The wick gave a little pop and spat a small spark of flame. Lin Sui’an felt as though she had been jolted awake from a dream. “You just said… what?”

Hua Yitang shifted uncomfortably and smoothed his sleeve. His throat moved. “Do you still remember — when I was six years old, I once wanted to find a place to die?”

Lin Sui’an was quiet for a moment. “I remember.”

“At the time the household kept a very close watch on me, so I secretly changed into Mu Xia’s clothes, crawled out through the dog hole, and thought it over — drowning in a river would be the most comfortable way to go. So I went to the Cishui River on the outskirts of Yangdu, chose a quiet stretch of the bank, and waded in. Just a few steps into the water, the river turned red — a corpse floated up to the surface.”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

“Then the back of my head went cold, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I had been bound hand and foot and thrown into a cart. The compartment was a sealed large wooden barrel, and inside were over a dozen children — all of them abducted. Some had become separated from their families; some were beggars; some were orphans. The smallest child was perhaps only three years of age — blond hair and blue eyes, a Persian.”

Lin Sui’an sucked in a sharp breath. “Could it be —”

Hua Yitang’s eyes caught the candlelight, flickering ever so slightly. “That child could not speak the Tang language. No matter what was said to him, he only wept, calling out ‘Yita, Yita’ — and so the traffickers called him ‘Yita.'”

Lin Sui’an was astonished. She had never imagined that Hua Yitang and Yita had come to know each other in this way.

“Originally, the traffickers intended to sell us to a more distant capital city, but they were later compelled to change their plans.”

Lin Sui’an’s brow furrowed involuntarily. “Because the Hua Family discovered you were missing and began searching for you on a large scale — no, wait. If the traffickers found out you were Hua Fourth Master, they would be too frightened to act and would kill you to eliminate any loose ends. There might also be enemies of the Hua Family — so the Hua Family would certainly not publicize your disappearance, but only search for you in secret.”

Hua Yitang watched the furrow on Lin Sui’an’s brow, drew in a quiet breath, and suddenly shifted to a lighter tone. “All of that was secondary. The main reason was that I ate too much, and I nearly ate them into poverty.”

The atmosphere had been rather heavy, and Hua Yitang’s sudden non sequitur dissolved it entirely. Lin Sui’an stared at him, truly uncertain what expression to wear.

Hua Yitang laughed — laughed without a care in the world — and stretched out his arm, shaking the wide sleeve of his robe. “Look at me now — the very picture of refined elegance and handsome grace. You can surely imagine what an enchanting and adorable little child I was. Naturally, the traffickers wanted to feed me well and keep me in perfect condition to fetch a good price — they dared not mistreat me in the slightest.”

Lin Sui’an knew Hua Yitang was deceiving her. Throughout history, traffickers had always been cold-blooded criminals willing to kill without hesitation — how could any child’s good looks earn them mercy? And given Hua Yitang’s temperament, how could he have allowed himself to be at the traffickers’ mercy? The more lightly he spoke of it, the more desperately grim his situation must have been at the time.

Yet he had told this version so smoothly, with such seamless management of his expression, that he had clearly told it many times before, deceived many people with it, and told it so often he had come to believe it himself.

Lin Sui’an could not bear to tear the veil from it. She forced out a thin, dry laugh. “Hua Fourth Master is indeed as legendary as his reputation. Truly, fortune favors him.”

Hua Yitang nodded vigorously. “Not many days later, Yita and I were sold to a hidden brothel — a rather out-of-the-way place, in a no-man’s-land where many jianghu types came and went. The building was quite large, with flowers and plants, but the smell was not pleasant — all manner of strange incense always burning, making one’s nose itch, always wanting to sneeze.”

“Yita and I were the new arrivals, so naturally the madam had to put us in our place. She locked us both in a dark room. Of course they would not be willing to beat me — knowing I liked to eat, they simply didn’t feed me, intending to starve me into submission.”

“I went many days without food, until my eyes went black and my whole body went limp; my feet swelled. In my daze, I kept thinking — if only there were a hot, steaming bun, how wonderful that would be.” Hua Yitang gave a self-deprecating curve of his mouth. “Isn’t it funny, when you think about it? I had originally gone out to find a place to die — yet when death was truly at hand, I wanted to live after all.”

Lin Sui’an’s throat tightened, again and again. The lighter Hua Yitang’s tone grew, the heavier her heart became.

“Fortunately, I am blessed with great fortune, and in the end I did not manage to die.” Hua Yitang tilted his head to look at Lin Sui’an. “You would never guess — it was Yita who saved me.”

Lin Sui’an said, “What?”

“The madam happened to discover that Yita had a gift for gambling, and wanted to cultivate him as a gambling master — after all, a good gambling master earned far more than a boy of pleasure. But Yita couldn’t understand the Tang language, and the only person who had any idea what he was saying was me. So the madam found an old gambling master to teach me first, and I would then teach Yita.”

“I must say, Yita is a true genius — whatever technique he was shown, he grasped at once. By comparison, I have absolutely no talent for gambling at all.” Hua Yitang shrugged. “But even if Yita was ever so talented, he was still very young, and didn’t win every time. When he lost occasionally, there would be no food — so I would take the buns I had hidden away and secretly give them to him. With a full stomach, Yita won more and more often. Very quickly, we were both wearing silk.”

Lin Sui’an’s heart gave a sharp lurch. “Silk?”

“In a place like that — all three religions and nine schools of thought, a tangle of dragons and serpents — the fastest way to judge someone’s status was by their clothing. It goes without saying for the patrons; the better they dressed, the more money they could spend, the higher their standing. The people within the establishment were the same. The lowest-ranked wretched slaves were barely covered; slightly better off were those in linen; above that, short tunics with patches; then clean cotton shirts; the best were plain silk — and if one managed to please the madam, one might be given a pair of cloth shoes.”

“Those with no clothing ate one meal every three days; those in linen ate once a day, on food that had gone off; those with patched clothing ate sporadically; those in cotton shirts could eat their fill; those in silk occasionally got a steamed bun.”

By now, Lin Sui’an could no longer distinguish which parts of Hua Yitang’s account were true and which were false — just as she could not tell whether Hua Yitang was a born glutton by nature, or had been starved so badly that he had become more capable of eating than ordinary people.

“One day, the madam said she would give me two steamed buns if I came to her room. I went — and found the madam’s corpse instead.”

“The one who had killed the madam was a jianghu person — a rather dark-complexioned man, carrying a rather ugly blade. I thought he would kill me too. Instead, he took me and fled the brothel. We ran through the mountains for an entire night. I learned for the first time that without a moon, the mountains at night are darker than anything. The only light was that man’s blade — and even now I think it strange: his blade was so dark it was nearly black, so why did it seem to give off light?”

“When we escaped the forest, we ran into an ambush. That man was drenched head to toe in blood yet swept all before him, and laughed as he said to me: Little one, don’t be afraid — I’ll get you home…”

Here, Hua Yitang fell silent.

“And then?” Lin Sui’an asked softly.

“And then…” Hua Yitang’s voice seemed to drift like a mote of floating light in the air, rising and falling. “When I woke again, I was already lying in a bed back at the Hua estate. Yita was slumped by the bedside asleep. And I knew — all of it was over.”

“Everyone in the Hua Family avoided speaking of this incident, as though if no one said it aloud, it had never happened. I pretended to have forgotten it too. That way… everyone was fine…”

“What became of that jianghu man?” Lin Sui’an asked.

“My elder brother said — the man’s wounds healed, and he left laughing heartily, without taking a single coin of payment or even leaving his name. True to the spirit of a jianghu hero.”

“Yet I had witnessed too many deaths since childhood. I could see that the amount of blood he had lost at the time must have been enough to pierce a vital organ. The odds of his survival were very small. But I still want to believe just once — believe that he is still living somewhere in this world, upholding justice with that ugly black blade of his…”

Having said all of this, Hua Yitang seemed to have spent every last bit of courage he had been storing up for ten years. He slowly lowered his head. The scattered glow of night-glowing pearls fell upon his hair like flowing snow.

Now Lin Sui’an understood. For Hua Yitang, magnificent robes represented having food to eat — surviving well. And expensive incense was perhaps the only remedy for suppressing the memory of that sickening smell.

Lin Sui’an felt as though her ribs were pressing in on her lungs, squeezing away her breath. No sound came out. She could only reach out a hand and place it gently on Hua Yitang’s arm, patting it lightly.

Hua Yitang gave a start and looked up. In his beautiful, glistening eyes, he could see the reflection of Lin Sui’an’s reddened rims.

He tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if attempting to smile. It didn’t work. Lin Sui’an sighed, poured a cup of tea and pushed it toward him. “Drink more hot water. If you cry, your eyes won’t dry out as fast.”

The moisture in Hua Yitang’s eyes almost overflowed — yet he truly did laugh. “Lin Sui’an, you really are hopeless at saying the right thing.”

“Between the two of us, having one who talks well is quite enough.” Lin Sui’an breathed out in relief. To be honest, she had been genuinely afraid Hua Yitang would cry — for someone who was at least half socially avoidant, comforting a person in tears was considerably harder than cutting down ten highway bandits.

“To tell the truth,” said Hua Yitang, cradling the teacup, in a voice barely above a whisper, “I was very afraid you would try to comfort me.”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

“What?”

“Thank you for listening to all of this.”

“Oh…”

Outside, the night watchman’s drum sounded. The third quarter of the Zi hour had arrived.

Almost simultaneously, the courtyard erupted with the deafening clang of bronze gongs.

Hua Yitang sprang to his feet. Lin Sui’an slapped the door open with one palm. The guards outside rushed out. Mu Xia reported urgently, “Fourth Master — it is Yita’s warning signal!”

Before the words had finished, Azure Dragon and White Tiger came sprinting in simultaneously — one shouting “The vases are gone!” and the other crying “The clothes have disappeared!”

Hua Yitang’s face went dark.

Jin Ruo sat on the storage room steps, clutching a dripping wet cloth and wiping his face in a fury, spitting repeatedly. “What rotten luck!”

Yita glared at the pried-open copper lock on the storehouse door, so angry his eyes had turned deep blue.

Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise stood in a row, heads hanging, like four children who had done something wrong. The guards dared not make a sound either, and kept far back out of the way.

“What happened?” Hua Yitang asked.

Yita pointed at the roof. “Up there — someone — Jin brother went to chase — six shadows — bloomed — Jin brother fell down — everyone chased — person gone!”

“It was the Lotus Flower Step!” Jin Ruo cursed. “Blast it all — an actual Yun Zhong Yue! At the time I had a bad feeling — I thought it might be a diversion — I rushed back immediately, and the storehouse lock had already been opened. There was a figure. I charged toward it, and got a face full of dust flung at me. Yun Zhong Yue, that wretched scoundrel — he’s at least a name known throughout the jianghu. To use a despicable trick like Bone-Rotting Powder is beneath him. Is he not afraid it will be laughed at across the jianghu?”

Lin Sui’an crouched down and examined Jin Ruo’s face. “What is Bone-Rotting Powder? Is it toxic?”

“It’s ash from the burnt-dry remains of decomposed animals — reeks to high heaven,” Jin Ruo fumed. “If it gets into your eyes, you’ll be blind for several days. Fortunately, my jianghu experience is extensive and I dodged fast enough.”

Mu Xia walked briskly out of the storehouse. “Confirmed — one Yue Kiln entwined-branch ice-flower double-eared vase is missing. Its value is approximately five hundred gold.”

Good heavens!

Lin Sui’an clutched her chest, feeling a heart attack coming on.

Yita gestured frantically. “We — didn’t find anyone — came back — Jin brother blinded (Jin Ruo: I am not blinded!) — went to the side chamber — lock broken — clothes gone! Very angry!”

Hua Yitang’s expression changed. “All the clothes are gone?!”

Yita waved his hand. “Only one.”

Hua Yitang relaxed. “One is of no consequence.”

Yita was so agitated he was hopping. “An expensive one!”

Hua Yitang tensed again. “Which one?!”

Yita replied, “The one in the case — from Yidu — made to measure for Fourth Master, with a custom pattern drawn — the terribly expensive, terribly expensive one —”

Mu Xia went pale with shock. “The Twilight Mirror Gauze Robe is gone?!”

Yita replied, “Yes!”

The whole courtyard went silent.

Jin Ruo asked, “The Twilight-what-Mirror-what-Gauze-what Robe?”

The Twilight Mirror Gauze Robe?

Lin Sui’an scratched her head. The name did ring a vague bell somewhere. But then, all of Hua Yitang’s garments were named with flowery poetic references — having heard it before wouldn’t be remarkable.

Yet aside from herself and Jin Ruo, everyone else’s expression was distinctly peculiar — three parts awkward, four parts resigned, and three parts something she couldn’t quite name. Hua Yitang quietly raised his fan to shield his face, exposing two ears flushed completely red.

Lin Sui’an: Hmm?

“Ha HA ha ha ha ha ha HA!” With no warning whatsoever, one of the guards burst into laughter. “The Twilight Mirror Gauze Robe — am I hearing this right — the Twilight Mirror Gauze Robe?! Ha ha ha, heavens above, Hua Fourth Master, what on earth goes on in your head all day long, what kind of obsession is this, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha —”

Lin Sui’an’s gaze flashed. Her figure moved toward the hysterically laughing guard in an instant. The green light of Qian Jing flickered and came to rest at his throat.

Every guard was thunderstruck. They scattered back a full zhang. The man was laughing so hard every wrinkle of his face had bunched up; his cheeks were puffed out in enormous folds of skin.

Lin Sui’an’s head was ringing with rage. “Yun Zhong Yue!” She snatched for his face with lightning speed — and with a ripping sound, her hand came away holding nothing but a human skin mask. On the ground lay a pile of clothing and hair. Laughter floated down from above; Yun Zhong Yue crouched on the sharp tip of a black flying eave, his silver mask back in place, behind him a great round moon.

“I was perfectly at home, scratching my feet and counting my money, when I suddenly heard that a new Yun Zhong Yue had appeared in Yicheng. I thought it must be the handiwork of the wielder of Qian Jing — turns out Lin Niangzi was wrongly suspected.” Yun Zhong Yue said merrily. “Lin Sui’an — this time we’re on the same side. How about we team up?”

Short Skit

At the same moment, Fangke lay in bed, sleeping soundly.

On the table beside the bed sat the supremely luxurious glass fish tank he had appropriated from Hua Yitang — stuffed full of colorful organs.

Fangke, deep in his dream, was feeling rather smug: he simply did not believe anyone would dare steal from him after this.