Breakfast was a turbulent affair. Once Mu Zhong and Mu Xia had both gone off with their respective orders, it was already past the fourth watch of the morning. Lin Sui’an finally had her chance when Hua Yitang stepped away from the table, and made a break for it.

But the moment her foot crossed the threshold of the Hua Estate’s front gate, she heard a nightmarish voice from behind.

“Lin Sui’an, why didn’t you wait for me?”

Hua Yitang, fan swaying, came striding after her — smiling that blinding smile.

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Weren’t idle young masters supposed to be the kind whose shoulders couldn’t carry a load and who panted after two steps? Why was this one such an aberration?

“I’m going back to the inn to collect my luggage —”

Before Lin Sui’an finished speaking, Hua Yitang’s fan snapped against his palm — and a servant materialized instantly, respectfully extending a bundle.

Lin Sui’an: “……”

It was, of course, her own bundle.

Hua Yitang smiled pleasantly. “I had someone retrieve it last night. Have a look — is anything missing?”

Lin Sui’an took it with a cold expression. Clothes, money bag, odds and ends — all there. She pulled out the Ten Purities Collection and tucked it into her lapel — better to keep it close to her body.

The servant stood reverently to one side, hands raised high, like a clothes rack.

Lin Sui’an: “……”

What does this mean?

Servant: “I will carry it back to Lin Niangzi’s room.”

Lin Sui’an: “There’s no need, I —”

Hua Yitang snatched the bundle and tossed it to the servant, then walked out through the gate fanning himself. “From the Flowing Flowers Quarter to Kaiming Bridge, one must pass around the Spring White Quarter, then head due south along the Central Avenue — through the Grass Red, Flower News, Cloud East, Moon Leaning, and Late Autumn Quarters — on foot, about an hour. Setting out now, one can eat lunch at Flowing Moon Tower in the Winding Smoke Quarter at noon. Flowing Moon Tower’s sliced raw fish is the finest in all of Yangdu — you absolutely must try it.”

Lin Sui’an narrowed her eyes: He had already guessed she would go to Kaiming Bridge to investigate the scene.

That was not difficult to guess. Judging by this morning’s developments, the Feng clan would not let things rest, and her travel permit was still being held by the Yangdu prefectural yamen — she could not even leave the city. As long as the true killer was not found, the murder suspect’s label hanging over her head was a sword of Damocles — liable to drop at any moment and cleave her in two. That prefectural prefect could not be trusted at all. All things considered, it was more reassuring to investigate herself. As for Hua Yitang……

Lin Sui’an’s gaze swept across Hua Yitang. Today he wore a pale cyan long robe layered with three gauzes — no embroidery, no jade pendants — at first glance almost normal. But when the hem stirred in the wind, the gauze colors shifted with the light like a rainbow after rain.

Take someone this conspicuous along, and within half an hour, rumors of Hua Family Fourth Young Master accompanying someone to the scene to destroy evidence would be all over Yangdu.

Hua Yitang felt Lin Sui’an’s gaze like needles in his back. He carefully reviewed his own attire — today he had specifically changed into the Spring Sorrow Wine-Drenched robe, the Wind Wandering Boots, the Rain Murmuring Fan, and even switched his hairpin to a refined silver jade flute pin — an exercise in extreme understatement.

“Is something wrong with this outfit?” Hua Yitang asked.

Lin Sui’an folded her arms and stared at him coldly.

“One moment — I’ll go change.” At one word from Hua Yitang, dozens of servants and handmaidens poured out of the Hua Estate and swept Hua Yitang back through the gates in a surging crowd — moving quickly for their numbers. Hua Yitang still managed to call back: “Wait for me! I’ll be right out! Wait for me!”

Wait for you?

Lin Sui’an seized her chance and bolted, sprinting out of the Flowing Flowers Quarter gate. She glanced back — and could barely believe her eyes: the entire Flowing Flowers Quarter contained only the single Hua household. One could only imagine the sheer scale of the estate.

Out of the quarter gate, past the Spring White Quarter, and she reached the junction of the Eastern River and the Canal River. Through the Heaven-Connecting Bridge, she turned onto the Central Avenue — thanks to Hua Yitang’s verbose directions, Lin Sui’an successfully found Kaiming Bridge without difficulty.

Kaiming Bridge was a five-arch stone bridge. The side of its body was festooned with broad-leafed ivy, deep green and abundant. The bridge surface was over thirty meters wide, with carriages and foot traffic constantly crossing. The incident last night seemed to have had no impact whatsoever on the day’s bustle. The bridge sat between the Winding Smoke Quarter and the Bright Moon Quarter, directly facing a street between the quarters filled with food stalls and local vendors — overflowing with customers. There were five or six flatbread stalls alone, each with brightly colored banners, and many of the stall keepers were foreign people, their calls carrying an exotic flair. One almost expected them to take up a fiddle and sing a foreign ballad.

Standing at the head of Kaiming Bridge, one could see a three-story building in the Winding Smoke Quarter ahead, hung with elegant bamboo lanterns, bearing the two characters “Flowing Moon” — that must be the Flowing Moon Tower Hua Yitang had mentioned.

The Canal River was at peak transport hours, boats one after another passing through the bridge arches. Almost all vessels hugged the western arches as they traveled, and Lin Sui’an leaned over the railing to look — at the base of the eastern arches, something seemed to be making them wary.

Lin Sui’an made her way down the riverbank to the bridge’s underside. The riverside was thick with wild grass, grown past waist height, obscuring the view. She felt her way to the western bridge base and discovered in the undergrowth a small makeshift offering — simple pastries and fresh fruit, a small incense burner with a half-burned stick of cold incense, and a stack of spirit paper pinned under a stone.

Someone had held a ceremony here for Yan He. Given the modest scale, it was probably not the Yan Family — more likely the nearby merchants, setting it up to ward off ill omen. This must be where Yan He’s severed head had been found.

The grass within four or five square meters around the offering had been trampled into chaos. Lin Sui’an combed through it for a long while before picking up a few broken blades of grass — their flat surfaces were stained with a dark reddish-brown substance. She examined them carefully but could not determine whether it was blood.

Directly above the offering was the Kaiming Bridge. Moss and lichen coated the arch and the bridge base, with a damp, fishy odor in the air. Crouching at the offering and looking out across the Canal River, the wild grass grew thick and concealing — a head left here would be difficult for passing boats to spot. Looking up along the riverbank, the grass was pressed flat in many places and patches of bare mud were exposed — the traces of multiple people running down the bank. Lin Sui’an’s heart sank: these prints and marks had all been trampled over by the officers, and the original clues were almost certainly gone.

Lin Sui’an circled under the bridge twice more, finding nothing of value. She climbed back up to the bank. The Central Avenue was filled with voices; Kaiming Bridge above teemed with carriages and horses; the Canal River below hummed along as industriously as ever. The world was still drenched in sunlight, carrying on as usual.

Lin Sui’an felt a moment of dislocation and recalled a phrase:

[When the candle is snuffed, the earth keeps turning.]

Lin Sui’an patted her face, rallied her spirit, and walked into the Winding Smoke Quarter for a casual look around. The quarter had few commercial establishments — mostly residences. Not far from the quarter gate stood a housing registry with signs advertising properties for purchase or rent. Lin Sui’an paused to look: a small courtyard rented for around five hundred coins per month. Yangdu, indeed — the prices were staggering.

The calls of the food stall vendors rolled in one after another from the street between the quarters. Lin Sui’an stepped out of the quarter gate and wove between the stalls, making a few rounds. She chose a friendly-looking vendor and bought two flatbreads, and while handing over her coins, she struck up a casual conversation: “I heard something happened at Kaiming Bridge last night?”

The vendor was a foreign man with deep-set eyes and a high nose bridge, who silently wrapped the flatbreads and paid no mind to Lin Sui’an’s question. Lin Sui’an scratched her head and lowered her voice: “I heard someone found a human head under the bridge.”

By all reason such explosive news should have prompted at least a few words — but the foreign man only flicked a glance at Lin Sui’an and still said nothing.

Semi-antisocial Lin Sui’an began to lose her nerve. She took the flatbreads and was about to leave — when all at once the foreign man uttered a completely bizarre phrase: “Across ten thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers, sentiment remains the same.”

Lin Sui’an: “Huh?”

The foreign man stared at her — specifically at the Qian Jing at her waist — and repeated: “Across ten thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers, sentiment remains the same.”

A recognition code!

Lin Sui’an’s scalp went cold. She cast a rapid glance around her and only now noticed that at some point all the surrounding food stall vendors had turned their eyes toward her — each face sharp-eyed and predatory, like wolves circling their prey.

Lin Sui’an stepped back half a pace, hesitated, and then groped out a response: “……If I’m all right……you’re all right……may we all be all right?”

The foreign man’s face changed. He bellowed something in a language Lin Sui’an couldn’t understand — and in an instant every vendor in the entire street, gripping woks, spatulas, and serving ladles, came howling toward Lin Sui’an. All the pedestrians and customers on the street gaped in shock. Lin Sui’an gaped too — and then a freshly baked flatbread flew up and smacked her in the face. Her emergency response activated: Qian Jing was drawn, and the flatbread was sliced into four perfectly equal pieces in one clean stroke. In the next second, a ladle of hot soup was hurled at her head, followed by flour, spring onions, and fragrant spices. Good grief — were they planning to throw her into a pot and cook her into a stew?

Lin Sui’an dared not prolong the engagement. She lifted Qian Jing and ran, making straight for the most crowded parts of the streets, the stall vendors howling something behind her — she couldn’t spare the attention to listen — she ran through the Late Autumn Quarter, the Moon Leaning Quarter, burst into the Cloud East Quarter gate, ducked and weaved, and at last shook off her pursuers. She was dripping in cold sweat, and hadn’t even had a chance to catch her breath when suddenly a sharp gust struck toward her left shoulder. Lin Sui’an lurched with alarm, seized the oncoming object, and flung it in a sweeping arc overhead — a wrenching howl sliced through the air in a long arc, crashed to the ground, and exploded in a cloud of dust.

Lying on the ground, teeth bared in pain — none other than Hua Yitang.

Lin Sui’an: Where did he come from?!

The Cloud East Quarter was a residential area with relatively few people, but this much commotion had drawn no small number of onlookers pointing and murmuring. Hua Yitang opened one eye to assess the situation — and his first instinct was to use his fan to cover his own face.

Lin Sui’an: “……”

“Pull me up, quick!” Hua Yitang hissed.

Lin Sui’an yanked him upright. Hua Yitang pressed one hand to his back and kept the other firmly shielding his face, urging her, “Go go go go!”

Lin Sui’an braced herself and steered Hua Yitang into a narrow, deserted alley. Only then did Hua Yitang breathe out in relief. “Lucky I dressed plainly today — otherwise being recognized would have been mortifying!”

His words had barely left his mouth when fragments of conversation drifted in from outside:

“Was that just now Hua Family Fourth Young Master?”

“It was him!”

“In all of Yangdu, who else could dress that flamboyantly — who else could it possibly be?”

“Definitely Hua Family Fourth Young Master — even a tumble onto his rear end was done handsomely!”

“I wish he’d fall one more time!”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Hua Yitang’s ears were burning crimson. He crouched into the corner of the alley behind his fan, that grand figure curled into a small, sorry lump.

This time Lin Sui’an actually felt a little bad. She hesitated, then stepped forward and patted Hua Yitang on the shoulder. “I’m sorry — just now I……well, I’m sorry.”

Hua Yitang’s shoulder trembled slightly, his voice immeasurably aggrieved. “I was only saying hello — why did you throw me? That really hurt——”

Lin Sui’an scratched her head. “……I’m sorry.”

“My clothes are dirty now……”

“I can’t show my face in public anymore……”

“You actually left your partner and walked off alone — you’ve hurt me so deeply.”

Lin Sui’an was taken aback. “Since when were we partners?”

Hua Yitang looked up at Lin Sui’an. From this angle, his eyes were strikingly large — beneath their fluffy lashes, a glimmer of pitiable moisture shone. “We fought together, faced the hearing together, ate together, and investigated together. Do we still not count as partners?”

The last word lilted into a lingering melodic cadence.

Lin Sui’an: “……”

What was this expression of his? He made it seem as though she had led him on and then abandoned him.

“Ah, it’s my fault — this is a serious matter and I should have discussed it with you properly from the start.” Hua Yitang stood up and gave a formal folded-fan bow, his expression earnest. “Lin Sui’an, will you partner with me to investigate this case?”

Not particularly willing. Lin Sui’an thought. Something about this person feels dangerous — there’s a pit ahead somewhere.

“My body is weak and frail — wielding blades and arms is truly not my strength. But you are peerless in martial arts, unyielding and just, a true hero among women,” Hua Yitang continued, pressing his case. “I have the money, you have the blade. If the two of us join forces, we will be unstoppable!”

Hua Yitang spoke with genuine feeling. Lin Sui’an found herself actually thinking it through.

She was a crossover traveler with no knowledge of local customs or connections — solving this case on her own presented objectively significant challenges. Hua Yitang was a local through and through, with contacts and resources aplenty, and most importantly, money. Teaming up with him to clear this mess was objectively the optimal strategy.

As for afterward — once the case was closed, she would disengage immediately. A wide road ahead: they would each go their own way. His protagonist’s aura would no longer touch her.

“Well?” Hua Yitang’s throat bobbed up and down, and a fine film of bright sweat had gathered on his neck — offsetting his thoroughly earnest, composed expression, and making for something oddly striking.

“Didn’t you say you were going to take me to Flowing Moon Tower for sliced raw fish?” Lin Sui’an said. “What are you still standing here for?”

Hua Yitang’s eyes lit up. “You’re agreeing?”

“All investigation expenses from here on out come out of your pocket.”

Hua Yitang broke into the widest of smiles. “Naturally!”

Side story

Hua Yitang: Heh heh heh, I’m pleased, so pleased, so very pleased (hands on hips)

Lin Sui’an: A gold-filled pie fell right out of the sky — it would be foolish not to pick it up.