Because Pei Min had already confided her feelings to her earlier, Qin Yao paid much closer attention when she saw the Commander again. She couldn’t help hiding behind Lin Xiao and studying him thoroughly on the sly.
He looked to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, with handsome, upright features and a vigorous, heroic bearing — a genuinely fine appearance. Judging purely from his looks, he didn’t seem at all like someone who made promises lightly or turned cold without reason.
Yet appearances could be deceiving. The world was full of people who hid wicked conduct beneath a fine-looking exterior, and over the years Qin Yao had seen more than enough of those with crooked hearts. One Xu Gongzi hardly stood out from the rest.
Still, recalling what Pei Min had said about Xu Gongzi seeming like a completely different person, Qin Yao decided to give him a chance. She quietly activated her Heavenly Eye and directed her gaze toward him — only to find that the aura surrounding him was clear and tranquil, with no trace of malice or ghostly energy.
Commander Xu had not yet noticed Lin Xiao and Qin Yao. He was slowly making his way along the garden path, glancing around from time to time, as though waiting for someone.
Drawing near, Xu Shenming caught sight, without warning, of Lin Xiao and a slender young figure standing in the darkness beneath the trees, and was so startled that he drew his sword with a shing and shouted, “Who goes there?”
When he recognized Lin Xiao, he slowly sheathed the blade again, his surprise evident. “Commander Lin?”
Lin Xiao regarded Xu Shenming coolly and said, “What brings you here?”
By now Xu Shenming’s attention had drifted to the young figure at Lin Xiao’s side. He had been covertly sizing up Qin Yao when Lin Xiao’s question reached him, and he answered, “I heard there was something amiss near the Jade Spring. I was not at ease, so I took it upon myself to patrol the area several times over — but unfortunately I spotted no one behaving suspiciously.”
Lin Xiao regarded him for a long moment, then nodded. “It is not only the Jade Spring. The entire traveling palace must be under strict watch tonight, especially the area surrounding the Emperor’s sleeping quarters — not the slightest negligence can be permitted. Go and inform Wang Ling and the others: all rotating shifts are canceled tonight. Every soldier is to remain on duty until dawn.”
At this point Chang Rong and Wei Bo came hurrying along the path from the other direction. They arrived and reported: “Defensive positions have been established around the Jade Spring, and word has been sent to every sleeping chamber — no one is to approach the Jade Spring for leisure under any circumstances.”
Lin Xiao gave a sound of acknowledgment, then said abruptly, “You two will accompany Commander Xu and conduct a thorough inspection of each post.”
The two men started slightly, then agreed and stepped to the side to wait for Xu Shenming.
Xu Shenming could not help sneaking another glance at Qin Yao. He hesitated briefly, then turned and walked away.
Qin Yao watched his retreating figure. Thinking of how this man had sweet-talked his way into Pei Min’s heart and left her to suffer in silence, a surge of hot indignation rose within her. She reached into her robes, drew out a talisman paper, pinched it between her fingers, murmured a short incantation under her breath, and gave a light flick of her wrist.
The talisman flew in a straight line toward Xu Shenming and silently affixed itself to his back.
Lin Xiao watched with surprise, then glanced at Qin Yao. Seeing the grave expression on her face — nothing like someone playing a prank — he assumed she had grown suspicious of Commander Xu herself and was deliberately probing him with a technique.
Qin Yao offered no explanation to Lin Xiao. She waited at her leisure for Xu Shenming to make a fool of himself. Sure enough, before he had gone very far, his feet began to trip over each other: his left foot suddenly swung across in front of his right, and before he even understood what was happening, his body lurched awkwardly and he was on the verge of toppling to the ground.
But Xu Shenming’s reflexes were remarkably swift. Before he went down, he whipped the sword from his waist, drove the pommel forcefully into the earth, and used it to absorb the strange force through an extraordinarily strained posture. A moment later he was bracing against the sword to push himself upright. Chang Rong happened to be right beside him, and after a moment of stunned confusion he reached out to steady him.
Xu Shenming waved him off, drew back the sword, and rotated his aching wrist while suspiciously scrutinizing the ground. After a long inspection he found nothing amiss and concluded he must simply have misjudged his step. Frowning, he walked on.
Qin Yao felt thoroughly deflated. As she thought about it, a man so young who had risen to such a high post must have had some real ability to show for it. A simple illusion trick was never going to be enough to bring him down.
She turned and found Lin Xiao still watching her. She laughed a little sheepishly. “Shall we go?”
Lin Xiao cast one last glance at Xu Shenming’s retreating form. “Was there anything amiss about him?”
Because she despised Xu Shenming’s character, Qin Yao very much wanted to pin a label of “corrupt and wicked” on him — but after a moment’s hesitation she could only shake her head with a wry smile. “I couldn’t find anything amiss.”
Lin Xiao frowned for a moment, then said, “Let us set him aside for now. The defensive formations have yet to be set around the Emperor’s sleeping chambers and the others’. There is no time to lose — we should put those precautions in place first, so that wicked creature does not find an opening to slip through.”
“Quite right,” Qin Yao said with a nod.
The two made their way to Yong’an Hall, where the Emperor was lodging. Since Qin Yao had not brought her compass, she had to channel her inner energy and activate her Heavenly Eye, slowly surveying the perimeter of Yong’an Hall in a full circuit. Finding no sign of any intrusion by a wicked entity, she then drew out talisman papers and arranged a Six-Union Formation outside the hall.
Leaving Yong’an Hall, they proceeded to make their way through Dehe Hall, Qifeng Hall, and each of the other sleeping chambers in turn. At every location Qin Yao first inspected it with her Heavenly Eye, then set up a Six-Union Formation in the same fashion, guarding against the creature entering to harm anyone.
Between inspecting and setting formations, by the time they reached the rear courtyard where the palace servants were housed, a full hour had passed.
“Nothing amiss here either,” Qin Yao said, lowering her Heavenly Eye after scanning the row of wing rooms in the rear courtyard. She shook her head, then bent down to place a talisman paper on the bluestone-paved ground, preparing to set the last Six-Union Formation.
Lin Xiao stood in the courtyard, surveying the surroundings. He mused aloud, “Could it be that the water demon never came ashore — that it simply retreated and vanished?”
Qin Yao straightened up. “It’s not impossible. Although that wicked creature was perfectly at home in the water, it may well have been at a disadvantage on land. Perhaps when it failed to harm anyone in the water, it simply retreated back to its lair.”
As she spoke, she finished setting the formation and dusted her palms together. “Every location has been prepared. As long as everyone remains inside their sleeping chambers and does not disturb the formations, they should be safe.”
Lin Xiao was still full of unresolved doubts about the creature’s origins. He pondered aloud, “The Jade Spring has served the imperial family since the founding of this dynasty, yet there has never been any tale of a creature lurking in the spring — no deaths, no disappearances. A’Yao, in your judgment, what sort of creature is this, and why would it suddenly appear in the Jade Spring now?”
Qin Yao recalled the scene she had witnessed in the spring and said uncertainly, “The water creature I saw down in the spring was quite large and roughly humanoid in shape. Looking at it from a distance, it actually reminded me of…”
She cast about for the most precise word she could find. After quite a while, her eyes suddenly lit up. “A jiangshi!”
“A jiangshi?”
“Yes.” Qin Yao nodded. “Yet when I put it that way, something doesn’t quite add up. Jiangshi are creatures of the earth — they thrive in soil and decay in water. How could one appear in a spring? And judging by how it moved along the bottom, it was extraordinarily comfortable in water. Unless it had been living in that water for years, how could it be so completely at home there?”
Lin Xiao paused thoughtfully and said, “Could it simply look like a jiangshi without truly being one? Wicked entities are born of the malign energy of heaven and earth — their forms shift unpredictably. It may have taken on that appearance deliberately, to mislead people.”
“That’s possible too.” Qin Yao accepted this explanation, smiling. “In truth, I couldn’t see all that clearly down there in the water.”
Lin Xiao gazed quietly at Qin Yao’s smiling face, then after a moment of silence said, “Shall we return to the Jade Spring for another look? If there is no trace of that creature, you should go back to your chamber and rest. Leave the rest to me.”
His voice was low and gentle, carrying a faint note of persuasion. Qin Yao inexplicably felt the tips of her ears grow warm. She quickly looked away, cleared her throat, and said, “Yes — going back to have another look would put my mind at ease.”
The two retraced their steps to the small grove from before.
Going directly to the bank of the Jade Spring, Lin Xiao and Qin Yao searched the area thoroughly. They found nothing.
“It seems the creature really has fled,” Qin Yao sighed, gazing at the ceaselessly flowing waters of the Jade Spring.
Lin Xiao watched Qin Yao’s graceful profile quietly, finding her beauty in the moonlight so striking it was almost breathtaking. His gaze seemed to take root, utterly unable to move away from her. After a long while his throat moved up and down, and he said abruptly, “A’Yao, there is something I have been meaning to give you. I am not sure whether you will like it.” He reached into his robe to retrieve the hairpin that had been burning so hot it was nearly scorching the fabric.
Qin Yao turned toward him, just about to speak, when the sound of distant footsteps reached them — someone was coming.
The two stiffened and quickly looked in every direction. They spotted a locust tree near the spring, one stout enough to conceal a person. Lin Xiao hastily took Qin Yao’s hand and pulled her to her feet; the two slipped behind the tree.
The footsteps drew nearer — one set slightly lighter, one slightly heavier. Two people.
The two figures arrived at the spring’s edge. There was first a silence, as though they were checking whether anyone else was about. Then one of them spoke: “A’Yan, I heard everything that happened today. Don’t be sad. Though that East Sea Cold Jade was rare, it was not entirely without equal — in a day or two I’ll send you a finer piece.”
Qin Yao and Lin Xiao both gave a start. It was Prince Wu and Xia Di.
Then came the sound of Xia Di’s soft, clear voice: “Seventh Brother, there truly is no need. Thank you for your kind thought.”
“A’Yan, you are always so considerate of others. But to have that hairpin shatter so unexpectedly — it really is a pity. Tell me, how did you come to use East Sea Cold Jade to make a hairpin? I recall that when I first gave it to you, you said making jewelry from it would be too commonplace and that you intended to carve it into a paperweight.”
There was a noticeable pause in Xia Di’s voice. After a moment she said, in a tone of playful reproach, “Since you already gave it to me, what does it matter what I do with it?”
Prince Wu laughed quickly. “You’re right, you’re right — that was my mistake. The hairpin you made was exquisite, and it suited you perfectly. When I saw it today I was thinking that no one in this world could wear an apricot blossom hairpin the way you do.”
Xia Di said nothing.
Prince Wu continued, “A’Yan, you have long understood my feelings for you. What would it take for you to agree to marry me? The side consorts in my household were all bestowed by the Emperor — I cannot dismiss them without cause. But I promise you: if you are willing to come to me as a consort, I will devote myself to you alone from that day forward, and I will never set foot in their chambers again. As for Qixia and the others — they have served me since childhood, but since you object to them, I will send all of them away as well.”
Then came Xia Di’s voice, with a note of coy offense: “Seventh Brother, whatever are you saying? Chambers and not-chambers, served and not-served — I don’t understand a word of it.”
Prince Wu’s voice seemed to grow a little hoarse. “I’m an idiot — a complete idiot. These were disgraceful things to say and should never have reached your ears. A’Yan, Seventh Brother is not a fool, yet every time he sees you, all sense of what to say and what to do deserts him entirely. Tell me everything you find unsatisfactory about Seventh Brother, and I will do everything in my power to change it for your sake.”
Xia Di fell silent for a long while.
The sound of a footstep in the soil — Prince Wu seemed to take two steps toward Xia Di, and in a tone close to pleading he said, “A’Yan, will you marry me?”