"Who are you?" the leader snarled. It was then that he was finally able to wrench his hand free. He rubbed his wrist and looked wary.

  "Just a customer," Li Yu said. He pulled a silver coin from his sleeve and placed it on the old man’s cart. "I'll take the butterfly. And the broken dragon. I like fixing things."

  The leader glared at Li Yu. He sensed no cultivation base. Li Yu’s aura concealment was perfect against someone so weak but the leader had felt something. And in a city under lockdown, unknowns were dangerous. But he also saw Si Luo and Bai Ruo.

  The leader hesitated. He didn't want to kick an iron plate over a kite.

  "Watch yourself, scholar," the leader spat. "The streets aren't safe."

  He signaled his squad and they marched off to harass someone else. The old man slumped against his cart. "Thank you... thank you, young man."

  "Don't mention it," Li Yu said. He took the butterfly kite and handed it to Bai Ruo.

  "Here," Li Yu said. "Let's fly a kite."

  "A child's toy?" Si Luo raised an eyebrow even though it wasn’t handed to her. "Is this necessary?"

  "It involves wind currents and control," Li Yu said. "Bai Ruo can calculate the trajectory. You can control the string."

  Si Luo looked at the kite. "Very well. I have never used something like this before."

  Ten minutes later the paper butterfly was flying over the rooftops of Iron-Willow City and drew the attention of half the district.

  Si Luo didn't just fly the kite. She dominated the kite. She didn't rely on the wind; she used her spiritual sense to create updrafts. The butterfly performed maneuvers that defied the wind. Loop-de-loops, sharp right angles and hovering perfectly still in strong gusts.

  Children gathered around, oohing and aahing.

  "Make it do a dive!" a little boy with a runny nose shouted.

  Si Luo looked down at him imperiously. "Observe."

  She flicked her wrist. The kite dove from two hundred feet, pulled up inches from the ground and soared back up, spinning like a drill.

  The children cheered at the sight. Even the anxious adults stopped to watch. For twenty minutes, the fear of the lockdown was forgotten, replaced by the spectacle of the impossible kite.

  Bai Ruo stood beside Li Yu. "The tension on the string suggests she is reinforcing the paper with Qi. Otherwise, it would have disintegrated."

  "Let her have fun," Li Yu smiled. It was probably rare for imperial children to get to play with toys like this. He also didn’t know what were considered toys to an imperial family of beastfolk.

  As evening fell, Li Yu, Si Luo, and Bai Ruo returned to the inn for dinner. Old Wu had boarded up the windows as he said he would. This left the dining room dim and stuffy.

  They were eating a simple meal of stir-fried greens and rice when the front door burst open with a crash. Splinters flew. Old Wu screamed.

  A senior enforcer of the Obsidian-River Sect strode in. He was an older man, partially balding, with a Foundation Establishment aura that pressed down on the room like a heavy blanket. Behind him were ten armed disciples.

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  "Inspection!" the Enforcer roared. "Everyone stay where you are! Hands on the tables!"

  The diners froze. A few merchants ducked under their tables for cover.

  Li Yu sighed but listened and put down his chopsticks. "Can't even eat in peace."

  The Enforcer walked through the room, scanning faces with a glowing mirror artifact. It was a Seeking Mirror. He stopped at a table of mercenaries, shone the light in their faces, then moved on.

  He reached Li Yu’s table. He paused. He looked at Si Luo. Then at Bai Ruo. Then at Li Yu. His eyes narrowed.

  "Identification," the Enforcer barked while holding the mirror up to Li Yu’s face.

  Li Yu didn't blink. He calmly produced a generic identity token he had gotten from the Five Mountain Alliance. "Li Yu. Traveling scholar."

  The Enforcer shone the mirror. The glass remained clear. It didn't detect whatever it was the mirror was set to detect.

  The Enforcer frowned. He looked at Si Luo. "And her?"

  "My cousin," Li Yu lied smoothly. "She's mute. And a bit simple in the head. She likes pretty things."

  Si Luo’s eyes flashed with a cold fire that could have frozen the sun. Li Yu kicked her gently under the table.

  "And her?" The Enforcer pointed at Bai Ruo.

  "My bookkeeper," Li Yu said. "She's obsessed with numbers. Doesn't talk much either unless it's about abacuses."

  The Enforcer wasn't buying it completely. His instincts were screaming that something was off. He leaned over the table, placing his hands on the wood. He stared directly into Li Yu’s eyes.

  "We are looking for a thief," the Enforcer hissed. "Someone who hides his true power. Someone who might travel with accomplices."

  "That sounds terrible," Li Yu said while looking appropriately nervous. "I hope you catch him. I'm just here for the dumplings."

  The Enforcer sneered. He reached out and grabbed Tekton, who was wrapped around Li Yu’s wrist.

  "What is this?"

  Li Yu’s heart skipped a beat. If Tekton reacted...

  "A bracelet," Li Yu said quickly. "A keepsake from my parents."

  The Enforcer squeezed. Tekton, sensing Li Yu’s intent, remained perfectly rigid.

  "Ugly," the Enforcer grunted as he released his grip. He straightened up. He glared at the room one last time.

  "If you see anything suspicious, report it to the patrol immediately. Harboring a fugitive is punishable by death."

  He turned and marched out, his disciples following him. The door slammed shut. The silence in the inn was deafening. Old Wu crawled out from behind the counter and was weeping. "My door! My beautiful door!"

  "I'll pay for it," Li Yu called out.

  Si Luo turned to Li Yu slowly.

  "Mute?" she whispered, her voice dangerous. "Simple in the head?"

  "It worked, didn't it?" Li Yu grinned sheepishly. "Besides, if you had spoken, you probably would have insulted his ancestors and started a fight. We're trying to remain unseen, remember?"

  "I am a Princess," Si Luo hissed. "I am not 'simple'."

  "Logically," Bai Ruo interjected, "The narrative was sound."

  Si Luo glared at Bai Ruo. "You are enjoying this."

  "I am merely analyzing the effectiveness of the deception," Bai Ruo said.

  Late into the night, the sound of heavy bells tolled across the city.

  GONG. GONG. GONG.

  Three strikes. The signal for "All Clear."

  Li Yu opened the shutters of his window. He saw the shimmering blue barrier over the city gates flicker and dissolve into motes of light. The oppressive atmosphere lifted instantly.

  "Looks like they caught him," Li Yu murmured to Tekton, who had uncoiled and was stretching on the bed. Or maybe he escaped and they just gave up.

  He didn't care which. The sect was oppressive but they hadn’t gone too far here. There was nothing for him to do. This happened all the time.

  He took a deep breath of the night air. The city was quiet now, exhausted from a day of panic. But tomorrow, the markets would open, the prices would drop back down and the road would be open.

  "We leave at dawn," Li Yu whispered to the room.

  He closed the shutters, laid back on his bed and closed his eyes. It had been a boring day of waiting, hiding and playing pretend. And for Li Yu, that was a decent day.