The next day, before dawn had broken, Cobert was woken by pounding on his door.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he opened the door. The visitor was none other than Hardy, though this time he had come on foot rather than driving a carriage loaded with medicinal herbs.
"Bert, my friend, I've found a lead for you!"
Once inside, a cup of morning tea, a bite of tender fried egg, and a mouthful of chewy, fragrant aged-wheat bread, all enjoyed in the purple light of dawn outside the window, were enough to begin a brand-new day.
After breakfast, Zeng Mu and Cobert headed straight for a casino in the Temple Capital, because Hardy had told them that the most likely mastermind was a man named Bodesai.
The moment Cobert heard the name, he understood. Bodesai was in the same trade as him, a rival herbal medicine shop owner and one of the people he had offended. Two years earlier, his lower prices had angered Bodesai, who had stopped speaking to him afterward. Cobert had likewise stopped speaking to Bodesai, and the two had had no further dealings, either in business or in private.
"That damned bastard! Once I find him, I'll make him pay!"
Zeng Mu asked Cobert when he had last seen Bodesai and how the man's herbal medicine shop had been doing.
Cobert replied, "The last time I saw that fellow was about six months ago. For some reason, he stopped having time to look after his business, and his shop went steadily downhill. A little over a month later, he even sold it. But he kept it so quiet that hardly anyone knew. Naturally, I didn't know either. Hardy only just told me."
"It sounds like Bodesai ran into some trouble. But I still don't understand what that