Blood Letter Riddles
A dying thief called the Nimble Thief leaves a blood letter; his brother the Gentle Thief asks three questions about it, and Soul answers each one.
The Letter
The Nimble Thief's blood letter tells of stealing a jade belt as a boy and going through ledgers, and of a gold hairpin that fell into a poor family's haystack and ruined them. It ends by asking that word of his death be carried to his brother, the Gentle Thief.
The full text is filed in the book entries under 「Blood Letter from the Nimble Thief」.
The Three Questions
The Gentle Thief asks in turn what the thief stole at thirteen, what the head of the hairpin looked like, and what became of the poor family's child.
Soul answers that he stole a patron's jade belt, that there was a butterfly on the hairpin with wings that seemed to quiver, and that the child's fate is unknown.
The Gentle Thief accepts each answer, says the jade belt was traded for ten flatbreads and a coffin, and thanks Soul for bringing his brother's last words.
Reward
These lines name no reward, so none is recorded.
Related entries
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