"We need to find Shizun," Xue Xiangsi said, once the three of them were outside the house.
"You go find Shizun, I'm going to send a messenger pigeon to Aunt, she needs to hear about this."
"She won't get here in time to do anything," said Yan Huaxing, looking troubled. "Whatever she does, tell her to also hold Ji Shuren and the rest of the Golden Crane disciples in Snowfall Peak, don't let them leave under any circumstance. We need to know their involvement."
It was decided that Yan Huaxing would stay behind with the prisoners in case someone from Blood Moon tried to rescue them, as unlikely as that was.
Xue Xiangsi jumped on his sword and flew to the Red Peony brothel as fast as he could. Flying on a sword expended a large amount of qi, but Xue Xiangsi needed to find Bai Yunkai as fast as possible.
Everything looked normal as he flew over Qi An, but a deep sense of foreboding had settled in his bones. He could almost feel the electric crackling of lightning raising the short hairs at his nape. When he reached it, the Red Peony looked much as it had the previous day. Xue Xiangsi burst through the gates and collided face-first with a solidly built chest.
"I knew Xiangsi couldn't stay away from me," Zui Chunlai said, steadying Xue Xiangsi with a hand on the small of his back.
Xue Xiangsi was suddenly incensed by this casual display of propriety and pushed him away. What had possessed him to give this perfect stranger the impression he could take such liberties?
"Did you know?" He rose up to his full height, which unfortunately for his intimidation strategy only reached Zui Chunlai's chin. "About what happened in Tongzhou?"
Zui Chunlai frowned in confusion. "I have no idea what Xiangsi is talking about."
Xue Xiangsi was about to go on another tirade when Bai Yunkai appeared behind Zui Chunlai's shoulder. "Xue Xiangsi what has happened to have you screaming accusations into young master Zui's face this early in the day?"
Xue Xiangsi ran through the prisoner's words and watched with dismay as Bai Yunkai's expression grew more somber as his account went on. A small part of him had expected his shizun to laugh the whole matter off as impossible, or to offer a solution that would fix everything in minutes. Looking at his pale face, and startled eyes, that didn't seem about to happen.
"Did they say when this happened? When did they flee Tongzhou?" Bai Yunkai asked, gripping Xue Xiangsi's shoulders.
"Apologies, Shizun, this disciple did not think to ask," he replied, with lowered eyes.
"Xiangsi said Yan Huaxing noticed protection talismans on certain houses," started Zui Chunlai tapping his chin with two long fingers. "How many houses would Xiangsi say had these talismans?"
Zui Chunlai's cool demeanour was unsettling, and did nothing to assuage Xue Xiangsi's suspicions that he knew something about Tongzhou. He answered through gritted teeth, "About half the houses in the main street, that I noticed."
"That's how many families are aware of the attack about to befall Qi An," Zui Chunlai said. "We should go talk with one of those families, and ask them exactly how they knew."
"How do we know you're not leading us into a trap?" Xue Xiangsi said, biting each word with contempt.
"As it is, young master Zui's strategy is the best we have at the moment. The other alternative is to wait here for something to happen." Bai Yunkai sighed dispiritedly. "I'll count on my disciple to keep an eye out for any dangers."
Xue Xiangsi clasped Heavenly Frost in front of his chest, and bowed to Bai Yunkai. "This disciple will not disappoint Shizun."
---
It was a surreal experience for Xue Xiangsi to run through busy streets, filled with the smiling faces of the carefree people who didn't know the danger they were in, when he was feeling such an impending sense of dread. But not everyone was joining in on the festive mood. All the houses with talismans were conspicuously devoid of decorations and all doors and windows were bolted shut. Where other houses had residents sweeping the entryways and washing porches, in preparation for the nigh time ceremony to honour the ancestors, these houses seemed almost empty.
Xue Xiangsi could tell they weren't. He could see shadows moving through the window paper panes, and the faint glow of candles. It was morning and very bright out, so the people inside these houses could only be praying or burning incense.
"Let's go into this house," Xue Xiangsi said, nodding towards a house to their right, located in a quieter part of the street.
The three of them light-stepped over the wall, and walked around to the back of the house. Zui Chunlai moved his spread hand in a circular motion and they heard the sound of the backdoor unlatching. Inside the house everything was quiet, but there were sounds coming from one of the rooms.
They followed the sound and came upon a family of five kneeling in front of a family altar.
A middle-aged woman noticed them first, and screamed in fright, clutching at the man at her left, probably her husband.
Bai Yunkai approached them with his arms lowered and his palms turned up. "Please don't be alarmed, we just want to ask you some questions."
"Leave our house, who gave you permission to enter uninvited?" Asked the husband, hugging his wife to his chest.
The couple's three young children were all close in age, but they didn't seem scared, instead they looked up at them in curiosity. The oldest girl was fixated on Bai Yunkai's milky grey eyes.
"We know that something terrible is going to happen to Qi An, and we know that you know as well," said Xue Xiangsi, unsheathing Heavenly Frost. "We don't want to hurt you, but we need to know where this event is going to happen and how."
The husband's mouth was flattened in a thin, stubborn line, but his wife released herself from the cradle of his arms and threw herself at the floor, kowtowing in front of Bai Yunkai.
"Please forgive us, immortal cultivators, we had no choice. The Blood Moon sect offered us protection in exchange for letting them carry out their plans without alerting Snowfall Peak, they said they wouldn't harm their children if we stayed quiet and allowed them to do as they pleased." The woman's sobs echoed through the room; her shoulders heaved with each intake.
"We wouldn't dare oppose them after what happened to the Lei family! Everyone dead, and the children gone! We wanted no part in this, but we didn't know how to stop them," the wife said, as she clutched at the hem of Bai Yunkai's white robe. "Please help us, they're going to destroy the city."
"How are they going to do that?" Asked Zui Chunlai, going down to one knee in front of the prostrated woman, and helping her up with a gentle hand on her arm. "Where are they attacking?"
The husband lowered his head and rubbed his hands on his thighs. He said in a thin voice, "The Daoist temple outside the city gates, in the Bright hill, they've been coming and going from there for the past week. There's where it will happen."
"The procession of the Double Ninth festival will leave the city at night to worship there, right?" Asked Xue Xiangsi, with raised eyebrows. "That should be where Qi An's cemetery is located as well."
The wife nodded, rubbing her tears away with trembling fingers.
Xue Xiangsi understood then what the Blood Moon sect was trying to accomplish. "They're going to wait until the biggest number of citizens possible is gathered in one spot to drain their qi as they did with the Lei family. I'd wager we'll find another array there."
---
They doubled back and returned to the shack where Yan Huaxing was guarding the prisoners, and arrived almost at the same time as a flustered Liu Zhuyu.
"Shizun, Shidi, I'm very glad you're both here." When she approached them Xue Xiangsi noticed she was holding a tightly curled piece of paper. How could sect leader Liu have answered already? It would take the messenger pigeon at least one hour to reach Snowfall Peak, and another to return.
Liu Zhuyu gave the message to Bai Yunkai. "I went to the pigeon post office to inform Aunt about the situation here, but there was a message from her already waiting for us there."
Xue Xiangsi looked over Bai Yunkai's shoulder to get a look at the paper. "What does it say?"
"She says that Ji Shuren disappeared from Snowfall Peak after we left. She doesn't know the exact time, but when some aids went to serve him supper, they couldn't find him anywhere," Liu Zhuyu said, looking at Zui Chunlai with a cutting look of disdain.
Xue Xiangsi pulled out Heavenly Frost and pressed the blade against Zui Chunlai's chest. "Are you still going to pretend to be unaware of what's happening? Why did your sect leader steal away like a robber in the night? What is he hiding?"
Xue Xiangsi's stormy eyes pierced into Zui Chunlai. He wanted to be able bypass all the layers of skin and bone and cut the answers directly from his heart. He was angry at being deceived, angry that despite his own admonitions to himself he had ended up trusting Zui Chunlai. Furious that the first lips he ever kissed belonged to a traitor.
Zui Chunlai wrapped his fingers around Xue Xiangsi's wrist and raised Heavenly Frost, from his chest to press the blade against his neck. "Xiangsi can kill me himself, if he finds I had anything to do with the attack."
Xue Xiangsi held the blade more firmly against Zui Chunlai's skin. A thin red gash opened up on his neck. "Don't doubt that I will."
A pure jade white xiao flute pried Heavenly Frost away from Zui Chunlai, the hand that held it was almost as pale and slender as the flute itself. Bai Yunkai put his other hand on Xue Xiangsi's arm and lowered it. "Let's hear what young master Zui as to say for himself before we start separating heads from necks."
"Don't trust him, Bai Shifu, Flaming Pearl has long been suspicious of Golden Crane's behaviour," spit Yan Huaxing, unveiling a whip from her wrist that crackled with electricity as it hit the floor. "That's why our sect leader wanted me specifically to go along on this mission."
That answered the question of Yan Huaxing's constantly caustic temper, it didn't explain why she acted that way with all of them, with the exception of Liu Zhuyu, until very recently. Xue Xiangsi suspected that while she wouldn't admit it, her sect leader also gave her orders to keep an eye out on them as well. Considering the marriage agreement between their sects, that was something worth looking into, later. And why Yan Huaxing "specifically"? Who was she to warrant so much trust from her sect heir? Xue Xiangsi filed all this information for later. For the moment, his undivided attention was focused on Zui Chunlai.
"I'll ask again, why did Ji Shuren, disappear without saying anything?" asked Xue Xiangsi, fixing Zui Chunlai with an intent glare.
Zui Chunlai returned Xue Xiangsi's gaze, his fine features taking on a grim edge. "Ji Shuren never set foot in Snowfall Peak."