He halted near the alley’s opposite opening and turned.
“What do you want, girl?” he growled, hands tucked formally into his sleeves. He looked like a scholar or a sage, shoulders perfectly straight and beard reaching to his stomach. He was the first person I’d seen in Xiatang who didn’t appear ready to faint.
My footsteps slowed. I didn’t dare draw too close, afraid of frightening him off. “Who are you?”
He scoffed. “Don’t waste my time by asking questions you already know the answer to.”
“Master Zhang, then?” I said. “My name is Kang Siying. I’m—”
“I know who you are,” he cut me off. His irritation lapped at my ankles, even from this distance. “I’ve been watching you since the moment you and that boy stepped into Xiatang’s boundaries. Of course, you wouldn’t know that. You seem entirely oblivious to the fact that there are eyes everywhere.”
I creased my brows. “What do you mean?”
He gestured vaguely at the air.
I swallowed my annoyance, reminding myself that although he was dead, Master Zhang was still an elder deserving of respect. And despite his prickly behavior, he seemed different from the spirits I’d encountered before, someone who could be reasoned with.
“If you know who I am,” I said, returning to the issue at hand, “then you must also know what I’ve come to ask you.”
He sighed impatiently. “Yes, yes. You’ve come to exorcise me, is that right? Rather an unusual task for a ganshi priestess, but I’m sure you’re being paid well. Did the king send you?”
“No, of course not.” I squeezed my staff. “But you’re correct in that I’ve come to purify you. Of course, I’d prefer your consent…”
“No.”
I froze. “But—”
“You ask for my consent, and I’m telling you no.” He narrowed his eyes, a dark aura radiating from his being—heavy, gray, and terribly familiar. “You do understand the concept of no, don’t you, girl?”
I rolled my lips together, hard enough to hurt. Speaking slowly so not to lose control of my temper, I said, “I understand your reluctance. But my friend needs your qi, and you need to move on to the next world—for your sake and the town’s. I can give you peace, Master Zhang.”
“Who says I want to move on?” he countered, lifting a thick eyebrow.
I felt a wave of déjà vu. Liu Chunhua had argued similarly.
“Why wouldn’t you? Your life here is already over. If you stay, you accomplish nothing, and you won’t ever be able to reincarnate. I’m offering you a fair bargain.”
“Your idea of fair is very different from mine.” He began to turn away. “I’ve made up my mind, priestess. I suggest you leave town and find a more foolish spirit to pester.”
“I don’t have time to find another spirit!”
My outburst startled a mouse, and it darted into a nearby stack of crates. I bit my lip, embarrassed, but I was more worried about Ren. And Baba, of course, whose fate was tied with his. If I didn’t save Ren, I wouldn’t be able to save my father either.
Master Zhang glanced over his shoulder, expression flat. “I fail to see how that’s any of my concern.”
“Master Zhang, there’s something—”
Before I could voice my worries about the residents, he stepped out of the alley and rounded the corner. I sprinted after him, only to stumble into an open field of tall yellow grass. The town’s former leader had vanished.
I paced the edge of the field, searching. When it was clear the spirit wouldn’t rematerialize, I contemplated how I’d find him again. Because I had to find him. Ren’s qi was already dangerously low, notwithstanding his carefree behavior. If we didn’t obtain Master Zhang’s qi, I wasn’t certain I could gather enough elsewhere—and in time.
There was also the matter of the town’s bizarre languor, which I was now confident was related to Master Zhang’s energy. I just wasn’t sure how yet.
Skin tingling from frustration, I retraced my steps through the alley, back to the market road. As I strode into the sunlight, my troubled thoughts were interrupted by Ren calling my name.
“Siying, there you are!” He appeared beside me, his happy relief faltering into a frown. “What’s the matter? Miss Li said you’d gone to find me, so I worried you’d gotten lost. Did something happen?”
“I ran into Master Zhang’s spirit.” I didn’t mention my suspicions about the spirit’s strange aura, still uncertain what the relation was.
