Catching Shadows

Chapter Three: Unpaid Debts

A/N: This is Chapter Three! Just to clarify, I won't be posting the next chapter until I get at least two reviews, so please vote and comment! They inspire me!

Chapter Three

Crash!

Choi's eyes shot open as the sound of breaking glass disturbed the early morning stillness. Sitting bolt upright in bed, she glanced around. "Grandmother?"

Loud male voices could be heard outside, deep and menacing, but there was no answer from Huan Jie.

Choi looked across at Suyin. The dark-haired girl was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide with fright. Putting a finger to her lips, Choi slid out of bed and slipped into an old work dress and her shoes, before heading to the front of the house to find out the cause of the commotion.

A crowd of people had gathered around their front gate, chattering anxiously. Huan Jie stood in the yard, watching helplessly as two burly men carted off the oak table and chairs she prized so highly. Across from her stood a familiar--and unwelcome--figure: Collector Pan.

The collector was one of the most hated men in Bianjing. He brought in taxes for the Emperor's Deputy Minister, Hong Lao, and his ruthlessness and greed were well known and feared around the city.

"Grandmother? What's going on?" Choi asked, entering the yard. Icy fingers of worry crept up her spine as she saw the expression on her grandmother's face. Huan Jie was a strong woman; it took a lot to make her upset. Something was terribly wrong.

"Your grandmother has forgotten she has to pay taxes just like the rest of Bianjing," Collector Pan announced, a self-important smile on his face. "You owe forty taels to the Emperor."

"Forty taels!" Choi's eyes widened with horror. "We can't pay that; it's too much!"

"Well then, you'll just have to sell something," the collector replied, snapping shut his ledger as he approached Choi. "Or someone." His eyes took on a malicious glint and he lowered his voice. "Of course your grandmother...she would not survive very long as a slave. Maybe you could take her place."

Crack! The sound of Choi's hand meeting his cheek echoed around the courtyard, and there was a stunned gasp from the watching townspeople.

Collector Pan's features turned ugly almost immediately. "Arrest her!" he spat. Instantly, the two soldiers who had accompanied him moved forward, siezing Choi by the arms.

Huan Jie's eyes widened and she sank to her knees in front of the collector. "Please, sir! She's just an ignorant girl who knows no better...you can't arrest her! Forgive her, please, sir!" Tears rolled down her cheeks and she clasped her hands, face upturned in pleading.

Collector Pan's expression didn't change. "Take her away!"  The soldiers who had Choi by the arms obeyed, dragging her forward through the gawking and whispering townspeople.

"Choi!"

Suyin's scream pulled Choi from her daze and she turned, struggling to get free. "Suyin!"

"Choi!" Her friend's tearstained face was the last thing Choi saw before something heavy descended on her head, and everything went black.

***

Liang got up early that morning. He hadn't slept well the night before, and the sooner he got to Bianjing and found that pendant, the better. Putting on a cloak, he walked out of the temple past the sentries, pulling up the hood to cover his unmistakeable silver hair.

"You think he will fail?"

The Dragon Lord turned from the window at the voice. Behind him stood a young man about Liang's age, with dark hair and a faint scar on his right cheek, clad in the traditional Red Dragon clothes: black with a red dragon emblazoned on the front. Mengyao was one of the best assassins in the gang; next to Liang, no one could rival him.