[ B ] - Ninja Ambush At The House

Just outside the entrance, Zi Lai had a feeling that something was wrong. He went back inside, and saw people running around on the roof.

"Who are they?" he thought. They must be thieves. But since when do thieves come in large numbers, and since when do they have such skills? They're definitely not thieves. They're more like…professional assassins. And that means they are after Alex Cheng's life. Zi quickly ran back to the house.

Jade remained in the closet for the duration of time, shivering and shaking all over. Two ninjas came into the room. They rummaged through Alex's furniture and personal belongings. Jade swallowed hard as they searched. Her life is on the line, and if she is so much as to sneeze, she is doomed.

Alex went outside to the yard and quickly jumped into the well. He held on to the rope, and did his best to not make any noises.

En Lo consulted with one of his ninjas. "Did you find anything yet?"

"Not yet, my lord." He bowed.

"Well, keep searching. We saw him go into the house, and we have this place surrounded, so there is no means of escape."

"Right away." The ninja ran and went into the main building.

En Lo loitered around, observing the environment. "Could he be hiding?" he wondered.

Alex pulled himself up, grabbing the edge of the well. In a crouching position, he took out his sword as silently as possible.

"So that is where you are." En Lo said without looking.

"Uh."

En Lo turned around, throwing a dart at him. Whap. He caught it. En drew a sword.

"Hmm, not bad." Alex commented. "You can sense me even if I am completely silent."

"Hmph, please. I am trained in the art of ninjitsu. No matter how sneaky you are, I can sense you."

Alex jumped and slashed. Clang. Their blades collided. Then they backed away. An expert can judge an opponent's strength from the very first hit. It shows the warrior's power and balance. They both conclude that their opponent is strong. They continued their fight, exchanging a few more moves.

Now, Alex and En were approximately ten paces from each other. They both got into fighting stance, preparing to charge. Alex had his blade pointed forward, while En kept his horizontal and close to his chest. The wind blew hard. Tree leaves fell. A certain leaf landed on the ground - it was so quiet one can hear the leaves fall. Suddenly, they charged.

Slash!!

Both were hit in the upper arm. Alex saw drops of blood on the floor – and it was his own. En covered up his wound. A slice of his suit was exposing his skin.

En stuck two fingers into his mouth and whistled. It was a signal for his men to

come. Alex was aware of that, but before he could move a step, ninjas were behind him.

"Damn." Alex said. He looked around. Ninjas came from the side. He was completely surrounded, and he realized that he is just moments away from death.

Back in the bedroom, the two intruding ninjas searched on. "We have not checked the closet." one of the ninjas said.

Jade feared for her life. Her heart beat suddenly went up ten times faster. It was beating faster as the ninja approached. Just when he touched the closet door, they heard the whistle.

One told the other to go outside while he remained.

Jade sighed in relief. This bought her time...but if she remains inside, she's only prolonging the inevitable. She saw that there's one person left and thought she had a chance to kill him. But she never took a life before. Her hands were trembling and stone cold. Her heart was beating so much she thought it'd pop out of her chest.

She took a deep breath and relaxed. She counted in her mind - three... two... one...go! The door slammed opened, she jumped out and stabbed the ninja in the chest.

"Ugh!" He was caught totally by surprise. He fell and she landed on top of him. She made an attempt at his neck, but he grabbed her arm. She stabbed his lower arm, and he screamed in agony. And then - schleb. She struck him in the neck, and blood squirted out like a fountain.

Jade got up and took a few steps back. She was scared as hell and her heart was still pounding. It took her a few seconds to absorb what just happened. She just killed a man. Indeed. Committed a murder. Even though he's a ninja, she still did not feel right killing him. She gasped and did not want to stare the blood any longer, and ran away from the room.

Alex fought a desperate battle. Ninjas came and attacked, and he hit them. Slash, slash. More of them came. He blocked them while retreating. *Cling! Clang! * He kicked the ninja and knocked him down. Thud. He jumped, putting his foot on the wooden column, and sprang himself up to the roof. The ninjas followed suit.

"Damn it!" Alex exclaimed. "Why do you want my life?!"

One ninja ran, while two others jumped. He blocked one running, and the ones in the air slashed. He rolled away, receiving a cut on the arm.

"Ugh."

They continued to attack, and one kicked Alex, making him fall to the ground. Thud. He got back on his feet immediately. There were too many in front of him and he cannot guard them all.

"Hmph. Say your prayers, rogue. This is the end of the line for you." said En Lo.

Alex kept his guard up. (Is this the end of my life? I still have not accomplished many things!)

En Lo said, "Finish him off."

One ninja in the group attacked. Alex was waiting for him to come, and suddenly an arrow hit him in the neck, and he died right after collapsing. His eyes were wide open, while his blood formed a pool.

"What?!" En Lo said in surprise.

Everyone looked up. Alex was shocked. Zi Lai held a bow, carrying a quiver of arrows in his back. "You guys are having a party without me? How rude!"

"An interference. Kill him and Cheng."

Alex wasted no time, he attacked while the ninjas were distracted. *Slice* He fought four or five in succession. Zi jumped down from the roof and fought the rest of them. En Lo watched in anger and frustration.

Zi threw his quiver at a ninja, he caught it. While distracted, Zi jumped up high and cut his head.

As swords collided everywhere, a knife came out from the door way and hit a ninja on the head, and he collapsed. It was Jade.

Alex said, "Jade? I thought I told you to stay inside."

En Lo said, "Kill the woman too."

The ninjas stared at her. Jade shrieked and ran back inside. Alex stood in the ninjas' way. "Back off. No one hurts her." *Clang* Moving his arm so much made the wound open up. More blood dripped. "Ugh. Damn it."

Zi ran to his friend's aid immediately. Doosh doosh. He kicked the ninjas out of the way, and pushed them back.

En saw an opening and attacked Alex. Alex blocked but wasn't fast enough for the second hit. Slash. He was hit in the stomach. "Aaaaagh!" Blood squirted, he fell on his knees.

Zi got in front of Alex. Suddenly, Jade came out, holding a rake and charged and screamed and charged wildly. "Yaaaaaaah. How is this for size?"

The ninjas stepped back. Jade stood next to Zi.

(These are no ordinary swordsman. This man who helped Cheng has superb skills.) He smiled reluctantly. "You are lucky this time. Next time your lives will not be spared." He made a hand signal, and the ninjas retreated - they ran and jumped over the back gate. Then En Lo followed suit. They were all gone within seconds. Ninjas were trained to be fast and deadly.

Alex groaned from the pain. He had three cuts in total and he was losing blood fast. Jade and Zi were horrified.

"Are you alright, Alex?" Jade asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. These are but minor scratches."

"We need to take you to a doctor immediately." Zi said.

"No." said the fallen hero. "Not a doctor. They will surely find me again."

"Who are those guys anyway? Why do they want you dead?" Zi asked.

"I am not sure, but I have an idea of that man's identity." He took out a golden badge-like object.

Jade and Zi stared at it in surprise. "What is this?"

"It is the imperial seal." Alex responded.

"Imperial seal? That means they are royal troops?" said Zi.

"Yes. I stole it from that man when I was fighting him."

Suddenly, Alex and En Lo charged.

Slash!!

Both were hit in the upper arm. Alex saw drops of blood on the floor - it was his own. En Lo had a wound as well - a smaller one. But Alex got what he needed - he took something from En while in contact with him. He looked at it briefly. "No...this cannot be." he whispered to himself.

"But why would the imperial troops want you dead? What did you ever do to them?" Jade asked.

"I do not know for sure, but I have an idea. There is no time to explain." He coughed blood. "Urrrgh."

"Alex! Alex!"

His vision became blurry and the sound of Jade's voice became less and less audible and turned into a blur. His legs weakened and his body weighted ten times heavier, and he fell unconscious on the concrete.