Page 40 of The Wind Dancer
She was waiting for me in a private room. She had been meditating and sipping tea as she watched an incense stick slowly burn away. There were only a few breaths left before it would go out, but I had already sat down at the table, putting the wine and cups on it.
“You’re late,” she said, without lifting her teacup. Her tone was calm, but there was steel in it.
“I was held up,” I replied, pouring myself a full cup of wine and drinking it in one go. The taste eased my headache for a few moments. I poured myself another. “But the important part is that I made it, more or less on time.”
Mei Lin nodded in agreement. Her gaze remained fixed on me.
“And who did this to you?” She nodded toward the sleeves of my jacket. There were faint drops of blood on the dark cloth.
“An Eight-Petalled Lotus member,” I said. Her eyes lit up, like a hunting hound catching the scent of prey.
“And you’re still alive. Wei taught you well.”
I nodded, raising my glass in silent salute to my mentor, and took a long sip of wine.
“But I’m interested in something else now.”
“That’s because you haven’t heard the rest of it. The last attacker wanted to die quickly and told me quite a few interesting things.”
I studied her expression, trying to catch a reaction, but she remained perfectly calm. I wasn’t the only one trained to hide emotions.
“Feng Lao, your choice is simple: either you sign this paper,” she handed me an imperial form stating that from now on I worked for the Secret Chancellery, “or you die.”
She looked at me with her insanely beautiful eyes, and I could tell that she wasn’t joking.
“Can you answer one question first?”
She motioned for me to continue.
“Do you want me to work for the Secret Chancellery or for you?”
“It’s the same thing to you,” she replied.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Someone else offered me a position in the Secret Chancellery.” I could feel the tension building in the air.
“Who?” she asked, and there was a slight but noticeable note of concern in her voice.
“Unlike you, I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s local. Isn’t that a good enough reason to work for him?” I smiled, but I knew I was playing a dangerous game.
Her eyes narrowed, and I felt the air in the office grow cold. She slowly set the tea cup down on the table, and her fingers curled slightly, as if preparing to act.
“You’re playing with fire, Feng Lao. I hope you understand that the stakes here are higher than you could imagine.”
“As you said, I was well trained. You’ve both put me in a situation where I must choose whom to serve. That’s whyI’m raising the stakes,” I replied, pouring myself more wine. “Sometimes taking risks is the only way to survive.”
“Or die.”
“You’re right, but I don’t cling to life. We’ll all die someday. What matters is how.”
The words sounded pretentious, and they were complete lies. But she was clearly well educated and would recognize the quote from one of the ancient authors. Musings about dying with dignity had been popular among the dragonblood of the previous dynasty. Judging by the slight widening of her eyes, I had hit the mark.
A breeze brushed my back, and I suddenly felt more daring. It was time to take some risks.
“To be honest, I don’t want to work for either of you. But you and I shared a pleasant evening, and out of respect for that...” I smiled. “I came toyouwith information that would interest the Secret Chancellery. But everything has a price.”
“We’ll discuss the price later. Tell me what this is about.” She gave no sign that my words had affected her. But something told me she had enjoyed that night as well.
“I know who killed the dragonblood whose estate burned down.”
