Chapter Two: The Dead Man Knows the Way

Zhou closed his eyes and pressed a hand to the bricks. “The road is still here. You just can't see it.” He stepped forward and disappeared. Lin followed. Cold resistance passed over his skin like a film of water, and the sounds of the city vanished. A street waited beyond the wall. The narrow road stretched into darkness. Seven years of dust covered signs for SUMMER PHOTO STUDIO, YESTERDAY BOOKS, and CLINIC FOURTEEN. Modern towers that should have pierced the pavement hovered overhead like mirages. The street sign read QIXIA STREET. Lin had lived in Lan City all his life and had never heard the name. Zhou stopped at Number Fourteen. A burned handprint marked the shutter. His final order had been for someone named Qi Xia.