Joyce jolted awake as the car stopped in the camp outside Wuhan, stretching as she stumbled out of the car. She'd been pretty sleep-deprived over the last few days. Things had been a little hectic with the Flying Dragons split into 5 groups, one with her and Kiyoko near Yuezhou, one back in Changsha with Kajio, Mohan's group in southwestern Hebei, Spade's group near the Henan-Jiangxi border, and Selva's group fifty miles out from Wuhan.

It was a strange arrangement that split up the central command to the point of relying on group chats and video calls, but it was the best they could do with such limited numbers. Ever since the plague-spirits had appeared in Wuhan three days ago, everyone had started coming back towards the city in preparation for their next move.

Joyce managed to trip over her own foot in fewer than five steps. Kiyoko and Han Gai reached out to steady her. Kiyoko pushed up her sunglasses to squint suspiciously at Joyce's face.

"Chairman, I think there's some drool at the corner of your mouth," Kiyoko said dryly. Joyce wiped at it.

"It's the other side, Chairman," Han Gai said softly. Joyce wiped at the other side.

"Joyce!" Kajio called out. Joyce eagerly turned towards her most reliable staff member.

"Kajio!" She called out, reaching out for a hug. Kajio casually ignored it in favor of gesturing at the gathered reporters, but still patted her on the back when Joyce hugged him anyway.

"You have drool on your chin," Kajio said gently. Joyce wiped at it.

"So, livestream?" Joyce nodded at the sea of cellphones and Kajio's livestream equipment.

"Yes, please smooth out your robes a little," Kajio said. "Spade and Mohan will get here very soon. You should go over the script again."

Joyce nodded, pulling out her phone to look at the script.

"If we can get the prominent families in Wuhan to turn against Wu Peifu, we might be able to get a wealthy sponsor," Kajio reminded her. "So please present yourself well. We need money."

They did. The Flying Dragons barely had enough funds to keep their current forces out here, unless they did war crimes or appropriated enough warlord money, they wouldn't have enough money to throw into the next stage of the Northern Expedition.

Their finances were fine back when they were still in Canton, but it wasn't as though they had a huge stash of savings anywhere, they needed money and soon. The secret savings Kajio had pulled out from his shares in the wine trade would run out before they could even reach Nanjing, so the plan had always been to earn more money on the road. It wasn't as though they could do some kind of Magic Mike routine though, so it wasn't all that easy.

But Wuhan was a rich city. Joyce was sure they could get something here. That was their goal here; take Wuhan, get money.

"Who's the richest dude in town?" Joyce asked.

"Hu Reifu, he's old money. But he only has one daughter, Hu Ruohan, and Wu Peifu forced her to get engaged to his wife's nephew, so unless things work out really well we won't get his support," Kajio said.

"So like a hostage," Joyce said.

"Like a hostage," Kajio agreed. "She's pretty popular on social media for rocking men's clothes though, and she has a PhD in Finance Administration, so still better than you. Now read your damn script."

Joyce dutifully began reading it again, despite knowing for sure she wouldn't be able to stay on-script later. She looked up as Spade arrived, catching the can of herbal tea hurtling towards her face with familiar ease. Mohan arrived soon after, and they all stood around chatting for a bit before Kajio lost his patience and shoved them towards the portable podium.

Joyce smiled for the cameras and began her short but already half-forgotten speech, Spade and Mohan standing on either side of her.

"Citizens of China," she began, trying not to glance at her phone. "In recent days, there has been an epidemic of plague-spirits in the great city of Wuhan. We, the Order of the Flying Dragons, offer our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families."

A wave of camera flashes went off.

"We would like to confirm the rumor that the plague-spirits are a result of Wu Peifu having angered the spirits. His brutal acts of warmongering and militarization, as well as the harm that he has wrought upon the people, have resulted in divine retribution." After reading the script repeatedly, Joyce could at least remember this much, even if things were a little blurry after this part. Having forgotten the rest, she decided to follow the vein of what she remembered.

"I, Joyce Lee, the Sixth Apostle and Chairman of the Order of the Flying Dragons, promise to banish the plague-spirits and restore peace to Wuhan and its people," Joyce declared.

"However, it is impossible for me to do so from outside the city. I would enter the city to rid it of this epidemic, but Wu Peifu refuses to allow it! His pride is more important to him than his soldiers and his populace. We cannot enter unless Wu Peifu is overthrown."

"Soldiers, citizens, square up and wreck that fucker! The second you do so, you will win back your safety!" Camera flashes went off like crazy. Joyce made to wrap up, but Spade sharply elbowed her in the ribs.

"Right, and also, this totally wasn't me. I can't summon long-distance, guys. Just like I can't banish long-distance," Joyce said, having completely forgotten this part of the script altogether.

"But I won't do something like harming civilians. Especially not with infectious diseases, like who the fuck does that? Other than total assholes, I mean. Anyways, gonna keep this kid-friendly."

She could tell Spade was trying not to smack her. "Seriously, plague-spirits in Wuhan hits a bit too close to home for me. Things started going downhill in my world, on a global scale, starting from a plague in Wuhan. So I'm really the last person who would do something like this."

"Anyways, thanks for listening. Bye guys, see you when Wu Peifu's gone."

Hu Ruohan cackled at the speech playing on social media. The teenaged Apostle and the people around her must have really thick skin, given the videos circulating online. Even if she was trapped in Wu Peifu's in-law's house, she could still tell that the city was probably sizzling by now.

'This is my chance,' she thought gleefully. She was already twenty-five and running out of excuses to delay her marriage to Wu Peifu's in-laws. The Northern Expedition had really saved her neck on that one. With how sensitive Wu Peifu had been recently, her actions had only grated on his nerves all the more.

That was exactly why Ruohan upped her normal routine of wearing men's suits and robes to cut her hair short as well. Her selfies had blown up on social media, where a bunch of girls were gushing that she was hotter than any dude.

That had certainly been emasculating for her fiance's very fragile ego, but whatever. Wu Peifu couldn't kill her and risk losing her father's support altogether, but his patience was running thin and his in-laws were getting nervous.

"I've really got to thank that little Chairman for this kind of opportunity," Ruohan mused as she tagged the Flying Dragons in her post of support. She uploaded the post to all her social media accounts, cackling gleefully as she did so.

Ruohan's secretary and personal assistant Yutian entered the room with a scowl on her dainty face.

"Miss, just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Yutian snapped.

"I'm getting out of here," Ruohan said cheerfully. Yutian scowled even more as the posts steadily gained likes and reposts.

"Mr. Wu is going to kill you," Yutian said.

"He can't," Ruohan replied confidently.

"He'll try," Yutian said, "You're going be kicked out the door like a female lead in a shitty three a.m drama, like, right away. Your future-in-laws are sensitive and hysteric as hell, you'll land on the road in three minutes flat."

"Then we should pack up beforehand, no?" Ruohan said. Yutian sighed and grudgingly went to start preparing their suitcases. Ruohan twiddled with her phone, looking through her contacts list.

If she left, she could probably take a lot of the Finance Department with her. Everyone knew that Wu Peifu was definitely going down now; his people wanted a way out. Her older cousin was a captain in Wu's army, but Ruohan was sure that he'd cave in easily enough if she needled him. The only problem now was getting home.

Ruohan's phone rang with a series of angry texts from her father. She ignored them, waiting for her fiance's parents to burst in.

Ruohan glanced at the clock. "They should be here soon," she said mildly. Yutian shook her a dirty look.

"Miss, you really have something wrong with your head," Yutian said scornfully.

"I'm serious, they'll open the door in three, two, one!"

The door slammed open to Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, her no-longer-future-in-laws.

"Ruohan!" Mr. Zhang roared. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Delete this post immediately!"

"I won't," Ruohan replied cheerfully.

"Good spirits! This hard-headed girl! Ruohan, brother-in-law is so sensitive right now, how could you anger him like this?! Do you not want to live anymore?!" Mrs. Zhang sobbed.

"Mr. Wu is a gentleman, he won't kill a young woman for being foolish," Ruohan said. She smiled innocently, ignoring Mr. Zhang's fuming.

"This little bitch! You'll take down our whole family with you!" He shouted. "Mr. Wu called me himself about this, just how the hell do you expect to take responsibility?!"

"I won't," Ruohan said again. Mr. Zhang made as though to slap her, but Mrs. Zhang quickly held him back.

"We can't keep someone like you under our roof anymore, especially not at a time like this! Ruohan, get out immediately," Mrs. Zhang snarled. Ruohan stood up happily, waving at Yutian to bring the suitcases.

"Well, sorry for the trouble, I'll get going then!" Ruohan said cheerfully, slipping past the angry couple with Yutian and two suitcases in tow. Taking pity on Yutian, who was carrying two backpacks and two suitcases, Ruohan took her own things and flung the front door open. They stepped into the street.

"That went really well," Ruohan commented to Yutian as she flagged down a taxi. Yutian shook her head.

"A bit too well. Something's bound to go wrong now. Miss, you haven't called your father yet, have you?" Yutian said disapprovingly. Ruohan avoided the question by getting into the taxi.

"Hu Manor, Jianghan Road," Yutian said to the taxi driver, slipping him a bill before turning an expectant gaze on Ruohan again.

"I'll just talk with him face to face," Ruohan said.

Yutian shook her head. "Miss, you're looking to get slapped." Ruohan shrunk a little, pouting as she scrolled through her phone again, sending off a couple messages.

Yutian seemed to give up, sitting back in her seat with an exasperated expression. They sat in silence for the whole ride, Ruohan on her phone the whole time.

Ruohan grinned as she entered through the back door, a route she'd often used to escape tutoring sessions as a child.

"Home sweet home," Ruohan crooned. There was a light bounce in her step as she pushed her suitcase into the hallway, Yutian sighing behind her. A servant rounded the corner, dropping a teapot with a gasp.

"Miss! Goodness gracious, what are you doing here?!" The lady gasped.

"I got kicked out by my fiance's house, so I came back," Ruohan said cheerfully. The poor lady teared up immediately.

"Oh no! That must've been so terrible! Miss, are you alright?!"

It seemed as though her father either didn't know what she did yet or had kept his reaction under wraps. Ruohan patted the lady's arm gently before moving past her and down the hallway.

"Miss, surely you're not going straight to Master's study?" Yutian asked, a sharp edge in her voice. "Miss, you aren't that dumb, right?"

"I'm going," Ruohan said petulantly. "Just wait outside, okay?" Yutian sighed and stopped, watching as Ruohan approached the grand doors of the study. The servant standing by the door gasped upon seeing her, stammering out a greeting as Ruohan burst into the study.

"Dad! I'm home!" Ruohan called out. A book crashed into the door behind her, nearly smacking into her face. "Wow, are you that happy to see me?"

"You crazy brat!" Reihe shouted. "How could you do such a foolish thing?!"

"Whoa, you're not going to welcome me?" Ruohan pouted. She ducked the second book that sailed towards her head.

"Ruohan! You'll be the death of the entire Hu family!" Reihe shouted, voice breaking a little. Ruohan winced.

"Dad, listen, I did it with a plan in mind," she began. Reihe shook his head, thin frame trembling with rage.

"I ignored it when you insulted your fiancé, I ignored it when you insulted the Zhangs, because I knew it was my fault you were suffering like this! But you not only didn't understand my intentions, you took it as a go-ahead to insult the Jade Marshal!" Reihe choked out, sounding increasingly tearful. Ruohan winced.

"Dad," she tried again. Reihe shook his head.

"Just what do you take the Jade Marshal for? Forget it, it's evident that I can't get through to your mud-swamped brain. Take some cash and go stay in a hotel for now, I'll find some way to get you out of the city as soon as possible," Reihe said heavily.

"Dad, you haven't heard me out yet," Ruohan wheedled.

"Ruohan! Even if you're my only daughter, there's still your cousins and the staff members to think about. I can't risk everything by keeping you here, or Wu Peifu will have all of our heads!" Reihe waved his hand to dismiss her. Ruohan sighed and gave up, slamming the door shut behind her as she left.

"Damn," she said, ignoring the frightened servants as she headed back towards Yutian.

"I told you so," Yutian deadpanned. Ruohan scowled.

"Whatever," she grumbled. "But I get it, he can't let me in as if I didn't just make a mess. That's fine, let's go make a bigger mess."

"Miss?!" Yutian sounded genuinely alarmed this time. Ruohan grinned as they exited through the back doors again, taking their suitcases along.

"Call the reporters," Ruohan said dramatically, kicking her suitcase into a puddle of mud. She ignored Yutian's squawk as she looked into the cloudy sky. "Seems like it'll rain too, it's time for a play."

"Miss, you're insane!" Yutian said, texting reporters even as she spoke.

Ruohan bit back a smile as she knelt before the front door of the Hu Manor. It had started raining lightly, but was sure to turn into a heavy downfall soon enough. The gathered reporters, random passerby, and social media influencers who had happened to catch wind of this were all looking at her with sympathetic looks.

Yutian was certainly helping by looking weak and vulnerable with two mud-splattered suitcases and an umbrella hanging on by its last legs, looking tearfully between Ruohan and the front door.

"Miss," Yutian whimpered. "It's starting to rain, please just take shelter for now! We can come back later!"

"No! I won't leave unless Father forgives me!" Ruohan cried out, glancing at the reporters out of the corner of her eye to see if her performance was good enough.

"Miss! Please don't be like this! You're Master's only daughter, imagine how sad he would be if you got sick?" Yutian sobbed. Yutian had gotten into the role really well after Ruohan promised to triple her bonus, dropping Oscar-level performances at the drop of a hat.

As if on cue, the rain got heavier. Ruohan tried not to get water into her nose and got it into her mouth instead. Sure, this was embarrassing, but it was only the third-most embarrassing thing this year and also much more embarrassing for her dad.

"Father! Please forgive me! I was wrong!" Ruohan wailed. She was really glad she'd put on waterproof makeup and clothes that looked good even when they were wet, given the amount of rain she was getting drenched with right now.

Yutian let out a few convincing sobs, running forward to fling herself onto her knees and hold the umbrella over Ruohan's head. Yutian was really getting into the whole method acting thing.

"Miss! Please! At least think of your health!" Yutian wailed.

"Cry harder," Yutian hissed at Ruohan under her breath. Ruohan avoided staring at Yutian, who was really playing the role well.

Taking Yutian's advice, Ruohan let out some dramatic sobs, covering her face with her hands.

"Father, please! Take mercy on your foolish daughter!" Ruohan sobbed, nearly choking on the water she accidentally got into her mouth. She could tell that the livestreamers were getting a ton of views just by the way they kept edging forward excitedly.

If Reihe couldn't take her in because Ruohan made a ruckus, all she had to do was make a ruckus that would make it acceptable again. Her face covered by her hands, Ruohan let herself smile.

The front door swung open.