QIAO XIAN SAT IN THE TEAHOUSE, staring dazedly down into her cup. The amber liquid rippled, reflecting the evening sunset. Gradually, the sun sank below the horizon. The stallkeeper lit the candles, then asked Qiao Xian if she'd like a hot bowl of noodles.
She declined. Qiao Xian wasn't accustomed to the taste of this tea, bitter with a hint of salt. At the Zuoyue Bureau, everyone knew the lord chief's subordinate Qiao Xian loved sour plum soup. But this was a remote area, at a time of year when the chill had yet to subside. There was not a drop of sour plum soup to be found.
Raising her bowl for the fifth time, Qiao Xian took a tiny sip of the tea, then frowned and put it down. At that moment, the person she was waiting for finally appeared. She watched Zhangsun Bodhi step out of Chunxiang House from afar, then stride unhurriedly toward the teahouse where they'd agreed to meet.
"You're an hour late," she said as soon as Zhangsun sat down.
"You're early."
"What did you learn?"
Zhangsun hesitated—a rare sight. "The fragrance she wears was created by a woman called Miao-niangzi. Miao-niangzi is familiar with many types of perfumes and capable of creating unique scents. Yunyun was able to distinguish herself among Chunxiang House's top courtesans recently partly thanks to her perfumes."
Had Cui Buqu or Feng Xiao been there, the name "Miao-niangzi" would have instantly called to mind Lady Qin Miaoyu, the Khotanese envoy's concubine who'd disappeared. But they were far on the other side of the city, and Zhangsun and Qiao Xian had no way of knowing that name's significance.
Even so, they could more or less guess Cui Buqu's intentions in sending them to investigate the cold plum blossom fragrance.
"This Miao-niangzi must be related to the person the lord chief is looking for," said Qiao Xian. "But you wasted half the day with Yunyun-niangzi, and this is all you have to show for it?"
Zhangsun Bodhi shot her a look that seemed to say, And what did you find yourself?
"I planned to follow her maid," said Qiao Xian. "But when I saw her standing outside little Yunyun-niangzi's room, all envy and dissatisfaction, I changed my plans. I pretended to be an injured man from the jianghu who'd mistakenly entered Chunxiang House and begged her to treat me. I was so pitiful she dropped her guard, and I coaxed some information out of her."
As a woman, Qiao Xian was a cold, untouchable beauty; when she disguised herself as a man, that quality became an aura of cold austerity that drove women crazy. In fact, the longer one looked at Qiao Xian, the more androgynous she seemed.
For the first time, Zhangsun Bodhi's gaze lingered on her face. Confusion surfaced on his features. "You…which are you, a man or a woman?"
"You've been practicing Buddhism for how long?" said Qiao Xian coolly. "Don't you know all things are ephemeral, and all appearances but empty vanity?"
Zhangsun silently turned the prayer beads in his hand and murmured a few Amitabhas. "You're right, I have strayed. My training is not yet complete."
Qiao Xian was surprised. "Did nothing happen between you and that little Yunyun-niangzi?"
"After questioning her, I tapped her sleep acupoint and left," Zhangsun said placidly.
Once Yunyun awakened, she might remember Zhangsun Bodhi, but she wouldn't remember how she fell asleep. She'd only remember it as a spring night filled with romance, a dream that left no trace. They'd never see each other again.
Zhangsun Bodhi sank into reverie but was quickly pulled back by the roughness of the prayer beads in his hand. "What did you find?" he asked belatedly, though he rarely took the initiative to inquire.
"I asked about the whereabouts of this Miao-niangzi. She said Yunyun had secretly purchased a private manor—originally, she'd planned to live there after redeeming herself and earning her freedom. But she'd established herself at Chunxiang House with Miao-niangzi's help, so she returned the favor and recently invited Miao-niangzi to take up temporary residence at the manor. I, too, would like to see just who this Miao-niangzi is."
Zhangsun Bodhi's expression asked: It's already dark, so why aren't we going?
Qiao Xian didn't answer. Instead she called the owner over and asked for two bowls of noodle soup. "It's still early. We can leave after we eat."
Zhangsun Bodhi nodded.
In truth, obtaining intelligence like this, through conversation, was not his strong suit. Given the choice, he'd much rather take up a weapon and fight the enemy head-on. Yunyun had been stunningly cooperative, but when he'd walked out of Chunxiang House, his tightly pursed lips had betrayed his nervousness. Only now did he finally relax.
Qiao Xian regarded him for a moment and said, "The Zuoyue Bureau still has fewer people than the Jiejian Bureau. If the lord chief could find more subordinates with both wits and courage, perhaps he wouldn't need to personally carry out his strategies as he has this time."
"Compared to seeing him confined to bed for weeks at a time, I'd rather see him run around. At least that would mean he wasn't sick as often." It was rare to hear Zhangsun say such a long sentence.
Qiao Xian frowned. "But he can't be having a good time with Feng Xiao."
As they spoke, the noodles arrived. They set the conversation aside and silently applied themselves to their meal.
The noodles were ordinary, plain noodles. The quality of the flour couldn't compare to the flour of the capital, and the soup base was boiled well water. Some green onions and vegetables had been scattered over top, but there was not a sliver of meat to be seen. It was a meal to sate the common people. These noodles were much worse than anything Zhangsun and Qiao Xian were used to eating. But in the face of hunger and cold, a bowl of hot soup warmed the stomach, wiping away fatigue and enveloping them in coziness.
Qiao Xian and Zhangsun Bodhi both had the same thought: If only the lord chief were here.
Where he was, would anyone offer him a bowl of hot noodle soup?
***
Of course there was no bowl of hot noodle soup for Cui Buqu. He currently stood outside the manor, getting battered by cold winds and suppressing the urge to cough.
But he was still in an unusually good mood. Because right before his eyes, Feng Xiao had been cornered five to one.
"Bring the jade out," he heard Feng Xiao say to Pei Jingzhe.
Pei Jingzhe stood momentarily frozen, unsure what Feng Xiao intended. Then he turned and entered the manor, swiftly returning with the jade.
The moonlight was bright and clear, and the jade shone radiantly in Pei Jingzhe's hand. A hint of rippling green was visible in the center of the crystal-clear stone. Whether or not it was the real Jade of Heaven Lake, it was certainly a jade of unmatched quality.
Multiple shining eyes fixed upon the jade.
Feng Xiao drew himself up and said with perfect composure, "I assume you're all here for this?"
He was met with silence. Except for the woman in yellow, who had already claimed she only wanted to borrow the jade for a look, the identities and aims of these uninvited guests remained unknown. It seemed no one was willing to speak first, as if they were competing to see who could be most patient.
Feng Xiao wasn't bothered, and Cui Buqu even less so. Only Pei Jingzhe was growing anxious. He was aware he had his own lack of discipline to blame, but he didn't want his failings to reflect poorly on Feng Xiao. He silently drew a deep breath, doing what he could to control his restlessness.
As before, the woman in yellow broke the silence. "This one came first and doesn't wish to make an enemy of the Jiejian Bureau. I'm but a weak woman, and I've been shivering in these cold winds for most of the night. Take pity on me, Feng-langjun. Let me see it, so I can return with my report."
She gave a small smile. Though her face was unremarkable, her mellifluous voice drew involuntary glances from the assembly.
Cui Buqu quietly looked around and found only two people who didn't look at her. One was the androgynous person clad in white with the veiled hat, and the other was the Göktürk man. Right from the beginning, the Göktürk man's attention had been focused on no one but Feng Xiao.
Only a martial arts master with a heart clean of desires would maintain such unwavering focus on their target.
As for the figure in black, still half-shrouded in shadow… That person was a distance away and turned to the side. Their left hand gripped their right wrist, stroking it occasionally.
Cui Buqu's eyes narrowed slightly.
Feng Xiao didn't look at the others. His gaze was locked on the woman in yellow, as if she was the only guest in the courtyard. Seeing her smile, he followed suit and said, "How polite you are; I'd certainly lend you the jade first, but I know neither your name nor your origins. If you take it and run, how will I find you?"
"This one is Bing Xian," said the woman in yellow.
Feng Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Your surname is Bing? That's unusual."
"Names are merely what others call us. For example, even if you didn't call yourself anything so lofty as Feng-langjun, you'd still be magnificent and without peer in this world. Isn't that right?"
Feng Xiao chuckled. "Unlike these other mannerless guests, your words have won my heart. Say, why not come to my Jiejian Bureau? I guarantee I'd help and protect you; never would I let you sit on a roof in the middle of the night, shivering in the wind."
Smiling, Bing Xian was about to reply when Feng Xiao snatched the jade from Pei Jingzhe's hand and threw it at her. "Since I like you the most, I'm lending you the jade first!"
Bing Xian was taken aback; she'd never expected Feng Xiao would really follow through. She had no time to think—her delicate toes pushed off the ground and she leapt into the air, featherlight, toward the jade.
She was fast, but others were faster. The veiled person in white and the scarred man in gray also grabbed for the jade.
Yet the Göktürk man didn't even look at it. As others dove for the treasure, his saber sprang from its sheath, its churning, tumultuous qi bearing down on Feng Xiao like a tidal wave.
The saber qi was so powerful that even Cui Buqu, who stood behind Feng Xiao, felt it as a gale roaring toward him. He stumbled back, about to slam into the wall, when someone dragged him viciously forward by his collar. With a start, he realized he was trapped within Feng Xiao's arms.
But the Göktürk man had already reached them. Saber qi cut down from above, and Cui Buqu felt his topknot loosen and hair flutter down. An expert at Feng Xiao's level knew the Göktürk man's surprise attack would at minimum knock his clasp loose. In order to preserve his hairstyle, he'd pulled Cui Buqu forward and used him as a shield.
Cui Buqu didn't need a mirror to know he looked like a disheveled madman. Rage surged in his heart, and he spat, "Feng Xiao, you motherfucking son of a bastard!"
He soon realized the Göktürk man was aiding his revenge—the man immediately engaged Feng Xiao in a fierce battle, leaving Feng Xiao no chance to respond.
Meanwhile, the man in gray, one step ahead of the others, had just wrapped his fingers around the jade. Yet before he could rejoice, it splintered in his hands and crumbled to powder, dissipating on the wind.
The three fighting over the jade froze, completely dumbfounded.