"Since there are no witnesses, we can sneak into Peng's palace and catch him by surprise," Xue suggested, finishing stuffing the assassins' corpses into some closet in the alley.
For me, everything happening was surreal. This woman, a Shadow of the Empire, was seriously hiding the bodies of assassins who attacked us in some shed to... To do what?
That's what I didn't understand. Just like her confidence that the local city head knows nothing. And why the hell were those observers we noticed at the very beginning needed then? The local lord isn't an idiot, is he?..
He isn't, right?
"And why do we need to 'sneak in' if we can calmly enter through the front doors?" I sighed, already anticipating this ninja mission. "He knows we are here and is waiting. Let him bring out all his guards, it'll be even easier."
Xue straightened up and looked at me with an expression as if I had suggested putting out a fire with oil.
"Tai Lung," irritation flashed in her voice. "You think like a warrior. I do not. I don't care about Peng."
I frowned.
"What do you mean? We dragged ourselves here not for him?"
"No, he is a symptom, not the disease. He is a stupid fat boar who imagines himself a predator because he found patrons in the capital. My target is not him, but his entire network." Xue nodded at the dead assassins. "Slavers like Ace, professional killers, corrupt officials... All these are links of one chain. In Peng's palace, in his personal office, there must be a ledger of compromising material. Records of bribes, slave shipments, names of his patrons in the capital." Her eyes flashed in the dim lantern light. "If we, as you suggest, 'calmly enter through the front doors,' panic will start. The first thing Peng will do is 'pull the lever' in his office, and this book will fall into the brazier. We will get his corpse, but the whole network will remain intact. In a month, a new 'Peng' will be sent to replace him, and nothing will change." The girl looked away. "I need us to sneak into his office quietly; you are going to ensure me ten minutes with his safe. And after I get what I need..." she shrugged indifferently. "You can break down every wall in this palace if you want. You can eat Peng himself and his cook too."
I was silent, digesting her words.
Absolutely understandable logic, which you expect to hear from a "Shadow," and even my "assault warrior" mind couldn't argue with it. My plan was simple and effective for revenge, while her plan was complex but solved the problem globally.
The Tai Lung in me demanded a massacre for the bastards who dared send assassins after me, but I was forced to admit she was right.
To stall for time and cool down a bit, I squatted near the "bear's" corpse. More precisely, a lynx, as I managed to notice after removing his mask. The "boar" turned out to be a deer with cut antlers altogether. Strange masquerade they had; I wonder on what principle these masks were issued to them?
I didn't rummage through pockets—after the story about the Black Lotus poison, that would have been quite stupid—who forbade the assassins from hiding a poisoned needle or some other crap there?
However, I carefully examined his crossbow, which I had nailed to the chimney with a spear. No "runes" or signs of "magic," which isn't surprising actually, but in terms of engineering...
Limbs of tempered steel with an almost vertical curve, a bowstring of some very strong threads, a complex trigger mechanism with a two-stage blocker and a small damper suppressing recoil... Whoever made this clearly knew a thing or two about mechanics.
I sighed heavily and stood up.
"Fine. You win, Shadow." I growled. "We do it your way. I hate this plan and hate sneaking like a thief, but your logic... is sound." Xue nodded, and something like surprise seemed to flash in her eyes. "I will deliver you to his office," I continued. "But if your 'quiet' plan fails, or we are noticed—we do everything my way... And you'll buy me noodles," I added, remembering the ruined dinner.
The corner of her lips twitched in a semblance of a smirk.
"Agreed, Great Dragon. Let's go. The wall on the western side should be guarded the worst."
So we went on my first stealth mission to infiltrate the palace of some crazy city lord...
Yeah, what am I getting myself into?
I'm not an idiot—my opinion regarding the snow leopard changes with her every word, action, or inaction. Another thing is that at this stage I don't see any fundamental problems with staying with her—with every fight, with every skirmish I become stronger, simply "refreshing" knowledge and skills which are not only not quite mine, as they are absolutely unfamiliar to one half of me, but also over twenty years in Chorh-Gom I didn't become stronger, but only weakened, losing skills and time...
So far, what remained was enough, but remembering that moment from the cartoon when I couldn't defeat an ordinary fat panda...
In general, I wanted to "warm up" a bit myself, I just didn't think it would look like this—wanted to beat up the Five, but look how it turned out...
As for Xue...
This b... snow leopard is clearly using me, but judging by what I know about her, she should have been able to handle all this herself—she is withholding A LOT from me, and the proof of this is literally her own words—"the wall on the western side should be guarded the worst." Why does she have such information? Because other Shadows have been involved in this case for a long time, and they shared data with her!
I don't quite understand her reasons yet, but... I haven't received anything bad from her YET, and her promise gives me, albeit ghostly, still a chance to get "redemption" even in case the panda has plot armor... Especially considering that the previous Emperor, who made the decision about my imprisonment, was killed by the current one, the third prince who rose from the bottom, often called the "Bloody Emperor"...
In general, I stayed with her also because I wanted to understand who she is—enemy or friend... And yes, Kung Fu masters who are taught from childhood almost always keep their word. A teacher raises a child and honesty is instilled literally from the cradle, thanks to Oogway who brought Kung Fu to China, so I had some credit of trust in Xue... But that doesn't mean I trust her, rather it allows me to perceive her at all somehow, despite constant childish manipulations.
Xue, without wasting another second, pressed against the wall and slipped into the darkness of the alley, breaking into a run. I followed her, my much larger silhouette moving with no less ease.
We didn't rush over the roofs, as I expected based on Tai Lung's memory and experience, so an obvious question followed from my side on this topic.
"Too clean," the snow leopard threw on the go, not looking back. "Peng's guard will primarily watch the roofs looking for someone like me. Down below, in the crowd, we are less noticeable."
Such a choice of path meant a dash through a couple of dark, smelly alleys where we silently jumped over piles of garbage and sleeping vagrants. Just a couple of blocks, and we emerged onto a lit street again, where nightlife was in full swing.
Around again were a bunch of townsfolk: lanterns, laughter, shouts of barkers from noodle shops, ordinary citizens saw us, of course, but perceived us simply as two unfamiliar passersby hurrying about their business, but the guards, as Xue said, didn't see or hear us—their gaze was fixed on the sky and other roofs, which also spoke of the fact that literally the entire garrison of the city serves Peng...
We were just running past an open brazier where some huge boar (tusks and snout said he was literally a boar) in a dirty apron was handing his client—a small, fox-like man—a smoking stick with meat.
Shish kebab!
The smell hit my nose with such force that my stomach cramped.
Twenty years in prison and a ruined dinner coupled with heightened sense of smell did their job.
My reflexes worked faster than thought. Without slowing down, my hand darted to the side, I snatched the shish kebab right from the paws of the dumbfounded fox and bit into the meat, continuing to run.
"Hey! Thief! Stop the thief!" the fox squealed belatedly, dropping coins and trying to chase after me, but we were already too far from him. I heard him shouting something to the boar merchant, but his voice drowned in the general hum.
Yes, I broke the law, but hey, the fox won't get poorer from one skewer, and anyway—bandits in prisons are kept on his taxes and fed, so why the hell aren't they feeding me? More precisely, weren't feeding...
Xue, running ahead, turned around for a second, hearing the shout. Her gaze fell on me, then on the greasy shish kebab in my hand, and such concentrated condemnation appeared in the Kung Fu master's eyes that if it were a Chi technique, I would have been nailed to the spot.
She didn't say anything, but her face clearly said something like: "We are on a top-secret mission to overthrow a lord, and you are stealing street food?"
I just shrugged, tearing off the next piece with my teeth. Shadow or not, I haven't eaten for twenty years. Priorities—secret mission is a secret mission, but dinner is on schedule.
Another minute later, we finally reached the target. Ahead loomed the western wall of Peng's palace. It was lower and worse lit than the front facade. Everything exactly as my overly informed companion said.
"Listen, is this Stump..." I began, but was interrupted.
"Peng, not Stump... And throw away that damn shish kebab already!"
"... Is he accidentally an idiot?" Ignoring her, I continued, finishing the shish kebab after all.
"Don't quite understand what you're getting at." Rolling her eyes, the girl uttered.
"Well look, he has an undefended or poorly defended place in the castle, he makes enemies among Kung Fu masters, sending bandits who then turn him in themselves... Did he really not think that in case of the assassins' failure, masters might come to him with questions, and here is such a 'convenient' place, almost without guards..."
Xue stopped for a second and looked at the wall, then at me. Her expression was as if she were explaining a simple concept to a small child.
"He is not an idiot, Tai Lung. He is an aristocrat," the girl threw coldly, twitching an ear. "These are two different things, although they often come as a set." She pointed her chin at the wall. "This wall faces the service buildings. There is no such guard here as at the front gates because anyone who tries to climb here is a thief or a servant. And his dog-guards can kill both on the spot without unnecessary questions." Xue chuckled. "He doesn't think Kung Fu masters will come to him 'with questions'. He thinks Kung Fu masters are either mercenaries like the 'Hunters' who can be bought, or self-righteous fools from temples who will first send him official letters and demand something directly. He doesn't believe someone like you... or me... would dare storm his palace. His arrogance—that is his main weakness which we are using." The girl approached closely to the wall, listening. "And yes, 'almost without guards'—that's by our standards," she added, casting a quick glance at me. "For an ordinary thief, there are a dozen traps and three patrols here. For us, it's just a warm-up. Are you ready?"
Her words sounded quite logical, and it was even starting to annoy me.
"As you say, lead," I growled.
The girl nodded and, crouching, pushed off the ground. Claws barely audibly scratched the stone, and she caught onto a ledge ten meters above the ground, instantly merging with the shadow of the cornice.
Showing off.
I looked at the wall. I am not a Shadow, but right now I had to play by her rules.
Approaching the wall, I simply drove my claws into the stonework and ran up the sheer cliff, using the same technique as when escaping from Chorh-Gom. Stone chips fell down, but the noise of the night city swallowed this sound. A second later I was already next to her on a narrow ledge.
The girl looked eloquently at the fresh furrows from my claws on the wall.
"Warm-up, huh," she whispered with irony. "Apparently I slightly overestimated someone..."
"I told you, I'm not a ninja," I snapped in a whisper. "Where next?"
"Here." Xue nodded at a loophole window.
"I won't fit through there." I answered immediately, looking at the small window into which only my arm would fit.
"I keep forgetting that Shifu taught you..." The girl sighed. "Then onto the wall, we'll sneak into the palace there and into the room where the safe should be."
What did she mean by mentioning Shifu? That his students don't know how to shrink in size? Whatever. Her new plan was to my liking: "Climb the wall" sounded much more respectable than "Enter a crack."
Xue, not waiting for an answer, moved again. Like a natural cat, she clung to the slightest ledges, using cracks between stones, and in a couple of seconds silently perched on the upper, flat part of the wall.
I followed her, using claws again.
"Could you be quieter, 'Great Dragon'?" she hissed when I landed next to her.
"Besides you, no one will hear me anyway, Shadow," I snapped back.
We crouched against the stones behind the parapet. A view opened from here.
Inside the walls, about a hundred meters away, lay an inner courtyard. Perfectly trimmed bushes, a pond with carp, lit paths...
And patrols. Fours of dog-guards methodically patrolled the yard. And right in front of us loomed the main building—the palace itself.
"There," Xue pointed to the second floor, in the right wing. One of the windows was dark, while lights were on in the neighboring ones. "Peng's office. The necessary safe is there."
"Excellent," I growled, cracking my neck. "Then as soon as the patrol leaves—we run across the yard and up the columns to the balcony."
"No," she cut off.
"And why 'no' this time?"
"The yard is covered from the roof. Guards are constantly present there, waiting for people like us. We will go over the roofs of the service buildings. Over there." Xue nodded at the dark tiles connecting the outer wall with the palace. It was a longer, but also less illuminated path.
"Remind me to ask you later where you know all this from," I growled, examining the proposed route.
"Definitely," she nodded surprisingly seriously, without a shadow of a smirk. "And now let's go."
The girl didn't wait. Pressing against the parapet, Xue glided along the wall, heading toward that very tiled roof of the service building connecting to the wall.
I hmph. I hate sneaking, but her plan, damn it, was the only way to get to the compromising material before Peng burns it.
I followed her. This path really was better. It led us along the dark side, in the shadow of the palace itself, while the yard was flooded with lantern light. I landed on the tiles following the Shadow.
We moved quickly. Running from one chimney to another, slipping past windows from which the smell of cooking food wafted and muffled voices of servants were heard. They were right below us, but didn't even guess about two Kung Fu masters above.
From the roof of the service building, an ideal passage to the main building opened. A narrow stone bridge connected the roof to the second-floor balcony. That very balcony which led to Peng's office.