Excerpt from The Shadow of the Empire by Qiu Xiaolong, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Instead, Yang scooped up a blanket draped over the arm of the other chair, wrapped himself in it, staring at the knife note, and kept on shaking his head like a rattle drum.

'No, the knife thrower – whoever or whatever he might be – did not want you to have a quiet night here. It must have come as a dire message for you, Master.'

As always, Yang was worrying – probably too much – for his master. Yang had been like that from the day he became Judge Dee's attendant/assistant and self-styled bodyguard.

Judge Dee was no less disturbed by the knife message; however, he tried to dispel Yang's uneasiness.

'We left just this morning. I decided to stay at this hostel on the spur of the moment, and we did not even register under our real names. How could the knife thrower possibly have known our whereabouts for the night? Perhaps it's simply a case of mistaken identity.'

Judge Dee chose not to discuss with Yang the possibility that they had been followed from their residence in the center of the capital all the way to the shabby hostel on its outskirts.

He failed to figure out why people would have shadowed him like that and then thrown the ominous knife note. It did not add up. Still, he could not rule out the possibility.

'But it's a knife thrown with such accuracy – straight to the pillar beside you. And such a gem-decked knife, too. It's definitely a job done by a pro,' Yang said stubbornly. 'How could he have been wrong about the recipient of the message?'

'As I've mentioned, such a message is commonly given in terms of divination. As an ancient classic, the Book of Changes is a philosophical book of profound depth in its miraculous exploration of changes in the universal yin/yang system, but I do not believe in its application for fortune telling. So why bother?'

'How does that work for divination, Master?'

'I don't have the proper tools with me for a demonstration, but I can humor you with the help of copper coins,' he said, taking several coins out of his pocket. 'Heads and tails, you know. The result of your throws – in other words, the combination of heads and tails – make up the lines for yin and yang in a hexagram, and then you may consult the book for the meaning of that particular hexagram.'

'Please enlighten me, Master. I'm intrigued.'

Judge Dee threw the coins a couple of times, recorded the number of heads and tails in sequence, and then turned to take out the Book of Changes for its meaning.

'What?'

'Well, quite a surprise. A hidden dragon should be careful in its movement.'

'And its meaning?'

'At this stage, it's too early for the dragon to move about, so it won't hurt to stay put.'

'Another dragon! Too many mysterious coincidences for one night, Master,' Yang said, looking ghastly pale.

'Come on, you're worrying yourself sick for nothing, Yang. There's also a dragon in your nickname, isn't there? Go back to sleep in your room. It's late. And I'm getting really sleepy.'

Yang rose slowly with reluctance. He opened his mouth without managing to say anything. There was no disobeying his master.

As luck would have it, however, a loud, insistent knock on the door abruptly broke through the stillness of the night.

Excerpted from The Shadow of the Empire by Qiu Xiaolong. Copyright © 2022 by Qiu Xiaolong. Excerpted by permission of Severn House. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.