ears.’
‘When you surround yourself with liars and thieves, you have to watch your back all the time.’
‘We’re not thieves.’ He sighed, exasperated. ‘You have a talent for reading people and discovering their intentions. How else could you turn someone like the righteous Ru Shan?’
‘How do you know of that?’
‘Of course I know. I know everything about your beloved Li Tao.’
‘Don’t mock me, Old Man.’
It was a painful reminder that this was all a game. He took pride in manipulating the world around him, in controlling the lives of men.
‘You’re not saying anything, Ling Guifei. Not like you at all. Tell me, what expression are you wearing right now?’
‘Disdain.’
‘Indeed. Well, answer me.’
Insufferable man. She glared at him. ‘Why would I serve you? You sent Li Tao to die.’
‘He put himself in this situation,’ he muttered. ‘Besides, it is the only way. Gao Shiming must be destroyed. Honourable men like Emperor Shen need men like us to do the unspeakable.’
She wanted to shout that he wasn’t doing anything but sitting back and pulling strings.
‘I swear I will put a knife in your heart the first chance I get,’ she vowed.
‘No, you won’t.’
It was strange how they spoke of revenge and death so civilly, their voices lowered in the midst of the morning stroll.
‘You are not cold enough,’ the Old Man scoffed. ‘I could always see people’s strengths and their weaknesses. I knew where to place them to make things happen.’
‘You were wrong about Li Tao.’
‘I was not wrong! An Ying has its share of killers. They have their uses. But the most critical tasks require sharp instincts and a strong will. Both make a person unpredictable.’
Life and death meant nothing to this man. His heart was deadened to it. The thought both chilled and saddened her. Would this have been Li Tao after a lifetime of ruthlessness? Was he already like this?
‘Think of it, you stubborn old fool. How long is your beloved empire going to last if you keep killing its leaders?’
His hand tightened around her arm. ‘You have a wicked tongue, but somehow, I like you, Ling Guifei. Do you know I saved your life? I learned about Gao and his amateur assassins. All it took was one message to Li Tao.’
‘Why save me?’
He shrugged. ‘You played the qin so beautifully. It seemed like a waste.’
‘Crazy old man,’ she muttered.
‘Ungrateful she-demon.’
Lao Sou wasn’t doing this out of hatred, but she couldn’t work out what it was that tied him to Li Tao so obsessively. For whatever reason, the old man enjoyed it when Li Tao did his bidding, whether it was reacting to a mysterious warning or assassinating a warlord.
She knew he wasn’t insane, despite her insults. He was shrewd and manipulative. But however formidable the clan leader had been in the past, she was beginning to see his weakness. He’d grown self-centred, vain and indulgent—on the outside.
Lao Sou was lonely. She understood that sentiment more than she would care to admit. He had built his organisation, kept too many secrets all his life, and now there was no one to share his glory. In time, she could gain his trust, but she didn’t have time. She needed to find Li Tao and prevent him from sacrificing himself.
‘If you discovered Gao’s plot, then you must know why he wanted me dead,’ she ventured.
‘Why else do men act rashly? Jealousy, greed…’
He was rambling now. He didn’t know about Gao’s plans. She’d have to persuade him another way.
‘Which of those explains why you sent Li Tao to his death?’
‘Simple.’ The old man snorted. ‘I needed that bastard Gao removed and Li Tao is my finest weapon.’
‘You’re a sentimental fool.’
She witnessed his anger rising, the instant regaining of control, and, a second before that, a glimmer of contemplation. Lao Sou didn’t care at all about Gao Shiming. This was a personal grudge over Li Tao’s defiance. She pounced.
‘You made a mistake, Old Man. You acted out of emotion.’
‘She-demon,’ he grumbled. He had run out of responses.
‘Li Tao is more useful to you alive.’
‘Not if he doesn’t follow orders.’ Suddenly, a slow grin spread across his face and Suyin doubted she’d won the battle at all.
‘Can you control him, Lady Ling?’ he asked.
This was precarious ground. ‘No one can control Li Tao.’
Lao Sou shook his head. ‘Nothing so sinister, my lady. I have a feeling you can persuade him where no one else could. Yin balances yang, does it not?’
This was what she had wanted, wasn’t it? A chance for a compromise.
‘What do you