Li Hua had a gift for patience.
Not the passive kind. Not the kind that sat still and hoped. Her patience was the kind that moved quietly in the dark, that planned seventeen steps ahead, that waited until the exact right moment and then struck with the precision of someone who had been sharpening the blade for months.
She had been waiting for Bai Yue to come home.
The Dragon Peaks had been an unexpected complication. When the scouts reported that the entire Thousand Fang family had been swept into the sky on a golden dragon's back, Li Hua had set down her tea and stared at the wall for a very long time.
Dragons, she had thought. Of course.
She had adjusted her timeline. No longer 10 days. She was good at adjusting.
But now the latest report sat on the table in front of her, the ink still fresh, the messenger still breathing hard in the doorway.
The dragon descended at midday. The family has returned to Thousand Fang.
Li Hua stood up.
~
