The Underground was every bit as boorish and disgusting as Ruyi had imagined it.

On one side were tables of huddled gamblers, throwing up cards and coins, smoking so heavily they were shrouded in their own atmosphere of noxious fumes. On the other scantily clad men and women danced and laughed and lured drunk patrons behind velvet curtains.

The centerpiece was worst of all: bouts run one after one, sweaty men and women in loincloths and tunics raging at each other. Hair was torn. Eyes were gouged. Blood was spilled. There was no quitting: the victor was the one left standing. It was merely fistfights, meant to be nonlethal, a rule which granted the whole thing about as much dignity as a strip of cloth might grant their prostitutes. Around the cage a boiling crowd whooped and took bets. The carpet was soggy with who knew what, and the whole place shone with an unnatural oily sheen.

It made her want to retch.

“Much of the trade goes on at the gambling tables,” said Mei, pointing. “The rest takes place in the back rooms. Tell me what you need, and I’ll get it for you.”

“No need. I’ll get it myself.”

An awkward pause. Mei put a hand on her shoulder—

She flinched.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Sorry,” said Mei, wincing. “I should’ve stuck closer to you back there. It’s my fault.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine. Stop talking about it.”

Without waiting for a reply, she marched toward the gambling tables. Mei hissed, “Wait!”

There was a bar near the tables. Lowlives sat around smoking. Swallowing, feeling like an idiot, Ruyi edged up behind two heavily tattooed men.

“— in first?” said the first thug. “Poetry and classics.”

“Really, now?” said thug number two.

“Yup,” said thug number one. “My little prodigy.”

“You sure she’s yours?”

“Hey, go fuck yourself,” chuckled thug number one.

“Wish my Meng would take notes,” sighed thug two. “She’s at that age now, running around, fooling with street boys, don’t even know where she is half the time. I’m telling you—”

Were they talking about their daughters? They had daughters? Who went to schools? It all sounded somewhat fantastical to Ruyi.

Then she realized they’d stopped abruptly.

“Can we help you, lass?”

At this point she realized they were looking straight at her.

“Stay back!” she snarled, backing away.

“Woah there!” said thug one. “We’re cool. I’m cool. Are you cool?”

“I’m cool,” said thug two, raising his palms.

“See?” said thug one. “We don’t mean any harm. I just wanted to know why you were snooping on us.”

“I’m… looking for things,” she said, wondering what exactly she was saying. At the thug’s blank stare, she clarified. “Dangerous illicit things.”

Then she wondered if she should have said that.

“What kind of dangerous illicit things?” said thug one patiently. “Shao here sells poppy and wine.”

“Not wine. Even more illicit.” Ruyi was aware, dimly, that she was in shock. She was aware, dimly, that she was admitting far more than she should.

The thugs exchanged a nervous glance.

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“You want the back rooms for that. Or downstairs.”

“Who’s in charge? I want to speak to them. Now.” She sounded ridiculous, a scared little girl trying to order around two gangsters.

“I can’t help you there,” said thug one, wincing. “Sorry.”

She stomped back to Mei, steaming.

“I need to go to the back rooms.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I will, and you can’t stop me.”

“I can, and I will.” Mei crossed her arms. “You thought Vu was bad? They’ll eat you alive in there.”

“I—“ She was about to tell Mei something like, ‘you don’t know what I’m capable of.’ Then she felt his fingers on her cheeks again, and his fist tight around her throat, and she choked up. Mei knew, in humiliating detail, exactly what she was capable of.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she whispered, blinking fast.

“That’s okay,” said Mei. “Let’s sit down. Does that sound like a good idea?”

“Yeah,” sniffled Ruyi.

Mei guided her to the bar, booked a private booth, sat Ruyi down, force-fed her hot tea, and held her hand until she stopped trembling.

“What do you need?” said Mei softly. “I can’t help you until I know what you need. I know this place. I can help you—I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”

This was a horrible idea, all of it. Coming here was a horrible idea. This whole plan, this infiltration—she should shut up, and get out of here, and burn that damned Codex, and never set foot in the Lower City again.

“I need demon’s flesh,” her mouth said.

Mei froze, and she instantly knew she’d made a terrible mistake. What was she doing?! She’d hardly known Mei a day. If her brother found out, if her Father found out—

“Are you sure?” said Mei finally.

“I need it,” gasped Ruyi. “Please. Please. Can you help me?”

“…yeah,” said Mei slowly. “Yeah. I might know a way. I’ll have to speak to my friends in the cult, after your brother’s match.”

“Why do you have friends in the cult?”

“Everyone has friends in the cult,” said Mei, exasperated. “They make up a third of the Lower City. I thought we’d moved past this—or do you want to search my bag, too?”

Ruyi felt a rush of guilt. “I’m sorry… I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I—”

“Shhh. You don’t need to talk. Just drink,” sighed Mei. “You’re not in your right mind. Let’s watch your brother fight, and I’ll go talk to my friends in the back, and we’ll see what we can do. Okay?”

“Okay,” mumbled Ruyi.

***

Jin stepped into the ring with a man twice his size. He was the main event, and he had the crowd baying like bloodhounds. He even got thug one and two going. And he beat his opponent like a gentleman—rapped him on the head a few times and choked him out.

Ruyi was disappointed. She wanted to see someone’s teeth knocked in, but there was Jin for you.

He came sauntering over smiling. They’d draped a fake lion’s mane coat over his back. Even here he couldn’t help but be the damned hero.

“How was I?” breathed Jin, pulling down his mask.

“Wonderful,” said Mei, and they had a good long kiss right in front of her, as though to taunt her. When they broke apart, Mei said, “Can you stay with her, love? I’ve got to go get something.”

“Sure.”

They settled into the little booth, sipping tea.

“How are you liking the place?” said Jin, grinning.

“I hate it.”

“Oh.”

Awkward silence reigned.

“But I bet you sure like it,” said Ruyi, her voice falsely light. “Everyone loves you here. Just like they love you up there.”

“I mean…the folk here can be pretty rough. But I like the realness of it, the rawness of it, I think. It’s a nice change of pace. I’m sorry it’s not to your taste, though.” He took a sip. “Are you okay?”

“Just fine.”

Awkward silence returned.

“Did something happen while I was—”

“No. I’m just being disagreeable as usual. That’s what I’m known for, isn’t it? Shut up and let me drink,” said Ruyi, wishing it was wine rather than tea.

Mei broke the beaded curtains and dropped something heavy on the desk. A steel suitcase, smoking slightly with frost.

“It’s not much,” she said. “But I got it.”

“Wait,” said Ruyi. “This is—”

“Yes,” said Mei sharply, her eyes drifting to Jin. “It is.”

Ruyi had imagined this moment differently. She thought she’d have to knock out a bad guy, get his uniform, maybe break into a vault or something. She was having trouble processing the chunk of steel in front of her. She touched a finger to it. It felt like a block of ice.

“Let me see it,” she said. Her voice was oddly calm.

“Can you give us a moment?” said Mei, and Jin, being Jin, obliged.

She cracked the locks on the case and opened it wide.

“Hell.” Most of the space was padding but the core was a glass vial. And in it, suspended in solution, a chunk of withered black claw.

“It’s the finger of an ice demon,” said Mei. “Larval stage. Harvested by a soldier on campaign and shipped here.”

She picked up the vial and held it up to the light. “It’s beautiful…”

Slowly, with exaggerated care, she set it into the plush. She was deathly afraid she might drop it; she didn’t trust her trembling hands. It felt unreal.

“It’s not a lot. They wouldn’t sell me more—and they’d only sell me this much because…” Mei chewed her lip, like she was debating whether to say it. “There’ll be a lot more coming very soon. Something big is coming in a few weeks, after the solstice. If you want more, come to me then.”

Ruyi tackled her in a hug. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! How can I repay you?”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Mei, looking uncomfortable.

“No, really—”

“Think of it as a gift. What do you plan on doing with this? You aren’t planning on ingesting this, are you?”

“Oh, no,” she lied. “Nothing like that.”

“Good,” said Mei, relieved. “Just had to make sure.”

“I’m just experimenting with it—you know, alchemy stuff.”

“Maybe you can tell me about it next time you visit.”

On reflection, Ruyi should’ve known better. But in that moment she was so happy she didn’t even think to question just how Mei had gotten her hands on such contraband. Mei had bought it from friends—it seemed reasonable. She didn’t want to question it.