Chapter 23: The Missing Shipment

By the evening, Wei Qian had discovered something even more disturbing.

The caravan did not disappear, it was rerouted.

One of the clerks that tracked the caravan’s route discovered that three days after passing through Red Pine Pass, Captain Zhou Han received an official Black River communication, instructing him to take a different route, through a smaller mountain pass.

The communication had the proper seal, the proper code, and the proper authorization of a senior chamber official.

Wei Qian quietly read the document.

"Who issued the order?" he asked.

"The order came from our system," said the clerk.

"Which department?"

"Logistics," said the clerk.

Wei Qian looked up.

"Did Logistics authorize this order?"

"We contacted them, but they said they did not issue this order."

Wei Qian placed the document back on the table.

Someone forged a Black River communication, a communication that contained the proper security protocol, an authorization code, and a seal of approval from a senior chamber official.

That was not the work of an amateur thief, it was the work of an experienced forger who had access to the chamber’s system.

Wei Qian looked up at the man in charge of tracking the shipment.

"Find me Captain Zhou Han," he said.

"We’ve tried contacting him," said the clerk.

"No," said Wei Qian.

"You’ve tried contacting his communication shard.

That is not the same thing.

Find out where he was last seen, who spoke with him, who ordered the diversion, and which road he took.

I want names of everyone involved.

Not everyone is trustworthy."

The clerk bowed and left the room.

Chen Rui was the only one left in the room with Wei Qian.

"Do you think someone from within the chamber is responsible?" Chen Rui asked.

Wei Qian looked out the window at the evening lights of Azure Cloud City.

"I don’t think.

I know," Wei Qian said.

---

The next morning a visitor arrived at the Black River chamber of commerce headquarters.

Shen Ruolan passed through the entrance hall in a long robe of dark green fabric decorated with silver thread.

The woman was not extravagant in her clothing, and her makeup was minimal, but the aura of quiet authority that emanated from her presence was impossible to ignore.

The guards at the entrance recognized her.

Another branch manager of the Black River chamber of commerce, responsible for one of the largest and most profitable cities in the southern region.

Shen Ruolan and Wei Qian knew each other from before they became branch managers.

They had even competed for the position several years ago, and Wei Qian had won the competition, narrowly beating Shen Ruolan.

When Shen Ruolan entered Wei Qian’s office he was already waiting for her.

"News of your troubles reached my ears," Shen Ruolan said, taking a seat across from Wei Qian.

Wei Qian poured himself a cup of tea.

"I heard you were visiting our district without an invitation," he said.

"You were invited," said Shen Ruolan.

"By whom?" asked Wei Qian.

Shen Ruolan smirked.

"The same people that are interested in your missing caravan,"

Wei Qian’s smile vanished.

"So, you know,"

"I know enough," Shen Ruolan said, crossing one of her legs over the other.

"A month ago one of my caravans disappeared,"

Wei Qian’s eyes narrowed.

"Where?"

"Near the Western Wastes,"

"Was it attacked?"

"No,"

"Rewritten?"

"Yes.

The caravan was redirected to a different mountain pass.

The cargo manifest listed formation materials, ancient ores, spirit herbs, and some artifacts that the Black River chamber recovered from an old ruin.

Almost everything was stolen,"

Wei Qian stared at the woman across from him.

"How much was stolen?"

"Almost everything.

One crate was left behind,"

"Why?"

"Because it was empty,"

Wei Qian’s eyes narrowed.

"You don’t believe me."

"No, I don’t,"

For the first time in their long conversation, the two branch managers stopped pretending to play one another.

Shen Ruolan took a small pouch of paper from her sleeve and placed it on the table in front of Wei Qian.

Several names were written on the pages.

"Not all of these shipments were stolen," Shen Ruolan said, "but they all contain something that was recovered from an old ruin."

Wei Qian quietly scanned the names on the pages.

Shen Ruolan continued, "I’ve been following these shipments for the past six weeks.

I didn’t know if I was dealing with a group of robbers or treasure hunters.

Until your caravan disappeared,"

Wei Qian looked up from the pages.

"Do you have any idea what they are looking for?"

"No,"

"Any suspects?"

"Several,"

Wei Qian’s lips curled into a smile.

"You don’t know the names?"

"If I did, I wouldn’t be sitting here drinking your tea,"

Wei Qian looked at the woman across from him.

"You still hate my tea,"

"I still hate you,"

Shen Ruolan replied with a smile.

"Good.

Some things never change,"

"If I wanted your position, I would have come to you sooner,"

Wei Qian chuckled, "That’s what a man would say who wanted my position,"

---

Later that afternoon, Wei Qian visited one of the warehouses that belonged to the Black River chamber of commerce.

The warehouse was located behind the main building, protected by a formation and guarded around-the-clock.

Hundreds of crates were stored in the warehouse, sorted by destination, value, and date of departure.

Chen Rui accompanied Wei Qian inside the warehouse.

"You said the records have been falsified?" asked Chen Rui.

"Yes,"

"How?"

Wei Qian pointed to a stack of crates along one of the walls.

"Three crates from the missing caravan were marked as damaged before they disappeared,"

Chen Rui looked at the markings on the crates.

"That means the people that stole the cargo knew that it would disappear,"

"Exactly,"

They searched the warehouse but did not find the three crates.

"They must have been moved," said Wei Qian.

Chen Rui swallowed.

"Branch Manager..."

"Keep looking,"

After several hours of searching, they found the shipment of spirit herbs, ores, and formation materials hidden in a small warehouse that had been unused for several months.

Wei Qian carefully opened the sealed box.

Inside he found spirit herbs, refined ores, and materials used for formations.

Nothing unusual.

Then he found the smallest crate.

Inside the box was a jade shard.

Wei Qian did not open the box.

He studied the box itself.

It was only slightly bigger than his palm, and it was completely sealed.

There were no markings on the box indicating what was inside.

Chen Rui whispered, "Is that it?"

Wei Qian nodded.

He carefully picked up the box, the weight of it was surprising for something that looked so small.

The moment his fingers brushed the bottom of the box, a symbol appeared carved into the wood.

A dragon coiled around a broken circle.

Wei Qian’s eyes narrowed.

He had seen this symbol before.

Not recently, but almost ten years ago during a private deal involving an ancient ruin.

He did not understand what it meant, and he was not sure he wanted to.

"Put it back," said Wei Qian.

"But we found it,"

"Put it back,"

Wei Qian said, placing the box back on the crate.

Something about the box was wrong, and not in an obvious way.

Wei Qian turned around, heading for the exit when the entire warehouse was plunged into darkness.

The spirit lamps on the walls went out, one after another, until the entire building was shrouded in shadow.

Chen Rui turned pale.

Wei Qian’s fingers hovered over the jade pendant at his chest.

A voice echoed in the distance, "You should have left that box alone."

Wei Qian turned to look at the person that appeared between him and the exit.

He could not see the man’s face, only the impression of a tall person in a dark cloak.

Wei Qian’s eyes narrowed.

"You are the one that stole the caravans."

The man said nothing.

Wei Qian smiled, "Then let’s talk,"

Behind him, the closed jade box hummed, giving off a deep pulse of energy.

Once, twice, and the symbol carved onto the box began to glow.