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I carefully smoothed out my facial expression. I didn’t want this man to see just how much that money would mean to me. I felt like one of the painted míngqì in the shop, waiting to be bought.

“This dead person must be very important to you,” I said at last.

He scratched the back of his neck. “Well, you could say that. Will that be enough for you?”

I pretended to deliberate for a moment before nodding and setting down the bucket.

“Where is the body?” I said at last. Then an awful thought crossed my mind. “Please tell me you didn’t bring it all the way from Chang’an.” I imagined the smell of dead flesh after a hot carriage ride and my stomach clenched.

The man looked away, blinking quickly again, like something was in his eye.

“What is it?” I said. “Is it in bad condition?”

His silence only made my stomach clench even harder.

“Is it in pieces?” I said. “Did someone fall off a tall building? Get mauled by a leopard? I can’t help you if—”

“No, no.” The man shook his head. “Nothing like that.”

“Then take me to it,” I said. “I need to see what I’m working with.”

The man sighed, then spread his palms out as if offering me something. “It’s...it’s me.”

I blinked. Perhaps I wasn’t as good at Northern dialects as I’d thought.

“Do you even understand what resurrection means?” I said.

He glanced around the street, taking a step closer to me. He smelled like cloves and frankincense and travel. “I don’t think I’m going to be alive for much longer,” he whispered.

I took a quick step back, one hand on the knife in my belt. “Are you a criminal?”

He shook his head. “No, I just... I justknow.”

“Okay...” I said, frowning. “How?”

“I can’t explain right now,” he said. “I’ll give you one thousand more if you don’t ask questions.”

I closed my mouth, hating the fact that this man thought he could buy anything he wanted, and that I needed the money so badly I was proving him right.

“I need you in one piece,” I said, crossing my arms. “Minor damage is fine, but it won’t work if your head isn’t attached to your neck, got it? The sooner I get your body, the better. If it’s been more than a week, you don’t want me to wake you up again. Trust me.” I grimaced, thinking about the half-melted corpse I’d just revived, but old man Gou hadn’t cared about the risks.

He nodded quickly, shoulders relaxing. “Yes, yes, that’s fine. Thank you.”

I waved a hand to dismiss his words. “How will I know when you’re dead, and where do I find your body?”

“You’ll come with me to Chang’an, of course,” he said, gesturing for me to follow him.

My feet stayed rooted in the dirt. “Now?”

“Yes.” He turned around. “I need to return immediately.”

“I can’t just leave,” I said, frowning. “I’m taking the imperial alchemy exam in two weeks. I have to be in my home province for that. And my family is here.”

One hundred thousand gold was a lot, but it wasn’t enough for a family of five to live off of for the rest of our lives. Especially with the value of gold dropping by the day. It certainly wasn’t enough for me to give up my plans of working in Chang’an and slide into early retirement. Besides, if I wasn’t an alchemist, I would have to become a bride. And a bride like me would not have her choice of men. I grimaced at the prospect of marriage, and how someone like the man in front of me probably thought I had more in common with pond scum than a potential bride.

His eyes went wide. “You don’t want to be a royal alchemist,” he said. “Trust me.”

“It’s not about wanting,” I said, rubbing my bruised forehead. Of course someone like him would never understand. Alchemy was the only thing I was good at, the only thing I could get paid for. As much as I loathed the idea of helping the rich spin more gold for their breakfast, there was no such thing as an impoverished royal alchemist, and I wouldn’t let my family starve just so my morals could thrive.