Bian Lingbai jolted, shaken. He seemed to have feared that answer, and Fei Hongde had confirmed his suspicions.
“Rest assured, General. Only the young master and I are aware of the location of the treasure at this time,” Fei Hongde said. “You arrived just as I was about to mislead him, which is surely why he went to the study—to search for the treasure map himself.”
Bian Lingbai nodded, his eyes narrowing. “I see…”
Was that really how it was? Duan Ling could find no holes in Fei Hongde’s deductions, but he couldn’t help but feel there was something about it that wasn’t quite right—something he was missing.
“I imagine the assassin must be the same one who ambushed this old man by the gully at Qin Ridge that day,” Fei Hongde added. “The incident must have roused his suspicions, and he came to investigate. Thankfully, he was scared off by Mister Wu.”
Duan Ling was speechless.
Wu Du simply said, “But of course.”
Duan Ling was rendered doubly speechless, and looked at both of them in mute wonder.
Fei Hongde clasped Bian Lingbai’s hand and said in a low voice, “It could be the Tanguts. We mustn’t act rashly, General, or we risk exposing the treasure’s location. Wait a few days. After the excitement over tonight’s incident dies down, we’ll retrieve everything under cover of darkness to avoid further complications.”
“Mister Fei is wise,” Bian Lingbai agreed.
By now it was late; everyone returned to their rooms. Duan Ling let out a long sigh as he closed their door behind him. “So who was it? A Tangut?”
“Not possible. No one among the Tanguts has that level of skill,” Wu Du said. He narrowed his eyes and studied Duan Ling. Duan Ling sensed he had his own speculations but was keeping them to himself.
“You got very close to him,” Wu Du continued. “Did you notice anything? Any clues?”
“No—at first I thought he was you, so I wasn’t paying attention,” Duan Ling admitted.
“You can’t even recognize me?!” Wu Du cried, incredulous.
“You’re the only one dressed like this! Why would I think it was anyone else?” Duan Ling argued. A thought struck him. “He had a smell…”
“What smell?” Wu Du asked.
“…Sweat,” Duan Ling said. “He hadn’t bathed in days.”
Wu Du stared at him for a moment. “Never mind. Let’s just hit the sack. Tonight was a disaster.”
“Did you find anything?”
“No,” Wu Du replied irritably.
“I bet the secret chamber is hidden in Bian Lingbai’s bed—”
“I saw. I’m not blind,” Wu Du said.
Duan Ling nodded and crawled into bed. When Wu Du joined him, Duan Ling shuffled closer and gave him a sniff. Wu Du’s upper body was still bare, and he tensed awkwardly at the ticklish sensation. Duan Ling tried to think his way through the feeling of recognition he’d had earlier, but couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
“What, you thinking about men?” Wu Du said.
Duan Ling flushed. “What are you talking about—”
Wu Du lifted his head and raked his eyes evilly over Duan Ling. “That Tangut barbarian didn’t touch you, did he?” he asked, running a groping hand down Duan Ling’s body.
“What’re you doing?!” Duan Ling yelped.
“You’ll dally with the barbarians but won’t let Master Wu touch you? Gods, if I wanted to have my way with you, you wouldn’t even be able to cry for help.”
Face bright red, Duan Ling tried to squirm free of Wu Du’s grasp, but Wu Du kept him firmly pinned to the bed, scrutinizing him with a wicked glint in his eye. Duan Ling’s heart pounded. His feelings tangled in knots as he worried whether Wu Du might actually do something. Wu Du stuck a hand down Duan Ling’s robes—yet all he did was retrieve that tiny golden ball, glance over it, and stuff it right back where he’d found it.
Duan Ling gaped at him.
Now he understood why Wu Du had let him meet Helian Bo without qualm—as expected, he hadn’t had a sudden change of heart. With the centipede on Duan Ling, anyone who dared try and strip or fondle him would get a nasty bite. Perhaps they wouldn’t die on the spot, but they’d suffer a pain to remember.
“I already told you,” Duan Ling said. “He won’t do anything to me.”
“Even if he did, it’s none of my business,” Wu Du said mockingly.
Duan Ling’s mouth twitched. Catching him unawares yet again, Wu Du stuffed his hand back into his robes and pulled out the folded sheet of paper. “What’s this?”
Remembering the earlier bargaining he’d done, Duan Ling replied, “Helian…gongzi said there are several troops planted nearby, waiting in ambush.”
“What?!” Wu Du asked, shocked, and Duan Ling quickly shared the information with him.
Finally, he said, “I… Um, I think Tong Pass is in danger. We should inform the prime minister as soon as possible, or there could be big trouble.”
“Not necessarily,” Wu Du said, having listened to Duan Ling describe the whole situation. He sat up and crossed his legs. “What if that barbarian was lying to you?”
“He wouldn’t,” Duan Ling said. “What good would that do him?”
The idea that Helian Bo might mislead him had never crossed Duan Ling’s mind. But now that Wu Du brought up the possibility, Duan Ling’s mind raced. Would Helian Bo lie to him? No—he didn’t think he would. Although he could admit the main reason he felt this way was their friendship, he also knew that, in this matter, Helian Bo needed to stabilize the situation in his court. He had no good reason to fabricate a map and lie to him.
He looked hesitantly up at Wu Du.
Wu Du turned the paper this way and that. The moment he flipped it over, he nodded with a grunt. “Yeah, he wouldn’t lie to you. I was overthinking it.”
On the back of the paper, Duan Ling realized with a start, was Helian Bo’s sketch of his own face.
Wu Du peered suspiciously at Duan Ling. “Not a bad likeness. Vividly realistic yet tastefully done. So, you didn’t sleep with him, but you two did spend the entire evening flirting and drawing portraits?”
“No—” Duan Ling hastily denied it, then grabbed Wu Du, who was trying to get out of bed. He wailed, “Please! There’s really nothing like that between us!”
The bed, draped in mosquito netting, was a tiny, cramped space that lent an awkward level of intimacy as the pair wrestled for a moment. Wu Du was too irritated to register the suggestive atmosphere; with a quick jab of his fingers under Duan Ling’s ribs, Wu Du rendered him instantly limp and got up to leave.
Aware that Wu Du was about to lose his temper again, Duan Ling wailed loudly and collapsed on the bed. Wu Du jumped and glanced backward.
Clutching at his belly, Duan Ling whined, “My stomach hurts, oww…”
Wu Du turned back to check on him, and Duan Ling stilled under his hands with a pleading stare. Wu Du quickly realized he’d been played. But after this little display from Duan Ling, his anger had all but deflated.
He poked Duan Ling’s forehead, hard. “You.”
Duan Ling opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. He knew Wu Du—nothing he said would make a bit of difference.