Zhi Lan met his gaze with her piercing one. Her dark eyes glittered, deep and dangerous with mysterious intent. Shao Qing was suddenly drowning in them, unable to look away.
“I have decided,” she said.
“You have decided...what?”
“That I’m going to find your soul.”
Shao Qing blinked slowly, confused. Not this again. Why was she so adamant about finding his soul? “Worry about yourself. I don’t want your help.”
She scowled. “You may not want my help, but youneedmy help.” She hugged her elbows, as if bracing herself for her next words. “And I owe you a debt. You inadvertently saved me, a few days ago. Magistrate Bu was making...unseemly advances and I prayed for a distraction. Thenyoucame. It must have been divine intervention.”
“It was not my intention to help you. You’re only—”
“Don’t bother telling me how stupid or foolish I am! I won’t believe a single terrible thing you say to me. And I don’t believe that you are terrible yourself. You didn’t have to accompany me to Yun City, but you did.”
He felt compelled to deny this. “You threatened me by calling the guards.”
“You could have easily escaped during the night or any time during our journey,” she countered, lifting her chin stubbornly. “And you gave those urchins my money. That’s right. I noticed. There’s something worth saving in that miserable body of yours. So, listen well. If I make it out of that manor alive, the first thing I’m doing is hunting down your unfeeling soul. You can stop your thieving and ridiculous antics and start preparing to face whatever lies in your heart. You can try and run, but I will find you, Shao Qing, thief and scoundrel. Even if I’m a ghost by tomorrow I will find you.”
Zhi Lan grabbed his hand, her fingers small but insistent. Shao Qing’s chest tightened inexplicably at the contact. She pressed Su Su’s damp red pouch into his palm, then spun around and marched to the front gate.
Shao Qing watched her go, her robes white against the growing shadows. Only when he turned to leave did he realize that the gray of the evening had become a soft, purplish blue.
13
In its scroll, thedragon flicked its tail.
