At this point someone came in to report: “Leader, the Seven Stars Cult Leader says she has an important matter she wishes to discuss.”
Chen Qing looked to his master.
Gu Yanxi curved his lips. “Since she is this eager, we shall oblige her. Have her brought here.”
“Yes.”
This was Yuan Shifang’s study, divided into inner and outer chambers. Judging by appearances, he spent a considerable amount of time here; the inner chamber was furnished with great comfort.
Gu Yanxi let his gaze travel slowly over the room, a slight frown on his brow. For some reason he felt a persistent sense that something was not right — as though something extra had found its way in. His eyes moved inch by inch through the room. Suddenly he snapped his gaze back to the unremarkable lower-left corner of the cabinet, and walked over to take up the four-footed incense burner sitting there. Then he continued to search inch by inch, and from among a jumble of odds and ends at the upper right he hooked out an object that was neither quite round nor quite square. Gu Yanxi placed this object on top of the incense burner — a perfect and exact fit. And the thing now hooked in his hand was easier to identify — it was a tail.
He searched every other part of the room thoroughly. Nothing else turned up. But looking at the object already taking recognizable shape in his hands, even with Gu Yanxi’s composure, a tempest was rising within him.
There was movement outside as well.
The Seven Stars Cult Leader still wore her white robe, her expression serene — the very picture of one detached from worldly affairs.
Chen Qing sat, immovable as a mountain in the face of eight winds.
The Seven Stars Cult Leader instead smiled — a smile whose meaning only she herself understood.
“I, Hao Yue, pay my respects to the Seven Stars Bureau’s leader.”
“Hao Yue — a fine name. Though one wonders which moonlit path this bright moon wishes to illuminate.” The voice that came through Chen Qing’s mask was somewhat distorted, and between that and his deliberate imitation of the Shizi’s manner, it bore seven or eight parts resemblance to the real thing.
“Three months ago I was still in the mountains completing my studies, and had not yet formed the intention of entering the world. But then one day I felt a stirring in my heart, and I cast a divination — and so learned that great strife in the realm was on its way.” Hao Yue spoke at an unhurried pace, but the content of her words rang in Chen Qing’s mind like a thunderclap. Great strife in the realm — did that not mean the foundations of the Great Qing dynasty were unstable?
Chen Qing suppressed what was churning in his mind. “May I ask under which great master Hao Yue studied?”
“My teacher has never once touched the affairs of the common world — mentioning the name would mean nothing to anyone. That he permitted me to enter the world was because he had divined that my destined match lay here among mortals. Moreover, how can one speak of transcending the world without first making a passage through it?”
“So Hao Yue assembled this Seven Stars Cult simply in order to draw out this official?”
Hao Yue smiled. Her pale, slender fingers lightly brushed a strand of long hair back behind her ear — the gesture was particularly graceful. “My Lord need not worry. The sacred water is a medicinal preparation of my own formula — drinking it is beneficial to the body and does no harm.”
On the surface this appeared to be a non-answer, but it was in fact an admission.
Chen Qing maintained his commanding air. “What does the young lady hope to gain?”
“Leader, Hao Yue dares not claim great ability, but in the art of divination I have received the full and true teachings of my master. My Lord has the welfare of all the people of the realm at heart — Hao Yue is certain she can be of great help.”
“Oh?”
Hao Yue knew it was time to demonstrate what she was worth. She gave a light, composed smile. “In the eighth month of this year, the Weihe River will breach its dykes. The casualties will number in the tens of thousands. The point of breach — Xiangyang in Jingzhou.”
Hao Yue also understood when enough had been said. Having spoken, she rose, inclined her head in a slight bow, and withdrew. “Hao Yue awaits my Lord’s decision here.”
When he was certain she had moved well out of earshot, Chen Qing immediately went into the inner chamber — but before he could say a word, he heard his master say: “Go and bring everything on Yuan Shifang’s person. You personally — not a single item missing.”
Chen Qing read his master’s expression and asked no questions, stepping out at a swift pace. He returned before long, holding a small bundle which he opened before his master.
Gu Yanxi saw at once the item he had been looking for — Yuan Shifang’s personal seal. A wolf-head seal.
He picked up the wolf-head and placed it alongside the other two pieces. A wolf stood proudly upright, vivid and full of life.
“This is…” Chen Qing exclaimed. He had followed the Shizi for many years and had learned much; he certainly could recognize this as the totem of the Zhaohu tribe. Did that mean Yuan Shifang was a person of the Zhaohu tribe? But how was that possible — the kingdom of Zhaohu had been destroyed so many years ago, and the Great Qing dynasty had always maintained strict vigilance. How could the Zhaohu tribe have slipped someone in without a sound all the way to the heartland of the Great Qing dynasty, and moreover allowed him to rise to the position of governor of an entire region?
Wait!
“Could it be that Hao Yue knows Yuan Shifang’s background? And that is why she staged all of this?”
Gu Yanxi held the objects in his hand and rose, walking to the writing table. Chen Qing immediately came forward to grind the ink.
When the ink was dry, Gu Yanxi sealed the letter and handed it to Chen Qing, issuing his orders in a cold voice. “Dispatch people immediately to return to the capital and deliver this letter directly into the Emperor’s hands. Have the Seven Stars Bureau mobilize every available person to provide escort and relay the whole way — and remember: no entering the city.”
Chen Qing acknowledged this in a measured voice. He understood what his master meant. If Yuan Shifang were truly a member of the Zhaohu tribe, then they had caught a very big fish. As long as his mouth could be opened, they could learn the current state of affairs within the Zhaohu tribe. The Zhaohu tribe was extremely insular — their informants had never been able to get anywhere near them. After all these years, their understanding of the Zhaohu tribe was still the same as it had ever been. This was exceedingly dangerous. And the Zhaohu tribe would never leave a captive alive in enemy hands; whether they planned to snatch him back or to silence him, a confrontation absolutely could not take place inside a densely populated city.
“Have the Regional Governor’s residence combed through carefully — no one exits, entry is permitted. Take my official seal and go personally to invite General Lu to the residence for a discussion — without drawing attention.”
“Yes.”
In comparison with this matter, neither the Seven Stars Cult nor Hao Yue amounted to anything of consequence. Neither master nor servant gave them so much as another mention.
Yuzhou’s Qingliuying garrison was stationed ten li outside the city to the west. The garrison commander, General Lu Peiyu, came from a family with deep roots in the military — he was naturally no brute. He understood that being summoned by the Seven Stars Bureau’s leader in the dead of night could be no small matter, and that it most likely concerned Yuzhou. Thinking of the Seven Stars Cult, whose name had been growing louder and louder, he had a rough idea of what he was in for.
Gu Yanxi put on the mask. Without a word, he packed up the three objects and let the general examine them.
The Great Qing dynasty genuinely spoke of the Zhaohu tribe with a change of color — none more so than families of old and deep standing, who knew more of what lay beneath the surface and were all the more vigilant toward the Zhaohu tribe.
General Lu Peiyu’s expression changed at once. He came forward in two or three strides, took the objects in hand, and examined them carefully. No mistake — this was the Zhaohu tribe’s totem. Their wolf-head bore a horn at the crown; anyone who knew what to look for could identify it at a glance.
“May I ask where these came from?”
“Yuan Shifang.”
“I need proof!” General Lu Peiyu could not hide his disbelief. He had worked alongside Yuan Shifang for several years. Not that there had been any deep friendship between them, but as colleagues their relationship had been cordial enough. And the man was absolutely deserving of the word “capable official” — among the governors of the nine regions, his abilities ranked in the top three.
If he were a member of the Zhaohu tribe — if he were… General Lu Peiyu thought it through and felt a chill creep over him.
Gu Yanxi picked up the wolf-head and turned its base toward General Lu Peiyu. “This is Yuan Shifang’s personal seal.”
General Lu Peiyu suddenly recalled that he did indeed seem to have seen Yuan Shifang use that very seal. And yet no matter how he tried, he could not connect that man — every inch the refined and cultured scholar — with the fierce Zhaohu tribespeople.
The Zhaohu tribe — those enormous, hulking frames; that violent temperament; that overbearing manner; all of it…
In none of it — not one single aspect — did Yuan Shifang resemble them. Not in the slightest.