Chapter 5: Replica

[5 Years Later]

The city of QingHu was a bustling trade center of the Xin Empire. Apart from the Capital of Jing, QingHu was one of the most prosperous cities of the Empire. It was the place that merchants liked to come to most. It was a place where thousands of silver coins changed hands every day.

That is not to say, it didn't have its ugly sides either. While the center of the city was bustling, beautiful and dazzling, the further you got from the center, the more one would witness the atmosphere becoming grim. The wealthiest stayed at the center, the well-to-do around them, and then the common people and then…. You get the edge. The alleys. The nooks and crannies. The dregs of society. The places where thieves, robbers, killers and mercenaries ran rampant.

Those places were bustling too. At different times and in different ways. The trade was not limited to the center, of course. The businesses in these places were also booming. The higher you paid, the better services you got. After all, there was no scarcity of people that wanted to steal, rob and kill but did not want to get their hands dirty.

Usually, there was an invisible yet distinct line between the residents of these places and the rest of the city, as is the case in all places. They did not openly mingle with each other, the exception being the poor peasants near the edge. Of course, sneaking about secretly was another thing. There was no way these dregs of society would see the splendor of the city and not have their hands itch to grab at some of it. Some of them even made spaces for themselves in little corners all over the city.

Now, there was one exception to the rule. The Spring Festival. The festival of joy and abundance, where it was considered a bad omen to exclude anyone from taking part in the festivities. So, everyone would clean themselves up and put on their best clothes before going to the festival. Everyone would go at least once. Of course, there were different spaces for different groups of people. While others usually mingled, the common people and aforementioned dregs were not allowed in the spaces of the elites. And said elites did not usually go to what they considered a disgusting place filled with insects.

This was why, the sight of two men decked in expensive clothes with a regal air about them walking through the simple and, quite frankly, poorer parts of the festival was a strange sight. They attracted quite a lot of attention. Both good and bad. Those who usually waited in the dark to find someone wealthy to rob were practically salivating at the sight. But … no one dared approach them. Not only because they looked like they could snap anyone's neck with their bare hands but also because of the swords they carried at their waists. These - combined with their warrior-like appearances - kept most of them far away.

Most of them.

A small, daring body weaved through the crowd, approaching the two figures with a sort of hasty caution. It didn't take long for the child to reach them. After waiting for several moments to find an opening, the figure pounced, a small hand reaching out towards the pouch of the man who seemed slightly smaller of the two and, thus, less dangerous.

However, before that small hand could reach the pouch, the man abruptly turned around and wrapped his big, calloused fingers around the thin wrist, before looking down at the child. Surprise flashed in both sets of eyes as they faced each other, though for entirely different reasons.

The man looked at the child he had caught. Originally, he was planning on giving him a stern talking-to before letting the child go. However, now, looking at the little boy who might as well have been taken from the past and placed in front of him - a smaller image of that person - he paused, surprised, and stared at those familiar golden eyes.

The boy's surprise quickly gave way to fear before a sly look flashed in those cat-like eyes. That look was so familiar that the man's breath caught in his throat. He was not ready for what happened next.

"AH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LET GO OF ME, YOU PERVERT!!!" The boy's scream echoed throughout the whole street, making everyone in the vicinity turn to look at them. Whispers started among the people, and they started pointing and frowning. The man immediately let go as if he had been burned, looking around as people started gather, muttering and whispering as they gazed at him with accusatory eyes. He swept his eyes across the crowd. He could explain but honestly, there was no point. These people would forget about this when the next shiny thing grabbed their attention.

"Ge… my lord?" A voice came from behind him. He turned to look at his companion who had gone ahead and had now come back for him. "What's happening?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just caught a little…" he turned around towards where the boy was - or rather, was supposed to be but was not, "... thief." His eyes darted around and it didn't take him long to find the little figure that was now scurrying behind one of the stalls. He smirked—quite a smart little thief.

"My lord?" His companion spoke again. "Is everything alright? We… should move. We must complete our work tonight. And… We are attracting attention."

He looked around and saw that the crowd around them still had not dispersed. Rather, it seemed to be increasing. He turned towards his companion. "Ming'er, you go ahead and take Ah-Song with you, along with some of your trusted men. I will meet you at Lord Fei's manor in the evening."

The man addressed fondly as Ming'er was curious as to what cropped up to divert the man's attention from such an important mission. But it was not in him to question his superiors. Therefore, he merely nodded and turned to disappear into the crowd. The man who was left behind also slipped from the crowd - quite easily - despite the crowd watching him. One moment he was there, the next he was not.

The man suppressed his presence and quickly searched for the boy's qi. It was faint but if he was right, he would be able to find it due to its familiarity. He concentrated his senses and … sure enough, there it was, heading towards the outskirts of the town. He frowned and followed it from a distance. The boy was fast for his age. It did not take long for him to reach his destination. The very edge of the town, outside of even the slums and the dregs.

He slowed down as the boy finally stopped. He suppressed his qi even more just in case and made his way towards where he sensed the boy. The place was an open field surrounded by woods on one side, a clear stream on one and dilapidated houses and one shabby inn on the other. He came out on the side of the woods, which was convenient for him to hide.

He watched as the boy bounced up towards the most intact house of the bunch and shouted for his mother. With his sharpened sense, he heard movement from inside the house. A moment later, a lean figure came out of the house. He tilted his head slightly to get a better view and his eyes widened.

Despite the fact that she was wearing coarse and shabby clothes, had dirt all over her and was surrounded by this poor environment, the woman who came out looked … incredibly beautiful. Perhaps because he had never seen someone like that, with brown skin, black, wavy hair and a pair of light brown eyes, which almost looked golden in the sun, but for a moment, his breath caught in his throat.

"Mama, look!" The boy's excited voice brought him out of his reverie and he looked toward the child. "Look what I got you!"

"Let me see," the woman's voice soft and yet…. something about it put him on edge, he couldn't put his finger on it. He watched as the woman extended both of her hands and the child put an assortment of things in each. There were some inexpensive trinkets and fruits on the right. And the left hand contained two pouches, a bracelet and what looked like an expensive gold ring.

The man was confused for a moment before the woman spoke. "Got caught today?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the child, making him rub the back of his head sheepishly. Only then did he realize that the ones put in the left hand were stolen goods.

"Well, there was this man I was trying to get something from. He looked really rich and I thought he wouldn't miss the pouch hanging off his waist. It seemed heavy. The man looked scary but I wanted to try…" He trailed off, his eyes darting about.

The woman chuckled and rubbed his head. "My brave little boy," she whispered softly and then she yanked his ear, making him yelp. "And stupid, too. What did I teach you? Trust your instincts. If someone looks too scary to mess with–"

"They usually are," the boy finished, grinning up at his mother.

She huffed and flicked his forehead. "If you know that, don't mess around."

She sighed.

There were a few beats of silence while she watched him closely and the boy played with a strand of his mother's hair, which the woman had tied back and secured with a few pieces of straw. The woman smiled fondly at the gesture and stroked the boy's cheek, making him smile wider. She pulled him close to her and kissed his temple. "You need to learn some discipline, my little bird. Grow up before you try to take on stronger opponents."

The boy laughed happily. "Well, I have to eat well for that, don't I?"

The woman chuckled. "Why don't you just tell me you're hungry? Go inside. I'll prepare something for you."

The boy nodded happily and ran inside. And then the man decided he had seen enough. The boy couldn't be more than eight years old. It was almost perfect timing. He could gather what had happened to bring that boy into existence. It seemed he would have to write a letter.

He then disappeared the same way he had come from, at the same speed he had arrived, unaware of the dark eyes sweeping over the canopy of trees he had just been hiding in.