Chapter One: Everyone in the Rain Is Acting

In the basement of the Lu estate, a bronze register sealed for fifteen years opened by itself. Bai Yi stood beside the long table as ink seeped across a blank page like rain. Zhou Ye. Tang Li. Lu Jingming. Lu Chenzhou. Beneath the four names, smaller characters emerged: THE RAIN LISTENERS ARE ASSEMBLED. THE NIGHT OF SUCCESSION BEGINS AGAIN. Bai Yi made a call. “Master Lu, the boy has returned.” Back on Linjiang Road, Wanqing snatched away her camera. The crowd thought the climax had passed and shouted questions about who had staged what. Chenzhou leaned closer to her. “You succeeded,” he whispered. “But you made two mistakes.” “Which two?” “First, you assumed I didn't know the rules. Second, you assumed there were only four candidates.”