Concealment

Liu Jing was an old hand among the Imperial Guards, with broad experience. Seeing that even the monk they had dragged in was pacing around the plum grove without finding a way out, he knew the monk had fallen into the trap as well.

Liu Jing frowned, one hand resting on his sword hilt. "Doesn't this plum garden belong to your temple? How could such a small garden have a bewildering barrier?"

Cold sweat streamed down the monk's face as he hurriedly explained, "Though the plum garden belongs to the temple, the abbot said that beautiful scenery should be shared with the world. So only two sides have walls; the other two were never built, and anyone may enter the garden to enjoy the view.

"We monks only prune, fertilize, and water the trees. At all other times, we let the plum trees grow as they please and never interfere with matters in the grove. I truly do not know when this plum garden gained a bewildering barrier—enough to trap even this humble monk."

Liu Jing gave a cold snort.

After thinking for a moment, the monk said, "All bewildering barriers must rely on some external object. These plum trees cannot be moved, and the movable things in the grove are mostly stones. Why don't we shift every stone we can see? Perhaps that will break the barrier."

A flame clogged Liu Jing's chest. Suppressing his anger, he kicked at every stone within sight. He knew this method might not work. In a powerful illusion array, even the objects used to set it up could be invisible to the eye.

After kicking aside several stones, he spotted a large one standing beneath a plum tree some distance away. It would have to be moved by hand.

With a foul expression, he stepped forward and shifted it aside. When he straightened up, he discovered that the plum tree roots he had just seen were now far from the stone. Once the stone was moved, there was unexpectedly a wide opening between two plum trees ahead.

Liu Jing's brows tightened slightly. He swept his gaze around the suddenly altered surroundings, both hands gripping his sword hilt as he slowly walked inside.

The view opened up all at once. It was an empty patch between two rows of plum trees, the ground level and unmarked. Naturally, there was not a single person there.

How could there be a place without even one footprint?

Liu Jing turned to look at the area they had just passed through, then looked back at this spot. The more he looked, the stranger it seemed. He ground the soil beneath his foot, then crouched down for a closer look. It was odd—the earth was a mingling of new and old.

He lay on the ground and sniffed the scent of the dirt. His expression changed slightly, and he immediately rose to look around.

The monk jogged over and asked curiously, "Benefactor, what is it?"

Liu Jing asked grimly, "Who came to the plum garden today?"

The monk looked at him in utter confusion. "Benefactor, this plum garden lies outside the temple, and our temple's back gate is usually kept shut. Today... no monks came here. I truly do not know who may have visited the plum garden."

Liu Jing inspected the area, then his gaze sharpened. He pushed the monk aside and went to examine a plum tree closely.

The monk saw it too and cried out, "Oh dear, who chopped this? They hacked such a huge gash into the plum tree."

The wound on the plum tree was a chaotic mess, with bark and wood splintered everywhere, but its color was fresh. It had clearly been cut only recently.

Liu Jing carefully examined the gash. The person who had struck that blow had used tremendous force; the cut was extremely deep and must have been difficult to pull free. The person must have rocked it up and down while pulling, which was why the wound had become so ragged.

After searching for a long time, Liu Jing finally found a small piece of fallen wood shaving on the other side of the tree roots.

He frowned at the patch of ground, feeling that it was clean to a bizarre degree.

The wound on the tree showed that the person who pulled out the blade was not the same as the one who chopped it in. The one who withdrew it was not very strong and was not even tall enough, which was why they had needed to rock the blade up and down so many times before removing it.

Under those circumstances, the ground should have been left with plenty of wood shavings.

Liu Jing paced in circles. At last, he dug into the soil beneath the wound on the tree. Before long, he turned up quite a few fallen shavings and larger wood chips.

Liu Jing held those things in his palm, but his gaze drifted involuntarily toward the ground he had sniffed earlier...

As he pondered, the monk cautiously asked, "Benefactor, is there something wrong with this tree?"

"No." Liu Jing lowered his eyes, concealing every emotion within them. Rising to his feet, he said, "This tree has been chopped up like this; it plainly cannot survive. There is no use keeping it. Have someone fell it and plant another."

The monk looked at the huge gash and wanted to say that plum trees did not die so easily. Though the wound looked severe, it could still live.

But when he met Liu Jing's gaze, the words slipped from his tongue, and he agreed anyway.

Liu Jing stared into his eyes, speaking each word slowly and clearly. "It would be best to cut it down immediately. That wound looks too ugly—frightening."

The monk hastily agreed and promised, "This humble monk will come cut it down shortly."

After one final look around, Liu Jing said, "I'll come back to see it later." The meaning was clear: it had to be cut down before he returned.

The monk agreed helplessly.

Liu Jing entered the temple through the back gate again. This time, he paid even closer attention to the traces on the ground.

But beyond the back gate was a path paved with bluestone, and many people came and went through the temple. He could make nothing out.

So he went to ask the temple's Guest Monk about the people who had entered and left that day. "Did a little girl about seven or eight years old come through?"

After thinking for a moment, the Guest Monk shook his head. "There were no young female visitors today."

Liu Jing frowned, thinking he might have been mistaken, and returned to the plum garden.

The monk had already brought people to cut down the plum tree. The severed branches were piled haphazardly across the ground, and the scene was a complete mess.

A site where evidence had already been difficult to find now revealed nothing at all.

Liu Jing stood to one side with an unreadable expression, watching for a long while, until the monk cautiously said, "Benefactor, this plum tree was planted long ago, and its roots run deep. We cannot dig them out at once. Tomorrow..."

"There is no need to dig them out," Liu Jing said. "I see that the roots are still in good shape. They should be able to sprout again. Leave them as they are."

The monk: ...You could have said that earlier. He would have left it more branches. Now there were only two stumps left.

But the monk did not dare contradict an Imperial Guard. He could only agree and assure him that he would make it sprout and grow again as quickly as possible.

Liu Jing turned and returned to the Enforcement Division.

Wang Yong had not returned.

Wang Yong failed to appear for three days straight. The Enforcement Division finally sent people to the Wang residence and learned that Wang Yong had not returned home for three days either. Only then did the Enforcement Division realize something was wrong.

Yet Liu Jing said nothing.

He placed the few wood shavings, the small wood chips, and a paper bird together, closed the box, and put it into a drawer. After thinking it over, he still picked up the paper bird and paid a visit to the Pan family.

The Pan family was packing their luggage.

The incident three days ago seemed to have frightened them badly. The Pan family had decided to move their entire household back to their hometown and no longer live in the Capital City.

When the Imperial Guard came again, Pan Tao's expression turned ugly, but he had no choice but to brace himself and receive him.

Liu Jing made a circuit of their home, his gaze passing over each of their faces one by one. He asked, "Who made this paper bird that was hanging beneath the corridor that day?"

Seeing the paper bird in his hand, Pan Tao's heart pounded wildly. He laughed it off. "What paper bird is my lord talking about? Things were chaotic that day, and my family was scared out of their wits. Pan remembers nothing at all about any paper bird."

Liu Jing looked at him with a smile that was not a smile, tapping his fingers against his sword hilt. Pan Bai, standing nearby, hurriedly said, "My lord, I hung that paper bird there. I saw it at a street stall and thought it was interesting, so I bought it and hung it up."

He rushed into the room, brought out a bag of silver, and stuffed it into Liu Jing's hand. Respectfully, he said, "Does my lord find this paper bird offensive to the eye? Shall this one buy it back...?"

Liu Jing accepted the money and snorted at them. He did not return the paper bird, instead turning and leaving.

No one knew whether he had merely found an excuse to extort a bribe or whether he had truly discovered something from the paper bird and simply taken money while he was at it.

Either way, the Pan family could not afford to endure it.

The moment he left, Pan Tao said, "We cannot stay any longer. We leave tomorrow."

Madam Wang said, "But the things..."

"Give away what we cannot take to the neighbors, or leave it for the next owner. We set off first thing tomorrow morning." Pan Tao cut her off. "Our lives are what matter. The Imperial Guards have clearly fixed their eyes on us and will not let go."

Madam Wang was deeply worried. Lowering her voice, she said, "If we leave just like this, what if she returns and cannot find us?"

Pan Tao said, "Silence. From this day forward, do not mention it again. Be careful—walls have ears."

Pan Tao was sorrowful. His heart felt as though countless ants were gnawing at it. Three days had passed. If she could return, she would have returned long ago.

Pan Tao went inside to tell his mother that they would set out early the next morning.

Old Madam Pan opened her mouth, wanting to ask, yet not daring to.

The Imperial Guards were everywhere. No one knew where they might be hiding at this moment, spying on them.

Pan Tao knelt halfway before her knees and whispered, "Mother, we are returning home. Once we reach home, everything will be all right. Everything will turn out well."

Tears streamed down Old Madam Pan's face as she choked out, "Changzhou Prefecture is a thousand li away. Our family funds are meager, and we have both elderly and weak among us. How are we to make the journey?"

When that child left, Old Madam Pan had been too panicked and helpless even to prepare travel money for her. It was already difficult for their whole family to return to their hometown; how much harder would it be for a little child alone?

Old Madam Pan could only ask again and again, "Has silver been prepared? Has a travel permit been prepared?"

Pan Tao knew she was not asking about their family but about Pan Yun. His tears fell as well, yet he could only nod and answer through sobs, "Everything has been prepared, Mother. Do not worry. Everything will be well. Everything will be safe."

Thinking of her eldest son's family, exiled to Datong, Old Madam Pan finally gathered herself. She joined them in packing their luggage and preparing dry provisions for the journey.

The next day, the Pan family bade farewell to their neighbors, boarded the carriage they had rented from the Carriage and Horse Agency, and headed south.

They had brought much luggage and had elderly family members with them, so the carriage and horses traveled slowly. It would likely take ten to fifteen days to reach Changzhou Prefecture.

By comparison, Pan Yun and her two companions were much faster, traveling on foot and occasionally catching a ride from passing carts. In just three days, they had gone from the Capital City to Daming Prefecture.

At that moment, the three sat at a small riverside stall eating noodles. Pan Yun looked up at the bustling canal in the distance and asked, "Why aren't we taking a boat?"

Tao Ji said, "No money."

Pan Yun said, "True enough. A Daoist who has to borrow lodging in a monk's temple is obviously poor."

Tao Ji instantly found the noodles in his bowl less appetizing. He paused with his chopsticks and looked at her. "Are you still eating? If not, we are setting off. We need to reach Kaifeng Prefecture tomorrow."

With her legs aching from all the walking, Pan Yun lowered her head expressionlessly and ate her noodles. In both her lives, she had never walked so much.

The black cat squatted beside her and finished the noodles picked out into its bowl. Elegantly, it wiped its mouth with a paw, then meowed twice at Pan Yun and extended its paw.

Pan Yun expressionlessly took out a handkerchief and wiped its paw. Seeing that the corners of its mouth were gleaming, she moved to wipe those too. The black cat abruptly twisted its head away and pushed her hand aside with a look of utter disdain.