Shards

Chapter 10 - Encounter

The girl was skilled and light footed, but the buildings of the wealthy here were customized using all kinds of materials and building styles in the never-ending status war. She was after all in the better part of town. This made each house different and unique, and footing treacherous for those not familiar with the unpredictable roof surfaces.

The thieves highway here a whole different ballgame. One had to know the route of connecting houses, shops and their roof styles for optimum stealth and speed. Which houses had slippery tiles and which did not were important for one in his business. Also, which buildings were too far apart to simply jump or swing across. Several places needed the use of connecting trees, balconies or in some instances naked structural beams or poles to get across. It was not a simple task of simply running in a straight line on perfectly arranged tiles.

The shadow stopped and crouched behind a smoking chimney as the litter below halted before the White Lotus. Ghost crouched low in the shadows. Yup, it must be him. He supposed the man below would move to House Zhai's guest quarters when the time came.

When the tall elegant figure alighted from the carriage, confirming his guess, Ghost smiled in delighted recognition. Special guest indeed. No wonder he was protected by so many skilled guards, not that he needed any guarding. His usual calm and scholarly looks were very deceiving as intended. The proprietor of the prestigious guesthouse opened the doors himself to welcome his very, very important guest.

He should go meet the man, but first there was a matter of the girl. Ghost glanced in her direction. He now had an inkling of who she was. If the man below was Xi Xuan than the girl stalking him must be none other than his much talked about younger sister. No one else could have trailed him all the way to the guesthouse, well, no one else but a Shard of the Dark Sect.

His smile broaden. Over the years, Xi Xuan had talked about his sister so much that Ghost felt he already knew her. She was only one year younger than him at sixteen. He had to admit he had already grown quite fond of his image of her, one he had unconsciously created in his mind based on Xi Xuan's tales.

Her lively character, mischievous, independent and strong-willed yet so loyal and caring towards her brother made her seem like a dream girl. Being a Zhang, she was naturally trained from young in the family business and knew how to be discreet. She also had a temper but was quick to forgive. She sounded quite fun. However he knew that the real person may not be like his vision of her.

Ghost crept up stealthily to the girl. She was too busy spying on what was happening below to notice her silent shadow. She posed no danger to him.

"Do you know him?" Ghost asked softly.

"He's my ... huh?" a dulcet female voice answered absentmindedly before the shadow whirled around with a dagger in her hands. By that time Ghost had moved back two paces.

Her eyes widened. She stared in surprise at his uncovered face. "You!!" she blurted out. What was Xiao Jian doing here?

"Me?" asked Ghost. "Do you know me?"

She kept quiet, recovering from her slip. Where did he come from? His stance was not threatening at all, only curious ... and he was alone. Good. She relaxed a fraction; she was sure she could handle him.

She blinked and her breath caught. Her first impression that night was right. Xiao Jian was beautiful. Tonight, the bright moonlight gave him an almost ethereal quality. If she thought he was handsome before, he was absolutely drop dead gorgeous now.

Her eyes studied his face appreciatively. His high forehead and face was covered with a long messy fringe that moved with the breeze. Bright almond shaped eyes regarded her intensely, assessing her just as she was assessing him. They were enhanced by thick dark eyebrows. Prominent cheekbones and a high-bridged nose cast mysterious shadows on his flawless pale skin adding to his enigma.