She had grossly overreacted.
“I’ve done something very stupid,” Zhi Lan confessed.
“Did you buy the wrong paint?” Master Dan asked mildly.
She buried her face into her hands, wondering if she was about to scandalize her poor master.
“I...I was trying to get your painting back,” Zhi Lan said. “From the thief who stole it.”
With a deep breath, she told him of Shao Qing coming to her room, of the deal she struck with him, and the trail they had followed to Yun City to steal back the painting. Master Dan listened to all of this with serene silence, raising his brows every now and then.
“We nearly got caught. Magistrate Li saw my face. I’m afraid we can no longer travel there,” she said sheepishly.
Master Dan shook his head. “You didn’t have to go to such lengths for me, child.”
Zhi Lan hung her head. “My reasons were somewhat selfish. Everything was going so well for us. For me. I didn’t want to lose this opportunity.”
“That’s understandable.”
“After Magistrate Bu’s banquet—”
“You mean his temper tantrum.”
Zhi Lan let out a startled laugh. “Well yes, after that. What he said about letting you hang...” She shuddered. “You seemed hopeless that night. I was certain you wouldn’t be able to do the replica. In any case...I got the original back.” She opened the sodden painting in her arms, rolling it out before Master Dan. It had only gotten worse during the journey. The silk was badly buckled. Only vague blotches of color remained. Some of the ink had transferred onto the back of the brocade.
Master Dan sighed. They had a moment of mournful silence for the masterpiece that had been.
“You always said that everything we paint should have a deeper meaning,” Zhi Lan said, crossing her arms and laying her head on the table. She was dreadfully tired. “Repainting this must’ve been difficult for you.”
Her master patted her arm. “I’m afraid my ideologies have held me back, child. This was more difficult for me than it ought to have been. And it seems I gave you such a fright that you resorted to desperate measures.” He tapped the back of his brush to his current work in progress. “Perhaps there is less soul in this replica than the original, but it functions as it should. In any case, others may assign their own meaning upon seeing it. This painting possesses deeper meaning regardless of whether I intended it or not. I am satisfied with that. Are you, Zhi Lan?”
Zhi Lan nodded slowly. “May I ask you something, Master Dan?”
“Of course.”
“What you said about people assigning deeper meaning to art...do you think that can apply to a person as well?”
Master Dan stroked his beard. “I believe so.”
“Is it possible to think better of someone, to think they are good and kind, even if they claim they don’t have the capacity for it?”
“How you view a person depends on how you view the world. If you see the world as good and kind, it’s only natural you will find those qualities in the people you meet.”
Zhi Lan lifted her head, thinking this over. What if she had deluded herself about the kind of person Shao Qing was? He was like a blank piece of paper, and she had merely drawn a picture right over him. She wanted to believe he was a good man in need of saving. But she was always rushing into things, trusting her gut and reacting accordingly. She had overreacted with Magistrate Bu’s threat. Who knew whether her instincts about Shao Qing were correct, or if she were merely assigning deeper meaning to him when there was none?
She had never been so unsure in her life.
“Are you thinking about your thief?” Master Dan said, raising his eyebrows.
Zhi Lan made a face. “He is notmythief. But yes, I was. There is something unusual about him.”
Quickly, she told Master Dan of Shao Qing’s soulless condition, his demonic bargain, and the promise she had made to find his soul. She also told him of the small, kind things she had noticed about him. She didn’t tell him the specifics of Shao Qing’s sister—that part was not for her to share.
“He’s honorable in spite of being soulless,” Zhi Lan admitted. “He kept his word to me. And I...I suppose I just want to help.”
“From what you told me, I think his soul is worth finding,” Master Dan said kindly. “You are a good girl, Zhi Lan. This Shao Qing is lucky to have you.”
She rolled her eyes at this, knowing her master was openly teasing her now. Then, she sat up, suddenly alert. “Do you remember that dragon painting in Magistrate Bu’s collection?”
