Chapter Two: The City's Other Voices

A young emergency physician approached in the corridor. His badge read XIE CHENZHOU. He had cool eyes and a quick stride. As he passed, Su Li heard an exhausted dragon's rumble. “Thirty-seven hours without sleep. If one more person inhales a coin, I'm transferring to veterinary medicine.” She could not stop herself. “Would veterinary medicine even accept dragons?” Xie Chenzhou halted. The corridor seemed to cool. He glanced at Xu Tang, then Su Li. “What did you say?” “That you look very busy.” “Before that.” A rasp of scales sounded beneath his chest. Su Li stepped back. His pupils narrowed to slits under the fluorescent lights, then became normal again. “You smell of Heartfire chili,” he said quietly. “Has Wen Jiu lost his mind?”