Chapter 45 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

Last Night

The news that Khâm Vân Ti's group would leave the Tiêu Sa Pass the next morning spread throughout the camp right after dinner, making the already tense atmosphere for nearly a week even more oppressive, as if everyone was holding their breath waiting for something to happen before the last window of opportunity closed.

Diệp Sương spent that evening visiting the small animal in the rock hole as usual, bringing with her some saved food and some freshly brewed medicine, then returned to the gate when it was completely dark, the crescent moon hanging over the desert horizon.

On the way home, passing by the row of guest houses where the Khâm Vân Ti group temporarily stayed, she saw a figure standing in the darkness near the window, looking nervously ahead and looking back. She slowed down and realized it was Chúc Nghi Lam.

*

"Miss," Chúc Nghi Lam called softly, her voice trembling more than before, "I need to talk to you, right now, in a place where no one can see." Diệp Sương nodded and led her to a hidden corner behind the food warehouse, where the light from the barracks did not shine, only the faint moonlight clearly illuminated the two people's faces.

"Tomorrow morning the group will leave," Chúc Nghi Lam said, her trembling hand taking a small cloth package from her sleeve and wrapping it carefully. "I don't know if I'll have another chance to give this to you."

Diệp Sương took it, gently opened the fabric, and saw inside were several thin yellowed sheets of paper, one of them was a copy of the shape of symbols engraved on an old pile, another was a piece of paper with torn corners with a few lines of handwritten, dry handwriting, bearing traces of an old ledger.

"What is this?" she asked softly, her heart beating fast.

"A corner of a page in the Special Coordination Line's personnel allocation notebook," Chúc Nghi Lam whispered, her voice almost silent. "I secretly tore it from a sealed filing cabinet many years ago. When I was still a new clerk, I didn't understand why I kept it instead of throwing it away like I should have done. Perhaps, in my heart at that time, I felt something was wrong, even though I didn't dare admit it."

*

Diệp Sương carefully looked at the piece of paper under the moonlight. The broken lines of text left only a few legible phrases: "...mobilizing personnel to survey the eastern foothills area...", "...reporting directly, not through normal channels...", and a number with a date that was almost completely faded, only the fifth part could be read.

"This year," she muttered, calculating in her head, "is the time not long before you were born."

"I don't know exactly what that means," Chúc Nghi Lam said, "but I think you should keep it, maybe someone with enough knowledge about Linh Mạch will see what I can't."

Diệp Sương gently turned over the remaining piece of paper, an old copy of the stake symbol, comparing each stroke with what she herself had recorded in the field a few days earlier. The two sides matched almost perfectly, with only one small difference: on Chúc Nghi Lam's tablet, below each main symbol there was also a small circular seal, almost faded, which could no longer be seen on the actual stakes outside the Hạn Thủy ravine because of erosion.

"What is this seal?" she asked, pointing to the faint circle.

"I'm not sure," Chúc Nghi Lam replied, frowning and looking closely. "It could be the confirmation stamp of the person in charge of the project at that time. But the engraving is so worn, I don't dare to make a wild guess."

"Thank you," Diệp Sương said, her voice sincere. "But I'm worried, if your people discover that this document has disappeared, you will be in danger."

Chúc Nghi Lam smiled softly, a rare sad smile. "I've checked carefully, this is just a loose copy, not part of the official inventory of this trip. No one will notice it's missing." She paused for a moment, her eyes suddenly becoming unusually serious. "But I have to tell you something else, more important."

*

"What's going on?" Diệp Sương asked, feeling uneasy rising.

"Two years ago, when I was still new in my career, I once accidentally asked an elderly secretary about the Special Coordination Line, just out of curiosity when I saw that name on a row of sealed cabinets," Chúc Nghi Lam said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "That person not only scolded me, but also threatened to report it to my superiors if I ever mentioned it again. I was so scared that I haven't dared to ask anyone else since then. But tonight, when I decided to give these documents to you, I suddenly realized — that fear has kept me silent for two years, when perhaps, the silence of people like me is what helps whatever is happening continue to happen."

Diệp Sương grabbed Chúc Nghi Lam's hand and squeezed it gently. "You don't need to do anything more," she said. "Just give me what you have and let me take care of the rest."

"Be careful, lady," Chúc Nghi Lam said, her voice choked with both emotion and fear. "Supervisor Lỗ is not a simple person. I cannot confirm that he is directly related to what I just told you, but the way he always knows everything in advance, always has a ready answer to every difficult question, makes me unable to help but be suspicious."

*

The two of them parted ways in the dark, Chúc Nghi Lam hurriedly returned to the guest house before anyone noticed her absence, and Diệp Sương stood still for a long time, clutching the small cloth package tightly, feeling it was both heavy like a rock and as fragile as a breath that could disappear at any moment.

That night, she went to Thanh Việt's room, recounted the entire conversation, and showed him the documents she had just received. He silently read each line under the light of an oil lamp, his face gradually becoming serious.

"This year number," he said, pointing to the remaining digits on the piece of paper, "coincides with the time before you were born, which is also the time, according to Mrs. Chín Lài's story that you once told me, your parents died during a small Linh Mạch disturbance in Tùng Lĩnh Village."

Diệp Sương was stunned, a cold feeling spreading throughout her body unlike anything she had experienced before. "You think... those two things are related?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I can't confirm," Thanh Việt replied, his voice careful but his eyes couldn't hide his worry. "It might just be a coincidence. But if it isn't…"

He didn't finish his sentence, just letting the silence fill the remaining space, heavier than any explanation could describe.

*

The next morning, Khâm Vân Ti's group left Tiêu Sa Pass as planned. Lỗ Khắc Viên bowed politely before getting into the carriage, not revealing any signs that he knew about last night's conversation between Diệp Sương and his secretary.

"I will be back soon," he told Sầm Nguyên Trạch, his voice still maintaining his familiar calmness, "with the official decision from the royal court on the stabilization project. Please think carefully before refusing such an important cooperation opportunity."

Diệp Sương stood in the line of people sending the group off, and her eyes met Chúc Nghi Lam's as she sat in the carriage. The two only gave each other a discreet nod; not a word was said, but both understood that something between them had changed forever since last night.

As the convoy disappeared behind the sand dunes, Diệp Sương turned to Thanh Việt, the package of documents still hidden in her chest, her heart heavy with a new determination - determination to find the truth, no matter where it led, no matter what the cost.

*

Sầm Nguyên Trạch came to both of them as soon as the road dust kicked up by the convoy had subsided, his face could not hide his worry. “I don't like this feeling at all,” he said. "A person like Lỗ Khắc Viên does not give up easily just because he was rejected once. He will come back, bringing with him even greater pressure from the court."

"I know," Diệp Sương replied, tightening the package of documents in her chest. "That's why, I think we can't just sit and wait here anymore. We need to bring what we find back to the sect and present it directly, before that master can come back with a decision."

Vệ Chinh, standing nearby, heard it and contributed, his voice somewhat worried. "But if you two leave, who will take care of the observation station? Who will handle it if Lỗ Khắc Viên comes back while you are gone?"

"You and the young men of Diêm Cốc village have been trained enough to maintain the warning system," Diệp Sương said, placing her hand on Vệ Chinh's shoulder, her voice sincere. "As for Lỗ Khắc Viên, General Sam has full authority to delay any major decisions until there is an official opinion from the sect. That is what Thanh Việt said in the meeting." Sầm Nguyên Trạch nodded, his eyes both proud and heavy with worry. “I will hold this place until you return,” he said. "But go early, and be careful with each step. I don't want to hear any bad news about the two children who spent a life-or-death night with me at the Hạn Thủy ravine."