Li Fan folded the paper boat carefully, the thin material already starting to soften in the rain. Come alone. The words sat heavy in his chest. He looked at Wei Shun and Rourou, their faces shadowed by the cargo nets and the weak lantern light from a nearby dock post.
"They want me at the tea shop at dawn," he said quietly. "No one else."
Wei Shun's jaw clenched. "Like hell. We just agreed—no going solo. This screams trap louder than the last three combined."
Rourou stepped closer, her hand resting briefly on Li Fan's forearm. Her touch was steady, but he could see the worry lines etched deeper around her eyes. "He's right. They've been herding us all day. Splitting us, feeding doubts, and now they want you isolated. Whatever's waiting there, it's not just answers."
Li Fan exhaled, watching his breath fog in the cool night air. The rain had eased into a misty drizzle, but the chill went bone-deep. Part of him wanted to agree with them, to keep the group tight. But another part—the part that had survived this long by reading the currents—knew refusing might close the only door they had left. "If I don't go, we stay blind. They already know too much about us. About our pasts. About the cracks. This might be the only way to get ahead of them."
Wei Shun muttered a curse under his breath, kicking at a loose plank on the dock. "Fine. But we're not far. We'll wait at the edge of the market square. One signal from you and we come running."
Rourou nodded, though her expression stayed tight. "Be careful what you say. They twist words like they twist knives. And Li Fan… whatever they offer, remember why we're doing this. Not for power. Not for the Court's games."
He gave them both a small, tired smile. "I remember. Get some rest if you can. Dawn's not far."
They parted with reluctant nods. Li Fan watched them disappear into the shadows before turning toward the quieter backstreets. The walk felt longer than it should, every shadow stretching like fingers. Sleep was out of the question now. He found a dry corner under an awning and sat with his back to the wall, sword across his knees, turning the jade key over and over in his hands. The warmth had faded, but the questions hadn't.
Why him? Why now?
Dawn broke gray and muted over Emerald Haven. Li Fan approached the tea shop from the side alley, senses sharp. The same overhang where they'd started yesterday. Empty tables glistened with rainwater. No one in sight.
He waited.
Minutes stretched. Then, soft footsteps. A woman emerged from the mist, dressed in simple traveler's robes that didn't quite hide the quality of the silk underneath. Her face was sharp, composed, maybe in her thirties. The same one from the silk chamber, he realized. She carried no visible weapons, but her presence filled the space.
"Li Fan," she said, voice smooth as polished stone. "You came. Good. Most would have sent someone else."
He kept his stance relaxed but ready. "You've gone through a lot of trouble for this conversation. What does the Eternal Court want with us?"
She smiled faintly, circling to lean against the counter where Rourou had spread the map yesterday. "Not us. You. Your companions are… useful echoes. But you have something rarer. A name that still carries weight in certain circles. A history of slipping through nets we cast for others."
Li Fan's grip tightened on his sword hilt. "Flattery wrapped in threats. I've heard it before."
"Not a threat," she replied calmly. "An offer. The realm shifts. Old powers fracture. We need eyes and hands that understand the lower streets, the forgotten places. Join the fold properly. The doubts we planted? They were tests. Your friends will be protected. Your pasts… smoothed."
He laughed once, short and bitter. "And if I say no?"
Her expression didn't change. "Then the game continues. And pieces sometimes break when they resist the board." She placed a small token on the counter—the coiled dragon, but this one edged in gold. "Think on it. We'll be watching."
With that, she stepped back into the mist and was gone.
Li Fan stood alone under the overhang, the token gleaming dully in the growing light. His friends would be waiting nearby, but for the first time, he wondered how much he should tell them right away.
The snare wasn't just tightening anymore.
It was changing shape.