Bogura. Prince Huaizong and Master Tan Po managed to stay several meters ahead of Viper, hoping their change of outfit—rice farmer attire complete with conical hats(salakot) and baskets—hid them. Tan Po, a trained spy, had incredible hearing; he overheard Viper's plan to proceed to the nearest inn.

  "You men sleep in the stables," Viper ordered.

  "Boss, I’m tired of sleeping in stables. The horses poop on you, and they get better accommodations than we do," Kalana, one of the younger assassins, complained.

  Viper punched him. "You cost me a lot to feed. If you want to abandon the contract, you can go home, but I ain’t paying you."

  At Panchara Inn, Huaizong and Tan Po snuck into their room to change identities from rice farmers to rice traders before Viper’s men arrived. Fortunately, the three-mat room they had rented was beside Viper’s. The wall partition was so thin it allowed Tan Po and Huaizong to eavesdrop through a small hole in the wall. On the second day, Viper deduced that Zalir was no longer in Bogura but had moved north. Through the hole in the wall, Tan Po overhears Viper tell Dog-Face his intention to head for Ranjpur.

  Huaizong and Tan Po changed identities again, moving from rice dealers to traveling musicians. They befriended a group of tourists headed north for the last tea harvest at Darjeeling. Huaizong and Tan Po entertained the crowd with stories, singing, and dancing. Huaizong, who loved attention, felt at one point that he had found his true calling in life. He found ladies to cajole with his flattery and children whose natural ability to sing and dance brought out the kid in him. Huaizong was wonderful at being carefree.

  To an enrapt audience, Huaizong declared their intention to proceed to Darjeeling for the final harvest festival before the cold set in. Many others were heading to the tea country for the late autumn harvest festival, where there would be tea ceremonies to attend. At Ranjpur, it became harder to keep up with the assassins, as Ranjpur is a large city.

  "That's an osprey. It’s a sea hawk. That’s not a bird you find on the mainland," Tan Po noted.

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  "Zalir’s raptor."

  "Hmm. He’s somewhere nearby."

  They moved with a group of tourists, disguised as minstrels. Huaizong was a skilled musician, and both he and Tan Po had strong voices and delighted in singing. Despite the dark operations of the assassins, Huaizong was genuinely enjoying himself. At Ranjpur, he had an even bigger audience.

  At the Green Dragon Teahouse, Huaizong and Tan Po sang about a cricket who thought he was a dragon. "I’m a little cricket," sang Huaizong. Some of the assassins had walked in looking for a drink; they joined the fun and even sang along: "I’m a little cricket pretending I’m a dragon," warbled the crooner Huaizong.

  Later, Huaizong went to an alley near the teahouse to relieve himself. He noticed two men also in the alley. One was Kalana, the assassin. The other was a man in a black cloak. Huaizong turned his back to them, but then suddenly realized the black-cloaked man had stabbed Kalana and fled.

  Huaizong ran after him. "Wait! Please wait! I’m a friend!"

  But the man was gone. Huaizong found a grey and black feather beside the dead man. He bolted back to the teahouse.

  "There is a dead man in the alley. One of the assassins... Kalana. I think Zalir killed him," Huaizong whispered to Tan Po.

  "You saw it happen?" Tan Po asked.

  "It was dark. I was peeing," Huaizong replied.

  "Did you try to talk to him?"

  "He ran. I ran too. Tomorrow the local authorities will be all over the place. Maybe we should move," Huaizong said.

  "Finish our contract with the management of Green Dragon first. You’ve got to pretend you’re a cricket..." Tan Po instructed.

  "I’m beginning to hate that song," Huaizong grumbled.

  At the end of the evening, the two retired. They made their noisy goodnights extra loud to cement their alibi. However, they worried the local authorities might recognize them the next day. Morning came, and Tan Po scanned the sky for Zalir’s osprey.

  "It’s nowhere in sight. Maybe we should move. Where are you, Zalir?" Tan Po pleaded desperately for a sighting of Terbang the osprey.

  "But the assassins are still here. They enjoyed that damn cricket song. They were singing along with us. It was pretty fun," Huaizong chuckled.

  "Please, Huaizong, focus. We need to save the Queen."

  "Where do you think Zalir took his ladies?" Huaizong asked.

  "If he is running from the assassins, he will not continue north. It would be too obvious. He will try to find another way to Darjeeling."

  "Saidpur or Dharla?"

  "Dharla... it keeps the osprey near the river," Tan Po reasoned. "Do we pack up and leave, or stick to the assassins?"

  “Viper will also avoid the authorities. He will leave tonight the minute he realizes Kalana is dead. Where would he go? I think we should follow the osprey.” Huaizong says

  “To Dharla then.” Tan Po concludes