"I think we have enough information to confirm that his mother is dead," Huaisang says, nibbling on some food in between sips of tea. "But nothing about where her body might have gone. The temple was closed for the day before the statue's installation and there were reports of digging crews and dirt being removed. If I were to go about trying to deify my mother, burying her at the base of a Guanyin statue in her image is probably the most direct way to go about it."

Licking at his fingertips, Huaisang watches Doul closely. "If so, then what? Once he's pricked to ill-advised rashness, as you suggested, what use do you intend to make of it?"