Hu Li III

Fuhua, Xiao Empire

the Border City

Hu Li stood on the steep banks of the Red River. Even in the middle of summer, the currents were strong, far too strong for anyone to swim across. The banks were mud and clay and very steep; the water was a deep red murky color. The mighty Red River was not the longest on the continent, but it was the thickest, most treacherous, and most feared. The headwaters started high up in the Gods’ Mountains, the large mountain range of the Eastern continent that traditionally split the Hulan warlords’ territories in the west from the Daming Empires in the east.

Back home in Janlin, Hu Li braved the currents of the Red River in the summer. Janlin sat near the western end of the Red River, slightly downstream of where three headwaters met to form the trunk of the river. Janlin’s waters were rich in minerals and abundant in wildlife. Here in the east, the river was deep, wild, and unforgiving. It took expert navigators to ferry across, and ferrymen made good money by keeping their secrets to themselves. There was always business for the ferrymen.

From his vantage point on the docks of Fuhua, Li looked back across the river onto the grasslands. After Li found that Chen Feiyan switched her stolen blue roan for a black stallion in Yueyang, he decided to stay in the small town to find more information. He questioned anyone willing to talk to him. Most of his conversations took place in the three taverns after sunset. Li also traveled into the fields to speak to farmers and spent time with the hot food cart owners. All his searching led to nothing. There were no additional clues. Fei passed through Yueyang like a ghost in the night, taking the stolen stallion with her.

At night he spent too much time with Peng Shun, drinking into the late hours. He even took a few more trips back to the brothel to see Ai. Shun was trouble, but good company. Li promised Shun he would stop in Yueyang the next time his work took him north.

At the end of a week in Yueyang, Li decided to call it quits and move on to Fuhua. He took a short day to ride back to Guo Xue’s estate outside of Shazou to return the blue roan before he went on his way. Head servant Liu had happily accepted the horse at the front gates and invited him in, but Li politely declined. After multiple rounds of Liu insisting that he rest at the estate and Li declining, Liu finally gave in. Li regretfully informed the head servant that he had not found much yet and wanted to return to the road. Nonetheless, returning the blue roan was undoubtedly an early victory for Li. Governor Guo Xue was not at the estate, but a woman watched his conversation with Liu from the far side of the grounds.

The Madame Tao Fu, I wonder?

Li did not speak with her on his first visit to the estate, but given that she looked after Fei, Tao Fu was high on his list of individuals to talk with.

I wonder why she does not seek me out—next time.

From the Guo estate outside Shazou, Li rode north past Yueyang and to the banks of the Red River. Fuhua’s stone walls filled the skyline from across the river on the southern banks. Fuhua was a sprawling, dirty, hot cauldron of a city filled with food, art, trade, crime, poverty, and wealth. It was the northernmost city in the Duyun province of the Xiao Empire. The latest census marked Fuhua the most populous city in the entire Xiao Empire, overtaking the capital in the south, Ganyang. Although it was a city under the Xiao Empire, there was a sizable minority Heguri presence living in the city, giving it a diversified offering of food and culture. There were even small pockets of Hulan and Guantzu. Unlike the orderly and traditional capital Ganyang, Fuhua had a feeling of lawlessness. It sat at the cross-section between two Empires. Fuhua’s population was young, too.

So all the kids leaving towns like Yueyang are heading to cities like Fuhua.

Three things brought Hu Li to Fuhua. First, and principally, the last tracks the trackers believed to be Fei’s crossed into Heguri territory just north of Fuhua. Now that Li learned she swapped the roan for the stallion, he was beginning to question whether the tracking hounds would have even been able to follow her tracks this far. It was all he had to go off of at the moment, though.

If she crossed into Heguri territory at Fuhua, perhaps she stopped here for some rest, or food, or to switch horses again.

He spoke with all the stables after arriving; none were missing a horse, and none recently lucked into an orphaned black stallion.

Another dead end.

Li’s second reason for traveling to Fuhua was to meet his Heguri guide, Morokore Wada. All he knew was that Wada was a Heguri Pathfinder responsible for seeing him through the Heguri territory to the north.

He’s hired muscle to watch me for the local Heguri lords or Guo Xue.

Even the Xiao Empire’s lowliest farmer knew Heguri Pathfinders to be expert trackers, guides, map makers, and soldiers. The half intellectual, half brutes led expeditions into the Gods’ Mountains, surveyed the Heguri Empire’s terrain, led guided tours through the countryside for lords, and went on manhunts not dissimilar from Li’s current job. In wartime, the Pathfinders doubled as special operatives. They were feared and yet revered in the Xiao Empire, even though the two empires had not been at war for generations.

Li supposed Morokore Wada would, at worst, be a necessary detractor from his search. He preferred to work alone, as he found trusting his instincts to be successful. When others introduced their thoughts and opinions, they clouded Li’s judgment. However, a Pathfinder would come in handy to help him find his way through the Heguri countryside, and Gods’ Mountains should his journey lead him there.

Finally, Li was waiting at Fuhua for a swallow from Gao Ju. Li was waiting to hear back from him after he sent him a swallow. Li’s instincts told him Guo Xue did not want him to go to Loghua, and he wanted to learn more about how Guo Xue paid for Fei.

Would it be a similar story to Duan He? A father of a beautiful daughter with financial problems? Or is Governor Guo just taking these women?

A story he heard all too often.

How might Ai’s life be different if her family sold her off?

Li looked out to the river from the crowded docks and watched an old ferryman bring another party to Fuhua from the southern banks. The sound of the river and the docker workers weren’t enough to drown out the cicadas. The waters moved quickly, but the guide steered his small boat safely across to the northern banks with little trouble using a standalone oar.

How many times has that man crossed this river?

Li was on the docks that made up the rivers ford. It was the main crossing point on the river at Fuhua and stood just two hundred meters south of the city gates. He felt his stomach rumble as he watched another ferryman begin to take his party across. A large produce market was on the far northwest side of the walled city, but the small central market had good hot food carts and wasn’t a long walk from here. After another unsuccessful morning, Li decided to break for lunch.

Li took the path that led from the river ford back to one of the two southern gates on the walls of Fuhua. They were open during most of the day, and travelers passed in and out with little hassle. There was only a minor guard presence. The men seemed unbothered by the steady traffic that entered and exited the southern gates. Fuhua always felt lawless; it was not entirely under total control of the Xiao Empire, but certainly not Heguri.

It was mid-afternoon, and Fuhua was alive. A pack of children ran through the streets, clumsily beating each other with sticks that served as their swords. Women hung washed clothes on balconies, and groups of idle men mingled in the open air or taverns’ doorways. Everywhere people stood in the shade for relief from the heat. Cicadas continued to sing even inside the city walls. Li watched a small street dog with a round belly and shorter legs begging for food scraps from a group of happily obliging men sitting on the windowsill of a tavern.

The smells from the central market were familiar at this point, and tempting to Li. There was sweet roasted pork, savory roast fatty duck, rice noodle, cold sesame noodle, green onion pancake, oily tofu, stinky tofu, fried tofu, fruit, steamed vegetables, root cakes, pan-fried crawfish, fried fish, steamed fish, and much more. Li wandered over to the Hulan carts and picked up some spiced lamb with potato. Not the best meal for a hot day, he admitted to himself, but the flavor on the meat was good, and the potato padded his stomach. He washed it down with a cold cellar beer from the closest tavern and watched the city move by once more.

No new information from the ferrymen this morning. I wonder if Gao Ju’s letter has arrived.

Li wandered back to his temporary lodging. He was renting a room in the old district close to the city center where the inns clustered. The city center was the starting point for the sprawling city. Large grooves in the stone still marked the ground where the old walls stood. Li’s room at the inn had a second-story view over the small park in the city center. The window let in the fresh air, but with it, the noise and city smell.

“Ban Bo, how are you this afternoon,” Hu Li asked the innkeeper.

They had grown friendly since Li arrived in Fuhua, unlike Yi Fen in Yueyang, who had become increasingly annoyed with his questioning of the locals and late nights. Ban Bo was in his forties with a receding hairline and dark tan skin. The man was short, with a slight hunch in his back, and walked slightly pigeon-toed. His dark brown eyes were always alert and bright. Li wondered if he was Daming, Heguri, Hulan, or some mix. He couldn’t pin it down visually.

“Very good, and you?”

“Good.”

“Busy day? Find anything?”

“Here and there.”

Bo nodded, as if knowingly, “Of course. Whatever you’re searching for, I’m sure you’ll find it.”

“Anything come for me today?”

Bo’s eyes lit up, “Ah, I would have forgotten. Yes, a swallow this morning with your name. Let me grab it.”

Bo disappeared into the small back room behind his counter.

“Here we go,” Bo returned, “Official seal. Important man you are, inspector.”

He handed Li a small scroll with a thick bright green seal.

This scroll can’t be Gao Ju.

Li took a closer look at the seal. Pressed into the green wax was a scorpion, the Guo family symbol.

Arrogant. Not many in the Xiao Empire dare to flaunt their house as much as Guo Xue does.

He thought back onto the black and green armor Guo Xue’s men wore and the countless flags adorning his estate.

He makes a little castle for himself. I wonder if he leaves those flags out when the Xiao’s visit.

Emperor Xiao Tian was the third Xiao family emperor to rule over the Daming majority population on the eastern side of the Gods’ Mountains. He was still young, only in his mid-twenties, and had been emperor for around ten years. His father Xiao Tai ruled successfully for over forty years but died unexpectedly from illness. Xiao Tian was the only son of Xiao Tai but had five older sisters. There was no fight for the empire. The family was patrilineal, and evidently, none of the sisters were ambitious enough to challenge the young Xiao Tian. Before Xiao Tai, the “Great Emperor,” Xiao Tu ruled. Xiao Tu, the original Xiao Emperor, reunited the four Daming provinces under one empire, expelled the Heguri from the northern territories, regained control over the Red River, and reasserted the Daming control over the Guantzu in the south. The Great Emperor assumed control at around thirty years old. He ruled late into his seventies before he died of old age, presiding over an empire of peace and prosperity.

“Thank you, Bo, was that all?”

The innkeeper smiled, “Oh do you want another fancy sealed letter? One not enough for you?”

Li chuckled, “I have a swallow I’m waiting on from a friend. It won’t have a seal like this one.”

“Nothing yet, inspector, of course; I’ll let you know when it arrives.”

“Thank you.”

Li turned and walked up the stairs to his room. He left the window open in the morning, but there was no breeze in the middle of the hot city this afternoon. He kicked his sandals off and sat down on the floor with his back against the wall. It had already been almost a month since he stayed at Guo Xue’s estate and sent the swallow to Gao Ju. That should have been more than enough time for him to ride to Loghua and send a message in return. Li was worried he stayed too long in Yueyang.

Did I miss his swallow? Perhaps he hasn’t even gotten the letter. Maybe he’s out working a case somewhere and isn’t even home. That could be.

Ju liked to stick around his hometown more than Li wanted to be in Janlin. Still, it was always possible that he was out in the eastern countryside somewhere working a job. When Li and Ju worked together, they canvassed four of five small towns over a few weeks.

With a high chance, it’ll come soon. There’s little chance he’s in any danger, and if my initial swallow missed him, he would have returned home by now or will be soon.

In the meantime, Fuhua wasn’t so bad a city.

Li returned to the letter and broke the seal. Guo Xue’s wax was unnaturally bright green, matching the Guo flag and colors. Li admired the attention to detail on the scorpion that pressed into the seal. He opened the letter. Guo Xue’s calligraphy, if it was his own, was neat and tidy. Li thought back on the man’s greasy hands at the dinner table. His actions had not matched his reputation as a diligent tax collector on that night, but seeing his calligraphy now adjusted Li’s priors. Perhaps he transcribed the letter to one of his servants, but there was a chance this was writing. And if it was, it was immaculate.

Inspector Hu Li. I regret I missed you during your quick visit to my estate. You must excuse my absence; I had a matter of urgent business in Wuzhou. I trust Head Servant Liu treated you well? If not, please let me know. I trust your judgment, and no one is irreplaceable.

I must also thank you for my horse. I am humbled you have returned the roan to me. You’re already worth the coin I pay you! It is a beautiful beast that I have owned for many years. What a silly girl to trade a beautiful beast like my roan for a common stallion. Uneducated! She forgets what I did for her. She has more to learn from me.

Head Servant Liu tells me you were not able to find much else in Yueyang. That is not surprising to me—a filthy backwater filled with the undeserving. No wonder our little Fei took one look at that town and continued on her way. She grew accustomed to a better life during her time with me. I understand and respect that.

I understand the task ahead of you is daunting. Do not stress. I am not expecting you to find our little Fei. If it were going to be easy, we would have found her within the first few days! But alas, we have not. You have my word; there will be no problem if you find nothing. Continue through the autumn, and come back to visit me in the winter. If we still have found nothing, we will call off the search. As I said, the horse alone is worth the coin!

However, always, always remember that if you do bring her back, you will be rewarded. You will find the Xiao Empire rewards the deserving.

Some business for you. I should tell you the trackers we sent after Fei did not return. My men tell me their whereabouts are unknown. Please add them to your search list. The girl is your priority, but information on the trackers would be greatly appreciated. Those were good men, and more importantly, good dogs. Expensive to replace. Everyone is replaceable, but some more expensive than others. Perhaps the Pathfinder Morokore Wada has heard of their whereabouts.

Finally, I sent a team to Loghua, and they returned with no news of the girl. She has not returned home, and I am sure of it. Continue on your way into the Heguri territory with the Pathfinder. We can cross Loghua off the list.

I look forward to seeing you again when the snow falls over my estate and my imported Heguri maples turn red and fall over the snow. Until then, work hard, and good luck.

Governor of the Duyun Province, Xiao Empire

Guo Xue

Li put down the letter. There was a lot to digest. He thought back on his priors of the governor.

A powerful self-made governor who rose fast within the empire. Likely a very competent tax collector. Likely a very heavy-handed tax collector. Likely proud and arrogant.

Li wondered whether a man like that would show him his true face.

Unlikely.

Li read over the start of the letter again. Guo Xue called Fei silly for swapping the roan for the stallion. Switching the horses was shrewd, not silly. To cover her tracks like that in the middle of the night and not be spotted showed cunning.

Yueyang a backwater of the undeserving?

Li grew fond of Yueyang during his time in the small town. Everyone he spoke with told of the heavy-handed taxation. None spoke well of his employer.

Continue through the autumn.

It finally dawned on Li that this might be a long engagement. He half expected to spend a few uneventful weeks on the road when he left Guo Xue’s estate. He figured he would find the girl or call it quits. He hadn’t remembered a job that took him through two full seasons.

How does he have the resources to devote two full seasons to myself and a Pathfinder looking for a girl?

Not only that, but the trackers were missing, and Guo Xue was making it a point not to go to Loghua. Li put the letter down and stood up to look out the window. In the park below, he saw another group of kids playing chase through the grass. All the youth that had gone from Yueyang was here in Fuhua.

I hope Gao Ju is alright.

Li reached for the sheepskin wine bag and found it almost empty. He refilled it a few days earlier with some of the relatively inexpensive sorghum wine found all around Fuhua. He took a swig, and the burning sensation was a welcome relief. His mind slowed for a moment. He needed to think. Li got up and walked back downstairs and out into the park. The world continued to move around him, but he was deep in thought. He looked around. There was a tavern nearby that served cellar beer.

That will do.

Li took the next few hours in silence. He sat at the tavern bar and slowly sipped on three cellar beers.

She’s gone north with high likelihood. She’s not home with high likelihood, but also, Guo Xue is pointing me away from Loghua.

He took the last sip of his beer and paid the barman.

The sun began to set, bringing some relief from the heat and humidity. Gone were the children running through the park and the adults mingling outside their homes. It was quiet now except for the cicadas. Most families returned home for their evening meals. Li popped his head into the front office to see Bo on the way up to his room, but no second swallow came in the few hours he was away.

As Li opened the door to his room, the hairs on his back began to stand before he even noticed that he was not alone. Sitting against the wall, in the same spot where he had earlier was a man, obfuscated by the dusk light.

Li quietly reached for the knife at his waist, “Who goes there?”

“Hello, Hu Li.”

Li relaxed; he recognized the voice. The hairs on his back receded.

“Gao Ju?

Ju nodded and slowly stood up to face Li. His face emerged out of the dark, and Li saw it was indeed his friend. Ju was tall and slender. He seldom shaved his face, but it was never a full beard. His hair was clumsily cut short. He had never been a man to put much effort into his appearance. Li felt it might hurt his reputation with wealthier clients, but he wondered how much his friend even wanted to work for the elite. Ju seemed to like his slower life in the east.

“You traveled all this way?”

Ju nodded again, “I found something in Loghua. I did not want to risk a swallow.”

Li heard the stories of swallows intercepted and messages read by the Xiao Emperor’s men. He did not believe in conspiracy theories but left that debate for another day.

“I just came from a tavern; it’s quiet there at the moment. Shall we have a drink?”

Ju nodded and followed Li out of the room and down the stairs. They crossed the park silently, and Li motioned towards the tavern. The two men took a small table in the corner, and Li ordered some of the yellow sorghum wine for the two men. A waitress brought the stiff wine in a clay jug and gave each man a small glass. Li poured his friend first and then filled his own. They looked each other in the eye and finished the first glass.

Ju refilled their glasses.

“I’m sorry I didn’t reach you sooner, friend. I know I kept you waiting.”

“That’s alright. No matter.”

“I wasn’t home when your swallow came. I was out working, and it took me a week to return. My wife held the letter for me.”

“How is An?”

“Very good, thank you.”

Li nodded and let him continue.

“I went to Loghua,” Ju let the information linger in the air as he sipped his wine, “Your employer got rid of the girl’s family.”

Li was shocked but did not let his expression give that away. Instead, he took another sip from his cup and let him continue.

“It took a while for me to track what’s left of the Chen family down. Some of her siblings are still alive from what I hear, but they are destitute.”

Li nodded and sipped on his cup, “Her parents?”

“Dead. I found a beggar who claims to have been a fishmonger in a previous life. He told me he was there on the day they took the girl from Loghua.”

“Took? Wait, first, what was the name of the beggar?”

“He goes by Quan Tu.”

“Can he be trusted?”

“Multiple other witnesses validated his story,” Ju took another sip of the stiff sorghum wine, “There were a lot of witnesses on the day. It all happened at the market during the morning rush. Very few were willing to speak with me. They’re scared.”

“Scared?”

“Of your employer, yes.”

Am I in over my head?

“You said took her? What happened?”

“Guo Xue was on an eastern tour and stopped in Loghua. He heard of Quan Tu’s cart from others in the village, so says Quan Tu at least, and stopped for some of the fried fish paste. The story goes that a crowd gathered around Guo Xue and his men. The girl was in the crowd,” Ju took another sip and then filled each of their glasses, “Quan Tu said she was beautiful even as a young girl, and Guo Xue took her with him.”

“He’s paid families for the other concubines on his estate.”

Ju shook his head, “Not this one, at least. The girl’s father and brothers rode after the wagon when Quan Tu told them. Guo Xue had his men cut them down far enough away that the girl would not see. They left the bodies, though, so the village would know what happened. After that, the family had no meaningful income. The mother tried her best for as long as she could for the other daughter. Still, they had to sell their land and eventually became destitute. The mother died of an illness.”

Ju spoke with a calm tone, but Li knew the story rattled even him.

Why else would he ride all this way instead of sending a swallow?

“And the other daughter?”

“No one knows. The beggar said she’s been missing for years. She would be surviving on her own, so it doesn’t look good.”

Li finished his wine and poured another round.

“And why not send me a message in return?”

“Birds are intercepted. What I’m saying about your employer, he wouldn’t be happy about it. If the girl didn’t know about it all this time, he intends to keep it that way.”

I wonder if Duan He’s story is even true? Was her family even paid?

Li thought back on his conversation with the naive girl and realized he never confirmed that she saw her parents’ payment with her own eyes. The story was sickening but not all that unsurprising. Under the Great Emperor’s watch, officials wouldn’t dare abuse their position, but with each year since his passing, the empire grew more corrupt. There were rumors that the young Xiao Tian kept over one hundred concubines at the Palace in Ganyang.

Did he pay for all of them? How many families broken for a powerful man’s lust?

Li thought of his own actions at the brothel in Yueyang with blacksmith Peng Shun or many of the other nights he’d paid for flesh.

It’s different. What I do is not good, but it’s different.

Li watched his friend sip on the wine. There was silence at the table for some time.

“So what now?” Ju finally asked.

Li didn’t hesitate, “I’ll find the girl.”

“Will you tell her when you find her?”

Li paused, “I don’t know.”

“Will you take his money?”

Li took a drink and looked away; he couldn’t meet Ju’s eyes, “Yes.”

It was good money, and he could use it. Power corrupts, and those who have it take advantage of it. Li was nothing more than a player in someone else’s game. If he didn’t take the money, someone else would.

More silence passed before Li spoke, “And you, what now?”

“I’m going home. And this job, this job never happened. I don’t want the money. It didn’t happen. I never went to Loghua.”

Ju’s face began to betray him. His lips began to curl, and his eyes narrowed and hardened. His voice cracked slightly.

“I can’t, Ju, I must pay you. You could have been working other jobs as you did this,” Li reached for his coin, “For your time...”

“No.”

Li reiterated and again went for the coin.

Ju slammed his hand on the table, “I said no!”

Li paused, and the barkeep and servers stopped what they were doing. It was only for a moment, and then they began working as if nothing happened. Li hung his head.

“I’m sorry old friend. Thank you for coming all this way.”

Ju reached across the table and held Li’s hand for a moment.

The two inspectors continued to drink for another hour. They talked about old jobs and traded information they had gathered. Li told Ju about the people’s coin, taxes, and the young flight into the cities in the north. Ju had seen the coin in the east and said youth were leaving the towns there, too; Loghua included. At the end of the hour, Li paid, and the men walked back through the park to the inn. They were quiet now. Although the topic had changed since Guo Xue, Li knew Ju thought differently of him now.

“Gao Ju, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry old friend. For what you’ve done for me, we’ll always be friends,” he paused, “But be careful, Li. Make sure you know the rules of the game you’re playing.”

Li nodded.

“I’m heading east. I plan to ride through the night.”

“Of course.”

Li didn’t want to drag Gao Ju into any more trouble, but he also wondered about Duan He’s family. Even Zhong Bai’s.

“Ju, if you want to help others like the girl, there is another family you can seek out. Two more.”

Ju shook his head, “Goodbye, Hu Li.”

Li watched as Ju walked down the closest alleyway and into the shadows. He wondered if he’d ever see him again.

“Goodbye, old friend,” he whispered into the night.

Suddenly the bustling border city felt empty, but Li slept well that night. He knew more of the puzzle.

What does it matter who pays my bill? It’s the puzzle that drives me. If I didn’t do it, someone else would. At least I enjoy my work.

Li knew what he would do when the sun rose on Fuhua the following morning. He would seek out the Ox, the Pathfinder Morokore Wada.

The Heguri worked throughout the city. Their traders and merchants sold goods in the central markets of Fuhua, just like the Daming. They all lived together in the Heguri quarter in the northeast corner of the city. The architecture was the same, but the buildings’ aesthetic changed once you entered the Heguri quarter. Painted tapestries hung on walls over bamboo mat flooring. There were more gardens and stonework outside in the courtyards, and signage began to change. The Heguri symbols adorned shop signs.

Li was heading to where the Pathfinders stayed in Fuhua. The innkeeper, Ban Bo, had told him that there were five living in Fuhua, all on the same block. Along the way, he stopped for cold buckwheat noodles with sesame. It was a staple in Heguri and one of his favorites. The buckwheat noodles were thinner than the thick noodles back home. The vendor offered tea, but Li had refilled his wine pouch with more yellow sorghum wine and preferred to drink it before meeting a man like the Ox. He would need his wits about him.

The street where Morokore Wada and the other Pathfinders lived was a narrow dirt street with double-story buildings. It ran diagonally up and away from the closest main road. The street gave way to small alleys and passages only locals would know how to navigate. Li counted the doors on the left until he reached the fifth door. It was red, adorned with a small five-leaf silver flower on a dark navy blue background. Li knocked on the door and waited for a response.

It wasn’t long before Li heard a man’s footsteps coming down a set of stairs. The red door opened, and a man’s large frame filled the entryway. Li noticed he must have been easily over six feet tall. The man Li assumed to be Morokore Wada was strong and broad-shouldered. He wore a plain navy blue wool robe, with the silver Pathfinder flower stitched into it, and sandals. His hair was short around the side but long enough on top for a short knot. Wada’s broad face was worn and expressionless.

“Who are you.”

It wasn’t a question, more a command.

“Hello,” Li bowed slightly, “My name is Hu Li. I’ve been sent to you by the Governor of the Duyun Province, Guo Xue.”

Wada grunted, “Right. Alright, come in.”

The Ox walked back into his home through the hallway behind him. The hallway ran parallel to the stairs he came down and was a tight squeeze for the large man. Li followed and closed the door behind him.

Wada kneeled in front of an iron charcoal burning stove in his kitchen, “Tea?”

“No, thank you.”

Wada grunted again and put a small kettle onto the wood-burning stove. The embers were already glowing.

He must have had it on recently.

Li stood in silence while Wada boiled water and poured it into a small teapot. It was a short and wide teapot made of beautiful red clay; the handle a light wood. The wood against the clay pot reminded Hu Li of a small boat floating across the Red River. Li could smell the green tea brewing. Wada said nothing.

Is he waiting for me?

“I’m here working for Governor Guo Xue, one of his concubines—”

“Little Fei,” Wada responded without looking up from his teapot. He grabbed a small cup and poured himself some of the green tea. Wada held it up to Li, “Are you sure? Last chance.”

It smelled good.

“I’ll have some, thank you.”

Wada smiled for the first time, “Smart.”

Wada handed Li the small clay cup. It was warm to the touch and filled with hot green tea. The painting on the cup was a simple cream with brown reeds. Wada poured a second cup for himself and took a long inhale. Li looked closer at the painting and noticed a small heron nestled into the reeds. It was a simple but elegant cup. Li took an inhale before returning his attention to his host.

“So, you know of my job?”

“Yes,” Wada closed his eyes and sipped his tea, “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Did I keep you waiting?”

Wada shrugged, “I’m paid either way. It doesn’t matter.”

Li sipped the tea. The flavor was delicate and delicious, and the water was at the perfect temperature.

“This is good.”

“Reminds me of home.”

“Where’s home?”

“Touyama. Have you been?”

“No. Heard of it, though. Far north?”

“Right,” Wada drank more tea.

“Cold?”

Wada nodded, “At least we have hot tea.”

“And you’re here now.”

“Yes.”

“How do you know my employer?”

“I don’t.”

“He knows you?”

“He knows my employer.”

“Who is?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Li drank more of his tea.

“You can take me across the border?”

“Whatever you want, it’s your decision.”

Li wasn’t sure what arrangements Guo Xue and the Ox’s employer made amongst themselves.

It seems like it will be my lead once we cross into their territory.

“Right. And you will be my guide?”

“Sure.”

Li was uneasy.

“What exactly were your orders?”

“Wait for you. Take you across the border if you want. Do what you ask. Don’t get in the way or involve myself in your work.”

“Right.”

Li drank the last of the tea in the small cup.

“More?” Wada reached for the teapot.

“Thank you, please.”

The Ox filled Li’s cup to the top before doing the same to his own.

“The girl, Chen Feiyan, we think she crossed into Heguri territory just north of here. The problem is I’m not so sure those are her tracks anymore. She changed mounts in Yueyang, something the original trackers didn’t notice. And once over the border, there is nothing directly north of Fuhua. Border cities and mountain villages to the west, Fujikami directly due east, and Fujihoro on the coast, of course. There’s no obvious next place to look.”

The Ox sipped his tea, “They are her tracks.”

Hu Li paused, “What?”

“The tracks, I’ve seen them too. They are hers.”

Li hesitated for a moment. The Pathfinders were renowned trackers, yet Li struggled to imagine anyone could be so sure when he was not. Li had spent most of his adult life tracking and wandering and searching. If he wasn’t sure, how could anyone be so sure?

“How can you verify?”

“I know it. I found the tracks when Guo Xue contacted us and traced them back to Yueyang. The path is lost about a kilometer into our territory.”

“So you think she made it across?”

“I know it.”

Li updated his prior. He was already confident of this fact, and given Morokore Wada’s experience; he was willing to let himself become even more confident. And yet, if the tracks were truly lost, she could be anywhere. She could have turned around. Fei might have ridden towards the empty forests to the north or west, to the small villages at the mountains’ base. She could have ridden east to the bustling harbor town of Fujihoro and jumped a ship for who knows where. He thought back on Guo Xue’s letter.

I understand the task ahead of you is daunting. Do not stress. I am not expecting you to find our little Fei. If it were going to be easy, we would have found her within the first few days.

I hope he means it.

“Thank you, Wada. If it is alright, we will leave tomorrow morning at sunrise. We will ride where the tracks were lost.”

“Easy.”

Li bowed slightly, put down his cup, and exited out the front door. The morning air was hot and humid. The sunlight was relentless. Li walked back down the dirt road that led him to the Pathfinder’s home and met up with the central road again. Li thought of his priors and adjusted them.

Chen Feiyan grew up poor in the east. They likely kidnapped Fei at a young age. Her father and brothers were probably killed, and her mother likely died of illness. The whereabouts of her younger sister are unknown, but she is likely dead, too. Fei does not know about her family. She is smart and rides well. She was very likely unhappy at the estate. She did not ride home, at least initially. She stole a horse in Yueyang, crossed the Red River, and rode through Fuhua into Heguri territory. The trackers followed her at least that far but are lost. Guo Xue is likely dangerous and likely took Fei instead of paying for her. It’s also likely he took Duan He. If he took Fei and Duan He, who knows about Zhong Bai. Guo Xue is not well-liked by the working people in the Duyun Province. Guo Xue is giving me time but likely wants results. The Ox is likely talented, possibly dangerous, and loves tea. His motives are unknown. I hope he likes wine, too. Then we’ll get along just fine.

The cicadas continued to sing in the humid city heat. Li reached for his wine and looked at it for a while. He turned to notice Wada watching him from his window. He put the wineskin back over his shoulder. Li waved and walked down the dirt street. Once he was out of eyesight, he grabbed his wine and took another swig. It was warm and burned on the way down his throat.

It’s too fucking early for this. I want some more noodles. Better get some rest before tomorrow.