Page 47 of The Blood Orchid
I turned to Zheng Sili. “Wenshu Ge needs to checkyou, anyway, so call me when you’re done.”
“Me?” Zheng Sili said, eyes wide. “I am very obviously not the Empress, becauseI can do alchemy!”
When I didn’t respond, he sighed and shoved his blankets away. “The Empress obviously takes people’s bodies, not their minds,” he said slowly, as if speaking to a child. “You think she could do the kind of alchemy I’ve spent a lifetime practicing just because she’s wearing my hands like gloves? Don’t insult me.”
Wenshu shot me a questioning glance. I had to admit, Zheng Sili had a point. As far as anyone knew, the Empress couldn’t do alchemy. I supposed it was possible that she’d learned in secret, but if she was any good at it, she could have learned to make her own life gold and wouldn’t have needed me alive after all the other royal alchemists were killed.
“I think it’s better to be careful,” Wenshu said quietly. “Underestimating the Empress is dangerous.”
Zheng Sili rolled his eyes. “Do you two really want to see me naked that badly? Fine.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I said, but he was already untying his robes.
I hurried out of the tent as Wenshu made a strangled sound and shouted about howyou don’t need to take it all off at once, no one wants to see that!
After a few minutes, they determined that neither of them had the Empress’s soul tag, which Zheng Sili was incredibly smug about. I was just grateful we hadn’t been unknowingly dragging the Empress around with us for days, so I let him gloat for a moment before shoving him into the corner of the tent to make more room for me and Wenshu.
Zheng Sili grumbled and hugged his bag closer. “This is the thanks I get for helping you.”
“You?Helping?” I said incredulously.
Zheng Sili’s face slid into a frown, then he reached down into his sleeve and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, staring at it blankly. “I could have sworn I gave this to you earlier, but—”
“But you were drunk out of your mind in the middle of the night?” I said, snatching it from him and shoving him when he tried to grab it. I managed to hold him back with one hand and unfold it with the other.
It was a flyer, a hole at the top as if Zheng Sili had torn it down.
WANTED: THE ARCANE ALCHEMIST
Dead or alive
Violent thief, beware of alchemy
Reward: 500,000 gold
Last seen in central Zhongwei
Beneath the writing was a scrawled image of the man. Strangely, where his facial features should have been, there was nothing but a blank space in the paper, like his face had been wiped clean.
“Your idea of helping is bringing me an unfinished wanted poster?” I said, turning to Zheng Sili.
He shook his head. “It’s not unfinished,” he said. “Some peasant selling goats gave it to me this evening. She said he’s been stealing from nearby towns, but no one could describe his face.”
“If she wassellinggoats, she was a merchant, not a peasant,” I said. “Why is that so hard to understand?”
“Quit being pedantic and actually listen to me,” Zheng Sili said. “You and I both know this guy is no royal alchemist, yet he’s well-known enough around here that he has a title. What does that tell you?”
“That he’s a thief who is really bad at not getting caught?”
Zheng Sili scowled and shook his head. “He must be good at alchemy, enough to be known for it, or else this would just say his real name.”
Unfortunately, Zheng Sili was right. It was rare to find powerful alchemists anywhere but the capital, for few would spend their lifetimes learning such a valued skill if they didn’t intend to make it their career.
The Empress couldn’t have put herself in so many bodies without the help of a living alchemist, and there weren’t many in the north skilled enough to pull that off. This one clearly didn’t respect the law, and was good at hiding from the police, which made him a pretty likely candidate.
“You think this guy is the one who’s been oh so kindly holding the door open for the Empress?” I said.
“Took you long enough,” Zheng Sili said. “Do try to keep up with me. I know it’s challenging at times.”