Heaven's Loveliest Villain

1. In which a newborn child leaves home in the arms of a mysterious stranger

The ominous smile of the cheshire moon hid behind the misty clouds leaving the night rather dark. A black-clad figure swiftly moved with light and silent steps over the roof tiles, smoothly jumping over the alleys separating the buildings. The figure was carrying a bundle about the size of a small bamboo leaf basket, which was held by firm but careful arms as the shape stealthily moved forward.

It was impossible to see if the figure belonged to a man or woman because a large hood had the face completely shadowed and covered the hair. Almost all of the hair that was. A thin strand of long silvery hair had found its way out from the hood and moved in unison with the figure as it leaped down from the last roof and disappeared in the night without a trace.

It took only a few seconds before an alarm gong echoed through the night. It came from the large mansion at the end of the street where the Heir Apparent lived with his family. The Heir Apparent wasn't officially a Prince since he only was a cousin to the Emperor's since long deceased brother. Still, he was the only living male member of the Zhou dynasty, besides the Emperor.

Or at least he had been the only one, until a night four days ago when his wife gave birth to a tiny and weak son. The child was born early and it was still uncertain if he would live long enough to see his first full moon.

Now the alarm indicated that something dreadful had happened at the mansion and people woke up in an instant from the ruckus, most of them convinced that the baby boy must have passed away.

No one had noticed the dark shadow that disappeared over the rooftops only to vanish in the dark.

***

Fang Shui held the valuable bundle in his firm arms while using his qigong to propel himself from the grounds up to the tree tops of the bamboo forest surrounding the mountain capital of Zhou. He didn't look back because he wasn't at all worried about being followed. No living being had ever been able to compete with his speed.

Besides he had to hurry to make it in time for the midnight coach to Xizang, one of the Twin Cities of the Winged Clan. A woman was waiting at the coach station to take over and bring the precious bundle in his arms to its final destination.

The send-off went smoothly. He had used this woman's services before. She knew well what was expected of her, therefore she asked no unnecessary questions. She merely took the well-wrapped bundle from his arms and put it in a see-weed basket, nodded and entered the carriage without a word.

When his task at the coach station was finished Feng Shui had to return to the capital. He used his qigong once more in order to enter Yan'an almost invisibly.

A night at The Rosy Peony was the perfect alibi and he had already made a deal with Madame Jiang to have a room and one of her best girls at his disposal the entire night.

Earlier that evening he had put some sleeping powder in the girl's vine and when he returned to the room she was still soundly asleep. Fang Shui changed his clothes and with a grimace, he downed two glasses of vine. He poured a third glass over his light green robe and loosened the robe just the right amount.

The playboy look was finished with ruffling his hair up a bit before he made himself comfortable on the sofa and closed his eyes. The plan had been perfect and he was worth a good night's sleep.

***

The royal couple from Demon Nation was on an unusual trip. King Lu Wan Xi and his queen had been to visit friends in Xitan, the west of the Twin Cities when the queen unexpectedly gave birth to their firstborn son. The child was supposed to come a full month later but the robust boy had been in a hurry to embrace the world.

There were two reasons why they travelled through the night without an escort. King Wan Xi had insisted that the more guards the more people would understand someone important was in the carriage. He preferred this discreet way of travelling. And since it was nighttime it wasn't likely they would meet other people on this mountain road.

The second reason was that this road was the fastest way back to Demon Nation these days. The rain had been heavy the last few days and the river was flooded, making the usual roads home unreliable. With this previous cargo he had no other choice but to take the steep mountain road back.

King WanXi used to travel back and forth to Demon Nation through the portal but the queen had refused to expose her newborn to that kind of travelling. It was said that the growing would stop if small children used the portal too often.
The queen leaned against his shoulder with their sleeping child in her arms. Her breathing was steady and Wan Xi caressed her cheek. He enjoyed watching her sleep.

The boy usually had his eyes closed even when he was awake and the King found that rather cute. He was so proud of his firstborn and felt sure he would become a great warrior in the future. One only had to look at his physique. Even if he was born early he was as heavy as other children.

Wen Xi watched his sleeping family with warmth in his heart and after a while, he started to feel drowsy too. Accompanied by the sound of wheels crushing grovel the Demon King fell asleep, feeling as happy and safe as the baby in the arms of his Queen.

***

The coach moved slowly through the night. Driver Zu was used to driving this road since he had worked the night shift for five years already and he knew every turn, stone, hole and bump as well as his own backyard. Tonight he had to be extra careful because the massive rains the last few days had made the road a bit slippery.

Zu moaned and rubbed his eyes. It had been a mistake to only sleep two hours during the day but he had wanted to help his brother-in-law with building a new house for Zu's sister. Now Zu had to pay for his choices and moaned again. But when he remembered his sister's delighted smile when she saw the house, he felt it was worth the trouble.

Tonight the carriage had only one passenger and she had paid him handsomely in advance with a silver ingot. That was a bit unusual but very much appreciated. Driver Zu patted his poach. That ingot was going into his savings. He wanted his own house someday, exactly like his older sister.

The winding road to Xizang followed the mountainside and would soon be descending towards the twin cities in the Great Plain. But first, they had to go through the passage above the Wunshung forest. The road was narrow here and to the left was nothing more than a grassy slope leading to a cliff overlooking the forest.

That cliff was often a secret meeting place for young lovers because of its great location. The view was magnificent both during the day and on nights when the stars were visible. Tonight the crescent moon hid behind the thickening clouds and it was darker than usual.

Suddenly the horse made a fast unexpected move to the left and the carriage rustled about but stayed with both wheels on the ground. Driver Zu lost his balance and fell backwards in his seat, accidentally dropped both reins and fought hard to stay onboard the carriage.

The very next moment Zu heard a scream and they collided with something in the dark which made the horse struggle once again to find its footing. This time the ground was too slippery and the carriage slowly slid down the grass slope.

The next second Zu found himself in free fall. This time it was his own scream he heard before everything went black.