When Anxiety Meets Fear
Three days after attaining the Understanding of the Body in Ganjing, Li Yuan decided to explore the parts of Yangzhou he had yet to visit.
It wasn't because he had grown tired of working at the care center—Doctor Huang and the patients still needed all the help they could get. Rather, there was something within him—perhaps the Understanding of Water, or perhaps that of Heaven—that whispered of another place in the city where flowing water was needed.
Li Yuan walked along East Street, an area closer to the border. Here, the atmosphere was heavier with unease. Empty houses stood where their owners had fled. Shops were shut tight, their doors barred with nailed planks. Even stray dogs seemed more alert, their ears pricked at the faintest suspicious sound.
And this is before the war even begins, Li Yuan thought, gazing at the changing face of the city. One month from now… who knows what it will look like.
At the far end of East Street, Li Yuan saw a crowd gathered in a small square.
It was not the cheerful bustle of a market or festival, but a tense assembly. Even from a distance, Li Yuan could sense the pressure in the air—a mix of curiosity, fear, and restrained anger.
He moved closer.
In the center stood five soldiers in dark green uniforms—the uniforms of Lu—interrogating a middle-aged man. The man's hands were bound behind his back, his face pale, eyes wide with fear.
"Once more," the soldier who seemed to be the commander said, "where are you from, and why have you come to Yangzhou?"
"I… I already told you, Commander. I'm from Liuyang Village, here to find my younger brother who fled to this city," the man replied, his voice trembling.
"Liuyang Village?" The commander frowned. "That's near the northern border—territory ripe for Qin spies."
"I'm not a spy! I'm just a farmer!"
From the edge of the crowd, Li Yuan studied the scene.
The commander—around thirty, with a hard, severe face—clearly did not believe the farmer's story. The four other soldiers kept their hands on their sword hilts, ready to act at their leader's signal.
The onlookers were divided—some pitied the farmer, some eyed him with suspicion, while others were there simply to watch.
"Proof," the commander said coldly. "We need proof you're not a spy."
"What more proof can I give? I've shown you the letter from my village chief, I've told you about my brother…"
"All of that could be forged."
Li Yuan felt the tension mounting. The farmer was growing desperate, the commander more suspicious, and the townsfolk more restless. It was like a small flame about to flare into a wildfire—unless someone cooled it down.
He stepped forward, parting the crowd with a calm, steady pace.
"Excuse me," he said, not loudly, yet clearly enough to be heard.
The commander turned sharply, his gaze narrowing on Li Yuan. "And who are you?"
"Li Yuan. I work at the emergency care center on Bamboo Street."
"And what do you want?"
Li Yuan glanced at the bound farmer, then back at the commander. "May I see the letter?"
The commander frowned. "Why?"
"I've been to Liuyang Village before. I might be able to verify whether it's genuine."
It wasn't entirely a lie—Li Yuan had traveled near the northern border, though not specifically to Liuyang Village.
The commander hesitated, then finally handed him a worn piece of paper.
Li Yuan examined it carefully: simple handwriting, a slightly smudged village seal, paper that was genuinely old. Nothing about it seemed suspicious.
More importantly, this gave him the chance to stand closer to everyone at the heart of this tense scene.
Slowly, the resonance of the nine Understandings in his Ganjing began to spread—not forced, not obvious, just… present. Like the faint scent of flowers on a drifting breeze, or the soft sound of water flowing far away.
"The letter appears genuine," Li Yuan said after his inspection. "The seal matches what I remember."
The commander's eyes narrowed. "You're certain?"
"Certain enough."
But what caught Li Yuan's attention was the subtle shift in everyone's expressions as he spoke.
The commander, tense and suspicious moments ago, now breathed a little deeper. His shoulders no longer sat like stone blocks. His gaze was still watchful, but no longer sharpened with anger.
The other soldiers relaxed as well; their hands loosened from their sword grips.
The farmer, who had been half-paralyzed with fear, now looked a little steadier. His voice no longer shook when he spoke.
Even the townsfolk seemed calmer—their murmurs softening, their tension bleeding away.
"You said you work at the emergency care center?" the commander asked.
"Yes. With Doctor Huang."
"Doctor Huang?" One soldier turned. "I know him—good doctor. He once treated my older brother."
The commander nodded slowly. "If Doctor Huang vouches for you—"
"I'm not asking him to vouch for anyone," Li Yuan interrupted gently. "I'm just here to confirm the letter is real. The decision is yours, Commander."
The commander studied Li Yuan differently now—not with suspicion, but curiosity. "You're a strange one."
"Strange how?"
"Most people, when they see soldiers interrogating a suspected spy, keep quiet or walk away. You stepped forward."
Li Yuan gave a faint smile. "Maybe because I didn't see 'soldiers questioning a spy.' I saw 'an anxious man meeting a frightened man.'"
The words made the commander pause.
An anxious man meeting a frightened man.
Not soldier versus spy. Not law versus criminal. Just two human beings, both caught in something far larger than themselves.
"You're not wrong," the commander admitted at last. "I am anxious. Anxious that if a spy slips through, my hometown will be the first to fall."
Li Yuan nodded. "And he's anxious that he'll be branded a spy when all he wants is to find his brother."
The commander looked at the farmer with a changed gaze. "Your brother's missing?"
"Not missing, Commander. I just… don't know which part of the city he's in. I've been searching for three days without finding him."
"Untie him," the commander ordered.
The soldiers hesitated. "But, Commander—"
"Untie him. And help him find his brother."
"Commander?"
The man—introducing himself now as Commander Chen—looked at his men. "If he were truly a spy, would he waste his time searching for his brother in a city full of soldiers? He'd have fled yesterday."
It was sound logic. The soldiers began to undo the farmer's bonds.
"Thank you, Commander! Thank you!" the farmer said, nearly weeping in relief.
"Don't thank me," Commander Chen said, glancing at Li Yuan. "Thank him—he's the one who convinced me you're no threat."