After Iron Spine Swallow left, I remained where I was. Afu turned the bronze token over and over in his hand, muttering something under his breath.
I didn't catch it.
My attention settled on the mission records. Three escort missions, and every incident had occurred on the "Nightwalker Road." The routes had been decided at the last minute; even the deputy captain only received the maps an hour before departure. Yet the enemies had been waiting there every time, as though they had rehearsed it beforehand.
That wasn't normal.
I had Afu bring over the follow-up ledger. Every page recorded where the people I had healed were injured, how they had been injured, and whether they had seen any strangers. Comparing those entries against the mission records, I found one detail—two days before every incident, Chen Qi, who handled logistics, would visit the pharmacy on North Street to collect medicine.
That pharmacy was precisely where Mo Xuan had poisoned people last time.
I stared at that name for a long while. Chen Qi—the messenger responsible for burning expired documents. He was usually quiet and walked with a slight limp. No one paid attention to him, and no one suspected him.
But I remembered that when Hongxiu had burned the poison, insect-like shapes had lingered in the black smoke. Those were traces left by Puppet Silk. And now, this Chen Qi just so happened to keep showing up near the sites of the incidents.
"Afu," I said, "go to the pharmacy tomorrow. Pretend to be a medicine delivery boy and find a chance to get close to Chen Qi. Don't say anything. Just drop a bronze coin on the ground."
He asked, "What kind of coin?"
"The kind engraved with the words 'Yin Feng.'"
The following evening, Afu returned. His expression