The night was cold, enveloping every inch of Jindu. Liu lay flat in the shadows, testing the wind. Autumn was deepening. Even the night air had teeth.
Across the street was the Liu Academy. Two large lanterns, painted with the family name, flanked the tightly shut doors, waiting for the morning sun.
A cold sneer touched Liu's lips. By morning, he thought, those lanterns will be white.
He bent his knees and launched himself onto the eaves, silent as a cat. He crawled over the ridge and lay flat, watching. He was on the roof of a shop opposite the residence. It wasn't high enough to see the whole compound, but it was high enough to see the rooftops.
It was all he needed.
By the faint moonlight, he could see the residence was dark, the courtyard empty. But as his eyes adjusted, he saw something wrong on the roof of the main hall.
A patch of darkness, just a fraction blacker than the night itself. It moved. Only for an instant, but to a man like Liu, it was a fatal mistake.
He shifted. There were more. Men on the side wings, too. The entire residence was a trap, waiting for its prey.
So, a guilty conscience, he thought. But if they thought this was enough to stop him, they severely underestimated his skill.
He pulled the crossbow from his back and nocked a bolt. It was a Turkic hunting crossbow, powerful as a longbow but easier to carry. He'd kept it for just such an occasion.
The silence dragged on. The men on the roof were getting restless. This was their third night on watch.
"Boss, you think he's really coming?" one of them whispered, nudging the man next to him.
"Who knows. But these are the Commander's orders."
"How did the Commander know the assassin would come for Academy Liu?"
"Heard he was an old enemy," another man chimed in. "Like all the others who died."
"Alright, shut up," the leader hissed. "Keep your eyes open. If he shows, don't you dare embarrass me."
Across the street, a deadly smile touched Liu's lips. He squeezed the trigger.
The bolt tore through the night, its whistling like the shriek of a ghost.
He had five bolts. Each one found its mark. The sudden, muffled thuds sent a wave of panic through the men on the roof. They stood, exposed, searching frantically for the source of the attack.
This was the chaos Liu needed.
He dropped from his perch, vaulted the wall, and melted into the shadows of the courtyard. He could see their silhouettes on the ground, hear their whispered confusion.
The main hall door was open. Through it, he could see Liu Hanlin pacing back and forth, wringing his hands, terrified.
"Are you sure this will work?" Liu Hanlin asked, his voice shaking. "They said Li Zhun had his own trap, and he still ended up dead."
"Don't worry," a deep voice answered from the shadows of the room. "Even if he appears right in front of you, he won't be leaving alive."
So, he's not alone.
Men on the roof, men in the courtyard, and a personal bodyguard inside. This man was no fool.
Liu weighed his options. He pulled three small, black spheres from his pouch. Gunpowder pellets. Meant for escape, but they would work just as well for an entrance.
He put his internal energy into his throw. The three spheres flew through the air, straight toward the line of paper lanterns hanging from the eaves of the main hall.
They burst through the paper, met the flames, and exploded.
Fire shot up the wooden beams, instantly connecting, spreading.
Liu Hanlin cried out, stumbling back from the wall of fire.
"Where are you going?" the deep voice yelled.
"Out! Are you mad? We'll be burned alive!"
"Stay here! It's a trick! He wants to draw us out!"
"I'd rather take my chances!" Liu Hanlin tore free and ran into the courtyard, the bodyguard right behind him.
"Put it out! Someone, put it out!" he screamed.
"Hold your positions," the bodyguard commanded, his face grim. "No one enters this courtyard. Kill anyone who tries."
"Commander Li, what is the meaning of this?" Liu Hanlin stared at the man beside him.
"A classic assassin's trick. Lure the fish from the water." The man smiled, a cold, humorless expression. "Today, I will kill this man myself and avenge my father."
Commander Li? Liu thought. So this is the son of the Tiger and Horse Commander. He had heard the man was killed. Good. But now his son thinks I'm the one who did it.
The fire was spreading, the wind fanning the flames. Liu waited in the shadows.
"Are we just going to stand here all night?" Liu Hanlin whined, shivering in the cold.
"Yes," Commander Li answered. "In the daylight, a shadow cannot hide."
He's waiting for me to make a move, Liu thought. And when I do, he'll take me down and claim the credit.
Liu calculated the distance. He palmed another pellet. He threw it at the far end of the walkway. As every head turned toward the second explosion, he moved.
He was a cheetah, a black streak across the courtyard.
Li spun, but he was too late. He felt a cold wind on his arm, then a massive force struck his chest, sending him staggering back. He looked up.
Liu's dagger was at Liu Hanlin's throat.
He's fast, Li thought, clutching his wounded arm. Faster than the man who killed my father.
Liu smiled, the firelight dancing in his eyes. It was the smile of a demon.
"Mercy… mercy…" Liu Hanlin's legs gave out, his body trembling.
"When you helped frame the Xu family, you should have known this day would come," Liu said, his voice cold. He forced the man's chin up and pressed a poison pill into his mouth.
He watched Liu Hanlin curl up in agony, then turned to face Commander Li, who was now surrounded by his men. Their swords were drawn, the firelight glinting on the steel, but not one of them dared to move.
They knew, just as Li did, that if Liu wanted to leave, none of them could stop him.