Atop the newly built Shadow Tower, Jing Yi takes out a ring made from a stolen ruby. “No wedding, no vows. Will you partner with me on every mission from now until we die?”
Ling Yue takes the ring and slips it over her glove. “Even after we die, our ashes have to be mixed together.”
During a mission, Qiao Yu is badly wounded. Ke Xiao stays awake for three days and nights, working on an antidote. When she wakes, she says, “Someone like me doesn’t know how long I’ll live.”
Ke Xiao: “I’ll stay with you for every day you’re alive. If you die, I’ll finish one last mechanism, then come find you.”
Ling Yue sneers. “They don’t know how much more blood we’ve shed to keep this peace.”
Jing Yi: “It doesn’t matter. As long as we’re doing well and have each other, that’s enough.”
Ke Xiao adjusts his glasses. “A new order. The new ruler of Yan wants to get rid of his ambitious younger brother. The price is 150,000 taels.”
Qiao Yu licks the sugar crumbs off her lips. “Take it. Same rules as always, half the payment up front.”
