The abandoned building they congregated in was only a mile from the forest. It was too close, too obvious.
“No. Everyone, scatter. If they catch one of us they catch all of us,” Yao said darkly. “Go!”
Footfalls rustled the forest floor, then, nothing. It was good they were all light-footed—but whether they were good at hiding was another thing. Shao Qing assessed the torches. He could go deeper into the forest and wait, or he could pass the guards without detection. They wouldn’t expect a thief to go back into the city.
So that’s exactly what Shao Qing did.
***
NIGHT LIFE IN ZHU CITYwas limited to the outskirts where the poor and middle class dwelt. Tea houses, shops, restaurants, and brothels towered over the stall-lined streets. Shao Qing passed the restaurant on the South Street Market where they had purchased the duck, its tiled eaves dangling with red paper lanterns. It lay before the foot of the massive bridge that connected the outer wards of the city to the inner wards where the wealthy were situated.
On either side of the bridge, vendors hollered their wares behind stalls. Hawthorn fruits gleamed on skewers, glazed in hard sugar shells. The smoky scent of green onion pancakes and other street food was thick in the hazy air. People bustled past, chattering and shouting, as children ran underfoot, kicking a tasseled ball between the feet of passersby.
Shao Qing kept his gaze on the paved ground as he crossed, weaving through the crowd at a leisurely pace so as to not arouse suspicion. He would have to find somewhere in the city to hide. But where?
The noises and crowd faded as he approached the opposite end of the bridge. When the high walls of the courtyard houses came into view, Shao Qing was struck with a thought. It was true the constables wouldn’t expect him to return to the city, but they would expect even less that he would return to the scene of the crime so soon.
Offending a magistrate was a hefty felony. Anyone with a healthy dose of fear would stay away.
The ward gate loomed before the end of the bridge, manned by two guards on either side. It towered two stories high, separating the rich from the rest of the city. Only the wealthy or tradesmen on official business could pass through freely—heaven forbid a lowly carp jump over the dragon’s gate.
Shao Qing turned left into an alleyway between the gate and another building before the guards spotted him, running his hand along the rough wall. At the very end was a gap just big enough for a person to slip through undetected. He did so now, wedging himself through the uneven stone and emerging on the other side. It was a good thing the gate was severely understaffed.
He wove through cleanly swept streets until he stood beneath Magistrate Bu’s manor. The west wall was grown over with strong, flourishing vines to conceal a crumbling hole at the foot of it. The magistrate’s vanity was the precise reason Yao was able to find a way into the manor.
Shao Qing braced his foot against the wall and began to climb.
One of the benefits of his condition was that his inner stillness manifested outwardly. Fear and hesitation made thieves stumble—Shao Qing never stumbled. His limbs were steady even as some of the vines pulled loose and the rough stone scraped his knuckles. The journey up the wall was swift. He landed silently on the tiled roof and crouched beside a row of guardian statues that lined the ridge, hoping his silhouette blended in with the stone creatures.
This was the front section of the west wing where Shao Qing figured the magistrate housed his servants. People of less importance were always placed away from the inner courtyard, which meant there was less security here. The room beneath him had a dim light that shone through a latticed wooden door. A pair of plain shoes were set by the entry, small and dainty. A maidservant, perhaps. Someone he could easily overpower.
Shao Qing peered over the raised lip of the eaves. No guards.
He leapt down and slipped silently into the room.
3 – Zhi Lan
