Detective Li arrived at the office at 7:30 a.m.; he hadn't managed to sleep because he kept thinking about what had happened to the sorcerer and how he had reacted to his questions.
When he ran into him as he was leaving through the main entrance, he was surprised. "What are you doing here at this hour?"
"I came for the identification of the men who broke into my house. I have to go away for work; it seemed right to take care of it first."
Zeyang studied him. His face was tense and there were shadows under his eyes.
"Will you be away long?"
"A couple of days."
"Have a good trip, then. Take care of yourself."
"You too, detective."
When he reached the upper floor, he found Lombardi organizing the teams. "Lu Shen identified the men. He's going with Matt to the address we have for the sorcerer. Be careful."
---
Zeyang called Lombardi and told him that the suspect's home was empty. The werewolf informed him that the other two teams had also come up empty-handed.
Since all three were already on record, they had probably decided not to wait for a police visit and to flee.
He wondered whether they had left the city or whether they would try again to break into Lu Shen's house and whether they were looking for something specific. The doubt had been gnawing at him since the previous night, and he wondered if the sorcerer might be in danger.
Fortunately, he would be away for a couple of days, and for safety's sake Zeyang would stop by that evening to check on the house.
---
The villa was surrounded by thin blue lines. Zeyang smiled: he should have expected the sorcerer to protect his own home. Reassured, he returned to his apartment and made himself a plate of rice. He moved the clothes off the couch and ate leaning against the armrest, then put everything away and went to sleep.
---
When Lu Shen read about the theft of the Blood Bowl, he immediately thought of Zeyang and the other thefts. He was beginning to think they were connected and wondered whether the object they had tried to take from his house was connected as well. He owned an Eastern fan and sword from similar periods, a Celtic incense burner, and a Roman lantern. The object most akin to the stolen ones was the incense burner, in terms of period and origin—although he didn't understand its value or its connection to the other stolen artifacts.
He went to the study and dissolved the spell that concealed it, then picked it up, turning it over in his hands. It had engraved runes whose meaning he didn't know. He photographed the object, then put it back in its place and restored the spell.
Back in the living room, he wrote to Zeyang, sending him the link to the article about the theft of the Bowl and the photo of the object he thought the thieves had been searching for in his house.
The phone immediately began to ring. It was the detective.
"You can't keep it at home anymore: it's too dangerous; they could come back for it."
"There's nowhere else I can keep it."
"Entrust it to a museum until we solve the case."
"So they can take it more easily? If it's really important, it shouldn't end up in their hands."
"Lu Shen, you'll be in danger."
"They've never hurt anyone. In any case, I'll increase security."
"…"
"Zeyang?"
"There's no way to make you change your mind?"
"No."
"Has anyone ever told you you're stubborn?"
The sorcerer laughed. "Yes. Don't worry, detective. If there's a problem, I'll call you."
After ending the call, the sorcerer contacted the alarm system technician to have it checked, then added protective spells against unwanted intrusions.