By the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk of the first day of the eleventh moon of the thirteenth year, the small accumulating *not-yet* the lad had laid in his accumulating reply to Li Mi's third letter had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past month — been received at the small accumulating new headquarters at the small accumulating *Li Mi's accumulating patient* shape.
The runner from the new headquarters had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two weeks — come back up to the master's hut with Li Mi's small accumulating *fourth letter*.
The fourth letter said in perhaps eighty characters:
*Heizi-zhang. By the small specific accumulating reading at the past month — Li Mi accepts the lad's accumulating *not-yet*. The Wagang's accumulating *recognized upper-hills sub-base* at the small accumulating cold-spring camp under Yan Wenshu holds. The lad's accumulating *holding-of-the-master* is, by the small specific reading I am giving, the small accumulating *correct* answer for the lad's accumulating responsibility. The Wagang will, by the small specific reading I am giving, hold the lad's accumulating place at the small accumulating *new headquarters' accumulating staff-officer* shape until the lad's accumulating *moment after the master's accumulating end*. — Li Mi.*
Heizi read it.
He laid it at the small wooden bench beside the small accumulating earlier letters.
He looked at Lao Wen.
The master was, by the small specific reading at this dusk, at the small wooden stool with the small bound *Daxue* in his old hands. He had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two weeks — read the *Daxue's accumulating fourth round* and was, at this dusk, at the small accumulating *fifth* round.
He looked up.
He said in the small low voice: *lad. By the small specific accumulating reading at the past month's letters — Li Mi has, by the small specific reading I am giving, become at the small accumulating *real political eye* of an old Sui-official's-son who has, by the small specific reading I am giving at the past four months' accumulating arrangement, become at the small accumulating *real* leader of the small accumulating winning rebellion.*
He paused.
"By the small specific reading I am giving — Li Mi will, by the small specific reading at the next year, hold the small accumulating *patience* at the lad. By the small specific reading I am giving — when the small accumulating *moment after the master's accumulating end* comes, the lad will, by the small specific reading I am giving, find the new headquarters' accumulating *welcome* at the small accumulating *real* shape. The lad will not, by the small specific reading I am giving, find the small accumulating *real* shape's accumulating *easy*. Li Mi will, by the small specific reading I am giving, also be at the small accumulating *Sui-official's-son's accumulating *political* shape that is, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past forty years' Sui-court reading, *not* at the small accumulating *honest-magistrate* shape of the lad's accumulating master."
He paused.
"By the small specific reading I am giving — the lad will, in the next year and beyond, see Li Mi's accumulating *political* shape at the small specific accumulating *real* moments. The lad will, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past five years' political philosophy reading, recognize the shapes when they come."
He paused once more.
"That is — by the small specific reading I am giving — what I am laying at this dusk."
Heizi nodded.
He filed it.
That winter — the thirteenth winter of the brothers on the road, the second winter of Heizi's twenty-third year, the first winter of the *return-to-the-hut* — went by, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four months at the hut, at the small accumulating *holding-and-deepening* shape.
The twelve drilled at the small clear ground at every fair-weather noon. The six veterans laid in the *moment* further; by the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk of the first day of the second moon of the fourteenth year, the six veterans were at the small accumulating *six-of-eight* against the Sui-veteran-shape — by the small specific accumulating reading at Lao Wen's eye on them — at the small accumulating *real-engagement* readiness shape.
Heizi at the small wooden bench at the long evenings completed the small accumulating *third piece* the master had laid for him at the past two months — a small accumulating *thousand-character* memorial on the small accumulating *small-specific-shape-of-an-officer-whose-hand-is-in-the-country's-failure-but-not-of-it*.
The piece was — by the small specific accumulating reading at Lao Wen's eye on the finished sheets at the dusk of the third week of the third moon of the fourteenth year — at the small accumulating *real* shape.
Lao Wen had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past piece's reading — laid one hand once on the sheets.
He had said in the small low voice: *lad. By the small specific accumulating reading at this piece — the lad has, at twenty-four, laid in the small accumulating *political reading* of an old scholar's accumulating apprentice's accumulating sixth or seventh year. The piece is — by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — sufficient for the small accumulating *moments after the master's accumulating end*. The lad will, by the small specific reading I am giving, take it with him.*
By the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk of the first day of the fourth moon of the fourteenth year, the small accumulating Sui patrols at the southern fold returned.
They came up at the small accumulating *fifty-strong* shape Lao Wen had predicted.
The lame brother spotted them at the small accumulating eye-station of the dawn.
Heizi laid the small accumulating *holding-arrangement* at the upper bend.
The twelve held against the fifty-strong patrol at the small accumulating *upper bend's bottlenecking* by the small specific accumulating reading at the past year's accumulating preparation. The fifty Sui broke at the small accumulating *fourth wave* with — by the small specific reading at the dusk's accumulating count — twenty-eight dead. The twelve had — by the small specific accumulating reading — taken three wounded and one dead.
The one dead was *Sun Erlin* — the small accumulating runner at the past year's accumulating *eye-and-runner* shape. He had taken a Sui spear at the small accumulating *block-and-set's* accumulating recovery at the third wave.
Heizi laid the small specific accumulating *one-mark-knowing* of Sun Erlin at the dark catalog at the dusk.
The small accumulating combined dark catalog stood at twenty-three named names plus the *unnamed thousand* plus the *new accumulating Sui dead* of the small accumulating *fifty-strong patrol* (twenty-eight more, unnamed, of the *unnamed thousand+*).
The lighter catalog stood at perhaps eighty-eight items.
That night Heizi at his watch sat at the small banked fire of the *staff-officer's* small specific accumulating new position at the master's clear ground.
He listened.
The shape of the silence on this watch was — by the small specific reading at this evening — the shape of a small specific *staff-officer* whose accumulating *twelve* had — at the noon — held against fifty Sui at the small accumulating *upper bend* with one cost.
He filed it.
He sat his watch through.
The Sui's accumulating *fifty-strong patrol* had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two weeks' peddler-saying — been the small accumulating *Yang Yichen's accumulating *third* attempt at the master's hut, by the small specific reading at the small accumulating slip of the captured Sui sub-officer's body that the boy An Ashi had, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two weeks' accumulating careful searching, found at the small accumulating *third Sui dead*.
The slip carried — by the small specific accumulating reading at the boy's accumulating *political eye* on it — the small accumulating *Wén Déxiū* name, in the small specific accumulating clear ink of an accumulating Sui-court ledger's accumulating slip-issuance.
The Sui had — by the small specific accumulating reading at this slip — *officially* named the master.
The boy laid the small slip at the small wooden bench at the dusk.
Heizi looked at it.
He looked at Lao Wen.
The master, by the small specific reading at the small slip's accumulating reading, looked at it for a long beat.
He nodded — slowly.
He said in the small low voice: *yes. The Sui has, at this dusk, named me at the accumulating *real* slip-shape. The next patrols will, by the small specific reading I am giving, come at the small accumulating *real* numbers. By the small specific reading I am giving — within the year, perhaps less.*
He paused.
"Lad."
"Yes, master."
"By the small specific reading I am giving at this dusk — the master's accumulating *real name* is at the small accumulating *real* shape of an accumulating Sui-court's accumulating tracking. The master's accumulating *some unfound moment* is — by the small specific reading I am giving — perhaps now within the year."
He looked at Heizi.
"The lad will, by the small specific reading I am giving, prepare. The small accumulating *holding-of-the-master* is, by the small specific reading I am giving, no longer at the small accumulating *holding-against-fifties*. It will, by the small specific reading I am giving at this dusk, become at the small accumulating *holding-against-perhaps-hundreds-or-more*. The hut will, by the small specific reading I am giving at this dusk, in some specific accumulating moment of the next moons — fall."
The brothers were quiet.
Heizi nodded.
He filed it.
In the small lighter catalog, beside the small specific noon of the first holding, he set: *the small specific dusk of the second day of the fourth moon of the fourteenth year, when the Sui's accumulating slip with the master's accumulating real name was found at the small accumulating *fifty-strong patrol's* dead, and the master named the small accumulating *some unfound moment* as within the year.*
The lighter catalog stood at perhaps eighty-nine items.
He sat his watch through.
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