QingYu: A Wuxia Tale (Going Through Reediting)

The Shadow

(Dayu's POV)

I opened my eyes when I felt his even breathing. The Captain is finally asleep...

I quietly sat up. Not making any rustling noise. I turn my head to the side to look at the big slumbering official.

Eyes closed, asleep, unaware. It will be too easy to kill him.

I silently snorted. I gently push away my blanket. Then I slowly get up, stretch a little and roam my eyes on the cabin. Accustomed to the darkness.

I actually love darkness. It hides all kinds of things. Beautiful and ugly both. Here in the Captain's cabin, the principle is the same.

It was a decent sized room. A place for a bed, a table, armoire, chair, scroll shelf on the wall and a tub and screen for bathing.

I look back at the sleeping Captain. He must be living a comfortable military life living in this place.

"He is the cold one. A solitary man..."

Cold? Him? The man can't even mask his annoyance. Or hide his interest on me. How did he became a cold man?

I wanted to laugh. I have a different definition of cold. A corpse is cold. A blade piercing your flesh is cold. Being buried in the snow is cold. Not this man...

This man can't even disguised his interest and curiousity for sweet innocent Dayu. He looks at me with those piercing dark eyes, he always focused on my pretty face.

Captain Wang is nothing special. Like everyone else, he can be fooled by a pretty face and a few innocent blushes. Good thing I perfected acting and blushing innocently a long, long time ago.

But enough about that. I need to do my work now.

I moved stealthy. I have practiced. Moving quietly, even if there are a thousand bodies sleeping around me and not waking even a single soul up is a talent of mine. Moving through the shadow is an inborn talent for me.

That's why they called me "The Shadow". That's why I can kill all those officials without any witnesses seeing my true form.

I walk to the table. There are stacks of scrolls there. Not surprised since my spies told me how the Captain loved to read.

But those scrolls are not my focused. I am much more interested at the piece of parchment paper neatly folded and placed under a brass weight.

I smiled, arrogant bastard. Does he really think that no one will dare to enter his territory to look at his things? The Captain is too secured on his own power and that of his father that he thinks no one will dare violate his personal space.

Wrong!

"The Shadow" can enter anywhere. There is nothing secured where "The Shadow" is concern. I know ways to get close to my enemies until it was too late for them to escape my knife, poison, rope or bare hands.

I slipped that paper off the brass weight withour making even a small swish sound. I unfolded it and with the small light afforded to me from the curtained window I read the message sent to the Captain from his father's aide two days ago.

"General Zong and General Wang will have to stay here in Beijing for another week. Expect them back in Hanzong next full moon."

A full moon. Not a bad setting to kill a couple of generals, me thinks. I folded the letter again and slip it back under the weight, exactly as how I found it. I didn't touch anything again. Minimal mistake that way.

I turn around to go back to my pallet on the ground. Sits up quietly and look at the man on the raised bed. 

I heard he is looking for me. Aren't I nice to come to him personally? I am making his job painfully easy!

And I heard he wants to ask question from people who came from SiChuan. I will answer his questions. I will point him in the direction I want him to go.

The Captain will be my obedient little puppet.

A whole full moon eh. Enough time to play with the Captain before I turn his whole world upside down. Before I kill his father in front of him.

Then I will kill him as well.

Such a shame. He is a good looking one. I wouldn't mind keeping him as my toy. But alas...he can't survive.

"The Shadow" doesn't leave any witnesses alive. That's why I killed that concubine who slept with that governor in Guangzhou, innocent she may be.

And besides, all Wangs should die. And they should all die in my hands.

That is my dream. That's a promised I made and I intend to do it. With pleasure...