They left Hui Wu the next morning. Wei Ying had looked for the blacksmith but he had disappeared, leaving them packed provisions to take with them. Wei Ying decided that anybody who provided food and shelter for more than a couple of nights couldn't be a totally bad person, but his conversation regarding the knife kept coming back to him.

They had decided to turn back towards home now, to regroup and work out what their choices were. Logically speaking, they were out of options. There was no sense in wandering around aimlessly when lives were in danger and they had no idea on what to do next.

*****

Wei Ying stared at the fire, hoping for some insight into their situation.

"What is Wei Ying thinking?" Lan Zhan handed him the daily potion. "Wei Ying has been troubled all day."

They were sitting around the camp fire like they did every evening.

"Nothing much. I just keep going back to what the blacksmith told us. I'm wondering if there was another reason why he couldn't tell us more about his customer." He sighed, feeling miserable.

"The way I see it, we need to figure out four things." Jiang Cheng said, listing them off his fingers one by one. "We definitely need to find out what is written on the knife, secondly, the crest, thirdly, where they are doing this and fourthly, the location of that bridge."

"What crest? What knife?" JunJie Kang said, looking puzzled.

Wei Ying had forgotten that they didn't know about it. He nodded to Lan Zhan who pulled out the pouch and showed them.

Li Hua took one look at it and said, "that's the Dragon Hunter's crest."

"So we were right about that." Wei Ying sat up, intrigued. "Anything else you can tell us?"

"Where did you get this?" JunJie Kang demanded.

"We found it."

"I don't believe you!" He retorted.

"My brother doesn't lie!"

"I don't care! Who leaves a sacrificial knife lying around? Impossible!" JunJie Kang got up and stomped off into the night.

"May I have a look at it?" Chang Chao asked, politely.

Wei Ying handed it to him.

He studied it cautiously, and like the blacksmith had done, turned it over and over in his palm. He looked...too interested.

"Anything else you can see? Anything important? Wei Ying took it back quickly, giving it to Lan Zhan. He remembered the blacksmith's advice but shivered in disgust. There was no way he was having that knife near his skin, bare or otherwise.

"I'm sorry," Chang Chao replied. "I can't read those characters."

"There is a famous soothsayer out here. It's a few days detour, but if you're willing, it might be beneficial." Li Hua said.

"Why do you think the soothsayer can help?" Wei Ying snuggled closer to Lan Zhan.

"People say he's a wise man. It's just a thought." She replied, but the way she was staring at him, made Wei Ying want to ask her more questions. She imperceptibly shook her head at him, and he remained silent.

When he next got a chance, he would try to speak with her privately. Wei Ying looked at the sullen JunJie Kang who returned and slumped next to the fire, still muttering under his breath.

Was she scared of him? If not him, then who? And more importantly, was she trustworthy? Wei Ying was not inclined to trust any of the Dragon Guard anyway, even if they professed loyalty to their cause.

"I would have thought that even if a sect was secretive, someone would know something, right?"
Wei Ying said, poking the fire.

"What if they're scared? These days, no one wants extra trouble." Chang Chao said.

"Not everyone can do the right thing." Lan Zhan told him.

But Wei Ying couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something big, something right in front of him.

*****

Li Hua was right that the soothsayer's village was not too far. They traveled through pastures, rocky terrain, and finally came across inhabited places.

Wei Ying tried to speak with Li Hua alone, but somehow, they were always interrupted, and he felt, if he persisted, whomever she was hiding from would be alerted.

His thoughts often strayed to Shen Qing, wondering how she was, if her captors were looking after her. She must be so worried about her children and Shen Ling.

Then he heard a faint voice. "Young Master, Young Master, can you hear me?"

He looked around wildly, searching. "Yes! I can hear you!" He shouted in his mind. "Where are you?" But there was no answer. He tried again and again, with the same results. Could he have imagined it? Was he wanting to hear from her so badly that his mind was playing tricks on him?

JunJie Kang had noticed his agitation.

"Something wrong, Master Wei?"

"No." He mumbled, not trusting him.

Lan Zhan had looked sharply in his direction again, so he smiled to reassure him, when it was the last thing he felt like doing.

*****

The town where the famous soothsayer lived was called Cai Fei. It was well populated, with busy marketplaces, people coming and going, temples to visit, and wonderful public gardens.

Wei Ying felt his spirits lifting being around the noise, the hustle and bustle of town life.
They sampled different cuisines from the market stalls, looked at all the local wares while they walked to their destination.

Lan Zhan smiled when Wei Ying rubbed his belly in satisfaction.

"I like this town." He confided.

They had left their horses at the inn where they would be staying the night and it was a short walk to the soothsayer's house. Although they found it was more like a hut, when they arrived.

A simple straw roof sat on bamboo walls, with a bamboo door.

"I don't think we'll all fit." Wei Ying said. "Who wants to go first?"

"I don't want to know anything." Li Hua said, standing far from them, under a cedar tree. Wen Ning stood with her, and Wei Ying reminded himself that he had yet to ask Wen Ning about that.

"I'll go first." JunJie Kang said.

"Surprise, surprise!" Jiang Cheng mocked.

He didn't last five minutes, suddenly storming out of the hut banging the door so it slammed back and forth in his wake.

Chang Chao entered next. He stayed a long time. When he came out, Wei Ying noticed his paled face and wanted to ask him about it, but Lan Zhan stopped him.

Jiang Cheng was next, although he stated his disbelief in these sort of acts before he went in.

"I don't believe in all this," he stated, when he came out. But there was doubt in his eyes.

Now it was their turn.

"I'm not going in without you." Wei Ying told Lan Zhan.

"Mn."

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes.

They entered the dark hut. A single candle was lit on the table in front of them, and a strange smell, burnt sage and lemongrass, mixed with something else accosted their nostrils.

The man behind the table leaned forward and said, "I've been expecting you, Wei WuXian."