“Your daddy has the most powerful martial arts in the world. Do you?” Exasperated and amused, Feng Zhi Wei ruffled the little girl’s hair, a bit at a loss by the little girl’s determination to blindly follow her daddy in everything. She started to wonder if she should ask Gu Nan Yi to give the child to her to raise. If she kept on following Gu Nan Yi, then there is a high chance that she would grow up to be a big weirdo. 

Gu Zhi Xiao yawned, her body relaxing into Feng Zhi Wei’s arms, held up the cage, and said, “I have cage.” 

Feng Zhi Wei signed, thought about it, and felt that since the child was already like this, instead of trying to correct it, they might as well teach her to better protect herself. She took the cage and said, “I see you are not familiar with this cage, then how can you protect your daddy? Come, I will teach you how to kill people.” Then she began to dismantle the cage with great interest. 

A maidservant had come right at that moment to fill the teapot and stumbled upon hearing those very calm but very fierce words. Then she saw the three-year-old child, in an even more calm and leisurely manner asked Feng Zhi Wei as she helped to dismantle the cage, “How about adding poison to the bamboo sticks?” 

“What poison?”

Gu Zhi Xiao fished around her pockets, pulled out a black bottle, and gloated as she poured out a bunch of pills, “I stole it from Uncle Zhong.” 

The maid staggered out of the room as if she were running away from something fierce. With a cough, tea came spewing out of Feng Zhi Wei’s mouth. 

That night, the light in Gu Zhi Xiao’s room stayed on for a long time. The busy figures of two people, one big and one small, were reflected on the window paper. From time to time, low chilling and bizarre exchanges would float out. 

“….sharpen it, sharpen it…”

“…I think we should add a groove here so blood wouldn’t dirty the cage…”

“…this poison could only kill a bird, don’t want it…” 

“…empty cage would cause people to be suspicious…”

“…add a bird…”

“…no bird is this big…” 

“…the kind that makes coocoo sounds, I have seen them, very big, one eye open and one eye close…” 

“….owls?” 

“…yes?” 

“……..”

When the day was about to dawn, an improved cage design to kill sat on the ground. Feng Zhi Wei and Gu Zhi Xiao were sleeping in a tangled mess. Gu Zhi Xiao had a hand gripping Feng Zhi Wei’s belt, her face buried in her abdomen, with a monkey still in the other hand, soaking an area of Feng Zhi Wei’s clothes with her saliva. 

At dawn, Gu Nan Yi floated down from the tree outside of Gu Zhi Xiao’s room. Pushing open the door silently, Gu Nan Yi put the cage further away from the two women, tossed the monkey away, covered the two with a quilt, and stuffed a piece of cloth into Gu Zhi Xiao’s wide-open mouth– her saliva was almost drowning Feng Zhi Wei. 

After an hour, people in the courtyard were shouting and horses were neighing as they prepared to leave. The door opened with a swish, Feng Zhi Wei came out with a cage in her hand, and an expression of pain on her face as she shook her soaking wet lapels! She muttered, “Coaxing children is really not a job Auntie Feng is suitable for.” 

She walked out of the door, turned through the moon-shaped arch, and went back to her room to change her clothes. Coming out, she shook the cage in her hand and said to Ah Si who was waiting for orders in the courtyard, “Yesterday, Ah Liu was in charge of keeping watch, today it’s your turn. When we go past the next big town, remember to go buy an owl. Since you helped maked this cage, you should be fine holding it, be careful.” 

“Ah.” Ah Si’s mouth fell open with, “Owl?”

Feng Zhi Wei had already shoved the cage into his arms without further explanation. Ah Si surveyed the cage, his eyes big and wide as he muttered, “Owl?” before wandering out like a lost soul. 

The caravan continued to move forward. Feng Zhi Wei learned from yesterday’s lesson and did not notify the government officials of the cities they were approaching. In the afternoon, the caravan passed Fan County, more than 100 miles away from the Imperial Capital. Seeing that there was a barren forest ahead, to be on the safe side, Feng Zhi Wei ordered the caravan to stop for rest ahead of schedule. After making sure the caravan was settled, Ah Si, mindful of the task Feng Zhi Wei had given him, took some men with him to go searching for an owl to purchase in the market. However, how would a rumored ferocious and unlucky strange bird be found in an ordinary flower bird market. (There are day markets that specialize in selling flowers and birds. Pretty songbirds are usually the type of birds found in these kinds of markets so their owner can go walking the street with their precious pet in a bird cage, meet up with fellow bird owners, and show off. Understandably, owls don’t quite fit the picture.)

A face full of shame, Ah Si came back empty-handed after wandering around half a day and reported back to Feng Zhi Wei. Feng Zhi Wei listened half-heartedly and said with a laugh, “Everyone said you are so clever yet why are you so one track mind today? You can’t find one in the market but isn’t there a barren forest ahead? Just go and catch one there.” 

“I did think about it.” Ah Si said with a smile, “But I am in charge of the guard duty today and dare not leave your side easily so probably other guards go.” 

“It’s fine.” Feng Zhi Wei smiled and said, “The envoy team has 2,000 guards. This is also a peaceful time. Fan County is not far from the Imperial Capital and has always been stable, what kind of trouble can there be? You go ahead, if you are delayed too long then Zhi Xiao will start to make a fuss again.” 

Letting out another smile, she said, “I did hear that the barren forest is hunted. Be careful not to be dragged away by ghosts. Otherwise, I will lose a very capable subordinate.” 

“I have never been afraid of ghosts.” Ah Si smiled, “People are much scarier than ghosts.” With that, he led a few of his men and hurried away. 

Feng Zhi Wei stood in the corridor with her hands clasped behind her back, watching his figure disappear outside of the door with a hint of a smile on her lips. Suddenly, she looked up at the tree and said, “Nan Yi, tonight’s weather is very comfortable. Do you want to go out for a walk?” 

The leaves moved, and some walnut crumbs fell on her head. Feng Zhi Wei smiled faintly, her eyes reflected the light and shadow of the setting sun, like the rippling waves on the water. 

Three miles away from Fan County there is a barren forest. In the early years, there were still some people who lived near the forest. Later, a young widow hanged herself in the forest, and gradually, rumors of ghosts spread. People from the surrounding area moved away one by one until the forest became deserted. 

No one had come for a long time, the woods were covered with weeds and dead vines. The moon rose coldly from behind the mountain, shining on those gnarled vines, like a net covered with dust. 

The night birds cried mournfully, their black wings skimming across the floating clouds under the fading blue moonlight, scattering a few clusters of iron-blue mist that condensed on the bottom of the treetop leaves, like a floating ghosty mist.

This is indeed a place even ghosts wouldn’t be willing to come. 

At the edge of the barren forest, two figures appeared. 

“Just running through this mountain would be the death of a horse…” One of them grunted, looking for a viable path through the gaps of those vines. 

The other person floated calmly on the vines, looking left and right with a leisurely attitude, a stark contrast to the embarrassing state of his companion. 

The one who couldn’t stop hoping around the gaps among the vines to avoid those ghastly bugs, gave the person behind her a somewhat resentful glance, thinking inwardly that those who are too honest are just like this– they never know why they should give you a hand. 

Just as she was grumbling inwardly, she suddenly felt her world spinning. 

In a flash, the vines on the ground suddenly rushed up to the heavens and then right to her eyes, so close she could brush away a mountain ant crawling on the vines by just blinking her eyelashes. 

After a moment, she belatedly realized that a certain someone had easily tucked her under his arms. 

Needless to say, someone finally figured out when to help— just not in the right way. 


All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com

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