Electric Sky #21: Mid-Autumn Festival - Part 1/4 (Lin Moniao Series)

[ilthit]

Name: Mid-Autumn Festival - Part 1
Story: Lin Moniao Series (AO3 link)
Colors: Electric Sky #21 (Moment of Truth)
Supplies and Styles: gesso; interactive art, life drawing, mural, silhouette
Word Count: 21K
Rating: teen (this part)
Warnings: Breakups, teacher-student relationship, messy polyamory, mind control, graphic violence, mention of abuse and slavery. In future parts: Murder, poison, body horror, allusions to child abuse, suicide, blackmail, betrayal.
Summary: The Illustrious Qilin Villa Sect, along with a number of other Jianghu sects, has been invited to the emperor's banquet for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Before then, they have a grudge to pursue with a corrupt bureaucrat.
Note: Co-written with minutia_r. Also available in full and with illustrations on AO3 here.This one is CHONKY, 83K in all, so I've divided it into four parts for Rainbowfic (the whole thing would be way beyond Dreamwidth post wordcount). This part includes chapters 1-4. ...The warnings for this one went so hard that I should also mention it contains romance, friendship, bravery, and just vengeance.

Chapter One: Reunions

Note: This chapter contains a breakup (offscreen).

-

A week before the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in Kaifeng, the Mid-Autumn Festival has practically already begun. It seems like every other stall at the market is selling lanterns and mooncakes, and even the fishmongers have banners of good wishes up. Figures and images of Chang'e have shown up in restaurants and shops, and the storytellers keep getting requests to tell her legends to the children.

The summer's heat has finally truly dissipated, leaving the days rainy and chilly. Carriage wheels hit puddles on the street and bounce off disturbed earth, spraying mud. Master Wu's household has been prepared for the sect's arrival since the previous day, when word was received that the God and His entourage were nearing the city. Everything is tidy and neat, more servants have been hired or recalled to service, and the table is laid for a feast. The best room is now reserved for the sect leader and the God, with coal crates to ensure a steady temperature, and places for the God to perch, and snacks ready in the drawers. Two inns have been almost fully booked to accommodate those full members of the sect who have come along and cannot be fitted under Master Wu's roof. All of this, despite the presence of Lin-shixiong, has been done by Mu Liqiang, who takes his responsibilities seriously, leaving shixiong leisure to spend his days as he will.

After all, why should Lin Moniao prevent Mu Liqiang from demonstrating how useful he is? It's enough that he's staying out of Mu Liqiang's way and not making him make dinner every night, unlike some shixiongs he could name.

It isn't as if he's short of things to do. Having three lovers to please in town at the same time is a novel experience, and a time-consuming one (but no hardship), and he wants to spend time with Heng Wanxue and Shi Jia before Master Wu arrives and demands most of his attention. Spending time with Shi Jia, also, means keeping up on the latest gossip. Between that, and training, and learning what he can about his new property and making sure his title to it is unimpeachable, and getting up as late as he wants every morning, there's scarcely time for anything else.

Shi Jia spent two days at Master Wu's house to give Shen Shanwei a good head start, but after that, he has been busy. Zhu Chen's records have been checked; Lin Moniao's deed has been confirmed legitimate; and the news are that the constables have made their reports, and the burglars of the Immortal Sword Manor are believed to have escaped to the coast. Xie Lijuan, after spending two days at the Manor, has once again departed with her retinue, heading towards Hubei province.

On the subject of Shi Minhua, Shi Jia has been uncharacteristically tight-lipped; he is only saying that he doesn't think Uncle Minhua is an immediate threat.

The imperial banquet is expected to be unusually egalitarian--there will be diplomats from the north and from the eastern isles, as well as provincial magistrates, landowners and courtiers, and of course--and this is rumored to be the influence of Prince Zhao Kai--the representatives of the greater sects. Besides the Qilin Villa, the Dragon Clan, and Five Phoenix Manor, three of the physicians of the Ancient Willow Sect have been invited, as well as the heads of the Leng-Piao Clan, and of course Liu Xiuling and her disciples.

The snub of Xie Lijuan is the great unspoken fact, but not unexpected.

Of Zhu Chen and Dong Yuan, there has been no information. It is not very worrying, yet. They have been less than a week at their destination, even if they traveled fast.

It's all good news, or at least, as good as can be expected. Lin Moniao is looking forward to seeing Yi Zifan again, since her master is one of the three who have been invited from the Ancient Willow Sect. The question of when he will manage to see her gives him a moment's pause, but he puts it out of his mind--he's sure to figure something out.

The guests' presence in the capital is also conspicuous, if one is paying attention. The finest inns are booked full and many who have houses in the capital find themselves playing hosts to relatives and old friends. Leng Ban and Piao Qingzhao are staying at an inn near the merchant quarter, and their quarreling has drawn complaints, while the fineness of their attire is said to be nigh unbecoming; on top of which, he flirts, and she gambles.

The physicians of the Ancient Willow Sect are also at an inn, but a far simpler one, and have brought with them assistants with martial training to help stave off unwanted applicants for their cures.

The Dragon Clan and the ladies of the Five Phoenix Manor have been granted the extraordinary honor of renting some of Prince Kai's personal property for the stay.

Tree Frog Gao's people are where they always have been--scattered among the beggars and pickpockets, courtesans and charlatans of Kaifeng. Though their master hasn't been invited to any banquets, they will likely feast as well as anyone, on the generosity (willing or otherwise) of all the visitors indiscriminately. If more of them have arrived in the capital, drawn by the rich pickings, Heng Wanxue doesn't say and Lin Moniao doesn't ask.

Xie Manor, too, though uninvited, maintains a presence--at least, a delegation in black and silver arrives at Master Wu's house one day with Lin Moniao's promised reward from the Heartless Dagger: the fabled Asura Trident. Perhaps they go straight back to Nanjing afterwards. Or perhaps they don't.

Where does the Qilin Villa fall in this order of precedence? It is hard to say, other than that nobody has offered them royal rooms, even though their company includes a living God.

The day God Yu arrives, the rain lets up to allow the milky sky some patches of blue, and a rainbow stretches above the city towards the east. The God's box carriage drives up to Master Wu's house while His servants ride beside it and fly banners, clearing the road before and after, and form a blockage against curious onlookers as the sect leader alights onto the muddy road. Not that onlookers could see much--only a veiled woman in fine, if dour dress, carrying a large, covered birdcage with the help of Master Wu. And everyone knows Master Wu! He's nothing to gawk at. But the cage--could it really be a...

"What wet and miserable weather we've had," Master Wu declares as he enters his house and unties his cloak, handing it to one of the servants Mu Liqiang arranged--mostly old faces, already familiar to him. Mu Liqiang is offering to take the sect leader's while two of the God's servants take the cage. "Where is Lin Moniao?"

Just then Lin Moniao himself comes into the entryway. If his face is flushed and his breath short from running, at least his hair and clothing are perfectly in place, and he is, of course, always beautiful.

He hadn't meant to be late to greet Master Wu, and the sect leader and the God! He'd known they would most likely be arriving today, but he had also arranged to meet Heng Wanxue in the morning, and they had gone to see where all the sects were staying (which means it had technically been work), and when they'd spotted a particularly well-dressed Dragon Clan disciple, she had dared him to pick his pocket, and they'd almost been caught. Running away had taken them to an entirely different part of the city, and, returning home, he'd gotten stuck behind his own sect's procession, and had to make his way through alleyways and rooftops in order to get back in time to meet them.

But he is here now, and he makes a low bow, greeting the new arrivals. "Sect leader. Venerable One." He straightens up, smiling. "Shifu, welcome home."

Wu Zhenghao's face breaks into an unprofessional smile at the sight of Lin Moniao, but he modifies it to something more appropriate and nods to him. The sect leader stretches her back and sighs, and two servants of the God immediately flock by to offer her a hand. She waves them away.

Master Wu turns his attention to the large young man now holding the sect leader's rain-spattered cloak. "Mu Liqiang. A qi deviation?"

"Yes, shifu," says Mu Liqiang meekly.

"What was the mental affliction?" ask Sect Leader Niu.

"N-none," he replies.

"There is always one." She turns to Master Wu. "Look into it, won't you? I wish to rest."

The God's cage is set down, the cover removed and its unlocked door opened. God Yu ruffles His feathers sleepily and pokes His head out of the cage, hopping on to the edge of the door and then flapping His wings. He takes in the room imperiously, and then jumps into a short flight up to Beauty Niu's shoulder. She smiles and nods respectfully to Him. The servants, including Master Wu, all join their hands and bow.

"This one will show sect leader her rooms." Mu Liqiang takes the lead, and they file out of the room, while more people come in, carrying travelling chests.

Master Wu comes to Lin Moniao and takes his hands briefly. "Is there anything I need to know right now? If not, we must settle in first. I have some news for you, too."

"If you've heard Shen Shanwei's report, and read mine and Mu Liqiang's, then no, nothing urgent. You did--Shen-shidi did reach the Villa safely?"

"We met on the road, and yes, I have had his report. He passed us by at first, then heard we had been through the area, and rode back until he caught up with us. There is no reason to worry. The Villa needs people to care for its usual business while we are here. Master Guo stayed behind as well. I must say, you have done some remarkable work. It is a pity Xie Lijuan has gone again, or I would have liked to--well. It would have been useful to speak with her again." The room is still busy, but he takes the opportunity to stroke Lin Moniao's hands with his thumbs anyway. "Needless to say, once again--I am very happy to find you safe and well."

Lin Moniao lets out a soft sigh. "Yes. If shifu sends for me once he's settled in, we can talk more then."

The setting up continues with the bringing and guarding of treasures, but as Master Wu leaves, familiar faces come up to greet Lin Moniao. Of course, he knows most everyone here, but when Yu Long sees him, he drops the chest he was carrying and rushes over to catch him in a big bear hug, and won't let go for quite a while. When he does, he wipes his eyes, and says, "I brought you salted herrings from the lake, caught by Hua-shidi himself. He says he misses you and wishes he was here."

"Ah, I miss him too." Lin Moniao is in no hurry to let go of Yu Long either. He wishes he had news of Dong Yuan to pass along, but never mind; he's sure to be here any day now. "I won't pass along greetings from Shen-shidi, because you've seen him more recently than I have, but he did leave me something to give you... I wonder who Mu-shidi has put in his room? I ought to fetch the presents out of his cabinet before they settle in."

"Let's go now, then."

Mu Liqiang has not put anyone in the room yet, as the instructions were unclear as to who would be coming and who would be staying, but sooner or later there will be someone with a bag hankering to get set up. The little cabinet of treasures holds a box about the size of a stack of books with Yu Long's name on it, and the rolled up painting for Master Wu, to which Shen Shanwei has added a letter, wrapped around it.

Yu Long picks up his own gift and looks at it with a guilty expression. "We... I haven't been very nice to Shen-shidi. We talked a little, but... back in the bathhouse... it’s awkward." He unlatches and opens the box, and his face falls. It's a weiqi set, and though Shen-shidi did not overspend on it, it is quite fine. He closes it again and sighs. "Now it's even more awkward..."

"Shixiong, you are always nice to everyone," Lin Moniao tells him firmly. "If you're going to feel bad about standing up for yourself when Shen-shidi disrespected you--don't. You were there for him when he needed you, and that's what counts. And if you really feel awkward, just look out for something nicer to give him when you see each other again, that will show him."

Lin Moniao feels a chill when he talks about Yu Long and Shen Shanwei seeing each other again--remembering Yu Long's glum face the night they got their prophecies from the God, and Yu Long himself wondering if they would all ever be together at the Villa again--and suppresses it ruthlessly. Yu-shixiong is going to be alright, because he, Lin Moniao, will make sure of it.

Yu Long smiles fondly at him for a moment, then takes his weiqi box under one arm and draws him into one more long hug with the other.

--

Later that day, when the household has settled down and food is being prepared, and the house is full of voices and activity once again, Master Wu does send for Lin Moniao, asking him to join him in his new room. The main bedroom with its adjoined reception room is now the God's and the sect leader's, and Master Wu has taken a smaller, single room next to it.

As he crosses the courtyard, Lin Moniao can see the God perched on the roof despite the light drizzle, His eye scanning the roofs of Kaifeng; but by the way His feathers are up, He isn't likely to stay long; and indeed, as Lin Moniao watches, He takes flight and lands just below, out of the rain, on the fence surrounding the inner yard. Then He shakes His wings, cocks His head and looks inquisitively at Lin Moniao.

Lin Moniao stops in his tracks, his mouth gone dry, and feels an impulse to drop to his knees. Sharing a house with the God is very strange.

He settles for making a low bow. "I hope the God's quarters are acceptable." He moistens his lips. "Is there anything He requires of His servant?"

The god clicks His beak. "Come closer," He says in Master Wu's voice. When Lin Moniao does, He lowers His head conspiratorially and says, in Lin Moniao's own voice, sounding rather cheerful about it: "You're not worthy yet, but you'll have to do. Remember. The forests behind the Hanging Serpent Temple on Longhu Mountain, where a stream has its beginnings. A cave behind a bush, on New Year's Day."

That said, He clicks His beak again, so close Lin Moniao may have to check He didn't take a piece of his ear, and takes flight, retreating to the other end of the courtyard and turning His back pointedly. The interview is over.

After another frozen moment, Lin Moniao brings his fingers to his ear and then looks at them, half expecting to see blood, not sure whether he wants to or not.

If he had any lingering doubts that perhaps the God was only repeating what He heard people say, they're gone. Lin Moniao has never said anything like that in his life.

Not worthy yet! He'll show the God. He'll--Longhu Mountain. New Year's Day.

Shaken, he continues on his way to see Master Wu.

Master Wu is waiting seated by the table with an open bottle of wine, his collar untidy, rubbing his temples. He's even taken his boots off. It is not yet evening, but he is visibly tired. "Come in, darling, come here." He opens his arms. This does not seem like the start of a formal interview.

Well, the news about the God--and everything else--can wait, after all. Lin Moniao plops himself unceremoniously down in Master Wu's lap and throws his arms around his neck. "Shifu."

"That's much better." Wu Zhenghao drops his head onto Lin Moniao's shoulder and wraps his arms around him, petting his back. "Your shifu has been sleeping alone and finding he doesn't like it. Stay right here, have some wine, rest with me."

Lin Moniao burrows against his chest for a little longer before letting go and half turning around so he can pour the wine. A little guiltily, he reflects that it's been some time since he had to sleep alone--but it isn't as though he would have been able to spend those nights with Master Wu if he hadn't been spending them otherwise. "I'm here now," he says, filling Master Wu's bowl and then his own. "I won't go anywhere unless you send me there."

"Mmm. At least for a little while, then." Lin Moniao can feel Wu Zhenghao's smile against his neck.

Wu Zhenghao sits up to drink the wine and to kiss Lin Moniao's mouth. Lin Moniao’s own bowl of wine is sitting neglected, but it tastes better on Master Wu's lips.
"It has been a long trip," the master says, "and the God has been... active. Making more specific demands, at any odd hour. More prophecies, too. There has been much to think about. We met Long Dawang of the Dragon Clan briefly along the way... the order of precedence and the seating plan was delivered to the house, Mu Liqiang has already given it to me... I have planned more meetings with the other sect leaders and some officials... I should like you to come with me. And put a little puzzle before you, if you don't mind."

"Yes, The God spoke to me just now--but never mind, I'll tell you afterwards. Let's hear your puzzle first."

"Oh, He did? An honor." Master Wu smiles, unsurprised. "Well, the puzzle. 'The serpent's young will eat the serpent where he sits.' Remember? The God repeats it but doesn't clarify it. I always supposed He meant that one of the Emperor's sons would rise against him. With all this excitement--it could be now. I just wish I had had more time to come to understand and be informed of palace politics, to be sure. I am not at all sure, mind you. All this is guesswork.

"If Zhao Fei is confirmed heir, and should the Emperor die, Zhao Fei will almost certainly dispose of the Empress. There is no love between the Empress and the prince, and she will try to undermine him as well so long as she has any influence in the court. That is only as much as anyone with any knowledge of the palace knows. But to kill an Emperor would be a very dangerous thing--it only happens once in a few hundred or a thousand years, and to try to take the throne in such underhanded ways would certainly spark unrest, maybe even war, and it is simply not a good time for a civil war, considering the northern threat. What would you do, if you were in Zhao Fei's position?"

Lin Moniao hums thoughtfully. "It comes down to how confident I was that I would be confirmed. If I was confident, I would do better to wait until I was confirmed before acting, and could even afford to wait indefinitely. If I was not, I would need to act immediately, while I was still Crown Prince, before one of my rivals could be confirmed. But how could I be confident that I knew what was likely to happen? The Empress has Bureau Four. I, comparatively, would be acting in darkness. It might tend to make a man anxious--reckless, even. Still, even if I were inclined to act precipitously, there are safer targets than the Son of Heaven himself. The Empress, or whichever of my rivals I most feared. But that could have the opposite effect to what I intended, if I were implicated in eliminating them, whereas if the Emperor was dead and I was crowned in his place, that would give me a stronger position to crush any opposition." With a shrug, Lin Moniao concludes, "I'm guessing too. I don't actually know any more than you do. What a pity we cannot ask Huang Tianlin; he at least might have first-hand insight."

"Mm, yes, the notebook. It really is a pity. We are still down to two masters." Master Wu lets out an amused huff. "Should I tell you... well, maybe later. Here is what I have been thinking. If I had a reason to wish someone dead, and everybody knew that I did, I would make sure there is someone else around who looks just as suspicious. Long Dawang, Lord Dragon, is bold to come forward after his recent qi deviation--though his reputation is still good, he makes a fearsome impression, and has not made a pact with the Empire--he would be the very model of the lesser kings who brought down the Zhou dynasty. There are the ladies of Five Phoenix Manor, who have positioned themselves rather awkwardly as an organization within the imperial structure that does not answer to the Empire directly. And there is the anticipated appearance of the Great Khan's ambassador... and we will be there, too. Something to think about."

"We are not likely to help Zhao Fei to the throne. Though that fact may not help us, since it is not known. Perhaps I ought to have let Gao Chengyi talk to Shi Minhua after all." Lin Moniao bites his lip. "I don't mean that. I am sorry that I was so preoccupied with immediate concerns when I had a chance to look through Huang Tianlin's notebook that I neglected the larger picture. And I'm sorrier that I lost him--though I'm not sure how I could have avoided that."

"It's better you didn't linger with the notebook if Huang Tianlin was nearby. You know how fierce he can be." Wu Zhenghao's grip on Lin Moniao grows a little tighter. "You're right, if Zhao Fei wanted us to look like a likely scapegoat, he would have to invent a reason, or poison himself, perhaps. I never told you that old story, did I?"

"I don't think you did," says Lin Moniao, brushing a kiss against Master Wu's neck. "Poisoned himself, really?"

"No, no." Wu Zhenghao laughs. "I only meant that it would be more believable that we poison him than that we harm the emperor; that would be one way to point a finger at us. But I never told you the story of why the sect isn't likely to put Zhao Fei on the throne, about the death of old Lord Niu. Do you happen to know it anyway? And which version, I wonder?"

"Huang Tianlin's notebook is rather sparse on details. All I heard was that Zhao Fei killed the sect leader's father, and the Palace was unsure if she still meant to pursue a grudge," says Lin Moniao.

Both of those statements are true! They're just not as related as he is perhaps implying.

"Mm. Yes. Zhao Fei was young back then and a prince. He did whatever he wanted. I don't think he meant to kill Lord Niu, but he was drunk and upset and Lord Niu spoke back at him. I don't think he thought twice about it afterwards, either. The land went to a different family, and Niu Liling brought her own wealth to the sect when she joined it. It was a long time ago. Well, let us trust the God. He knows what He wants. And He's taking note of you." Wu Zhenghao looks at Lin Moniao fondly. "I am so glad He approves of you. My very best disciple. Is it too early to go to bed, do you think?"

It is. It's still daylight.

Lin Moniao arches his back, glowing at the praise. "Well, if it is, I'm sure no one would think it strange that shifu would wish to rest for a while after such a difficult journey."

How could a man resist such a pleasant proposition? Master Wu soon finds he is not that tired after all, not when it comes to love-making rather than paperwork.

Later, as the stubborn sun is finally edging towards the horizon and the two lie in bed together, Wu Zhenghao smiles as he draws his fingers affectionately across Lin Moniao's back. "How terribly addicted to others I have become. I will have to find a different lover to tide me over when you are not with me. Now, I no longer wish to leave this bed for a week. Send the Palace our excuses: Wu Zhenghao will not come, he finds more pleasure in his lover's arms." He yawns; the exhaustion was merely staved off for the moment, and will catch him up.

Lin Moniao isn't at all sleepy, but neither is he inclined to move. He laughs and snuggles closer, kissing the hollow of Master Wu's throat. "That would be less readily understood, I'm afraid. But if shifu likes..."

Then the other thing Master Wu said registers, and he goes still for a moment.

"Another lover?" He has been trying not to think about it, but he knows well enough what sort of man Master Wu likes. His chest aches for Mu Liqiang, and he wishes he were with him, though there's nothing he can do--Mu Liqiang loves one man, and it isn't Lin Moniao. He sighs and makes himself speak lightly. "I find it hard to understand how anyone could see Mu Liqiang as he is now and not want to climb him like a tree, but I suppose there's no accounting for taste. My poor shidi."

"Here I thought for a moment you were jealous, but you are only concerned for your shidi! Ah... I did speak to Mu Liqiang earlier today. His meridians are in much better condition, his qi less volatile." Wu Zhenghao doesn't say any more, though; Lin Moniao is not incorrect, so what is there to say? He pets Lin Moniao's back soothingly. "You don't have to stay. Tomorrow night I would wish it, yes. Tonight I won't make any demands. I really am terribly fond of you." He kisses Lin Moniao's brow.

Sighing again, Lin Moniao melts into Master Wu's side. He was just wishing to be with Mu Liqiang, but now he hates the thought of leaving Master Wu.

"I know. Shifu is--forgive me if I am presuming too far." Lin Moniao bites his lip and turns his head, half muffling his words in Master Wu's chest. "I have only been thinking--when you came back from speaking with Xie Lijuan, and I only wanted to hold you, because I had been so afraid--I thought, at the time, anyone might be shaken by an encounter with such a formidable person. And that's true. But now, having spoken with her myself, I wonder if perhaps--shifu was feeling ashamed and unworthy of his disciple's concern."

He pushes himself up on one elbow so he can look at Master Wu directly. "If she made you feel that way, she was wrong. It doesn't matter what she made you tell her. You are my own shifu, who is always good to me."

Wu Zhenghao brushes a lock of Lin Moniao's hair back, a crease appearing between his own eybrows. "I can handle Xie Lijuan, because I know who I am. The Heartless Dagger excels at finding the worst possible interpretation of a person's lowest moment. Whatever she digs up, it does not define the whole of one's character. My good disciple should do well to remember that. And to know the very high value of his concern, as well. Shifu is honored by it."

"Thank you. Oh, shifu." Lin Moniao drops back down and hugs him tightly and kisses him one last time before peeling himself out of bed and starting to gather his clothes. "Tomorrow. I'll be back. Shifu is generous--I hope you don't sleep too badly without me."

"One more night ought to be bearable." Wu Zhenghao resettles himself on the bed, and leans his head on his arm to watch him get dressed, expression fond and thoughtful. "Have fun, darling."

--

Sundown has brought with it a kind of quiet to the household. Chores have been done, and no-one is expected to peer at texts by lamplight. From the inner courtyard, Lin Moniao can see lamplight regardless, in the rooms assigned to the God and the Sect Leader, and there is still a soft sound of voices from the direction of the kitchen and the disciples' rooms. Besides Lin Moniao and Mu Liqiang, six other junior members of the sect are staying here. The house has gone from eerily quiet to lively in one day.

Lin Moniao makes his way to Mu Liqiang's room, trying not to draw any attention as he does. Shifu is generous, which is all the more reason not to cost him face if he can avoid it.

Knocking softly on Mu Liqiang's door, he says, "Shidi? May I come in?"

There is a pause, then the sound of scuffling, and Mu Liqiang's form fills the doorway. "Shixiong. I thought you were with shifu. Is--he's not--?" He ducks his head, dropping his eyes, his mouth downturned. "Come in." He moves back to let Lin Moniao enter. The room beyond is almost completely dark, with a single candle lit on the table; his healing balls are out of their box beside the candle.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb shidi's meditation." Lin Moniao follows him into the room, starting to reach out for him, then pulling back, not sure what touch would be welcome. Instead, he repeats, "I'm sorry. He--he does care. He wouldn't have sent me to you if he didn't."

Mu Liqiang steps up when Lin Moniao pulls back and catches him in a big hug. "Shixiong is always so kind. This shidi is ashamed." He squeezes him almost too hard, takes a long breath, gulps; and then he is crying all over Lin Moniao's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Sweetheart." Lin Moniao squeezes back, swallows hard and sets his teeth, because it wouldn't help anything for him to start crying too. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Made shixiong worry," Mu Liqiang says in a shaky voice, still crying ugly tears. "Made you leave shifu's side. This stupid one is--is jealous and scared." He doesn't seem willing to let go any time soon, despite his remorse.

"No, no," Lin Moniao murmurs, rubbing Mu Liqiang's back. "Cry on me all you like; I'm glad to be useful. I was afraid there would be nothing I could do to help shidi at all."

Mu Liqiang cries harder at that, and apart from a few more muzzy apologies doesn't seem to be able to say anything more for the moment.

But tears must come to an end, and though red-eyed and with unsteady breath, he eventually stops and relieves the death-grip a little, drawing back to press his forehead on Lin Moniao's, and touch his cheek with his fingertips. "If shifu won't have me, will you? I would follow you."

"Shidi!" Lin Moniao's eyes fly wide in surprise; at the same time, he has to swallow back the reflex to say, yes, of course, whatever you like. After another moment, he sits down on the bed, tugging on Mu Liqiang's sleeve to sit beside him.

"However you mean it, I don't think it's a decision you ought to make when you’re as distressed as you are now. When I said, that first night, that you ought to choose someone else, I didn't mean--all the reasons why it's a bad idea to love shifu apply also to me. But in any case, if you would like a home at Liu Manor--you won it, I can hardly deny you that."

"Not because of the land!" Mu Liqiang looks wounded. "I take it back, shixiong, I didn't mean it. I just want to make--make someone happy." He looks like he might cry again. "Why are important things so difficult?"

Lin Moniao shakes his head. He has no answer, only the same experience. He didn't mean to make Mu Liqiang feel worse. It would have been easier to soothe him by agreeing to whatever he asked, and if it had been something less important, he would have.

He takes Mu Liqiang's hand and brushes a kiss across the knuckles. "You make me happy, shidi. You do. But you ought to be happy as well."

Mu Liqiang rubs his eyes, shakes his head, and pulls himself together. "Then it's good. This one is happy if he can make shixiong happy."

"Alright." Lin Moniao leans his head against Mu Liqiang's shoulder and wraps an arm around his waist. "I'm sorry I offended you by bringing up the manor. But I cannot forget it, or act as if you didn't give it to me."

"Then shixiong must give me something that it pains him to part with exactly as much as it pained this one to part with the deed, which was really not much at all." He smiles, though it's still wet, and leans over to kiss Lin Moniao's neck.

"Mmm. I will think of something, I'm sure," Lin Moniao says lightly, opening his neck to Mu Liqiang. He didn't come here to argue with him or to make him more unhappy, so he doesn't point out that winning Liu Manor and securing Lin Moniao's future has cost Mu Liqiang the fondest desire of his heart. That securing Mu Liqiang's own future, if he asks, is the very least Lin Moniao can do in return. "And if you think it over when you are no longer afraid and heartbroken, and you find you did mean it after all—I have not said no. I have only said not yet."

Mu Liqiang may not be listening anymore, or perhaps he just pretends not to have heard. He has made a study of how to make shixiong's body happy, at least, and is applying what he has learned. "I like shixiong so much..."

Chapter Two: The Shadow Moon Crown

Note: This chapter contains mind control.

-

Now that the house is alive with activity again, the routines that had been allowed to relax in Master Wu's absence have been re-established. The small training ground is cleared and readied first thing in the morning, while the kitchen fires are lit and Qi Lian and the returned servants prepare breakfast. After breakfast--which the masters have in their rooms, the mere members communally--the day's chores and tasks are meted out. Today, they include learning the protocol and order of events for the upcoming banquet, and rather a lot of purchasing and messages to be delivered around town.

The person giving out orders this morning is a shixiong of Lin Moniao's, Gong Weiyu--one of Master Guo's disciples. "Unsurprisingly, Lin Moniao is to meet with Master Wu after breakfast. Last minute orders." He shoves a paper with the banquet timeline into Lin Moniao's hands and gives him a squint, as if to wonder why Master Wu couldn't have told him himself last night rather than bothering Gong Weiyu with additions to the schedule before he'd even finished his morning bowl of rice. He turns to a shidi. "So, Ran-shidi will be taking the letter to the Leng-Piao clan..."

Lin Moniao accepts the paper with murmured thanks and starts eating a little more quickly. Presumably something unexpected has come up--though it's hardly unexpected for things to come up, so to speak, where he and Master Wu are concerned.

Breakfast completed, he automatically starts heading for Master Wu's rooms before remembering that the sect leader and the God are occupying them now. By the time he knocks on the door of Master Wu's current quarters, he's irritated with himself and perhaps a little late.

Master Wu opens the door, takes his arm and pulls him in quickly. "Good, you're here. I have to go somewhere rather urgently, and it is important that I am not seen to leave. In fact, Wu Zhenghao must stay in his house until past noon, and several witnesses must be able to say so."

He goes up to the table in the middle of the room and snatches up a hairpiece, much like the one he is wearing now to hold his hair up, with a metal ring and a fabric ribbon. It has the design of an open eye above it. "Do you know what this is? No, of course, you wouldn't--we only just acquired it. It's called the Shadow Moon Crown. When you wear it, you can tell outrageous lies and be believed, but you must tell your lie quickly, because the credulity lasts only a few breaths' time, and only on one person at a time. I need you to convince everyone I am at home; convince them they have seen me at home. Preferably also outsiders, and we do expect callers this morning. Do you think you can do it?"

"Can I! I could do it without any treasure." Lin Moniao laughs and shakes his head. "Well, perhaps not that. Still..." He takes the hairpiece and turns it around in his hands, examining it. "The credulity lasts only a few breaths, you say... but the conviction that the lie is true must last longer than that, or it would be of very limited use."

"Correct, if they believe the lie, they will not question it. If they are shown solid evidence afterwards that it is not true, they might doubt themselves, but beyond that they will swear to it."

"Have you tested it? Can an especially strong-minded person resist it, or does it work on anyone? Where did you get it, and who had it before, and can you be sure they didn't--" Lin Moniao breaks off, taking a deep breath. "Apologies. Shifu is in a hurry, so we must discuss this later, but I really wonder... you were speaking of people being framed for crimes. What better way to frame someone than to convince them that they did it?"

"Yes, yes--many possible uses, which is one of the reasons I am glad we have it... but I really must go. Ah, hmm..." He turns around in place, looks at the window as if to contemplate the angle of the sun. "We did test it when we received it, but better safe than sorry..." He frowns a little, hesitates, but shoves the hairpiece at Lin Moniao. "Put it on, tell me something silly. Quickly now."
Lin Moniao takes out the hairpiece he's wearing, trying to think quickly. He hates being rushed with his hair. Something harmless... maybe something that he would like Master Wu to believe.

"Ah, you recall my friend Shi Jia..." he says, fumbling with the Shadow Moon Crown. Tightening it into place with a twist of the wrist, he adds, "The very idea that he cheated on the exams is absurd."

"Yes?" Master Wu frowns. "We're in a hurry, go on."

"Apologies for wasting shifu's time," Lin Moniao says, a curious mixture of triumph and unease swirling in his stomach. "There's no need to test it any further. Shifu had better go. "

Master Wu stops for a moment. "Hm. Excellent. But I do think..." He shakes his head. "Good luck, darling. I'll be back in the afternoon." He swoops in to kiss Lin Moniao briefly and grabs the veiled weimao that had been waiting for him by the door.

The house is between two streets and flanked closely by two other houses, with an alleyway on one side. Lin Moniao knew already that there must be secret ways in and out, but he's never seen them in use--until now. Master Wu goes to the wall and slides it away, revealing a narrow space beyond in the wall facing the alley, steps in, and slides the wall back in place, leaving no visible crack or seam. Well! That explains why Master Wu chose this room when his own rooms were occupied, anyway. Unless there's something like that in every room... No, there couldn't be.

Without him, the room is empty. It hasn't been lived in for long, after all, and the only signs of life are a slight rumpling in the sheets and the washed brushes still drying on the desk. Lin Moniao ought to get to work. Instead he stands rooted to the spot, trying to breathe through his dizziness. He hasn't harmed Master Wu. It wasn't a lie, either time. It's only... what if he walks out of the room and runs into Yu Long?

What if he tells him that they were right to kill Gao Chengyi?

What if he tells Mu Liqiang that he was never in love with Master Wu?

Maybe Huang-qianbei was right. Maybe some treasures shouldn't exist. Nevertheless, he has a job to do. He steadies himself, squares his shoulders and lifts his chin and walks out into the hallway, very much hoping not to see any of his friends.

The hallway is quiet. The doors are closed. Around the corner is the hallway that will lead to the kitchen and servants' quarters, and on the other side the wide doors to the stairs down to the central yard.

Master Wu neglected to mention if the sect leader should also believe he was around. On one hand, Master Wu has never shown signs of keeping secrets from Beauty Niu. On the other, he did say 'everyone'.

Just then the door to the sect leader's rooms opens and Qi Lian backs out with a bow, carrying a tray of used dishes. "Oh! Young Master Lin." She offers him a much sketchier bow, backing towards the hallway to the kitchen.

"Ah, you've cleared away Master Wu's dishes," says Lin Moniao as she goes. It's not so easy to tell people what they themselves have seen and done and make it sound like ordinary conversation! "I am just looking for a disciple to bring him another pot of tea, it looked like he was settling in to a long morning of dull paperwork."

Qi Lian looks down at her tray, blinks, and says, "Of course! Qi Lian will prepare a pot for Master Wu. Does he prefer to be served by a disciple? Then this servant will make it ready." This is, indeed, Master Wu's usual preference.

"Thank you, I'll send one by to fetch it in a moment." He continues down the hall with an eye out for a likely looking disciple.

The hallway that is on the side of the yard has windows and framed doors, and closer by he can hear the sounds of talking outside. Looking through, there is Gong Weiyu just down the steps, his head bent down with two other disciples. "No, Ran-shidi is busy right now. You can't leave the house with fewer than two disciples ready to serve, and you know we can't tie down the shixiongs. There are visitors coming in less than a shichen. You'll just have to go tomorrow."

"Just who I was looking for!" Lin Moniao interrupts cheerfully. "Master Wu wants tea. There's a pot waiting for him in the kitchen, one of you go fetch it."

"Go, go, you heard him!" Gong Weiyu shoos one of the two junior disciples towards the kitchens. He is far too important to go himself.

There, that didn't even require any use of the treasure; the only trick will be to convince whoever comes by to deliver the tea that Master Wu was there to receive it. Lin Moniao turns to Gong Weiyu and says, "When are the visitors going to arrive again? I believe Master Wu intends to meet with them."

"They should be here in the first half of wu, so if anyone has something urgent to do in the city, they'd better leave now. It's one of Long Dawang's sons' personal secretary. And there are outfitters coming at wei for the sect leader, and we are expecting an imperial official before shen."

Lin Moniao puts his hands together. "Gong-shixiong is always so well-informed, it's no wonder Master Guo cannot do without him."

One of Long Dawang's sons' personal secretary--that should be easier to deal with than a crowd of people who all need to be convinced separately that they saw Master Wu, and for their stories to match up. But first Lin Moniao has to hurry back to Master Wu's room and deal with the disciple.

It isn't a long wait. The youth comes back with a pot with commendable promptitude, and is just as quickly convinced that of course Master Wu was in the room when Lin Moniao opened the door for him. He sets the pot down with two cups before retreating.

It's some time later--everyone knows that Master Wu doesn't like to be disturbed when in company--that a knock comes on the door. It is Gong Weiyu again, spewing apologies for disturbing, and asking if the master will want to receive Long Dawang's son's personal secretary in the reception room or in the garden, and if he should arrange for a long interview with tea and snacks, or clear the room for a quick private chat.

"A quick private chat in the reception room would be best." Fewer moving parts, certainly. Everything has been going eerily smoothly so far.

"Is he going to be much longer?" He tries to crane around Lin Moniao's shoulder to see if the Master is in. "Only the schedule he gave me is a little tight, and I need to check a few points now that things have been moved around..."

Gong Weiyu's sharp expression answers one of Lin Moniao's questions from earlier--apparently the crown's effects can be resisted, and Gong Weiyu is sufficiently strong-minded, at least where schedules are concerned. Well, Lin Moniao did tell Master Wu he could do it without a treasure. Now is the time to justify his brag.

If only he'd thought to answer Gong Weiyu's knock in fewer clothes! Though in fairness to himself, he could not very well have taken down his hair. Still, he tries to look a little unfocused and breathless as he moves to block Gong Weiyu's view. "I'll pass on your questions and let you know." Lin Moniao holds out a hand for the revised schedule, then bites his lip and glances over his shoulder. "Do yourself a favor, Gong-shixiong, don't try to bother him right now."

Gong Weiyu's face falls, and he pulls back quickly, no longer craning. He grabs Lin Moniao's shoulders. "Are you mad?" he hisses in a whisper. "It's the middle of the day! I realize Lin-shidi must humor the master but you know well the subordinate's duty to remonstrate... please, please have him presentable before our visitors arrive! Heaven preserve us!" He lets him go, wipes his forehead on his sleeve and hurries away.

As soon as Gong Weiyu is safely out of earshot, Lin Moniao falls back against the wall, rocking with laughter. He will have to apologize to Master Wu later, but one does what one must, after all!

The hour of wu is approaching, and so is the time appointed for Long Dawang's son's personal secretary, when there's a commotion in the yard that doesn't sound like the arrival of a visitor. No one comes to Master Wu's door, however; perhaps Gong Weiyu is holding them back. Still, it's loud enough to penetrate the walls.

Lin Moniao rushes out to see. Does this have to do with Master Wu's mysterious errand--a part of the plan, or a sign something has gone wrong? Or simply an awful coincidence?

Even Beauty Niu emerges from her rooms, the God perched on her shoulder, to lean on the porch fence and address the gathered servants of the Parrot God. "What is the matter?"

The disciples, among them Yu Long and Mu Liqiang, part to show Ran-shidi returned from his mission. His breath is fast, his face is bruised and his clothes have been torn through as if by blades, and he is holding one of his arms at an odd angle.

Beauty Niu's eyes widen and she descends to the yard fast enough to make the God flap His wings to keep His balance. She takes the youth's arm by the wrist and elbow. He hisses in pain, but she is passing him healing energy, and his expression smooths out as the pain softens. "Go get a healer," Gong Weiyu tells one of the other disciples, who nods and runs for the front door.

"There were three of them," Ran-shidi says. "This disciple is sorry he could not hold his own."

"Nonsense," Beauty Niu snaps. "Only bullies fight three on one. Come here, sit down." She guides him to sit down on the stairs.

"Wasn't Ran-shidi sent to the Leng-Piaos?" Lin Moniao mutters, squeezing in next to Yu Long. "We ought to--" But he can't do anything. Not until Master Wu gets back.

"They jumped me on the way back. They took everything I had. Sect Leader Piao didn't give me a message to carry back, just her salutations and thanks to Sect Leader Niu."

"It's an insult to attack one of ours," Beauty Niu declares with uncommon fervor. "Where is Wu Zhenghao?"

Damn! Either the sect leader doesn't know, or--she'll recognize what Lin Moniao is wearing, though. She'll know what he's doing. Unless she doesn't know about the treasure at all?

Damn it, what is Master Wu doing?

Lin Moniao swallows hard and says, "Yu-shixiong and I were with him just a minute ago." Turning to Yu Long, he adds, "He was right behind us. We'll go find him."

"Oh--yes, he was," Yu Long agrees. "Lin-shidi, you go tell him."

Lin Moniao's reasoning was correct. As soon as the sect leader's attention is drawn to him, her eyes swivel to the top of his head. "Never mind," she says. "Get Ran Ah some water and rest, and someone should write down the description of the attackers. Bring it to me once it's on paper. Lin Moniao, with me." She turns and ascends the stairs towards her own rooms, expecting him to follow. The God adjusts His wings again, turning His head around to keep a beady eye on Lin Moniao.

Lin Moniao bows and follows her, his blood pounding in his ears. If--well, if it comes to that, and he is alone with her, then he is wearing the treasure and she isn't, so the truth can be whatever he says it is.

Alone except for the God, of course. If Lin Moniao tries anything, will He object? Will--

No sense in wondering. Only in waiting for the moment, and acting.

She closes the doors herself, making sure nobody is lurking behind, and says, "Take that thing off. I shouldn't even have to ask." The God pushes off His perch on her shoulder and flies across the room to settle on the Asura Trident, displayed prominently on the wall. "What is Wu Zhenghao up to?"

Now that the rooms have been made up for the sect leader, there is quite a lot more fabric, and more layers of curtains to draw over the window and muffle the sound of the city. A stick of incense burns on the table and locked chests are arranged under the windows, giving the place a secluded and slightly messy look. There is also the large golden cage, the door open and the fabric used to cover it earlier hanging on a hook.

The words you don't want me to take it off are at the tip of Lin Moniao's tongue. He could say them. He really could.

With shaking hands, he reaches up and unfastens the hairpiece, and his hair spills loose around his shoulders. A sick sense of relief washes over him, as well as an equally sick sense that he's just made an awful mistake. "Sect leader, I--" he moistens his lips and drops his eyes. "I don't know. I swear it. I thought you did."

"If he didn't tell me, then it is something I wouldn't approve of." She speaks softly, and leans back against the closed door with a slight frown. She's not looking at Lin Moniao. "Something... dangerous."

Lin Moniao drops to his knees. "Please," he breathes. "Don't condemn my master in his absence. He's always been a faithful disciple of the sect leader, and a devoted servant of the God. Give him a chance to explain himself."

"Condemn him?" She looks up to Lin Moniao at last. "Silly child! Wu Zhenghao is not a traitor, only foolhardy. I would never have authorized dealing with Xie Lijuan and he knew it. He is simply failing to ask permission again." She walks closer, carrying with her the heavy scent of her perfume, and tousles Lin Moniao's loose hair. "You are sweet to worry. Worry for the right reasons." She looks over at the God, who is sitting silently watching them. He offers no advice.

Lin Moniao nods. He ought to be worried about Xie Lijuan, but Master Wu can handle her--he said so himself, and he has before, and they've done her a favor. She has no reason to hurt him. "Then," he says, "may I carry on? Long Dawang's son's personal secretary will be here soon, and shifu particularly wanted outsiders to believe they'd seen him--I haven't talked to anyone today who wouldn't lie for him in any case."

"Yes, of course." She seems distracted; she even offers him a hand up. "Go, go. Let me know if there is any trouble."

It is indeed almost time.

"Yes. Thank you." Lin Moniao takes her hand and stands. "Ah--forgive me, sect leader, but may I put my hair up before I go? I--" he forces a light laugh. "I have scandalized Gong Weiyu enough for one day already."

She joins her hands behind her back and casts him an amused but heartless look over her veil. "Scandalize him some more, you rascal. Out."

He bows again and lets himself out, not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. It seems that the moment was not right to act after all. And really, that had gone much better than he'd feared. It's only that he feels the growing conviction that he must do something, and he isn't sure when he'll get another chance.

He quickly twists his hair into a topknot and fastens the hairpiece into place again. Everything is so easy when he's wearing it. That's what frightens him.

Soon enough, a visitor to the house is announced. Normally, Master Wu would already have moved to the reception room in anticipation of the guest. Now, there is no-one waiting, so a disciple hurries up to Master Wu's room to fetch him as another goes to welcome the guests. Long Dawang's son's personal secretary has arrived with his assistant and sends his most humble greetings to the sect leader and Master Wu. To everyone's surprise, the sect leader herself marches across the yard and enters the reception room, the spot on her shoulder conspicuously empty.

Since the sect leader seems to have everything under control in the reception room, Lin Moniao hurries off to Master Wu's room to let the disciple know that he's conducted Master Wu to the reception room without incident, and then to the kitchens to fetch a pot of tea for the sect leader and the visitor. Ordinarily he would leave such things to the juniors, but Long Dawang's son's personal secretary probably doesn't know that, and it will be an excuse for him (and nobody else) to be there.

"This one is honored," the man in the fine black and gold embroidered robes is saying to Beauty Niu as Lin Moniao enters with the tray, wringing his hands. "My master, Long Ren, only wished to thank Master Wu again for his invitation, and to see if we could possibly schedule a meeting this week before the banquet. I have brought Lord Ren's schedule... if there is anything this one can do for Sect Leader Niu..."

The assistant is also in the room, dressed all in black, a book in her hands and a bag by her side. She is little and plain, her hair in a neat, simple bun, while the secretary is angular and bearded.

"Ah, good--tea." The sect leader turns to Lin Moniao, relieved. "Sit, Cho Feng. Master Wu will join us presently."

Lin Moniao pours for the sect leader and the secretary, mind racing. He will have to get each of the visitors alone in order to plant a suggestion--or at least, he cannot say anything in front of both of them that they both know to be untrue. On the other hand, two witnesses will be more credible than one, but only if they agree on what they saw, and Lin Moniao cannot give them many details in the space of a few breaths.

"It may be a little time," he tells the sect leader apologetically. "Perhaps Cho Feng's assistant ought to speak with Gong Weiyu in the meantime; he is really the one who knows everyone's schedule."

Cho Feng nods and makes a gesture at the assistant, who bows and hurries out the room. The sect leader's shoulders relax and she picks up a bowl to sip. Cho Feng hurries to do the same.

Lin Moniao backs off and stands near the door of the reception room, trying to look as if he is attentively waiting for the sect leader and Cho Feng to need their cups refilled, while actually listening for any sign of the assistant's return. He will have to time this just right. He can at least count on Gong Weiyu to have a lot to say on the subject of schedules--and if he's lucky, their earlier conversation might have convinced his shixiong of the necessity of keeping the assistant occupied for a while.

Beauty Niu and Cho Feng chat for a while, though it is clear Cho Feng is both chuffed and confused by the honor. "It would be my hope Long Ren could visit us," Beauty Niu says, "as my duties with the God constrain my movements somewhat. He was charming and attentive at our last meeting. But scheduling is, indeed, an issue, and I will be happy to see him at the banquet."

"Alas, Sect Leader, only the four eldest of Long Dawang's sons were invited."

"They do not pick their guests by talent and looks, then."

At this, Cho Fang seems to completely lose his thread. Beauty Niu drains her bowl.

Outside, there are snatches of conversation and movement, but it is impossible to separate which of them is the assistant, and so her return is not forewarned. She knocks and is bid enter.

Damn! If Lin Moniao only had a moment's more warning--hastily, he sticks his foot against the door to prevent it opening, looks directly at the secretary, and says, "This one is glad Cho Feng had such a productive meeting with the sect leader and Master Wu." Then he removes his foot and opens the door, saying, "A thousand apologies, this door does stick in this weather."

The assistant had been pushing against the door, but not very strongly--for one, she is not very strong, for another, she would not be so rude. When it gives, she totters forward a little, and turns it into a bow.

"Time does fly," Beauty Niu says and sets her bowl down.

"Yes, what a shame you saw Master Wu just as he was leaving." Lin Moniao catches the assistant by the elbow to steady her. "It's too bad you were unable to take any notes at the meeting itself, but I'm sure Cho Feng will fill you in, and you will have gotten the important information from Gong Weiyu anyway."

She blinks wide eyes at him, then drops into another, shallower bow. "Thank you," she says in a small voice. "The schedule has been arranged."

The secretary gets up and bows a few more times to Beauty Niu, offering thanks for her time and for Master Wu's. She accepts his bows gracefully, and the two depart.

When they are gone, and it is only Lin Moniao and the sect leader in the reception room, Beauty Niu shakes her head. "Did Zhenghao say when he would be back, by any chance?"

"In the afternoon, he said. And about the treasure--sect leader was perfectly right." He reaches up to unfasten the hairpiece, but before he does, he adds, "It ought to be destroyed if possible, and locked away securely if not." Then he does unfasten it and hold it out towards her. "Shall I keep it a little longer? Or will you take it back now?"

"I'll take it." She snatches it back. "You can see why the previous owner wasn't too happy to have it in his household." She holds it up and contemplates it, then pockets it away. "Keep up the good work. If there is any trouble, do not hesitate to send word."

Lin Moniao murmurs his thanks, bowing low and trying to hold himself together now that the moment has passed. He can't believe he actually did it. He's certain he will regret it the next time he runs into a problem that could easily be solved with the Shadow Moon Crown--but he thinks he would have regretted it more bitterly, eventually, if he hadn't. In any case, he's very glad to see the back of it now. He reaches into his pocket for his own hairpiece and takes his time arranging his hair--hopefully the conference room isn't needed urgently for anything now--and then goes back to Master Wu's room to wait, and maybe to worry for the right reasons a little.

-

End note to Chapter Two from Ilthit:

Obviously this adventure has gone far into homebrew land in many ways, but I felt I should point out that though a lot of the treasures mentioned in this story are from the RBRB rulebook, the Shadow Moon Crown was something I made up, along with the dice mechanics of how it works. You'll see how Gong Weiyu managed to resist it--that was the dice!

If you want to incorporate this deadly weapon in your own RBRB campaign, here's how it works: When you're wearing the crown, if the target doesn't have any reason to be suspicious, they simply believe what they're told as they normally would. If the lie is preposterous, they can roll Reasoning against your Wits, but the dice pool is reduced by 5, which makes it an extremely difficult roll to beat. If you have 3 Reasoning, you'll still be rolling -2d10. And, as stated, it only works on one person at a time, and the lie must be told quickly.

The GM can adjudicate a bonus die if the lie is just a little bit preposterous.

Chapter Three: Ran Ah's Dagger

Note: This chapter contains descriptions of injuries.

-

The outfitters are just leaving the sect leader's rooms--the walls are typically sound-proof, but they make enough noise with their chattering and dragging of baskets of cloth that it is unmistakable--when the secret door in the wall slides back and Master Wu returns, sweeping his weimao off his head. "Ah, you're here." He looks at the top of Lin Moniao's head. "And the Shadow Moon Crown is not?"

Lin Moniao doesn't quite plaster himself to Master Wu like he did the last time he came back from a meeting with Xie Lijuan--if that is where he was--but he does interrupt his circuit of the room to grasp his arms and kiss him. "I hope shifu's errands went well. As for the crown--I returned it to the sect leader. I believe she means to do away with it, and I don't blame her; it's an alarming thing."

Master Wu raises his eyebrows at him, but perhaps the kiss has pre-emptively mollified him, because he doesn't ask if Lin Moniao had any part in that decision. "Is it? I was more alarmed knowing someone else had it, but... never mind! I need to speak to the sect leader. Is she very upset with me? Tell me the truth, darling. Forewarned is forearmed."

"Perhaps a little annoyed. Mostly worried. Of course, shifu would not understand the troubles of a master whose disciple is liable to go off and do whatever he likes without warning."

"Ah, well, and then you might understand why I didn't tell her. Anything else I should know? How did it go with the secretary?" As he speaks, he is brushing himself down. The corridor beyond the hidden door is dusty, and his boots and the bottom of his robes speak of the street. He also brings with him the subtle scent of sandalwood incense.

"I do understand. I only wish you had told me that she didn't know, because it gave me quite a fright when I found out--well, I deserved it, I'm sure." Lin Moniao gives Master Wu a quick rundown of who he was supposed to have seen, and under what circumstances, finishing up with, "But you will have to check with Gong Weiyu about the actual schedule, only I'm afraid... it turns out that it is possible to resist the effects of the crown, and I was forced to improvise, so he believes he narrowly avoided walking into a delicate situation. I do apologize, but shifu, you ought to have seen his face."

Master Wu laughs. "At least I will not be accused of sins I have never committed. Well, then, let's go see her. You'd better come along, since it concerns your Shi Jia, too." He must think he looks presentable enough, because he doesn't stop to wash before pulling Lin Moniao along. Lin Moniao hurries to keep up, buzzing with curiosity which he knows will not be satisfied until they speak with the sect leader.

Perhaps Beauty Niu's internal cultivation has given her superhuman senses. Perhaps she has been listening to footsteps from the direction of Master Wu's room. Either way, she opens the door just as they get to it, and her eyes are sparking with anger. Master Wu drops into a bow, and she pulls him in, letting Lin Moniao close the door.

"Sect leader..."

She lifts her hands, squeezes them into fists, then lets them go with a sound of frustration. "What did you do? Where did you go? Let's hear it before I decide how angry I am!"

In the shadows, the God laughs, somewhere between the voice of a man and a bird.

Wu Zhenghao casts an apologetic look at Lin Moniao, which Lin Moniao returns, equally apologetic. The sect leader really didn't seem this angry earlier. Of course, that might just have been because she wasn't angry at him. Still, he's not inclined to interrupt, unless it seems that begging on his knees is indicated again.

Beauty Niu scoffs and starts pacing. "Well? Did you go to Xie Lijuan again? After what I said..."

"Not Xie Lijuan. I received an invitation early this morning by coded message to meet Prince Kai at an inn by the city gates. He shared his concerns..."

"His concerns!" Beauty Niu sits down heavily on one of the pillows by the table and covers her forehead with both hands. Master Wu goes on to explain, and as he does, Beauty Niu lets go of her head, sits up, and listens.

Just the day before, Shi Jia, son of Shi Minshan and a close friend of Lin Moniao's, was dismissed from Bureau Eight for refusing to divulge information to his superiors.

That he was an agent in the first place is less alarming than the sect leader might think, because the information he refused to give involved the Qilin Villa on one hand, and his uncle Shi Minhua on the other. That means that Bureau Eight still does not have the full story of how Shi Minhua tried to buy two of Qilin Villa's disciples and turn another traitor. The noble gentleman Master Wu spoke to was charming, but not charming enough to get any more information out of him.

However, it does mean that they have a new complication: two undercover constables will be joining the Villa that afternoon and presenting themselves as members from the Nanjing house, a ruse that Bureau Eight expects to be upheld until after the banquet.

"Absolutely not!" Niu Liling trills.

"I'm afraid it's that or go home. Surveillance is the new price of admission."

She sighs and leans her elbows on her knees. "So much for settling the grudge with Shi Minhua while we're in town."

Master Wu nods and turns to Lin Moniao and lets out a long breath. "And you! How much did you know?"

"I knew Shi Jia was Bureau Eight. And I knew he would not pass along my business if I didn't pass along his." Lin Moniao lifts his chin. "And I was right. Dismissed! How dare they--" But of course they did. It isn't anyone's fault but Lin Moniao's; he has been the ruin of all Mu Liqiang's hopes, and now of all Shi Jia's. More subdued, he goes on, "Whatever his former superiors may think, he isn't keeping his silence out of loyalty to his uncle. He has none. He will not have told Shi Minhua anything about us--not willingly. That, I can promise you."

Beauty Niu and Master Wu share a look that seems to contain at least half of a whole conversation. The sect leader stands up, softening, and goes to touch Master Wu's arm. "Let's pick him up. He cannot be more of a liability than two constables."

Master Wu inclines his head reluctantly, and she raps him on the head with her knuckles. "Bonehead. You should have let me handle it. At least you weren't foolhardy enough to use the Shadow Moon Crown."

Master Wu accepts the rap humbly. "It had not been tested."

"And now it has been, and I want it destroyed. It's far too much of a risk. I'm inclined to do the same with the Heart-Shaping Crown, if we manage to secure it."

"Sect leader!" Master Wu protests softly, but he doesn't have enough of her goodwill now to push, so he doesn't.

Lin Moniao looks from the sect leader to Master Wu uneasily. "Shifu couldn't have known it when he set out this morning, but I'm afraid now that what I did with the Shadow Moon Crown will do more harm than good. If Bureau Eight investigates, they will find all sorts of people ready to swear that shifu was here all morning--including those who have only a passing acquaintance with the sect--but they know he wasn't. We would like them to think that we have no way of avoiding their surveillance, while in fact being able to do so, but the opposite is true--they will think we have some method of deceiving them, when in fact we no longer do."

"Too late to change that now," Master Wu says. "Perhaps it isn't a bad thing to make the Bureau think we are just terribly clever. I was advised to be discreet." He turns to the sect leader. "You won't be persuaded to--"

She shakes her head, crosses her arms, and turns away.

"I guess that's that, then. Our hands are tied until after the banquet; the time to do something about Shi Minhua will be later."

"But not those who attacked Ran Ah," Beauty Niu says. "That trail may already be cold." And so she relays the story of the attack. That Ran Ah was jumped by ordinary ruffians is the likely explanation rather than anything relating to intrigue; even so, the Qilin Villa should get even. "Can we spare anyone?"

Master Wu grunts. They can't, really. "We'll think of something."

"If we still had access to Huang Tianlin's network..." Lin Moniao sighs regretfully. "Well, we don't, but I can ask my friend Heng Wanxue. She may know which criminals work the area along the route, or may even know someone who saw something."

Beauty Niu's eyes crinkle over her veil. "Then you've got your new mission, Lin Moniao. If you think you can handle it alone, go ahead; otherwise, ask Gong Weiyu to find someone available."

"Of course I can handle it!" Lin Moniao says indignantly. "There were only three of them, weren't there?"

"No unnecessary risks," Master Wu said. The sect leader scoffs at that, and from the rafters comes a crackling cackle.

"Yes, shifu," says Lin Moniao with a long-suffering sigh. "I will ask Gong-shixiong."

Whoever it is had better not be rude about Heng Wanxue, is all.

--

The Ancient Willow Sect has consented to send three of their illustrious number to pay homage to the Son of Heaven this Mid-Autumn Festival, with their attendants; among their number is Xuan Fengyin, who agreed only at the last minute to accompany her fellow physicians. At her age, Master Xuan no longer tolerates much nonsense or much company, but she can recognize an opportunity to find new clients.

The sect booked rooms at an inn in advance, but it could be said that the inn was not prepared; few people in the capital are used to attendants bringing in whole rows of pots, some freshly planted, some bearing fruit, or Master Kun's insistence on rooming with his ferrets, who require a special diet to keep his current experiment going without disruption. The fact that Master Xuan had lit a fire in a small portable crate that morning to slow-cook her preparation was hardly even an eccentricity, and the smoke had wafted harmlessly out of the open window, barely bothering the other guests. City folk are just exacting.

"Is it ready?" The client is saying as Master Xuan, who tuts and instructs patience. The man looks cultured, dressed in fine but not durable clothes; typical for the capital's well-to-do.

After judging the black powder is as correct as could be, Master Xuan gestures for Yi Zifan. "Bottle this for the gentleman, please."

Yi Zifan bows and starts to decant the still-warm preparation, silently observing the client. He doesn't look ill. Which is good! Both because she doesn't want people to be ill in general, of course, and because activated charcoal won't do anything to help with an illness or chronic condition, however popular it is with city folk to take some regularly for their health.

The man looks wealthy and frivolous enough to be following popular trends rather than the advice of reputable physicians. Or maybe he's worried about being poisoned--there has been an awful lot of talk of intrigue since they came to the capital--or just wants to replenish his first-aid kit. Master Xuan would say it doesn't matter, probably, as long as they're paid. It's only been so long since she's seen a really interesting illness or injury. There must be some excitement in the capital!

The man accepts the bottle with a nod. "My thanks to Master Xuan, and apologies for my haste. It is a busy day."

"Just remember that this medicine is to be taken after you ingest something that does not sit well with you," Master Xuan instructs, "or used to treat rotting wounds. Otherwise, it will do nothing." She knows her clients.

The man repeats his thanks and pays them far better than their usual clients could. Not that there really is a 'usual' client for the Ancient Willow Sect--they treat and supply anyone who can afford it.

Another client is already waiting, and politely requests entrance just as the man leaves. "Greetings to the master." This man is the same age as the previous visitor, perhaps forty-five, and is wearing the hat of a scholar who has passed his exams. He, too, looks in the very pink of health. "We are seeking recommendations to update the usual antidotes."

Master Xuan casts Yi Zifan a humorless look; it looks like they will be at this all morning.

Only after the door is closed behind him does the man identify himself as a fifth-rank official, and launches into chatter about the precautions a gentleman must take at the upcoming imperial banquet. "There will be food-tasters, of course, for the imperial family, as well as the finest preparations and medics, but even we lesser mortals must come prepared. It isn't so long ago that there was a successful assassination at a magistrate's table in Guangzhou..."

Yi Zifan's attention drifts as the official talks, eyes tracing the embroidery on his sleeve, imagining how the pattern must continue as it disappears from sight beyond his elbow...

She's jolted back to reality by the sounds of a scuffle in the hallway. "Help, someone help!" comes a woman's voice, and footsteps tapping fast on the staircase behind her. "Doctors, my son..."

Yi Zifan has already leapt to her feet and taken a couple steps towards the door before she recollects herself. "Master, maybe we should--"

"Hrmh." Master Luo will lock his door, as he hates hurry and noise; Master Kun will open it, but probably shouldn't, considering the ferrets. Master Xuan lifts herself up with a grunt and gestures for Yi Zifan to let them in before Master Kun gets the opportunity.

In the hallway, a woman of mature years is supporting a youth, who is leaning over her shoulder. He is leonine and strong, but bloodied, with a vacant and stupefied look on his face. A pair of inn servants are coming up the stairs behind them, and behind them a woman in fine dress is craning her neck to see what the fuss is about.

"Lady, please, you cannot barge in on our guests..."

"Please, we have some money." Perhaps they do, but they don't look like the kind of people who would have a great deal of it. Her dress is plain and her hands are rough, and though his boots are flashy, they are cheap.

"Bring him in, bring him in," says Master Xuan.

Yi Zifan positions herself on the youth's other side, trying to take his weight from the unfortunate woman as she steers him to the bed, observing his condition as she does. Has he suffered a heavy blow to the head? Is he in shock? Or has he taken an attack that's blocked the flow of his qi?

The woman takes a step back and hovers as Yi Zifan and Master Xuan help the youth to the bed; Master Xuan sweeps a blanket under him to catch the bleeding. He has a contusion on the side of his face and a shallow stab-wound on his shoulder, and another small prick at the back of his neck.

"I don't know what happened," the woman weeps. "My boy gets into trouble but... not like this. He's not acting like himself!"

Inspecting the boy's qi, this is no wonder. He has a blocked acupoint at the back of his neck.

"The Big Hammer Acupoint, of course," Yi Zifan mutters to herself, kneeling by the bed and laying out a case of needles. She can handle this herself, it's not such a difficult case, but she waits for instruction from Master Xuan first. Looking more closely at the back of the patient's neck, she adds, "But that's odd... that mark wasn't made by a needle."

Master Xuan also inspects the patient. "Unblock that, Zifan. He'll be fine," she reassures the mother. "Just tell him not to get into fights he can't handle, hm?"

"A-Cheng, what have you done?" the woman mutters with a down-turned mouth.

"...Should've been alright... he said it would be alright..."

"Who, that Huan kid? I told you not to run around with them anymore. A-Cheng, you're better than this!"

"The money..."

"Some good that money did! I'm spending it on getting you patched up! Oh, stupid boy!"

Yi Zifan slides a needle into the acupoint, her other hand hovering just above the skin. She closes her eyes and breathes deeply, sensing the flow of qi along his meridians, feeling for the blockage and drawing it out as she draws the needle out again. The boy hisses in pain, but his eyes clear.

"Shifu..." she says uneasily. "If they can't afford to pay... it was only a moment's work. An untrained boy shouldn't need to be tangling with the sort of person who can do this."

"If Zifan wants to patch up that shoulder for free too, go on." Master Xuan's tone is amused. It's really not worthy of their expertise. She turns pointedly away to go fuss with her preparations.

The youth's mother throws herself at the bedside. "Thank you, thank you!"

She places both hands on his back and focuses on channeling healing energy from her body into his. After a moment, the bleeding slows, and then stops, as the cut begins to knit itself closed. Before she takes her hands away, her fingers linger a moment longer at the base of his neck. The scratch there is gone now, but she knows what she saw. She cleans off the remains of the blood and asks, "Who were you fighting?"

The youth looks sullen, though he breathes out as the pain goes away. "...Sorry," he mumbles insincerely, trying to tug his clothes back up as if he had never been injured at all.

"Be polite!" his mother admonishes, and he shoots her an angry look, but inclines his head as he sits up.

"...Just some kid."

Yi Zifan has often been told--sometimes kindly, and sometimes less than kindly--that she's too trusting. That only makes the blatant lie sting more. She fingers the prayer beads at her wrist and looks within herself for compassion instead of anger. A-Cheng is just some kid. He must be afraid of what will happen if he tells. It isn't her business anyway.

She puts away her needles, and the words, "I can block it again if you want," remain mostly under her breath.

The mother looks between Zifan and her son, and gives her son a little tap on the leg. Were he not recently injured, it might have been harder. She puts her hands together and kneels, bowing all the way to the floor. "Please forgive my A-Cheng, he is very stupid and rude. You can take the money he earned with his shenanigans, that way he'll learn."

"Mother!"

"Shut up! If she won't take it I'll give it to the temple."

"Don't--I'm not--get up," says Yi Zifan, feeling horribly awkward. She doesn't want the money, anyway; she wants to know what did that to the boy's Big Hammer Acupoint. Maybe it was a qi spike and the scratch was unrelated? But why--it was right there. "If you need the money you should keep it, then your son won't have to do anything else stupid to get more. It's his duty to look after his mother."

The mother looks stricken. "A-Cheng, is that why you do all this wild stuff?"

"Alright, enough, get out," Master Xuan says. "He's healed, so what are you hanging around for? Go on." She shoos the mother and son out, one still bopping bows, the other sullen and hangdog, holding his cloak tight over the bloodied rip in his clothes.

Master Xuan closes the door behind them. "Stabbed haphazardly, acupoint accurately blocked. You're right, it is curious. But the larger picture, not so interesting. And not our business."

"Yes, shifu," Yi Zifan says with a sigh, and goes to check if there are other patients waiting in the hallway.

--

Ran Ah has been taken to the room he shares with another shidi and patched up, and by the time Lin Moniao gets there, Yu Long has scribbled down his statement. It’s as good as they are going to get, memory being as changeable as it is.

"There were three attackers, all young men, and only one of them with any real training," he tells Lin Moniao, "but they were all bigger than Ran-shidi. He put up a fight, but they pinned him to the ground and took his bag, the coins in his pockets, and his weapons. One of them sat on him while the others ran, and when he was let up, he was too wounded to pursue. It happened just two streets from here, behind the scribes' office."

"Right." Lin Moniao takes the statement from Yu Long. "Don't worry, Ran-shidi. We'll get them."

The youth is looking much better, even tossing his head proudly. Yu-shixiong has been telling everyone he fought bravely and should be pleased, and so he is.

How has Lin Moniao been getting by without Yu Long all this time? With a last backwards smile, he goes to find Gong Weiyu.

Gong Weiyu has been unfairly harassed, his schedule rewritten several times (not that he does not enjoy writing schedules), and people have been dropping injured shidis and shameless masters on him all day. He is not taking a break, but he is having a bit of a sit-down on the porch stairs when Lin Moniao finds him. "The lowest-ranking member who is available is Mu Liqiang," he tells him. "You'll have to ask him yourself."

Mu-shidi had been assigned duties in the morning, but they have been done, and indeed he is back in the narrow training ground at the back of the house, going through a taolu with his long knife while a pair of shixiongs shoot arrows at the targets. There really isn't enough space for a house so full, so everyone must take turns.

Lin Moniao perches on a railing and waits until Mu Liqiang finishes the taolu, taking a moment to appreciate the view; the grace of his movements and the intensity of his focus. When he reaches the end, Lin Moniao hops down and says, "Mu-shidi, how would you feel about some senseless violence?"

Mu Liqiang sheathes his blade and gives him a shallow bow. "Alas, this shidi has not advanced far yet in the study of the Crazed Raksha Style. But Lin-shixiong's violence is never mindless, is it? He cuts just where he means to." He says this with a tone of appreciation that suggests that if perhaps Lin-shixiong were to cut him, no objections would be raised.

"It's true, I am rather good," Lin Moniao laughs. "But this is no time for leisure activities, rascal, we're going to find the fellows who attacked Ran-shidi."

No objection is raised to that either. Mu Liqiang nods and steps up. "Does shixiong have a plan? Investigate where it happened, or ask around? Shixiong has knowledgeable friends."

"Yes, I was going to ask Heng Wanxue. You know Heng Wanxue," Lin Moniao adds a little doubtfully. She hadn't felt comfortable spending time at Master Wu's house even when it had just been Lin Moniao and a few friends there, and he hadn't felt the need to press her when there had been so many other places to go and things to do in Kaifeng. He can't recall if Mu Liqiang had been around the few times she had stopped by the house on their way to somewhere else. "Well, if you don't--I know I don't have to tell shidi to be polite. But be polite."

Mu Liqiang nods, and his eyes swivel to the side for a moment; making a mental note that there is likely something to be polite about.

--

The scribes' office is a small two-story building showcasing the work of the calligraphers outside, with studios above and below. This part of town is rather fine--the whole route Ran-shidi had been taking had been in the better part of town, where most brigands don't dare to go in daylight--imperial guards are only a few streets away. But Ran Ah had been quickly attacked and stripped, and by the time the scribes had heard the scuffle and anyone thought of running for a guard, they were already gone.

The office is flanked on two sides by alleys, and here the houses are built close together, so if one didn't care about noise or had the soft footfalls of a properly trained warrior, they could pass across the rooftops and escape that way. Mu Liqiang points this out as they look around the narrow street behind the office.

Lin Moniao has sent a street urchin to find Heng Wanxue and tell her to meet them here if she can as soon as they left Master Wu's house, but she's not here yet, and there's no knowing how long it will take to locate her, or whether she's in the middle of something that can't be easily interrupted. They might as well investigate in the meantime.

He follows Mu Liqiang's gesture to the rooftops. "Yu-shixiong said that only one of them was trained. The rest of them might have made noise, or left traces. You go check the rooftops; I'll see if anyone around here saw anything and is willing to talk about it."

Mu Liqiang hoists himself up on the roof of the scribes' office; however, he's not subtle about it, and as he sets to looking around, a short, round man with an elegant mustache and ink-stained fingers comes out of the office, trailed by a youth covered in even more ink. "Hey! Oh, I see, I see!" the man says, after a double-take. "I recognize those colors. Not to worry, friends, none of us has gone tattling to the guards. What happens in the lakes and rivers, and so forth." He smiles wide and bops a bow. "Master Wu is an honored customer of this humble scribe. I hope you get those hooligans."

Lin Moniao bows back, a fraction more shallowly. "Much obliged. That is indeed the plan. So, what can you tell me?"

The scribe, with interjections from his apprentice, gives much the same description as Ran Ah did: Three youths, one tall and broad-shouldered, one with chopped hair, and one so unremarkable he can only say he wasn't well-dressed. He thinks he saw the one with chopped hair wielding a single hook sword, but the apprentice says it was a curved dagger, and that it wasn't the attacker but the victim who had it.

"My stupid apprentice thinks he heard someone on the roof before the attack, but I am sure the noise came from behind the house." They agree, however, that the chopped-hair youth had been loitering across the street for some time, and that during the fight the tall one got stabbed in the shoulder. After they got what they wanted, they all ran north, towards the poorer section of the city, where the cheapest housing huddles against the north wall, but the tall one was going slow, and his friends had to help him and hurry him along. The scribe and his apprentices did not pursue them. "A wounded animal is all the more dangerous."

Mu Liqiang pokes his head out from over the rooftop. "Someone has been staking this roof out."

"I knew it!" The scribe bops the apprentice on the back of the head. "And you thought they were behind the house! Idiot."

"Young people these days." Lin Moniao shakes his head sorrowfully, then throws the apprentice a wink behind the scribe's back. The apprentice's account seems more reliable on the whole, especially since he knows Ran Ah had his beauty dagger on him, but he can't discount the possibility that they're both right.

Mu Liqiang joins him, climbing half-way down and dropping the rest, outside the shop as the scribes get back to their work.

A chop-haired young man--the first person who fits that description who leaps to Lin Moniao's mind is neither exactly a young man nor exactly has chopped hair, but nonetheless--well, it couldn't possibly be her anyway. Whether or not she's in Kaifeng, it simply isn't something she'd do.

Still, still... if they were staking out the area for some time, it seems less like a random mugging and more like they were after something in particular, but Ran Ah hadn't been carrying much. Had they been hoping he would be bringing something back from the Leng-Piaos? Or were they after his dagger and token, hoping to impersonate a member of the sect or implicate them in something--not that Lin Moniao would know anything about that.

He catches Mu Liqiang's eye, wondering if he's sharing any of these thoughts. The scribe and his apprentice might be friends of Master Wu's, and be willing to keep this affair from the authorities; still, there's no telling who else they might talk to, so Lin Moniao would rather keep his theories to himself for now.

He looks down the street where the youths disappeared, itching to follow them--but that was hours ago, no way he can catch up now. It makes more sense to wait for Heng Wanxue, a little longer, anyway.

"It looked like just one person, stepping carefully and not breaking any tiles, but the shape of the dust and leaves on the rooftop give it away," Mu Liqiang says. "And there are fresh wood-cuttings on the edge, so he was sitting there carving up the wood for a while. A little figure of a man shooting an arrow. There must have been more interesting targets than Ran-shidi coming along in that time."

"Hmh. Is the carving a message, do you think, or was he just bored and stupid? Still, probably not stupid enough to think Ran-shidi must have been carrying a fabulous treasure, just because he's from the Qilin Villa. Shidi is right." It also raises the question of whether they saw Ran Ah on the way to the Leng-Piaos, and still waited until he was on the way back to attack him. If they were hoping to get something from Ran Ah that he never had--that would be the best case scenario, really.

It's a pity there isn't a nice restaurant or stall with an outside area they could sit and wait; if they are going to wait for Heng Wanxue here, they will be loitering just like the youth had. Mu Liqiang huddles a little closer, but the street here is quite noisy now as carts and people are going by, so it is unlikely they will be overheard anyway. "Maybe one of us offended one of them, and they were getting even." But even as he says it, he does not sound convinced; street gangs and the Qilin Villa are not really on the same level.

Mu Liqiang hops over to the other side to study the street where the chopped-hair youth had been lingering, but the busy street has obliterated any viable clue by now. Lin Moniao shifts from foot to foot, watching the street. If Heng Wanxue couldn't be found, or if she isn't coming... they're wasting time. Maybe they ought to leave a message with the scribe and go on ahead, and count on her to catch up if she's going to. It is getting later, and their trail is growing all the colder.

But, before they have quite decided to give up, Heng Wanxue shows up. Lin Moniao first spots her head popping up as she stands on a barrel to look over the crowd, spots him and waves. She hops off and disappears again, and weaves her way through to them.

"I got the message, Magpie. Sounded mysterious. Oh, hello." She looks up... and up, and up... at Mu Liqiang, who steps back so her neck won't break, and the two bow to one another.

"Ah, that answers the question of if you've seen Mu Liqiang before. He is rather impressive, isn't he?" Lin Moniao takes Heng Wanxue's arm and gestures for Mu Liqiang to follow, so they can talk while walking and hopefully leave curious ears behind. "A shidi of ours was attacked just here and I was hoping you could tell me who operates in this area, but it seems that it wasn't just a gang working their turf at all..."

Lowering his voice, he fills her in on everything they've learned, including his own speculations, and asks Mu Liqiang to describe the carving he'd seen, just in case she recognizes some significance to it.

"If that fellow had chopped hair, it could be Huan Yi," she muses. "He got caught sneaking into a brothel a couple of months back and the girls pinned him down and cut all his hair off. I don't know him myself, but my roommate Rulan said the name as if I should." She taps her chin. "One of them was injured, you say? And they have fresh loot. I can think of a few places they could have run to. Come along, and keep your weapons at hands' reach."

"Always," Lin Moniao assures her, but tries to keep a sharper eye out for trouble, even so.

Through the streets, towards the north wall, the same direction the young brigands had gone, Heng Wanxue leads them until the shops and luxury businesses are far behind, and one finds only rundown gambling houses, private houses stuffed to bursting with families, and the occasional wine-shop. They skirt a battle recreation being put on by a group of ten-year-old girls and Heng Wanxue beckons them down another alley. Here, there's an old woman weaving at her window. Wanxue waves at her and leads the other two to a basement door, pulling the well-worn doors open.

Here, the smell and quality of the air is enough to tell that this isn't just any basement. There is a wind from the back, and an echo of space, and the dank scent of the underground is undercut with the lingering smell of spices, sweat, and metal. It's quiet now, and dark, with only the occasional spot of light illuminating a cavernous area where the sun comes in through windows at street level, at the top of the rooms. Some of them show tables arranged around the walls.

Heng Wanxue picks up a torch from the side of the entrance and digs around her pockets for something to light it with. "This is a market, but it won't get started before nightfall tomorrow. I'd come here to avoid guards, and maybe hide loot, if I knew I could come and get it back before market day."

Lin Moniao peers around, fascinated, though it's hard to see much in the guttering torchlight. "I never knew this was here," he whispers. "If you bring me by sometime when it's open, I had better come dressed more appropriately, eh?"

"Yes," Mu Liqiang says quietly. He tends to speak when spoken to, especially in company, so he must feel strongly about this. "It wouldn't do to damage the sect's reputation."

"But it's fine in disguise, right?" Heng Wanxue grins up at him.

"Yes," Mu Liqiang agrees primly. "As long as it is out of uniform."

Heng Wanxue takes up two more torches--in the light of the first one, they can now see a row of them set into the wall--and so they all have a light to shine in the dark corners. Wanxue knows the place, but all of them must use all their senses to be sure they are alone.

"There's no one here," Wanxue concludes. "Not so sure about what's behind those doors, though, so stay alert and keep your voices down." There are three doors set to the wall opposite the small windows, each a uniform distance from one another.

"Now, let's see, they stole only small things, did you say? A dagger wouldn't fit into the torch-holders..." Searching together, they find no Beauty Dagger, but they do find a hidden hole behind loose bricks in the wall that Wanxue hadn't known was there. She cheerfully uncovers it and finds a chest covered in cobwebs. She wrinkles her nose. "That won't be it. I don't think they came this way. They must still have the loot, or moved it already. I know a likely fence around here but, hmm. She's alright with the master. You know?"

"No violence," Lin Moniao promises regretfully, "and we will pay a reasonable price for Ran Ah's things if she has them, but--you might suggest to her that your master's protection does not extend to Huan Yi, if that's who sold them to her. Because it doesn't, does it? Although... well, we'll see. His coins, they would have kept. His bag and other weapons might fetch enough to be worth selling, I suppose? But if they truly mean to have someone impersonate a member of the sect, they will have kept the Beauty Dagger."

"That'll be a good question to ask the fence, then," Mu Liqiang says softly. "If they didn't sell the dagger, then it looks like that really was why Ran-shidi was jumped."

Heng Wanxue nods. "The thing is, Magpie, my master already hates the Qilin Villa, but she won't start a war with so many of you in town unless she really has no choice. You could take your chances, just, if it goes that way, I was never here, alright? So, let's go see Blind Shang." She casts a regretful look at the hidden hole in the wall with its dusty chest, but this doesn't seem to be the time.

"I am not starting a war! I am being perfectly polite! Unless it really was your people who jumped Ran Ah, and then we will have a problem. Even so, I'll keep you out of it, if I can."

She holds her hands up and tilts her head. "Might have been. I'm not that deep in the know. Let's find it out first before drafting any battle plans. You know I'm with you either way, Magpie--" She hesitates even as she says it. Tree Frog Gao has been taking care of her family. She shakes her head, shaking off the thought.

Blind Shang's antiques shop is only a street away, plain on the outside and bursting with goods on the inside. Most of it is not that antique or of any particular value. It's a quiet day, and besides them there's only one customer in the place, an old man peering very closely at a yellowing porcelain figure. Blind Shang herself is sitting on a stool beside a shelf of pots and pans, meticulously wiping the dust off the inside of one. The shop is, it must be said, surprisingly clean. There is a door open to a small backyard, where the rhythmic sound of a broom sweeping across stone can be heard.

Shang must be approaching sixty, with something unfortunately frog-like in her composition, with long legs and short arms, the sleeves of her fine purple robe rolled up for the work. She turns towards them as they enter, and starts, jumping up off her stool. Not blind at all, then.

"Hello!" Lin Moniao says cheerfully as he strides in. "I am wondering if you have come into the possession of certain items recently? I have a friend who, unfortunately, is sometimes careless with his possessions, and these went missing just this morning. I'm afraid someone might have happened across them, and, not knowing who they belonged to, sold them onward. He has been offering a reward for their return."

There, see? No violence, no threats of violence, no accusations of theft or receiving stolen goods. Perfectly polite!

The sound of the sweeping outside stops. Blind Shang edges towards the door to the back. "This one is sorry to disappoint young master, but we haven't received any new items today. If you give a description and your names, this Shang will keep an eye out for it."

Mu Liqiang says nothing, but stretches innocently, letting the width of his shoulders speak for itself. Blind Shang's lips tighten stubbornly.

"How truly unfortunate." Lin Moniao shakes his head and adjusts his sleeves, giving a glimpse of a heavy string of coins before it disappears out of sight again. "I hear Aunt Shang is a very respected person in these parts and have no wish to trouble her, only to properly thank the person who found these items."

Mu Liqiang picks up a porcelain bowl off a shelf, regards it, and puts it back, running a hand along the side of the shelf. Wouldn't it be easy to push over?

Blind Shang puts her hands up and shuffles closer. "Really, gentlemen, I wish I could help." She puts her hand over her mouth and gestures at the back door as she comes closer. "It is very kind of you to speak of poor old Shang so politely."

When she reaches them, she pulls Lin Moniao closer by the lapels. "I had no choice," she hisses. "Come back tomorrow and I will give you all the money I was paid, but I don't have your dagger anymore. Have mercy."

"Ah, well, I suppose we will have to look elsewhere," says Lin Moniao lightly, then whispers quickly, "Keep the money. Who has it?"

"Young master must be very busy," Blind Shang says in an ingratiating sing-song voice, and continues under her breath, "A gentleman of the treasury sent word to acquire it, any means necessary. Sha Zhengtian. His secretary picked it up."

For a moment, Lin Moniao is stunned into silence--whatever he was expecting, it wasn't that. Of all the possible implications, the only coherent thought he has is, thank heaven for Huang Tianlin's little blackmail book.

Blind Shang backs up and bows just as the figure of a youth carrying a broom appears at the back door. He is utterly unremarkable in every way; even his expression is calm and emotionless. Only, at a second glance, he does not appear quite as young as he did at the first.

"Very busy," Lin Moniao says faintly, with just enough presence of mind to unobtrusively pass Blind Shang a few coins before bowing again and backing out of the shop.

Only Mu Liqiang was close enough to have caught any of that exchange--Heng Wanxue has been hanging back between tall shelves, her distinctive scar turned away, just in case. Both of them follow Lin Moniao's cue, however, and the three walk out, then walk faster once on the street.

Chapter Four: The Healers

Note: This chapter contains: Graphic depictions of violence, mentions of physical abuse, torture, and slavery.

-

"It wasn't us, was it?" Heng Wanxue asks anxiously, touching Lin Moniao's sleeve.

Lin Moniao gives a bark of startled laughter. "No! Whatever is going on--I think your sect is one we can safely rule out." He shakes his head. "You remember I told you my mother has received a marriage proposal? It was him, her... gentleman caller. He may have just been intending to be helpful, following the same leads we did and getting in first. He's known as a friend of the Qilin Villa."

"Would a friend of the Villa leave a goon on location to prevent the fence from talking to the Villa? Is that not what was going on there?" Mu Liqiang's voice is clipped; he is angry.

"Alright, good!" Heng Wanxue pipes up. "I'll rob it back from him. Where does he live?"

"Peony, at your request I am trying not to start a war with your master. If we steal it back, he will know that Blind Shang told us where it was, and if he punishes her for that, who will your master blame? No, I... I have some ideas, but there are some things that don't add up."

She bites her lip, displeased, and gets a thinking look on her face. Mu Liqiang is about to speak, when Lin Moniao hears a subtle thwip sound somewhere on the edge of his senses, then feels a sharp, deep pain in his arm. Heng Wanxue leaps back with a yelp and reaches for her whip as Mu Liqiang spins around, hand going to his long dagger.

The street behind them is not crowded, and in fact, at this sign of trouble, they can see an old man hurrying back inside and a door closing, bolt falling into place.

It's impossible to tell where the attacker is coming from, but it's the youth from the fence's office, and he's flying through the air above their heads, broom in one hand, a blowgun in another, before landing on the rooftop right above. He puts his blowgun between his lips and another needle shoots out. It scrapes past Heng Wanxue's exposed neck, tearing muscle as it goes, and lands in the dirt of the road. Blood spills and she grabs her neck with a small yelp--but there is no great burst of gore--he did not hit anything vital.

"Peony!" Lin Moniao shouts. He makes a move towards her, but keeps going forward instead, launching himself towards the roof where the attacker is crouched. His right arm is numb, and sluggish to respond to his attempts to move it, blood running from his upper arm down over his hand. He's distantly aware that that's bad, but never mind--he still has one arm and two legs that work perfectly well, and they're enough to get him to the roof, close enough to aim at the youth's Big Hammer Acupoint. It's an awkward draw, from the same side of his body as his good hand, but the throw is clean and quick. The youth tries to catch the dagger on his broomstick and spin it aside, but is just a moment too late, as the blade embeds itself solidly in his neck.

Mu Liqiang tries to follow his shixiong, but he is still learning where to place his hands and feet in this new larger body, and in this moment forgets to watch out for it. He jumps for the edge of the roof, but his hands slip and he stumbles back to the ground. Nevermind--the dagger is still in his hand, and he throws it with force and accuracy.

The youth is now facing two opponents, but even as his broom remains between himself and Lin Moniao, he flicks his blowgun at Mu Liqiang's dagger. This time, the block succeeds: it spins, turns, and flies back towards Mu Liqiang's heart. There's not much strength or accuracy behind it, however, and Mu Liqiang merely jerks back as its side bops harmlessly against his chest. And even as it does, the attacker falters. His Big Hammer Acupoint has been struck. Lin Moniao's dagger, momentarily caught in his collar, clatters on to the roof tiles and falls to the ground. The back of his neck is bleeding down into his shirt.

Heng Wanxue bounces off a barrel and onto the roof behind the attacker, and lets her whip fly with full force. It strikes the youth across the back, lashing his robes open. This is no gentle tap--this is the famed Ferocious Whipping Style of Tree Frog Gao, and it can gouge flesh and willpower both right out of a man. The youth makes a guttural sound and falls on his knees on the roof, clawing at his back before collapsing on his face. With the robe whipped apart and the blood running down the grooves of old whip scars, it's like Heng Wanxue has hit him twenty times rather than once.

The fight is over. Mu Liqiang collects Lin Moniao's dagger and his own and joins them on the roof, putting a hand on the youth's neck to see if he still breathes.

"I didn't--I didn't hit him that hard!" Wanxue protests.

"He's alive."

"That's... good," says Lin Moniao, patting Mu Liqiang's shoulder--which turns into fully leaning on him for support as the pain from his injured arm makes itself known more insistently. "Though I wouldn't have blamed you if you had hit him that hard, Peony. Are you--"

He reaches out towards her. The front of her tunic is stained red, and there's an odd stiffness in the way she holds her head. The skin around the cut, what's visible through the blood, is an odd, sickly gray. With no supplies and only one hand, there's nothing Lin Moniao can do but dab at it ineffectually with his sleeve, which only seems to make it worse.

Mu Liqiang inspects them both, his expression going from concern to panic. "It's poison." That much is obvious. "We're going back, right now." He looks like he wants to pick up Lin Moniao right there, but they have to make it down to the ground first. There's also the question of what to do with the man drifting in and out of consciousness on the rooftiles next to them.

Heng Wanxue is one step ahead. "Guys, I can't go back with you. If I go to the Master she'll find out what happened here. I don't think they want me at your sect house." She crawls over to the fallen man and picks his pockets, bringing up three more needles, which she wraps in a napkin. She pockets the blowgun too for good measure, and dabs at her neck gently. "It's... probably not that bad? I can, my digs has a medicine cabinet, there's probably--"

"It's poison," Mu Liqiang repeats, somewhat shocked. "Heng Wanxue can come to the sect house."

"No, she's right, we can't," says Lin Moniao. "Bureau Eight will be there by now. I--I'm sorry, there are things I will have to fill you both in on, I didn't think they were relevant to this, but... we can go to my mother's house." Lin Moniao presses his good hand to his forehead, trying to think. "No. She's not home, it won't help. Peony, you said you knew a doctor they might have gone to, or..." What else had she said? There was something... a chopped-hair youth. Lin Moniao laughs softly. "The Ancient Willow Sect. They're in town for the banquet too."

"Oh! Yes! If your pockets are deep enough."

"They definitely are," Mu Liqiang says, and offers her a hand down off the roof.

Lin Moniao shares a look with Heng Wanxue, then turns back to Mu Liqiang. "I think we can manage. We got ourselves up here, anyway." Although that had been when their blood was high with the fight, and, maybe, before the poison had really taken hold. He feels much shakier now. Still, to descend from the roof, as slowly as they need to... they can manage. "Can you carry that fellow, shidi? I'd rather not leave him here for his master to find. Let's keep what just happened a little mysterious, eh?"

Carrying the unconscious man is no problem, but the four of them do make a sight, bloodied and torn about as they are. There's no time to worry about it, though, and as they walk, Lin Moniao fills the other two in on Shi Minhua's connection to Bureau Four, and how he has been showing the wrong kind of interest in the Qilin Villa. Blind Shang named Sha Zhengtian, but as a fellow treasury official, he may still be a somewhat innocent pawn of Shi Minhua's.

"We've been running with a Bureau Eight agent this whole time?" Heng Wanxue shudders visibly when Lin Moniao tells them about Shi Jia's recent dismissal. "Lin Moniao, the lovers you pick! Present company excluded. So the uncle is in one bureau, the nephew the other... no love lost?"

"No," says Lin Moniao firmly. "A-Jia's alright, Peony, you know he is. If he weren't, he wouldn't be--" He cuts himself off, sighing heavily. Nothing he can do about that now. He has more immediate concerns. "Anyway, you'll have to exclude more company once we reach the Ancient Willow. I hope."

"Yeah, but family relations..." She makes a vague hand gesture.

"Shixiong is very generous," Mu Liqiang sighs.

The inn where the three Willow Sect masters and their assistants reside is neither very fine nor very poor; it is functional, and located near the business district. The restaurant is open and busy, but here, at least, nobody wonders at a half-dead man being carried upstairs. It's been like this the whole week. They are intercepted in the lobby by a tired-looking young man. "Master Kun is unavailable," he informs them. "Master Luo... You should try Master Xuan."

"Master Xuan. Yes." Lin Moniao, nearly at the end of his strength, nonetheless looks up hopefully at the familiar name. Wise and skilled and wonderfully brave--at least according to Yi Zifan, whose opinions must necessarily be taken with a grain of salt. Still.

The young man points upstairs and gives the door number. Mu Liqiang hoists the wounded man higher, to the sound of a low groan. Up the short flight, they see a well-trodden hallway; Master Xuan is just to the right.

The master answers the door herself: a gruff and dignified woman with silver bells jingling at her wrists. She sizes them up. "I was going to say no, enough for today, but..." She turns back to the room and steps out of the way. "Zifan! More brawlers."

The room is divided into two, with a good-sized bed on one side with extra blankets, including oilskin, spread across it, and bowls of fresh water available nearby; by the window, on a high table, preparations are bubbling. It is less of an island of repose for the master and her assistant as it is a camp hospital.

Yi Zifan's eyes go wide behind her fringe of hair--a little longer, nonetheless, than when Lin Moniao saw her last--and rushes towards him. "Moniao!" she cries reproachfully. "Can't you stay fixed?"

"You should see the other fellow." Lin Moniao tries to summon up his usual confident grin, but he's afraid that what he produces is a pale imitation of it. "That is, you really should, he's right there, and if he dies on us he cannot tell us anything."

"Oh!" Yi Zifan's eyes travel up to the unconscious man slung across Mu Liqiang's shoulders. "Bring him in, put him there..." She gestures to the bed and looks between the unconscious man and Lin Moniao in distress, unsure where to turn first.

Mu Liqiang lays their would-be assassin on the bed as directed, on his side facing the wall, since his injuries are all on the back. The man is now somewhat conscious, and he grasps the blanket, grunting in pain and curling on himself, but even if he was in mind to sting anyone, Heng Wanxue has taken his claws away.

Now Wanxue sits heavily by the bed and digs out the needles, offering them to Master Xuan, who has wandered closer, tutting at the coloration of her wound. "Honored doctor. He used these on us."

"I see." Her eye lingers curiously on her scar, but she takes the needles and goes to the table to examine the poisoned tips.

Yi Zifan kneels by the bed and places her hands on the assassin's back. He gives a choked sob and tries to wrench himself away, but he doesn't have the strength to go far. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, clearly struggling for calm, but the fresh wound on the youth's back slowly begins to knit itself together, until it's nothing more than part of the collection of old scars on his back. His eyes are still confused and unfocused, and the gash on his neck keeps bleeding freely until Yi Zifan cleans and bandages it. It's only when this is done that she turns back to Lin Moniao.

"You did this." Expressions flit across her face, clear as black ink--curiosity, a hint of reproach, but concern wins out before long. "But he--and you--sit down and let me look at you, the floor's clean, don't try to have such a stone face."

It has been the wall holding Lin Moniao up moreso than his legs, and it's a relief to let go and slide down to the floor. "It's good to see you, Zifan," he says quietly.

Color rises to her cheeks and her eyes slide away from his; she seems unable to respond in words. Instead, she briskly undoes his belt--which he might have responded to if he had not just lost so much blood--so she can peel back the robes from his injured arm, which by now has completely lost all feeling. There's a hitch in her breath as she positions her hands on his back, work-callused and warm.

Heng Wanxue gives her a look-over, but not for long; she, too, is in rather a lot of discomfort, and her throat is starting to feel tight from the swelling on her neck. Mu Liqiang lets out a worried sound at the sight of Lin Moniao's arm. He hovers, but knows better than to get in the way. The injured man on the bed closes his eyes, letting go and drifting back to unconsciousness.

Lin Moniao has to bite his lip to keep from making an undignified sound as healing energy washes through him like a drink of the clearest water. He wiggles the fingers of his right hand as sensation returns to it, then lifts his arm and pulls her against him, firm muscles and sharp points and hidden softness. "That's so much better. You're a wonder."

She melts against him for just a moment before she pushes away, stammering, "Your friend's hurt too. I need to look at her."

"Yes, of course," Lin Moniao agrees, genuinely contrite, at least a little. He is worried about Heng Wanxue, after all. He stands up and starts to pull his robe back on until the full unpleasantness of sticking his arm back into the torn and blood-soaked sleeve hits him. Instead, he leaves it half off, only retying the belt. He stands back, unobtrusively reaching for Mu Liqiang's hand and squeezing. He squeezes back as Yi Zifan puts her hands on Heng Wanxue's back.

The energy flows again, but this time it falters and trickles to a halt.

"Zifan is tired after a long day," Master Xuan remarks, having set the needles aside. "This master will take care of it."

As Master Xuan steps forward, Yi Zifan steps back, burning with shame and anger at herself. Tired! Shifu is kind to try to save her face, but the truth is obvious: she can extend Guanyin's mercy to an assassin who tried to kill Lin Moniao, but not to a young woman who he likes better than he likes Yi Zifan.

Heng Wanxue pushes up to her feet and bows before presenting her back to the master, who claps her back perhaps a little too hard, but delivers the needed healing. Wanxue swallows in relief as the ugly discoloration on her neck clears visibly away, and tilts her head on both sides to test it.

She puts her hands together and prostrates herself, forehead to the floor. "Master Xuan, this unworthy one thanks you."

"Alright, don't fuss." Master Xuan huffs and turns away. She may have inferred that Heng Wanxue has no money.

"Yes, thank you," Mu Liqiang says, fingers fluttering over Lin Moniao's arm. He looks like he might start crying in relief.

As Lin Moniao fusses over his friend and discusses payment with Master Xuan, Yi Zifan busies herself with the other patient. She goes for her case of needles to unblock the flow of his qi, then thinks better of it--he is an assassin, after all, and the blocked acupoint may be the only thing keeping him docile. He whimpers, shifting restlessly, and she nudges his mouth open so she can administer a few drops of tincture of opium on his tongue to ease his sleep, only to be stopped by the fact that he doesn't have one.

"He won't be telling you anything even if he lives," she says, looking up at Lin Moniao and his friends. "His tongue has been cut at the root."

Heng Wanxue wrinkles her nose in surprised and disgust.

Yi Zifan continues her examination, more thorough now that everyone is out of danger, describing what she observes as she goes:

His teeth have a few cavities, and he seems well-fed and strong, so he must have access to sweets and food, despite the other signs of abuse. His back is a mess of old scars, layered on top of each other--he has been whipped several times over the course of his life. That life has been longer than it appears--though at first glance he seems in his late teens, a closer look shows him to be perhaps in his late twenties. He has had a tattoo on his ankle, but it's been burned off. His hands show gripping calluses from wielding weapons but no side-of-forefinger calluses such as you'd get from writing or drawing.

"He may know some signs," Yi Zifan concludes, "but given how far someone's gone to keep him from communicating--I don't think very many."

Lin Moniao has been looking more and more stricken as the description went on, until finally he rushes over to the window and leans out of it, breathing in great gulps of air. Yi Zifan's conversation does have that effect on people sometimes; she never remembers to soften it in the moment.

"How would he even taste the sweets with no tongue..." Heng Wanxue wonders under her breath, staring at the patient in mild shock.

"He can still fight," says Mu Liqiang, but he's sounding subdued, too. "We still have to secure him, or he'll try again, or go back to... whoever sent him. But... what shixiong said... probably we cannot take him to the sect house."

Lin Moniao takes one last breath of clean air before forcing himself to turn back to the room. It's not, after all, Hu Qiu or Yang Xiuxing lying in the bed there--only someone who must once have been very like them.

"No," he says. Looking appealingly from Yi Zifan to her master, though without much hope, he adds, "I don't suppose we can keep him here?"

Master Xuan purses her lips and rests her hands on her hips, and actually thinks about it, but shakes her head no in the end. "Where would we keep him, Zifan? Even if you block his acupoints, we have patients coming in all day long."

"I don't want anyone following him to my friends," Heng Wanxue says quietly. "But, he can't talk, he can't write, I assume. If he can't walk, either, and we leave him somewhere away from the city with no money, it would take him a while to get back."

"We could negotiate," Mu Liqiang suggests. "I wouldn't be very loyal to someone who did that to me."

"We'll take him to my mother's house," Lin Moniao decides. "She and Dong Yuan will be back any day now--I hope--but until then, I can tell Liang Huian to clear out, she doesn't need to be mixed up in this, and--we will guard him in shifts, the constables will be watching Master Wu's house but there are secret ways in and out, and they can't possibly keep track of all of us all the time."

The Shadow Moon Crown, of course, would make that easier. Or if he only--he could tell the assassin that he'd never met any such person as Xiu Xinyi.

No. Lin Moniao made the right call, there.

"We ought to have at least two people with him all the time, just in case," he goes on, turning to Mu Liqiang. "There's me, and you, and Yu Long--he already knows some of this, anyway--"

As Lin Moniao trails off, trying to think who else can be trusted for this sort of thing--not Shi Jia, they need people who will be able to defend themselves, in the event--Yi Zifan pipes up. "I'll do it. He needs a doctor, still. Shifu--I'll finish all my work here when I'm not on shift, I promise--"

"We've made enough money for a year," Master Xuan says. "Go on."

"Thank you," Heng Wanxue says, tugging Yi Zifan's sleeve, her eyes wide. "You're brave to offer, but you're just what we need. So thank you--Heng Wanxue owes you."

Yi Zifan, flustered, looks down at her feet. It takes her a moment to answer, and then it's only, quietly, "You don't."

Heng Wanxue breaks into a big smile. "I'll remember it, anyway."

To be continued.