Meirong shook her head. “Wang Jenmei told me about them. More like a forced labor camp with interrogation and torture.”

“The professor will get you out before then,” Lian said. She couldn’t let Meirong see her anxiety. “He’s gone to see Colonel Chung. He says the colonel is friendly and helpful. He’ll be able to do something.”

“But he probably doesn’t outrank military intelligence,” Meirong said, “and it was someone from the Juntong who arrested me. Here”—Meirong reached deep inside her tunic and pulled out a small cloth wallet—“take my money. I won’t be needing it.”

“Yes, you will,” Lian whispered. “What if you need to bribe guards, buy favors? Nicer food?”

“Oh, Lian.” Meirong’s laugh sounded almost normal. “The camp guards will take away everything I have anyway. I’d rather you have it.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And when you have a chance, talk to Wendian. She’s part of my cell. They need to lie low for a while. And tell them not to worry about me. I won’t give them away. But there could be spies inside Minghua.”

Lian squeezed Meirong in a tight embrace. How could she tell Meirong that she was one of the spies? But not the one who had betrayed her.

“COLONEL CHUNG PROMISED to do what he could for Miss Yee,” the professor said when he and Lian were headed back to Shangtan. “Unfortunately, the odds are not in her favor. The Juntong confiscated papers from her rucksack and found articles written by left-wing activists. The best the colonel could do was lend us this car and driver to take us back to Shangtan.”

The professor leaned back with a sigh, rested his head against the crocheted antimacassar of the seat’s headrest. He had been energetic and forceful all day. Now he held the two books to his chest and closed his eyes. He looked like a tired old man. Tired and defeated.

Lian realized she had been taking him for granted. Everyone had. They hadn’t appreciated the enormity of what Professor Kang and the rest of the faculty had taken on, shepherding a campus of young men and women through a war-ravaged land, all the while trying to keep their studies on track. And on top of all that, safeguarding the Library of Legends. She felt a rush of affection for the elderly man.

Lian leaned her head against the window, wondering what else they could do to help Meirong. But she hadn’t slept all night for worry, and the motion of the car lulled her to drowsiness. When she woke, the car was driving along the main street of Shangtan, and Professor Kang was tapping her shoulder. She sat up.

“Professor Kang, if I can get transportation, can I go to Changsha on the weekend to see Meirong?” she asked.