Heaven's Daughter

Chapter 35 - Confessions

The assassins all drew their blades. Kairi and Zhang Sheng were quickly circled in by the assassins. Almost immediately, Zhang Sheng pulled Kairi behind him. All of the assassins' identity were hidden behind masks.

"Who are you?" Zhang Sheng asked angrily. The leader of the assassins didn't reply. Instead, he screamed for his team to attack. With no sword or weapon at hand, Zhang Sheng wrapped an arm around Kairi's waist and easily jumped out of the circle. They were too far out to call for help and could only try to escape. As they were running, Kairi brought her thumb and forefinger to her lips. She whistled loudly almost immediately her sword came flying from a distance.
"Do you always call your sword with a whistle?" Zhang Sheng asked feeling amused. Kairi caught the chuckle in his question and sent him a glare before catching her sword. She knew she should just call her sword with her soul but she had grown used to whistling for it. Seconds later, Zhang Sheng's sword also came flying towards him. The two of them finally stopped running and faced off with the assassins. As the two of them fought ferociously with their attackers, they kept increasing. It was as if, someone had cleared out all the guards outside knowing that they would escape into their trap.

"We can't fight off all of them! We need to find help!" Zhang Sheng exclaimed. He was about to grab Kairi but the assassins had foreseen his move. Several of them jumped in front of Zhang Sheng, putting a wall between the two of them. Kairi was now on her own battling it out with four assassins. All four assassins were just as strong as she was, if not stronger. She was slowly being pushed further away from Zhang Sheng with every that had come from the assassins.

"I might not win..." she thought. No sooner had those words crossed her mind, a sharp wail filled the air. Massive fireballs came soaring from the sky and hitting the backs of each assassin.

"Xiao Huo!" Kairi exclaimed. She could see Xiao Huo's golden wings glowing in the night sky. He soared down and picked up a few assassins with his beak. Once he was high up in the air, he let them loose and watched the assassins fall to their deaths. The fight was slowly turning in their favor(?). Seeing how strong Xiao Huo was, the leader of the assassins called for a retreat.

"Don't chase after them," Zhang Sheng called out when Kairi started to follow them.
"Why not?"

"We're outnumbered and they were merely taken by surprise when Xiao Huo showed up. Once they regroup, we won't stand a chance. Our best bet is to return to the palace," Zhang Sheng explained. He snapped his sword shut and examined one of the dead bodies. There were no marks and the face of the assassin didn't look familiar either.

"Who are they?" Kairi asked.
"It's hard to say."

"Could they be from the second prince? You said that he planned on making a move tonight," Kairi suggested.
"Maybe... but something doesn't feel right," Zhang Sheng said. Kairi didn't get to ask more because the imperial guards had shown up with Wan Yi at the front.
"Brother! What happened?" Wan Yi asked. His eyes traveled from Zhang Sheng to Kairi and then Xiao Huo. "This is...! A golden firebird!"

Xiao Huo screeched a warning at Wan Yi and spread his wings only for Kairi to pat his neck.
"It's alright, Xiao Huo. They won't hurt us," she said calmly. Once again, Zhang Sheng stepped in front of Kairi protectively.

"How'd you find us?" Zhang Sheng asked suspiciously.

"I was just about to return to my quarters when I saw a golden bird fly passed by. I knew something was wrong so I called up the guards to chase after it," Wan Yi explained.

"I see... have the guards search the entire perimeter. There were assassins here tonight. Find out who they are," Zhang Sheng ordered.

"Yes, brother," Wan Yi said obediently. Kairi had never felt such a tense atmosphere before. Thankfully, Zhang Sheng didn't have anything more to say. He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her away meanwhile Xiao Huo sat on Kairi's shoulder comfortably after shrinking to the size of a golf ball.