Chapter 14 - The Dancer
Fang Dingwu and Ye Beizhi strolled toward the Drunken Flower, filling the streets with banter and laughter. However, Fang Dingwu turned out to be the only one doing the talking and laughing.
Fang Dingwu, being a well-traveled armed escort team leader, truly had a vast network of connections. Even the servers at Drunken Flower were enthused to see him.
As Fang Dingwu entered the restaurant, an attentive server rushed up and greeted him, "Yo! If it isn't this Escort Leader Fang? Are you here in Meizhou for another mission?"
Fang Dingwu responded with a cheerful laugh and led Ye Beizhi straight to the second floor. Once there, the two found an empty table and sat down.
This table stood next to the balcony railing, so they had a clear view of the large round stage in the middle of the first floor. A wide screen formed the backdrop of the stage.
Fang Dingwu introduced the operation to Ye Beizhi, saying, "That round stage below is for live performances. The owner of the Drunken Flower knows how to keep customers coming. Storytellers, jugglers, or musicians often perform, so the restaurant is quite a popular place to eat."
Ye Beizhi nodded.
Fang Dingwu called over the server and began ordering food.
The dishes were brought up before long, and Fang Dingwu, while grabbing a peanut with his chopsticks, remarked to Ye Beizhi, "It seems our luck isn't great today since no performances are going on right now. The last time I was here, I saw a juggler who could breathe fire. The flames shot out over seven chi!"
Ye Beizhi also began eating when he suddenly, nearly imperceptibly, furrowed his eyebrows, and he turned to look toward the stage below.
Fang Dingwu followed Ye Beizhi's gaze and saw a group of women dressed like butterflies flitting out from behind the screen onto the central stage.
Fang Dingwu laughed. "Speak of the devil. The entertainment should be here." He rubbed his chin. "You think they're going to dance for us?"
Ye Beizhi didn't respond. He was focused on a specific woman in the group.
That eye-catching woman had a graceful figure and held a flamboyant peacock feather fan. A veil obscured her face, rendering her features indistinct.
Her clothing was noticeably different in color from the other women around her, marking her as the lead dancer. Indeed, as the group of women found their places on the stage, she stood at their center.
As if sensing Ye Beizhi's gaze, she also turned to look at him. Ye Beizhi exchanged a fleeting glance with her before lowering his head to continue eating.
She withdrew her gaze, slightly taken aback. However, when her feathered fan flared with a flick of her wrist, she pushed past her surprise and began to dance.
Fang Dingwu, with a huge smile, watched Ye Beizhi, who was looking over at the lead dancer. Getting goosebumps from Fang Dingwu’s expression, Ye Beizhi asked, "What is it?"
"Oi, Brother Ye, do you like what you see?"
Ye Beizhi glanced at him and said, "Eat fast and leave fast."
"What’s the rush?" Fang Dingwu asked, puzzled.
Ye Beizhi was working on his vegetables and said, "That woman has the bloody scent to her. She must have just killed someone."
Fang Dingwu was startled, nearly exclaiming before managing to bite it down. Leaning over the table, he asked Ye Beizhi in a low voice, "Brother Ye, are you joking? How could such a sweet girl be a murderer who just killed someone?"
Ye Beizhi gave Fang Dingwu a look that clearly communicated, Believe me if you want. He dipped his head to finish up the food in his bowl.
Although Fang Dingwu had voiced his doubts, he truly believed Ye Beizhi in his heart. Throughout this journey, he had grown to respect Ye Beizhi greatly.
The two quickly finished their food, paid the bill, and headed toward the exit. Leaving the Drunken Flower, Ye Beizhi took a final glance at the woman dancing gracefully on the stage, her dress fluttering like the wings of a butterfly.
Fang Dingwu and Ye Beizhi strolled back to the inn, friendly laughter following in their footsteps.
The next day, the escort agency members packed their bags and set off on their journey home. As Ye Beizhi rode his horse out the city gates, he sensed the familiar presence from the day before. Turning his head, he saw only a figure cloaked in a cape flitting into a dark alley.
Ye Beizhi ignored it and rode to catch up with the others, leaving the bustling Meizhou far behind.
***
In the Ghostbane Association, Rao Shuang was known by the name Flowerless Butterfly. She believed that a true assassination should be carried out in such a way that the target is utterly oblivious to their impending death. Even when dying, the victim should not even suspect who the killer is. When the deed is done, no traces should be left behind either.
In Flowerless Butterfly’s eyes, this was the standard of a truly skilled assassin, and she had always operated in this way. To her, assassination was a nuanced craft, and she despised those who resorted to gratuitous slaughter, leaving chaos and loose ends in their wake. She would never acknowledge such reckless actions as bona fide assassinations.
Rao Shuang felt that everything was going wrong these last few days. Today was the fifth day since she had arrived in Meizhou, but she still hadn’t found an opportunity to draw close to Zhou Ye, the richest man in all of Meizhou.
As a Heaven-ranker assassin, spending five days without getting any closer to completing her mission was causing Rao Shuang to become increasingly annoyed.
First thing that morning, Rao Shuang captured a servant from the Zhou residence who was out buying groceries. After an interrogation, she once again confirmed that the Drunken Flower was Zhou Ye's favorite place to visit.
After learning that Zhou Ye often visited the Drunken Flower, she decided to pose as a dancer there. She was confident that as long as Zhou Ye saw her perform even once, she could finally get close to him.
With practiced ease, she slit the servant’s throat, used the servant’s clothes to wipe her bloody hands, and disposed of the body. She then headed toward the Drunken Flower.[1]
When Rao Shuang stepped onto the central stage, she was startled to feel a gaze suddenly fixated upon her, completely different from the others. It was as if a hawk had discovered a rabbit on the prairie.
The gaze came from the second floor. She looked up to find a sharp look directed at her. As she locked eyes with the man, it felt as though a blade had scraped across her face. However, he soon turned away, sheathing the glaring blade.
Rao Shuang pulled her gaze away, aware that someone had sensed something about her. Since they decided not to get involved, she also acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary and began her dance.
On stage, Flowerless Butterfly moved like a butterfly dancing among flowers. Throughout it all, she never let that man leave the periphery of her vision. She noticed that he and his companion quickly finished their meal. Before they left the Drunken Flower, he intentionally looked back at her, that glance was also a warning.
Even after Rao Shuang returned to her temporary residence from her performance at the Drunken Flower, she still felt deeply unsettled by those eyes. That man is very, very dangerous, she told herself.
Rao Shuang tossed and turned all night, unable to feel at ease. She abhorred being unable to control the minutiae of her missions. Any variable beyond her control could lead to the ultimate failure of her mission. Restless, she donned a large cloak and set out to gather more information.
By chance, she glimpsed the man who rankled her from the previous day at the city gate. He was preparing to leave the city with a team of escorts. Could that person be an armed escort? she wondered as she hid in an alley.
Just as she thought this, he suddenly stopped his horse and looked back in her direction. Rao Shuang’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly hid behind a wall. After a while, when she dared to peek out again, the man and the escort team had already disappeared down the road outside the city.
What bad luck to encounter such a formidable opponent during this mission to Meizhou, Rao Shuang brooded. Although she was walking back to her residence while that person was leaving the city, her expression was dark and her anxiety grew stronger still.
Shortly after Ye Beizhi and his group left Meizhou.
"Meizhou… If I’m not mistaken, this should be the place the bandit chief mentioned," murmured the solitary man. Standing in front of the Meizhou city gate, he held a smoking pipe in hand and contemplated the bustling city before him.
1. The author originally wrote that she snapped the servant's neck, but I believe he meant to say she slit his throat, since there wouldn't normally be a deluge of blood from a neck snapping. ☜
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