Tie Niu’s iron grip tightened on the collar of Lord Malve’s polar bear coat.
With a smooth flick of his wrists, Tie Niu hurled the screaming imperial inspector fifty yards across the terrace. Malve sailed through the warm air like an oversized sack of laundry before crashing squarely into the center of the public thermal mud pool.
SPLAT!
Thick, bubbling gray sulfur mud erupted in a ten-foot geyser.
Malve emerged sputtering, coughing up mouthfuls of warm mineral clay. The greasy, bubbling mud coated his mustache, his gilded cap, and his three-layer bear coat, weighing him down like an anchor.
“My uniform!” Malve shrieked, spitting gray sludge as he flailed toward the edge. “My imperial dignity!”
His concubine, Lady Vera, didn’t even look back. Clutching her melting makeup, she sprinted up the ramp of her shuttle and slammed the hatch shut, leaving Malve to wallow in the mud.
“Enjoy the minerals, Inspector,” Tie Niu called out cheerfully. “The sulfur is excellent for pore cleansing.”
