Avoidance Was Impossible

As autumn deepened, the wutong leaves in Zhao Mansion turned yellow.

Li Tui stood beneath the corridor for nearly half an hour, morning dew soaking through his sleeves.

The door hinges turned.

Zhao Yuanchong stepped out in a brocade robe, barefoot.

"Young Master." Li Tui bowed.

Zhao Yuanchong glanced at him, took the damp cloth, and pressed it to his face. "Wang Yuan."

"This servant is here."

"I had a dream last night." Zhao Yuanchong tossed the cloth back into the basin. "A black crow kept cawing outside my window. It was so noisy, and no matter how I chased it away, it wouldn't leave." He turned, his gaze settling on Li Tui's face. "I had someone interpret it. They said a petty villain by my side was causing trouble."

Silence fell beneath the corridor.

Li Tui lowered his eyes. "This servant is dull-witted and cannot interpret omens in dreams."

"I had someone interpret it." Zhao Yuanchong strolled to a corridor pillar. "They said a petty villain by my side was causing trouble." He paused, then looked at Li Tui. "Tell me, who do you think this villain... could be?"

Li Tui said nothing.

He knew it had come.

Seven days had passed since he refused to kill Zhao Hao at the market. For those seven days, Zhao Yuanchong had seemed as usual, ordering him around when he pleased and cursing him when he pleased. But the more normal things seemed, the clearer it was to Li Tui—this was the calm before the storm.

With Zhao Yuanchong's temperament, when had anyone ever dared to slight him in public? That anger would have to be vented sooner or later.

And now, the time had come.

"This servant is dull-witted," Li Tui said slowly. "I don't know what ill omen Young Master's dream foretold. But Young Master is the Zhao Family's legitimate heir. How could some common ruffian get close to you?"

His words were smooth. He didn't take up the subject of the "villain," yet still flattered Zhao Yuanchong.

Zhao Yuanchong stared at him, then suddenly laughed.

His laugh rang bright, threaded with a chill.

"Wang Yuan," he said with a shake of his head, "you're getting better and better at talking."

He stopped beating around the bush. "Let's set the dream aside for now. Yesterday, I went to Xingtang on an errand and heard about an old case. It was rather interesting."

Li Tui's heart stirred.

"Three years ago, there was an outside steward in the mansion, surnamed Chen." Zhao Yuanchong paced beneath the wutong tree. "He was diligent in his work and greatly favored by Father. He was in charge of the Spirit Fields in the West Suburbs. Unfortunately, someone later exposed him for embezzling Spirit Grain. By clan rules, his cultivation should have been crippled and he should have been expelled from the mansion."

He turned, his gaze like a needle. "Guess what happened next?"

Li Tui remained silent.

"Father remembered his past service and showed him mercy." Zhao Yuanchong's voice was flat. "He was only docked three years' worth of monthly stipends and demoted to an ordinary laborer."

The autumn wind blew, and wutong leaves drifted down.

"But Steward Chen," Zhao Yuanchong took another step closer, "not only failed to appreciate the kindness shown to him, he instead harbored resentment. Last winter, he secretly buried Caltrops beneath the stone tiles of the Martial Arts Arena he was responsible for cleaning."

He paused, his voice sinking. "He meant to injure my second brother while he was practicing."

Dead silence fell beneath the corridor.

"After the truth came out, Xingtang showed no more mercy." Zhao Yuanchong stared at Li Tui, each word deliberate. "He was beaten to death in public, and his body was thrown into the mass grave."

The fingers of Li Tui's hand, hanging at his side, curled slightly.

He understood.

Those words were about Steward Chen on the surface, but they were meant for him.

Zhao Yuanchong was warning him: he could take what his master gave him, but he could not fight for what his master withheld. Refusing to kill Zhao Hao at the market had been a matter of "not knowing his place."

If he didn't learn to behave, Steward Chen's fate would be his warning.

"This servant understands." Li Tui bowed slowly. "Thank you for your instruction, Young Master."

Zhao Yuanchong straightened, a casual smile floating over his face. "Good."

He turned to go back inside, but stopped at the threshold and looked back. "By the way, there's an errand I need you to handle."

Li Tui raised his eyes.

"Lately, wild beasts have been trampling the Spirit Grain in those Spirit Fields in the West Suburbs." Zhao Yuanchong's tone was casual. "The laborers guarding them are useless. They've tried to catch the beast several times, but it always gets away. Now that you've reached Tongmai, you should be more capable than they are."

He paused. "Go keep watch tonight. Make sure you get rid of that menace."

Li Tui's heart sank.

The West Suburbs were desolate, more than five li from Zhao Mansion. Going there alone at night was dangerous in itself. Zhao Yuanchong's order that he go alone was certainly not as simple as it sounded.

"Young Master," he said, his voice steady, "this servant has opened only two acupoints. My foundation is damaged and my cultivation is shallow. I'm afraid I may not be up to guarding the Spirit Fields and exterminating the wild beast."

"Not up to it?" Zhao Yuanchong raised an eyebrow, his smile cooling by three parts. "I thought you were quite good at reading the situation at the market. What, now that I've actually given you some work to do, you're pushing back and making excuses?"

His words cut to the heart.

The air beneath the corridor grew heavy.

Li Tui was silent for a moment, then finally bowed. "This servant will obey."

"That's more like it." Zhao Yuanchong nodded with satisfaction. "That beast is cunning and mostly comes out at night. Go tonight and keep watch all night. Make sure you capture and kill it."

He paused, his meaning clear. "If you get it done, you'll be rewarded. If you don't..." He gave a soft laugh. "If you can't even deal with a beast, what use are you to me?"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and went back inside.

The door shut.

Li Tui stood where he was, motionless for a long while.

The autumn wind swept through the courtyard, stirring fallen leaves with a rustling sound.

He knew this was a trap.

There was no avoiding it.

Zhao Yuanchong had made his meaning plain: succeed and he would be rewarded; fail, and he would be useless. What became of useless people in Zhao Mansion was already crystal clear from Steward Chen's example.

He turned and walked toward the side room, his steps steady.

He returned to the side room and shut the door.

The room was dim.

Li Tui sat down by the bed. After resting for a while, he rose and took a short blade from beneath his pillow. The blade was seven inches long and one finger wide, its edge sharpened to a keen point, gleaming coldly in the dimness.

Once he had everything ready, he sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

True qi rose from his dantian and circulated slowly. When it reached the Qingling acupoint in his left arm and the Fengshi acupoint in his right leg, it met with resistance. The hidden injuries from his last forceful attempt to break through his acupoints had improved considerably with treatment, but they were still not fully healed.

In this condition, venturing alone into the desolate outskirts...

Li Tui slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Tonight would not be peaceful.