Part Six: The Puppet Tao Hong

The butler issued one instruction after another, and his heart was brimming with delight as well. Their young master was finally to be married. Though the bridegroom was a man, anyone chosen by their notoriously troublesome young master must surely possess some extraordinary quality. At the very least, he must be able to make the young master behave.

When the people of the Xiao household heard that their young master was to be wed, every face lit up with joy. In the trade of hired killing, finding someone who could truly love you was no easy matter; such things varied from person to person.

At that moment, Xiao Jiu and Madam Xiao were discussing the style and embroidery of the wedding robe in their room. Though they were both men and the ceremony would be kept simple, since there had been precedents in their country, Xiao Jiu still wanted to keep the bridal veil. After all, he was the one who had gone to propose first, and the veil naturally ought to be kept for Forget-Long. If this matter succeeded, he would have a fine stretch of time teasing him about it. Thinking thus, Xiao Jiu smiled, the corners of his eyes curving faintly.

Madam Xiao could not help but laugh at the sight. She raised a hand and waved it before Xiao Jiu’s eyes. “Why have you drifted off again? You’re the one who came to your mother for help.”

Xiao Jiu came back to himself and scratched his head in embarrassment. “Mother, you speak. Please, go on. What were you saying just now?”

Madam Xiao reached out and pinched his cheek. “You little rascal. So you really do have a sweetheart now, and no longer want your mother.”

Xiao Jiu hurriedly protested, “How could that be? Of course Mother matters most!”

Madam Xiao could not help but smile and sigh. “You brat, your mouth is sweeter than a song. As for the veil on the wedding robe, do we keep it or not?”

At those words, Xiao Jiu imagined Forget-Long wearing a red bridal veil. His breath caught and his heartbeat skipped. Unexpectedly, it seemed perfectly fitting. A hint of fascination and amusement flashed in his eyes. “Keep it! We must keep it!”

The Xiao household moved swiftly indeed. Once Xiao Jiu had made his decision, everyone in the estate sprang into action. Everywhere one looked in the Xiao residence was red. The wedding robe was also sent out at once to be rushed by the embroiderers. Everything was ready; only the final wind was lacking.

Seeing that all preparations were complete, Xiao Jiu set out for Clear River Town to propose marriage to the Qi-Lu tavern and bring Forget-Long back to show the people of the Xiao household. He could almost see that old fox looking astonished and at a loss.

Xiao Xian specially sent a few people to accompany Xiao Jiu, and the betrothal gifts were naturally brought along as well. After taking his leave of the family, Xiao Jiu hurried eagerly toward Clear River Town.

In Clear River Town:

Almost at the very same time that Xiao Jiu set out for Clear River Town, Old Tao rushed out from his home in panic. The moment he ran into someone in the street, he would seize that person and ask, “Have you seen my daughter Tao Hong?”

Those asked shook their heads. He grabbed another. “Have you seen my daughter Tao Hong?”

“No.”

“Have you seen my daughter Tao Hong?”

He went on asking from one person to the next, but it did no good at all. By the end, the old man’s eyes were red, and his voice kept breaking. In all his life, he had only one daughter, and now she was the only family he had left.

Little Tao had been perfectly fine yesterday, and had even promised to go out and stroll with him. In all these years, father and daughter had never truly had a proper talk. Old Tao had looked forward to the next day with such joy, only to find that Tao Hong’s room was already empty, the bedding folded neatly.

The Tao household was in the opposite direction from the Qi-Lu tavern. Old Tao stumbled all the way before finally reaching the tavern.

Seeing that Old Tao seemed somewhat unwell, the Qi-Lu couple hurried over to support him. Qi-Lu asked with concern, “What happened?”

Old Tao was so anxious that he stammered, “My, my, my daughter is gone. I searched everywhere on the way here, and I never saw her.”

After hearing this, Qi-Lu was a little confused. “That child Tao Hong has always been obedient. How could she disappear all of a sudden? Did you notice anything unusual?”

Old Tao’s face was pale, his brows tightly furrowed, and his voice choked with emotion. “Just yesterday, just yesterday she said she would go out for a walk with me…”

At those words, Qi-Lu immediately felt that something was wrong. Tao Hong had always cared for her father most of all; there was no way she would vanish without a word. Judging from this, could something have happened to her? He quickly said, “Why not gather the townspeople? We can all help search together!”

In the back courtyard, Forget-Long caught bits and pieces of what the tavern workers were saying. He set down the work in his hands and walked up to Old Tao to comfort him. “Don’t panic, Uncle Tao. Let us first listen to Uncle Qi.”

Qi-Lu called out inside the tavern, “Hey, everyone, listen up. Old Tao’s daughter, Tao Hong, from our town is missing. Please ask your neighbors and help search for her. Drinks are free today, so we ask everyone to lend a hand!”

“All right, all right! I’ll get people to go look right away! No need for free drinks, Old Qi. It isn’t easy for you to run a business…”

One person answered, and the others echoed him.

“Right, right, such a big matter. Of course we should help!”

“Come on, let’s all go search, let’s all go…”

Soon the tavern emptied out. The Qi-Lu couple asked Forget-Long, whose eyesight was poor, to remain at the tavern and keep watch, and he agreed. After they left, he stood quietly by the counter and settled the accounts.

“Well, well. Why is there only one person guarding the shop today? Where did that old couple go?” An aged man, leaning on a cane, slowly shuffled over.

At the sound, Forget-Long did not pause his work. He only said, “Isn’t that something you know very well?”

The old man burst into laughter. “What nonsense are you spouting, lad?”

A flash of white light flickered between Forget-Long’s fingers, and a tiny ice needle shot straight toward the old man. The old man did not dodge. He caught it barehanded, and the ice shattered at once. Ink Bamboo curled his lip and dropped the pretense. “You’re a truly dull one. Your sister is missing, and you’re not even anxious. As expected, your lover matters a bit more.”

When Ink Bamboo’s figure shifted out of concealment and appeared again, he rested his chin in his hands and spoke softly. “So you really are blind. No wonder you’re so weak. You sent the little treasure of the Xiao family away so easily. It turns out that a mere Clear River Town carries only so much weight in your heart after all.”

After speaking, Ink Bamboo’s mouth lifted. “How about we play another game? Tonight I’ll wait for you in the woods outside Clear River Town. If you can defeat the puppet I’ve trained, I’ll return that little girl to you. What do you think?”

Before Forget-Long could answer, Ink Bamboo laughed to himself and left.

A thin layer of ice formed again beneath Forget-Long’s feet after such a long time. He gave a bitter smile. Perhaps it was time to leave Clear River Town as well. But before he went, he must bring Tao Hong back. Once he was gone, then that shadowy madman would have no reason to target Clear River Town, would he?

Some faint intuition stirred within him. The massacre of the village years ago might have something to do with this mysterious man. Otherwise, why would that person cling so persistently to him? The first time he heard the name Ye Feng, an unaccountable sense of intimacy had arisen in his heart.

If that Ye Feng truly was his father, and if the village had never been slaughtered, then would he now be able to live as ordinary people did, passing his days in plain, unremarkable ease? He thought that even if life were not half as happy as he had imagined, at the very least he would have a blood relative.

But if that were truly the case, then he would not have met Xiao Jiu. He would not have met the person he wished to cherish, to keep hidden, and to love.

Estimating the time, the Qi-Lu couple had still not returned. The whole town was quiet, probably all gone out to search for Tao Hong.

Forget-Long picked up the sword in his hand and headed toward the little woods that Ink Bamboo had mentioned. The leaves rustled endlessly. Ink Bamboo sat in a tree, took a sip of wine, and clapped his hands. Then bells began to ring from within the woods, drawing nearer and nearer at a slow, steady pace. Ink Bamboo said to Forget-Long not far away, “To tell you the truth, today will be the last day of Clear River Town. Tomorrow night I’ll have my men slaughter it. Do you think you can stop that alone?”

The ringing bells came closer still, until they stopped beneath the tree where Ink Bamboo sat. Only then did Ink Bamboo seem to remember. “Oh, I forgot, I forgot. You won’t survive tonight either. Why should I bother telling you what comes after your death? Age has made my memory poor, poor indeed!”

Forget-Long stood there with his sword, ignoring Ink Bamboo, expressionless and forbidding, looking every bit as cold and unapproachable as Ye Feng. Ink Bamboo suddenly drained the rest of his wine in one gulp. The jug smashed to pieces on the ground with a sharp crack. His eyes darkened to a bottomless gray. “Kill him!”

Ink Bamboo’s voice echoed through the woods again and again, reverberating in the puppet’s ears. The puppet murmured back, “Kill him, kill him!”

The puppet moved at once. In the blink of an eye, she flashed before Forget-Long. Her nails, long and hard as blades, stabbed straight for his left chest. Forget-Long blocked with the scabbard and borrowed the force to retreat several steps, yet even the scabbard had cracked.

He drew his sword. A faint white light shimmered along the blade. The puppet’s face twisted into a strange smile; her slightly sunken eye sockets were red, her eyes filled with terror and sorrow. She could not speak, and could only emit a few eerie cackles. Her voice was so hoarse that in the dead of night it was deeply chilling.

Unable to resist, her body lunged at Forget-Long uncontrollably. Even she herself could not make out her own voice, let alone Forget-Long. Her long nails clashed repeatedly with his sword, and she felt both her arms burning with cold. Only then did she understand why Forget-Long had never come close to her.

Tears fell without her being able to stop them. At last Forget-Long’s sword severed her terrifyingly long nails and came straight for her chest. The puppet instinctively closed her eyes, waiting for his final strike.

But Forget-Long stopped.

He called out, “Tao Hong...”

Tao Hong suddenly regained her senses and threw herself at him. Forget-Long could not dodge in time and froze there. The warm body in his arms trembled. He pushed her away and placed a white willow hairpin into her hands.

Tao Hong was sobbing so hard she could not catch her breath. Ink Bamboo on the tree let out a cold laugh. When he looked again, Tao Hong’s eyes were red as she drove that hairpin into the right side of Forget-Long’s chest.

Forget-Long was startled. Tao Hong yanked the hairpin free and ran behind him. “Father, Father, it was him! It was Forget-Long who tied me up!”