The journey back was a waking nightmare painted in shades of grey. We rode without rest except for short stops to change steeds. My body, pushed far beyond the limits of its recovery, had begun to betray me. Each hoofbeat was a hammer blow that resonated through my bones and sent a fresh, sickening wave of pain. The heavy lamellar armor had become a cage of iron and leather, its weight a constant, crushing burden, its straps chafing my skin raw.

  By the second day, exhaustion had eaten away the edges of my sanity. The world dissolved into a smear of passing fields and the rhythmic pounding of hooves. I didn't know if I slept or if I was awake at times. In the deep, starless hours before dawn, as I slumped in the saddle, held upright only by the silk ropes,.

  I could feel her embrace, and smell the scent of her hair. I almost felt her hand on my head and heard her say “There, there, it will be alright”.

  A single, hot tear traced a path through the grime on my cheek, then another. They fell silently, lost to the wind. In the saddle, I wept for the first time in this world, quietly into the darkness.

  But it was not the only vision that my mind brought to the forefront. I thought about Xiao Kai in her cell and Xiao Qi's intelligent eyes. I thought of Layla's dance and tea, of what I felt I owed Wei Jin. They couldn't know how much I was holding back, afraid of the ripples into a distant figure.

  “Brother RuLin”

  The voice was a low gravel, pulling me from the depths of my delirium. Lu Chengfeng was riding alongside me, his face unreadable in the pre-dawn light.

  “Are you well?” he asked. There was no mockery in his voice, only the quiet, genuine concern of a commander for his man.

  I straightened in the saddle, the ropes creaking. “I'm not sure, Commander,” I admitted. “I've been on the road a long time.”

  He nodded slowly, his gaze returning forward to the path that continued to rush towards us. "It's a long road," he said after a moment, "if you never quite forget those who are left behind." He showed me a small doll he kept in his chest pocket. "I too miss my wife. We'd grown up together and I lost her to famine years ago." He replaced the doll next to his heart. I remembered they didn't have pendants nor photographs yet. "But we ride onwards for a future they would have been happy to live in. It's what they would have wanted." Then he drew a clean cloth, tied a knot, and handed it to me. I used it, and a little water, to wipe my face clean.

  As the sun began to cast its first pale rays over the horizon, a silhouette appeared against the growing light, a lone armored rider galloping towards us from the direction of Chang'an. He rode with a desperate urgency, his horse's hooves churning dust.

  “Hold!” Lu barked, his hand going to the hilt of his dāo.

  The rider reined in his mount with a spray of gravel, his horse rearing and snorting just paces from our vanguard. His face was flushed, his armor covered in dust. It was Commander Sun Li.

  “Zhang!” he called out, his voice strained. “Thank the heavens I found you!”

  “Commander?” I urged my horse forward. “What's happened?”

  He looked at the armed and armored Wolves surrounding me, then back at my face. “It's Vice Minister Feng. He was arrested at his home an hour before dawn. The charges are treason. Yōng bīng zì zhòng.” Maintaining a private army. “His assets are being seized as we speak.”

  The world tilted. My ears rang. I fought to keep my voice steady. “Are you here to arrest me, Commander?”

  To my astonishment, a dark, embarrassed blush crept up Sun Li's weathered cheeks. He had the decency to look away. “No,” he said ruefully. “Your report on the ‘surplus crossbow bolt inventory' was filed by my clerk an hour ago. According to the Imperial Guard's official records, you have been diligently performing your duties within the capital for weeks, ever since you were assigned to us. There are those who know you to have been Feng's man in the past, but the investigation has not gotten so far.” He met my eyes, a grim understanding passing between us. "But this won't hold forever. When they begin a full investigation of Feng's household, your name will surface. But that could take weeks." He paused, then added, "The Crown Prince's birthday celebrations have been cancelled. The court is in chaos. No one is thinking about festivities."

  Weeks. I had weeks. But Layla…

  My mind snapped back into focus. The grief and exhaustion were burned away by a new, cold fire.

  “Trooper Meng,” I commanded, my voice sharp. Meng, barely able to sit on his horse, straightened with an effort of will. “You will return to the Armoury with Commander Sun. Maintain my alibi.”

  “Lu,” I said, turning to the Wolves' commander and giving him a martial salute “Your presence in the city now would confirm the charges against our master and put a noose around your own necks. Take your men. There is a temple ten li west of here, by the old Wei river crossing. Wait for me there. Tell the nuns there I was the one to send you there.”

  Lu Chengfeng took in the situation with a single, sweeping glance. He saw the logic instantly. “Understood,” he said with a sharp nod. “We will wait.”

  I bowed deeply to Commander Sun “Commander, I owe you a great deal”. We galloped into the city together, Meng and Sun breaking off towards the armory.

  I was alone. I wheeled my horse around and dug my heels into its sides. Adrenaline, cold and sharp, cut through the fog of exhaustion. I galloped toward the rising sun, toward the familiar, lantern-lit streets of Pingkang Li.

  The Jade Grotto was eerily quiet. The usual morning bustle of servants scrubbing floors and airing out rooms was absent. The main gate, made of lacquered wood, was closed and locked by a wooden latch. I leapt off my tired steed and slammed a gauntleted fist into the gate, my desperation driving my qi to my fist and shattering the latch in one blow.

  The host, the man whose face was usually frozen in professional servility, met me in the corridor. He was pale and trembling, his fine silk robes disheveled. He tried to block my path, his hands held up in a placating gesture.

  “Scholar Zhang, you cannot be here! ” he stammered. “There is a private matter…”

  I threw him aside without a word, my armor clattering as I sprinted as fast as my armor would allow. I could already hear it.

  From the direction of Layla's private courtyard came the sickening, wet thuds of wood striking flesh and Layla's screams. And with the next thud, the sharp crack of breaking bone.

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