The days after Ming's death were a haze of confusion, anger, and unspoken tension. Her words, written in blood—find the hidden in the shadow—lingered in Wei's mind like a dark cloud he couldn't shake. Despite their best efforts to decode her cryptic message, they were no closer to an answer.
Wei sat alone in the pawnshop's back room that night, his thoughts circling endlessly. The faint hum of the shop's artifacts buzzed in the background as Mei entered quietly, her face weary.
"You've been sitting here for hours," she said softly, leaning against the doorframe.
"I can't stop thinking about it," Wei admitted. "She must have known something… Ming wouldn't have left those words for no reason."
Mei hesitated before crossing the room to sit beside him. "We'll figure it out, Wei. Together."
He glanced at her, grateful for her presence but still uneasy. "I can't shake the feeling that we're missing something—or someone."
