As Bian Jin leaves, Shen Ni disentangles herself from Diwu Que's embrace, and reminds the latter that she's now a married woman. Diwu Que, reminded, instantly steps backwards. We're told that while the two of them were comrades, Diwu Que wasn't one of Shen Ni's subordinates. Instead, she's the deputy military governor of Luzhou, one of the northern provinces. Not only did she send provincial troops to support Shen Ni, she also fought alongside Shen Ni on the battlefield herself.

Diwu Que, for her part, is fairly sure that Shen Ni had lost her heart to someone a long time ago, because while she was fighting in the north, she was also searching hard for a person, though Diwu Que doesn't know who. She remembers the time Shen Ni got word that said person might be buried somewhere in a mass grave. She rushed there through the night, burning out her hovercraft in the process, and searched through the whole mountain of corpses, most of them infected with the Black Box virus.

Diwu Que remembers how, as the sun rose, Shen Ni looked up at her with eyes so red they were nearly bleeding. 'Did you find them?' she'd asked. 'No,' Shen Ni had responded, and looked up at the sky. Then she'd added, 'As long as I haven't seen their corpse, there's still hope.' Knowing how madly devoted Shen Ni is to that unknown person, Diwu Que thinks what a shame it is that she's had to accept a marriage decreed by the emperor.

Shen Ni had heard the sound of familiar footsteps before Diwu Que pounced on her. Now she turns around, but sees no one. The snow has covered up any footprints that might have been there. She banters with Diwu Que for a while, then Zeng Qingluo shows up and greets Diwu Que happily. Diwu Que embraces her, talking about how huggable Zeng Qingluo is and complaining about how Shen Ni, the wicked fox, won't let herself be hugged.

Diwu Que proclaims that she's treating them both to dinner. Shen Ni replies that she has other plans. Diwu Que asks curiously if she's spending the evening with her wife. Just then, Shen Ni's watch buzzes with message from Bian Jin. Shen Ni opens it, a faint smile on her face, only to see Bian Jin telling her that she won't be coming after all. Shen Ni's face resumes its normal cool expression, and she replies, 'All right.' Since Bian Jin always keeps her promises, she assumes that something urgent has come up. Then she tells Zeng Qingluo and Diwu Que that she'll join them for dinner after all. Zeng Qingluo is somewhat confused — didn't Shen Ni say she was spending the evening with Bian Jin?

Bian Jin wanders through the streets of Chang'an, thinking about the unexpected turn her life has taken. She never planned to marry, much less to become Shen Ni's wife. She thinks about how that sort of warm domestic life doesn't belong to her, and about how she'll be leaving once the time comes. She wanders down a deserted little alley.

Two men who have been following her block her path. They used to be soldiers under her command, whom she punished severely for desertion. They're never allowed to join any part of the army again. The two men attack Bian Jin, keen to take their revenge. Bian Jin avoids their initial attack deftly, but her mechanical spine, unable to bear the force of the movement, starts aching, and she drops the snow globe. It shatters into pieces against some steps.

The two men continue to attack. Bian Jin closes her eyes, silently reflecting on how she's going to have to completely destroy Shen Ni's hard work, and then she essentially rains down hell on them. They're left badly wounded and unconscious. Even broken, we're told, the empire's blade is still more than capable of handling a couple of mere insects.

As the sounds of celebration grow louder, Bian Jin, her whole body wracked with pain, looks quietly down at the shattered snow globe, and looks away again.


Tech watch: Electrified staff (wielded by one of the men)
Named men: 5.5
Reverse Bechdel passes: 0