The realization struck all three of them at once.
If the ledger was hidden inside the Xian Estate, then every moment mattered. Imperial investigators had occupied the property since the executions. Servants had been interrogated, rooms searched, and records confiscated. Sooner or later, someone would discover the hidden compartment.
The old man was the first to break the silence.
"We leave before dawn."
The stranger shook his head.
"We won't make it in time."
"We have to try."
"No. We have to think."
The old man's eyes narrowed.
"Thinking is what brought us here."
"And rushing is what gets people killed."
X'ian listened as the two men argued. Until now, she had assumed the old man was the wiser of the pair, but the stranger possessed something equally dangerous—experience. Neither spoke like ordinary men. Both spoke like people accustomed to surviving situations that should have killed them.
The stranger crouched and began drawing a map in the dirt with a piece of charcoal.
"The capital is five days away if we travel normally. Three if we push ourselves. The soldiers below will block every direct route by sunrise."
"Then we avoid them."
The stranger looked up.
"And ride straight into Tianzhou? Have you forgotten there's a bounty on her head?"
The old man said nothing.
Because he knew the man was right.
X'ian stared at the crude map.
"Then what do we do?"
The stranger pointed at the drawing.
"We stop thinking about entering the capital."
The old man frowned.
"We need the ledger."
"No."
The stranger tapped the map again.
"We need access to the ledger."
A slow understanding appeared in the old man's eyes.
The stranger smiled.
"Exactly."
X'ian looked between them.
"What are you talking about?"
The stranger sat back.
"The Xian Estate isn't empty."
"It belongs to the government now."
"Officially."
The stranger's smile widened.
"Unofficially, dozens of servants still remain."
The old man folded his arms.
"You have someone inside."
"I have several."
The admission surprised both of them.
The stranger continued.
"I've spent years building contacts. Servants, merchants, messengers, guards. People notice things when powerful men ignore them."
"You trust them?" the old man asked.
"I trust their greed."
The answer earned a snort of amusement.
For the first time that night, the tension eased slightly.
The stranger looked at X'ian.
"Can you describe the compartment?"
She nodded.
"It was beneath my father's study."
"Where exactly?"
"Under the eastern bookshelf."
The stranger's expression changed.
"That's unfortunate."
"Why?"
"The study was the first room they searched."
A cold feeling settled in X'ian's stomach.
Her hope began fading.
Perhaps they were already too late.
Perhaps the ledger was already gone.
The old man noticed her expression.
"Your father wasn't careless."
The stranger nodded.
"That's true."
He looked thoughtful.
"Xian Ren always had contingency plans."
"What does that mean?" X'ian asked.
"It means I doubt he left something that important in an obvious hiding place."
Hope returned.
Small but real.
The stranger rose to his feet.
"We need information."
"From whom?" asked the old man.
The stranger smiled.
"From the only man in Tianzhou arrogant enough to know everything."
The old man's face darkened immediately.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Absolutely yes."
X'ian frowned.
"Who are you talking about?"
The stranger looked at her.
"The Minister of Revenue."
"The same ministry my father investigated."
"Exactly."
The old man rubbed his forehead.
"This is a terrible idea."
"Most successful plans are."
The argument continued deep into the night, but by dawn a decision had been made.
They would return to Tianzhou.
Not openly.
Not recklessly.
They would enter as ghosts.
As the first rays of sunlight touched the mountains, the three travelers departed the cottage. The army below had continued its climb throughout the night, but the old man knew hidden paths that wound through the wilderness. By midday they had already slipped beyond the soldiers' search lines.
As they traveled, X'ian learned more about her companions.
The old man was named Shen Guo, though few called him that anymore. Years earlier, he had served as an adviser to generals and governors throughout the empire. His reputation for strategy had become so legendary that enemies began calling him the Ghost Strategist.
The stranger's name was Wei Feng.
Unlike Shen Guo, he answered questions selectively and seemed to enjoy irritating everyone around him.
Neither man volunteered much about their past.
The more X'ian observed them, the more she realized they were hiding far more than they revealed.
Three days later, the capital appeared on the horizon.
Tianzhou.
The city looked exactly as she remembered.
Golden rooftops gleamed beneath the afternoon sun. Massive walls surrounded countless streets and districts. Towers rose toward the heavens.
Her home.
And the place where her family had died.
A complicated ache settled inside her chest.
The old man studied her expression.
"You can still turn back."
"No."
The answer came immediately.
She had already lost too much.
Turning back was no longer possible.
As night fell, they approached the city through the southern district. Unlike the grand northern entrance used by nobles, this part of Tianzhou was crowded with laborers, traders, and travelers. The guards inspected visitors less carefully.
Even so, X'ian wore a disguise.
Her hair had been cut.
Her clothing was plain.
A layer of dirt concealed much of her appearance.
To most people, she looked like a teenage boy accompanying two older merchants.
The disguise worked.
No one stopped them.
No one recognized her.
For the first time since her escape, X'ian walked through the capital once more.
The experience felt surreal.
Life continued as though House Xian had never existed.
Street vendors shouted prices.
Children chased each other through crowded alleys.
Musicians performed beside teahouses.
The city had already moved on.
Only she remained trapped in the past.
They stopped at a modest inn near the western market district.
The moment they entered, Wei Feng approached a serving girl and slipped a coin into her hand.
The girl glanced at him.
Then at the coin.
Then nodded.
Without a word, she disappeared upstairs.
X'ian raised an eyebrow.
"You know her?"
"No."
"Then why—"
"Because information travels faster than horses."
The girl returned twenty minutes later.
She handed Wei Feng a folded piece of paper.
He read it once.
Then again.
The amusement vanished from his face.
The old man immediately noticed.
"What happened?"
Wei Feng didn't answer.
Instead, he handed over the note.
Shen Guo read it.
His expression hardened.
"What does it say?" X'ian asked.
Neither man spoke.
Her patience finally snapped.
"What does it say?"
Wei Feng exhaled slowly.
"The study was searched."
Her stomach sank.
"And?"
"The hidden compartment was found."
The room became silent.
Every fear she had carried for days suddenly became reality.
Too late.
They were too late.
X'ian lowered her eyes.
Her father had died protecting that ledger.
And now it was gone.
Shen Guo continued reading.
Then suddenly froze.
Wei Feng noticed.
"What is it?"
The old man's eyes widened.
For the first time since meeting him, genuine shock crossed his face.
"That's impossible."
"What?"
Shen Guo handed him the note.
Wei Feng read it.
Then cursed.
The two men looked at each other.
Neither seemed to know what to say.
X'ian felt her frustration growing.
"Will someone explain?"
Wei Feng slowly lowered the paper.
"The compartment was found."
"Yes."
"It was empty."
The room fell silent.
X'ian stared at him.
Empty?
"That's not possible."
Wei Feng gave a humorless laugh.
"I agree."
The old man leaned back.
"If the ledger wasn't there..."
X'ian suddenly remembered her father's final weeks.
The secret meetings.
The late nights.
The coded notes.
Then one memory surfaced above all the others.
A conversation she had overheard by accident.
Her father speaking to someone.
A visitor.
A man she had never seen before.
At the time, she hadn't understood their words.
Now she remembered them perfectly.
Protect the prince.
The ledger means nothing if the prince falls.
X'ian's blood ran cold.
The old man saw it immediately.
"What is it?"
Slowly, she raised her head.
"I think my father gave it to someone."
Wei Feng leaned forward.
"Who?"
She swallowed.
The memory became clearer.
A tall young man.
A calm voice.
Royal robes.
And a jade dragon hanging from his belt.
The symbol of the imperial family.
When she finally spoke, neither man moved.
Neither man breathed.
Because the answer changed everything.
"My father gave it to a prince."