The Green Bone Saga, #1
Jade City
by Fonda Lee
Contents
CHAPTER 31: Not According to Plan
Overview
Lan confirms Doru’s betrayal and prepares to remove him, appointing Woon as No Peak’s next Weather Man. But Lan’s worsening jade sensitivity and dependence on SN1 undermine his control at the worst possible moment.
Bero abandons the planned attack on the Lilac Divine when he spots Lan and decides to assassinate the Pillar instead. Lan defeats the ambush, killing Cheeky and sparing Bero only because a likely SN1 overdose incapacitates him, leaving Lan to fall into the harbor.
Summary
Lan receives a secure call from Hilo confirming that Doru has been taking Mountain payments through secret accounts. Because exposing Doru will destabilize No Peak, Lan decides to act that night and privately promotes Woon to Weather Man effective the next morning, valuing Woon’s loyalty even while doubting whether Woon is fully ready.
Before leaving the house, Lan reflects on Doru’s recent good behavior, his own worsening health, and an unopened letter from Eyni. Memories of Eyni confessing her affair and begging him not to kill her foreign lover deepen Lan’s melancholy, but Lan refuses to be distracted before confronting Doru and leaves the house.
At the Lilac Divine, Lan tries and fails to calm himself. Preparing to return home for Hilo’s call after Doru’s seizure, Lan puts his jade back on and suffers severe jade-overexposure symptoms. Desperate to be clearheaded before deciding Doru’s fate, Lan injects a full vial of SN1 despite his shame over using the drug and his recent promise to seek other treatment.
Outside the Lilac Divine, Bero and Cheeky are waiting with Fullerton guns, expecting to shoot up the club on Mudt’s orders. When Bero sees Lan leave in a taxi, Bero decides the real opportunity is to kill the Pillar of No Peak. Bero orders the driver to follow, ignoring Cheeky’s fear and the original plan.
Lan senses the hostile men tailing him and has the taxi make a U-turn so Lan can escape down to the harbor boardwalk. Bero refuses to abandon the chance, drags Cheeky into pursuing Lan on foot, and catches up after Lan begins suffering symptoms that Lan realizes are likely caused by taking too much SN1 after days without it.
Bero and Cheeky open fire. Lan Deflects the bullets back, wounds both attackers, kills Cheeky by crushing his windpipe, and prepares to kill Bero, whom Lan recognizes as the youth he spared months earlier. Before Lan can finish Bero, the SN1 reaction overwhelms Lan; Bero flees, and Lan, burning with pain and confusion, stumbles toward the water and falls into the harbor without struggling.
Who Appears
- Kaul LanNo Peak Pillar; confirms Doru’s betrayal, overdoses on SN1, defeats ambushers, and falls into the harbor.
- BeroReckless aspiring jade wearer; abandons the club attack to pursue and shoot Lan.
- CheekyBero’s nervous accomplice; follows the failed ambush and is killed by Lan.
- Kaul HiloNo Peak Horn; provides proof of Doru’s Mountain payments and arranges Doru’s capture.
- Yun DoruponDisgraced Weather Man; confirmed as a Mountain-paid traitor targeted for seizure.
- Woon PapidonwaLoyal Pillarman; privately appointed to become Weather Man after Doru’s removal.
- YunniCharm girl at the Lilac Divine; notices Lan’s distance and is dismissed.
- EyniLan’s ex-wife; appears in memory and through an unopened letter from Stepenland.
- MudtMountain-linked recruiter; orders Bero and Cheeky to attack the Lilac Divine that night.