Ambush

A grim-faced man on a tall roan horse appeared, with six other horsemen around him. They clattered through the streets impassively, their eyes scanning the crowd and surroundings suspiciously, one hand on their reins, the other on their sword hilts. Their uniform made it clear that they were Lord Qiao's men--the most powerful man in the country besides the royal family--and the common folks got out of their way hastily.

The man in the center had a small casket on his chest, locked and chained around his body. It was not obvious until his cloak billowed in the wind and the sun glinted on the chain wrapping around his torso. The two men on the bridge noted this immediately and looked significantly at each other, even as they seemed to casually glance at the horsemen and turn back to the river again.

The horses' hoofbeats struck against the cobbled bridge in a fierce rhythm that vibrated through Suzhen's body. She swam out a little further, eager to see what was about to take place.

As she watched in fascination, the horses clattered over the bridge. Just as they approached, the two men leaning over the bridge whirled round. In one fluid motion they snatched their swords out from the bunches of branches on their backs, and sliced through the string binding the twigs.

Their sword sheaths and the branches clattered to the ground noisily and rolled across the bridge, tripping the foremost horse. It went down with a frightened neigh, tossing its rider over its head. The other horses shied and their riders had to grab at the reins to save themselves.

The two men's swords flashed in the air as they swiftly killed rider on the ground before he could get up, and turned on the rest of the horsemen.

"Ambush!" shouted one of the horsemen, trying to turn his horse around on the narrow bridge.

The assassins leaped into the air without a word. The air whistled powerfully as they launched themselves off the ground effortlessly. They kicked one rider off his horse and cut the throat of another, before either of the horsemen had finished drawing their swords from their sheaths. By this time, the others had drawn their swords and sprang off their horses, realizing they were trapped on the small bridge otherwise.

Swords clashed as the two assassins fought with the remaining three horsemen, and the bystanders ran away in terror while the horses ran wild without their riders. Only Kang Yu stayed on his horse, skilfully maneouvering it to turn around and make his escape.

The assasins were not about to let him go so easily, however. They rushed forward and sliced the legs of his horse so that it bucked wildly, mad with pain. Kang Yu leaped off the horse as they attacked and drew his own sword.

He was cornered, and he knew it. Surrounded by the fallen bodies of his men, he leaned against the bridge while the two assassins advanced warily. They knew he was a good fighter--he was not Lord Qiao's top man for nothing. But he was hampered by the casket.

"Hand it over," they snarled. "Or we'll hack it from your body together with those chains."

"You'll find my body isn't that easy to hack," Kang Yu said coldly. His sword glittered as he drew it slowly before him.

As they were about to rush him, the sharp twang of arrows hissed through the air, and one of the assassins staggered back with a startled expression on his face. An arrow quivered from his chest. He fell to his knees, choking.

"You see, Lord Qiao has his men following me. I'm not as ill equipped as you think. Care to think twice about hacking me to pieces?"

Kang Yu closed with the second assassin, who charged him with a fierce shout. "Give me the casket," the assassin gasped as they fought. "You don't have a chance. We have men coming."

Running footsteps swarmed up the bridge as Huang appeared, leading a posse of men with their swords drawn. Even as Kang Yu flung aside the second assassin's body he looked up to see them bearing down on him.

He disappeared in a storm of blades as they engulfed him. More arrows hissed through the air, striking down a few, but became unclear if Kang Yu could last until the time Lord Qiao's men arrived on the scene.

Suzhen watched on breathlessly, trying to see who would win this desperate game of politics and power.

The men drew back slightly to ward off the arrows that were flying towards them with their swords. Kang Yu emerged, half kneeling on his sword, leaning againstthe bridge for support. He was badly wounded. Blood was pooling on the ground beneath him from several slashes.

The chain had been hacked open, leaving a gaping wound on his shoulder, but he clutched the casket tightly to himself still with one hand, his sword in the other.

"Hand over the casket," Huang said sternly, pointing his sword at him. "I will let you die a quick death, instead of facing Lord Qiao's wrath."

Kang Yu smiled, an odd little smile. Slumping back against the bridge, as if he was tired, he sat there breathing heavily, feeling the warm blood trickling through his fingers from under the casket he held pressed to his chest. "I'm going to die anyway. What do I care about your mercy? Or Lord Qiao's wrath?" he said slowly.

For a man staring death in the face, he was unnaturally calm. "We're all fools, you know." he said with an effort. He waved his sword vaguely in their direction. "Look at us. Dying and killing for our masters, men who don't care shit about us. What did I go through all this for?"

With a short, dry laugh that made him wince in pain, Kang Yu let go of his sword. It clattered to the ground, scattering flecks of blood.

"You all want this, don't you? Well, let's end this once and for all. I'm tired of all this." Releasing the casket from the broken chains still wreathed around it, he opened it, with a strangely dreamy look in his eyes, through the blood spattering his face.