Lan Kai-Le

2019 years after The Long Night

Xibù Shataar

“It’s a simple enough job,” he said. “Deliver the Princess here and don’t ask any questions. Think you can handle that?”

The sly smirk on the shadowy man’s face only grew wider when Lan Kai-Le nodded in agreement, proceeding to hold out his hand for payment. The only thing he received was a gentle chuckle as the stranger crossed his arms.

“No. You won’t see a single coin until the girl is brought here, safe and sound…”

Lan Kai-Le hesitated, still trying to decide if the bounty was worth potentially putting a child in harms way-

Sixteen is not a child. Sixteen is full-grown. After this job I won’t need to take another for a year. It’ll be worth it.

Kai-Le nodded once more, agreeing to the terms and departing at last once the shadowy man had again disappeared into the bustling market streets. Despite being just over six feet tall, Lan Kai-Le blended into the crowds. People would glance right at him and not see anything amiss, maybe distracted by the ornaments in his hair or his passive expression. Surely, there was nothing going on in his head… he was a person you’d easily forget. He worked hard to make it that way.

“Master?!”

There was however, this one boy that followed him around and helped him with odd jobs here and there, an orphan. He wasn’t a bad fighter but Lan Kai-Le wasn’t confident that his way of life wouldn’t one day put the boy in harms way. Unfortunately Kai-Le also didn’t have the heart to scare the boy into leaving him alone.

“A’Qin…”

Mu Qin bounced on his heels and rang his hands excitedly when he noticed the direction Lan Kai-Le was heading.

“Master, are you headed to the forest today?! Shall I accompany you?”

Kai-Le might have liked the company, but there was no need to say so. There had been plenty of jobs without the boy’s presence and there would be plenty after. Glancing over his shoulder at A’Qin, Lan Kai-Le paused before answering. He didn’t know how to express everything he meant and he was, as always, hesitant to try. Then it occurred to him…

There will likely be several if not dozens of soldiers protecting the Princess on her journey. If I approach them all alone they would be fools to trust me-

A’Qin was staring up at him hopefully. There had been instances where having a child around had garnered pity or trust from another party, and Lan Kai-Le would prefer to get this whole thing done with no blood shed at all.

The Princess is coming here anyway, I just have to make sure she goes where we want…

After deciding that there would probably be few risks, Lan Kai-Le accepted A’Qin’s offer and informed him very loosely of what they were doing.

“Don’t say anything about me.” He reminded him gently.

The boy made a show of zipping his lips and then gave a thumbs up-

“MnmNMnnMNN!”

“...?”

A’Qin grinned; “I said, don’t worry Master!”

Without anything else to do, they continued on, entering the Xi Qiáng Forest and heading northeast. If their information was correct, the Princess would be traveling from Sanlín City today, though that was not where she was from.

Lan Kai-Le saw the mountains in the distance; The Hêi’àn Hills. He’d never been there and never wanted to go. Hopefully the residents of the hills wouldn’t come after him for abducting their Princess, though the likelihood of that scenario was small.

Lan Kai-Le was a thing in the shadows. He was a tool others used for their revenge, and because he was a tool, because he was their weapon, he needed no face and no name.

Only the one they’d given him… mercenary.