Managing to deliver the package successfully, Emi rode back on her horse, the package that Sergi needed in her hands now. All the while, she had a contemplative expression on her face, never faltering for a second.

          Money, that’s what I need but…

          How am I going to get that much money for myself?

         

         

          **********************************************

         

         

          Kris and Yun took hours to reach the area where Sergi’s poster was displayed, since Sergi was only well-known in that area. By the time they reached there, it was near to dawn.

          Along the way, they took short breaks, allowing the horses and themselves to rest and replenish themselves with water.

          The town that they arrived in seemed average, like any other town but the only difference was that this town seemed less hectic. People here weren’t rushing so badly to work and it seemed like everyone took their life here in a relaxing pace.

          “This town looks so…happy, why would such a notorious thief be infamous in only this area?” Kris mused, frowning as they climbed down from their horses, placing them at the stables that was conveniently placed at the entrance of the town.

          This town is probably a place that attracts lots of tourists, since the stables placed here were most probably for tourists to place their horses here.

          Yun shrugged at Kris’ question before opening his mouth. “I managed to find this town due to an odd job request from here.”

          They started to explore the town, some people greeting them in a friendly manner and they did the same. Eventually, they stumbled upon a notice board, where they found Sergi’s wanted poster pasted up there.

          The both of them immediately started asking around about Sergi, most people avoided the question and felt uncomfortable answering it, but fortunately, they managed to get some answers.

          “Oh, that man? Let’s see, how do I explain this…Sergi grew up in this town and he was very popular among the ladies. However, a few years later, rumours began floating around the town about him stealing from people’s houses and he just appeared up there.”

          “Sergi? That infamous thief? Oh, let me tell you, he was such a charming young man, it saddens me to hear that he succumbed to such greediness, like robbing people’s prized possessions.”

          “Are you talking about that horrible man? That man is despicable! He stole my family heirloom and I saw him, with my own eyes! And he told me to scram, said I was such a weakling and there wasn’t any satisfaction to steal from me!”

          Kris reached an answer, as to why Sergi was only infamous in this area. This was where he started out as a bandit, probably lying to everyone by being two-faced. He was a flirtatious man by day and a thief by night, driven by his own greed to earn more money through the easy way.

          Thus, he eventually disappeared from this town but there was one more question that Kris couldn’t figure out.

          If he had such a terrible reputation here, why wasn’t he known in other parts of the area?

          Moreover, he is way too skilled for an ordinary bandit, why is he wasting his skills away like this?

          Kris knew he surely didn’t stop stealing, since he saw it clearly with his own eyes that day, where they tried to steal the auction money.

          “Kris, what do you plan to do now?” Yun asked his close friend, who was also his leader. They decided to take a short break at a café, while Kris thought of what to do now.

          “We need to find out more about him, there’s definitely something we don’t know yet.” Kris told Yun, making Yun furrow his eyebrows.

          “So, are you suggesting to stay at this town for a few days?”

          “Probably, we can just rent out a room to stay in.”

          Yun nodded in response, waving at the waitress as she hurriedly jogged to them. Yun paid for the bill and they went around to search for a room to rent and stay in.

          “So, you were the people snooping around town about Sergi, eh?” Someone spoke to them from the alleyway that they were planning to take, thinking it was a shortcut.

          It was a man leaning against the wall, a black coat covering his whole body, along with a hood concealing his face. Kris and Yun stopped abruptly in their steps, staring blankly at him.

          “You know about him?”

          “Yeah, sure I do but our boss don’t appreciate people snooping around in our business.” The hooded figure said ominously and Yun immediately understood his words, preparing to draw his sword, getting into a defensive stance.

          “Is that so?” Kris replied, raising his eyebrow and suddenly, four men revealed themselves from the alleyway, smirking wickedly as they carried different types of blunt weapons.

          The hooded figure only continued leaning against the wall as he ordered the four men to attack Yun and Kris.

          Yun unsheathed his sword, blocking the club that swung down on him and lifted his leg up to kick the man in the abdomen as he ducked from another blunt weapon being aimed at him. He took this opportunity to slice his sword across his leg, making the other attacker yell out in pain as he bent down.

          One of the attackers sneaked past Yun, aiming for Kris and Kris only let out a small sigh, dodging his sneak attack with ease.

          The third man tried to sneak behind Yun, only for him to shove his sword behind him, hitting him in the stomach as he coughed out the air. Yun quickly did a high kick, kicking the man in the head and knocking him out.

          It wasn’t necessary to kill them, so he only knocked them out.

          He easily knocked the other two men out too, before proceeding to sheathe his sword at his hip.

          During Yun’s fight, Kris swiftly knocked the man out by using his sword to block his attacks and forcing him to drop his weapon by twisting his arm, proceeding to punch him in the jaw.

          The hooded man lifted himself off the wall, thoroughly impressed.

          “Bloody hell…” He muttered out, his eyes wide in amazement and when he noticed Yun approaching him menacingly, he took a step back, waving his hands at them.

          “Wait, wait! I’m sorry for what happened, but it was my boss’ orders!”

          “It’s your fault for being the messenger then.” Kris said, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest.

          “Okay, okay! I got it! I’ll bring you to my boss and he’ll tell you whatever you want to know, deal?” The man negotiated with Kris, while Kris frowned at his offer, a thoughtful look on his face.

          Yun was still approaching him and the hooded man looked terrified, stumbling backwards and almost letting out a whimper when Yun was just a few steps away from him.

          “Yun, it’s fine, stand down.” Kris ordered and Yun complied, keeping his sword but keeping a watchful eye on the man.

          “Fine then, bring me to your boss and if you try anything strange…” Kris agreed, narrowing his eyes at the man at his last few words.

          “I won’t! I promise, on my life!” The man quickly said, cowering slightly.

         

         

          ********************************************************

         

         

          Kris and Yun were brought to a hidden underground place in the town, where the man revealed that this underground brawling place has been here for years. The place was mainly surrounded by the soil, with certain torches placed at parts of the area.

          I understand it now, so, this was where he gained his fighting skills from.

          The air smelt stale, accompanied with the stench of sweat and beer. Kris wrinkled his nose while Yun remained neutral, a cautious expression on his face. They passed by the brawling arena, where they heard loud cheering and the contestants exchanging punches and kicks. The arena was blocked by strong wooden fences, in a circular pattern, providing enough space for the contestants to battle in.

          Nevertheless, the loud cheering became softer and softer when they were lead to a room. The man told them to wait outside as he entered the room, all the while, Yun and Kris scanned their surroundings.

          Yun scanned for anything suspicious while Kris scanned for anything that was particularly interesting, yawning once.

          They heard hushed talking before someone started shouting and then everything became silent.

          “Come in.” The man suddenly said, popping his head out from the door that was closed before.

          The both of them entered the room and the interiors of the room where much more pleasant compared to the outside. It was fully furnished, like a room in a house.

          They saw a tanned-skin burly man sitting down on a huge chair, with tattoos decorating his whole body. He had a nasty scar across his left eye and he had a grin on his face, showing his disgusting yellow teeth.

          “Ah, I’m so sorry about the rude…treatment from before, I do hope you forgive me for that. Let me introduce myself, I’m Zao, owner of this brawling arena.” The burly man, who calls himself Zao, said.

          Kris only let out a scoff while Yun raised an eyebrow at his words.

          “There isn’t any need to bother with the introduction, we are only here for one thing.”

          “Ah, that’s right. You were snooping around town, asking about Sergi, what is it that you want to know about that bloody idiot?”

          “Bloody idiot?” Kris repeated his words, furrowing his eyebrows.

          “Yes, he tarnished the reputation of this place, which I had taken so long to build up. It was once known as a place for brawling, but now, it’s a place known for breeding vermin.” Zao explained, hissing the last few words out, his eyes lighting up in anger.

          “How did he do that? And from what I saw, it certainly didn’t look that way.”

          “The reputation is slowly returning, it took a lot of hard work. Sergi, that bastard, he used the skills he learned from this place to rob from people and disappear from this town.” Zao said, his tone venomous.

          “Do you know where he disappeared to?”

          “As if I would know! If I knew, I would have tracked him down and murdered that bloody bastard!”

          “…wait a moment, now that I think about it, he mentioned about a huge amount of debts…” Zao muttered loudly, cutting Kris off just as he was about to ask another question.

          “Debts?”

          “Yes, debts. You see, Sergi played around with a lot of women and he probably owed them lots of money, especially since he likes to play around with rich women. He probably decided to move on to another town and steal again.”

          “Any clue to where he might be at?”

          “Sergi is a clever man, he won’t draw any attention to himself, unless it comes to women. If I were to guess where he might be at, it would be a deserted town and he wouldn’t steal things by himself, if he had people following him. He would order them to steal it for him, hence, keeping attention away from himself. It’s a dirty method, but he always plays dirty.”

          Kris opened his mouth, about to ask another question when he frowned, something occurring in his mind.

          “Why are you readily telling me all this?” Kris asked Zao, suddenly suspicious.

          Why is he giving out free information without any conditions? People like him always expect something in return, always.

          “Because, I can’t be bothered about that useless idiot anymore! If you ever find him, tell him that Zao wants him dead, if I ever find him.” Zao growled out, utterly frustrated.

          Kris didn’t particularly hate people like Zao, since they weren’t criminals to him but people who create opportunity for many. However, they are also people who can’t be trusted wholly either.

          “Alright then, Zao. Thank you, I’ll be taking my leave.” Kris said, walking off and reaching the door of the room.

          Zao only grunted in response, hoping that these people were the last people to ask about Sergi.

          “Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll be sure to tell him your message.” Kris grinned at Zao, pushing the door open and walking out of the room, along with Yun.

         

         

          ******************************************

         

         

          Riding on the horse, Kris furrowed his eyebrows and Yun noticed it, cocking his head curiously to one side.

          “What’s wrong?”

          “…nothing, just thinking about something…” Kris shook his head, replying to Yun.

          He would order them to steal it for him, hence, keeping attention away from himself.

          Kris held a contemplative look on his face, remembering Zao’s words about Sergi.

          “Yun, the Shadow Rogue, she’s definitely with Sergi, right?”

          “Yes, I clearly saw her with Sergi.”

          “…do you think he’s ordering her to steal for him, like what Zao said?”

          Now, it was Yun’s turn to furrow his eyebrows.

          “I’m…not sure, Kris. I don’t know whether to trust his words or not, but if it’s true, it would likely be that way.”

          Kris nodded at his words, deep in his thoughts.

          Even if it was that way, why is she continuing to steal for him then?

          Why is she still staying with him?

          Kris clenched his fists, wondering why he was trying to think of the reasons behind her actions.

          No, if she had the right morals, she would have known that it was wrong of her to do this.

          I, in my whole life, I will definitely not forgive people like her.

          More than anything else, I despise people like her kind.

          Kris rode on his horse, his thoughtful expression slowly changing into a frustrated one.

         

         

          *******************************************

         

         

          Emi crouched in the dark, dressed in her black leather outfit, her mask also hiding her face. She saw the cellar door opening and two men walking out of the cellar, yawning loudly as they greeted each other goodnight.

          It was past midnight now and Emi could feel her eyes getting heavier with each second, she never stayed up this late before but she knew she only had one chance to do this. Reacting instantly, she sneaked past the empty field of grass to the cellar door, her hand holding onto the handle of the door.

          Stored inside the cellar was the treasure that Emi and the bandits stole for years. She just needed to sneak in there for a while, take a few expensive ones and sell them off, before she can fully disappear from this life.

          A new identity.

          Money, money can do anything, even forging a new identity.

          Emi never felt more thankful for her meticulous trait, since every year, she would take note of the guard’s shifting time and she realised that it would at least take a minute or more for the new guards to take over the shift. Hence, that meant that she had a minute and a half to grab a few expensive treasures and escaping from the cellar.

          A minute and fifteen seconds more.

          Carefully pulling the cellar door open, she jumped inside, not bothering to climb down the ladder. After which, she took a box of matches and lit them up, hurrying to the front and searching for the treasure.

          Due to her years of experience from stealing, she knew how to distinguish from the more expensive to the less expensive objects.

          Holding the match in one hand, she used her other hand to quickly grab the ones she knew were the more expensive one, shoving them into her satchel.

          Twenty seconds left.

          She felt a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face as she continued shoving in a few more before deciding to head for the ladder, letting out a shaky breath.

          Ten seconds left.

          Blowing out her match, she climbed the ladder and pushed the cellar door open slightly, she scanned her surroundings warily and sighed in relief when she saw no one in sight.

          Lifting it up quickly, she dashed across the empty field of grass and looked back, seeing that she was fortunate. The new guards just arrived, just as she escaped from the cellar and she panted, her knees wobbling slightly.

          I made it…

          I made it.

          Her lips tugged slightly, a small smile forming on her face and she started to walk off when suddenly, one of the guard spun around, shining the torch in her direction.

          The guard squinted his eyes, seeing a black figure in the darkness and panicked immediately.

          “Who’s there?” The guard yelled out and Emi’s heart skipped a beat as she stopped in her steps, spinning her head to look in that direction, dropping open in horror.

          Crap!

          Two days left.

          One day left.

          

---

Oh man, I missed writing this story :(, I had to put it aside because of exams D: