Lianfeng and Shi Meng were sitting in a private room in "The Valley Pearl." The Valley Pearl lacked the grandeur of Yuanfu’s famed Jade Pavilion or Moonlit Pavilion. No golden lanterns or silk-draped screens, no scent of agarwood or musk wafting through the air. But within its polished wooden walls, deals were struck, ambitions whispered over cups of wine. It was where people of ambition gathered. Those not wealthy enough for Yuanfu’s finest but with a desire to make their mark in Jinggu.


    Lianfeng was barely conscious from drinking too much wine. The porcelain cups and kettle sat between them, the scent of alcohol thick in the air. She sat with one knee bent, the other folded on the ground, foot resting against the opposite ankle. Her pinkish-red eyes stared at the wooden floor, unfocused.


    She placed one hand beside her cup and muttered in frustration, "We''ve wasted three months and found nothing on that damn Wei."


    She grabbed the cup, drank it in one gulp, and slammed it on the table. "Every lead we found ended in a dead end." Her voice cracked with anger. She reached for the kettle.


    Shi Meng tensed. "Stop now," he snapped, reaching to take it from her.


    She shoved his hand away, sending him a few steps back. He clenched his jaw but didn''t move forward again. Lianfeng tipped the kettle and poured the wine straight into her mouth. Some spilled over the corner of her lips, but she didn’t care.


    She lurched to her feet, swaying as she took a step. "Fifteen years! Fifteen damn years, and still nothing on Wei Zheng. Everyone else—I''ve got dirt on them. But him? It''s like the heavens themselves are shielding him."


    She lifted the kettle for another drink, but Shi Meng lunged forward this time, snatching it from her grasp.


    The kettle crashed to the floor, shards of porcelain scattering across the room.


    "Get a grip on yourself. We haven''t lost yet. We can still find the culprit," he said, his grip tightening around her upper arm.


    Lianfeng let out a hollow laugh. "I used to think so too. But these past three months—no, these past fifteen years have proved me wrong. I am a loser."


    She jabbed a finger at his shoulder, glaring up at him with defiant, unfocused eyes.


    Shi Meng exhaled sharply. In one swift move, he struck a pressure point at the back of her neck. Lianfeng''s body went slack, her weight collapsing against him.


    "I am sorry to use your technique against you," Shi Meng muttered.


    With a sigh, he adjusted her against his chest and hefted her onto his back. He laid her in the carriage. When they reached the magistrate’s house, the coachman helped him lift her once more, and he carried her inside.


    Aunt Li and Uncle Zhou were sitting in the courtyard. Aunt Li spotted Shi Meng and asked, "What happened?"


    "Nothing; she drank too much."


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    "Aiyoo! You should have stopped her." She scolded Shi Meng. "Give her to me."


    Aunt Li carried Lianfeng to her room and sighed, shaking her head as she wiped Lianfeng''s sweaty brow. ''This girl,'' she muttered, pulling the blanket over her. ''Drinking herself to ruin.'' Lianfeng mumbled something incoherent, lost in a drunken sleep.


    They spent a few more days at the magistrate''s mansion before deciding on returning to the capital.


    Lianfeng was packing her bags. I am sorry, brother. But I must return for now. I will make sure to bring justice to our tribe.


    After tying a final knot, she sat on the bed. Could Mr. Wei not be responsible for the massacre?


    She remembered Mr. Wei distributing food to the people due to the poor harvest this year. His daughter, Ms. Wei, was giving congee while he gave out loaves of bread, sweetly smiling.


    Someone knocked on the door, breaking her trance-like state. From outside came the voice of Shi Meng, "Xiner, we should leave now or we will miss the ship."


    Lianfeng rose and picked up her bags. She opened the door. "Let''s go."


    In the courtyard, they met Aunt Li and Uncle Zhou. "We''re leaving," Shi Meng said.


    "You should come back more often." Uncle Zhou said, with a squeaky and caring voice.


    Aunt Li took Lianfeng''s hand and said with warmth, "You should visit us too now and then."


    Lianfeng smiled and said, "I will."


    Shi Meng interrupted in between, "We should go and visit Mr. Wei now."


    Lianfeng nodded, and they went together.


    Mr. Wei was a scholarly man. He still looked charming even though small wrinkles were starting to form on his face. He noticed them and smiled with dimples on his cheeks. "You are leaving."


    "Yes," Shi Meng replied.


    "Come back soon and don''t forget to bring capital''s sweets for Jing this time. Or she will really kill you."


    "I won''t." Shi Meng said, chuckling. "She is my little sister."


    "Are you talking about me?" Wei Jing called from behind.


    Everyone''s attention turned to her. "Yes, we are talking about you, little demon." Shi Meng said, playfully pinching her nose.


    Wei Jing made faces and brushed off his hand, "I am not a little demon; you are one." She pouted and glared at him while he just smiled.


    Lianfeng was surprised to see this side of Shi Meng. In front of her, he had always been sophisticated and refined, but right now his joy was inhibited. She took a good look at the girl. She was a delicate girl of 14 or 15. She was sure to be an astounding beauty when she grew up.


    From behind, they heard a woman’s voice, sharp and urgent. “Why are you stopping me? I have something to report to Mr. Wei.”


    She was bickering with the guards at the entrance.


    Mr. Wei glanced over and ordered, “Let her in.”


    The guards withdrew their spears.


    The woman stepped forward and bowed. “My lord.”


    Mr. Wei nodded. “You may rise.”


    Lianfeng barely registered their words. Her gaze had locked onto the woman’s face—round, with sharp, calculating eyes, and the posture of someone well-trained in martial arts. The way she carried herself, the clipped way she spoke—it struck something deep inside Lianfeng’s mind, like a blade scraping against bone.


    A voice echoed in her skull.


    "What do we do?"


    "We kill them."


    Her breath hitched. The sounds around her faded, replaced by the distant screams of the past.


    Steel clashed. The scent of blood thickened in the air. The desperate cries of children, the gurgled last breaths of the dying. A woman’s voice repeating the words—cold, certain, absolute.


    "We kill them."


    Lianfeng’s chest tightened. Her vision blurred at the edges. She couldn’t breathe.


    The hall, Mr. Wei, Shi Meng, and the lady—they all melted away. All she could see was the burning village. Dead bodies. Her mother’s spear was slick with blood. Her brother was lying lifeless on the doorstep.


    "Run, Xiner! Run!"


    Her pulse thundered in her ears. Her skin felt clammy and cold despite the warmth of the afternoon.


    Someone grabbed her shoulder.


    Lianfeng flinched violently.


    "Xiner!"


    Shi Meng''s voice broke through the haze.


    His hands gripped her shoulders, steady, solid. She gasped—air rushing back into her lungs. Her surroundings snapped back into focus. Mr. Wei’s hall. The woman was standing before them. No fire. No blood.


    She was here. Not there.


    Her breath came in sharp, uneven gulps. Sweat dampened her brow.