Chapter 38: The Ledger of Flesh

Mei emerged from Elder Cai's chamber at dawn with the composed face of a woman who had survived a long night with her patience intact. She found Lin Cang in the study with Madam Su, drinking tea that had grown cold.

"He sleeps now," Mei said. "He will not wake before noon."

"What did he say?" Lin Cang asked.

Mei sat and began to recite. She had a remarkable memory, one of the reasons Madam Su had chosen her. "Before he fell asleep, he spoke of Elder Fang Tianxiong's nephew. The nephew is named Fang Heng. Foundation Building peak, perhaps Core Formation early. The elder was not certain. He is twenty-seven years old and believes himself the sect's brightest blade. He has executed three city lords in the past year for 'insufficient zeal.'"

"Three," Madam Su murmured. "A busy young man."

"Elder Cai fears him. He fears him more than he fears his own superiors." Mei paused. "Cai has been embezzling from the tribute for at least six years. He keeps a private ledger hidden in the lining of his palanquin. The ledger records every stone he has skimmed, every bribe he has taken, and every woman he has been given as a 'gift' by city lords who wished to please him."

"Did he speak of the women?" Lin Cang's voice was flat.

"Yes." Mei's composure cracked for a moment. "There are names. Some were willing. Some were not. He remembered them as entertainment."

The room was silent. Lin Cang's hands rested on the table, the bandaged palms still. When he spoke, his voice was quiet.

"Did he speak of my sister?"

Madam Su's eyes moved to him sharply. Mei shook her head.

"No, my lord. He did not speak of family."

Lin Cang absorbed this. "Continue."

"Cai believes the western tribute losses are caused by a gang operating from the Black River marshes. He called them the Black River Dogs. They raid small caravans, kill the guards, and sell the goods through fences in Thornhaven. Cai has blamed them twice before when his own thefts needed explanation." Mei withdrew a small folded paper from her sleeve. "I copied what I could remember of his ledger. The original remains in his palanquin."

Madam Su took the paper and unfolded it. Columns of numbers, dates, names. Her lips thinned. "This is enough to hang him three times."

"It is enough to do many things," Lin Cang said. "But only one thing matters right now. We need Fang Heng to believe that Ironblood is not the source of the problem."

"You intend to frame the Black River Dogs."

"I intend to give Fang Heng a truth he already wants to believe." Lin Cang stood and walked to the map on the wall. "Cai believes the Dogs are responsible. Fang Heng will want to punish someone visible and brutal. The Dogs are visible. They are brutal. And they have the additional virtue of not being us."

Madam Su studied the map. "They operate from the marshes east of Thornhaven. Forty men, perhaps more. They have raided two Azure Sky caravans in the past season."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I sold them the information about the second caravan's route." Madam Su smiled without warmth. "I had planned to use them later. It seems they have become useful sooner than expected."

Lin Cang looked at her. "You are a frightening woman."

"I am your frightening woman, my lord." She refolded the paper. "What evidence do we plant?"

They worked quickly. Cai would sleep for hours, and his disciples drank with the confidence of men who believed themselves safe in a friendly city. Han and Little Sparrow moved through the stables where the tribute wagons waited. They placed three small items in the straw beneath one wagon: a Black River Dog clan token carved from river oak, a blood-stained Azure Sky sash, and a half-empty bottle of the cheap marsh wine the Dogs were known to drink.

The token was real, taken from a Dog corpse two months earlier. The sash was real, recovered from a raid. The wine was real. Only the location was a lie.

Meanwhile, Mei returned to Cai's chamber and restored the jade ring to her thumb. When the elder woke, he would remember a pleasant night and a grateful woman. He would not remember how much he had said.

By mid-afternoon, Cai emerged, red-eyed and sweating, demanding chilled wine and a bath. Lin Cang provided both. He also provided Shen Bao with a revised tribute ledger that showed the extra two hundred spirit stones and a note of "concern" about recent bandit activity near the Black River.

"For Elder Fang's attention," Lin Cang said as Cai inspected the ledger. "I want the sect to know that Ironblood takes its duties seriously."

Cai grunted. "Fang Heng will not care about your diligence. He cares about results."

"Then I will give him results." Lin Cang paused. "I intend to lead a punitive expedition against the Black River Dogs after you depart. Their raids threaten the tribute routes. Eliminating them would serve both Ironblood and Azure Sky."

Cai's small eyes gleamed. "Ambitious for a Qi Condensation cultivator."

"Ironblood has soldiers, elder. And I have reason to want the roads safe."

"Yes." Cai laughed. "Yes, you do. Very well. I will mention your initiative to my superiors. If you succeed, you may find yourself with more favor than you expect. If you fail..." He shrugged. "Then the Dogs will have saved me the trouble of disciplining you."

They parted at the city gate an hour later. Cai's palanquin swayed eastward, followed by his disciples and the wagons heavy with Ironblood's tribute. The gift jade rode in a lacquer box beside him. Mei did not watch him go.

Lin Cang stood at the gate until the Azure Sky colors vanished around the bend.

"He will return," Madam Su said beside him.

"Yes. Men like Cai always return, usually with larger demands." Lin Cang turned back toward the city. "But next time, he will come as a man we own."

"You are certain the ledger is enough?"

"The ledger is enough to make him obey. What makes him valuable is his position. A corrupt tribute collector who fears discovery is a door into Azure Sky's accounting." Lin Cang's voice hardened. "A door I will use when the time comes."

That evening, Lin Cang gathered his guardians in the Crimson Lantern House study. Xiao Rou sat by the window with her healing kit, though no one was wounded yet. Feng Mei stood against the wall, her splinted wrist now freed for short periods while Xiao Rou worked it gently back to strength. Madam Su spread Cai's copied ledger on the table.

"The nephew arrives in three days," she said. "Fang Heng. Foundation Building peak, perhaps stronger. He will not be as easily flattered as Cai."

"Flattery is not the plan." Lin Cang touched the ledger. "The plan is to give him prey. The Black River Dogs are real. They have raided Azure Sky wagons. They deserve destruction. We will provide the evidence, the location, and the opportunity. Fang Heng will do the killing."

"And if he does not believe the evidence?" Xiao Rou asked.

"Then we make the evidence believe itself." Lin Cang looked at Feng Mei. "Tomorrow night, you and Little Sparrow will visit the Black River Dogs. You will not attack them. You will leave proof that they recently raided an Azure Sky caravan and that they plan to raid another."

Feng Mei's eyes narrowed. "False proof."

"Careful false proof. A saddlebag with Azure Sky markings, hidden in their camp. A map showing the next tribute route, drawn in their style. A few witnesses in Thornhaven who remember seeing Dog riders near the last raid." Lin Cang met her gaze. "Can you do it with one hand?"

"I can do it with no hands if I must." Feng Mei smiled, thin and sharp. "But I will take Little Sparrow. She is quiet enough to walk through their camp without waking the fleas."

"Good." Lin Cang turned to Madam Su. "I need the witnesses ready. Men and women who can be believed but who cannot be traced to us. Pay them enough to remember, not enough to talk afterward."

"Already arranged."

"Xiao Rou." Lin Cang softened his voice. "I need you to prepare medical supplies for the aftermath. Fang Heng will likely kill many. Some may be innocents caught near the Dogs' camp. We will offer healing to survivors. It will make us look merciful and give us more eyes in Thornhaven."

Xiao Rou nodded. "I will prepare wagons."

"Then we are ready." Lin Cang stood. "Fang Heng will come expecting rebellion. We will give him bandits. He will leave believing Ironblood is loyal and the roads are safe. And while he congratulates himself, we will keep building the hall that will one day break his sect."

The others rose to obey.

Outside, the moon rose over Ironblood, pale and watchful. Three days until the zealot arrived. Three days to weave a trap that would catch the wrong men and let the right one escape unseen.