there was no such artifice now in stillness. Since he’d observed her so closely, the features which he might have considered plain or pleasant before took on a mysterious quality. Her eyelashes were long against her cheeks. Her skin was smooth, the tone of it warm with a natural flush. The shape and curves of her face were so subtle one might need to touch her to truly experience them.
He moved back, further away than he needed to, and seated himself on the grass opposite her. She opened her eyes, perhaps after sensing he had moved away, and had to lift both her arms to wipe her mouth with her sleeve. Then they just sat there, both watching each other warily.
‘Tell me how you caught Two Dragon Lo,’ she said after a pause.
His back stiffened. ‘Why would you want to know that?’
‘I want to hear your account.’
‘You mean whether I indeed walked on water or flew through the trees?’
She gave him a reluctant smile that was really just a twitch of her mouth.
Everyone asked him about the bandit lately and it seemed the stories were getting more fanciful no matter how much he denied them. Han settled his arm across his knees. ‘There isn’t much to say. I went into the woods to find him. We fought. I won.’
‘You don’t know how to tell a story, thief-catcher,’ she complained.
‘I think a more interesting story—’ he fixed his gaze on her ‘—would be why a girl who seems to like jade so much would steal it, yet not take any for herself. Save for one small trinket.’
She stared at him blankly, or at least she tried to. There was much, much more lurking there beneath the surface. If he could just feel along her smooth exterior, turn her this way and that to look for imperfections.
‘You were betrayed and cut out of the stake,’ he suggested.
Li Feng looked away, seemingly absorbed by the play of sunlight on the grass.
‘Your mother is aged and sick and you were stealing to save her,’ he threw out lightly.
Her gaze snapped back to him with a tinge of annoyance that told him he was wrong, but had hit upon something. ‘Is this effective, asking so many questions with no direction?’
His laugh was directed at himself. ‘I’ve actually been told by a very wise man that it is always best to say as little as possible.’
Criminals tended to reveal themselves. It was in their nature to want to confess, the crime staining their soul as it did.
‘I was only curious,’ he admitted. ‘And it’s a long way to Taining.’
Han usually wasn’t so interested in knowing the reasons behind the crime. That was for the tribunal to sort out, if the motivations of the accused were even pertinent. Han found that in most cases, the reasons were quite clear. Only in a few instances did the accused ever confound him. The bandit Lo was one. Wen Li Feng was another.
There was another reason Han wanted information. Once he handed the dancer over to the authorities in Taining, she would inevitably be questioned about her accomplices. If she was more forthcoming to him, she might avoid a more ruthless interrogation at the hands of the magistrate.
Li Feng shifted her weight from one shoulder to another against the tree, her bonds constricting her movement. The dancer was not one for remaining still.
‘Were you so cordial to Two Dragon Lo?’ she asked.
His stomach knotted. It was back to Lo again. He couldn’t escape the man. Han conjured the remote tavern in the hills and a long night of trading drinks and stories with a fellow traveller. The wine jug was nearly empty when they had raised their cups in a salute. Lo’s sleeve had fallen just enough to reveal the tail of a dragon.
‘You killed him,’ she remarked.
So the tale goes. ‘That wasn’t my intention. He was to be brought to trial like any other criminal.’
‘An outlaw like Lo would fight to the death rather than be taken alive.’
Her fascination with the bandit disturbed him. She spoke of killing and death too casually, with a
He moved back, further away than he needed to, and seated himself on the grass opposite her. She opened her eyes, perhaps after sensing he had moved away, and had to lift both her arms to wipe her mouth with her sleeve. Then they just sat there, both watching each other warily.
‘Tell me how you caught Two Dragon Lo,’ she said after a pause.
His back stiffened. ‘Why would you want to know that?’
‘I want to hear your account.’
‘You mean whether I indeed walked on water or flew through the trees?’
She gave him a reluctant smile that was really just a twitch of her mouth.
Everyone asked him about the bandit lately and it seemed the stories were getting more fanciful no matter how much he denied them. Han settled his arm across his knees. ‘There isn’t much to say. I went into the woods to find him. We fought. I won.’
‘You don’t know how to tell a story, thief-catcher,’ she complained.
‘I think a more interesting story—’ he fixed his gaze on her ‘—would be why a girl who seems to like jade so much would steal it, yet not take any for herself. Save for one small trinket.’
She stared at him blankly, or at least she tried to. There was much, much more lurking there beneath the surface. If he could just feel along her smooth exterior, turn her this way and that to look for imperfections.
‘You were betrayed and cut out of the stake,’ he suggested.
Li Feng looked away, seemingly absorbed by the play of sunlight on the grass.
‘Your mother is aged and sick and you were stealing to save her,’ he threw out lightly.
Her gaze snapped back to him with a tinge of annoyance that told him he was wrong, but had hit upon something. ‘Is this effective, asking so many questions with no direction?’
His laugh was directed at himself. ‘I’ve actually been told by a very wise man that it is always best to say as little as possible.’
Criminals tended to reveal themselves. It was in their nature to want to confess, the crime staining their soul as it did.
‘I was only curious,’ he admitted. ‘And it’s a long way to Taining.’
Han usually wasn’t so interested in knowing the reasons behind the crime. That was for the tribunal to sort out, if the motivations of the accused were even pertinent. Han found that in most cases, the reasons were quite clear. Only in a few instances did the accused ever confound him. The bandit Lo was one. Wen Li Feng was another.
There was another reason Han wanted information. Once he handed the dancer over to the authorities in Taining, she would inevitably be questioned about her accomplices. If she was more forthcoming to him, she might avoid a more ruthless interrogation at the hands of the magistrate.
Li Feng shifted her weight from one shoulder to another against the tree, her bonds constricting her movement. The dancer was not one for remaining still.
‘Were you so cordial to Two Dragon Lo?’ she asked.
His stomach knotted. It was back to Lo again. He couldn’t escape the man. Han conjured the remote tavern in the hills and a long night of trading drinks and stories with a fellow traveller. The wine jug was nearly empty when they had raised their cups in a salute. Lo’s sleeve had fallen just enough to reveal the tail of a dragon.
‘You killed him,’ she remarked.
So the tale goes. ‘That wasn’t my intention. He was to be brought to trial like any other criminal.’
‘An outlaw like Lo would fight to the death rather than be taken alive.’
Her fascination with the bandit disturbed him. She spoke of killing and death too casually, with a
Similar Books
Best Laid Plans
D.P. Prior
Precious Cargo
Sarah Marsh
Mass Effect: The Complete Novels 4-Book Bundle
Drew Karpyshyn, William C. Dietz
Dreamlands
Scott Jäeger
Finding Obscurity
Emma Shade
Raven: Blood Eye
Giles Kristian
The Virginity Mission
Cate Ellink
Animal Angel
M. J. Wilson
Stuart
Alexander Masters