three hundred of the personal guard. Light armor, no banners. Now.”

“Where to?”

“The Forbidden Path.” Qin Zhao unfastened his cloak, revealing the black outfit beneath. “If the wolf clan wants to enter the Dragon Vein, they’ll need to know where the entrance is. We’ll go ‘help’ them scout the way.”

The Forbidden Path through the Dragon Vein Mountains lay thirty li west of Tiemenguan.

Officially, it was a “ceremonial passage” that could not be entered except during grand rites. But as its guardian, Qin Zhao had temporary surveying rights, as long as he did not venture into the core area.

The three hundred guards wrapped cloth around their horses’ hooves, rode with bits between their teeth, and reached the entrance at the darkest hour before dawn.

It was a narrow pass between two cliffs, wide enough for only two horses to ride abreast. Giant ancient characters were carved into the cliff face: “Pacify the Mountains, Secure the Frontier.” The vermilion paint had long since peeled away, exposing the stone beneath.