The market square fell silent. The only sound was the wind, sweeping dust and morning refuse across the stones. Li Jin's statement, "I have no proof on my person," hung in the air, absurd and suicidal.
Lord Xiao was the first to recover his composure. A cruel, triumphant smile spread across his lips. "You hear that, General? Wind. Nothing but wind. This boy is an assassin and a liar. He broke into my home, tried to kill me, and now he invents fables to save his own skin. Let me deal with him. The city's justice will be swift."
General Wang An did not look at Xiao. His gaze remained fixed on Li Jin. It was a piercing gaze, that of a man accustomed to judging the character of his soldiers in a single glance. He saw no fear in the young man's eyes. Only a quiet resolve.
"The disciples of the Jade Tiger are not known for their frivolity," the general said, his voice grave. "Your accusations are of the utmost seriousness. Without proof, they are an insult to a member of the imperial family. A crime punishable by death by a thousand cuts."
"I know the price of my words, General," Li Jin replied.
The general finally turned to Lord Xiao. "Nevertheless, a fire did occur at your warehouse. And an imperial censor left your reception in the middle of the night, looking furious. There is much smoke around you, Lord Xiao. I cannot ignore it."
He made a decision. "I will escort this young man to the garrison. He will be interrogated there. And you, Lord Xiao, I must ask that you accompany me as well. To give your version of the events."
It was a clever maneuver. By moving the confrontation to neutral ground, the general stripped Xiao of his advantage. Xiao's face tightened with rage. He could not refuse an "invitation" from the city's military commander without appearing guilty.
"Very well, General. I will be delighted to witness the interrogation of this scoundrel."
Li Jin was put in irons, a symbolic gesture to appease Xiao, and escorted by the garrison soldiers. As he walked, he felt hundreds of eyes on him. They didn't know if he was a hero or a madman, but a seed of doubt had been planted.
The interrogation room at the garrison was a cold, bare chamber. Li Jin was chained to a chair. General Wang An sat opposite him. Lord Xiao stood in a corner, arms crossed, a smug smile on his lips. He was on his own territory now, he thought. The world of politics and influence.
"So, disciple," the general began. "This is your last chance. Present your proof, or prepare to face the consequences."
Li Jin was silent for a moment. He could feel the Tiger within, agitated by the feeling of being trapped. No more words, the beast growled. Break these chains. Kill them both. Flee. It's the only way out.
No, Li Jin thought. He looked at the general. "My proof is not an object I can show you. My proof is him." He gestured with his head toward Lord Xiao.
Xiao laughed. "Pathetic."
"Ask him, General," Li Jin continued, his voice still calm. "Ask him why the imperial censor accused him of conspiracy last night. Ask him what was in the ledger he showed him."
Xiao's face froze. He hadn't expected this. He thought the boy would talk about the fire, the extortion. But the ledger... that was a trap he didn't yet fully understand.
"I have no idea what he's talking about," Xiao said, a little too quickly. "The censor was drunk. He misinterpreted some figures."
"Figures that spoke of weapon sales to the Jurchens?" Li Jin asked, his gaze locked on Xiao.
The blood drained from Xiao's face. How did he know? Had he read the fake ledger before stealing it? Impossible.
General Wang An watched Xiao's reaction closely. He saw the fleeting panic in his eyes. The crack in his armor.
"Absurd!" Xiao choked out. "This boy is a northern spy, sent to sow discord!"
"If I am a spy, why would I have destroyed your warehouse?" Li Jin countered. "And why accuse you publicly, knowing it would lead to my certain death? The only one who benefits from my actions is the Empire."
The logic was inescapable. General Wang An stood and began to pace. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. To accuse a nobleman without tangible proof was treason. But to ignore a potential threat to the Empire's security was also a form of treason.
Li Jin played his final card. He turned to Xiao, and for the first time, he let a flicker of the Tiger's coldness show in his eyes.
"You think you have me trapped here, Lord Xiao. But it is you who are in the cage. You have a decision to make. Either you are a common criminal who was duped by a paranoid censor—an affair that will cost you money and influence, but not your head. Or you are a traitor whose plans have been discovered. In that case, not even your name can save you."
He paused, letting the words sink in. "The general here must file a report. I am offering you a way out. Confess to your lesser crimes—the extortion, the smuggling. Make me the scapegoat, say I invented this story of treason to harm you. You will lose face, but you will keep your life."
It was a masterful bluff. Li Jin was offering Xiao a chance to save himself by admitting to crimes that, compared to treason, seemed almost benign. He was betting on his enemy's cowardice.
Lord Xiao was trapped. He looked at the general's impassive face, then at Li Jin's cold eyes. He realized the boy wasn't bluffing. He knew. But how? There was no way. Unless... unless there was other proof. Somewhere. Proof that had not yet surfaced.
Fear overwhelmed him. The fear of the unknown. He didn't know what else Li Jin had in reserve.
He broke.
"It's a misunderstanding!" he said to the general, his voice turning pleading. "The boy is right. I have... had some business dealings that were a bit... irregular. To survive in this world, you understand. But a traitor? Never! He must have heard rumors and embellished them. I am the victim here!"
In an instant, he had confessed. He had chosen the path of survival, just as Li Jin had predicted.
General Wang An stopped pacing. He looked at Xiao with profound contempt. Then he turned to Li Jin. There was no triumph in the young man's gaze. Only a great weariness.
At that exact moment, a soldier burst into the room. He was holding a leather-bound book and a sealed scroll.
"General!" the soldier panted. "A woman handed these to us at the garrison gate. She said they concerned the current matter."
It was Lin Mei. She had waited for the signal. Xiao's confession was that signal.
The general took the documents. He opened the ledger. The real one. He scanned the pages, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. Then he broke the seal on the scroll. The traitor's letter.
He read. His face went from stern to a glacial fury. When he looked up, his gaze on Lord Xiao was no longer that of a judge. It was that of an executioner.
Lord Xiao saw the documents. He understood. He understood everything. The fake ledger. The stolen letter. He had been played from the very beginning. It wasn't a bluff. It was an execution.
He didn't scream. He didn't protest. A strange, strangled whimper escaped his throat. He collapsed to his knees, utterly defeated.
General Wang An turned to Li Jin. He walked over and, with his own hands, undid the young man's chains.
"You have done the Empire a great service today, disciple," he said, his voice filled with a new respect. "A service no one will ever know about. This matter will be silenced. Lord Xiao will die of a 'sudden illness.' His treason must not create panic at court."
Li Jin rubbed his wrists. He hadn't won through strength. He had won because he understood his opponent. He had used Xiao's own fear and selfishness against him. It was the Way of Water, applied not to a physical fight, but to a battle of minds.
"The Empire is in your debt," the general continued. "Ask for anything. Gold? A position? It is yours."
Li Jin looked at Lord Xiao, a broken man sobbing on the floor. He felt no satisfaction. Only a void. The fall of a man, even an evil one, was not a victory. It was a tragedy.
"I want nothing, General," Li Jin replied. "Except your promise that the justice you serve will from now on apply to all, not just the weak."
The general looked at him for a long time, then nodded. "You have my word."
Li Jin left the garrison. The sun was high in the sky. The city was loud, alive, oblivious to the drama that had just unfolded. He felt incredibly tired.
He found Lin Mei waiting for him near the abandoned pagoda.
"Well?" she asked.
"It is finished."
She nodded, as if she had never doubted it. "What will you do now?"
Li Jin looked to the north, toward the distant mountains. "I'm going home."
He had left the mountain a disciple. He would return a man who had faced the world and found himself. He had learned that the greatest power was not in the fury of the Tiger, nor even in the fluidity of the water. It was in understanding the human heart.
And he knew, with a quiet certainty, that his training had only just begun. Xiao's web was but one thread in a much larger, darker tapestry. And there would be other spiders to face.