Li Xun did not move. His knife remained steady in his hand, the blade catching the faint gray light that seeped through the shuttered window. Beside him, Qian stirred on his cushion, his eyes snapping open with the instant terror of a hunted animal.
"Quiet," Li Xun breathed. "Do not speak unless I signal you."
He crossed to the door and pressed his palm flat against the wood, feeling the faint vibration of a presence on the other side. The voice had been unmistakable: Duke Du's cultivated tones, calm and measured even at this forsaken hour. But a man who arrived at a clerk's office before dawn, knowing who was inside, was not merely paying a social call.
"Duke Du," Li Xun said, keeping his voice level. "This is an unexpected hour for a visit. The archives are closed until the hour of the dragon."
"I am aware of the hour. I am also aware that Inspector Qian is with you. Please open the door, Clerk Li. I come not as a nobleman demanding entrance, but as a concerned citizen offering assistance. You have my word that no harm will come to either of you while I am present."
Li Xun hesitated. A nobleman's word carried weight in Tang society, and Duke Du's reputation for integrity was legendary. But Li Xun had learned in recent days that reputations could be carefully constructed facades, and that a man's word was only as good as the secrets he kept.
"Are you alone?"
"I have two servants with me. They will remain outside the building. I will enter alone, if that is your wish."
Li Xun slid back the bolt and opened the door a hand's breadth. Duke Du stood in the corridor, his tall frame draped in a dark traveling cloak over his plain gray robes. His white beard was neatly combed, and his eyes showed no trace of sleep. Behind him, at the far end of the corridor, two figures in dark blue livery stood with their hands clasped and their heads bowed.
"Your servants may wait in the courtyard," Li Xun said. "You may enter."
Duke Du nodded to the servants and stepped through the doorway. Li Xun closed and bolted the door behind him. The small office was now crowded with three men, and the air grew close and warm. Qian had retreated to the farthest corner, his back pressed against a shelf of ledgers, his eyes fixed on the Duke with undisguised fear.
Duke Du glanced at him and inclined his head politely. "Inspector Qian. I am relieved to see you alive. When I heard of the attack on your home, I feared the worst."
"How did you hear of it?" Li Xun asked. "The attack occurred only a few hours ago. I have reported it to no one."
"I have sources throughout this town. A servant of mine was passing through the granary district and saw a man fleeing your home, Inspector. He recognized your face in the doorway. When he reported this to me, I sent men to search for you. One of them tracked you to this building." Duke Du settled himself on the edge of the desk, folding his hands in his lap with the ease of a man who was accustomed to being in control. "I came as soon as I could. The streets are not safe, and the prefectural compound is not secure. You were wise to take shelter here, but you cannot remain indefinitely."
"Then where would you suggest we go?" Li Xun did not sheathe his knife, though he lowered it slightly. "The Deputy Prefect has refused to provide protection. The militia is spread thin along the border. And we have no evidence that would convince a magistrate to issue an arrest warrant."
"You could come to my estate." Duke Du's voice was gentle, almost paternal. "I have twenty private guards, all former soldiers. I have walls and gates and men who patrol through the night. Inspector Qian could stay in one of my guest pavilions until the killer is caught. And you, Clerk Li, could continue your investigation from a position of safety."
Qian looked at Li Xun with desperate hope, but Li Xun's expression did not change. The Duke's offer was generous, even logical. It was also, he could not help but notice, exactly the kind of arrangement that would place both remaining witnesses under the Duke's complete control.
"Your offer is kind," Li Xun said. "But I must decline. Inspector Qian will remain under my protection, and I will continue my investigation from the prefectural office. If the Duke wishes to assist, he could use his influence to persuade Deputy Prefect Chang to unseal the complete records of the Yuan-Wei trial."
Duke Du's eyes flickered, a tiny movement that Li Xun caught and catalogued. "The records are sealed by order of a high official in Chang'an. Even I cannot override that without Imperial authorization. But I have already sent a letter to my contacts in the capital, requesting an expedited review. Within a month, I hope to have the records opened."
"A month may be too late. The killer is moving quickly. Three men are dead in three days. Inspector Qian was attacked tonight. Captain Zhao is isolated at a border outpost with no knowledge that he is being hunted."
"I have already dispatched a rider to Captain Zhao's outpost," Duke Du said calmly. "He should arrive by tomorrow evening. The captain will be warned and offered an escort back to Yizhou, if he wishes it."
Li Xun blinked. He had not expected that. "You sent a rider without informing the prefectural office?"
"I did. The Deputy Prefect is a cautious man, and caution can be fatal when lives are at stake. I chose to act first and explain later." The Duke met Li Xun's eyes with an expression of frank openness. "You do not trust me, Clerk Li. I can see it in your face. You believe that I am somehow involved in these murders, perhaps even in the original forgery. You are not wrong to be suspicious. A man in my position attracts suspicion the way a lamp attracts moths. But I ask you to consider something."
"And what is that?"
"If I were the killer, why would I warn Captain Zhao? Why would I offer my estate as a sanctuary for Inspector Qian? Why would I come here, alone, to speak with you face to face, when I could simply wait for the killer to finish his work and then mourn publicly with everyone else?"
It was a strong argument. Li Xun could find no immediate flaw in its logic, and yet the unease in his gut refused to quiet. The Duke was too helpful, too accommodating, too perfectly aligned with the needs of the investigation. And there was still the matter of the blue silk, the payment to Yuan Xiaoren, the sealed records, the forged confessions. None of that had been explained.
"Your actions tonight speak well of you," Li Xun admitted. "But there are questions that still require answers. The confessions from the trial are forgeries. The payment records show that you authorized a disbursement of silver to Yuan Xiaoren shortly before his arrest. And the blue silk thread found at two murder scenes matches the livery of your household. I cannot ignore these facts simply because you offer hospitality."
Duke Du was silent for a long moment. Outside, the first birds of dawn had begun to sing. A gray light was filling the room, making the lamplight seem thin and tired. Finally, the Duke spoke.
"The payment to Yuan Xiaoren was legitimate. He worked as a day laborer in the granary for three months before his arrest. I authorized his wages, as I authorized the wages of dozens of other temporary workers. I did not know who he was, or what he would later be accused of. It was an administrative formality, nothing more."
"And the blue silk? Your household's livery?"
"My household employs over a hundred servants and guards. Any one of them could have sold a uniform, or had it stolen, or worn it while committing a crime without my knowledge. I have already ordered a full inventory of all livery. If any garments are missing, I will report it immediately."
"The forged confessions?"
"I cannot explain those. I was not present at the interrogation, and I did not review the trial documents in detail. If the confessions were falsified, then someone in the prefectural office was responsible. But I do not know who, or why." Duke Du leaned forward, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "I will tell you something, Clerk Li, that I have never told anyone. In the weeks after the execution, I began to have doubts about the case. Not about the guilt of Yuan and Wei—I still believe they were forgers—but about the completeness of the investigation. There were leads that were never followed. Witnesses who were never called. And the prefect, who should have been the most diligent in seeking the truth, seemed oddly eager to close the matter."
"Did you raise these concerns with him?"
"I did. He told me that the case was closed, that justice had been served, and that I should focus on my charitable works and leave legal matters to the courts. A few months later, he was promoted to the Ministry of Justice. I remained in Yizhou, and I have been haunted by the unanswered questions ever since."
Li Xun studied the old man's face, searching for any sign of deception. The story was plausible. It matched the facts as he knew them. And yet it also provided the Duke with a perfect explanation for any evidence that might later be uncovered. The prefect was in Chang'an, beyond reach. The Duke was merely a concerned citizen, troubled by doubt but powerless to act.
"You have given me much to consider," Li Xun said. "But I must ask you one more question. When you came to my door tonight, you said you knew Inspector Qian was with me. How did you know that? My assistant did not tell you. I did not tell anyone."
Duke Du's expression flickered again, and this time Li Xun saw something beneath the surface that he had not seen before. It was not guilt, or fear, or anger. It was something colder. Calculation.
"Your landlady," the Duke said smoothly. "My servant inquired at your residence, and she said you had not returned home. He then inquired at the prefectural compound, and the night guard said your lamp was still burning in the records hall. It was a simple deduction."
"Of course." Li Xun nodded as if satisfied. But he was not satisfied. The night guard had been asleep when Li Xun had arrived with Qian. He had checked. No one had spoken to the guard, and the guard had not spoken to anyone.
Duke Du rose from the desk and smoothed his robes. "I will leave you now. Inspector Qian, my offer of sanctuary remains open. Clerk Li, I hope that in time you will come to see me as an ally rather than a suspect. These are dark days for Yizhou, and we will need to work together if we are to see the dawn."
He walked to the door and paused with his hand on the bolt. "One more thing. I have made inquiries among my contacts in the merchant quarter. The cart that killed the blacksmith was indeed stolen from the Hu trading house, as Hu Xian claimed. But it was not stolen on the morning of the murder. It was stolen three days earlier. Hu Xian reported it missing at the time, but he withdrew the report the next day, claiming it had been a misunderstanding."
Li Xun's mind raced. Three days earlier. That was before Old He had been killed. The cart had been taken in advance, stored somewhere, and then used at the precise moment when Kang would be outside his forge. The murder had been planned well in advance, not improvised.
"Why are you telling me this?" Li Xun asked.
"Because you are the only person in this town who is actually trying to find the truth. Deputy Prefect Chang wants to bury it. The merchant houses want to protect their interests. The common people want to forget and go about their lives. But you, Li Xun, you are still asking questions. That makes you dangerous. And it makes you valuable." He unbolted the door and stepped into the corridor. "Be careful whom you trust."
The door closed behind him, and his footsteps receded down the corridor. Li Xun stood motionless for a full minute, listening to the distant sounds of the Duke's servants mounting their horses and riding away. When the silence was complete, he turned to Qian.
"Inspector, I need you to think carefully. The man who attacked you tonight. You said his hands were small, like a woman's. Did you notice anything else? Any ring, any scar, any mark on his clothing?"
Qian shook his head miserably. "Nothing. I was too frightened. But there was one thing. When he grabbed me, his sleeve pulled back for a moment. I saw his forearm. There was a burn scar, an old one, shaped like a small circle. Like the mark a hot coin would leave."
A coin burn. Li Xun had heard of such things. In certain criminal circles, a coin was heated and pressed into the skin as a form of branding, a sign of membership in a gang or a secret society. It was an old practice, one that had been common among smugglers and forgers along the Silk Road.
"Did you ever see such a mark on anyone else? Anyone from the old trial?"
Qian closed his eyes, straining to remember. "There was a man who worked in the prefectural office as a torturer. He used to brand prisoners during interrogations. The prefect employed him for difficult cases. But he left Yizhou after the trial. No one knew where he went."
"A torturer," Li Xun murmured. "What was his name?"
"I do not remember. He was a small man, with delicate hands. Everyone called him the Needle, because he could insert a needle into any point of the body without leaving a visible wound."
The puncture mark on the back of Ma Wen's neck. The small fingerprints on the nail at the Hu compound. A small man, with a torturer's knowledge of the body's weak points, wearing a ring with a red stone and carrying a coin burn on his forearm. The Needle had returned to Yizhou.
And Duke Du, in all his careful explanations, had not mentioned him once.
Li Xun sat down at his desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. He wrote quickly, recording everything Qian had said, everything the Duke had revealed, every piece of the puzzle that was finally beginning to form a coherent picture. When he was finished, he folded the paper and sealed it in the leather tube with his other documents.
"I will find this Needle," he said. "And when I do, I believe he will lead me to the man who hired him."
"Do you know who that is?"
Li Xun looked at the door through which the Duke had departed. "I have a theory. But a theory is not proof. I need evidence that will stand before a magistrate, evidence that cannot be dismissed or explained away."
The sun was fully up now, spilling golden light through the window. Somewhere in the town, the morning markets were opening, and the ordinary rhythms of daily life were resuming. But Li Xun felt as though he were living in a different Yizhou, a shadow town beneath the surface, where old crimes festered and new murders bloomed like poisonous flowers.
He had two tasks now: find the Needle, and protect the remaining witnesses until the Imperial Inspectorate responded to his report. Both tasks were dangerous. Both required him to move faster than the killer.
He opened the door and stepped into the corridor, leaving Qian to sleep in the locked office with a knife beside his pillow. The day ahead would be long, and by its end, he suspected he would know the truth. Whether he would survive that knowledge was another question entirely.
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