Peril

Wind rose in the night, rustling the paper covering the windows.

Chu Moqi lay facedown on the bed, motionless.

The bedsores on his back hurt and itched, but he could not be bothered with them. Let them hurt. Let them itch. This body was already rotten through anyway. What difference would a few more rotten spots make?

Hurried footsteps came from outside, drawing closer, thud, thud, thud, as though someone had run all the way there.

"Young master!"

Yan Qin's voice came from outside the door, breathless.

"Someone from the Cui Family is here! He wants to see you!"

Chu Moqi's back abruptly stiffened.

The Cui Family? Wanwan?

Almost instinctively, he braced himself on his arms and tried to rise. But the moment he moved, piercing pain shot through the bedsores on his lower back, making him suck in a cold breath and collapse onto the bed again.

"Quick..." His voice was hoarse. "Help me up at once! Make me presentable!"

Yan Qin pushed the door open and came inside. At the sight of his young master lying in such a wretched state on the bed, he froze.

"Young master, your condition... you shouldn't be sitting up right now..."

"Enough nonsense!"

Chu Moqi raised his head. His bloodshot eyes were frightening.

Yan Qin dared not say more. He hurried forward and carefully helped Chu Moqi off the bed and into his wheelchair, then grabbed a clean outer robe and draped it over him in a flurry. Cold sweat beaded on Chu Moqi's temples from the pain, but he gritted his teeth without a sound.

He could not let anyone from Wanwan's family see him looking like this heap of mud.

Not even a servant from the Cui Family.

Yan Qin went out to relay the message. A moment later, a household servant in coarse short robes followed him inside and stopped by the door, sweeping a quick glance over Chu Moqi before lowering his eyes.

The servant bowed his head, his voice respectful. "May I ask, Second Young Master Chu, has our young lady... returned to the marquis's residence on her own?"

Chu Moqi's pupils contracted slightly.

"No." His voice sank. "What happened?"

The servant raised his head. His expression seemed relieved, yet also as though he were hiding something.

"Then there must have been a misunderstanding." He cupped his hands and turned to leave. "I'll take my leave."

"Yan Qin! Detain him!"

Chu Moqi's voice was not loud. Yan Qin stepped forward, blocking the servant's path. The servant's expression changed, and he tried to dodge aside, but Yan Qin had already seized his arm and pinned him in place.

"Second Young Master Chu... what... what is the meaning of this..."

Chu Moqi turned his wheelchair and slowly moved forward, stopping before the servant.

He looked up into that evasive face and enunciated each word. "Tell me clearly. What happened to Wanwan?"

Cold sweat broke out on the servant's forehead. He swallowed and finally spoke:

"I-I... came on the second master's orders... the young lady... talked back to the second master, and he locked her in the woodshed to reflect on her behavior. But at noon today, the young lady somehow got hold of a knockout drug and drugged the two servants guarding her and the auntie who brought her food, then ran away... our people chased her as far as East Street, but lost all trace of her there. The second master thought... thought the young lady had returned to the marquis's residence, so he sent me to check..."

Chu Moqi's fingers abruptly tightened around the armrests.

Wanwan had run away from the Cui Family?

Wanwan had been locked in the woodshed.

Locked in the woodshed by her own father.

Chu Moqi's chest heaved violently. It felt as though a ball of fire had lodged in his throat.

He had sent Wanwan back.

And what had happened?

Cui Minghai had locked her in the woodshed? Shut her up like a prisoner?

His Wanwan was so timid, so gentle in temperament that a single harsh word made her shrink back. How frightened must she have been, locked in that woodshed? How much must she have cried?

She had run away from the Cui Family.

But she still had not come back.

East Street.

They had lost all trace of her at East Street.

Chu Moqi's grip tightened until veins bulged on the backs of his hands.

"Yan Huai! Have someone watch this man. Don't let him escape, and don't let him die."

Yan Huai answered and stepped forward, taking away the ashen-faced servant.

Chu Moqi turned his wheelchair and looked at Yan Qin.

"You, Yan Huai, and Changfeng. Bring twelve men from the Shadow Guard Camp and come with me to search East Street."

Yan Qin froze. "Young master, your condition..."

"Wanwan is out there alone in the middle of the night. Do you know what could happen to her?" Chu Moqi's voice was not loud, but its weight made it difficult to breathe, with panic faintly showing through. "She ran away. She has no money, no acquaintances, and no idea where to go. What if she encounters someone evil? What if..."

He could not go on.

He dared not think any further.

"Find her," he said. "Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must bring her back."

Yan Qin opened his mouth, wanting to say something, then swallowed it and turned to pass on the orders.

Chu Moqi sat there alone, his eyes lowered, staring at his two unfeeling legs.

Wanwan, wait for me. I'm coming to find you.

This time... this time, I won't let go again.

East Street.

It was called a street, but it had long since grown beyond a single street. The entire outermost district on the eastern side of the capital was called East Street. With the imperial palace as the central axis, this eastern fringe was a place where fish and dragons mingled, with people from every creed and walk of life.

Chu Moqi knew this place.

He had come here a few times with his father and elder brothers. Back then, sitting high on horseback and looking down at the hoodlums huddled in the corners, he had thought them both pitiful and pathetic.

Now he sat in a wheelchair himself, inching forward through these potholed streets and alleys.

A wheel rolled over loose stones, tilting the chair and wrenching his lower back so hard that his vision went black with pain. The bedsores had probably broken open.

He could not spare them any attention.

He could not even bear to spare the time to stop and catch his breath.

Wanwan would be frightened in a place like this.

She had grown up in the Cui Family. Though her life had been difficult, she was still a girl from a respectable household. The worst people she had encountered were those spiteful relatives. She did not know what lurked in a place like this. She did not know what thoughts turned in the eyes of those figures crouching in the shadows.

She did not know. She would only be afraid.

Chu Moqi forcefully turned the wheel rims, once, then again. His palms burned from the friction, but he ignored them. His arms ached until he could barely lift them, but he ignored that too. Pain surged up from his lower back in waves. He gritted his teeth and kept pushing forward.

He had to find her.

He must find her.

As he rounded a bend, several figures suddenly appeared at the mouth of the alley.

The man in front wore a somewhat worn blue robe. His face was lean, his back ramrod straight.

Chu Moqi's wheelchair stopped abruptly.

His gaze fell on that face, those eyes. That look, that bearing, that face identical to the father Cui Wan thought of day and night-

His eyes suddenly turned cold, as cold as a poison-tempered blade.

Cui Minghai saw him too.

He smiled, walked forward unhurriedly, and cupped his hands.

"Oh, Second Young Master." His voice carried a hint of what sounded like regret, as though he were truly surprised to encounter him here. "My daughter is unruly. She ran away from the Cui Family, yet instead of going to the marquis's residence, she came to this place where fish and dragons mingle. How could we trouble you to come looking for her yourself?"

Chu Moqi clenched his fists.

Unruly?

His Wanwan was obedient and timid. She had been locked in a woodshed, hungry and crying, and had run away-and in this man's mouth, that became unruly?

He wanted nothing more than to stand up from his wheelchair and smash his fist into that hypocritical face.

But he could not.

He knew this was no time for an argument.

Wanwan was still in this godforsaken place. She might be hiding in some corner, might be crying, might already have caught someone's eye. Every moment he delayed was another moment of danger for her.

Chu Moqi drew a deep breath and forcibly swallowed the fury surging into his throat.

He raised his eyes and stared straight at Cui Minghai, his gaze gouging into him like two knives.

"If anything happens to Wanwan-" He spoke each word distinctly. "You will not escape blame."

With that, he stopped looking at him, turned his wheelchair, and continued pushing forward.

The wheels rolled over the uneven paving stones, jolt after jolt. His lower back hurt as though it were about to snap, but he dared not stop.

Wanwan, wait for me.

I'm coming to find you. Don't be afraid...

In an unremarkable, dilapidated house on East Street, dim yellow lamplight seeped through the crack in the door, along with men's vulgar laughter.

"Boss, we had bad luck today. Only caught this one."

A shrill voice came from inside, carrying a hint of eagerness to claim credit.

"But she's a real beauty. Look at her, so fresh and lovely, and young too. She's definitely an untouched little virgin."

Another voice rang out, rough and hoarse, with satisfaction. "Good! I'll enjoy her first. Once I'm done playing, you can have her."

Cui Wan lay bound in a pile of straw, a dirty rag stuffed in her mouth, her face streaked with tears. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes had been tugged into disarray. Several hoodlums surrounded her. The one at their head, his face covered in brutish flesh, was reaching toward her.

Cui Wan desperately tried to shrink back, but her hands and feet were tied so tightly that she could not move.

She was crying.

But with the cloth stuffed in her mouth, she could not cry aloud. Only thin, broken whimpers escaped her throat.

The boss untied the ropes around Cui Wan. The instant they loosened, she tried to run outside. But she had been hungry for days, and her legs were weak. She had only taken two steps when the boss grabbed her and hauled her back.

"What are you running for?" The boss grinned savagely and reached to tear at her clothes. "Be good, and you'll suffer less."

Cui Wan kicked him desperately, kicking with all her strength. She was afraid, so terribly afraid. She had never known there were people this frightening in the world.

After taking two kicks, the flesh on the boss's face quivered. He raised his hand and slapped her-

Smack!

The blow knocked Cui Wan's face to one side, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

"Little bitch, won't behave, huh? Huh?" He ripped open Cui Wan's collar, removed the cloth, and bent over her, pressing his face to hers, forcefully kissing and gnawing at her. Cui Wan desperately tried to dodge, but she could not escape. She could only cry, silently, tears streaming over her face.

Her outer robe was torn off.

Her middle garment was ripped open.

A hand reached toward her last thin undergarment...

"Boss-"

A startled cry came from behind him. Before it faded, a splash of warm liquid struck the boss's face.

Sticky, with a sweet, bloody tang.

He froze for a moment, then wiped his face. His hand came away bright red.

Blood!

Behind him, his brothers had already fallen in a heap.

Yan Huai stood before him, casually flicking the blood from his sword, his tone tinged with disdain. "Too easy to kill. No fun..."

A wheelchair slowly rolled inside.

The chill in those eyes made the boss shudder.

But he still had hold of Cui Wan. He yanked her in front of him, clamped one hand around her neck, and produced a dagger from somewhere with the other, pressing it against the side of her throat.

"D-don't come any closer!" The boss's voice trembled, his fierce front masking his fear. "If you dare touch me, I'll kill her! I mean it!"

Cui Wan could not breathe in his stranglehold. Her face flushed red, and tears tumbled down.

She saw the person in the wheelchair.

Was... was that A-Qi?

Was she about to die, and that was why she could see A-Qi?

Chu Moqi's gaze landed on Cui Wan at once. In that instant, all the blood in his body ran cold.

Her outer robe was gone, her middle garment torn open, exposing the thin undergarment beneath, which was on the verge of being ripped apart. A red handprint marked her face. The corner of her mouth was split and seeping blood. Her disheveled hair was flecked with straw, her face covered in tear tracks.

His Wanwan... these beasts had reduced her to this!

Chu Moqi's eyes slowly shifted toward the boss, who still had his hand around Cui Wan's neck.

The boss was still shouting things like "Don't come closer" and "I'll kill her," putting on a fierce front to hide his fear, but Chu Moqi did not hear a word.

All he saw was the hand clamped around Wanwan's neck.

That filthy hand!

Almost instinctively, he reached out and caught the hidden weapon that sprang from his wheelchair. Without even looking, he raised his hand and threw it-

Whoosh.

The faintest sound.

A silver gleam as fine as a strand of hair flashed through the dim, dilapidated room and vanished.

Before the boss could finish speaking, a tiny bloody hole appeared in his throat. His eyes widened, and the dagger in his hand clattered to the floor. He released Cui Wan and clutched his neck with both hands, but he could not staunch the blood. It gushed between his fingers.

He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but only airy, rasping sounds came out.

Chu Moqi did not look at him.

Almost immediately, he turned his wheelchair and moved toward Cui Wan. His lower back hurt as though it would snap, but he ignored it. He had eyes only for that small figure curled in the straw, trembling all over.

"These men-" Chu Moqi's voice was icy, yet carried an almost imperceptible tremor. "Drag them away. Cut them into a thousand, ten thousand pieces. Give them to the brothers to practice on. Especially him! Castrate him first, while he's still alive! Then chop off his hands and feet! Don't let him have it easy!"

Yan Huai rubbed his hands together, bowed, and acknowledged the order. With a wave of his hand, figures from the Shadow Guard Camp glided forward like ghosts and dragged out the bodies on the floor, along with the still-twitching boss.

The dilapidated house fell quiet at once.

Only Cui Wan's thin, broken sobs remained.

Chu Moqi's hand was shaking. He reached out that trembling hand, wanting to touch her, but did not dare. He simply held it suspended there and looked at her, his eyes frighteningly red.

"Everyone, turn around!"

Everyone left in the room turned away in unison.

Chu Moqi tore off his cloak, shook it open, and wrapped it around Cui Wan. His hands were trembling so badly he could barely fasten the ties. The cloak was large, enveloping her shoulders, her body, and her torn clothes.

"Wanwan," Chu Moqi called.

Cui Wan did not answer. She only huddled there inside the cloak, trembling all over. Her eyes were on him, but there was no light in them, only fear, so full it was almost spilling over.

She shrank back a little. "Don't touch me..."

Her voice was very quiet, but the fear in it drove straight into Chu Moqi's heart like a knife.

"Wanwan." Chu Moqi's voice grew softer still, as though he feared startling something. "It's me, A-Qi."

Cui Wan still did not answer. She only kept shrinking back, back, until she reached the corner and could retreat no farther.

Chu Moqi's hand froze in midair.

His Wanwan had been frightened this badly? She was even afraid of him?

"Wanwan." Chu Moqi's voice was hoarse beyond recognition, his eyes so red they seemed about to drip blood. "It's me, A-Qi. Don't be afraid anymore, all right?"

Cui Wan looked at him, her eyes still fearful, still bewildered, and shrank back a little more. "Don't..."

Chu Moqi's tears finally fell.

He could not spare a thought to wiping them away. He only looked at her, at the way she huddled in the corner, trembling all over, his heart aching as though someone were gouging it with a knife.

"Wanwan." Chu Moqi's voice was very, very soft, thick with tears. "It's me, A-Qi. I'm here, I'm here... Don't be afraid anymore. Let's go home, all right?"

Cui Wan's eyelashes fluttered.

Go... home?

Her lips moved, letting out a very, very faint, tentative sound:

"A... Qi?"

"Yes," Chu Moqi answered, tears welling up again, his voice shaking badly. "I'm here."

Cui Wan's tears burst their banks.

She flung herself into his arms, clutching his lapels tightly with both hands, buried her face against his chest, and burst into loud sobs.

She cried loudly, as though she would cry out all her fear and all her hurt. Her whole body shook, from where she lay in his arms all the way down to her toes.

"I was so scared... A-Qi... I was so scared..." Cui Wan suddenly raised her head again and glanced at the bloodstains on the floor that had not yet been fully cleaned away. A shudder ran through her, and she buried her face hard in Chu Moqi's embrace.

Chu Moqi held her tightly with one arm and raised his other hand to cover her eyes.

Her eyelashes fluttered softly against his palm, wet with tears.

"Don't be afraid anymore." Chu Moqi's voice trembled; he did not know whether he was soothing her or himself. "I'm here..."

He rested his chin on the crown of her head and closed his eyes.

He was trembling too.

So close.

It had been so close.

He had almost lost her.

He dared not think about it. He dared not imagine what would have happened if he had arrived a moment later, if he had not found this dilapidated house-

He dared not think any further...

"I'm sorry." Chu Moqi buried his face in her hair, his voice muffled, carrying a trace of tears he himself had not noticed. "I came too late. I'm sorry."

Cui Wan said nothing.

She only lay in his arms, her body limp and utterly still.

Chu Moqi froze for a moment, then looked down at her. Cui Wan's eyes were closed, tear tracks still on her face, her breathing light and soft.

She had fainted.

Chu Moqi drew her closer into his arms and wrapped his cloak more tightly around her.

"Hurry!" He raised his head, his eyes frighteningly red. "Back to the manor! Fetch a doctor!"

Yan Qin stepped forward at his call and pushed the wheelchair toward the door.

The wheels had barely passed through the doorway of the dilapidated house when a figure hurried up to meet them.

Cui Minghai.

He stood a few paces away, looking at Cui Wan, who was held tightly in Chu Moqi's arms, with a measure of surprise and concern on his face.

"Heavens!" His voice carried alarm. "Wanwan, has she... has she already been..."

He did not finish.

But that unfinished sentence was more sickening than if he had said it in full.

Chu Moqi's pupils abruptly contracted.

His gaze fell on Cui Minghai's face, vicious and sharp, as though he would flay that hypocritical face of his alive.

"Cui Minghai!" Chu Moqi practically roared.

Cui Minghai's expression shifted slightly, but he quickly plastered on another smile and moved two steps closer.

"Second Young Master, please calm down, calm down! Wanwan is my daughter. Something like this happening pains me terribly too! But in my opinion, I should take Wanwan back to care for her. After all..."

Chu Moqi practically forced two words through his clenched teeth:

"Get lost!"

"I will get to the bottom of what happened today. Say one more word-and I'll let you taste my hidden weapons too."

Cui Minghai wanted to say more, but Chu Moqi had already signaled two shadow guards with a glance.

The two shadow guards silently stepped forward, blocking Cui Minghai's path.

The smile on Cui Minghai's face stiffened for an instant, and a sinister gleam flashed through his eyes. But he said nothing, merely stepping back twice and watching helplessly as the wheelchair passed before him.

Chu Moqi did not look at him again.

He only held Cui Wan more tightly in his arms, so tightly it was as though he would press her into his very bones.

"Go." Chu Moqi's voice was low. "Hurry!"

Yan Qin pushed the wheelchair, striding quickly toward the mouth of the alley.

The night wind rushed in. Chu Moqi tucked Cui Wan's face against his chest, shielding her from all the wind.

His eyes were still red.

His heartbeat was still erratic.

Thank goodness...

Wanwan...

I didn't lose you...