Cover Up (1)

Chiyin dragged his feet on the stone pavement leading towards the entrance of the Grand Prince's study. He could see shadows of a few people against the lit study behind closed doors.

Yinyue returned earlier from the accident site during dusk fall but had waited until now to summon him. The servants told him about how Yinyue and the bodyguards killed a snow leopard. Chiyin wondered if his powder attracted that beast. Then he realised with a deep shrinking feeling, Yinyue's mood will be worse, especially if the beast injured her.

His footsteps falter as he looked up at the twinkling stars in the clear night skies.

The nervous feeling gnawing in the pit of the stomach never went away after he spoke with Hushiyi. He lost his appetite for dinner. Both Hushiyi and he barely touched the food placed before them. Chiyin was summoned to her study after he checked on the unconscious 01.

The imposing wooden pillars loomed over him, casting long shadows stretching out as though to grab him. Chiyin forced himself to walk towards the heavy wooden doors. His hand hesitated for a moment and hovered over the door before he took a deep breath to steady himself.

He knocked three times.

"Come in," Yinyue's voice said.

Her voice sounded monotonous, unfeeling and so cold that shivers ran across his spine. The doors opened before him by someone inside. The shrill creaking of its hinges making him even more apprehensive at the entry.

He inhaled again, pulling in the chilly air into his lungs and looked up, forcing a smile on his face. Yinyue was a few steps in front of him with her back facing him. Chiyin glanced around at the men dressed in black around her.

Two faces he knew — 02 and 05. But he didn't recognise the other three. Their bottom half of the face was covered by a black leather mask worn snug around their mouths with breathing gaps. He narrowed his eyes, wondering who they were. They are definitely not Qisha assassins.

The three men returned his gaze with steely eyes piercing through his smiling facade. He didn't flinch at sizing them up brazenly. And they also sized him up in silence, almost showing their disdain at his presence.

"Go," she said with a wave of two fingers. The three bowed and left the room. Chiyin noticed they didn't make any noise with each step taken while walking out. They moved like trained assassins. He turned sideways, only to see them vanishing into the darkness from the corner of his eyes.

"Sometimes being too curious is a bad thing," Yinyue spoke while 02 slid towards the open doors, closing them.

Her demeanour and the aura she exuded exacted an unseen pressure on Chiyin. His niece didn't feel like a blood relative anymore. Her face hardened to a haughty expression of a human looking down at an ant, about to crush it.

His palms grew clammy with sweat, his heart pounding so loudly at her words repeating in his ears. Chiyin could barely hear his own thoughts. Each step he took towards her felt like a struggle, as if he were wading through a swamp.

He never felt this way with her before. Chiyin stole a peek at both 02 and 05 for some clues. They promptly looked away, unwilling to get involved.

"Well," he said a word before swallowing down his saliva. "You called for me, so here I am."

"Explain to me how those three women died," she said icily, sweeping her fingers across the study table piled with bamboo scrolls and parchments. A map laid open there.

Before he could open his mouth, she turned to face him and added, "starting from the time you had contact with them."

Chiyin felt the weight of her scrutiny bearing down on him, attempting to suffocate him with intimidation tactics. The little girl he knew disappeared before him and a cold-blooded killer replaced her.

For a moment, he felt as though he wasn't her uncle but another killer to address. Softness for Yinyue within his heart disappeared when he recalled how she released three arrows in his direction.

When killers spoke to killers, the one who folds first loses the game. Two can play the game.

A smirk grew on his face. "Walked into Hushiyi's room and saw the mess. Didn't know what went on and didn't care."

His answer brought no reaction to her face.

"And how did you get involved?" She asked.

"He asked me to help cover up," Chiyin replied, straightening his back to emphasise his height over her.

Yinyue rolled up her eyes, causing Chiyin to frown, wondering if she believed him. That was the truth. He had nothing to hide.

"Describe the state you found them in."

Chiyin tilted his head at her question, puzzled by her request. He racked his head, thinking back to the bloody scene in the room. He started spilling each and every detail etched in his memory, including observations of blood splatter in the room with each step he took, his examination of the bodies and how Hushiyi reacted together with the cover up.

Yinyue's expression never changed even though 02 and 05 showed a faint grimace, their stomachs growing queasy at the bloody butchery which Chiyin spoke with relish, as though savouring every word like a delicious roast lamb. Even the description of smell wasn't spared.

Both 02 and 05 felt thankful for their absence at the scene. Chiyin's unperturbed narrative hinted at Hushiyi going berserk. They killed people before. Blood splatters are normal and they never cared to look at the bloodshed left behind, but Chiyin's storytelling skills brought a grotesque imagery to their minds they never wanted to see.

Chiyin finished detailing the incident, ending at how Yinyue shot at him while he was observing the area for wild beasts. He wanted to see if his powder worked on the beasts, but he never expected a stench. His eyes wandered towards the two bodyguards, who barely hid their agitation.

He noticed how they squirmed and shifted their positions with a grin on his face while he spoke. He may not have grossed Yinyue out, but the expression on her guards gave him a satisfaction.

Yinyue's expression remained blank. Not even a sign of irritation. She folded her arms and glanced at the earthen floor while in deep thought.

"That beast attracting powder…how much do you have?"

Chiyin stared at her in surprise. "A large medication jar full."

"Make more," she said.

"Eh?" Chiyin thought he heard wrong. That powder stunk. Even on his way back, he could smell it from the forest. So did the dead snow leopard when it came in search of prey.

"If you don't want me to pursue the matter," she said and then paused for a bit, her eyes shifting from side to side. "Don't use the powder in Yandi again. Or it will be hard to cover up."