By the seventh day, the sands began to fade.
The golden horizon gave way to scrubland, then into the edge of stone-paved
roads. The caravan's wheels clattered more rhythmically now, and the air
grew cooler as trees once again dotted the land.
Ahead, past rows of tiled roofs and sweeping walls, stood the capital — the
famed city of jade and iron, known for its bridges shaped like dragon backs
and towers that pierced the clouds. Flags fluttered from palace gates, and
stone lions guarded the wide imperial roads like silent sentinels.
Taotao leaned on the edge of the cart, wide-eyed.
> "I forgot how huge this place is."
He glanced at Ju Xian. "You sure you've never been here?"
She didn't answer. Her eyes narrowed at the skyline.
There was something familiar in the rhythm of the guards' footsteps, the
clang of distant bells, the smell of peach blossoms drifting from an unseen
courtyard.
> "No," she said quietly. "But it doesn't feel... foreign."
As the caravan turned toward the western gate, the merchant waved them
off.
> "You're on your own from here. Don't cause trouble."
They stepped off the cart, dusting themselves off.
Ju Xian adjusted her veil, and Taotao slipped his scarf back over his face.
> "So," he said. "Where do we go first? Find Sky? Or do you want to get
arrested again and work backward from there?"
> "We find Sky," she said firmly. "If he's real, if this isn't another one of your
snake-induced fever dreams—"
"It wasn't," he interrupted. "You'll see."
They moved through the lower city first — past shops with red lanterns,
alleyways filled with shouting merchants, herbal stalls, mask vendors, and
shadow puppets dancing in smoky light.
But Ju Xian was alert.
Too alert.
> "Someone's watching us," she said under her breath.
Taotao casually turned to scratch his neck — and caught a flash of
movement on the rooftop across the street.
A shadow.
Then gone.
He grabbed Ju Xian's arm.
> "Time to disappear again, darling."
They ducked into a side alley, disappearing into the maze of the city,
unaware that their return had already been sensed by more than one
watchful eye.
High above, in a royal courtyard adorned with plum blossoms, a pair of
golden eyes blinked slowly from behind the bars of a familiar bronze cage.
Sky looked up.
And for the first time in years, he stirred.