44. "Zhu!"

The search in the caves cam to an unfulfilled end when finally after another two long rests and countless caves searched, the soldiers, Pei, Zhu and Zihou came upon one of the caves the family Tong mined. And still there was no sign of Xin. The search in the mines was swift and thorough, but Xin wasn't there. The door to the outside wis still locked and the keys were gone. Taking in the countenance of his brother Pei hastened to get back to the entrance where their horses were. He briefly considered picking the lock, but knowing the value of the materials mined here Pei thought it best if the mine remained closed for now. As they now knew the shortest route to the exit it only took one long rest for them to reach it. Several groups of soldiers remained in the caves to explore several paths that hadn't been taken yet. Finally out of the cave Pei noted the anxiety in his brother. It was past midday, Pei ordered Zihou and most of the remaining soldiers to remain with their horses. Several soldiers accompanied Pei and Zhu to the waterfall they had seen before, so they could refill the water supply. Pei made sure the soldiers were busy with the water bottles and setting up a fire to prepare a quick meal and then took his brother to the other side of the waterfall. When they were far enough away and the sound of the waterfall would drown out their words. Zhu turned to Pei, his anxiety clear written on his face: "Where is she? Was Su wrong? We spend so much time in those caves, we reached the mine and still we haven't found her. What should we do next?"

"Brother, calm down. We know the only one who could lock the mine from the inside was Xin. We haven't explored all the caves yet and maybe she has made it out." Pei calmly stated, knowing his brother would calm down more quickly if he remained calm. "We haven't found her, but remember: we also haven't found her body yet. When we first met miss Tong she was walking deep in the forest by herself, she is a maiden who knows how to take care of herself. Trust that she will also be able to take care of herself now." The desperation in Zhu's eyes diminished only slightly after the words from his brother. He sighed, placing his hand against the rock wall, needing something sturdy to lean against. Then he lowered his head: "I know, but…It's just… I need to know she is safe. I need to talk to her again, see her, get to know her better. How can I live not knowing her?" Pei watched his brother, who was used to carry a heavy burden, who had to take care of all the people in Liang. And now he was not the emperor, he was just a young man, desperately searching for the girl he cared about. Pei considered once again if his brother understood the depth of his feeling for miss Tong. He remained silent giving his brother time to compose himself again. He saw Zhu heave a deep sigh and lift his head to the heavens.

"Zhu!" to Zhu it must have been an answer to his prayers when they again heard a softly shouted: "Zhu!" Both men looked up, after all the calling of his name had come from above them somewhere. They scanned the rock face and soon Zhu saw Xin's face hidden by the plants on the ridge above the waterfall. "Xin!" Zhu called out, which was immediately answered by a furious finger against her lips and horizontal cutting motions of her hand. Clearly indicating he had to be quiet. Pei noticed that Xin seemed to be anxiously looking in the direction of the soldiers. Did she fear the soldiers? Zhu motioned for Xin to come down, but Xin shook her head. She then pointed to the soldiers, then her eyes and then herself. Realizing she was actually afraid of the soldiers Pei grabbed Zhu's hand with which he was still signaling and pushed it down. "She's afraid the soldiers will see her." He whispered, shocked Zhu looked at Pei.

"Why should she be afraid of them?"

"I don't know." Xin disappeared behind the plants and a few moments appeared again. She dropped a rope down along which the brothers could climb up. Which they swiftly did after Pei had quickly gone to the solders to get some food and told them he and his brother would eat by themselves. Once they were on the ledge they crouched down to push through the plants to a very low cave entrance, which was completely shielded by the plants. The entrance opened into a small cave where a small fire was burning, there was a water bottle, a cage with a pigeon and a bowl with fresh berries. Xin stood beside the fire, Zhu felt such a relieve seeing her before him that he didn't see how nervous and anxious she was. He knew he shouldn't hold her, rules of propriety dictated this, but it was suddenly very hard to remember those societal norms and in the end he couldn't stop himself and stepped to her to take her in his arms. He didn't just want to see her, he had to feel her, feel her warmth. It was when he held her that he felt her tremble. Slowly he released her and held her from him, to take in her figure and face. He still held her shoulders with his hands. Then he felt his brother tap him on the upper arm. "Brother release her. Miss Tong, please tell us what happened." Xin immediately turned to Pei, anxiety clearly visible: "Did you bring your wife? Can I aske her to find out what happened to my parents? My mother would never allow a fire be kept going in the kitchen after she went to bed. The fire was lit by others. I think I saw them, though not clearly…please Master Pei, my parents were killed." Then she fell to her knees, Zhu immediately tried to help her get up: "Don't…" the tears were rolling down her cheeks, while she shook Zhu's hands from her arms, stubbornly staying knelt down as she said: "Please, master Pei, let your wife investigate this case."

"Don't worry miss Tong, she has already started. She remained in the village while we went searching for you." Pei told her as he also held out his hand to help her get up. This time, her face showing her surprise, she allowed Zhu to help her up. Then her surprise made way for fear: "She is in the village?" Fear mingled with grief and anxiety and Pei got the feeling that there was more to this fire then simply people trying to force tradesmen to do unfair business. "Come sit down. Tell us what happened." The three sat down near the fire and Pei shared the food he had gotten form the soldiers.

"I got back from the herb gathering later then I expected, because I started later. A woman from Beirong had visited us in the morning. She's an old friend so I wanted to see her before I left. When I got back, a little later then I would normally do, the kitchen and part of the house was already burning. I couldn't get in anymore, as I tried to find an entrance the fire expanded and started to engulf the entire house. Even the wooden fence was burning, it hadn't rained for many days, so everything was very dry. I noticed that the fire had just reached the workhouse, but it hadn't expanded very far yet, so I ran to it. When I got there I heard people talking and water splashing, I wanted to shout to them to help get the few workers out. Then I heard them say that they had to burn down everything. So I snuck in, there was already so much smoke, I tried to rouse the workers, but they didn't respond to my calling. I tried to get one of the workers out, but he was too heavy. I couldn't breath any more so…" she swallowed and bowed her head: "So I left him and ran outside. That's when I saw the pigeons. I checked to see where the soldier where and quickly went back to get paper, there was still some ink, I wrote the note and put it on the pigeon. The other I put in the cage master Xie had given me. I turned to flee through the gate, but it was on fire. I knew the only way out was the mine. I got the key and ran to the mine. That's when the unknown persons saw me, they were Liang soldiers from the nearby army. The soldiers saw me and chased me. I shut the door and closed the lock just in time. They tried to open the door but couldn't. When I was younger my father and I found a narrow way from our fourth mine, where the gemstones are mined, to this cave. It was our secret. So I know how to get here. It took me a long time, I don't know how many days have passed since then. When I got here I climbed down and went to the cabin to get a blanket and some dried fruits and rice. The cabin was still empty. Since I'd heard the soldiers chase me I thought it best to stay in the cave. Anyone searching for me would start in the cabins. Two days later I went to the cabin and saw a soldier there. He wore the same clothes as the ones chasing me, so I didn't dare come closer. I didn't know what was happening in the town so I decided to stay here, hoping you would find me. But when you passed here three days ago you were surrounded by those soldiers. I didn't know what to do so I stayed here. Yesterday or maybe it was two days ago. I went back to the cabin. I needed more rice. And that's…"Xin swallowed, lowering her head. Zhu shifted closer and took her hand in his. "You can tell us."

"I saw a man come to the soldier from behind and he simply placed his hands on the soldiers head and twisted it. The soldier fell down immediately. I'd never seen anyone kill someone else, it was so wrong. The killer stripped the soldier and put on his clothes. So now the killer looked like the soldier. That's when I realized the people who killed my parents might not have been Liang solders at all. But how could I tell which one were genuine and which ones are false? Who would believe me? So many strange things happened in our town. Who would believe a young maiden?"

"I… we believe you, Xin." Zhu said, comforting her.

"What you told us, what happened to your family and what you've seen need to be investigated. But first…I'm going to check the cabin and see if this false guard is still there. Wait for me." Pei rose and left the cave.