The cottage fell silent.
The stranger's voice lingered beyond the door, carried by the cold mountain wind. X'ian remained seated on her bedding, every muscle in her body tense. The old man stood motionless near the entrance, his gaze fixed upon the wooden door as though he could see through it.
Outside, the man laughed again.
"Have the years softened you, old friend? I have been standing here for some time."
The old man finally spoke.
"I buried you myself."
"Yet here I am."
A long silence followed.
X'ian rose slowly and slipped her hand beneath her cloak, finding the dagger Uncle Han had given her.
The old man noticed.
"That won't help you tonight."
"Who is he?"
The old man did not answer immediately.
"He was once the most feared intelligence officer in the empire."
X'ian frowned.
"Was?"
"He should have died twenty years ago."
The voice outside interrupted.
"I dislike being discussed as though I am absent."
The door suddenly opened, no one had touched it, one moment it was closed, the next it swung inward. A man stepped into the cottage, he looked no older than forty despite the years that should have passed.
His black robes were simple, but there was something unsettling about him. His movements were too controlled, too precise. Even his smile felt calculated.
His eyes immediately settled on X'ian, for several heartbeats, he said nothing, then he bowed.
A perfectly polite bow.
"Lady X'ian."
The courtesy frightened her more than hostility would have.
The old man moved between them.
"What do you want?"
The newcomer straightened.
"You know why I'm here."
"Speak plainly."
His smile widened.
"The game has begun again."
A flicker passed through the old man's eyes, the first genuine emotion X'ian had seen from him.
Recognition, the newcomer noticed it too.
"You received the message, then."
"What message?"
"The execution."
The room grew colder.
The man walked calmly to the table and poured himself tea without permission.
"Did you truly think Lord Xian Ren died because of Zhao Kang?"
X'ian's grip tightened around her dagger.
"What are you saying?"
The man glanced at her.
"I'm saying your father's death was never the objective."
For the first time since entering, the smile vanished from his face.
"He was simply the opening move."
The old man's expression hardened.
"Enough."
"No."
The stranger met his gaze.
"She deserves to know."
X'ian felt her pulse quicken.
Know what?
Every instinct told her the conversation was leading somewhere dangerous.
The man took a sip of tea.
"Twenty-three years ago, five men discovered something hidden within the Imperial Archives."
The old man closed his eyes briefly, as though he already knew what was coming.
The stranger continued.
"One emperor died because of it. Three ministers disappeared because of it. Thousands have been killed to keep it buried."
"What was it?" X'ian asked.
The man's eyes found hers.
"A secret."
"That tells me nothing."
"A secret powerful enough to destroy the Dragon Empire."
Silence engulfed the cottage, X'ian wanted to dismiss the claim as madness, yet neither man's expression suggested exaggeration.
The old man slowly sat down, for the first time, he looked tired, truly tired.
The stranger nodded.
"Now she understands."
"No," the old man replied. "She understands nothing."
The stranger laughed softly.
"Then perhaps we should tell her everything."
His gaze shifted toward X'ian.
"Your father wasn't executed because he was honest."
A knot formed in her stomach.
"He was executed because he found the same secret."
The room seemed to shrink around her.
"No."
"It is true."
"No."
The stranger's voice remained calm.
"Months before his death, Lord Xian Ren began investigating irregularities within the Imperial Treasury. He followed the trail. Eventually, he discovered something he was never supposed to see."
The old man slammed a hand against the table.
"That's enough."
The sound echoed through the cottage, the stranger studied him.
"You fear history repeating itself."
"I fear foolishness."
The stranger smiled again.
"Those are often the same thing."
X'ian looked from one man to the other.
Both clearly knew more than they were saying, both were hiding pieces of the truth.
"What secret?"
Neither answered.
The silence stretched, then the stranger reached inside his robe, instantly, X'ian's hand tightened around her dagger, the old man's posture shifted slightly, the stranger withdrew a small object and placed it on the table.
A jade token.
The moment X'ian saw it, her breath caught, she recognized the symbol carved into its surface, a black dragon coiled around a broken crown.
Her father had drawn that symbol repeatedly during the final months before his arrest.
She had once asked him about it, he had burned the paper immediately, then warned her never to speak of it again, the stranger noticed her reaction.
"Interesting."
The old man stared at the token, for the first time, concern became alarm.
"Where did you get that?"
The stranger's smile faded.
"From a dead man."
A heavy silence settled over the room, the old man rose to his feet.
"You shouldn't have brought it here."
"I know."
"Then why did you?"
The stranger looked directly at X'ian.
"Because they already know she's alive."
Those words hit harder than any blade, the old man went still, the stranger continued.
"The search parties aren't looking for the daughter of House Xian anymore."
A cold sensation crawled down X'ian's spine.
"They're looking for the heir."
"Heir to what?" she asked.
The stranger's expression became unreadable, before he could answer, a sound echoed from outside.
A horn, then another, then another.
The old man rushed to the window, his face darkened instantly, X'ian moved beside him, far below the mountain, hundreds of lights were climbing through the darkness.
Torches, an army of them, the forest itself seemed to glow, the stranger exhaled slowly.
"Faster than I expected."
The old man turned.
"How many?"
"At least a thousand."
X'ian stared in disbelief.
A thousand men?
For her?
That was impossible, the stranger seemed to read her thoughts.
"They're not here for you."
The old man looked at him sharply, the stranger's gaze settled on the jade token resting on the table, when he spoke again, his voice carried none of its earlier amusement.
"They're here for that."
Outside, another horn sounded, this one closer, much closer.
Then came the distant thunder of drums, the old man's face became grim, the stranger reached for the token, and in that exact moment, the cottage floor trembled, not from footsteps, not from drums.
From something beneath the mountain itself, the three of them froze. A deep rumble echoed through the earth, dust drifted from the ceiling.
The jade token suddenly began to vibrate on the table, then a crack split across its surface.
A faint golden light emerged from within, the stranger's expression vanished completely, the old man's eyes widened.
And for the first time that night, both men looked afraid.
"Impossible," the old man whispered.
The token shattered, inside was a second object, a thin strip of black metal engraved with a single sentence, the stranger picked it up.
Read it, and went pale.
X'ian had never seen fear on his face before, she stepped forward.
"What does it say?"
The stranger slowly raised his eyes, for several seconds, he couldn't speak, when he finally did, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"The Emperor knows."
Outside, the mountain shook again.