Gu Yunzheng carried the hot water into the room and found Song Yihuan awake. He quickened his pace. “Hot water’s here, Miss Cao—give her this, make sure she takes it.”
Cao Jinyu moved to pour the cup, but Song Yihuan pushed her hand away and feigned a sit-up. Gu ignored propriety and shoved her gently back down, his palm firm on her shoulder.
“Yihuan, I know you’re desperate to find Xuan’er, but you have to take care of yourself first. You won’t be any use to him if you collapse now.” He gave Cao a look as he spoke.
Cao understood at once. She folded her arms around Song and patted her soothingly. “Brother Gu is right. If you go all out and faint, won’t you only make Xuan’er worry even more?”
Warmth from Cao’s embrace washed over Song Yihuan, and a wave of weakness rolled through her. She closed her eyes hard and shook her head.
“You don’t understand,” she whispered. No one could understand how important Xuan’er was to her — the child she had raised, the last thing her mother had left her. He was the only person in the world who loved and protected her without condition. He was timid, simple, afraid of the dark and strange sounds. To vanish from a strange place on a night like this—he must be terrified. He had a heart ailment; any shock could kill him. Whether he lived or died, she would find him.
But Gu was right. Panic would cloud judgment and make the search impossible. She needed to calm down and think.
When she opened her eyes, she was steadier. She took the cup from Cao and drank until it was empty, then looked up at Gu. “Brother Gu, could you fetch paper and ink?”
“I’ll get them.” He rose immediately and left. In a little while he returned with paper and a brush; Cao draped a robe over her shoulders while Gu ground the ink. Song set herself on a chair in the guest room, brow furrowed, dipped her brush and began to write — methodically, coldly cataloguing what felt wrong.
Xuan’er wouldn’t vanish without reason, nor could he have been lost after a thorough search of the post house. Ji Lingchuan had already sent the Xuanjia Guards to scour the area; a public mobilization like that meant the disappearance had been sudden, not planned. Which suggested Xuan’er might have seen or heard something, and someone had hidden him on purpose.
Her hand paused. A pressure built in her chest so tight she could hardly breathe. She steadied herself and kept writing.
The only clue from the post house was the scrap of cloth Gu had found at the town gate. She closed her eyes and tried to recall the fragment’s shape. Suddenly she sat up straighter. She hadn’t noticed before in her rush — one edge of that fabric was cut so neatly it couldn’t have been torn by an animal. That was a clean slice, made by scissors or a dagger.
She lifted her head and asked the two who had stayed near, her voice sharp despite the exhaustion. “Can you find out what the young lord is doing now?”
Gu’s answer was immediate. “I’ll go. Wait here, Yihuan. I’ll be back quickly.”
When he left, Song drew breath and continued to unravel the thread of possibilities. She had gone out earlier to see her eldest sister — who had seemed ill — and to check the local apothecary for the disguise medicines Bai Sha had left behind. But when she and the physician returned to the post house, all the signs of illness were gone; her sister’s hollow face looked bright and well again. If her sister had been sick, she must have been cured in the time Song was away. Why then hadn’t her sister taken the medicine earlier? There was only one answer: she hadn’t had the medicine at all — someone had given it to her that night.
Bai Sha was a fighter and a master of disguise. She had intended to kill Song’s sister in the Xingzhou enclosure, but she hadn’t succeeded; Ji Lingchuan shot an arrow and both of them fell from a cliff trying to save Song’s sister. Bai Sha’s fate was unknown. If she were still alive, with her skills she could slip into a group unnoticed.
Song gripped the brush until her knuckles ached. If her sister had no medicine, perhaps Bai Sha was the one manipulating her. Perhaps tonight Xuan’er had seen something he shouldn’t have—
A sudden retching seized her; she coughed up a mouthful of blood. Cao panicked, scrambling for a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, tears springing to her eyes. “Yihuan, are you all right? Tell me what to do.”
After vomiting the blood, the dull pressure in Song’s chest eased and her vision cleared. Her gaze sharpened, the panic cooling into an even, dangerous calm. Now there was only waiting for Gu’s return.
Footsteps outside the door. Song looked up to see Gu hurrying back in. “The young lord took a hound from town and rode out beyond the gates. They say they found another piece of clothing out there — some of Xuan’er’s things. Don’t worry, Yihuan. The young lord will find him.”
Song frowned. Something still didn’t fit. Her instincts had rarely led her astray.
If that scrap had been deliberately cut and left at the town gate, it wasn’t an accident at all but a deliberate trap. Whoever had handled Ji Lingchuan before must know his temperament — this was meant to draw him away. Xuan’er might not be at the spot they were searching at all.
She set the brush down and looked at Gu. “Brother Gu, I need you to do something for me.”
In another time, such a request would have delighted him. Now his chest tightened with hurt. He forced his voice out rough with concern. “Tell me. If it’s within my power, I’ll do everything I can.”
“I want you to lead men and ride with me to the far end of town.”
“The far end?” Gu blinked. “But the young lord—don’t you think someone is trying to draw him away?”
Song turned to Cao Jinyu. “A-yu, you must return to the post house at once. Watch my eldest sister closely. Don’t let her leave the post house under any circumstances.”
Cao’s surprise at being entrusted with a task turned quickly into fierce determination. She nodded so hard her hair swung. “I’ll do it. I won’t let her out of my sight.”
Soon after, Gu used the badge of his office to requisition a small squad of Xuanjia Guards and two horses. Song vaulted into the saddle, clamping her legs to the horse’s belly, and together with Gu she rode toward the outskirts of Xile Creek Town.