– Yes, what is it? – the Empress’s brother suddenly turned to him and looked with such a naive expression on his face, as if he himself had seen the Romans with his own eyes for the first time. Yong Fu Xing sighed with relief – now he could answer.

– These are Luoma Ren, inhabitants of a distant country. They fought with the Parthians. Zhi Zhi bought them. They protected him.

– Why are they here then? – without changing his intonation, the narrow-bearded man asked the second question.

– They are very strong and skilled warriors, – Fu Xing said less confidently, not knowing what to say next. Apparently, he had no more explanations for what almost a hundred people were doing here, fighting on the side of the Emperor’s sworn enemy.

– Can they teach us anything? They have blue faces and hairy arms. They look like corpses from old graves. What can these dead people teach us, Fu Xing?

– Ahh… I don’t even know… – the young security chief stammered. Lacius could see his face turn red and a dark vein twitch on his neck.

– We can teach you how to hold a sword, – he said loudly and clearly so that the guest could understand his words. Judging by the way this formidable courtier spoke, his speech was different from Chow Li and he spoke a little differently. There was such a tense silence under the canopy that it seemed as if a thunderstorm was about to break out or someone would lose their life. Seeing that everyone was petrified, Lacius added: – And not only the sword. We know how to fight with a sword and a spear, – he lowered his chin to his chest, feeling that the torn lining of the helmet was putting a lot of pressure on the back of his head and he should take it off to fix it, but…

– Does he speak our language?! Who is this? – Wang Mang asked as sharply as the first time, looking at the servants.

– This is the best warrior I have ever seen, – the chief of the guard unexpectedly answered loudly. The Empress’s brother looked at him as if an enemy was standing in front of him and he wanted to kill him with his evil, soul-penetrating gaze.

– Call Yu Lai! – he ordered in a calm voice, but from his words the crowd of servants swayed to the side with such force, as if a hurricane had hit them. Everyone whispered, turning their heads towards the horses on which Wang Mang and his men had arrived.

– Yu Lai, Yu Lai, Yu Lai… – echoed under the canopy roof, and a tall, broad – shouldered Chinese man in a black robe with yellow inserts appeared in the aisle.

– Give him a sword! – ordered the Empress’s brother. Fu Xing handed his weapon to the approaching warrior and stepped aside. The servant in the black robe, who followed him, unwound the white belt and pressed one edge to the ground with his toe. He held the other in his outstretched hand.

There was a short exhalation, and four white pieces of silk fell at his feet, and Yu Lai was already standing, leaning on his sword, smiling as if it wasn’t him who did it. And although this warrior did not allow himself to show feelings in front of his master, it was clear that he was full of confidence in his superiority over any opponent. Lacius heard Zeno chuckle in surprise from behind. A smile touched his lips, and he, trying to remain calm, said:

– We don’t kill the air. We are killing the enemy, – these words made more of an impression on the self-confident warrior than on his master. He was taken aback not only by what he heard, but also by the fact that the barbarian spoke to him in his language. Yu Lai asked the Empress’s brother something, he nodded in response, and then he approached Lacius and angrily tore the shield out of his hands. Then he threw it to the ground and cut it with one blow. Chips and copper plates flew to the sides. The shield was no longer there, and an oblong line from the blade remained on the dry, clayey ground.

– Give the sword to the slave! – Wang Mang ordered.

– My lord, I ask you, – the voice of the head of security was heard behind him…

The Empress’s brother turned his head and looked at him.

– What?

– He killed Zi Yue. He is very dangerous.

Wang Mang snorted disdainfully and shook his head.

– Give him the sword! – he repeated again and added, turning to the frightened governor: – Are your warriors afraid even of a chained enemy?

There was no answer. The head of the guard, Fu Xing, was subordinate to the governor, and Bao Shi frowned menacingly, looking at him with disapproval. After the Empress’s brother left, he could remember this self-will and punish him.

A servant named Yu Lai handed Lacius a sword and, taking a step back, leaned against the pillar, crossing his arms over his chest and spreading his legs to the sides. He nodded to the servant, who stretched the remaining part of the belt in front of Lacius.

The sword was already jagged, and with such a blade, even with a very strong desire, it was impossible to cut the hanging silk. Moreover, the servant did not pull the ribbon tight. It was loose. Lacius saw this. But he also felt that he simply did not have the strength to make four quick, deft movements.

– Well? Can you repeat it? – Wang Mang asked him calmly and without irony.

– I don’t kill the air. I already said, – he repeated.

– Then kill him! Kill Yu Lai! – the Empress’s brother nodded towards the warrior leaning against the pillar. He grinned arrogantly. It was no more than three steps away. It was impossible to overcome them in one jump. Lacius’ legs were chained. There was only one thing left to do – resort to the old proven technique.

– There are no enemies here. He is not my enemy, – he said, placing his hand on the blade. Now he held it like a spear, but no one paid attention to it. – I can’t kill a man without a weapon, – finishing these words, Lacius saw the strong Han warrior turn his head to the side disdainfully and the Empress’s brother frown, the fat governor Bao Shi shrink into a ball behind him and the chief of security Fu Xing straighten up, apparently having guessed his intention; the servants made a noise behind the shed, conveying these words to each other.

But when the “thunderstorm of silk belts” turned his face, hearing the sound of a blade piercing the wood, it was already too late. He saw the sword sticking out of the post, right between his legs. Having pierced the robe, it stuck into the wood at a palm’s distance from the source of his male power. Lacius swayed. Even such a simple throw required a lot of strength. Everything swam in a circle again in his eyes: the face of the guard chief Fu Xing, distorted with annoyance and resentment, the frightened face of Governor Bao Shi with trembling lips and a half – open mouth, the helpless and confused expression on the face of the “thunderstorm of silk belt” Yu Lai and the unexpected smile on Wang Mang’s face, the Empress’s brother.

– Good shot, – he replied, shaking his head. – Smart move. You could have killed him.

– He is not my enemy, – Lacius repeated once again. – I don’t kill people.

– Okay… Everyone can learn this. But we don’t need that. Why do we need this? Three warriors are still stronger than one. We don’t need these people, – he said again, turning to Bao Shi.

– They built a big city and stone walls, – the old Governor said not very confidently, hiding his eyes.

– We can build a thousand such cities! – Wang Mang proudly threw at him.

– But you don’t have bridges, – Lacius finally remembered what Chow Li told him. – There are no bridges in your mountains. – You can’t build stone bridges in the mountains, – he added. The Empress’s brother frowned and looked at the governor. He raised his eyebrows, as if to say “Well, yes, he’s right,” and Wang Mang immediately responded with a question:

– Can you build it?

– Yes.

– Show me right here!

– I’ll need stones and boards, – Lacius shrugged.

– Show me! Hey Yu Lai! Take out your sword and drag stones and two boards here! Dig the earth, pick the stones out of the road. If he is lying, you will put his head instead of one stone!

The warrior, red with indignation and anger, bowed and immediately rushed to carry out the order. However, there was gloating in his eyes, because in his soul he hoped that he would be able to cut off the offender’s head when he failed to build his stone bridge, as he promised his owner. A dozen servants poured out about forty stones, slightly larger than a palm, in front of Lacius, and he whispered praise to all the gods for the fact that they were not round.

– The boards are mountains. Make a bridge between them! – Wang Mang ordered.

Having laid them out so that under his hands there were stones with beveled edges, reminiscent of triangles, and the rest a little further away, Lacius took up the wood boards. He tilted them towards each other at a distance of an elbow and placed two stones under them. Then he took the first triangular stone and pressed it to the board. The second one goes to it. To the second – the third… As a result, he got an arch of stones, which rested its ends on the inclined edges of the boards. After this, he took several narrow stones and inserted them into the cracks, strengthening the first row. He placed smoother pebbles on top and added a few more pieces around the edges.

Now there was an arch below and an almost flat road above. Calling Lucro and Zeno, he asked them to hold the boards, and he, taking an iron ball and chain in his hands so as not to interfere, carefully stood with his feet on the top of the small stone bridge. If these people knew that any legion had to be able to build not only cities and roads, but also stone bridges and sewers, they would not be so surprised. However, the Han people did not know this and therefore exclamations of surprise and joy were heard from all sides. They liked the strange barbarian from a distant unknown country.

When Lacius came down, the Empress’s brother came up and took his place. Small stones supported his weight. Lacius smiled wearily.

– You will teach our people this, – Wang Mang said very calmly and evenly, as if this was nothing surprising to him. – Yu Lai, horse! – he shouted and quickly walked out from under the canopy. Everyone froze in confusion, not knowing what to do. Only Governor Bao Shi smiled and joyfully rubbed his palms, hiding them on his stomach under wide, long sleeves.

The young head of the security, Fu Xing, approached him and, bowing, asked something. The Governor patted him on the shoulder in a fatherly manner and began to explain. Lacius did not hear anything, since there were many servants around, each of whom now wanted to stand on his small bridge, and poor Zeno and Lucro were forced to try their best to keep the boards motionless. The Han people rejoiced and laughed like children, but Lacius felt that this was not the end yet. Confirmation came a little later.