Interlude III The Exiled Heir

"So then my dear have you made your decision yet?"

Heng was standing in an elegant office, it was a circular office with wooden floors and elegant red walls, at its center behind a desk was the owner of the Auction house a woman hiding her face behind an elegant fan or rather the fact that she simply had no face at all, behind her there was a wide window with wide golden fences allowing them to see below into a massive theater, as expected she had a clear direct view of the auction from up above.

"I will accept your turns I'll work as a guard here again, in return Laura can stay with me...we will both get a decent salary and there is one more demand I have Chief Zhung."

"Hmm, really I don't think is convenient for you to play hard to get dear, but do go on I have to wonder what you could ever ask of me." The woman spoke cheerfully, her voice resounding in the room it seemed to come from everywhere at once rather than from her at all.

"I will kill the assassin that came after me, I need to know who he was." Heng put her hands in her pocket she was standing in the office after simply ignoring the invitation to take a seat.

"Only that? deal, besides if that determination is what brought the demon back to you I would be glad to exploit it...that say do forgive me but I can't talk you much of that horrible, horrible man till we finish our contract, but yes darling I will gladly help you get justice is the less I can do." The woman spun her fan the other end had what seemed to be red lips depicted on a black canvas, to give the idea that she was smiling.

"Chief Im sure you know something, you immediately took that sword as soon as you could."

"That I do but patience is essential, the proper time always comes my dear." Heng looked at the sword that was over a table in the office, she had to keep it there as if hiding it away.

"I hope you are not playing Mr for a fool, it seems to me everything is going like you wanted chief."

"Hahaha always such a silly girl, I did miss you a lot, we are family there no need to fear a thing with me at your side, all is as it should be." Heng crossed her hands and nodded, at the very least unlike most of the high rankers this woman cared little for proper manners, and that was just fine by Heng it would make her sick to have to bow to a triada chief.

Heng was dismissed and left the office as two guards closed the door behind her she stepped into a long hallway with a red carpet, Laura was waiting outside a quickly hopped over to her side. Heng kept walking and she just kept with her pace, both looking concerned.

"Is everything alright, sorry they didn't let me follow you."

"Is best you don't see Miss Daiyu well, seeing her can damage your mind especially if you are not a demon. But no worries she will make one of those fancy contracts till then we are on unpaid vacation...At least whoever the assassin is can't be stupid enough to attack the auction house so we should be safe enough...."Heng suddenly stopped, Laura noticed her concern and stood still as well.

A man was walking down the hall a very tall man with a black Chinese dress with red flower patterns upon his chest. The man seemed middle-aged and had short black hair and was wearing sunglasses even indoors. He stood for a moment to look at the two women and bowed with a smile before walking past them toward Daiyu's office.

"Do you know that man?" Laura asked seeing that Heng was very unnerved she was practically sweating.

"No, but I could feel it, because of my deal I can sense his Karma, and I..." She turned back to see the silhouette of the man disappear through the double gate of the office.

"I've never seen such karma, he has taken so many lives like a god of death...let's go we better not stick around." Laura couldn't understand what she meant but she trusted her words all the same, the two of them walked away down the hall.

***

"Noble Cao Sheng, I'm glad you came and fast, tell me darling is this little sword what I think it is?" Daiyu spoke to the man in black who was close to the table with the sword he looked at it calmly and finally raised it in his hand and quickly swung it twice.

"Such a beauty, yes this is one of our swords I gave it to my son myself." Sheng held a scabbard and sheathed the sword before turning to her.

"He was exiled coming back to the city will be impossible by any means, there has to be quite the organization backing him, that foolish son of mine what game is he playing?" Sheng sat down with the sword still in his arms.

"He tried to kill one of my ex-guards but I can't see why, she was just a civilian, and ever since she left my care the poor child is barely keeping up."

"Mine, mine, and even so he failed an assassination, time has rusted him, a shame he should have already matched me at his age, but I suppose a forgotten blade can only do so much." He shook his head he didn't seem angry he sounded almost happy.

"So what are you thinking then? This is quite a problem if the young mistress finds out she will flip the district to hunt him I don't want any more stress I have an Auction to prepare next year and all." She closed her fan the black smog that swirled on her empty neck seemed to grow more fierce like clouds about to storm.

"Is good you invited the girl here, he won't risk coming, he will simply end up on our hands, I don't think he is that foolish even my son can't embarrass me that much, I want to look for him but let's keep this on the low, no need for our young dragon to know." The man looked at the marking on the handle of the sword tracing it with his fingers.

"Little Miss Heng wants his head, your boy is good at making enemies."The woman said with indifference

"That is what happens when your blade takes the wrong life, I had hoped he would have known by now, but it matters not, I will hunt him down myself the young lady can assist if she wishes to I don't mind, of course, I'll have to polish her skill a little."

"That is a surprise, you wouldn't mind training one of my people?"

"Im just curious she saw my son after all I can't help but want to know how much he has grown. All that happened ten years ago was such a shame." The woman laughed the incorporeal laugh resounding in the room.

"That is saying it plainly, You had arranged for your son to marry her, our young new dragon, your clan could have finally joined the main family and yet, your son killed an officer and ran off leaving the bride on her wedding alone, I can't blame her to demand his exile or worse."

"Hmm, true a shame, the kind of shame I could not even apologize for In a hundred lifetimes, but now there may be a way to fix my name with the Triada I just need to present the head of my son to our young dragon, if it is the only way to ask forgiveness it comes to me." He spoke coldly even if there was no anger his voice that declaration was as unwavering as iron.

"Would that be enough, you know how hard things became for the young dragon, most of the family were against a young girl becoming our new head, but the Demon dragon chose her so they had to comply unless she died, marrying your clan was a way to keep her enemies at a distance, she has become quite paranoid now, some say almost too much.

"Indeed, none less she is the dragon, those men are fools if they think they can call her wrath and notend at the depths of the lake if they so much as raise their hands, but I understand your point if my son's head is enough then...I will give her my head as well if that is the only way to protect the well-being of my lineage it is a small price to pay for a man so past his prime as myself." The assassin stood up with the blade in his hands.

"So silly, a god of death never retires."

"True death must take us first, so either my son or I will die, but Im sure he understands that is just the way of our clan." The woman laughed.

"Yes, getting his head will also put me in the young ladies' graces, very well let's hunt him down, and as to whoever is backing him."

"Death will toll, nothing else needs to be said, madame."