The infirmary was dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. Or, in this case, a woodcarver's shattered heart.
Lin Bo was on the floor, staring up at me like a lost puppy. "Qian'er… why?" he whispered, his voice all cracked.
I shot a look at Di Jun. He was just standing there, looking bored, like he'd just swatted a fly and was already over it. His silver and gold eyes flickered between me and the pathetic guy on the floor. I could feel his mood through our soul-link thingy. It wasn't anger. It was… amusement. The jerk was actually amused.
I knelt beside Lin Bo, keeping my voice low. "Bo, this isn't what you think. I'm trying to help these people."
"Help?" he scoffed, scrambling to his feet and pointing a shaky finger at Di Jun. "He's a demon! You're with a demon! Did he… did he do something to your mind? Is that it?"
Oh, for crying out loud.
I stood up and dusted off my dress. "First of all, rude. He's right there. Second, he's the only reason I'm not a puddle on the floor right now, so maybe a little 'thank you for not letting me die' is in order. And third—"
"Third," Di Jun's smooth, deep voice cut me off. He took a step forward, all predatory grace and lethal intent. "Third, the little woodpecker should be more concerned about the actual bad guys than the one who just saved his sorry hide."
He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper that was somehow louder than a shout. "You want to be a hero? Fine. Go find the person who is turning this city into an all-you-can-eat buffet. Until then, stay out of my way."
Lin Bo puffed up his chest, which was honestly kind of adorable in a pathetic way. "I'm not afraid of you!"
"You should be," Di Jun purred. "I'm having a very bad day, and my patience is… limited."
I could feel the temperature in the room drop. The air got heavy. The few attendants who were watching looked like they were about to pass out. Okay, time to de-escalate.
I stepped between them, putting a hand on Di Jun's chest. It was like touching a block of ice, but I could feel the thrum of immense power just beneath the surface. Cool it, I thought, pushing the feeling through our bond. He's an idiot, but he's a well-meaning idiot.
Di Jun looked down at me, and for a second, the coldness in his eyes softened. Just a flicker. It was so fast I almost missed it. He was listening. He actually listened.
I turned back to Lin Bo. "Bo, I need you to trust me. Please. Go back to the teahouse, or wherever you're staying. I will come find you when this is over. I promise."
He looked at me, his eyes searching my face. He saw the seriousness there. He saw that I wasn't a damsel in distress. He also saw that I was choosing the demon over him. His face crumpled.
Without another word, he turned and ran, disappearing out the door.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Well, that could have gone better."
"He will get himself killed," Di Jun said, his voice flat.
"He'll stay out of our way," I countered. "For now, at least. Now, what do we do about the Magistrate? We can't just march in there and accuse him."
"Why not?" Di Jun asked, a wicked glint in his golden eye. "It sounds like fun."
"Because we have no proof!" I hissed. "He'll just deny it, call us frauds, and have his guards arrest us. We need to be smart."
He actually sighed. A dramatic, put-upon sigh. "You mortals and your 'proof.' So tedious."
But he was thinking. I could feel it. The gears were turning in that ancient, powerful mind of his.
"The daughter," he said finally. "The girl, Lian. She is the heart of the ritual. She is the focal point. If we want to break the dam, we don't attack the wall. We go for the crack."
"So we need to get to the daughter," I said, piecing it together. "But the mansion will be guarded."
"Not tonight," Di Jun said, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across his face. "Tonight, the Magistrate will be distracted. Tonight is the peak of the ritual. He will be directing the flow of energy, focusing all his attention on his daughter's chamber. He will think his cage is secure. He will be wrong."
He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw it. The full, terrifying, and ridiculously attractive power of the Asura Blood Emperor. He wasn't just a wounded king. He was a predator who had been let off his leash.
"Tonight," he said, his voice a low, thrilling promise. "We go hunting."
My heart did a little flip-flop. This was a terrible, insane, and probably suicidal idea. And a part of me, the part that was tired of being the sensible healer, was incredibly here for it.
"Okay," I said, a matching smile tugging at my lips. "Let's go crash a party."
That night, under the cover of a moonless sky, we moved through the silent streets of Linyue City. Di Jun was a shadow beside me, his movements fluid and silent. He led me not to the front gate of the Magistrate's mansion, but to a small, unassuming side wall.
He placed a hand on the stone, and I felt a wave of cold energy emanate from him. The stone didn't crumble or break. It just… dissolved, turning into fine, black sand that drifted away on the wind.
He looked at me, his silver and gold eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. "After you, my lady healer."
I swallowed hard and stepped through the hole in the wall, into the dragon's den. The mansion was quiet, but the air was thick with energy, a low, humming thrum of power that made my teeth ache.
We moved through the gardens, staying in the shadows. The mansion was beautiful, but it felt wrong, like a beautiful corpse.
Di Jun stopped, tilting his head. "This way," he whispered.
He led me towards a secluded wing of the mansion, towards a room that glowed with a faint, sickly grey light. The door was guarded by two massive guards, but they weren't looking at us. They were staring straight ahead, their eyes vacant, their bodies still. They were under a spell.
Di Jun didn't even bother with them. He just walked past, and they didn't see a thing. He was a ghost in their world.
We reached the door. He put his ear to it, then looked at me. "She's in there. And her father is with her."
He placed a hand on the door, and a wisp of black smoke seeped from his fingertips, sliding under the door like a living thing. The smoke curled and coiled, and suddenly, I could see through the door. It was like looking through a murky window.
The room was lavish, but it was a nightmare. The girl, Lian, was lying on a bed, her body glowing with that same grey, pulsating light. And standing over her was the Magistrate. But he wasn't the sad, kind man from this morning. His face was contorted in a mask of concentration and greed. His hands were raised, and from the city outside, thin, dark threads of energy were flowing through the walls, through his body, and into his daughter.
He wasn't trying to save her. He was using her as a battery, a conduit to drain the life from his entire city.
I felt a wave of nausea. It was horrifying.
Di Jun's hand on my arm tightened. "Ready?" he whispered.
I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest.
He didn't open the door. He just raised his hand and blasted it into splinters.
The Magistrate spun around, his eyes wide with shock and rage. "You!"
"Surprise," Di Jun said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Party crashers."