BOOK 10. There are two tales at the beginning. Zhao Yunlan is searching for a lost artefact while Black Robe is searching for the same thing in a different world. One story is partly an illusion, while the other is very real and when they merge...
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The friendly neighbourhood watch, an old woman, was sitting studying Shen Wei's house since she had found out that he was missing and the police were interested in one of the visitors she had seen. So she peered through her curtains morning, noon, and night, looking to see if the man the detectives were interested in had come back.
Zhu Jiu didn't know that he was being spied on when he entered the house. He loved the comfort of this world. Maybe when the rebels had seized hold of the palace and replaced the Royals with a different way of government, he would stay here to live. He would no longer need the orb and he would even destroy his ring which helped bring him here once a day.
Lin Jing had left his number with the old lady and she rang as soon as she had spotted the purple ribbon and sat back to watch the activity.
The guards arrived in plain clothes out of sight from everyone in the woods behind the houses and waited for a signal from Guo Ying who was going to take the more direct approach, and walked up to the front door and knocked. He knew that Zhu Jiu wouldn't know him and used the excuse of looking for a witness to a local incident, which would fit in with the irony of the situation.
Ying was allowed entry and he was shown through to the lounge to sit and ask as many questions as he liked while Zhu Jiu gave all the unbelievable answers he could imagine. Ying studied him carefully, his attitude, what he was wearing and then he scanned across the furniture surfaces looking for the orb, but he couldn't see it.
"Do you mind if I use your bathroom, I drank too much coffee in the last house?" he asked and Zhu Jiu laughed, only too pleased to show him where it was and offered him another drink.
"Yes please, could you make it tea this time, I've had enough coffee today."
Ying dived into the bedroom and feverishly looked around the tops of the units and along a dressing table but couldn't see the orb anywhere, until he was hurrying back towards the toilet. He spotted the black lace under the edge of the bed where it must have rolled after Zhu Jiu had taken it off and dropped it. He quickly snatched it and put it in his pocket before returning to the lounge and summoned the guards.
Jiu was carrying the tray towards the table in the centre of the room when he recognised the familiar feel of the cold air, and he glared at Guo Ying as he sneered.
"You'll need to do better than that to catch me," and he rubbed his thumb over his ring, disappearing a second before the guards' arrival.
"He's gone, but he left this behind, we'll catch him the next time." Guo Ying said as he held out the black lace with the orb and smiled broadly.
The next morning Yunlan awoke surprised to see that he was still in his own bed, but he could smell cooking and then remembered Guard Li. He moved too quickly to rise, forgetting about his injured shoulder which instantly stopped him from getting off the bed as he sat on the edge moaning and he swore just before he saw the polished shoes standing in front of him, and looked up as he cradled his painful shoulder.
