The morning sun rose over White Root Village, its gentle light belying the tension thick in the air.
In the Governor's Hall, Crown Prince Li Ren stood by the window, arms folded, gaze fixed on the winding trail below.
Shen returned just before dawn.
Dust on his boots.
Smoke in his eyes.
No words on his lips.
"Where were you?" Li Ren asked, voice carefully measured.
Shen didn't flinch. "Walking."
"All night?"
"Couldn't sleep."
A pause.
Then Li Ren stepped closer.
"You met someone last night."
It wasn't a question.
It was a declaration.
Shen's silence was answer enough.
The prince's tone sharpened. "Was it them? The Southern snakes?"
Shen looked him dead in the eye.
"I'm not your enemy, Brother."
"But you're not mine either. That's the problem."
Before the tension could split into something worse, General Kang burst through the door, face pale.
"Your Highnesses! Urgent!"
He held up a letter. Black wax. No crest. Smelled faintly of lotus and poison.
"Intercepted by our scouts. A message for… 'The Knife in the Curtain.'"
The twins exchanged glances.
Li Ren growled. "One of the Emperor's own spies is with us."
The envoy was locked down immediately. No one allowed in or out.
Servants questioned. Guards searched. Tents turned upside down.
Still… nothing.
Until that night.
Shen entered the storage barn to retrieve firewood.
But what he found was a corpse.
One of the royal scribes — throat slit, tongue removed, chest carved with three characters:
"TRAITOR TO DUST."
Pinned beside the body was a half-burned imperial decree.
It named Shen as a risk to national stability — and authorized "necessary containment."
That's when it became clear.
The Knife in the Curtain…Wasn't just spying.
They were here to kill Shen.
Back in the main camp, Shen laid the decree before Li Ren.
"Your father sent someone to eliminate me. Quietly. Without blood on the throne."
Li Ren clenched the edge of the table until it cracked.
"He knew you'd return with favor. He wants you removed before the court turns its eye."
Shen nodded slowly.
"Which means if we leave White Root… I won't make it to the next city."
A long silence.
Then Li Ren stood.
Walked to the campfire.
And tossed the decree into the flames.
"I never asked for a brother," he said, "but if the throne wants you dead…"
"Then I'll make sure you live. Even if I burn the knife that hides behind the curtain."