The Fishing Line in the Old City District

Rain poured through the rear window of the Old Theater.

When Zhu Zhuqing gave chase, she shattered the water pooled on the eaves beneath her feet, sending a string of silver beads rolling down the roof ridge. The servant who had stolen the Token ran fast. His footwork was nothing special, but he knew Heaven Dou City's back alleys. At every fork, he turned without looking, as though he had run this escape route dozens of times in his head.

She made no sound.

With the Nether Civet Martial Soul enveloping her, Zhu Zhuqing's figure nearly melted into the night. She leaped from one rooftop to a low wall, her eyes fixed on the gray figure. Dogs barked below, then fell silent, their voices quickly swallowed by the rain.

The past few days of tracking had made her more patient than before. She used to solve problems as quickly as possible: when the blade arrived, so did she. But Bai Jin had taught her to watch routes, not speed. Why did a fugitive take a detour? Why avoid lit shops? Why splash through puddles rather than run beneath dry eaves? Each detail was a fine thread she gathered, one by one, into her hands.

Tang San and Xiao Wu came running from the mouth of the alley.

Blue Silver Grass pushed through the wet ground and curled around a trace of gray powder by the wall. Tang San rubbed it between his fingertips and frowned. "It's the same powder from the Auction House, mixed with traces of Blood-Pattern Incense. This wasn't an improvised escape. Someone prepared his route."

Xiao Wu looked up at the rooftops. "Isn't it too dangerous for Zhu Zhuqing to go alone?"

"Of course it's dangerous." Bai Jin ambled up behind them, still holding a half-eaten piece of candy. "But she didn't come out for a stroll."

Xiao Wu glared at him.

Bai Jin gave her an innocent smile. "Neither did I."

No sooner had he spoken than a short whistle sounded from a distant street corner. Xue Qinghe's men had already blocked several main roads. The Crown Prince's Mansion could not make a grand show of arrests in the Old City District, but it could close the Gates out of the area first. Bai Jin did not turn around. He merely raised a hand and waved, as casually as if shooing away a breeze.

"Have them guard the outside," he said. "The fishing line's too thin. Too many feet will snap it."

The Old City District was even older than the streets behind the Auction House.

The eaves hung low here, and the alleys were narrow. Rain-soaked red lanterns hung outside many Gates. Their paper had softened, and the light shining through looked like a thin wash of blood. The token thief rounded a wine shop, slipped into an alley hung with paper offerings, and stopped at a Paper Offerings Shop.

The shop was called Liu's Shop.

The Gate stood half open. Inside were paper horses, a paper sedan chair, and several crookedly made paper figures. White powder coated their faces, and their lips were a startling red. In the rainy night, it looked as though everything in the shop was quietly waiting for someone.

The boy in gray pulled the fake Token from his clothes. His hands shook badly.

"I brought it," he said hoarsely. "Where's my sister?"

No one in the shop answered.

Only an oil lamp swayed gently.

Crouched at the corner of the eaves, Zhu Zhuqing's gaze suddenly hardened. She saw a sliver of shadow move along the wall behind the paper sedan chair. The figure held a crossbow, aimed not at the Token in the boy's arms but at his back.

She did not wait.

Hell Stab cut through the rain. Zhu Zhuqing dropped from the eaves and kicked the paper sedan chair over. The bolt grazed her shoulder and struck the doorpost. Blue-black liquid immediately seeped from its tip.

The boy in gray went weak at the knees and collapsed to the floor.

Two black-clad Soul Masters burst from the Paper Offerings Shop at once. One lunged at Zhu Zhuqing from behind the counter; the other reached for the boy. Zhu Zhuqing stopped the first but could not intercept the second. Her eyes darkened. Just as she was about to force herself around, a hand pressed against the black-clad Soul Master's face.

Bai Jin stood at the Gate. No one had seen him arrive.

The Soul Master froze in midair. His fingers were only half a foot from the boy, yet he could not reach him.

"You even pick a place this poor to silence a witness." Bai Jin sighed. "Has someone been embezzling the Ghost Face Society's funds?"

The Soul Master's pupils contracted, and his Soul Ring lit up.

The next instant, an invisible hand seemed to yank him away. With a bang, he crashed into the pile of paper horses. They scattered across the floor, bamboo frames splintering and pasted paper flying throughout the shop.

By the time Tang San and Xiao Wu rushed in, Zhu Zhuqing had pinned the other man down. Xiao Wu bent to help the boy in gray up. Rain streamed down his face, his lips were pale, and he still clutched the fake Token tightly to his chest.

Tang San asked, "Where is your sister?"

The boy stared, as if he had not expected that to be their first question. His lips moved, and tears suddenly spilled down his face. "They said if I brought the Token here, they'd let her come back."

"Who were you supposed to give it to?"

"I don't know." The boy shook his head. "I only know Liu's Shop takes delivery, then sends it to Setting Sun Wharf before tomorrow night. Third watch. Paper offerings in exchange for passage on a boat."

Tang San's brow tightened as he listened. The boy looked only a few years older than them and had almost no Soul Power. He had dared to steal the Token not because he was brave, but because someone had cut off his last way out. Beside him, Xiao Wu's expression turned cold too. She usually hated trouble, but seeing someone use a loved one as a threat lit a fire in her chest that she could not put out.

"Is his sister still alive?" Xiao Wu asked.

Bai Jin looked at the boy, then at the dust behind the counter. "They still need him to run errands, at least. They won't kill her anytime soon. Don't worry. A living person is worth more than a dead one."

He spoke lightly, but the boy jerked his head up as though grasping at a lifeline.

"Really?"

Bai Jin stuffed his candy into the boy's arms. "I won't charge you extra for lying."

Bai Jin crouched, took back the fake Token from the boy's hands, and gave him another piece of candy.

The boy looked at him blankly.

"Don't stare at it," Bai Jin said. "It's fake. It's not worth anything once you've eaten it."

For a moment, Xiao Wu did not know whether to be angry or laugh.

Under the shop counter, Tang San found an invoice wrapped in oiled paper. It bore no names, only a few lines of dark-red writing: three crates of paper offerings, two Soul Bone fragments, seven bloodstained garments. Exchange for passage at Setting Sun Wharf, third watch.

Soul Bone fragments.

Those three words silenced everyone in the room.

On Douluo Continent, Soul Bones were never ordinary objects. Even fragments were enough to make many unaffiliated Soul Masters risk their lives. The Ghost Face Society would not have put them on an invoice out of kindness.

Zhu Zhuqing withdrew her Martial Soul. A shallow cut marked her shoulder. She glanced at Bai Jin but said nothing.

Bai Jin acted as though he had not seen her injury. He balled up his candy wrapper and tossed it into the puddle by the Gate.

"Can you keep tracking them?"

Zhu Zhuqing nodded.

"Then remember that bolt," Bai Jin said. "You're fast enough already. Next time, work out who they intend to kill sooner."

Something shifted in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes. "Understood," she said quietly.

Lu Heng arrived with his men and took charge of the Paper Offerings Shop and the boy in gray. Xue Qinghe's men held the street corner outside without entering the Gate. The Crown Prince's Mansion could seal roads, but it could not insert itself into every filthy alley. Xue Qinghe knew exactly where to draw that line.

Bai Jin stepped out of the Paper Offerings Shop.

Rain still fell. The paper offerings had soaked through and stuck to the flagstones like pale fish scales.

Tang San came to stand beside him. "If those Soul Bone fragments are real," he said quietly, "they'll draw a lot of Soul Masters."

"Which is why they're probably fake." Bai Jin smiled. "Who would use the real thing as bait?"

Xiao Wu asked, "So we're going to Setting Sun Wharf tomorrow night?"

"Of course."

Bai Jin looked toward the end of the rain-dark alley, where the lights were sparse and the darkness gaped like a mouth that had never closed.

"They've already moored the boat for us," he said unhurriedly. "It'd be rude not to take a ride."