The stone bridge was rather narrow and somewhat slippery due to the night dampness; I'm sure the servants put a lot of effort into preventing any fungus from growing here.
Down in the courtyard, however, thanks to the lantern light, it was as bright as day. One wrong move on our part—and our entire stealth mission goes to hell.
Twitching an ear, I listen to the sounds and note with surprise that Xue seemed not to be breathing. She stepped onto the bridge, continuing to make no sound, and I followed her. I'm certainly not that good at this, but still confident in my skills.
After some time, we finally reached the balcony, which we climbed onto, periodically glancing toward the patrols. Seems no one noticed...
The doors, as expected, were locked.
Xue gestured something to me (apparently forgetting that I actually don't know and can't know their Shadow hand signals), so I just froze and began to examine the courtyard even more carefully, while the girl knelt before the lock, extracted a bundle from her boot, revealing a set of dozens of the finest lockpicks.
I twitch my ear again, wanting to assess the Shadow's work and... In the distance, barking of dogs is heard; on the wall, a hundred meters from us, the guard has already changed, but nearby I heard only an incredibly quiet click...
The girl's movements were not like what I saw in movies in my past life; her fingers fluttered, constantly prying something and even cutting. A couple of seconds of work later, a thinnest, almost invisible thread fell to the balcony floor—an alarm trap, I presume...
Click...
Finally, the lock gave way, less than a minute had passed...
Truly a master; seeing the girl's professionalism, it's very hard to remain indifferent—she really knows what she's doing, and that is captivating.
The girl looked back, showed me another incomprehensible sign resembling the rock "goat" horns, after which she slightly opened the door, just enough for us to squeeze inside.
Peng's office...
A rather luxurious, hence quite tasteless (in my opinion) room. Inside it smelled of expensive tobacco, wine, and something else sweet. The office was dark as there were no light sources inside, and light from the courtyard almost didn't penetrate through the heavy silk curtains.
I'm sure people with "unsuitable" bloodlines wouldn't distinguish anything here at all, but both Xue and I had the bloodline of an irbis—a snow leopard, or snow panther as it's also called, and our "night vision" was much better than ordinary people's.
Silently, I take a position at the entrance door, listening to sounds behind the wall. My hearing sharpened to the limit, and I began to distinguish every individual sound: the steps of a guard in the corridor a floor below, the quiet laughter of maids somewhere, apparently in the kitchen, the creak of a weather vane on the roof...
Meanwhile, Xue, slipping past a dark wood table, approached some huge tapestry depicting... apparently Peng himself, heroically killing a huge tiger, after which she yanked the fabric aside, and a safe appeared before our eyes.
A rather large safe made of some black metal alloy (although, perhaps it's just paint), looking very durable even at a glance.
Xue pressed her ear to the safe, feeling the dial disks with her fingers, after which the cracking began.
Clack...
Silence.
...Click...
...Clack...
And then, from the general mix of sounds, I heard those that made me frown—footsteps in the corridor.
It wasn't the light tread of the local guard, at least somewhat trained in martial arts, but heavy and confident steps that I know very well—soldiers with rhino bloodlines...
The problem was that the steps were moving here, and I felt in my gut that they weren't going to pass by because I also made out voices: a high and squeaky one belonging to Peng, and the second was low and rumbling.
I barely noticeably shook my head, after which I lit a Chi flame on my finger, which I extinguished a moment later.
Xue froze, her fingers froze in place, and the ear on her head twitched, listening to the surrounding environment.
Thump... Thump...
The snow leopard immediately silently put away the lockpicking tools and hung the tapestry back in place, after which she hid behind a wardrobe. I simply stepped behind the door so that when it opened, it would cover my powerful figure, giving some time for possible actions.
My body tensed, ready to attack.
A key scratched in the keyhole, after which the door opened with a creak...
Through the crack, I examine the arrivals, and yes, Lord Peng really stood on the threshold—a fat boar in an expensive silk robe, holding a glass of wine in his hand. But he wasn't alone.
Behind his back loomed two figures of men, completely encased in black lacquered armor with heavy hammers on their belts. The shape of the helmets indicated that I hadn't miscalculated and these were indeed people with rhino bloodlines.
"I'm telling you, Captain," Peng began squeakily, entering the room, "these damned 'Hunters' assured me that no master is an obstacle to them, but why the hell are all the observers dead! And no news from these freaks, all the guards are watching the roofs, as we agreed, but nothing!.."
Suddenly he fell silent, looking around.
Damn, somehow the boar noticed us...
"Who..." he whispered, his small evil eyes widened. "Who is here?"
Two rhinos instantly drew their hammers, covering Peng with themselves and peering into the darkness.
Well, that's it, our "quiet" plan failed...
The very second Peng opened his mouth to call the guards, Xue bolted from her spot, but not toward him, but toward the safe, thereby distracting the guards' attention to herself and giving me room for action. Logical.
"Kill!" squealed the city lord.
The rhinos rushed toward her, forgetting that they are primarily bodyguards...
But I appeared on their path from the shadows, immediately striking the opponents in the chest, intending to end the fight with one blow. However, I underestimated the rhinos—they even managed to put up their hammers, defending against my attack, only my claws are stronger than steel...
A strike, and only hilts remain in the hands of two born soldiers, while steel crumbs shower onto the floor.
I glance back, noting that Xue is already cracking the safe not so quietly, simply ignoring what is happening and trusting me to solve this problem.
"Your plan failed," I growled. "Now we do it my way."
I slowly turned to the dumbfounded Peng and his guards, who were shifting their gaze from the hilts in their hands to the fragments of their weapons, cracked my neck, and grinned.
My growl turned into a low vibrating purr, promising nothing good to the rhinos, after which I rushed forward.
The rhinos, not expecting such agility from me, made the only decision they thought correct—relied on their armor, rushing to attack me.
What idiots—they saw what happened to their hammers, but still hoped the armor would protect them...
A quick jump to the ceiling and two strikes delivered in an instant allowed me to deprive both of their heads, which flew off with force, bouncing off the floor and rolling to the city lord's feet.
A bit harsh. It seems twenty years in captivity by people with the same bloodline developed some... Dislike for them in me.
All this took no more than a second.
Lord Peng froze in shock, staring in disbelief at the elite of the local army killed in the blink of an eye. The wine glass fell from his trembling hand, red wine spilled onto the floor and his expensive robe, now resembling a bloodstain. The glass itself, made of the purest rock crystal, shattered into dozens of small fragments—so fine was the work.
The city lord's mouth opened and closed but couldn't make a sound...
With a habitual movement, I shake the blood off my claws. Complete silence reigned in the office again, broken only by one sound.
Click... Clack... Whir!
It was Xue. She wasn't distracted, and only a twitching ear betrayed that she heard and understood everything. Finally, the girl pulled the handle, and the heavy safe door opened with a creak...
"W-w-what?!?" Finally, the criminal lord squeezed out, backing away until his back hit the table. "W-who are you? I-I'll pay! Gold! Slaves! Whatever you want! I'll give everything!"
I looked at this trembling boar with disgust, grimacing against my will. He was just pathetic. He isn't a warrior, and not even a highwayman. He is just... a slug.
There was neither need nor desire to kill him. Instead, there was irritation from his squealing and a desire to shut him up quickly.
I took a step toward him, raising my hand to knock him out, but froze hearing Xue's shout.
"Tai Lung, wait!"
"What now?"
"I need him alive!" The girl pulled some overly elaborate thick leather book with gold inserts out of the safe. "Dead he is useless, no need to dirty your hands on him."
I glance at the whining Peng, pressed against the table.
"I'm not as bloodthirsty as you think, fool." I replied, instantly appearing next to the boar and knocking him out with a chop to the neck.
Peng went limp, losing consciousness, and collapsed on the floor.
"Thanks... And you're a fool yourself!" The girl exhaled, examining the book for traps before opening it. "And you completely lack the ability to work quietly."
"And you," I replied, lifting the boar and slinging him over my shoulder, "pick locks for too long... Also, you still owe me noodles."
"Definitely," the girl agreed with a smile. "But only after I deliver this to the capital." The girl nodded at the knocked-out Peng. "Besides... I think you don't want to be a criminal, and being here, I can't help with anything."
Xue flipped through the book, nodding importantly, after which she hid it in the inner pocket of her vest, approaching the balcony and opening the door.
"You talk as if you aren't just another Shadow in the Emperor's service..." I sigh, following her. "So, does our cooperation end here or should I see you to the city exit?"
Honestly, I'm already tired of opponents being such weaklings. I want to meet Shifu's students, whom he took to replace me, as soon as possible...
In short, I was ready to jump off the balcony right now and rush to the Valley of Peace.
"First we need to leave." The girl answered seriously. "Together. The whole city will be in an uproar in a couple of minutes—the disappearance of the local lord, plus the death of his personal bodyguards..." Xue shrugged.
"Fine." I nod, understanding her reasons. And to be honest, leaving the city unnoticed and without extra headache was in my interests too. "Just keep up." I threw without looking back and jumped down from the balcony, pushing off the wall and sending myself into a dark part of the courtyard. Not as unnoticeable a path as we used earlier, but much faster.
I landed silently on the grass and immediately rushed to that very wall from which we penetrated the palace. I hear a gust of wind and a quiet thud—the girl landed nearby, we moved toward the exit.
Starting a fight now makes no sense—there are no worthy enemies here, no interesting battle will result...
It's one thing when you come to the boss's lair—in that case, not showing off is a sin, and quite another when the boss is already "taken out," loot collected, and level raised. There is no point in beating up simple guards.
I climb the wall again, leaving furrows in the stone, and land on the top, together with the Shadow.
"ALARM!" A belated cry rang out from the palace. "BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD! LORD KIDNAPPED!"
In the next second, a signal horn howled and the palace came alive. Lights began to flare up in windows, the clang of metal and the stomping of dozens of feet were heard from all sides.
"Oops? Should have closed the door, probably..." I drawled, amazed at such a quick reaction.
"I closed it before leaving." The girl sighed. "Most likely they just discovered the corpses of those 'Hunters' and came to report to Peng, who should be in his office..." The girl explained, revealing the secret of hiding those assassins' corpses for me...
"And what are these 'Hunters'?" I asked, already descending from the wall, clinging to the castle stone with my claws and thereby slowing my descent. "Never heard of them."
"And not surprising." Xue nodded, following me. "These are foreign 'Shadows'. They operate on different principles and specifically work as mercenaries in China, exterminating masters and weakening us. That's why they are called 'Hunters'—they hunt specifically Kung Fu masters..."
"Harsh." I utter, finally having descended. "But they didn't seem that strong to me; you, as a Shadow, defeated six without problems..."
"I am not an ordinary Shadow." The girl replied, heading toward one of the city walls. "Actually they are strong, it's just someone is incredibly strong himself and now measures everyone around by himself."
"Well, sorry." I chuckled, following her.
After some time we climbed the city wall and got out of the city, descending it. The local "slums"—the city outside the wall turned out to be much better than I imagined, but we didn't stay in them for long, slipping out unnoticed—into fields sown with rice and some other crop resembling either beet or radish.
"Phew, well then, Tai Lung..." The girl began when we ended up in a small forest. "I, Xue Xia, am grateful to you for your help." The girl folded her hands in the bao quan li gesture—fist pressed against an open palm and bowed. "I give my word, I will do everything in my power to repay you for this help."
"Good, counting on you." I nod to the girl, handing over the knocked-out city lord. "Good luck, I'm going to the Valley of Peace."
"Listen..." The girl exhaled. "Don't take revenge on Shifu. He did everything he could to soften the punishment for you. Oogway planned to keep you in prison for a thousand years... Don't kill him. Please."
"...I wasn't planning to..." I sigh, grimacing at thoughts of my "father." I've been thinking about what to do with him for a long time and... Still haven't decided. His "betrayal" was too painful for Tai Lung, but having received an outside perspective after the merger, I cannot continue to hate him. "Shifu will remain in the world of the living." Finally, I pronounce. "I give my word that I do not intend to kill him..."
"T... Thank you, Great Dragon." Looking at me, the girl smiled, but this smile... For some reason, it seemed different from all those I saw on her face before. Somehow familiar, as if... Maternal?.. No, that can't be? "Good luck to you on your journey too." Xue bowed again and disappeared, leaving me on the edge of the forest with a bunch of thoughts in my head...