Shen Yao had at some point sat down on the bed. He glanced down at Yu Xie, then at the half‑phoenix seal in his hand.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked, tilting his head, watching the kneeling man.
Yu Xie didn't lift his head. Neither did he hesitate. "Yes."
Shen Yao's eyes moved slightly. He smiled. "Do you know where it's from?"
He observed the slight pause. Then Yu Xie replied, "Yes."
"Where?"
Yu Xie finished speaking, then fell silent. The words he had said were simple, but they revealed nothing — a name Shen Yao didn't recognize, a place he had never heard of.
Shen Yao waited.
After a long moment, Yu Xie lowered his head even more. "This cannot be disclosed to the young master."
Shen Yao's smile faded.
Then, as if reconsidering, Yu Xie added, "The young master will know once he meets the master."
Shen Yao sat up straighter. "Master? What master? Tell me who your master is."
This time, Yu Xie shook his head. "The master said now isn't the time. Too many eyes are watching."
Shen Yao frowned. "Can you tell me who those people are?"
Yu Xie shook his head again, remembering the instructions he had been given.
"Fine." Shen Yao crossed his legs. "Then why do you follow me around? And for how long?"
Yu Xie paused. "It is the master's order. To protect you."
Shen Yao noticed he hadn't answered the second question. He narrowed his eyes. "Why does your master want to protect me? Are we related or something?"
Yu Xie remained quiet.
Shen Yao studied him — the lowered head, the still shoulders, the way he knelt like a statue carved from shadow. He realized he wouldn't get any useful information tonight.
But he wasn't done trying.
He held up the seal again, turning it so the candlelight caught the rubies.
"This craftsmanship," Shen Yao said slowly. "The rubies. The way the phoenix's wings curve upward. It's not Ming work, is it?"
Yu Xie's silence this time was different. Not refusal. Hesitation.
Shen Yao pressed. "You don't have to tell me where. Just answer this—yes or no. Is it from Ming?"
A long pause. Then, barely audible: "No."
Shen Yao's eyes narrowed. His mind raced.
Not Ming but Foreign. Someone with enough resources to embed rubies in a broken seal and slip it into my hood without anyone noticing.
He thought about the assassination attempt. The way Yu Xie had appeared exactly when needed. The way the shadow soldier moved like he had been trained by someone who didn't follow Ming military doctrine.
"Your master," Shen Yao said carefully. "He's not from Ming either. Is he."
Not a question. A statement disguised as one.
Yu Xie's hands, resting on his knees, curled into fists. But he didn't raise his head. He didn't deny it.
Shen Yao exhaled slowly.
Foreign power. Shadow soldiers. A broken seal with rubies from somewhere southwest, based on the cutting style. Someone who wants me alive badly enough to embed a protector in my shadow.
He didn't know who. He didn't know why.
But he had a direction.
"One more question," Shen Yao said, setting the seal on the table beside the candle. "And you can answer it without words. A nod is enough."
Yu Xie waited.
"Does your master want me dead?"
Yu Xie's head snapped up.
For the first time since kneeling, he made direct eye contact. His expression was unreadable—but something in it flickered. Offense, maybe. Or fear. Or something closer to desperation.
"No," Yu Xie said. The word came out firmer than anything he had said all night. "The master would never—"
He stopped. Swallowed. Lowered his head again.
But Shen Yao had seen enough.
*Whoever this master is, Yu Xie cares about him. Not just obeys. Cares.*
And whoever he was, he had sent his most loyal shadow to protect a stranger.
Or not a stranger.
Shen Yao looked down at the seal again. The broken edge. The clean snap, as if deliberately split.
Half a phoenix, he thought. Half of something. The other half somewhere else. With someone else.
He picked it up one last time, running his thumb over the rubies.
"Stand up," Shen Yao said quietly. "You don't always need to kneel when we're alone."
Yu Xie rose slowly, uncertainty flickering across his usually impassive face.
Shen Yao didn't look at him. He kept his eyes on the seal.
"Go," he said. "I need to think."
Yu Xie hesitated—just a breath—then melted back into the shadows near the door.
The room fell silent.
Shen Yao sat on the edge of the bed, the seal still in his hand, and stared at the candle until it burned low.