Startled by the sudden interruption, Mei whirled around, her red-rimmed eyes scanning the stranger standing before her. He was a rough-looking youth. His clothes were caked in the dust of the road, his tangled hair escaping a tattered tie, and his jaw hidden under a week's worth of stubble.
"Keep your mouth shut and move on, kid. Don't poke your nose into business that doesn't concern you," she scoffed, turning her back on him with a flick of her robes.
But as she walked away, his words echoed in her mind. Something about the way he had spoken—so calm, so certain, made her heart hammer inside her ribs. She stayed rooted to the spot for a long time, her fingers clenched by her sides.
Then, slowly, stubbornly, she turned back to glare at the man who hadn't moved an inch from where he stood. "You seem awfully sure of yourself," she spat, her voice trembling with a sharp, sudden hope. "If not in the sky… then where is he?"
Yase looked deeply into Mei Lanying's eyes, peering past the veil of the town's bully to the grief beneath it. He didn't know how she was connected to Lord Yue Jingyuan, but she was yelling at the sky because she could feel his absence.
In a world that had collectively turned its back on his lord, any genuine soul who cared about him was a rare treasure. If this woman's concern could provide a flicker of light for his lord's final journey, he was willing to risk it.
He didn't offer her any explanation. He simply met her gaze and gestured for her to follow him. He led the way toward the carriage he had parked behind the inn.
Mei looked back at her people and ordered them to stay behind before following the young man herself.
The air at the back of the inn felt still. Mei watched with sweating palms as the man drew the silky black drapes aside, revealing a dark polished wood resting inside. She felt a sudden crushing weight in her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Tears blurred her vision, but she refused to let them fall.
He is here. He is alive. She chanted it like a prayer, her resolve hardening even as her heart broke.
After a long moment, she forced herself to look away from the coffin and back at the young man.
"What's your name?" she asked, her tone no longer arrogant.
Yase bowed deeply, his voice respectful. "This one is called Yase Shouming, my lady. I have been tasked with carrying Lord Yue to the foot of Shanyin Mountain."
Mei nodded and fussed over the details of the journey. She enquired if the lord had eaten, how the journey fared, and what supplies they lacked. Despite Yase's protest, she thrust a heavy bag of silver into his hands, her eyes flashing with a familiar fire. "Send him safely. If you fail, I will hunt you to the ends of the world," she warned.
When Yase began to pull the drapes, his hands paused. He looked back at the woman and offered, "Would you like to look at Lord Yue, my lady? One last time?"
Mei recoiled as if stung, her lips curling in a mocking sneer. "I have a business to run. I am not joining him in a hole just yet!"
Yase said nothing, but noticed her other hand clutching the corner of the carriage drape, unwilling to let it go. His own mouth twitched into a ghost of a smile.
As he prepared the horse to set off, Lady Mei's assistants quickly loaded a pair of thick blankets and several boxes of snacks and supplies, tucking them carefully around the coffin.
Mei had offered her own spacious carriage, but Yase refused. The more grand it looked, the more attention it would attract, which would only hinder their journey.
Lady Mei nodded in understanding.
She watched as Yase climbed onto his seat and gathered the reins. Just as the wheels began to creak, her gaze lingered on the black drapes at the back of the carriage one last time.
"When he wakes," she whispered, leaning closer to the carriage, "tell him I became neither silk nor the blade that cuts it. I became the stain that refused to wash away."
Lady Mei turned on her heels, her head held high, and walked away with her people. She never once looked back to see the carriage.
Yase sat motionless, his eyes anchored to Lady Mei's retreating figure until she vanished at the end of the street.
He tightened his grip on the reins and the carriage rolled forward leaving Luan behind.
Neither Mei nor Yase noticed, a pair of eyes watching from the rooftop—already returning to the capital with news.