Chapter 8

It was the only piece of evidence she had left behind.

When all this was done she lowered her head again and pressed forward quickly, not daring to look up once more at her surroundings.

Following the person onward, Murong Qing still glimpsed what she should not have. One slight glance from the corner of her eye showed her that beside this passage lay a heap of human bones - and the heap of bones seemed to be staring straight at her.

The feeling of having been discovered at something!

Murong Qing steadied herself. The deeper she went, the more corpses there were - bones stacked upon bones, and among them, the clothes of women.

Anyone else would have been scared out of their wits.

-

What hour it was now, no one could say. He had led most of the Ministry of Justice's men toward this place, all dressed in plain clothes against any mishap.

Shangguan Jin was, naturally, worried for Murong Qing's safety. In a situation like this, what if something happened to her inside?

As his plainclothes party drew near Wanhe House, he discovered any number of dark figures on the surrounding rooftops. He waved his hand at once, signaling everyone to hide.

"Lord Shangguan!"

Someone was approaching, voice very low.

"Who are you?"

The man presumably knew that Shangguan Jin would not recognize him, and explained quickly: "I am Han Mubai, aide to the Left General of the Jinwu Guard. My general is at this moment inside the building, handling the same matter as Your Lordship."

Shangguan Jin studied him a few moments. The man did look faintly familiar - perhaps seen around the Jinwu Guard. But now...

He heard someone inside say: "You mean General Jiang?"

Of the relationship between Jiang Qinghe and Murong Qing, Shangguan Jin knew nothing. What he did know was that Jiang Qinghe was a good man.

A good man in the traditional sense - though he spent most of his days on campaign, he did spend some time in the city.

"Mm." He nodded slightly. "You know we came for the same matter. What's the situation inside?"

Even as he asked, he hoped Murong Qing had already made contact with Jiang Qinghe, and that the two might join forces and get out safely.

Han Mubai continued, "General Jiang caught a man. He meant to deliver him to the Court of Judicial Review, but found the deputy minister wasn't there, so he..."

"He handed him to the people of Tianxiang Hall for questioning. Once they had the outline of it, it turned out to be connected to the case of Lord Li Ren."

"Why wasn't it taken to the Ministry of Justice?" Shangguan Jin gave a slight nod, brow knotted, staring at Han Mubai.

Even if the Jinwu Guard had discovered the matter, protocol was still to come to the Ministry first.

Han Mubai explained again that they had in fact gone, and had spoken with his clerks, but no one could be found.

Shangguan Jin got an answer he found acceptable. Thankfully, the Jinwu Guard still kept the Ministry of Justice in their sight.

"When do we go in?"

"Soon."

He knew there was no time to waste.

And yet the situation now seemed to demand waiting - a long sort of waiting, with a feeling to it he couldn't name.

The moon hid in darkness, the clouds not quite covering it.

Below Wanhe House things should be starting. Shangguan Jin reasoned from these shadows that they would not be coming up yet.

But it did strike him as strange: why would Lord Li Ren have died upstairs? If this was truly the setup, it was genuinely odd.

Carrying that question, he looked at Han Mubai.

Han Mubai looked tense, hands clenched tight.

"Why is Aide Han so nervous?"

"This... to be honest with you, my lord, today is the first time I've led a team on my own. Naturally I'm a little nervous."

Shangguan Jin glanced at him sidelong, mildly disdainful at first, then answered in proper official tones: "Everyone is nervous the first time. A few more tries and it passes. Even the battle-hardened had a first time."

Han Mubai nodded lightly and let out a long breath. It wasn't really the reason - only a long sigh. In the distance, the dark figures on the rooftops around Wanhe House flickered out, nearly invisible in the black of night.

Shangguan Jin looked back at his men: "Wait here, all of you. I'll go and have a look."

With that he headed toward Wanhe House without pausing a single step.

He had promised Murong Qing he would bring her back. He dared not linger.

Shangguan Jin slipped into Wanhe House alone. Moving at his current pace, he did not force his way in; he only observed the surroundings.

The courtyard was quieter than expected - not another figure to be seen, not a sound.

After careful observation he quickly reached the rear courtyard of the side compound. He truly could see nothing, and could not even light his firesteel; he had to feel his way about.

Perhaps because his eyes were not fully on the ground beneath him, his gaze was not entirely on what was near. But then -

Shangguan Jin shortened his steps and, in the grass patch nearest the left, caught a faint gleam of light.

Following that faint light, he saw a small knife. The knife looked achingly familiar - if he was not mistaken, it was the blade he had given Murong Qing.

He picked it up at once.

Han Mubai came up quickly behind him. Just as he drew near to ask, Shangguan Jin was already pointing at the gleam. "If I'm not mistaken, their place is below there."

"If we force our way in..."

"First we search the area. Only when we're sure there's no problem do we go in."

Han Mubai nodded.

Shangguan Jin thought, then asked, "What signal did your general give you?"

Han Mubai answered: "The general said if several sticks of incense passed and he hadn't come out, we go in."

"We haven't scouted this area properly in advance, so we still have to feel our way."

That was a little strange.

If he had planned an ambush properly, he would surely first question whoever was caught.

That was how he himself always did things.

Perhaps Jiang Qinghe had ideas of his own; Shangguan Jin was in no position to interfere directly. He simply nodded.

He could only let the Jinwu Guard prowl the surroundings to work out what was what. After some time, someone finally found the entrance they were looking for in the courtyard.

"Lord Shangguan - shall the two of us go in first?" Han Mubai looked at the stone wall before them.

The stone door had no visible seam at all, no mechanism to be seen, and forcing it open held no chance of success.

Shangguan Jin stared at the door. He didn't answer Han Mubai at first, only began sweeping his gaze over the stone, hunting for the mechanism.

But it was nothing like he imagined.

"Could it be hidden somewhere?" Han Mubai looked around, and quickly reminded the Jinwu Guard to search the grass.

Shangguan Jin shook his head. "No. I've seen this stone door before."

He paused, then went on, "When I came here in the past there was something covering it. It's gone now - which is why I suspect this is a false entrance."