Gu Feng stops eating. Eventually.

Wei Bo smiles and says, “I hope you can excuse such a paltry meal. We didn’t know when Master Gu would awaken. Ping Fei had to improvise lunch.”

Gu Feng says, “It was excellent. Beyond excellent. Ping Fei is a treasure. This is how you eat every day?”

“Not every day, no.”

Gu Feng says, “How do you know my name?”

Wei Bo’s face darkens. It isn’t sinister, it’s merely the loss of his smile. The Wei Bo who hosts guests is a gracious and giving man. But the Wei Bo who conducts business is a much more serious fellow. He says, “It’s our business to know, and we know many things. We know why you drink. We know the secret of your Jade Devil techniques. And we know why they call your friend Treacherous Jiang.”

Gu Feng says, “What have you done with him?”

“Are you so interested in every stranger you encounter?”

“There are no strangers in the martial fraternity.”

Wei Bo says, “He’s a barbarian. A foreign invader.”

“The Jin aren’t?”

“Hm, the Jin. You and Treacherous Jiang risked your lives to save a Jin agent.”

Gu Feng says, “That rabble of gangsters and their whores? Hardly a risk! Anyway, I do a lot of drinking. You can’t expect a great deal of consistency in my character.”

Wei Bo says, “To answer your question, Jiang Shan is also my guest. He’s safe.”

Gu Feng says, “Does the Brotherhood of Crows treat all its prisoners with this much hospitality?”

Wei Bo masks his silence with a sip of tea and says, “Brotherhood of Crows? Here?”

The martial fraternity is rife with secret societies, but none are as feared as The Brotherhood of Crows. Its agents are masters of subterfuge. The Brotherhood’s agenda is unknown, but their influence is said to be felt everywhere. Many believe the Brotherhood of Crows is nothing but rumor. A shadow that hides a greater secret.

But maybe that’s what the Brotherhood of Crows wants us to believe?

Gu Feng laughs and says, “Who else could have ambushed us with those stealth techniques, and those hidden weapon techniques, and those vital point techniques? With robes the color of night and cloaks made of black feathers? They couldn’t have belonged to the Brotherhood of Crows more if they ran around flapping their arms.”

Wei Bo says, “Hmm.”

“Don’t give me ‘hmm.’ If you aren’t the Grandfather of Crows himself I’ll eat these pajamas.”

Wei Bo says, “Really?”

Gu Feng surveys the empty bowls in front of him. It occurs to him he might burst if he ate a single grain of rice. “Well, not right now obviously.”

Wei Bo says, “Anyway, you are hardly prisoners.”

“Have it your way. Why are we your guests then?”

Wei Bo says, “The Brotherhood took an interest in General Jiang after he was defeated outside the walls of Kaifeng.”

Gu Feng says, “As I understand it a great many people took an interest in him after that.”

Wei Bo says, “Not his own countrymen, as it happens. Do you know the story?”

Gu Feng says, “Probably not.”

Wei Bo says, “General Jiang Shan colluded with insurgents in Kaifeng to have the city gates opened at midnight so his battalion could storm the city and kill Emperor Taizong of Jin.”