“Who the hell is your kin?!” Long Bamboo Pole threw another punch, which was unfortunately caught by Lin Sui’an again and pressed flat against the table, leaving him completely immobilized.

Lin Sui’an sighed. “Though I have never seen your face and do not know your name, where you come from, or where you live — I know that you have never harbored any ill intent toward me.”

This was Lin Sui’an’s sincere feeling, and so it came out with particular genuine emotion.

She had only had a vague sense of it at first, but as Long Bamboo Pole appeared again and again, the feeling grew stronger each time. The scattered fragments of information he had let slip pointed to them being fellow disciples under the same school. And he always seemed to know her whereabouts and circumstances at the earliest opportunity — it was fair to assume there was an extraordinary intelligence network behind him. A figure with that kind of reach and resources, if they truly wanted to seize Qian Jing and the Ten Purity Compendium, would have a thousand and one methods at their disposal. Why would they ever resort to something as clumsy as showing up and demanding it by force?

More importantly, her sixth sense perceived no danger in him.

So Lin Sui’an decided to gamble. She had nothing to lose anyway — the barefoot have no fear of those wearing shoes. Even if she lost the bet, it wouldn’t matter.

“My grandfather told me that after his death, Qian Jing would lead me to my true kin,” Lin Sui’an said, looking Long Bamboo Pole straight in the eyes. “Sure enough, the very first person to come looking for Qian Jing — was you.”

Just as she expected, when he heard those words, his pupils contracted sharply — she had clearly struck something in his heart.

Lin Sui’an quietly observed Long Bamboo Pole’s reaction. He needed the Ten Purity Compendium and Qian Jing. She needed the original owner’s background information and the intelligence network behind him. She had already laid down the stepping-stones. All he had to do was follow the slope down — acknowledge that they shared some connection, set aside past grievances, agree to cooperate, and share resources. It would be a win for them both.

Long Bamboo Pole stared fixedly at Lin Sui’an. The moonlight from outside the window dissolved into his pupils, rippling like water.

Lin Sui’an: He’s about to come around!

“You’re still lying to me,” Long Bamboo Pole said, sharply pulling back his hand and sitting across from her with puffed-up indignation. “You just want to make a deal with me.”

Lin Sui’an smiled. “If that’s how you want to see it, that’s fine too.”

Long Bamboo Pole: “You want to investigate Yan He’s case — you need trustworthy eyes and ears.”

Lin Sui’an: “You want to learn the techniques in the Ten Purity Compendium. I can consider teaching you.”

“I want Qian Jing!”

“Fine.”

Long Bamboo Pole sat bolt upright. “You agreed?!”

“As long as you can beat me in a fight, Qian Jing is yours.”

“Once a word is spoken —”

“I’m lying, bite me!”

Long Bamboo Pole stared at Lin Sui’an for a long moment, then slowly let his rigid posture relax. “If you want to gather information, you can go to the food stalls on the street and ask. When they recognize Qian Jing, they will tell you whatever you want to know.”

Lin Sui’an: “Which stalls?”

“All of them across the sixty-seven wards.”

Oh! Wonderful!

Lin Sui’an was overjoyed inwardly, though outwardly her expression remained as steady as an old dog. “And the passphrase?”

Long Bamboo Pole’s temple pulsed with a visible vein. “Don’t you already know it?!”

“‘Ten thousand mountains and rivers, all bound by sentiment; a plucked flower smiles, cleansing all worldly dust’ — that one?” Lin Sui’an muttered. “It doesn’t quite rhyme, does it…”

Long Bamboo Pole slapped the table, leapt to his feet, and dove out the window.

“Hey, hey — you still haven’t told me your name! At the very least, let me see your face —” Lin Sui’an’s voice drifted into the night, answered only by Long Bamboo Pole’s contemptuous reply from somewhere in the distance.

“Aren’t you so fond of investigating? Come and figure it out yourself if you’re so capable!”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Just you wait, you little rascal!

Lin Sui’an slept soundly, dreamlessly through the night. When she woke, the sky had barely begun to lighten. She rose feeling refreshed and clear-headed, pulled open the door — and was startled half to death by a pair of wide, bright eyes directly in her face.

Hua Yitang stood at the door in a shimmering, faintly green long robe, his gaze sparkling with energy, looking as though he’d already been up for hours — a vision rather like a large spring onion swaying gracefully in the sunlight.

“Let’s go back and have another look around Liuyue Restaurant.”

His thoughts had aligned perfectly with hers again. Lin Sui’an found she was barely surprised anymore. She nodded. “Let’s go.”

“The last known locations of both Yan He and Bai Shun were Liuyue Restaurant. It must be a crucial spot. I keep feeling like we missed some clue.”

Hua Yitang and Lin Sui’an walked side by side along the covered corridor, and at every point they passed, the waiting maids stepped aside in two rows, each holding a delicate little incense burner, perfuming their path until it was positively fragrant. Lin Sui’an held herself together for as long as she could, but finally couldn’t resist as they stepped out the main gate. “What on earth are they doing?!”

Hua Yitang raised an eyebrow and struck a pose. Mu Xia stepped forward immediately, hanging a finely crafted silver wire incense ball at Hua Yitang’s waist, and explained as he did so:

“Today’s ensemble for the Fourth Young Master is the newest delivery from the tailor’s workshop: the Drifting Leaf Fragrant Robe, the Moonlit River Boots, the Pale Sky Silver River Fan, and the matching Jade Roll Hairpin. As the Fourth Young Master departed earlier than expected this morning, the incense has not yet fully set — every additional minute of fumigation helps.”

Hua Yitang spun around twice with satisfaction and climbed into the carriage. Inside, a small table was spread with eight dishes of vibrantly colored and elaborately patterned pastries. Lin Sui’an, now quite at home here, grabbed two pieces and bit into them without ceremony. The carriage moved at great speed, and the sugary sweetness of the cakes mingled with the fragrance already emanating from Hua Yitang until the combination made Lin Sui’an feel slightly motion-sick.

“Do you —” Lin Sui’an struggled to find her words, “— do you have to smell this fragrant every single day?”

Hua Yitang: “As the foremost wastrel of Yangdu, if I cannot eclipse all rivals in gold and surpass all flowers in fragrance, would that not be rather rude?”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

There was simply no understanding this person’s way of thinking.

“Ah — that’s not what I meant,” Hua Yitang said hastily. “Lin Sui’an, whether you wear incense or not, you smell perfectly fine. You wouldn’t be impolite either way.”

Lin Sui’an inexplicably sniffed her own arm. She smelled nothing.

Hua Yitang gave a sudden start. “I didn’t mean to sniff you intentionally — it was accidental, involuntary, not on purpose, I just… ah ah, I’m not a lech, I didn’t mean anything by it. Besides, you’re so formidable, I wouldn’t dare — ah ah ah, I’m not saying you’re not attractive! You look absolutely stunning when you fight… ah ah ah ah! I’m sorry, just pretend you heard nothing!”

Hua Yitang had talked himself into a red-faced, flustered mess, and when he saw Lin Sui’an’s expression of utter bewilderment, he quietly opened his fan, covered his face with it, and turned to stare at the wall in silent self-reflection. The fragrance filling the carriage seemed to crystallize into the word “AWKWARD,” which then shattered all over the floor as the carriage hit a bump.

Lin Sui’an struggled heroically to keep from laughing.

Mu Xia, worthy of his title as Hua Yitang’s most trusted attendant, stopped the carriage at precisely the right moment, lifted the curtain, and announced, “Fourth Young Master, Liuyue Restaurant has arrived.”

Hua Yitang swept out like a gust of wind. The moment he stepped down, he was once again all flashy flourish — the foremost wastrel of Yangdu in full effect. “Well?”

Mu Xia: “There are relatively few shops in the vicinity of Chongyan Quarter — not much useful information to be gathered.”

Hua Yitang looked toward the street vendors inside the quarter. “What about them?”

Mu Xia: “Fourth Young Master, have you heard of the Pure Gate?”

Hua Yitang: “What Gate?”

Lin Sui’an’s ears pricked up.

“Thirty years ago, a rather mysterious sect appeared in the Tang Kingdom. Its members were all common street vendors, traveling merchants, and hawkers — vast in number, with branches spread across the entire land. Scarcely any piece of news anywhere could escape their notice. Yet for reasons unknown, they suddenly vanished without warning or trace.” Mu Xia paused, then continued in a lowered voice, “Fourth Young Master, do you think the Pure Gate still exists?”

“When I questioned these street vendors earlier, their reactions were unusually guarded, and every one of them gave the exact same scripted answers — there was no way to draw out any real information. It was quite suspicious.” Mu Xia lowered his voice further. “When I reported back to Master Mu Zhong, he recalled the legend of the Pure Gate and came personally to give warning. These people make their living trading in information, operating in the grey space between the lawful and the unlawful. He advised the Fourth Young Master to be cautious in any dealings with them.”

Hearing this, Lin Sui’an was nearly drowning in commentary.

Qian Jing. The Ten Purity Compendium. The Pure Gate. Even the contact passphrase contained the words “cleansing all worldly dust.” Whoever founded the Pure Gate either had a very limited vocabulary or was completely hopeless at naming things.

“Interesting,” Hua Yitang said, producing a pouch of gold leaves and bouncing it in his hand. “I’ll go try.”

“Wait.” Lin Sui’an stopped him. “If Master Mu Zhong’s account is accurate, this Pure Gate has been lying low in Yangdu for years, with vast numbers and unfathomable depth. Going in rashly would be genuinely dangerous.” She held out her hand, indicating for Hua Yitang to give her the gold leaves. “I’ll go. You all keep your distance — if anything seems off, leave immediately.”

Hua Yitang was deeply moved. “Lin Sui’an, you’re such a good person.”

Even Mu Xia’s face showed a look of admiration.

Clutching the satisfyingly heavy pouch of gold leaves, Lin Sui’an strolled contentedly into the quarter lane and headed straight for the flatbread stall where she’d asked questions yesterday. The stall owner was the same Central Asian-looking uncle as before. Upon seeing Lin Sui’an, his expression changed dramatically. Just as he was about to call out, Lin Sui’an held Qian Jing up before his eyes.

The uncle’s eyes flickered. He lowered his voice. “Ten thousand mountains and rivers, all bound by sentiment.”

Lin Sui’an: “A plucked flower smiles, cleansing all worldly dust.”

The uncle’s face lit up with delight. He invited Lin Sui’an to sit at the stall, his hands flying through a rapid series of intricate gestures before his chest. Within moments, several nearby stall owners converged around Lin Sui’an: a vendor selling flat noodle soup, one selling steamed buns, one selling stuffed pastries, and one selling mutton broth. A rather well-rounded selection of offerings.

The uncle: “What would the guest like to ask?”

Lin Sui’an: “Do you know about the Yan He case?”

Everyone nodded simultaneously.

The noodle vendor: “Three quarters past the start of the You hour the day before yesterday, Yan He arrived by carriage at Chongyan Quarter and entered Liuyue Restaurant. Less than half a shichen later, Bai Shun arrived on foot and also entered Liuyue Restaurant. One stick of incense’s time afterward, both men left together in Yan He’s carriage.”

Lin Sui’an: “Where did their carriage go?”

“They crossed Kaiming Bridge and the middle span of South Third Bridge, passed through the Rouge Quarter and Westwind Quarter, and entered Winter Faith Quarter — after that, the trail was lost.”

“The Moon-Heavy, South Spring, Jade Tower, and South Star Quarters to the south of Winter Faith Quarter are full of empty warehouses and abandoned buildings. The routes are complex — it would be difficult to determine their movements precisely.”

Could it be that the primary crime scene was in one of these four quarters? Or perhaps the killer had deliberately taken a circuitous route. Lin Sui’an considered this, then asked, “After Yan He’s death, did any of you see Bai Shun?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Did you see Bai Shun’s carriage?”

The stuffed pastry vendor hesitated slightly and glanced at the uncle. The uncle gave a barely perceptible nod, and only then did he continue. “Actually, around the start of the Mao hour, I did see a carriage enter Chongyan Quarter. The horse and the carriage’s exterior decorations were different, but the wheel tracks were very similar to those of the Bai Family’s carriage.”

“What?!” Lin Sui’an’s face drained of color. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

“You didn’t ask!”

Lin Sui’an leapt to her feet. “Take me there, now!”

The several stall vendors stood where they were without moving, all looking at Lin Sui’an and smiling.

Lin Sui’an was furious. “Let’s go!”

“Every trade has its rules,” the uncle said. “One string of coins per question. You just asked four questions, miss.”

Lin Sui’an nearly coughed up blood. So this was a paid service, and Long Bamboo Pole hadn’t even bothered to warn her!

She had no clear sense of how much a single gold leaf was worth, but she was fairly certain it was more than four strings of coins. Lin Sui’an made a snap decision and tossed over her own four strings of coins — but the vendors still didn’t move and continued to smile at her.

“Escorting is priced separately.”

Lin Sui’an gritted her teeth. “How much?”

The uncle: “One gold leaf.”

It was Hua Yitang’s money anyway — why should she care?

Lin Sui’an pulled out a gold leaf and sent it sailing over.

The stuffed pastry vendor was short in stature but extraordinarily quick. He bent low and scurried along in tiny, rapid steps, tracking the carriage wheel marks on the ground as he went. Among the many overlapping and tangled tracks on the road, he could somehow pinpoint the precise one belonging to the Bai Family’s carriage. Following the alley lanes of the quarter, he turned left and right in a winding path, with Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang scrambling after him until their heads were spinning.

“It should be this carriage.” The stuffed pastry vendor stopped beside a carriage and said.

Only then did Lin Sui’an realize that their turning and twisting had brought them to a back alley. Six carriages were parked there — five were flatbed carts piled high with large baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables. Only one had an enclosed cabin. Vegetable farmers came and went, all casting curious glances at them.

Hua Yitang tilted his head back to look, then clicked his tongue.

The back alley ran alongside a courtyard, and from there one could see the three-tiered eaves of Liuyue Restaurant. This was clearly the restaurant’s back entrance.

Lin Sui’an lifted the carriage curtain and looked inside. It was empty — the driver was nowhere to be seen. Beneath the driver’s seat she found a small scrap of cloth, stained a dark reddish-black. She sniffed it. It smelled like blood.

“This fabric…” Hua Yitang ran his fingers over it for a moment. “It looks like something Bai Shun would typically wear.” He grabbed a passing vegetable farmer. “Where is the person who was in this carriage?”

The farmer shook his head. “I just arrived — I didn’t see anyone.”

“He went in carrying two large sacks of meat,” said another farmer going by with a basket of produce. “The meat looked pretty fresh — one of the sacks was even dripping blood.”

Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang’s expressions changed drastically. They charged straight for the kitchen, and at that hour, it was the most chaotic time in the back — vegetable farmers, butchers, and fish vendors had crammed the already narrow rear courtyard to capacity. The head chef bellowed at his apprentices to transfer the freshly arrived river fish into the holding tanks. The accountant scrambled to settle up with the suppliers. The kitchen hands rushed back and forth carrying produce. The ground was blanketed in wilted vegetable scraps and unswept fish scales, slippery and slimy underfoot.

Hua Yitang and Lin Sui’an were conspicuous interlopers the moment they burst in. The entire kitchen staff froze and stared — but the head accountant had seen more of the world than most, and he recognized Hua Yitang.

“Fourth Young Master of the Hua Family, you are —”

“Where is the meat that was just delivered?!” Hua Yitang shouted.

The accountant numbly pointed toward the kitchen. Lin Sui’an strode in, just in time to see a cook reaching for a blood-soaked burlap sack. Every hair on her body stood on end. She bellowed, “Don’t touch that!”

The cook was startled out of his wits and hadn’t even had a chance to gather himself before Lin Sui’an yanked him back by the arm. The bulging, blood-soaked burlap sack sat on the chopping block, oozing a slow trickle of blood.

Lin Sui’an’s heart hammered. In the worst case, what was in that sack was Bai Shun — and judging by the shape of it, he might already have been dismembered.

“Where is the person who delivered the meat?” Lin Sui’an asked.

Everyone shook their heads. At this hour, with so many people coming and going, no one had paid any attention.

Hua Yitang had retreated to the doorway, fan covering the better half of his face, only half an eye peeking out in trembling anxiety.

Then, without warning, the blood-soaked sack moved.

The rope binding its mouth snapped with a crack. Lin Sui’an’s hair shot straight up; she stumbled back two steps to the doorway. The thing inside the sack twitched, then slowly began to slide out.

Hua Yitang let out a shriek, wrapped his arms around Lin Sui’an’s waist, and hauled her out the door. There came a wet thud — and something slick and bloodied slid out from the sack’s mouth and hit the floor.

It was a freshly slaughtered lamb, staring up with two glassy eyes, its muscles still twitching.

A false alarm. Lin Sui’an let out a breath of relief, feeling her own knees go slightly weak.

The accountant stepped forward hesitantly. “Fourth Young Master, why exactly are you here —”

“…Just browsing.” Hua Yitang pressed his palm to the ground and tried to push himself upright several times without success. Lin Sui’an couldn’t bear to watch any longer and grabbed him by the back of his collar, hoisting him to his feet.

The two exchanged a silent, somewhat awkward glance, then walked out with their tails between their legs under the scorching stares of everyone in the kitchen. Their intrusion had thrown the entire back courtyard into a hush broken only by the faint noise of an argument drifting in from the front.

“Didn’t I already pay? Why are you here asking for money again?”

“I just arrived — how could I have collected anything?”

“Half a shichen ago, your apprentice came, fixed the attic, and collected the final payment of three strings of coins!”

Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang both stopped walking at the exact same moment. They looked at each other.

Lin Sui’an: “It can’t be.”

Hua Yitang: “Surely not…”

Both turned and walked toward the front courtyard. The kitchen staff, thoroughly baffled by these two, dared not block the Hua Family’s Fourth Young Master and simply let them go.

In the front courtyard, the proprietor was in a heated face-reddening argument with an old roofer. The roofer had an honest, trustworthy face. Upon catching sight of Hua Yitang’s attire, he quickly clasped his hands in greeting. “Greetings to the Fourth Young Master of the Hua Family.”

“You’re not the one who fixed the attic today?” Hua Yitang asked.

The proprietor: “That person said he was your newly taken-on apprentice and charged me three strings of coins!”

“I’ve never taken on an apprentice,” the craftsman said. “Someone must have impersonated me. Tell you what, Proprietor — let me go up and take a look. Better to make sure nothing went wrong and ruin my reputation.”

The proprietor: “You want to charge me another fee?”

“I won’t charge you a single coin — satisfied?!” the craftsman said in irritation.

The leaking attic was directly above the room Hua Yitang and Lin Sui’an had occupied the day before. To call it an attic was generous — it was really just the space between the roof and the ceiling of the top-floor guest rooms, a hollow layer meant to insulate against heat. It was perpetually damp and stifling, with practically no foot traffic. The only access was a narrow wooden staircase leading straight up. The craftsman climbed it and pushed at the trapdoor for a long while without getting it open.

Hua Yitang paced around at the foot of the stairs, scanning the ground, and found a small segment of rope fiber. “Looks like it fell off a burlap sack.” He sniffed it. “Smells of fish. And it’s damp.”

With fish scales everywhere in Liuyue Restaurant’s kitchen and the smell of fish permeating every surface, this could well have been left behind by the killer while moving the sack.

Lin Sui’an exhaled slowly, called the craftsman back down, and climbed the stairs herself. Hua Yitang followed her up, and when Lin Sui’an shot him a look, he had a ready justification: “Two people means more help.”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

More help, nothing — the man was just too scared to wait alone downstairs.

The attic door was of normal height but narrow. Lin Sui’an shoved it once and it didn’t budge, then struck it hard with her palm.

The narrow door burst open with a bang. At the same time, a loud clang came from inside — as if something heavy had toppled to the floor. The attic had only one small narrow window, whose frame had been knocked askew. A taut rope stretched from the doorway all the way to the window, as if something had been suspended from it.

From outside, screams erupted one after another.

Lin Sui’an’s heart sank. Hua Yitang pushed past her into the room. Both of them leaned out the window and looked down. Hanging from the rope below was a massive “cured slab of meat” wrapped in torn shreds of cloth, swinging violently in the open air. The sunlight fell on it clearly, illuminating its shape.

It was a headless, blood-drenched corpse.

Lin Sui’an’s stomach lurched violently. Hua Yitang turned his head and retched.

Heavy footsteps thundered up the stairs and across the floor. A mob of constables shoved and jostled to crowd the attic doorway. The lead constable held a blade to Mu Xia’s throat as he stood outside the door, bellowing:

“Hua Family Fourth Young Master! Lin Sui’an! You have hidden a murder victim — the evidence is irrefutable! Surrender yourselves at once!”

Mini Skit:

Lin Sui’an: Well. We’re done for.