Yun Jiu followed at Yun Yi’s heels when he stepped in front of the girl. Only then did Yun Jiu realize it was Wan Ruo. He took her in from head to toe and, delighted, called out, “Wan Ruo! So it really is you!”
Wan Ruo gave a stiff, embarrassed smile.
Yun Yi looked her up and down, lowering his voice with mild surprise. “Who’d have thought—you really are a girl. You suit that tomboy look better than I expected.”
“Ugh, what a weird thing to say.” Wan Ruo scoffed and slipped past them. “I’m leaving—see you!”
Yun Yi frowned, puzzled. “Why’d she bolt like that? Am I that scary?”
As soon as Wan Ruo rounded the corner, Yun Jiu jabbed Yun Yi in the ribs. “What’s with you—don’t talk about people like that. Not polite.” Then he turned and went after her.
Yun Yi was left muttering, rubbing his side, both annoyed and sheepish.
Back at her lodgings, Wan Ruo flopped onto the bed and worried. Maru hadn’t shown up all day. Where could he be? Without Maru’s help, how could she possibly handle what was coming?
She had no idea that, while she’d been away, Bai Chen had found Maru, toyed with him, and sealed him inside a bottle.
Early the next morning Wan Ruo combed the backyard for any sign of Maru and came up empty. On a whim she found herself at Bai Chen’s door—he was reputed to be skilled with spells. Maybe he could help.
She paced in front of the house until Bai Chen opened the door and asked, mildly surprised, “What are you doing here?”
“I… I’m looking for Maru. He didn’t come home last night.” Wan Ruo explained.
At the mention of Maru Bai Chen shut the door a fraction and, a little too quickly, replied, “He’s not here.”
“He should be,” Wan Ruo went on. “I’m going to the Pingnan Prince’s residence today. The grand dowager’s symptoms… they don’t look ordinary. I think something evil has attached to her. I was planning to perform an exorcism, but if Maru were with me I’d have a better chance. Will you come? Please—Master Bai, you know spells. Help me.”
Bai Chen’s face went cool. “You promised to do this yourself. Why drag me into it?”
His refusal stung. Wan Ruo’s shoulders slumped, but before she could answer a servant came running up, breathless. “Miss Wan Ruo! Young Master Si has come to fetch you—he’s waiting at the gate. Hurry!”
At the name Si Hongxi, Bai Chen’s tone shifted like the wind. “Ahem. Fine—since you begged me, I’ll come along. Let’s go.”
He moved faster than her and met her at the gate.
Si Hongxi noticed she wasn’t wearing the clothes he had sent and, puzzled, asked, “You didn’t put on the outfit I gave you? Didn’t like it?”
“Oh—no,” Wan Ruo stammered. “It wasn’t that. It was too fragile and awkward to wear—so I didn’t. I—well, I washed it; it’s clean. Here.” She handed him back the wrapped gift, cheeks pink.
Si Hongxi tried to smile, a touch hurt. “Gifts aren’t meant to be returned. If you don’t like it, do with it as you please. Let’s go.”
Bai Chen snatched the parcel, tossed it to one of Si Hongxi’s attendants, and said coldly, “I told you—return it to your master. Take care of it.”
Then, deliberately, he took Wan Ruo’s hand. “Come on.”
As he reached to help her into the carriage, Si Hongxi blocked them. “Wait—Master Bai, I came to fetch Wan Ruo.”
Bai Chen tilted his head and flashed an insolent grin. “Sorry. Today I’m her assistant.” He looked toward Wan Ruo; she nodded, embarrassed and a little stunned.
He brushed Si Hongxi’s hand aside and hauled Wan Ruo into the carriage before she could protest. Everything happened so fast she barely had time to breathe. Si Hongxi climbed in as well, more from duty than desire. The three rode in tense silence.
Si Hongxi couldn’t help taunting, trying to cut the awkward air. “I never thought Master Bai of the Anshi Shop would stoop to being someone’s assistant.”
Bai Chen tossed the remark back with mock gravity. “Not everyone. It depends who it is.” He glanced at Wan Ruo as if the world narrowed to that one face.
Si Hongxi’s jaw tightened; he was almost livid. Wan Ruo, however, felt none of the tender warmth Bai Chen suggested—his stare felt uncanny, almost frightening. Today he was acting strangely. What was he up to?
When the carriage reached Pingnan Prince’s residence Bai Chen was the first to sense the wrongness in the air. The servants’ faces were tight; the atmosphere felt sour and heavy.
“Where’s Steward Li?” Si Hongxi asked.
“He’s in the dining hall, Your Highness,” a servant answered. “The grand dowager suddenly has a mighty appetite.”
They hurried to the grand dowager’s quarters and were met by a bizarre scene: servants in two rows passing tray after tray into the room as if performing an endless ritual. Anyone seeing it might think a banquet was under way. The number of dishes was prodigious and the staff frantic.
Inside, the frail old woman was tearing into the food with the ferocity of someone possessed. Plates emptied in an instant; one dish was scooped into her mouth and the plate tossed aside without a second thought. There was no grace, no ceremony—only ravenous, animal consumption. Wan Ruo watched, mouth dry with shock. It looked less like a noblewoman dining and more like a beast at a trough.
Steward Li hurried up, wiping his brow. Si Hongxi demanded, “Has she always been like this?”
“Since she fell ill, Your Highness,” Li replied. “But today it’s worse than usual.”
Bai Chen cut across the murmurs with a sharp command. “Everyone out. We’ll handle it.”
The room stilled; eyes flicked to Si Hongxi, who in turn looked at Bai Chen. Wan Ruo stepped forward, meeting Si Hongxi and the steward. “Please go. Close the door behind you. No matter what you hear, do not come back in until we call. Understand?”
They trusted her and, after a beat, obeyed—servants nodding and slipping out while Si Hongxi hesitated only long enough to look at Wan Ruo. She gave him a quick, reassuring smile. “I will be careful.”
He stepped out, closed the door, and the three of them were left inside: the grand dowager slumped in the midst of half-empty plates, Bai Chen, and Wan Ruo.
Bai Chen made no move to sound an alarm. He sauntered to a chair, pulled it over, and sat down with a calmness that might have been insolence had the situation not been so grave. He intended to watch. To him, this was beneath his alarm—an ordinary evil, nothing he couldn’t handle.
Wan Ruo took a breath, stepped forward and, for all the grandeur that filled the chamber, addressed the empty space between the old woman and the world. “What demon dares to take shelter here? Show yourself at once!”