Two days until the grace period ended.
Wang Ben woke before dawn. The clan grounds were quieter than they should have been, the usual noise of morning routines replaced by low voices and careful footsteps. Families that had been told to leave were packing. The ones staying behind moved through their tasks without looking up.
He found Dao Zhen at the training grounds. They sparred shorter than the day before, neither of them wasting words. Half a dozen Dao Clan cultivators watched from the edge of the yard. Wang Ben lasted longer than ever, and twice his counterattacks came close enough that Dao Zhen had to actually defend rather than evade.
Neither of them mentioned it.
...
At the war council that morning, Wang Ben spoke up.
"I received a warning last night. There are unknown forces in the region. Not the mercenaries. Something else."
"Can you be more specific?" Patriarch Wang Tiexin asked.
"No. Only that they're watching."
Wang Feng met his eyes briefly. He didn't ask where the warning came from.
"Could be sect disciples," Elder Wang Qing said. "The beast tide would have attracted attention. A conflict between established clans might draw observers."
"Crimson Bastion scouts," Grand Elder Wang Feng countered, leaning forward. For a heartbeat, the air in the room changed. The air thickened. Wang Ben's skin prickled as if he'd stepped too close to a furnace. Then it was gone, the Grand Elder settling back in his chair, his scarred face betraying nothing.
"Or a third party entirely." Patriarch Wang Tiexin's voice cut through the speculation. "We cannot afford to divert resources from what matters most. The Xue Clan remains the immediate threat."
"But if there are unknown parties..." Wang Ben began.
"Then we deal with them after we've secured our survival." The Patriarch's tone brooked no argument. "The grace period ends in two days. The mercenaries arrive one day after that. We have a narrow window, and we will not waste it."
"However," the Patriarch continued, turning to Wang Ben. "Elder Wang Qing will be watching the battle from the eastern ridge. You'll be with him."
Wang Ben glanced at Wang Qing, who gave a slight nod.
"Keep your eyes open," Wang Feng added. "For anything that doesn't belong."
...
By afternoon, those who couldn't fight were leaving. Servants, children, the elderly. They slipped out in small groups, carrying what they could.
Wang Ben found his mother in the family courtyard, packing a small bag while Wang Chen fussed in his cradle.
"You're leaving." It wasn't a question.
"Tomorrow morning." Li Mei's hands moved with practiced ease, folding clothes into tight bundles. "Chen and I will stay at a secured residence in the merchant district until the fighting ends."
"Father?"
"Staying." She paused in her packing. "I don't like it. But I understand."
"We'll be careful."
"Will you?" There was an edge to her voice. "Your father told me they're putting you with Elder Wang Qing." She resumed her packing, hands moving faster than they needed to. "You see things the way my father did. I just hope it doesn't cost you the same."
Wang Ben said nothing.
Li Mei tied off her bag and straightened. She reached out and cupped his face. Her palms were rough from years of work. "I'm walking away tomorrow while my son stays behind. Do you understand what that costs me, Ben'er?"
"I know."
"No. You don't." She held his eyes, then dropped her hands. "I'll see you when this is over."
...
Wang Ben passed Wang Hao on his way back from the family courtyard. The patrol leader was heading for the gates, a travel pack slung over one shoulder, moving with the quiet purpose of someone on an errand he hadn't chosen to explain.
"Wang Hao."
The older man paused. "Wang Ben."
"You're leaving the grounds?"
"Picking something up for your father." Wang Hao adjusted his pack. "He said it couldn't wait."
Wang Ben watched him go.
...
Wang Hao cut through the commercial district on his way to the herb merchants. The streets were quieter than usual, most of the stalls closed early.
He noticed the Xue Clan retainers first. Half a dozen of them, moving crates out of their shops along the main row. Not packing for storage. Clearing out, the way people did when they knew something was about to happen to the buildings they were leaving behind.
Then he saw Xue Feng.
The heir stood at the mouth of an alley, watching the work with his arms crossed. When he noticed Wang Hao, something flickered across his face. Not fear. Calculation.
Wang Hao stopped walking.
"Busy evening," he said.
Xue Feng's retainers tensed, hands drifting toward their weapons. But Xue Feng didn't move. He looked Wang Hao over the way a man measured a wall he wasn't sure he could climb.
"Just clearing old stock," Xue Feng said. "Nothing that concerns the Wang Clan."
"Everything in this district concerns us."
Xue Feng's mouth curved. "How's the girl, by the way? Wang Shu, was it?" He tilted his head. "I hope she's better."
Wang Hao went very still. When he spoke, his voice was flat.
"Two days, Xue Feng."
He held the heir's gaze, waiting. Part of him wanted Xue Feng to be stupid enough to try something. But the boy just looked away.
Wang Hao continued down the street.
Xue Feng watched him go. The easy composure returned slowly, but his eyes stayed hard.
He turned to the nearest retainer and spoke quietly enough that no one passing would hear. The retainer's face went pale.
"Should we check with your father first?" the retainer asked.
Xue Feng stopped. He turned slowly, and the retainer flinched.
"What did you say?"
...
The fires started just after sunset. Three Wang Clan allied businesses in the commercial district. Two warehouses. A smithy. The Xue retainers who had cleared out their own shops hours earlier expressed shock and concern. Accidents, they said. Tools breaking. A lamp knocked over. Common enough in any workshop.
Wang Feng gathered the elders. "They're testing us. Probing for weakness before the real fighting begins."
"Should we retaliate?" someone asked.
"With what? They've committed no provable violation. The fires were accidents." Disgust crossed Wang Feng's face. "They want us to break the grace period first. Give them justification to claim we started the war."
"So we do nothing?"
"We endure. Two more days of patience. That's all we need."
Wang Ben watched the faces around him. Anger replacing patience.
...
That night, Wang Ben sat in his father's workshop while Wang Tian worked. Rows of pills lined the workbench.
"You should be resting," his father said without looking up.
"So should you."
Neither of them moved to leave. Wang Ben stayed until his eyes grew heavy, then went back to the family courtyard and lay in bed, listening to the silence that had replaced his brother's laughter and his mother's voice.