Blood of Deception [ON HOLD]

Chapter Thirty Five

Buzzes of activities of markets and businesses eventually dimmed to distant noises in the Jiaotou District. As the name suggested, Jiaotou mostly went as the trading district of the Ethereal City, encompassing Anhui's largest and only harbor, which flourished especially during the harvest seasons, when merchants of foreign brought over seasonal sales in quantities large and small.

Away from the busy market fairs, Yuzhe easily maneuvered through the uncrowded paved street that slit between the curved, beige residences on the opposite sides. The red lanterns that hung on each swung idly by stray winds coming from the direction of the sea.

Xinlei had insisted he went to ask around the port once again, and Yuzhe had agreed mostly because he understood that his friend needed something to keep him busy. And that could not include seeking an audience with the authorities. Xinlei was better off with something more practical, something he could hit, whereas Yuzhe felt his composure thinning every passing second without a solid clue of Zhonghong's whereabouts. How could there be so many witnesses and yet none of them seemed to bear any firm confirmation?

An estate loomed at the end of the road Yuzhe was treading upon. It had distinctive silvery curved roofs that pierced the afternoon sky, radiating wealth from the pale stones and paintings that made up all of the inner structures.

Two guards in sturdy armors stood vigil at the gate, which was opened and exposed a decent garden that led to a one-story building. Above them displayed a large sign that read: Wu Compound. The soldiers' slacked grip on their spears strengthened as soon as they spot Yuzhe approaching.

"Business?" one of them inquired.

"I need to see the Mayor. Is he present?"

He exchanged a look with his companion. "Who are you?"

"Someone from the finance department," Yuzhe said. "If you tell him my name, he'll know me."

"Today's off duty," stated the other guard. "Come again tomorrow."

"It's urgent." Yuzhe made a move to push through. Two spears crossed themselves in front of his face, reeking of metal and rust.

He glanced at the left soldier, only to have him stare back blankly. Neither of them seemed intent on relenting, and Yuzhe guessed how, precisely, could two puny metal bars were going to stop him from finding his sister.

"What's going on?"

A lady advanced from inside the compound. Dressed in a lovely hanfu the color of early spring, she was fairly tall. An opulent jade pendant dangled from her belt.

The guards took their weapons away. "Wu-daxiaojie," they greeted her.

The girl's powdered eyes lastly landed on Yuzhe. "You are," she recalled, "from the festival night. What brings you here?"

"I need to speak with your father," he said. Unmistakably, she was the Mayor's first and only daughter, Wu Haiyang, the brave lady who had initiate a dance with him on the banquet night.

Without asking anything more, Haiyang nodded. "Come with me."

Yuzhe stepped over the gate threshold, passed the onlooking guards. He followed her across the courtyard blooming with tiny white blossoms that reminded him of jasmines, and up into the main hall situated in the middle of the territory. They spoke nothing during the brisk walk as Haiyang wordlessly guided him to a vast room at the back.

"Adie, someone is here to see you," she said to the thick door, and entered before hearing a response.

Yuzhe shut the door behind him. A spacious office spread out around him, heavily furnished with anything wooden and worthy of attention. The floorboards raised upward to a dais, where a polished mahogany desk laid on a lush carpet. A man in his fifties sat on a long chair behind it, holding a pipe. Yuzhe finally realized how the air had the strong, pungent odor he found unfavorable.