‘She’s a thief!’ he growled, throwing another would-be hero off his back.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the serving woman cutting away Li Feng’s bonds with a kitchen knife. Li Feng wrestled the iron rings past her knuckles with no more effort than a couple of twists and turns. The chain was left behind in the grass like a lifeless black snake.
Damn his stupidity. With her training, he should have guessed she had that ability.
Han freed himself in time to see his former prisoner galloping into the distance, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
Chapter Four
L
i Feng walked through the front door of the public bath house, slipped the host a quick coin to assuage any protests about impropriety, and entered the dark and tepid interior.
Business was slow early in the morning. The day labourers and tradesmen who served as regular customers were hard at work, leaving the communal bath and lounging areas nearly empty. Steam hovered over a wide pool where several bathers, all male, lay soaking. No one gave her more than a cursory glance.
She slipped through the adjacent chambers, finally finding what she was looking for behind a bamboo screen.
Thief-catcher Han was reclined in a wooden tub behind the screen. His legs were bent, pulling his knees above the water line. His eyes were closed, head rested back against the rim, and his hair was untied and loose about his face. The effect, combined with the fullness of his lips, was disturbingly sensual.
It had been two days since her escape and she’d managed to evade him while still remaining close. She had been tied up and tossed about too many times by this scoundrel. This time, she had him at her mercy.
Han didn’t open his eyes even as she stood over him. His breathing remained deep and relaxed. It must be wonderful to feel so confident in one’s skin. To feel so safe without fear perpetually hanging overhead.
A light mist hung in the air. Through it, Li Feng let her eyes roam over the bared contours of his chest and shoulders, confirming what she’d known from the few times they’d battled. Zheng Hao Han was made of hard, unyielding muscle. The dark line of a scar curved from below his collar bone to disappear over his shoulder. It was the remnant of a blow that had just missed his throat. She found herself wondering who had made the wound and with what weapon?
She had practiced fighting stances for thousands upon thousands of days, had been forced to defend herself many times with the knife and the sword, yet she’d never suffered serious injury. It reminded her that Han had knowledge that she didn’t—knowledge of fierce battles survived—and that she should never overlook that or underestimate him.
‘A private bath, thief-catcher?’ she remarked lightly.
His eyes snapped open and he started, sending a cascade of water splashing on to the floorboards.
‘Wen Li Feng,’ he choked out. His hand gripped the edge of the tub and his muscles tensed all up his arm and throughout his body.
There was something both vulnerable yet undeniably virile about the sight of Han naked. Her tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth. She attributed the warmth creeping up the back of her neck to the steam that surrounded her, dampening her skin. Needless to say, she was no longer thinking about battle scars.
She worked to keep her gaze on his face. ‘Your work must be quite profitable.’
His breathing had quickened and he fought to regain his composure. ‘You should be careful of your reputation, Miss Wen. Everyone will assume you are here to provide me an intimate service.’
Men’s bodies weren’t unknown to her. Li Feng had lived in close quarters with other performers. She might have lost her first kiss along with her virginity recently, but even before that she’d simply never learned to be shy. Despite having had a lover in the past, it was still a shock to see Thief-catcher Han’s naked form.
The two of them had wrestled, fought and had so much physical contact that now the sight of him unclothed completed the picture. Her knowledge of his body was nearly as intimate as a lover’s.
She moved to stand over him. All that shielded him from her view was a layer of bath water and the haze of steam. Neither the water nor the steam was clouded enough.
An unwelcome heat flooded her cheeks. She hoped it wasn’t accompanied by a blush that Han could see. Li Feng had chosen this particular location to confront him so she could finally have the thief-catcher at a disadvantage and she hated the thought of losing it.
‘You should know that I can track you as easily as you can track me.’
Han made no effort to curl up his knees to hide that part of himself. ‘You are relying on my sense of modesty to prevent me from capturing you right now,’ he said as he started to rise.
With a flick of her hand, she unsheathed the short sword hidden beneath her sleeve and pressed the tip to his chest. ‘I’m relying on this blade.’
His gaze remained on her, unflinching, but he did sink back into the tub. ‘Have you ever killed anyone, Miss Wen?’
She cocked her head. ‘You can be my first,’ she said with a smile.
His eyes darkened at that and the air thickened between them. She suddenly wished she had brought a longer blade. The length of the sleeve sword kept her too close to him. The point of it remained over his heart, pressing firmly against flesh without breaking skin. He seemed unafraid. She, by contrast, was suddenly very afraid. Not of him, but rather the skip of her pulse.
‘It is customary for disciples to take on the name of their
shifu,
’ he continued, as if they were conversing over tea. ‘Wen Zhong is the name of a renowned master of the
Wudang sword style and rumoured to be a disciple of the Sword Immortal. I wondered if he was the one who trained you.’
‘I told you, I have no master. Why won’t you be done with it?’
‘I’m—’ He appeared troubled. ‘I’m curious about you.’
She didn’t quite know how to take that, but her stomach fluttered as his dark eyes moved over her. ‘For someone with the sword skills of a butcher, you seem to have much interest in the martial world.’
‘Even a butcher can appreciate an artist. I have respect for the old sword masters.’
Her master had chosen a solitary life of study and meditation which had been interrupted when he found her abandoned in the wilderness. When Li Feng had left him to seek out her past, she had vowed to herself not to drag him back into the affairs of the world. With so many rebellions, any form of training was looked upon with suspicion. Many of the ancient sects continued to teach in secret, becoming protective of their techniques and passing them on to a few select pupils.
‘Stay away from me,’ she warned. ‘And you should be careful when out in the open. There are many of the rivers and lakes who would consider it a great triumph to kill you.’
‘I’ll lose face if I let you go,’ he said. ‘My reputation is at stake.’
‘You have a reputation for being a mercenary and a
scoundrel!’
He shrugged. Smiled. It was said that Thief-catcher Han had friends in every town and connections in high and low places. He was relentless, a touch arrogant and charming through it all.
‘You came here only to deliver that warning?’ he asked.
‘I don’t care what happens to you, thief-catcher. You took something from me and I want it back.’
His clothes were stacked on the stool beside the tub. He reached out and searched through the folds with one hand until he found her jade pendant.
‘A phoenix,’ he remarked. ‘Like your name.’
She kept her expression flat. ‘Give it to me.’
He caressed his thumb idly over the surface, the gesture unmistakably sensual, before tossing it to her. She caught it with her left hand, still keeping her sword trained on him.
‘Till next we meet,’ he said softly.
‘This will be the last time,’ she declared.
With the jade back in her possession, Li Feng had the link she needed to search for her past. This time she wouldn’t let anyone deter her, not a smooth-tongued rebel nor a relentless thief-catcher. She grabbed his clothes and threw them out the window before turning to leave.
* * *
The sword dancer disappeared after the incident at the bath house. None of his informants could locate her. A young woman travelling alone would have been easily noticed, but Li Feng didn’t appear at any more jade shops or inns or any of the common hideouts for those who made their home on the road. The worst of it was she could be anywhere. The
rugged terrain of the province provided a landscape of mountains and valleys where outlaws could hide away from civil authorities. It was one of the reasons his profession was so lucrative in this region.
Li Feng had spoken of the world of rivers and lakes. It was a phrase common among outlaws that referred to the forests and open land outside the government-controlled cities as well as the unspoken code this community of dissidents abided by. The rivers-and-lakes world was a place of disorder and a dangerous world for a woman. It was a dangerous world for anyone.
As a thief-catcher, Han existed at the border between civility and lawlessness. It could even be said that he had thrived in it. To track down the most notorious of criminals, he needed to venture into their domain. Yet for this case, even his underworld confidants knew nothing.
According to the official account, the heist had been carefully organised and it was suspected that there were many hands involved. Han had assumed that he would find Li Feng and, through her, he’d track down the rest of them. But Li Feng had escaped and there was no sign of any accomplices.
The odd collection of musicians and dancers that had been imprisoned along with Li Feng proved to be harmless, just as he’d originally suspected. They had told him that she was a new addition to their troupe. She was a drifter and seemed to have moved among several different sets of performers. But she was trustworthy, they insisted. When their wagon had needed repairs, Li Feng had volunteered the funds without hesitation. She had paid in silver from her own stash.
Silver. If that sort of money wasn’t suspect enough, her pointed remarks about General Wang couldn’t be ignored.
Han had no choice but to return to the place where the theft had occurred and renew his investigation there.
* * *
When he reached the capital city of Taining, his search for the jade thieves proved much easier than anticipated.
One was being readied for execution in the public square.
The prisoner was kneeling, head bowed. His face had all but disappeared beneath a dark mask of bruised flesh. What was left was swollen beyond recognition. He wore a torn, stained tunic and leggings. A sizeable crowd had gathered around him. Depending on the nature of the crime, one could expect to hear taunts or insults from the onlookers, but in this case, the crowd remained quiet with no more sound than a tense murmur.
Han was surprised to see a broadsword in the executioner’s hands. Beheading was a particularly cruel punishment. It not only took the life of the accused, but defiled his body for the afterlife.
The executioner went to stand behind the condemned man and Han moved away, leaving the crowd behind to gawk as they would. He had witnessed one execution in his life and felt little need to witness another. He was far enough to avoid the thud of the blade, but not far enough to miss the collective gasp of the crowd, their voices united to expel the single breath they’d held since the executioner had raised his weapon.
It wasn’t the violence of death that disturbed him as much as the severity of the sentence given the crime. The code of law outlined specific punishments depending on the crime as well as the circumstances surrounding it, but sentencing was left to the discretion of the magistrate. Perhaps it was necessary to be harsh in these remote parts where lawlessness was more rampant.
Han sought out the magistrate’s yamen, hoping to gain access to the case report, but he wasn’t admitted much further than the front gates. He wasn’t all that surprised. A thief-catcher was slightly above a peasant or a day labourer in society and his presence was tolerated by the bureaucracy as an unpleasant necessity. He did manage to locate the constable who was on duty.
‘Zheng Hao Han?’ the constable echoed upon introductions.
The stout, middle-aged man looked over Han’s plain robe and the
dao
at his side, but gave no indication that he recognised the name.
‘I am looking into the matter regarding the jade thieves,’ Han began.
‘Ah! One of those scoundrels was executed just today.’
‘None of the others have been caught?’
‘Not one. They’ve probably run far away by now, if they have any sense.’
‘Then it was fortunate you were able to catch this one.’
The constable shook his head. ‘Not I. I have enough responsibility watching over the streets of this city.’
Surprisingly, the man seemed unconcerned about what was likely the most serious crime in his jurisdiction. The constable had a duty to pursue the culprits in a timely manner. Han stepped carefully as he tried to glean more information.
The crime had actually occurred one town over, a day’s travel from here. The shipment was accompanied by an armed security escort, which meant the thieves were bold enough to face trained fighters to get to the riches.
‘But no sword was ever drawn,’ the constable recounted. ‘They crept in, overpowered the night watch, and carried away enough jade to buy a palace. No one saw anything.’
‘No one was harmed? There were no injuries?’ Han questioned.
‘None.’
That was fortunate, for the sword dancer’s sake. ‘I had heard that the main suspects were a group of performers.’
‘Dancers and musicians!’ The constable sniffed sceptically. ‘They were drifters who were passing through. Easy to lay the blame on them.’
‘You had mentioned that you were not involved in the arrest.’
‘It was General Wang’s men that caught him.’ The constable shook his head. ‘Unfortunate fellow.’
Han bowed and thanked the constable. He was a stranger to this city, with no prior established contacts. So his next step was to visit the local tavern to make a few friends. There he learned a few details not in the report. Wang had a bounty for any man who recovered the jade or reported the thieves. The general had also sent several squadrons through the city as well as to adjacent towns to search for the stolen goods.
On the third cup of wine, two soldiers entered the tavern and came directly to his table. ‘General Wang looks forward to meeting the famous thief-catcher in person.’
Apparently the constable
had
recognised him. Han glanced up at the soldiers, who stood grim-faced and fully equipped with armour and weapons.