“It’s dangerous for a woman to be out alone this late at night.” The words made me tense, but as I caught sight of the speaker, a young woman, I relaxed.
“I could say the same to you,” I told her, as she approached me in the half-lit hutong near the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
“I knew I’d run into you tonight,” she said. “You took your time, though. I was getting quite cold waiting for you, Hai Meilin.”
I froze at the sound of my name. Then I noticed her eyes—pale and near translucent, like twin stars.
She smiled. “I’m a Ruan seer,” she said. Now I understood why her eyes looked so familiar; they reminded me of Lei’s, and he was half-Ruan.
“I’ve seen you before,” I said, remembering. “At the anniversary parade.”
Even then, she had been watching me.
“You saved my grandfather’s life, in a street just like this one. Since then, I’ve been looking out for you.”
“Your grandfather…?”
“In Wenxi District,” she said. “You stopped an unhitched wagon from running him over.”
My eyes widened at the memory. That had been the first time I’d met Sky, who’d foolishly tried to run in front of the wagon as if he were a brick wall.
“All this time, you’ve been steadily draining your life force. With the remaining qi you possess, you only have six months of freedom left before the Azure Dragon subsumes you completely. Once your qi is consumed, you will become little more than a puppet under his control.”
Six months of freedom left.
“W-what?” I asked, dumbfounded. “N-no. Thank you, but—I’m recovering. My appetite’s returned, and so has my stamina—”
“Meilin,” she said gently. “Feel your own qi. You know the truth.”
My chest hollowed at the abyss of grief that threatened to swallow me whole. “Will you tell her or will I?” Lei had shouted at Sky. This must be what Sky had learned from the lixia specialist. This was why he’d refused to let me leave Chuang Ning, why he’d even agreed to remain in the city until the Arrival of Spring, why he’d cried in my arms that night—as if he were going to lose me.
Everyone knew I was going to die. Everyone except me.
My mouth dry, I realized that Qinglong had won. This, aboveeverything else, was what stung the most. I began to laugh then, laughing at the depths of my own spite, which remained even at my darkest hour.
Above us, fireworks exploded in the night sky, followed by raucous laughter and cheering. The Arrival of Spring was over. Winter had passed, and spring was upon us. The new year would bring life to others, but death to me.
And yet, thinking of the passage of winter, someone else had yearned for this day—and not lived to see it. Someone else had waited and prayed for the coming of spring, which would bring their last hope…
“My mother,” I said hoarsely. “She had been searching for a mythical spring.”
The Ruan seer nodded, taking my cold hands in her warm ones. I flinched at her forwardness but did not push her away. “Have you heard of the myth of Zhuque’s eternal spring? Legend says the spring waters can heal lixia corruption by severing the connection between spirit and vessel. If you journey to the Red Mountains, Meilin, you will find it. Its healing waters can save you, but only if you choose to go in.”
“Why would I choose not to?” I asked, crinkling my brows.
Her lips curled in an ambiguous smile. “It is a difficult choice, one only the strongest can make. For in order to be cleansed, you must give up that which is most precious to you. I do not know what your decision will be; I cannot See it.”
That which is most precious to you.And yet what could be more precious than freedom? I shook my head at her seer logic. What mattered was that I would find this spring if I sought it out, and I only had six months left to do so. The Red Mountains ran across the kingdom’s border, from southern Anlai deep into Leyuan. It would take over a month to get to First Crossing on horseback, and thenmonths longer to journey through the mountain range on foot, for the narrow roads were too treacherous for horses.
“Stars go with you, Hai Meilin,” she said. “For we will never meet again in this life.”
The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I gave her a questioning look, but she simply released my hands and turned away.
“Wait!” I called out. I had so many questions, I didn’t know where to begin. Yet the one that slipped from my lips was not what I expected. “Does Cao Ming Lei also have second sight?”
She smiled with amusement. “No,” she said. “But the prince has other gifts.”
I nodded, mulling this over. “I won’t forget your kindness,” I said. “What is your name?”
