刀鋸鼎鑊
dāojùdǐnghuò
Knife, saw and cauldron
Ancient instruments of torture

Even before the explosion, Kageyama's day had been ruined from the first.

In the same way repeated drops of water on one's forehead can turn from a cool trickle to agony, the events of the day built, drumming against his soul, threatening his composure.

He had risen early to watch the sunrise, an almost ritual like habit of his. His quarters were adjacent to Sanli's, but on the south eastern side of Chuanfang. He rose and went to the veranda, feet bare, pulling on a shirt for the sake of propriety, not warmth. Kageyama was rarely cold.

As they always did, Kageyama's eyes fixed on the eastern horizon, as if he could catch sight of the lone, symmetrical mountain that was the symbol of his homeland, silhouetted by the rising sun. But of course it was too far.

Then the sun would rise completely, and looking east would cause his sharp eyes to burn. He would blink and look away, the outline of the just risen sun burned into his vision, until the Green King's magic healed him and he was able to see clearly again.

That morning, the sunrise was beautiful, but afterwards red light illuminated the horizon for too long. There was bad weather coming.

Kageyama was about to go back inside and prepare for the day when he heard a window above him open.

He looked upwards just as the girl appeared at her window, propping her chin on one hand and looking out at the sea below. Her look was contemplative, and Kageyama wondered what was passing through her head.

Probably more ways to get coin out of Sanli. Or vex Kageyama.

Still, if money was her only goal, it would have made sense for her to take Kageyama up on his offer to stay away. That would have guaranteed her far more coin than she could ever hope for, and with the only requirement from her being to stay away from Sanli.

Kageyama didn't understand why she was here. He didn't understand what the girl wanted. He didn't even understand what she was. And that bothered him. He didn't like not knowing things.

He scowled up at the girl, and as if feeling his eyes she suddenly looked down at him. She smirked in return to his scowl, then disappeared and shut her window.

Chh. Barely sunrise, and already he was in a bad mood.

The morning got worse, as he encountered Ao a second time when he went to rouse Sanli. He caught sight of the practice papers spread on the floor before the two, and the characters that Sanli had, from an unnecessarily intimate position, been teaching Ao to write.

Xiyu. The bloody sixth god.

Wonderful. Now that the girl knew about Sanli's obsession, she had another way to further weave herself into their lives.

Angry, Kageyama caught her sleeve as she tried to saunter past him. "I know who he thinks you are, and unfortunately it seems you do too." Kageyama's eyes flicked to the characters on the practice page, then to Sanli. "If you try and take advantage of him, and play him false, by pretending to be what you are not-"

"More false threats, Lord Kageyama?" the girl interrupted. "Did you forget the threat you made me in the herbalists house? And before, in the forest? Forgive me then, if I think your words empty." She pulled her sleeve from his grasp and brushed past him.

"And besides, how do you know I am not who he thinks I am?" The girl threw over one shoulder as she sauntered away, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

The day was getting better and better.

*~*~*~*~*~*

They day continued to get worse.

Sanli and Kageyama rode into the busy main courtyard of the palace mid morning, where a regiment of soldiers was performing drills with fierce shouts. There were garrisons scattered throughout the city, but Kageyama knew this was Zhangyu's personal guard that he had brought with him. The men were exceptionally well trained and equipped, each wearing a black uniform with pale green stripes on their collars or sleeves. The customary cloaks had been done away with, and a wide variety of weapons were at their belts beside the standard issued swords.

Kageyama with his trained eye realized it was an offensive movement they were practicing, rather than a defensive one in order to protect their lord. This was more than a group of bodyguards. It was an elite force.

He caught sight of several mu'ren amongst the soldiers. A big man, obviously a Darun, several sheep, a few dogs. There even seemed to be a Daguo, a member of the Great Monkey clan, who were known for their great martial skill and were rarely seen outside their mountain. Though, looking harder, perhaps it was not a Daguo at all, and simply a very hairy man.

Kageyama knew this mix of humans and mu'ren was not so much a show of Zhangyu's tolerance, as it was of his desire to make use of all pawns available to him.

The Second Prince himself stood in the courtyard overseeing the training, on a raised dais to one side. The herald announced their arrival, and Zhangyu's eyes flicked briefly to Kageyama and Sanli, then back to the soldiers in front of him.

Kageyama and Sanli dismounted, and grooms ran forward to take their horses. Kageyama unbuckled his saddle bags from Makabe's saddle and threw them over one shoulder before handing over the black stallion to two nervous looking grooms. Just like Kageyama, Makabe's reputation preceded him.

They had scarcely handed over their horses when a page boy dressed in royal livery ran up to them. "Lord Kageyama, his highness the Second Prince requests your presence in his offices. He said to tell you to come alone." The page boy glanced nervously at Sanli, understanding the words he delivered were intended to slight the Third Prince.

Sanli merely shrugged. Kageyama looked to where Zhangyu had been a moment before, but the man had already descended from dais and was striding toward the nearest entrance.

Kageyama dismissed the page boy with a curt nod and turned to Sanli beside him. "Sanli, take this and report to the Resources department," he said, pulling a large, leather wrapped bundle of papers from his saddle bag and slapping it against Sanli's chest. "It's our findings for villages eligible for flood and drought relief. Tell them 3 villages for partial relief, 6 for full relief. The villages and estimated population sizes are all in there."

Sanli frowned. "You wrote most of the report. You should submit it."

"I have other things to do. Go make yourself useful. Go on." Clutching the folder and sighing Sanli headed off toward the wing of the palace where the administrative offices were located.

Kageyama turned and entered the palace.

He made his way with swift sure steps through the halls, all bare stone save for a few half hearted attempts at decoration, a painting here, a vase on a plinth there. The Old Palace, as it was sometimes called, had originally been built for defense, and was not known for its comforts. Because of this, the Lu family had long since made the palace in Linjing their primary residence.

Kageyama arrived at Zhangyu's offices to find the Second Prince already sitting behind his desk. The desk was a huge wooden monstrosity covered with neat stacks of paper weighted with an assortment of paperweights. The window behind the Second Prince was open, letting in the sounds of gulls and the men's cries from the training that continued in the courtyard below.

Zhangyu didn't look up from the letter he was writing, his brush moving with slow, careful strokes. "Thank you for coming, Kageyama Sensei. I wanted a chance to talk to you before the Midsummer Banquet."

Kageyama waited for Zhangyu to continue, glancing around the room. It was functional looking, filled with shelves for storing scrolls and tables for spreading the scrolls on. It smelled of ink and paper and rust from the old decorative weapons that hung above the fireplace. The walls were covered with maps, some of the city and its roads and canals, another of the eastern kingdom, towns and villages dotting the paper like some kind of pox, and a final, giant map, twice the height of a man, showing the five regions of the Inner Empire.

"Please sit," said Zhangyu, gesturing toward a military canvas chair before the large desk. Kageyama declined, instead walking to a nearby table and pretending to look at the map spread there.

Really, he was trying to get closer to a particular smell that had caught his attention the moment he had entered the room. Over the scents of ink and paper came the smell of dried leaves, crisp and yet earthy, with a faint mineral tinge, like wet sand.

It was the smell of that Dashe. The one Kageyama had failed to catch in the cave, and who had been with Zhangyu yesterday at Chuanfang.

The smell was stronger near the table. Kageyama realized the snake must have stood here, only hours before. He studied the map, eyes coming to rest on a circle drawn in charcoal around a building in the western district. Kageyama wondered what interest the Dashe had in the building.

Kageyama breathed in one more time. Yes, it was unmistakable. Kageyama knew the Dashe's smell well. He knew it because he had smelt it before, many times.

Kageyama had been in service to the Green King's family for generations. At times he had been called upon to serve as advisor or teacher, but primarily his role had been as guardian to members of the Lu family. Naturally, this brought him into contact, and sometimes conflict, with the assassins and spies of the region.

His mind drifted back to an incident, near 200 years ago. He had been traveling by carriage with one of Lu's grand daughters, who was on her way to be married to a rich landowner from the south.

The carriage was drawn by four fast horses, and they had been several days ahead of schedule, when the carriage had suddenly ground to a bumpy halt.

Kageyama opened the window of the carriage to speak to the driver. "Axel's broke, ya'll have to get down while I fix it," the driver grumbled. "Not sure if I can with what I have."

"What's happened, Lord Kageyama?" The princess asked. She accepted the news of their plight calmly, and when Kageyama told her they would have to disembark while the carriage was fixed she merely acknowledged it with a graceful nod of her head.

She had been a quiet thing, with long elegant limbs and dark eyes like a doe. Kageyama couldn't for the life of him remember her name. Ahying? Ahting?

The princess descended, followed by her maids who stood around awkwardly, while the guards that had been riding aside the carriage dismounted to help the driver. It was a hot day, and Kageyama guided the princess to the shade at the side of the road. Despite the shade, the princess pulled her veil over her face, and put up her parasol to further protect her from any errant spots of sunshine.

Kageyama stood silently beside the girl as they waited, watching the exertion of the guards and driver. The horses, who had been left in their traces, stirred uneasily. At first Kageyama thought they were distressed by the shifting carriage they were harassed to. Then the back of Kageyama's neck prickled, and a stillness settled in the wood around them.

He heard the whirring, like a cricket singing in summer, and snatched the parasol from the princess's hand, using it to deflect the needle that was meant for her neck. "Back in the carriage!" He shouted, grabbing the princess without ceremony and shoving her within the safety of the wooden cabin of the coach before starting into the forest toward the direction the needle had come from.

Eventually, they had traced the attack that day back to a powerful family that had wanted to marry their own daughter off to the rich farmer. Although he had not caught sight of the attacker, Kageyama had smelled the scent for the first time that day. The smell of dry, dead leaves. He had thought it strange at the time, as it had been early in the burning season and all around them green and flush with life.

"—my main goal however, is to get Guang Han to renew the trade treaty. It expires next year. Over half of the goods that leave Zhanghai leave on his ships. The city cannot function without his fleet."

Kageyama turned, realizing Zhangyu had been talking to him. "I apologize, could you repeat that?"

Zhangyu studied the mu'ren before him for a moment, looking bemused, before speaking. "I was telling you about some of the people who will be at the Midsummer Banquet. Most important is the host, the trader Guang Han. I assume you know of him, Kageyama Sensei?"

"I do." Everyone knew of Guang Han. The man was something of a living legend, commanding a trade fleet as large as most navys. He was known in Zhanghai for his magnificent estate, situated on his own private island, that was reportedly twice the size of the palace and much grander. Few knew the truth of this however, as Guang Han rarely entertained guests.

Kageyama also knew there were rumors that Guang Han used some of his fleet for less... legal operations. Piracy, extortion, smuggling. Having only one eye, and an eyepatch to cover his missing one, the piracy rumors at least had gained traction. Guang Han was known to exploit his roguish image, dressing jauntily in a sea captain's coat even while on land, much to the detriment of many young ladies.

As though his wealth and the rumors weren't enough, Guang Han was also one of the last remaining dragons. Some said he had even been a Dalong lord. All these factors combined to make Guang Han one of the foremost names among Zhanghai's elite.

Zhangyu finished his letter and put his brush down. "Our trade treaty with him expires next year at the beginning of the burning season. You have a long memory Kageyama sensei, do you remember what he demanded last time in order to sign the treaty?"

Kageyama thought, and paled when he remembered. "A princess... Ermi."

"Unfortunately, yes, we only have one princess at the moment. Guang Han has already asked for permission to court Ermi, and mother has agreed."

Kageyama thought back to Ermi's face the day before as she had greeted them, so excited to tell them the news about gaining her mother's consent to let her study at the university if she was still unmarried in the fall. Erli, Ermi's mother, had never intended to let her daughter go to university.

Zhangyu stood, and moved around his desk, stopping to study a pair of decorative daggers hung on the wall, hands folded behind him. "We need to get him to agree without that. We have to have the treaty, we need his ships. But I refuse to hand my sister over to him like cattle."

Although Kageyama agreed with the Second Prince's words, he couldn't help but feel that Zhangyu's concern for his sister was... uncharacteristic. "This seems... unlike you, Zhangyu," he said, critically.

Zhangyu turned from the daggers, smiling, before moving back behind his desk. "What do you mean? Do you really think I am so mercenary as to marry off my only sister to some gentrified Dalong pirate?"

Kageyama said nothing, and his silence spoke for him.

The Second Prince sat once more, steepling his hands before him on the desk, his copper colored eyes glinting over the top of his fingers. "I'm waiting for a god, or royalty, of course."

The words were said with humor, but Kageyama suspected there was truth to them. Kageyama's lip twitched into a wry smile. Zhangyu really was shamelessly ambitious.

"You may go, Kageyama Sensei. I am sure you have many things to do."

Deciding his letter was dry Zhangyu folded it neatly in three and creased the folds, then slid it into an envelope which he sealed with rice paste. Then he reached for his yinzhang seal, near identical to the one Sanli carried. He flipped open a case of red cinnabar ink and dipped the seal into it, coating the end. Then he brought the seal firmly onto the envelope where the paste had sealed it shut, wiggling the seal a little bit to make sure the ink transferred evenly. He lifted the seal away, carefully inspecting the red characters there. Lu wang. Green King.

Kageyama turned toward the door, then stopped. He turned back. "How long have you had that snake on retainer?"

Zhangyu looked down at the drying ink. "Oh, not long. He's very good at his job."

"Which is?"

"Whatever I tell him to do. Why do you ask, Kageyama Sensei?"

Kageyama flexed his hand unconsciously by his side. "Be careful, Zhangyu. He's dangerous."

Zhangyu smiled down at the red ink. "I'm not keeping him as pet. I know he's dangerous. That's why I hired him."

There was a finality in the Second Prince's tone, yet still Kageyama hesitated, not willing to leave. "Do not forget, Zhangyu, I am Sanli's yah'ying. I am sworn to protect him. From all threats."

Zhangyu at last looked up from his letter. "It is you who should not forget, Kageyama Sensei. You swore to protect the Green King's family, against any who threaten our sovereignty. You do not owe your allegiance to just one man."

Kageyama schooled his face into stone. He nodded curtly, out of respect, and turned to go, but the Second Prince stopped him. "Oh and Kageyama Sensei?" Kageyama turned back, again. "Please address me as Prince or Lord Zhangyu, in front of others. It shows proper respect to my station, and the Green Throne in turn. We wouldn't want anyone to think that the throne is weakening, would we?"

"No, we wouldn't," said Kageyama, his face still as a statue's. Then he turned and left.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Kageyama felt his mood continuing to darken as he wandered through the stone hallways, searching for Sanli's familiar scent.

"'Address me as Prince'. Damn brat, getting all cocky. I remember when you could barely walk and used to drool all over your front," he could not resist muttering to himself. Humans really were arrogant little creatures.

Kageyama rounded a corner. The smell of fresh mountain pine was suddenly in his nose. Sanli sat on a sofa outside a door, studying a scroll of paper.

Kageyama stopped beside his charge, looking down at the familiar head bowed intently as its owner read. Sanli's hair was in well calculated disarray, his customary look. "What's that?" Kageyama asked, catching sight of the lines of neat characters on the paper.

"The medical report from one of the murders where the fingers were removed," Sanli said, without looking up. "Enjoy talking to Zhangyu?"

Kageyama ignored the question, and tapped a corner of the paper. "Find anything interesting?"

"Hmmmmm," said Sanli. "Not really."

"Well return it and let's go. I don't want to be here any longer than we have to."

Sanli returned the scroll to the medical offices nearby and the men turned their steps through the halls toward the stables. They were just about to leave the palace for the courtyard when a curvy figure appeared before them in the archway, dressed from head to toe in worn calf leather and with a short sword like dagger on each hip.

"Liang'yi, where have you been?" asked Kageyama, staring down at the woman with disapproval. She stopped when she saw them.

"Nice to see you as well, fox," said the Dachuo with distaste. She nodded to Sanli, "Welcome back, little Prince."

"Liang'yi," Sanli said in greeting. "What has my nephew been having you do to keep you so busy?"

Liang'yi laughed, tossing back her head. "Nice try. I know he doesn't want you to know. You won't hear from me."

Sanli smiled. "I only ask because I can tell Ermi misses you. She's dress shopping near here today. The Golden Thread. You should say hello to her."

Liang'yi nodded. "I will then. See you boys later," the woman turned to go with a swing of her hips.

"The girl," said Kageyama, and Liang'yi stopped. "The propriety instructor. Lady Yunyou. Keep an eye on her. I don't trust her."

Liang'yi looked at Kageyama skeptically, before laughing. "Who, Noodles? What do you think she's going to do, with those skinny little arms and legs of hers?" The Dachuo turned and left, laughing. "Crazy kitsune."

"Stupid rabbit," Kageyama hissed at her back. Normally he did not allow himself to indulge in such childish shows of irritation, but today had not been a good day.

*~*~*~*~*~*

❤️ Cover by cCheronesse !