Qing Tian Yi stared at the wooden ceiling blankly, wondering when was the last time she saw the moon. More than seven years ago, that was for sure. But when exactly was the last time she felt the moon’s soft white glow?

When she visited her parents’ home to see her ailing brother? He would be twenty this year. A full-grown adult, more than capable of taking care of everyone at home. Sometimes, she was worried about them, wondering if they had enough to eat, if they were healthy, if they missed her. Her poor mother. Tian Yi could hardly imagine what she must have felt when they first told her about what happened.

Was it that time Song Teng brought her hiking up that hill? He was the one who insisted they went for walk to take things off her mind when she was worried sick about the latest string of arrests by the British Armed Forces. She still remembered stumbling through the damp bushes with Song Teng, the two of them brushing leaves off their clothes and giggling like children as they tried to find shelter from the sudden downpour. It couldn’t have been then. There was enough moonlight to let them find their way, but they were too busy running to stop and look at the moon.

When was it, exactly? That she last saw the moon, hanging bright in the sky? She missed seeing the moon, though some days she was too tired to remember that. There were some things you simply didn’t appreciate fully enough until they were gone. Just like him… One moment they are there in your arms, the next they’re gone and you are older and no more wiser for it.

Something soft and tiny squirmed in her arms. Tian Yi looked down and saw her daughter, smiling like an idiot in her sleep. She couldn’t resist the urge to pinch her cheeks and the tiny human continued smiling as if she couldn’t feel it at all. It was her idea to keep the lights on for the night. Tian Yi obliged, even though even the price of candles had gone up in recent days. She could hardly refuse any request from her daughter, not when she had been absent around the house for the past few weeks.

Most of the time, Zhen Xi would have put Ru Yi to sleep by the time she got home. Zhen Xi had praised Ru Yi for being unusually obedient recently, calling her mature for her age. She was even helping out with the household chores. Somehow, Tian Yi knew that Ru Yi was behaving herself because she didn’t want to cause more trouble for her while she was busy working. Tian Yi was relieved and happy to have a daughter like her, but she couldn’t help but feel guilty. A child of Ru Yi’s age should be spending her time playing and exploring instead of worrying about her mother.

Tian Yi still had not told Ru Yi about what happened to her father, but the child, as sharp as she was, had probably noticed that something was wrong. Ru Yi hadn’t asked about her father for several weeks now, which allowed Tian Yi to breathe a sigh of relief. She knew she had to tell Ru Yi of what happened to her father eventually, but how was she supposed to do so when she had not come to terms with Song Teng’s death herself?

It was easy to forget about him when she was busy with her work, but when she was alone, when she was with their daughter— especially when she was with their daughter— the only thing she could think about was him. Her daughter looked too much like him. Most people said otherwise, pointing out the round eyes and button nose that Tian Yi shared with her daughter, but every time she looked at Ru Yi, Tian Yi only saw Song Teng. The oddly large earlobes, the way she covered her mouth when she laughed, the way she twitched in her sleep— every little thing that she did reminded Tian Yi of Song Teng.

She wondered what Song Teng would have said if he knew what she was doing now. He would have had nothing but approval and encouragement for her. She had no doubt of that. The only one who really doubted her was herself. Was she really cut out for this job? Tian Yi didn’t know. She caught the culprit behind the string of deaths, but so many people died as a result of what happened, including Mrs. Shaffi.

So many times she had replayed the same scene in her mind. Mrs. Shaffi running towards her with a knife in hand, the talisman ripping between her fingers, the loud explosion ringing her ears and throwing her back. Mrs. Shaffi’s broken body lying on the floor. Did she have to die? Captain Yue had reassured her that it had been an ugly necessity for self-preservation and no one had reprimanded her over what happened, but Tian Yi could not forgive herself. If only she had known how to better use the talismans, or if she was able to defend herself with other means, Mrs. Shaffi wouldn’t have had to die. What would Song Teng say if he knew?

These were the doubts and ghosts that haunted her every night when she went to sleep. Tian Yi was tired, but she knew she had to stay strong. There was still more work to be done.

Tian Yi told Zhen Xi about the truth of her husband’s death and the culprit responsible for it. The widow cried into her arms for an hour but brushed her tears off at the end and smiled as she said thanks before walking away. Tian Yi thought she would feel better when she had uncovered the mystery behind the deaths and given a proper explanation to the families of all the victims, but instead, she just felt empty. As empty as the hole left behind by Song Teng. Nothing had changed.

Part of the reason was that Tian Yi knew that there was likely still another mastermind lurking in the shadows, but more crucially, Tian Yi realized that there was no filling the void left by the loss of someone you loved.

The whole endeavor made Tian Yi reevaluate the situation. For what reason exactly was she doing all this? Was it because it was a distraction to allowed her to avoid confronting her grief? Was she really making a difference? Was she doing the right thing? The doubts lingered in Tian Yi’s mind for only a brief moment. She knew why she was doing this. Even if she could not bring people back from the dead, she could give the victims closure. More importantly, she could stop anything like this from happening again.

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Someone or something was still threatening to cause more trouble in the Undercity. Moreover, judging from the reactions of the mayor and his inner circle, whatever secret it was they were keeping was something incredibly important and dangerous. So dangerous, in fact, that even Captain Yue was keeping it a secret from the Malay Union. At the same time, it was important enough to draw the attention of enemies like Fang Chen Yu. The spy had to be someone who knew of the secret, but who was on the list of suspects? Did it just stop at the mayor and his inner circle?

Thoughts raced through Tian Yi’s mind like a cart barreling down a slope. Her fatigue and sorrow were replaced by an unstoppable restlessness that bubbled away inside her. Tian Yi carefully pulled her arm out from under Ru Yi’s head and slipped out of the bed. The little girl chuckled to herself in her sleep again. Tian Yi pulled the blanket over her and started scribbling in her notebook on the small table in the room.

She quickly organized all the facts she knew and all the people involved.

1. There is an important secret in the Nameless Town.

1. There is a possibility that Wong Kar Wai’s purpose was related to this secret.

2. If so, there is a traitor amongst those who knew this secret.

3. If not, what was Wong Kar Wai’s purpose?

1. The people who know about this secret:

1. Wei De Xin (mayor)

2. Lin Zheng Yao (chief administrator)

3. Kharak Singh (city guard commander)

4. Peng Li Yan (head of Worker's Association)

5. Yue Ran (enforcer captain)

1. The people who can be trusted:

1. Wei De Xin (?)

2. Yue Ran(?)

Tian Yi stopped writing and chewed on the other end of the pencil. It was almost impossible for the mayor to be the traitor. He had no incentive to work with the enemy to bring down his own city and from what she heard from Song Teng, the mayor was powerful enough to singlehandedly conquer the city if he wanted to. Unless his motivation was to bring down the Malay Union…

Tian Yi shook her head. Whatever secret the mayor was keeping, the whole situation was too convoluted for him to have planned everything just to bring down the Malay Union. Moreover, judging by his behavior during the city hall meeting, he was distrustful of the Union, but not actively antagonistic. He also helped subdue Wong Kar Wai’s insects. If destruction had been the goal, why wouldn’t he have delayed his appearance and let the insects inflict more damage within the Union?

In the same vein, it was unlikely for Captain Yue to be the culprit. Why bring her into the fold if that was the case? Why let her pursue Wong Kar Wai and uncover the truth? He had not personally benefitted from the events of the past few weeks. The enforcers’ authority had been greatly curtailed and he himself was under immense pressure, both from the Union and the mayor. He did manage to push the mayor into a corner with some political maneuvering, but even that didn’t seem to have gone according to his plans. Perhaps he wanted to expose the mayor’s secret? If so, why not just tell everyone what the secret was?

Tian Yi scribbled a few notes in the margin. There were too many uncertainties when it came to the question of a traitor. In the first place, did a traitor really exist? The greatest assumption being made at the moment was that Wong Kar Wai’s actions were related to uncovering this ‘secret’, but was that a fair assumption? He did not seem to have any other apparent motive. What they did know was that someone in the city had to have taught Wong Kar Wai the gu sorcery that he used. Which means there was at least one person in the city who knew gu sorcery. That person would have the answers, but how would they find them? Tian Yi recalled that the investigations into Wong Kar Wai’s contacts had all been fruitless. He had few friends and none of them could possibly be the mastermind they were looking for. It was a dead end.

Assuming that Wong Kar Wai was after the mayor’s secret, then was the traitor the same person who taught him dark magic? Or could there be another person? Which means it was possible they had to be searching for two enemies within the city. Tian Yi thought for a little longer, but did not manage to come up with any further insights relating to Wong Kar Wai.

Her thoughts settled back to the ‘secret’ central to this mystery. Perhaps she should start by finding out what the secret was. She looked back at the names on the list. Who would tell her what she wanted to know? It seemed unlikely that any of them would talk to her. If even Captain Yue refused to divulge the full truth, she would have even less chance of convincing the others.

Commander Singh seemed to have a lot of sympathy for her situation after what happened to Song Teng, but he was also known for being fiercely devoted to his job. On the other hand, she hardly even knew Lin Zheng Yao or Peng Li Yan.

Tian Yi scratched her head as she tried to think of something. There had to be someone else who was privy to this secret. Whatever it was, if it was big and important enough to warrant such secrecy, there had to be more people involved.

Assuming that Wong Kar Wai was after this secret, then everything he did was to search for this secret. But then why would he only target miners and factory workers?

Suddenly, something clicked in Tian Yi’s mind. Workers. Who did the mayor call for immediately after the meeting? Peng Li Yan, head of the Worker’s Association. The workers. They were an important clue to this whole affair.

Tian Yi quickly wrote everything down in the notebook. Peng Li Yan might not tell her what she wanted to know, but perhaps some other worker involved in this could. At the very least, this gave her investigation a more concrete direction.

Tian Yi took another look at the notebook and realized she had left someone out of the list. The mayor had another individual in his inner circle. Nazirudin. He was incapacitated at the moment, but there was no doubt that he would be privy to the secret. He was the mayor’s most trusted right-hand man, leader of a small group of elite sorcerers that reported directly to the mayor. It didn’t seem likely that he would tell Tian Yi anything either, but Tian Yi added him to the list anyway.

Tian Yi’s pencil paused mid-stroke. She had forgotten one more person. Someone much closer to her. Song Teng. He had been captain of the enforcers before Yue Ran and likely would have known about this secret as well. Song Teng had a habit of writing things down in his journals…

Tian Yi shot up from her chair at the epiphany. She threw the doors open and sprinted across the courtyard, heading for Song Teng’s study room.