Chapter Four: The Tapes Remember True Names

If she does not wake by twenty-nine, the contract is void." It was Gu Linchuan's voice. A woman asked, "And if she wakes?" "Take her to the water tower. Let her decide with her own eyes." Shen Wu stared at him. "The festival was no accident. You calculated the date." "I waited twenty-nine years." "Did you arrange my whole life, too?" He did not defend himself. That was worse than a defense. The trapdoor flew open. Zhou Jibai tumbled down the ladder, a knife wound across his shoulder. He wore his own jacket, but the crescent on his neck flashed in and out. "The water tower is a trap," he gasped. "Lu will burn every tape before dawn." His gaze settled on Shen Wu and became ancient.