A Killer's Fate

Chapter 1 - Rescue

A man with outward courage dares to die. A man with inner courage dares to live.

- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Jing

The Greatest Assassin in Xuan-Wu: (Unknown Location)

Pain.

No matter how hard one trained the body, steeled the mind, or brought emotion to heel, pain remained a chink in the armor able to bring even the strongest to ruin. It was the wounds you couldn't anticipate... the knifing agony of betrayal ripping the breath away.

He had left his back unguarded, a child's mistake. The blade tore through his body, its hilt slamming into bone. It retreated with the same vicious force. Without seeing, he knew who had delivered the blow. No thoughts of retribution filled his mind as he fell. No desire to know the why of it. Only the certainty that he should have known better. Emotion brought weakness, and weakness... death.

The demon dagger kept him from collapsing past his knees. It's razor point dug into the barren earth as he gripped its handle. Whispers of demonic energy in every shard of the blade reached out to his mind, hungry for violence, for blood. He rallied his qi to the wound, staunching the red flow. As he gasped with pain the crowd of killers sensed their opening. They advanced, eager to be the first to take the head of Xuan-Wu's top assassin.

Fools... if this was to be his end, it would be of his making, no one else's! He summoned determination from the agony burning in his chest and let it build and flow to the weapon in his hand.

Release!

His Qi rocketed through the earth, cracking and shattering the ancient bridge like rotten ice. The force of it slammed his body upwards. He felt himself rise into the air, and then sink towards the dark water below. Screams of shock and fear echoed in his ears as the killers nearest the blast were sent hurtling downwards. His body hit the water. He held his breath and gripped his sword but had no strength left to fight against the icy embrace pulling him down to the black depths. As the world faded, a tiny thought flickered across his consciousness...

I hope she's ok.

Dai-Bo: (Northern Beach – Chicken Island)

My name is Dai-Bo. I am the King of chickens by right, and independent businessman by choice. Man is my enemy.

I travelled to this backwater island for one reason: the fat, stupid humans here don't eat chicken. Which, I suppose, makes them a small step up from the rest of their worthless species. This made it the perfect place to give my adopted son, Xiao-Fei, a new life.

We got through what passed for a customs check in this nowheresville. The crinkled, old man in the guard booth raised an eyebrow at my impressive title. His feeble brain must not have been working at full speed because he wrote us down as "two meat chickens". I was sorely tempted to slap the cap off his head but settled for shooting him a scathing look as he waved us through the flimsy gate. Now wasn't the time for making enemies. But soon...

First, I needed cash. Money was the only language humans respected. Once the dough started pouring in, these chattering apes would all come groveling to my clawed feet! And only then would Xiao-Fei be truly safe.

I looked down at the fluffy chick hopping at my side. His father, the most noble chicken I'd ever known and my only friend, had died bravely. But in the end his sacrifice was for nothing. He had played by the humans' rules, but he failed to realize that humans have no honor. Bravery? Nobility? Fairytales for suckers.

The sun beat down warm, and pleasant on my feathers as we walked along the road that bordered the beach. Xiao-Fei sang a silly little song he'd picked up somewhere. It was ridiculous, irritating, and adorable. I tried to remember what my life had been like before Xiao-Fei and Da-Fei. Lonely... It had been lonely. My gaze drifted out towards the brilliant blue sea. I knew I never wanted to feel that same, crushing loneliness ever again. From now on Xiao-Fei and I were all that mattered. I'd secure us a future, no matter the cost.