Temptress of Fates_A Legends of Tivara Story by JC Kang

Author:JC Kang [Kang, JC]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

It wasn’t the first, and probably wouldn’t be the last time Jie was being followed.

Unlike previous occasions, however, her current stalker was doing a decent job of avoiding detection. Whenever she’d almost caught a direct glimpse of him in a reflective surface, he’d duck behind a store signboard, or the handful of city folk headed home for the day. The skill hinted at Black Lotus trailing techniques, and after a run-in with a supposedly dead former member, it was impossible to rule it out.

Most likely, though, it was another street urchin, following her at the behest of the mysterious Fixer Zhang. No matter how omniscient Fixer Zhang wanted to portray himself, he hadn’t known about Lord Shi’s invitation to Lord Wu’s moons-viewing party. So, let her tail believe she was just following the original plan, to meet Lord Shi at his home. The less accurate the information he reported back to Fixer Zhang, the better leverage Jie would have for finding out the rest of Lilian’s story.

There, she’d admitted it to herself. She was putting her own need to know ahead of the clan’s mission. Worse, she was using cell assets. She hadn’t even told them. And the guilt was pricking at her.

With a sigh, she turned the corner into the warren of courtyard homes. The paved streets were wide enough for ten people to walk abreast, though now, only a couple of people remained outside. All the houses were nice, but not extravagant, probably belonging to mid-level government officials or very minor lords. Really, it was well below the level of wealth expected for the hereditary ruler of a county.

Then again, the North was the poorest region in the realm, which might’ve been why Lord Ting had resorted to selling illegal yue, and why the Triads in the Trench had gotten Lilian to kill him.

With fewer hiding places, Jie’s stalker fell back, occasionally poking his head out from beyond a corner in the distance. He probably didn’t realize how elf vision could pick out his shape in the dark.

Up ahead, at the front gate of a house, metal whispered across stone as a knife sharpener worked behind a pushcart. A light bauble hanging from its frame formed a bubble of illumination around him, and also shined on a male servant at the threshold. The craftsman handed a cleaver back, and received a few coins, which he slipped into a pouch. The servant disappeared back behind the gates.

Black Lotus training taught to maintain distance from sharp objects, so Jie gave the sharpener a wide berth.

He turned to her and held out a small package wrapped in grey cloth. She froze, and he grunted and extended it again.

“What is it?” No doubt, it was a gift from Fixer Zhang.

“I don’t know,” he said in a gruff voice, throwing up his hands. “I was just told to give it to a girl in a grey dress.”

So the mule had seen her departure from the Peony Garden, or at least heard it from her tail.

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