C H A P T E R S E V E N
R I T U A L
Before he had enough time to shift to a fighting stance the girl charged at him, sword raised, and jumped to aim from an aerial perspective. Tao could now thank his former professor for the instruction which now saved his neck. He had, within a split second, stepped forward, arms raised, crossed in front of him, and caught the rapidly approaching sword by its hilt, stopping it in his path. They were now barely centimeters away from each other, Tao looking down at her and she was staring right back up at him. While locked in this position, Tao once again felt a pulse ripple through his body, then the girl spoke up, voice deep and husky.
"My apologies sir. This plan is also completely against my will, but must be undertaken regardless. An order is an order."
With a puzzled look, Tao swiftly uncrossed his arms in one swift motion -still holding the hilt of the sword- and flipped the girl off balance. She spun back wards a few metres, and landed on her back, impact dazing her for moments. Tao however, wasted no time and felt no sympathy, this girl was intruding on private property, and no doubt had been sent to kill, regardless of whether it was against her good will or not.
Within seconds he had straddled her back, twisted her arms behind her and kicked the sword far out of her reach. She struggled at first, trying to flip him off, but his grip was firm and it was clear who had the upper hand in terms of strength, slowly her retaliation subsided and she remained motionless.
Speaking through gritted teeth, Tao questioned her
"Tell me who you are. Where did you come from? Who ordered you here and what have you got to do with Professor Jang?"
She scoffed and said
"You still have the guts to call him your professor?"
Tao twisted her arms further, and she gasped in pain.
"I'll not ask again."
Biting on her lips, the girl remained silent. After thinking for a while, she spoke up again
"I shall not speak unless you release me."
Tao didn't move, nor did he loosen his grip. Even though she was trapped, the girl still smirked
"It seems to me that you are not desperate for answers. Very well, then have it your way, my lips remain sealed"
Even then Tao's grip remained and firm as iron. For a while, neither of them spoke. The occasional gasp escaped from her lips as pain shot up through her arms and Tao seemed lost in an internal conflict. He needed answers. He needed them now. But he had in his hands a potential trained killer, unpredictable and deadly, could he trust his instincts to let her go and get his answers?
Slowly, Tao's grip loosened, he eased himself off her back and the girl immediately twisted away from him, gathering a safe distance between him, rubbing her sore arms and fixing him with a stare with the intensity to burn holes in his skull.
"Well, I've let you go, now speak up."
Without breaking eye contact, she said
"The reason for my being here is simple."
Tao once again was in a state of confusion.
"It is part of the plan."
His brows creased towards the centre of his forehead as he blew at his fringe in irritation. Yes, this was clearly part of the plan, he was able to figure that much out for himself. What he wanted to find out was who's plan this was, who was the figure behind it all? Even more importantly to himself, was who exactly was Professor Jang and his association with this girl.
Tao crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance, his voice coated with sarcasm
"Goodness, I would never have figured that much out for myself."
Taking slow deliberate steps towards her, he saw her flinch as he approached. She was afraid of him. He inwardly scoffed, some well trained killer she was. There was no doubt she was well equipped, and he was sure that he had not yet witnessed her full battle ability, but he first thing assassins were taught was to suppress emotion, and she had clearly failed that lesson.
Now returning her glare, he said
"I want clear answers, girl. Who are you? Who sent you? How are you associated with my -"
He hesitated before he spoke
"Professor Jang."
The words seemed alien to him now. His trusted professor of years had left him, most likely led him to this situation.
She looked up at him through her thick brunette fringe, large eyes filled with a mocking, as she chuckled
"Professor. Professor Jang. Oh how you trusted him. Too bad life always seems to want to play nasty tricks on the mind. What is trust, hmm? Huang Zi Tao?"
She was playing with him. It was evident through the taunting glint in her eyes that she did not plan to give him any direct answers any time soon. Trust. How could he have trusted her to give him what he wanted when he released her. Now regretting his decision, he wished he still had her in an arm lock, twisted backwards with pain shooting through them.
"I'm not in the mood to play, girl. I don't have time for your riddles. Give me the answers, or you can provide them to me when you have your own blade pointed at your face and my boot on your chest."
Then, remembering the short sword which had been discarded during the previous scramble, reached down to retrieve it. Immediately, he felt the balance which the weapon provided. It was light, but not too light as to feel fragile, yet not heavy enough to weigh down any movement. The metal blade rippled, it's double edges glinting menacingly in the sunlight, strange symbols faintly enscribed upon the smooth surface. The hilt contained some of the most intricate weapons detailing he had ever seen, encrusted with small red jewels -rubies no doubt- and circles with what seemed like tiny white pearls. Despite being obviously made of a white gold and still shining brightly, it was clearly an aged weapon, an experienced weapon, one that had seen many battles and fought first hand in them.
In the split second he had taken to admire her weapon, the girl had already drawn her long weapon from her back. She was already in a fighting stance, weapon poised, ready to strike. But Tao was no stranger to this situation, with analytical abilities such as his own, he took out two seconds to calculate the possible attacks she could launch on him before planning his own moves.
She charged. Her speed was incredible. She had completely changed from her girl which he had had the upper hand with previously. Blocking the length of the spear with the flat edge of the blade, she had struck with such force that even Tao was forced back a step. The mocking glint had disappeared completely from her eyes now, replaced with a malignant stare. They both paused for a moment of eye contact before she spun away again, wasting no time.
This time, I'll have the upper hand, she thought to herself
With movement like a whirlpool, the girl spun and pivoted with a lethal grace, weapon a blur in the air. It was Tao this time who was struggling to find his footing. He had severely underestimated his opponent, something he was taught never to do, it was safer to overestimate them rather than to underestimate anyone.
Before long, Tao felt the first impact of her spear in his ribs, then not even a second after, knock his shins, then succeeding that he felt the blade graze his thighs, creating a tear in his trousers and a thin trail of red sneak down the beige fabric. Tao was more than surprised, this was the first time in almost 10 years that anyone had drawn blood from him, this girl was good, very good, better than him by far.
Once again, Tao was bombarded with strikes to his body and cuts to his face. His blocks, despite their airy speed proved too sluggish for her attacks. He caught a strike to his forearm, then a slit in his cheek, followed by a strong jab in his back, then a cut to his neck. However, something else was also clear. This girl, though clearly capable, had not yet attempted to land a fatal attack on him.
He thought too early for his own good. It was then that he felt a searing pain propel through his back, resulting from a clean cut from his waist to his shoulder blade. Dropping to his knees, Tao had barely the energy to stay on his feet, he was blinking spots out of his eyes as he tried to force himself back onto his feet.
Looking up through a matted fringe, he saw the girl's victorious smirk. Standing proud with her spear in her hand, she was the image of triumph, as she spoke
"You need more practise, Huang Zi Tao. I went easy on you this time. Next time I will not."
With that, she spun on her heels, swung her weapon onto her back and stalked away, enveloped by the greenery.
Tao was still unable to process his loss. She had moved with such speed and familiarity that even blocking, let alone attacking was impossible. Before he could ponder further, another wave of pain launched itself through Tao's back. It hurt, he had to admit, and the cut was probably severe.
He would not be able to face his family in this state, beaten up and weakened. Using the sword as a support, he slowly hobbled through their front gates and towards the street. The quiet streets of the rich estates were both a blessing and a curse, always silent, it provided enough privacy to all who lived in the area, yet it also emitted a sense of abandonment. In Tao's situation, it was a blessing.
With his clothing sliced to shreds in some parts and the massive wound on his back, Tao did not look the image of the Huang heir. He was weak. Weakness was not a characteristic he was to possess. Yet he could not deny the fact that he was in desperate need of help, vision increasingly obscured with black patches, Tao suddenly felt two cool hands wrap around his and guide him to his destination of which he himself was not clear.
He felt himself being led up a white spiraling staircase when he heard a gentle voice speak out to him
"Please, Tao, please stay strong. Come on, Tao, a few more steps. That's it."
The voice was soothing, calmingly familiar and harmoniously reassuring. At that moment he felt safe. Safe yet vulnerable and it was beyond his control when the tears started to slowly leak from his eyes. He sensed himself being directed into a room and his body flop onto a thick mattress covered in white sheets. At that moment, his body did not even have the strength to support itself in a sitting position. The smooth voice spoke up again, a touch of playfulness in the tone
"Oh goodness, Tao, what trouble did you get yourself into this time. Is this what will happen every time I am not there to save you?"
Tao tried to speak up, yet only managed to grunt incoherently.
"Shhhh, relax."
The girl hushed him and he felt his jacket being removed as well as his shirt, both were stained with blood and no longer in a wearable state. He heard her leave the room, only to return very soon. Attending to the most serious wound first on his back, he gritted his teeth as he could feel the severity of the wound. Cleaning all his cuts, scrapes and bruises and wrapping him in fresh bandages, he slowly began to relax, she slowly cleared away the signs of battle from his worn body.
Tao's eyes now flickered open as he felt a cup being pressed to his lips and a warm bitter sweet drink find its way down his throat, his core now felt warm and his body tension began to release. He watched as she folded a cloth, dipped it in steaming water and rested it on his forehead. When she was done, her purple eyes stared back at him, clouded with care and concern as her cool hand reached for his
"Sleep now, rest. That was quite an ordeal."
He once again felt a pulse through his body before his eyelids grew heavy again, and managed to let out a murmur of gratitude
"Thank you......Mei......."
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A/N: So who's the girl who attacked Tao under orders? Professor Jang isn't all that he seems either.....
Sorry for the late update! English exam was this week haha, got to love Macbeth:L
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