The Candle Burns Red - Chapter 13

Beneath the coffin was a natural cave, with a stream running out of it. “Good. Follow the water and we can escape.”

So the Dragon Vein treasure everyone coveted concealed nothing more than an ordinary cave. I began to understand its true purpose. The fragment of the map had made the legend believable and kept the former royal heirs alive, for only their blood could open the way. Once the coffin opened, arrows killed everyone except the person who had opened it. This was the secret: a path to survival left by the former rulers for their descendants.

Pei Xiuwen had seemed so certain in the chamber. He must have known all along.

Before I could rejoice, I noticed how still he was. His hand burned beneath mine. Beads of sweat covered his brow, and his lips had gone white. I sat him down. His sleeve was soaked in blood. The “small wound” was a deep gash that exposed bone.

“You fool. Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?” I fumbled for the wound medicine I carried. He summoned the strength to push me away.

“I am a fool. I didn’t know the Divine Maiden belonged to the Embroidered Guard Pavilion. None survive when your Pavilion acts. If you’ve meant to kill me all along, why save me?”

He was too clever not to have guessed my identity when I used the threads. Stubbornly, I applied the medicine. “I never meant to…”

Before I could finish, a phoenix cry sounded behind us. It was the signal of the Pavilion’s shadow guards. I had brought none on this mission. What were they doing here?

“Run!” I heaved Pei Xiuwen onto my shoulder and headed out. After a few steps, Canglu and several black-clad men blocked our path.

“Your Highness!” Canglu took Pei Xiuwen from me. So he knew the truth too.

Pei Xiuwen was barely conscious. “A-Yao, come with me. I’ll take you away…”

The bastard. He had just spoken so cruelly to me, and now he wanted to lure me away. My nose stung. I pried at his fingers and forced myself to say, “Listen to me. I approached you to discover your identity. I brought you to the Dragon Vein treasure to kill you. I have never loved you.”

His grasp weakened, and his hand slowly fell away. I watched them leave, then ran in the opposite direction. At a sheer cliff, I shouted into the empty air, “Come out, all of you!”

Red-clad shadow guards in fanged blue masks dropped into the trees. They threw a net over me. “Pavilion Master Qingluan defied the imperial will and released a remnant of the former dynasty. By order of the Pavilion, seize her! Kill her if she resists!”

The dungeon was dark and damp. Half my body was submerged in icy water; my hands were bound overhead. Water dripped from above, each drop striking my skull and making my body shudder. Baize sat nearby with a vicious smile.

“This was originally a Western Depot method of torment. I never expected to use it on you.”

I spat blood and glared at him with my one eye that still worked. “You cur. I should never have saved you.”

“You taught me well, Pavilion Master. Didn’t you take your position by killing the previous master?”

Baize had once been the lowest of the shadow guards, thin and small, overlooked by everyone. During a mission that almost exposed the Pavilion, the other guards severed his meridians and left him behind to mislead the enemy. I had risked my life to rescue him and used all my medical skill to heal him. He had followed me ever since. I had brought a wolf into my own house.

I sneered. “Are these really the emperor’s orders? Tell the master above you that His Majesty is still very much alive. He’s getting ahead of himself.”

Baize was impatient for advancement, vain beneath his insecurity. The emperor would never choose him. Only that fool Yuwen Sheng would use him. Yuwen Sheng had been maneuvering for years, eager to seize the throne. Sure enough, Baize’s face changed.

He rushed at me and drove a dagger into my shoulder. “You know too much. Should I kill you?”

“You’re only an obedient dog. If your master hasn’t allowed it, you can’t.”

The blade went deeper. I clenched my teeth, refusing to show him any reaction. His eyes were red beneath his heavy fringe, their outer corners tilted with a cold malice.

“Why did you fall in love with Pei Xiuwen? Why?”

I could not help laughing. “Don’t you think this is an odd time to ask?”

“His Highness cares about you. It’s unfair to him.”

Why Pei Xiuwen? Because the realm would fare far better in his hands than in Yuwen Sheng’s. I had known that since I was eight.