Chapter 4: The Shadow Agent
The Mist Chamber stood diagonally across from the Duke of Wei's mansion in Anyi Ward—a modest courtyard likely once housing some noble's retainer. Xue Chongxun had purchased and refurbished it as his private retreat.
"Remove your veil," Xue commanded upon entering. The woman he'd rescued earlier intrigued him. Beneath the swaying lanterns, her pale features emerged—paper-white skin, thin lips, and a sharp chin. She shielded her eyes with a palm, murmuring, "The light stings."
Xue gestured toward the wooden lodge's steamy interior. Bodyguard Fang Yuzhong cautioned, "My lord, allowing her alone with you—"
"Enough." Xue cut him off, striding into the vapor-filled chamber.
The room held two nomadic-style couches, a sandalwood table, and a scorched boulder hissing under poured water. As steam thickened, a maid delivered tea. Xue drained his cup. "Drink now. The heat will parch you later."
The woman declined. Sweat soon plastered her black robes to a slender frame—willow-waisted, modest curves outlined through damp fabric. Xue, stripped to a loincloth, studied her.
"Your story. No lies—I'll verify it."
She spoke through the mist: "They call me Ghostly Envoy. Third orphan taken by the Yuwen clan."
Xue's interest sharpened. "Yuwen Xiao? The Revenue Bureau secretary I spoke with tonight?"
"The same. He poses as a tea merchant but extorts canal traders through murder. When eight merchant guilds rebelled and the court intervened, Yuwen Xiao bought his way into legitimacy through Feng Yuanjun—Vice Minister of Sacrifices." Her voice turned bitter. "Now he silences us who built his fortune. My brothers died keeping his secrets... until Fourth Brother's warning let me flee."
As steam swirled, Xue connected threads: Yuwen Xiao's daughter Yuwen Ji was Feng Yuanjun's betrothed—and Xue's own acquaintance. "Does Yuwen Ji know her father's dealings?"
"She senses darkness but remains untouched." The woman's laugh rasped hollow. "Yuwen Xiao claimed we were family. Yet when clean, he scrubs us away like bloodstains."
Xue watched condensation trace her collarbones. "What do you seek now?"
"To live ordinary." Her cracked whisper held decades' weariness. "A kitchen maid, perhaps? My stews pleased my... brothers."
Xue almost pitied her—almost. Then cold calculation reasserted. This wraith trained in murder could be weaponized against Feng Yuanjun and Yuwen Xiao both.
"Your life is mine to preserve or discard," he stated, rising. The steamy air clung like a second skin. "Serve well, and ordinary days may come. Betray me..." He let the hissing stone complete the threat.
Outside, night's chill bit through sweat. Xue breathed deep, plans crystallizing. The Mist Chamber's vapors had birthed more than sweat—they'd forged a blade for his gathering storm.