The night outside Qingshi Village was colder than Hanchuan.
The cold of Hanchuan was the cold of a city. There were walls, houses, braziers, and the sounds of people.
No matter how desperate things became, there was still a faint trace of human warmth trapped within the city walls.
But the cold outside Qingshi Village was different. The wind here seemed to bore out from the cracks between the mountains and the depths of the snowy plains, carrying an empty, hollow sound as it swept past their ears again and again.
Xiao Yuan ordered his men to conceal the party behind a snow slope, sheltered from the wind.
No open fires were allowed.
The horses’ mouths were wrapped in thick cloth to prevent them from neighing. Everyone ate dry rations in shifts and drank warm water that had been boiled beforehand. Even the sounds of their movements were kept extremely low.
The horse-drawn carriage, which had been modified into a sled, stopped behind several withered trees. Grayish-white cloth covered its exterior. From a distance, it looked like an old pile of firewood crushed beneath the snow.
Xia Lanshi sat inside the carriage, a simple map of the area around Qingshi Village spread across his hands.
The map was not very accurate.
It had been drawn from memory by an old Hanchuan soldier and could only mark several approximate locations: the village entrance, the old well, the ancestral hall, the granary, the mountain path leading to the northern outpost, and the abandoned stone quarry west of the village.
When Xiao Yuan lifted the carriage curtain and entered, the chill seeped in with him.
Chi Banyue immediately frowned and pushed the brazier closer into Xia Lanshi’s arms.
“Your Highness can discuss matters if you want, but put the curtain down first.”
Xiao Yuan paused.
Then he actually lowered the curtain.
Xia Lanshi glanced at Chi Banyue.
Chi Banyue raised an eyebrow, the meaning obvious.
—See? His Highness is so obedient now.
Xiao Yuan acted as though he had not seen their exchange. He simply sat down opposite Xia Lanshi and placed the piece of torn cloth they had just found on a northern outpost soldier onto the wooden board.
“The cloth from the fire-oil barrels.”
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes to look.
The fabric was coarse, with black-brown oil stains along the edges. When brought close, there was still an extremely faint, pungent smell. If the old Hanchuan soldiers had not recognized it as the sealing cloth used on the northern outpost’s fire-oil barrels, it would have been easy to mistake it for a scrap torn from an ordinary ragged garment.
Chi Banyue said, “If someone in Qingshi Village has obtained fire oil from the northern outpost, then this isn’t simply about stealing grain anymore.”
Xia Lanshi nodded.
“Fire oil fears fire the most, and it is also the most suitable thing for destroying evidence.”
Xiao Yuan looked at him.
Xia Lanshi’s fingertip landed on the simple map. He moved it from the entrance of Qingshi Village to the northern granary, then toward the mountain path leading to the northern outpost.
“If I were the one setting the trap, after the Hanchuan scheme was foiled, the next step could not merely be cutting off the grain supply. Cutting off the grain is too slow, and it is too easy for Your Highness to rescue them again. If Qingshi Village catches fire, burning the granary, the village houses, the dead, and the evidence, then everything becomes very simple.”
Chi Banyue’s eyes turned cold.
“Simple?”
“A riot by refugees after a snow disaster.” Xia Lanshi’s voice was very soft. “Hungry people raiding the grain, bandits taking advantage of the chaos, fire oil getting out of control, and Qingshi Village being burned to the ground. By the time Your Highness arrives, all you will see are corpses and ashes. At that time, the Crown Prince’s people can even turn around and say that Your Highness delayed too long in Hanchuan, causing Qingshi Village to be left beyond rescue.”
The carriage fell silent.
Wind and snow pounded against the carriage walls, the sound dull and urgent.
Chi Banyue sneered. “They really know how to shift the blame.”
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes.
“They’ve always been good at shifting the blame. Zhou Jin was the same. Du Wenzhou was the same. Qingshi Village will be the same.”
Xiao Yuan stared at the simple map.
His expression was very calm.
But those familiar with him knew that the calmer he appeared, the deeper the anger had sunk within him.
“So we cannot enter the village tonight,” Xiao Yuan said.
Xia Lanshi nodded slightly.
“We can’t. At least, not in the way they want us to.”
If the Prince Su’s party entered the village directly at night, and there was fire oil, an ambush, or villagers being held hostage inside, it would be equivalent to sending themselves into a trap that had already been prepared. Rescuing people and protecting themselves would both be forced into the same instant.
At that point, even if Xiao Yuan could fight his way out, Qingshi Village might not survive.
Chi Banyue asked, “Then what do we do?”
Xia Lanshi looked at Xiao Yuan.
“Cut off their fire first.”
Something shifted faintly in Xiao Yuan’s eyes.
Xia Lanshi continued, “If the fire oil has already entered the village, someone must be guarding it. If they intend to burn the village, they cannot wait too long, nor can they scatter the fire oil to places beyond their control. There are three most likely locations.”
His fingertip tapped the map.
“The granary.”
“The ancestral hall.”
“The stone quarry west of the village.”
Chi Banyue frowned. “Why the ancestral hall?”
“The ancestral hall gathers people,” Xia Lanshi said. “If they have taken control of the villagers, they will gather them somewhere that can make the villagers most willing to obey. To the villagers, the ancestral hall carries more weight than the granary. Burning the ancestral hall means burning their roots.”
The smile disappeared completely from Chi Banyue’s face.
Xiao Yuan looked outside.
“Have the scouts not returned yet?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a hidden guard’s low report came from outside the carriage.
“Your Highness, the eastern-route scout has returned.”
Xiao Yuan stood and went outside.
Xia Lanshi also wanted to move, but Chi Banyue immediately pressed a hand onto his shoulder.
“You stay.”
Xia Lanshi: “…”
Chi Banyue said, “Doctor Su said that if you can sit, don’t stand. If you can stay in the carriage, don’t expose yourself to the wind.”
Xia Lanshi was silent for a moment.
Then he actually sat back down.
He felt that he might really have been tamed.
◆◇◆◇◆
The news brought back by the eastern-route scout was worse than expected.
There were no guards around Qingshi Village.
That alone was abnormal.
If an isolated village had merely been trapped by snow, there should have been someone guarding the entrance, waiting for family members, waiting for grain, waiting for rescuers.
If bandits had taken over the village, there should likewise have been sentries to prevent outsiders from approaching.
Yet Qingshi Village was eerily silent.
There were no barking dogs.
No crowing roosters.
No cries.
Not even the glow of fire.
The scout had lain in the snow and observed for quite some time. He had only seen several drag marks near the abandoned stone quarry west of the village, as though heavy objects had been dragged across the snow.
There was a faint smell of fire oil coming from the direction of the northern granary, but no people could be seen.
Beneath the old locust tree at the village entrance hung a piece of torn cloth.
There were words written in blood on it.
—Prince Su arrived too late. Qingshi is already dead.
After hearing this, a cold smile finally surfaced in Xiao Yuan’s eyes.
“Dead?”
His voice was not loud, yet it sent chills down the backs of several guards nearby.
One of the scouts lowered his head.
“Your Highness, they may not all be dead. Your subordinate heard a cough from the direction of the ancestral hall. It was very faint and was quickly suppressed.”
Xiao Yuan raised his eyes.
“Someone is in the ancestral hall.”
Hearing this from inside the carriage, Xia Lanshi slowly lifted the curtain.
Chi Banyue had originally intended to stop him, but seeing that he only sat there without moving, she reluctantly let him be.
Xia Lanshi said, “If there are people in the ancestral hall, then that bloodied cloth was meant for Your Highness to see.”
Xiao Yuan said, “They want to provoke this prince into entering the village.”
“Yes.” Xia Lanshi spoke softly. “If Your Highness sees the words ‘Qingshi is already dead,’ becomes enraged, and enters the village, then you will fall directly into their trap. If Your Highness does not enter the village, tomorrow people will say that Your Highness personally saw the villagers calling for help and still chose to stand by without taking action.”
Chi Banyue sneered. “This trick again.”
“If it works, they will keep using it,” Xia Lanshi said. “Because the most vicious part of this trap is precisely that it exploits the fact that Your Highness will never abandon the common people.”
Xiao Yuan was silent for a moment before suddenly asking, “If Doctor Su were here, what would he say?”
The question came abruptly.
Yet Xia Lanshi actually thought about it seriously.
After a moment, he said, “He would probably say, ‘Don’t rush to answer the question they’ve given you.'”
Chi Banyue added, “He would also say, ‘Before saving people, first make sure the scene is safe. If the rescuer goes down, that’s one more casualty.'”
Xiao Yuan let out a low laugh.
There was not much ease in that laugh, but it did indeed make some of the coldness in his eyes recede.
“Not bad.”
He turned to the guards.
“Give the order. Everyone remains where they are. Pick four of the lightest-footed scouts and have them circle the village from the east, west, and north. They are not to enter the village. Only investigate the fire oil and manpower around the perimeter. Chi Banyue, take two men to the western stone quarry. If there is fire oil, cut it off first.”
Chi Banyue’s eyes brightened.
“I like this assignment.”
Xia Lanshi immediately said, “Don’t be reckless.”
Chi Banyue turned back toward him, smiling beautifully.
“Chief Secretary Xia, you’re starting to sound like Doctor Su too.”
Xia Lanshi: “…”
It was difficult to say whether that was praise or mockery.
Xiao Yuan continued, “If you encounter villagers, do not alarm them and do not raise your voices. If you can bring them out, bring them out. If you cannot, leave a marker. Tonight, we first see the whole situation clearly. Do not engage the other side directly.”
The guards accepted the order and dispersed.
Within the wind and snow, several dark figures quickly disappeared into the night.
Xiao Yuan stood on the snow slope and looked toward Qingshi Village.
The village lay submerged in darkness, like a beast with its eyes closed.
And finally, he was no longer like before, drawing his blade at the sight of a weapon and charging into a trap at the sight of a scheme.
He had begun learning to stop one step before his anger.
Because someone was behind a door, writing many clumsy yet meticulous reminders on paper.
And because he had promised to return alive.
◆◇◆◇◆
At Returning-Dust Studio, Su Muchen slept for less than four hours before waking.
It was not the owl that woke him.
He had startled awake on his own.
In his dream, he had seen that door again.
Snowmelt seeped through the crack beneath it, slowly spreading across the floor until it finally turned into blood.
Xiao Yuan stood on the other side of the door, seemingly wanting to say something, but the wind and snow were too fierce. He could not hear a single word.
When he woke, the rest room was dark.
Su Muchen sat on the edge of the bed and took a long time to recover before reaching for his phone.
5:11 a.m.
The door still had not moved.
He got up, washed his face, and returned to the front room.
The Owl was sitting behind the counter, an old book open before him.
Hearing the movement, the Owl looked up.
“Less than four hours.”
Su Muchen’s voice was somewhat hoarse.
“I can’t sleep anymore.”
The Owl looked at him for a while but did not force the issue.
He merely pushed the hot coffee beside him over.
“Drink.”
This time, Su Muchen did not argue.
He picked up the coffee and took a sip. Warmth spread through his stomach, and only then did he seem to settle back into reality.
On the table lay the Qingshi Village communications-loss scenario analysis he had started writing last night. Beside it were the second batch of support packs, arranged neatly in rows, like a team that could not possibly set out.
Su Muchen looked at those things and suddenly asked, “Did the door show any reaction last night?”
“No.”
“Not even a little?”
“Not even a little.”
Su Muchen fell silent.
He hated the feeling of simply waiting without being able to do anything.
He glanced at the door.
The last time, he had thought he already possessed an overwhelming desire to pass through the door. On the other side was clearly someone he desperately wanted to save.
And yet… reality had once again slapped him hard across the face.
What exactly did he have to do before he could open the door and come through whenever he wanted, just like Xiao Yuan?
If he had known this would happen, he should have asked Xiao Yuan to explain the technique for opening the door first.
Suddenly, he realized that there was not already someone with experience opening the door right in front of him?
The irritation in Su Muchen’s chest suddenly changed direction.
“Is there some technique needed to open the door?”
The Owl sighed.
This young master really was restless. His mind worked quickly, but he always seemed to turn it toward bothering him.
“Do you think I’ll teach you?”
“Stingy.”
Su Muchen was so annoyed that he cursed him, disliking how the Owl was always hiding one thing or another from him.
The Owl could not help giving a bitter smile. Then his smile faded slightly as he said,
“Sometimes, I actually envy you.”
“Envy me for what?”
“You’re foolish. You don’t know anything.”
“…”
Su Muchen’s cheeks puffed up in anger. And when the Owl patted his head as though soothing a child, it only made him angrier.
The Owl looked at him, his tone unusually serious.
“Muchen, I’ll tell you when I can. But there are some things that telling you now wouldn’t help you. It would only push you deeper through the door.”
Su Muchen said coldly, “I’m still not deep enough?”
The Owl was silent for a moment.
“Indeed… you’re already very deep.”
Those words made the air fall silent.
After a long while, the Owl raised his eyes. There was a complicated emotion in them, something difficult to understand.
“It’s not that I’m deliberately refusing to tell you. It’s because there are too many things that cannot be explained clearly.”
Then he looked toward the door.
That gaze was extremely distant, carrying a faint bitterness and a faint helplessness.
“You chose the door. His Highness took the initiative to open the door. But I… never had a choice.”
Su Muchen looked at him.
In truth, he knew nothing about the Owl at all. Even the name “Owl” was obviously a false name.
The Owl never took the initiative to mention anything about himself. Even when asked, nothing could be pried out of him.
The Owl had helped him with so many things. Without him, Su Muchen would never have been able to fight against the Sheng family while simultaneously providing support to Xiao Yuan.
The Owl even cared about his physical condition.
The Owl could be said to be, aside from his grandfather, the other person in this world who cared about him so much.
To Su Muchen, the Owl was not merely a shop clerk.
He was more like a friend, like an older brother.
Su Muchen was not someone who failed to repay kindness.
“I… don’t think I’ve ever told you this.”
Su Muchen’s gaze drifted slightly.
“Hm?”
Su Muchen hesitated for a moment before finally saying, “Thank you. For everything, all this time.”
The Owl had originally thought he was about to say something else. When he heard the words “thank you,” surprise appeared faintly on his face.
“Thank you for helping me so much.”
Looking at his reddened ears, the Owl knew that he was unaccustomed to saying such things. He also knew that the words came from the bottom of his heart.
“What, did Young Master finally discover his conscience?”
The Owl could not resist teasing him.
That attitude immediately made Su Muchen delete all the words of gratitude he had prepared in his head. He turned his head away with puffed-up cheeks.
“All right, don’t be angry. I’ll tell you some good news.”
“What?”
Su Muchen was still somewhat annoyed, but he was even more curious about what the Owl wanted to say.
“The door will open for you one day.”
“Well, thanks for that.”
Su Muchen spoke without good humor.
When was “one day”?
Tomorrow was one day. A hundred days from now was also one day. Even if his feet were already halfway into the coffin, that would still be “one day.”
The Owl merely smiled.
“You’re welcome.”
Su Muchen had already fallen too deeply into this.
Actually, he knew it himself even without the Owl saying so.
From Hanchuan, from the moment Xiao Yuan began appearing at Returning-Dust Studio every night carrying the wind and snow with him, from the moment he wrote “No new deaths from freezing or starvation on the first day in Hanchuan” on the form, it had already become impossible for him to treat all of this as a chance transaction.
Not to mention Xiao Yuan’s final words before leaving:
“Wait for me to come back.”
Su Muchen closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked at the Owl again.
“Don’t push yourself either.”
His gaze swept over the Owl’s wrist. Beneath the sleeve was a dark mark that refused to fade, proof left behind by the Owl forcing the door open several times.
The skin beneath the black mark was as cold as a corpse, as though part of the Owl had already died.
The Owl looked at him.
Su Muchen said, “Saving people is certainly important, but your own life is important too.”
The Owl gave a laugh.
“I treasure my own life very much. But…” He looked into Su Muchen’s eyes. “If one day there is someone extremely important to you on the other side of the door, and even knowing that you will have to pay a price, you still want to save them, would you open the door and go over to save them regardless of the cost?”
He paused before adding, “For example, Xiao Yuan.”
Su Muchen froze for an instant.
He had never seriously considered such a question. Right now, he had merely been rejected by the door, but crossing the door did not require a price.
But what if there were a price?
Could he still cross the door without hesitation and go save someone?
Was Xiao Yuan really worth that much to him?
Even though life was precious, when reality truly stood before him, what choice would he make?
◆◇◆◇◆
There really was fire oil in the stone quarry west of the village.
By the time Chi Banyue led two guards into the quarry, the sky had already grown completely dark. The quarry was piled with numerous abandoned stones, the snow covering them so that at first glance they looked like uneven grave mounds.
The barrels of fire oil were hidden behind the stones.
There were not many.
Only six barrels.
But if these six barrels were pushed into Qingshi Village’s granary and ancestral hall and then ignited, they would be enough to burn half the village to ashes.
Four people were guarding the quarry.
Two were genuine mountain bandits, carrying the curved blades commonly used by bandits in the northern borderlands. The other two were dressed like refugees, yet stood upright, with the same dark patterns visible at their cuffs.
Chi Banyue took one look and knew that they were not bandits.
They were trained people.
Perhaps they were not Eastern Palace assassins, but they were certainly connected to someone capable of maintaining private troops.
She lay low in the snow and narrowed her eyes slightly.
One of the guards whispered, “Do we make our move?”
Chi Banyue smiled.
“Don’t kill them yet.”
The guard froze.
Chi Banyue took a small packet of powder from her sleeve.
“Fire oil is difficult to move, but we can make it temporarily unusable.”
The powder was not poison.
It was merely an irritant she had prepared herself. When exposed to fire, it would produce a pungent smoke that would make it difficult for people to approach for a short period.
She secretly poured the powder into two of the fire-oil barrels. Then she had the guards quietly cut the sealing ropes on two others so that they would leak as soon as they were moved.
She left the final two barrels untouched.
The guard was puzzled.
Chi Banyue whispered, “If we destroy everything, they’ll know someone has been here. Leave two barrels so they’ll think they can still use them.”
“But what if they actually use them?”
Chi Banyue’s smile turned cold.
“Then we’ll catch them when they use them.”
She did not merely want to stop the fire.
She wanted to know who would light it.
Just as they were preparing to withdraw, footsteps suddenly came from outside the quarry.
Chi Banyue’s hand signal halted everyone.
A person wearing a tattered cloak emerged from the woods. His figure was obscured by the wind and snow, making his face impossible to see clearly.
He approached the fire-oil barrels and asked in a low voice, “Has Prince Su entered the village?”
The guards answered, “Not yet. He’s stopped outside on the snow slope and hasn’t entered.”
The man was silent for a moment. His voice became colder.
“He hasn’t entered?”
“No.”
“He’s more troublesome than the rumors suggest.”
Chi Banyue’s eyes shifted slightly.
The man continued, “The people in the village won’t last much longer. If Prince Su still hasn’t entered the village by dawn, set fire to the eastern side of the ancestral hall. Burn half of it first. Leave half for crying.”
…Leave half for crying.
Killing intent suddenly flashed through Chi Banyue’s eyes.
The guards almost felt the coldness radiating from her.
The man continued, “Remember, you must let him see living people die before his eyes. As long as he becomes anxious, he’ll reveal something.”
After saying that, he handed a small bamboo tube to one of the men.
“If you see any unusual medicine or unusual grain, record its form and send the information back. What the Crown Prince wants isn’t a few dead people. He wants the road behind Prince Su.”
Chi Banyue held her breath.
…The road behind him.
Those words made her heart sink sharply.
The Crown Prince was no longer merely suspicious that someone was behind Xiao Yuan.
He was looking for the road.
Looking for the road leading to the world where Su Muchen was.
At that instant, Chi Banyue understood that this person could not be allowed to leave.
At least, she could not allow him to take those words back with him.
She silently drew the thin blade hidden in her sleeve.
Just as she was about to strike, a short birdcall suddenly came from the woods.
It was the guards’ warning signal.
Someone was approaching.
And there was more than one group.
Chi Banyue’s movement halted.
She looked at the fire-oil barrels, then at the cloaked man, and finally forcibly suppressed her killing intent.
She could not rush.
Doctor Su had said that if the rescuer fell, there would only be one more injured person.
Although those words were somewhat strange when applied to her, they were indeed useful at this moment.
Chi Banyue gritted her teeth and withdrew into the shadows of the snow with the guards.
She had to bring the news back first.
What the Crown Prince wanted was not merely Xiao Yuan’s unusual medicine.
It was the door.
◆◇◆◇◆
When Chi Banyue returned to the snow slope, Xiao Yuan was listening to the report of another group of scouts.
There were no guards at the village entrance.
No lights inside the village.
There were voices coming from the direction of the ancestral hall.
There was a smell of fire oil near the granary.
There were drag marks along the northern mountain path, apparently showing that grain sacks or corpses had been dragged toward the northern outpost.
None of these could be considered good news.
When Chi Banyue dismounted, snow slid from her cloak. Her expression was unusually cold.
Xiao Yuan glanced at her.
“Did you find anything?”
Chi Banyue nodded, her voice very low.
“Six barrels of fire oil, hidden in the western stone quarry. I tampered with four and left two. There was also a messenger who mentioned the Crown Prince.”
Xia Lanshi raised his eyes from inside the carriage.
“What did he say?”
Chi Banyue looked at Xiao Yuan, then at Xia Lanshi.
“He said the Crown Prince doesn’t want a few dead people. He wants the road behind Your Highness.”
The sound of the wind and snow seemed to quiet at that moment.
The warmth in Xiao Yuan’s eyes sank away completely.
Xia Lanshi also stopped coughing.
He simply sat there quietly, his fingers slowly tightening around the edge of the brazier.
That road.
Those few words were more dangerous than any direct blade.
Because they meant that the Crown Prince had already gone beyond “Doctor Su” as a person and begun to realize that there might be a genuine source behind Xiao Yuan.
A road capable of supplying medicine, grain, and unusual objects, and even leading toward some unknown place.
Chi Banyue whispered, “Should we kill that person immediately?”
Xiao Yuan did not answer at once.
Killing him was easy.
But if they killed him, they would never know who else was behind this line.
Xia Lanshi closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his gaze had already turned cold.
“Don’t rush to kill him.”
Chi Banyue frowned.
Xia Lanshi said, “Since he came to deliver an order, he will certainly have to return and report. Instead of killing him, let him take the information we want the Crown Prince to see back with him.”
Xiao Yuan looked at him, signaling for him to continue.
Xia Lanshi slowly said, “The Crown Prince wants to find the road behind Your Highness. Then give him a false one.”
Chi Banyue’s eyes lit up.
“Another false road?”
Xia Lanshi spoke softly. “The Linzhou overseas-cargo route in Hanchuan can only conceal the source of the grain and medicine. Here in Qingshi Village, we need a route that looks more like an actual ‘road.'”
Xiao Yuan was silent for a moment.
“Private merchants from the northern border?”
“Not enough,” Xia Lanshi said. “Too ordinary. It wouldn’t explain the unusual medicine.”
“An overseas medical sect?” Chi Banyue suggested casually.
Xia Lanshi paused slightly.
“That could work.”
Chi Banyue froze.
“Huh? I was just saying it offhand.”
Xia Lanshi looked at Xiao Yuan.
“An overseas medical sect, traveling alongside sea merchants, hidden along the borderlands and not entering the imperial court. It can supply unusual medicine, make marching pills, and identify unusual grain. Doctor Su doesn’t have to be the source. He merely needs to have had dealings with this medical sect and understand how to use its products.”
Xiao Yuan’s eyes deepened.
That way, “Doctor Su” would no longer be a mysterious person who had appeared out of nowhere. Instead, he would become a physician connected to an overseas medical sect.
The Crown Prince could investigate.
But all he would find would be false traces they had arranged for him.
Chi Banyue smiled.
“What should this medical sect be called?”
Xiao Yuan thought for a moment.
“Returning-Dust.”
Chi Banyue looked at him.
Xia Lanshi nodded.
“The Returning-Dust Medical Sect. It came from overseas and has an uncertain whereabouts. Its authenticity is difficult to verify. It’s perfect for leading the Crown Prince on a chase.”
The words “Returning-Dust” made Xiao Yuan think of Returning-Dust Studio.
He thought of the person on the other side of the door who might be waiting for him at this very moment.
He was silent for a moment.
“Agreed.”
Xia Lanshi said, “Then tonight, we can’t merely break the trap. We also need to set one.”
Xiao Yuan looked toward Qingshi Village.
“Go on.”
Xia Lanshi pointed to the western stone quarry, the ancestral hall, and the granary on the simple map.
“They want Your Highness to enter the village and reveal the unusual items. Then Your Highness simply won’t enter the village. First rescue the people, then put out the fires, then capture the bandits. What that messenger sees will not be Your Highness producing unusual medicine out of thin air. He will see Your Highness anticipating the trap, cutting off the fire oil, and dividing the troops to rescue the villagers.”
He paused.
“As for the medicine, let him see only a glimpse. For example, an ordinary packet of medicine powder marked with the words ‘Returning-Dust.’ Use it to save a critically ill child, but don’t let him see what’s inside.”
Chi Banyue immediately understood.
“Have him report that Prince Su indeed possesses medicine from the Returning-Dust Medical Sect, but that the quantity is small and extremely precious, not something he can produce endlessly out of thin air.”
Xia Lanshi nodded.
“Exactly. The more limited it is, the more believable it becomes.”
Xiao Yuan looked at Qingshi Village in the distance.
After a moment, he said, “Proceed accordingly.”
Amid the wind and snow, the next piece was placed on the board.
The Crown Prince wanted to find a road.
Then they would give him one enticing enough, complicated enough, and false enough to chase.
◆◇◆◇◆
Inside Returning-Dust Studio, Su Muchen suddenly came across a word in the old book.
Returning-Dust.
It was not merely the name of the shop.
At least, it was not only the name of the shop.
One page of the old book read:
—Returning-Dust is not a shop, nor a sect. It is the name left in the world by the Gatekeeper.
—If the people of the world ask where unusual objects come from, one may answer: Returning-Dust.
—Returning-Dust is everywhere, yet nowhere can it be found.
Su Muchen stared at those lines, and a very strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart.
It was as though many years ago, the ancestors of the Su family had already considered how to conceal that door for their descendants.
If someone asked where unusual medicine came from.
The answer could be Returning-Dust.
If someone asked where unusual grain came from.
The answer could be Returning-Dust.
If someone asked where the road beyond the door led.
The answer could also be Returning-Dust.
A name.
A layer of fog.
Su Muchen raised his head and looked at the Owl.
“The name Returning-Dust Studio isn’t merely the name of the shop?”
The Owl looked at the page of the old book, and his expression changed slightly as well.
“You found that?”
“So it’s real?”
The Owl was silent for a moment.
“Returning-Dust is the answer the Su family left for outsiders.”
Su Muchen frowned.
“Outsiders?”
“If they cannot get a clear answer, cannot find anything, and cannot catch up, every source that cannot be spoken of can be pushed onto Returning-Dust,” the Owl said. “In ancient times, there was the Returning-Dust Medical Sect, the Returning-Dust trade route, and Returning-Dust travelers. In modern times, there is Returning-Dust Studio. The names are different, but the essence is the same. They’re all fog.”
Su Muchen’s heart gave a faint thump.
The Returning-Dust Medical Sect.
He immediately wrote down those four characters.
“This can be used.”
The Owl looked at him.
Su Muchen said, “Xiao Yuan has always needed a more complete cover for his source. The overseas trade route is too thin, and the sealed Linzhou cargo can only be used once. If there is a Returning-Dust Medical Sect, then Doctor Su didn’t simply appear out of nowhere. He’s someone who understands the things from the Returning-Dust Medical Sect.”
The Owl smiled.
“If you and Xia Lanshi ever meet one day, you should get along very well.”
“Why?”
“Because both of you are very good at turning fog into blades.”
Su Muchen ignored his teasing and lowered his head to quickly organize a new document.
Draft Plan for the Returning-Dust Medical Sect
Origin: Overseas.
Characteristics: Uncertain whereabouts, does not enter the imperial court, and is not subject to government control.
Specialties: Trauma treatment, epidemics, military medical care, and identifying the uses of unusual grain.
Limitations: Limited supplies, precious medicine, and an inability to provide large quantities.
Relationship with Doctor Su: Doctor Su understands how to use its products, but does not control the source.
When he reached the end, his fingers suddenly stopped.
The door still had not opened.
No matter how quickly he organized everything, Xiao Yuan could not see it right now.
Just as this thought surfaced, a very faint sound suddenly came from the back room.
It sounded like old wood being gently tapped by someone in the night.
Su Muchen abruptly raised his head.
The Owl instantly looked toward the back room as well.
That door, which had remained silent throughout the entire night, now had a faint line of white light seeping through its crack.
Unsteady.
Very weak.
As though it could be extinguished by the wind at any moment.
But it had opened.
Su Muchen almost immediately stood up and grabbed the newly written “Returning-Dust Medical Sect” document and the second batch of support packs.
The Owl reached out to stop him.
“Slow down. The door is unstable. It may only remain open for a very short time.”
Su Muchen looked at that line of white light, his heartbeat racing so fast he could barely suppress it.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
“Then I’ll only send the most important things.”
He quickly pulled out several items.
A cover plan for the Returning-Dust Medical Sect.
A packet of rehydration solution and fever-reducing medicine for critically ill children.
A brief guide to fire-oil and burn treatment.
A small hand-crank generator lamp.
And one sheet of paper.
There was only one sentence written on it.
—When the door doesn’t open, I’ll wait; when it opens, I’ll be there.
After finishing the sentence, Su Muchen himself froze for a moment.
It was too direct.
It was not something he would normally write.
He instinctively wanted to crumple it up, but when his fingers touched the corner of the paper, he stopped.
In the end, he folded the paper and tucked it into the innermost part of the bag.
The Owl saw it but said nothing.
The white light beneath the door grew brighter and brighter, yet continued to flicker violently.
Su Muchen picked up the support pack and walked toward the door.
“Xiao Yuan.”
He called his name softly.
On the other side of the door, the sound of wind and snow suddenly surged in.
As though, at last, someone in the darkness outside Qingshi Village had heard his voice.