It had landed on the ground amid my frenzy to tear apart the scaffold remains.
The young woman reverently brought the staff to me with both hands. I murmured my thanks and knelt on the ground, preparing to place the talisman on the cobblestones.
“Wait.”
Everyone’s attention fell to Ren, who’d reopened his eyes and was looking directly at Master Zhang. He motioned for me to help him up into a sitting position. I reluctantly obliged, afraid he’d faint and never wake again.
But he spoke to Master Zhang in a quiet, steady voice. “I apologize for all the pain my family has brought you. I didn’t come here to cause more hurt. This town is made up of good people who are rooted in kindness and loyalty. They deserve the same in return.” He swallowed. “And although I know it doesn’t make up for anything, thank you… for giving me the chance to amend my family’s sins. I swear that when I return to the capital, I will personally take care of reparations for Xiatang.”
I traced the lines of Ren’s profile, considering his earnestness. Despite his battered condition, he carried himself with an air of solemn resolve befitting his title.
Master Zhang similarly studied the broken prince before him, his countenance gravely serious. But perhaps he saw what I did. Perhaps he believed Ren’s conviction. After a long pause, he lifted his chin and grumbled, “Just make sure you follow through with your promises, boy. If you don’t, I’ll be reborn as a rat and chew through all your belongings.”
Ren coughed out a laugh. “Understood, sir.”
Satisfied, Master Zhang nodded at me. “If you please, mistress. I believe I’m ready to retire from this life.”
I glimpsed the townsfolk behind him, all watching their former protector with mournful eyes. I could only imaginethe love and pain they must be feeling. But whatever Master Zhang’s mistakes, he’d dedicated his life to serving these people. It was fitting for them to be here now as he finally accepted the peace he’d earned.
Without further ado, I gently placed the purification talisman on the ground and rattled the iron bells on my staff. The reverberations amplified my incantation, a spell that for once could be spoken slowly, prayerfully.
Warmth filled the air. When I looked up, Master Zhang’s spirit had changed into a single mass of glowing white smoke, the purified form of his qi.
“Go ahead,” I whispered, touching Ren’s arm.
He reached out with both hands, head inclined in deference, and absorbed the qi into his body. The stiffness melted from his muscles, the blood coagulating against his temple. As the qi’s light faded, he breathed out a relieved sigh that matched my own.
“How do you feel?” I asked, glancing at the mala beads below his collar.
“Better.” He looked past my shoulder and bowed his head at the astonished townsfolk. Certainly, they’d never before seen a spirit purified or its qi transferred. “Thank you again for your kindness. I assure you I’ll compensate you for all the damages.”
Li Feilin stepped forward, smiling lopsidedly. “We’re just glad you’re all right. Thank you for saving my life.”
He returned her smile. “You saved mine as well.”
I examined the destroyed marketplace and said, “First, we must clean everything up. Then you and I need to return to the capital as quickly as possible, so you can fulfill your promises.”
Ren nodded, moving to push himself up. As I stretched my arms out to aid him, my hand brushed against the ox-bonenecklace. Curious, I held the beads in my palm and counted how many were warm. Twenty-seven. My heart plummeted to my stomach. I’d hoped that Master Zhang’s qi would be powerful enough to fill Ren’s body, so he could finally live without the aid of talismans. But it had warmed only half the beads.
“What’s wrong?” Ren asked, catching my expression. “Siying?”
I looked at him, stumbling through my response.
“I… I don’t know what to do.”
The truth of my words sat heavy on my chest. We were out of time.
CHAPTER 19
“Siying, what do you—”
“We should help the villagers clean up,” I interrupted Ren, unable to look him in the eye. How would I explain to him that Master Zhang’s qi hadn’t been enough to restore his life force, as we’d hoped? How could I tell him that I was out of ideas for where to find another spirit to purify? I was supposed to handle everything, so he and my father could both be saved. And yet I was more behind than ever.
But Ren seemed to read my mind anyway, because he placed his hand on my shoulder and said, “You’re right. We should stay to help clean this mess.”
Several villagers had already begun spreading out in groups to assess and tackle the damage.
I nodded and walked away to throw myself into the mindless, monotonous work of cleaning up Xiatang’s marketplace to avoid the suffocating feeling of failure. I gathered broken wood and swept aside shattered pottery. I even helped a farmer locate his missing goats, wandering the nearby fields to findthem. Eventually, however, there was little left we could do and even less remaining time to waste.
