Daughter of Heaven

Chapter 32 - The Midnight Thief

Yue Kingdom, Human realms

“Young Master.” The magistrate of the Northern province bowed and handed the young man a cup of wine. His shaking voice echoed in the empty main hall of the Magistrate’s elegant house, the young man sat high on the dais casually glaring at the older man.  The magistrate’s hands shook as beads of sweat began forming on his brow.

The young man drummed his fingers on the intricately carved table, “Have no fear, Magistrate Ke. Today is not the day I capture you for your wrong doings.” He smiled wolfishly as he plucked the delicate cup out of the older man’s hands, “We’ll talk about that once we catch the Midnight Thief, I’ll deal with you.” The older man lowered his head, he did dare look into the man’s eyes. The young man continued, as if he was unaware the fear he was causing the other man, “Did you think that you could steal from my father during this war and not be found out?” The young man crushed the cup in his hands, “Your ambitions will end you.”

“Master! Master! The Gold… it’s gone! The thief, he’s escaping!” A guardsman tripped into the main hall, the young man cursed and ran out, his sword already unsheathed.

“Which direction?” He roared, the servant pointed, and the young man leapt into the air and onto the roof. His right hand guard Bao Lu swiftly followed him. They speed up as they saw several guards chasing after a slender black clad figure. The black clad figure threw something into the air, and the men dropped like flies. “Bao Lu, stay with the men and make sure they’re all right!”

The young master threw all his qi into a leap and landed on a few rooftops behind the black clad thief.

“Stop! In the name of the law!” He roared. The black clad man’s eyes sparkled, it was as if he was laughing at the commanded. The man glared and raised his sword, he jumped the remaining distance. “I have a sword, you have nothing. come quietly.” The masked man’s eyes seemed to pity him, but did not say anything. The young master grinned, “I’ve been waiting to capture you for a while, ever since your first robbery. Thank you make not making this easy.”

He came at the masked man with a down swing, the man avoided it easily. The young master quickly checked and flipped his sword for a horizontal strike only to watch the other man bend backwards and flip out of his range. Every sword move he made, the other figure seem to glide effortlessly away.

He jumped and twisted his arm, wincing at the pain at his shoulder. This was a move a shaolin master taught him, used only in the direst moment. The sword snaked around the masked man’s arm. The young master grinned. The masked man looked unfazed. The young master raised his sword again and the battle commenced, but he could not touch the masked man.

“Fight like you mean it!” the man roared, after ten minutes. He was one of the best swordsmen in the country, but it was as if he could not touch the masked thief. The thief pointed at the man’s shoulder, the young master looked down. His battle wound had reopened after his exertions, if it kept on bleeding, it would cause him serious trouble. The young master ignored it, “I’ve been chasing you little bastard for months now, from the southern provinces to the northern ones. Do you really think some little cut’s going to stop me now?”

He raised his sword again. But this time, the masked man slide past his sword, and towards the young master’s face. He swiftly punched the other man’s  elbow, numbing the arm down. He swiftly knocked the sword from the man’s hand and spun out of reach, the newly won sword in his hands. He quickly came at the young man, faster than lightning. It took all of the young master’s years of training to avoid the blows.

The sword flashed as the young master ducked, but not fast enough. Yet the sword didn’t slice through his shoulder. Instead the flat end hit his arm, it was painful, but far from fatal. The thief wasn’t using the sword to kill. That made him furious, “My sword is not some washing stick you beat laundry with.” He said as he rubbed his arm, “You either fight me as an equal or give me back my sword so I can kill you.”