Old Friends Walk Together for a While

When Hu Liena reached the breeding farm, her cloak was still dusty from the road. Xie Yue and Yan came with her, escorting a bookkeeper who had covered his left ear. They had already pulled off the black ear guard, revealing a notch exactly as Feng Ce had described.

"Accountant Hu." She lifted the man's face. "The bank manager identified you. Collecting the voucher, changing the route, delivering the forged military order—which of those did you do? You can tell both sides yourself."

Accountant Hu kept his head down and said nothing. Tired of waiting, Yan dropped an empty iron chest onto the ground. "Want me to put you back inside so you don't run?"

At the clang of the chest, Accountant Hu finally glanced up at Yan. He claimed it had only been used to transport medicine, but Yue Guan's men produced the city medicine depot's purchase ledger on the spot. The batch numbers did not match at all. Xie Yue gripped the rim and turned the chest over. The blood-red lacquer on its bottom had not fully dried; no one could mistake it for a moisture-proof seal for medicinal supplies.

"Stop making trouble." Xie Yue pushed the chest aside and checked the cellar door's bolt. "There are people alive down there. Don't block the exit."

Tang San came in carrying a lamp. By the well, Hu Liena scraped a little residue from beside a red nail with her dagger. She, Tang San, and Yuan Yu had all walked Hell Road in Slaughter City. They remembered that sweet, bloody smell. Yuan Yu touched the well wall, and the fire markings heated beneath his hand, but he did not melt the blood nail.

"You weren't this polite back on that road." Hu Liena teased Tang San when she saw how