Chapter 84 - Cold Porridge

The end of a famous poem hung quietly in Finn’s mind as he looked down upon the cloth covered body on the table in front of him.

The poem was a favourite of Chief Yun. Runan’s Plight was one part in the middle of an epic poem written by one of the most esteemed scholars in history back in the era of the Five Kings. Li Ru supposedly wrote it in memory of his friend, who had fought against fate to bring back the woman he loved. A classic romance that ended in tragedy, the once gold hearted Runan met a dark end as he grew obsessed with climbing the fabled ‘Royal Steps’, a fictional mountain in the story whose peak held a relic with the power to grant miracles.

“Don’t be in too much of a rush to become an Exalted.” Chief Yun often told Finn, “It’s a long and lonely road.”

He’d often say it while sipping on rice wine, one of his favourite things to do while working late in his office. In his interpretation, the poem was a metaphor for an Exalted’s existence, an existence that was filled with hardship and loss, and one whose end was almost certainly tragic and untimely. Chief Yun often stated how much he related to the character, Runan, who was often depicted as an alcoholic fool who continually made mistakes, but who was a true friend that tried to do right.

Finn reached out to the edge of the cloth and pulled it down, revealing the face of his dead mentor. A grisly wound penetrated out of the center of his forehead, splitting the orbital lobe of his right eye. The blood had been cleaned, leaving only cold, pale flesh.

Like Runan in the story, Chief Yun had also met an untimely end. Somehow, Finn could imagine him laughing in amusement in the afterlife at the similarity. Or perhaps Yun would simply shrug, having expected it all along.

“You told me once that if I went down this path, I’d more often bury a friend than an enemy.” Finn said, “Until the day I ran out of friends.”

He paused as he reached out as if to touch the unblemished cheek of Chief Yun, his hand hesitating in the air.

“Well, I guess today’s the day.” He chuckled dryly, his lips curling up in a brief self-effacing grin as he pulled the cloth back over Chief Yun’s head, “Now I only have enemies to bury.”

He stepped over to the adjacent table and briefly examined the body of the officer who had been found next to the Chief. This man had his eyes slashed out and his neck nearly severed by the same type of blade that killed Chief Yun.

A cloud of cold mist came out of Finn’s mouth with every breath. Through unknown means, this section of the basement below the Central Noga Police Station was perpetually below freezing. Finn flipped through the report on the table, whose papers were stiff with the cold.

A flicker of motion in the corner of the room caught Finn’s eye. His eyes narrowed as he saw something black and long skitter underneath the base of the cabinet. He only caught a glimpse of its tail but it looked like some sort of centipede, though it was the size of a rat.

His lips twitched as he returned his eyes to the report. He’d never seen such a large bug before. Perhaps they weren’t uncommon underground. The roughly hewn block stone walls were old and had many cracks. Plenty of room for critters to live in. He thought no more of the creature as he finished what he had to do in the room.

After he was finished he knocked on the heavy metal door that was the only exit out of the room. There was the clanking of bolts as the door was unlocked and opened for him.

On the other side of the door was the coroner, an old, grey haired man with rounded shoulders and poor posture. He wore a flimsy brown coat that was much too thin for the temperature, but he seemed perfectly comfortable in the cold.

Finn only knew that this man had been a coroner for most of his life, and was known for his meticulously written reports and stubbornness in following policy. This was why, even though no one else was currently in the morgue, Finn was locked in the room that specially held the Chief’s body. Though he had authority to enter the room due to his special badge, the coroner had insisted on Finn marking his name on the room’s ledger and sealing it in red ink.

The list of visitors was short. Finn had already memorized the names, noting that several of the Chiefs had visited. Even with their status they had been unable to get past the coroner’s rules. There were two other names which he didn’t recognize - they were likely the morgue staff.

After leaving the morgue he headed to Special Exhibits, which was also in the basement. After signing in to the room, he gained access the box which held the weapon that had killed Chief Yun.

The weapon had been lodged in the Chief’s head, having completely penetrated it from behind. It was a long, pointed blade made out of silver. At the end of the blade rather than a hilt there was a thick chain made of four silver links. On the blade there were flowing inscriptions with unfamiliar symbols.

The paperwork that accompanied the weapon was sparse, only noting where it had been retrieved and its physical description. This left Finn on his own in hypothesizing its origins.

It was not a difficult analysis. Knowing that there were monks involved in the ritual at the cabin, it was obvious that such an unusual martial weapon would be wielded by a monk that was part of or associated with that group.

Furthermore, with his previous research into the monasteries in preparation for this investigation he knew that while the monks would often train a wide variety of weapons, each monastery had specific weapons and styles that it was known for.

For the Cloud Peak monastery, this was the Moonlight Sword. And for the Heaven’s Gate monastery in Huan, it was the spirit chain.

The next pieces of Finn’s plans clicked into place as he contemplated how best to make use of this new information.

~

Yuzu’s eyes fluttered open, her gaze drifting across her quiet darkened room as she woke from her sleep. She had slept the entire day away, and yet still felt exhausted. Her limbs were heavy, she felt stretched, like her very bones were being pulled apart like taffy.

There was a quiet knock at the door as it was opened, letting in the soft light from a candle. It was Zwei. He peeked his head into the room and smiled when he saw that she was awake.

“Hey.” He stepped inside, “You’re finally awake. How are you feeling?”

She shrugged as she pulled herself up to a sitting position. Even this small motion felt like it was all she could manage as she leaned heavily against the wall to support herself. “Tired.”

“You really pushed yourself yesterday, I guess.” Zwei said, “Xiang and I ate dinner a few hours ago, but I can get some for you if you want.”

Yuzu shook her head, not feeling hungry in the slightest, despite not even eating the small bowl of porridge that Xiang had left for her in the morning. Her eyes glanced towards the windowsill, it had been taken away some time during the day while she was asleep.

“How was your day?” Yuzu asked, wanting to divert the focus from away her.

“It was... not what I expected, I guess.” Zwei said. He pulled up the chair at Yuzu’s desk and sat on it backwards, leaning his arms against the backrest. “I was assigned to a special investigation team, but something doesn’t feel right.”

“Investigating what?” Yuzu asked.

“Ah, I can’t tell you - the matter is confidential - which I guess makes it sound important. Yeah, I guess it is important.” Zwei sighed to himself, his eyes looking out the window as he lost himself in his thoughts. After a moment he glanced back at Yuzu, who was waiting patiently for him to continue. A reassuring grin blossomed on his face as he said, “Anyways, I definitely won’t be standing for hours on a street corner every day like Xiang predicted so I guess that’s something,”

Yuzu smiled at the quip. The conversation died down for a moment as a quiet shadow of concern grew within Zwei’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“You, um, you don’t feel sick, do you?” He asked hesitantly. When she shook her head a frown flickered on his lips, “I know you don’t like that you have these weakness episodes, and I know you try to be strong about it. But... well, due to what’s happening out in the city...”

He paused, his eyes averted, “Right, you probably don’t know. Things are pretty crazy right now out there. I mean, really crazy. So, I hope you don’t mind me asking something... crazy.”

“What is it?” Yuzu asked.

“Do you have sores or bumps anywhere on your body?” Zwei asked, “There is a disease that is infecting a lot of people and it’s really serious.”

“I don’t.” Yuzu shook her head seriously. “I know about the Devileyes. I don’t have it.”

She had no reason to hide it. After all, she’d been escorted back home by a policeman late at night, after the city had already been thrown into chaos.

Zwei seemed to have expected this, his expression becoming somewhat complicated as he said, “Can I check for myself?”

“There’s no need.” She replied.

From Zwei’s expression she could tell that he wasn’t satisfied with her answer. Her initial reflex was to reject the request outright out of a mix of embarrassment and repulsion. If it was Xiang asking this she probably would have immediately chased him out of the room. She had never shown her bare body to... well, anyone, before. The thought mortified her.

But she knew what Zwei was worried about. The infection of the Devileyes was both terrifying and disturbing, it was only natural that he’d want to make sure she was safe. Maybe she thought she’d try to hide it from him if she did have it. Maybe he just wanted the peace of mind from checking for himself. Yuzu herself was sure that she wasn’t infected due to her fate thread, but of course she couldn’t explain that to Zwei.

Without showing any reaction Yuzu quietly grasped Zwei’s golden thread, peeking into the future. She saw him examine her arms and legs carefully, then lift up the back of her shirt. He kept his distance and his gaze didn’t linger uncomfortably. She was starting to feel okay with the idea when the vision continued to the next part. Her face instantly flushed red as he continued his examination at the front of her torso.

“No!” She yelled, cutting off from the vision, “No way!”

Zwei’s frown deepened as his eyes grew serious, “I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t absolutely necessary. This disease has killed so many people overnight. If you’re even a little bit sick we need to get you to help. Please.”

“I’m fine!” Yuzu said, thrusting out her arms towards him, “See, there’s no bumps.”

He looked carefully at her arms, then said, “Can I see your back?”

Knowing how the process would continue she shook her head and withdrew her arms to hug herself. Zwei looked at her quietly, his eyes half-hidden by his long bangs. After a moment he said, “If you won’t let me see it, I’ll call Xiang.”

If you call Xiang, I’ll expel both of your strings out of the house! Yuzu thought. She grasped onto Zwei’s string and started pulling it away from her. It took a considerable amount of effort - the weakness and exhaustion that she felt was even more pronounced when she interacted with the spirit threads. The strained feeling in her bones grew more pronounced as she successfully moved away Zwei’s string.

Feeling weak, she lay back on the bed again, turning away from Zwei as she pulled the covers over her shoulders. “I just have what I always have. You don’t have to worry.”

Zwei stood up and approached the bed, sitting down next to her. For a moment Yuzu was scared that Zwei would forcefully examine her, but he suddenly seemed to stiffen and grow tense. After a moment Yuzu turned around slightly to see him looking at the corner of the room, a concerned look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

Zwei opened his mouth to speak, but then shook his head and just placed his hand on her arm. It seemed to take him some effort to pull his eyes away from the corner.

“Make sure you check your skin carefully.” He said, “If you see anything like sores or bumps, tell us right away. I’m serious okay? Otherwise I’ll really call Xiang.”

“I’ll check carefully.” Yuzu said.

“Alright.” Zwei said, “I hope you feel better. I’ll probably be working pretty late for the next few days. Xiang said the lumberyard was going to be closed for a bit, so he’ll be running the shop for the next while.”

Zwei stood up to leave, taking his candle with him. He made it halfway across the room when he suddenly stopped again. The tall, slim boy’s eyes were focused on the corner of her room with a troubled look.

After a moment he walked over to the corner and illuminated it with the candle.

“What is it?” Yuzu asked.

“Nothing.” Zwei said, shaking his head, “I thought I might have seen- Nevermind.”

He left the room.

Yuzu scanned the room carefully, eyeing the golden threads that drifted through the air and along the floor.

“There’s nothing there.” She muttered softly, then lay back upon the bed.