Puffy topples backwards, landing with a hard thunk against the ground. She paws the air, her way of saying she wants a belly rub. I oblige, and coo at her. Cutie stretches out next to us, her tail wagging languidly as I take turns rubbing their bellies. I tell them about Mr Lee and that I’ll be bringing him over to meet them. The pixiu are calm; they are open to being introduced. Though they can’t speak, they are very clear when they don’t like something or someone.
There’s an odd noise, and both of them are on their feet, ears twitching, wings tensed as they sniff the air for threats. Cutie launches herself forward into the pavilion that leads to the external entrance, while Puffy lopes to the left through a doorway in the western pavilion.
I follow Puffy into the first of the interconnected rooms. The cool air hits me with a gentle slap, bringing with it the scent of camphor and dust. There are no lights, but I know the layout well from long afternoons spent playing with the pixiu. Cabinets and drawers line the walls of each room, leaving the middle empty so the pixiu have space to move. We proceed silently through each pavilion until Puffy pauses in the fifth room of the southern pavilion. I move around her. She’s sniffing an open drawer. Someone was here.
Puffy’s ears twitch and she moves away, stalking into the next room; nothing was stolen, otherwise she would be alerting the guards with an extended, high-pitched screech. I inspect the open drawer – there’s nothing in it but a small card stating the Longnu dragon pearl was removed five years ago. I stare at the card and the sound I make is halfway to a brittle laugh. That old sour anger twists in my gut. I slam the drawer shut.
Is this why Big Wang wasn’t bothered by Lady Soo’s threat? The pearl was safe somewhere else? Is this why he told me to leave things alone? For the first time I understand Mr Lee’s frustration with my half-truths. If Big Wang had told me he’d moved the dragon pearl, he would have saved me from wasting my time with the damned mortal.
A roar followed by a high-pitched whine shatters the muffled silence. I run towards the sound. Puffy is on the ground, whining and holding her paw close to her body. A wooden stake as thick as my leg juts out from the soft pad of her paw. I catch a whiff of honeyed fish and a flash of yellow silk disappearing around the corner of the hall, heading towards the main entrance. Soo.
I can’t leave Puffy like this. Putting my faith in Cutie, I deal with Puffy’s paw, pulling the stake out as smoothly and quickly as I can. The thing is as long as my arm. Luckily, pixiu heal quickly, so I leave Puffy and give chase.
Another roar, this time from the entrance. Cutie. I run faster. She screeches, sounding the alarm. But then she stops. There’s a whoosh then the distinct sound of crackling flames. I round the corner to the main entrance. The smell of chilli peppers hits me hard. Cutie paws at her eyes, bucking and whining and knocking over tables as she rears back and forth. In her pain and panic she’s spewing flames.
I grab one of the emergency buckets of water lining the main foyer. ‘Cutie, calm!’ I shout. ‘Calm!’ She slows, body still twitching violently but she’s no longer thrashing. I keep talking, reassuring her, telling her what I’m doing as I run up her back and pour water into her eyes to rinse out the chilli spray.
‘Down, Cutie, I’m gonna get another bucket!’ I say.
Her eyes are red and swollen. Three more buckets into her eyes before she stops shaking. The crackling grows in intensity, flames licking the walls and filling the hallway. I realise with a start we have to get out. I whistle long and loud, calling Puffy. There’s no response.
I lead Cutie towards the doors, slide open the wooden bolts, and lurch out to safety. Again, I whistle, listening hard for Puffy’s call. Seconds pass.
My fingers twist in Cutie’s fur, waiting. She can’t have been caught... But then, over the flames and the popping wood, I hear it. A rumbling caw. A heartbeat later, Puffy lands outside the entrance.
I’m about to call the perimeter guards to tell them about the fire when a whole contingent of Big Wang’s guards round the corner by Madame Meng’s teahouse.
I wave them down. ‘The Treasury is on fire! Puffy hurt her paw!’ I shout at the guards. They hurry towards me and shuffle into formation, separating into two groups of around twenty guards. The first group runs towards the well in the garden and forms a chain, passing buckets of water to douse the fire. The second group, however, fans out into a large circle around me and the pixiu. They draw their swords and my relief turns sour.
‘What’s going on?’ I ask, backing into Cutie and Puffy.
One of the guards surrounding me steps forward. Cutie and Puffy growl in warning, but the guard is calm, keeps his distance. My nose twitches and my eyes water from the smoke.
‘I am Captain Zhao Xiuping,’ he says bowing. ‘Lady Jing, we need you to come with us back to the Cathay Hotel.’
‘Wait, why?’ I hate the whine that creeps into my words. Does Big Wang have something else he needs to scold me about? ‘I came to visit the pixiu and saw Lady Soo in the Treasury. She stabbed Puffy then threw chilli powder at Cutie to make her start a fire.’
Captain Zhao sweeps his sharp, black eyes down my body. I follow his gaze. My suit is covered in streaks of soot, charred in places.
‘Lady Jing, you went too far this time. We all know you love your pranks, but Big Wang will be upset at the damage. Don’t make a scene.’ Captain Zhao’s words are quiet, but firm.
There’s too much history between the guards and me. I almost laugh but the humiliation burns too hot and the heat of it licks up my face. Soo’s outmanoeuvred me, again. I snarl, and the pixiu echo my reactions. Their snarl however makes the ground tremble. The guards raise their swords, an act of aggression which only riles the pixiu even more.
‘For the love of Tian don’t provoke the pixiu! They are here to protect the Treasury. It’s Soo you should interrogate.’ I blink, trying to get rid of the growing burn in my eyes.
‘Don’t be fooled by her pretty words,’ another guard urges. ‘She’s using her control over the pixiu to go against you,’ he says to Zhao.
‘Where’s Old Hu?’ I say desperately. ‘He’s their handler, he’ll tell you they are loyal to the guard and to the Treasury.’
The guards don’t look convinced. A dozen blue flaming swords point at my furry charges. The guards could inflict real damage on the pixiu, damage they wouldn’t recover from.
‘Down,’ I say to Cutie and Puffy. ‘You must listen to the guards.’
Puffy whines and nudges me with her nose.
‘It’s okay,’ I reassure her. ‘Obey the guards. I’ll be fine.’
Cutie seems confused. She paws at her eyes. I keep a hand on her neck, letting her know she’s safe. I take stock of the guards – many of them are Bullhead’s underlings. Not his elite troops, but his third-rate guards.
