The west wind took the shape of a dragon, sweeping ripples through the night sky and gently carrying away the hazy silk veil suspended among the stars. The blue-violet river of stars glittered with an unusual jeweled radiance, like a heap of gemstones freshly dug from the earth. Its luster outshone the black curtain of night, making even the silver moon, pure as a jade plate, seem a little dimmer.
It was approaching two in the morning. In Green City, dozens of miles away, all the lights had gone out, leaving its elegant yet unpretentious streets peaceful and still. Heavy snores occasionally drifted from the alleys, often following one another with the same coordination as the thumping, creaking, moaning, and cries of men and women exercising in bed a few hours earlier.
Inside the unknown cave dwelling on a valley cliff, the chirping of insects gradually grew louder, echoing between the rock walls to form an ethereal, dreamlike lullaby for a select audience. It was a select audience because the music was not cheerful, but mostly eerie. Grown men and women might have been fine listening to it, but to children or the fainthearted, it would have sounded no different from the mournful cries of ghosts.
Zhao Jingya and Zeng Mu sat on one side, and Yao Chun sat on another. All three looked at the man seated diagonally across from them with the eyes of jailers scrutinizing a prisoner.
The atmosphere was somewhat tense, but not awkward. All three gazes held doubt, though Zhao Jingya's held the least.
"All right, are you ready to explain now? Remember, don't try to lie. I'll remember every word you say in detail. Don't try to make anything up, either. I'll check every sentence against my notes. Understood?" Yao Chun lightly tapped the