Page 33 of The Wind Dancer
I gently ran the blade across his neck, lightly enough for him to feel the cold metal.
“I should probably remind you of our little street friends, the rats. They’re hiding now, because they’re too afraid. But as soon as I leave, they’ll come crawling out. They’ll feast on you and your friends. But unlike them, you’re still alive.”
I put on the coldest grin I could. I felt like he was about to break, so it was time to give him an alternative.
“Or you can tell me what I want to know. And I’ll end it quickly. One precise hit, and no more pain, just peace. The choice is yours.”
His breathing became even more ragged, and his eyes filled with tears. He was fighting, but I could see his resistance melting away. He wasn’t prepared for such a gruesome death. No one was.
“Who sent you?” I repeated, a little louder this time.
“We... we work for...” he paused, clenching his teeth.
“For,” I repeated slowly.
“Lian Rui’s right hand-man,” he finally exhaled.
I frowned. The name meant nothing to me.
“Who?”
He blinked, as if surprised.
“You... you don’t know?” There was something between horror and disbelief in his voice. “He’s... the most dangerous Veilwalker dragonblood I’ve ever heard of. Even the cultists obey him...”
I tensed up. If he was telling the truth, then the one behind this wasn’t merely connected to the criminal world or the Secret Chancellery. This was something bigger.
“And why me?” I asked.
“We... we were supposed to watch you. Find out who you’re working with, who you gave the amulet to... and...” he coughed, “when the time was right... bring you to him.”
“Where?” I asked coldly.
He took a deep, shuddering breath.
“The old pavilion at the Seven Bridges... the third level of the basement... There’s an opium den there. He will be waiting for us there in three days. I beg you...”
There were now five corpses on the ground, and I stood up, feeling the night once again become silent. The air was filled with the metallic smell of death. And I was worried about the man called Lian Rui.
I closed my eyes, remembering my teachings.
“Discard assumptions. Work with what you have.”
Work with just the facts.
First off, someone had staged a massacre at the dragonblood’s estate. This person had commanded both cultists and professionals.
Second, there was a tall, imposing dragonblood standing amongst the archers. I only saw him for a moment, but I could tell that he called the shots.
Third, I found out that Lian Rui’s right-hand man wanted to keep tabs on me. They wanted to find out who I was working with and then meet with me.
Things connected far too well to be coincidences.
I took a deep breath as my heart began to beat faster.
The dragonblood from last night was either Lian Rui or his right-hand man.
He was the one behind the massacre, the one looking for what was hidden in that safe. And if he wanted to see me, it meant that I was either going to be his next target or that he had an offer that would be difficult to refuse.
