TWIN PATHS OF POWER AND PERIL Reeling from the devastating loss of someone close to him, young assassin Xiahou Lian sets off on a perilous journey to find his long-lost brother, who's hidden away on a remote and forbidding mountain. But what Xiahou Lian encounters at the summit isn't the reunion he imagined. Instead, he's thrust into a web of secrets and betrayals more harrowing than anything he's faced in Qiye Garden. Within the palace walls, Shen Jue moves like a shadow. Though he wears a mask of obedience while serving as his ruthless godfather's loyal pawn, Shen Jue is executing a dangerous long game. Discovery could shatter his schemes, however... When Xiahou Lian and Shen Jue cross paths once more, it's no longer as allies. Each is navigating deadly enemies--and Xiahou Lian believes those foes might even include Shen Jue.