Inside the Carriage
Iris turned the black bone token over and over between her fingers.
"See anything?" Prince Chen asked from across the carriage.Even dressed like an ordinary merchant, he sat perfectly straight, impatience written all over his face.
"Earth," Iris said, dabbing a fingertip into the dark red residue along the edge."Sticky texture. Strong metallic stench. And corpse wax."
She looked up at him.
"Red clay like this is rare. Tell me—where around the capital has red soil… and a lot of buried bodies?"
He answered without hesitation.
"The mass graves in the western outskirts." His brows furrowed. "There's a black market nearby. Coffin Lane. They trade exclusively in the business of the dead."
"Then that's where we're going," Iris said.
Coffin Lane
The carriage stopped at the mouth of a narrow alley.
The sun hadn't set yet, but white funeral paper already drifted through the air.Beggars wrapped in burial shrouds crouched along the roadside, staring with hollow eyes.
Prince Chen lifted the curtain, glanced once—and dropped it immediately.
"Filthy," he said. Just that one word.
He pressed a handkerchief to his nose, as if the air itself were toxic.
Iris jumped down, stood in the wind, inhaled once—then looked at the bone token again.
She raised her hand and pointed toward the largest shop deep in the alley.
"That one," she said with certainty."The preservative on this token—it's coming from there."
Prince Chen shot her a sideways look.
"Sharp nose," he said coldly.Then he jerked his chin forward, face full of disgust. "Since you can smell it, go lead the way."
Iris rolled her eyes. "Yes, Young Master."
She headed toward the shop with white lanterns hanging outside.
Prince Chen took a deep breath—through the handkerchief—and followed with the expression of a man walking to his execution, stepping carefully into her footprints as if she were a living dust shield.
Qianqiu Pavilion
The largest shop in Coffin Lane.
The signboard read QIANQIU PAVILION, the calligraphy bold and elegant—wealthy, ominous.
Inside, a sharp-eyed old man was polishing a nanmu coffin.
When he saw Prince Chen's fine clothes, his eyes lit up.
A fat sheep.
"Looking for burial materials, honored guests?" the owner grinned."Our wood guarantees peace for a thousand autumns."
Prince Chen sidestepped his approach.
"We want the finest," he said arrogantly. "Something to protect the household."
The perfect rich idiot.
"Understood," the man chuckled, locking the door.He pulled out a brocade box from beneath the counter and opened it.
Inside sat a crimson Guanyin statue.
"Blood jade from the previous dynasty," he said proudly."Buried for three hundred years. Absorbed spiritual energy. Three thousand taels. Final price."
Prince Chen looked ready to vomit.
Before he could speak, Iris reached out.
She lifted the statue, scraped the base with her nail—and sniffed.
"Boss," she said lightly, "that's dishonest business."
The man's smile stiffened. "What are you implying?"
"Why is it warm?" Iris dropped it back onto the table."Bone powder mixed with resin. Cheap glue—ten coins a barrel."
She smiled coldly.
"Using human remains to fake ancient jade. Aren't you afraid the dead will knock on your door at night?"
The man's face twisted.
His hand went to his blade. Several workers stepped forward with cleavers.
Prince Chen was about to move—
But Iris turned away.
She walked to a nanmu coffin in the corner and knocked twice.
Thud. Thud. Solid.
"Relax," she said calmly, looking at the owner."The ventilation holes are sealed. What's hidden in the inner layer?"
Her gaze locked onto his eyes.
"Smuggled salt? Illegal drugs?""By imperial law—execution. Family included."
The room froze.
In that moment, the owner understood.
These weren't wealthy fools.
They were devils.
"Don't report me!" He dropped to his knees."Please, honored sirs—let's talk!"
Prince Chen stepped forward, kicked aside a stool, and flung the black bone token at the man's face.
"Who made this?"
The owner went pale, trembling.
"D-Down there…"
He scrambled up and twisted a vase on the counter.
The wall slid open, revealing a pitch-black passage.
"Master Yu is inside," he whispered."But he's… not right in the head lately."
From deep within the tunnel came a sound—
Scrrrk. Scrrrk.
Blade scraping against bone.
Prince Chen glanced at Iris, disgust clear on his face.
"Move."