Chapter 22: The Price of Silence

Back to the door, Wei Qian watched the stranger’s silhouette. Tall, his dark robe did not bear any insignias, no marks of allegiance. The quality of the material did not suggest a common thief.

The jade box in his hands pulsed rhythmically.

Chen Rui stood by the wall, his face grey and his palms shaking. This was the first time he was in a matter of life or death and barely twenty years of age.

Wei Qian brought him along because he could be trusted. He was about to regret this decision.

"Chen Rui," Wei Qian murmured, "go."

"What—" the young man stammered, taken aback, "Branch Manager—"

"That’s an order," Wei Qian snapped.

For a moment, Chen Rui hesitated. He shot a nervous glance at the stranger, then at Wei Qian. In his dark eyes lay not only the fear of death but also the loyalty expected by a superior from his subordinate. He did not want to abandon Wei Qian now.

"Leave," his master ordered.

Chen Rui swallowed hard and reluctantly bowed. He carefully moved to the front door and, with an uneasy glance at the stranger, disappeared into the night. The door creaked open.

Wei Qian faced the intruder.

"If you had wanted the box," he asked, "why have you allowed me to take it from your warehouse?"

Instead of replying, the stranger calmly took a step closer. Dim moonlight sneaked through cracks in the wooden shutters, barely illuminating the man’s face. He was older than Wei Qian expected and looked worn out.

"You asked the wrong question," the stranger finally said.

"What should I have asked instead?"

"Do you know what you have in your possession?"

Wei Qian glanced at the jade box. The marking — a dragon and a broken circle — was pulsating, changing shape, almost like breathing. "No."

The stranger nodded. "That the only reason why you are alive."

The man’s gaze fixed on the box. "A key?"

"To what?" Wei Qian asked.

The stranger ignored him and pointed at the box. "Don’t open it. As soon as you do, people who have been searching for this a decade ago, will know where it is."

A decade-old mystery. Wei Qian filed that piece of information in the back of his head. "You mean the one involving the stolen caravans?"

"Exactly. Only these people were not interested in the cargo. They wanted the caravans to deliver the shipments to this very spot."

They did not want to buy goods from the Black River Company, simply the transport they offered as a service. As Wei Qian pondered over what the stranger had said, the realization of the scale of theft that had occurred filled his mind with ice.

"Who sent you to kill me?"

The man shook his head. "You ask the wrong questions."

"What is the right one?"

The stranger gazed at him for a long time.

"Actually," he said at last, "the better question is who made the ruins."

"Ruins?" Wei Qian frowned. "What ruins?"

"There are ruins along the road that your caravans have been travelling for decades. It is there that materials for the caravans were mined. And it is also there, something your branch apparently failed to recognize, that someone was looking for."

Wei Qian felt a lump in his throat. The roads, the caravans, the goods — the Black River Company was not involved in anything he did not know and allow. And now the missing part — the jade box, was in his hands. He exhaled.

"Several independent parties have been searching for this particular ruins for the last decade or so," the man said. "Each for their reasons. Some of them want the power inside, some of them to erase all traces of it from existence and some simply wanted to know what it was made of."

"The ruins were not built by a single entity," the stranger added. "There were others before you, civilizations that existed and died."

"What happened to them?" Wei Qian wondered.

The stranger’s lips twisted into a derisive smile. "That is something I wish to know myself. And you need to find out."

He took a step closer and pointed at the box. "You want to know who stole the caravans?"

Wei Qian narrowed his eyes. "Yes."

People who were present before you arrived," the stranger replied. "Long before your Chamber was formed. And they think yours is the best tool to finish the job."

"What do they want?"

"The same thing that we want."

"All of the caravans that have passed through the Eastern Wilderness belong to the Black River Company," Wei Qian reasoned. "How could ’they’ benefit from stealing something that is apparently not theirs?"

"Our research shows," the stranger replied, "that the materials from these roads were the fuel of an ancient civilization. There is great power in it, a power that people from various walks of life had been trying to harness for the last decade."

"What kind of power?"

"This," the stranger said, looking at the box. "The power contained within this box, capable of activating an ancient formation. Something that should not exist anymore. And that was sealed deliberately to remain forgotten."

Wei Qian digested everything calmly.

"And this symbol," the Black River Company asked, pointing at the logo, "what does it signify."

"It means," the stranger paused, "these people were not alone. They had helpers — ancient creatures that no longer walk the earth. Or at least, that’s what we used to believe."

Wei Qian was deep in thought when the stranger stretched out a hand for the box. The Black River company pulled it back. "I am not giving them up for nothing."

"I thought you would want to bargain," the stranger replied.

"I know what you want," Wei Qian replied. "Inside this chamber, there are several caravans that belonged to the Eastern Wilderness, containing ancient goods. Tell me what is in this box."

"People," the stranger replied. "That’s all I can tell you."

"Who sent you?" the Black River Company inquired.

"There will be some inside the Black River Chamber who want it as badly as us," the stranger answered. "And when the time comes, they are the one who will decide if you live or not."

The stranger turned to the door. "You have seven days to find them. Because that is the duration of the conflict that will erupt within your ranks in a week."

Wei Qian did not hesitate. He followed the stranger outside, to the alley. He paused at the threshold — the man was already gone. Vanished as if he was never there.

An hour later, a shadow appeared at the door. Chen Rui stepped inside the abandoned warehouse.

"Branch Manager," he asked, "who was that man? What happened?"

Instead of answering, Wei Qian asked, "How many people have access to the Western Wilderness shipping logs?"

The young man’s eyes grew wide. "I — I would have to check the account ledgers."

"So guess," Wei Qian challenged.

Chen Rui took a breath. "Seven, I believe, including myself. The senior clerks, the archive keeper and a few others."

"At the fifth one’s name, stop."

The young man paused, his brow furrowing.

"Tell me his name," Wei Qian said.

Chen Rui hesitated for a moment. Then he began reciting the names in the ledger. Wei Qian remained silent as man finished.

Suddenly, he stopped. "You should check into one of the individuals you considered a friend."

Chen Rui was visibly confused — and not without reasons. For the past eight years, he and this certain individual worked side-by-side. He trusted him with sensitive matters regarding the Western Wilderness shipment routes, the Black River warehouses and several other secrets. The stranger had the ability to manipulate the cargo manifests and delivery logs. Anyone with access to these documents could remove a caravan from a delivery route with a simple authorization. All he needed was one password and some time to get there.

And apparently, he was already there. A traitor from within.