Trade

At the bottom of the well.

Zhao Hao let go of the hand pressed against his side. His palm was slick and sticky. He looked down, pulled the sweat cloth from his waist, and hastily bound the wound. His movements were rough, but his brow didn't furrow. Blood seeped into the coarse cloth, spreading in a dark stain.

Li Tui leaned against the well wall and tore open his shirt. The dark-red lump on his chest had sunk deep into his flesh, its surface covered in fine, vein-like patterns. It was pulsing faintly to some bizarre rhythm, each contraction tugging at the uninjured flesh around it.

Zhao Hao's gaze pinned the lump. He studied it for two breaths, then curled his lip. "It's grown into your flesh?"

"Mm." Li Tui's voice was calm, as if he were talking about someone else's body. "I can't get it out."

He raised his right hand and lightly pressed a fingertip against the dark-red surface. The lump suddenly contracted like a startled heart, then swelled again, beating even more violently. The fine patterns glimmered a dim red. Through the thin skin, something could be seen writhing within.

"That old monster called it a Blood Bodhi." Li Tui lowered his hand. "Now it's part of me."

Zhao Hao stared at the pulsing dark-red mass, his expression darkening. "An evil thing has taken root in you...and you actually dare to keep it."

"I had no choice." Li Tui curled his lip, but there was no warmth in the gesture. "That night in the West Suburbs, if he'd really wanted to kill me, I wouldn't be alive now."

"So he let you go so you could nurture that evil thing with your body." Zhao Hao sneered. "Once it's grown fat, he'll harvest it along with you."

Li Tui didn't answer.

Outside the well, wind whispered through the wild grass. In the distance, a few more lights went out in the direction of Zhao Mansion.

"That commotion just now," Zhao Hao said suddenly. "If anyone in the mansion is making their rounds, they must have noticed."

Li Tui looked up. "So?"

"So we don't have much time." Zhao Hao pushed himself upright. The wound at his side pulled, and sweat beaded at his temples, but he stood firm. "You heard what that old monster said before he left. The Blood Bodhi is already one with your flesh and blood. He can't take it, and neither can anyone else—but you've certainly become his living target."

He paused, his gaze pinning Li Tui's face like an iron nail. "You won't live long."

Li Tui's expression remained unchanged. He braced himself against the well wall and stood. The lump on his chest pulsed faintly with the movement, like a second heart beating.

"If Young Master Hao has something to say, then say it."

Zhao Hao stared at him for three full breaths.

"I can tolerate you," he said slowly, each word forced through clenched teeth. "When necessary, I'll step in and hold that old monster off for a while."

Li Tui didn't agree right away. He waited for the rest.

"But you have to do something for me." Zhao Hao lowered his voice. It echoed through the narrow space at the bottom of the well. "You can see what I can't, being at Zhao Yuanchong's side. I want you to keep an eye on the clan elders and stewards. Find out what they really think of him, of me, and even of that 'calamity star,' Zhao Wen, in the southwest corner."

Li Tui's eyes shifted.

Why was Zhao Hao suddenly interested in Zhao Wen?

Thoughts flashed through his mind. Zhao Hao bore the Seven Killings Star Fate and had been biding his time in secret. His ambitions were no small matter. If he had suddenly turned his attention to Zhao Wen, he must have noticed something.

"Why did the direct line indulge Zhao Yuanchong? Why did the collateral line suppress me? What's Zhao Wen's situation now?" Zhao Hao took half a step forward, his presence pressing down on Li Tui. "I want to know who's pulling the strings behind all this."

"Information in exchange for protection." Li Tui nodded slowly. "Agreed."

"Not enough." Zhao Hao took the Ink Jade Pendant, now covered in cracks, from his shirt and rubbed it with his fingertips. "I want hard evidence. Who said what, who met with whom, who passed notes in secret."

Li Tui fell silent for a moment.

"It'll take time," he said. "There are plenty of eyes around Zhao Yuanchong. If I act too conspicuously, I'll arouse suspicion."

"That's your problem." Zhao Hao put the pendant away, tucking it beneath his collar again. "I only care about the results."

He turned and gripped a protruding crack between the bricks in the well wall, testing its strength with one hand.

"Wait," Li Tui said suddenly.

Zhao Hao paused but didn't turn around.

"What if what I find isn't just infighting within the clan?" Li Tui's voice was very soft. "What if outsiders are involved—or even the beings up there? Would Young Master Hao still dare to take this on?"

With his back to Li Tui, Zhao Hao's shoulder blades tensed beneath his tattered clothes.

After a long while, he let out a low laugh.

"Just investigate." His voice was hoarse. "If the sky falls, someone taller can hold it up."

With that, he climbed the well wall using both hands and feet, swiftly scaling the brick cracks. His injuries slowed him, but his movements were still nimble.

Li Tui stood where he was, listening as the rustling sounds above gradually faded.

Silence returned to the bottom of the well.

Li Tui lowered his head and looked at the lump on his chest. It glimmered faintly in the gloom, its pulse slow and strong. He could feel something seeping through that mass of flesh, thread by thread, into his meridians, traveling through his qi and blood to every part of his body.

That old monster had been right. This thing had grown together with him.

Li Tui pressed his right palm against the pulsing dark-red mass.

After a long while, he let go, bent down, and picked up the short blade from the ground. Its edge was chipped in several places, but it was still usable. He scanned the bottom of the well, kicked several bloodstained stones into a corner, then scraped some wet mud over them with his foot.

Only then did he climb the well wall and pull himself out.

At the far end of the fields, torchlight moved faintly in the distance. It was probably a night patrol from Zhao Mansion.

Li Tui crouched in the wild grass and waited until the patrol had gone far away. Then he stood and staggered toward the side gate on the west side of Zhao Mansion.

By the time he returned to his room in the West Courtyard, dawn had begun to break.

Li Tui barred the door, leaned against it, and slid down to sit on the floor. He opened his shirt and stared at the writhing dark-red mass for a while, then suddenly let out a low laugh.

So be it.

What's done is done. There's no need to worry about what to do with it anymore. I might as well put it to use.

Li Tui pressed his right palm against the lump's surface. A scorching warmth surged up his arm, flowing against the direction of his meridians. The sting in his wound eased, but at the same time, a deeper exhaustion seeped from his marrow.

A quarter of an hour later, he let go and slumped to the floor. The wound on his left shoulder had stopped bleeding, but the lump seemed to have swelled another ring larger.

The sound of servants sweeping outside drifted in.

A new day had begun.

Li Tui slowly sat up and covered himself again. Beneath the coarse cloth, the dark-red lump bulged faintly. He changed into clean clothes, then studied his wavering reflection in the basin in the corner and wiped away the last trace of anything amiss from his face.

When he opened the door, the morning light washed over him.

He narrowed his eyes, straightened his back, and headed toward the main house.

On the way, he ran into Huang Bao. The youth was carrying a bucket of water. When he saw Li Tui approaching, he hurriedly lowered his head and stepped aside.

As they passed, Huang Bao spoke in an exceedingly low voice. "Big brother...someone went to Zhao Wen's place again last night. A stranger. He was wearing an indigo robe, and his waist token was engraved with the words 'External Affairs.'"

Li Tui didn't break stride. He gave the slightest nod.

When he reached the main house, Zhao Yuanchong had just come out. His brocade robe hung loose, and he looked half asleep. Seeing Li Tui standing beneath the veranda, he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, up early, are you?" He yawned. "Feeling better?"

"Thanks to Young Master, I'm no longer in any serious danger." Li Tui bowed. The lump on his left shoulder pulsed faintly beneath his clothes.

Zhao Yuanchong studied him for a couple of moments, then suddenly smiled.

"Good." He turned and walked back inside, his voice drifting lazily over his shoulder. "Come with me to the outer storehouse today. Second Brother brought back a batch of new tea from the commandery city. Father told me to fetch some for him to try."

The outer storehouse?

Li Tui's heart stirred. Zhao Mansion's outer storehouse held goods brought in from outside, and it stood beside the External Affairs Hall. Someone from the External Affairs Hall had gone to see Zhao Wen last night, and now Zhao Yuanchong was going to the outer storehouse for tea...

Too much of a coincidence.

"Yes," he replied, lowering his eyes as he followed.

As he turned, he caught a glimpse of a dark-gray figure darting past the corner of the veranda.

It was Zhao Hao.

Their gazes met for an instant, then parted.

As if they had never seen each other.