_*]:min-w-0 !gap-3.5" style="border:0px solid">The lower city of Tianzhou transformed after sunset, its daytime bustle giving way to a different kind of energy. Lanterns cast moving shadows across narrow streets while merchants closed their stalls and taverns opened their doors. City guards patrolled in pairs, their cquered armor gleaming in the dim light, more concerned with maintaining the appearance of order than actually providing it.
Nine moved through this changed ndscape with practiced inconspicuousness, her steps neither hurried nor hesitant. She wore the simple, slightly worn clothing of a peasant girl—loose cotton trousers and a patched tunic, her cropped hair partially covered by a cloth cap. Beside her walked Five, simirly dressed in the pin garments of a borer, carrying a small bundle that contained their few visible possessions.
To anyone observing them, they appeared to be exactly what their cover story cimed—orphaned siblings seeking work, two more anonymous faces among the countless dispced persons who flowed into the capital seeking opportunity or merely survival.
"The night patrol patterns match our intelligence," Five murmured as they navigated through a crowded market square. "Two-man teams, fifteen-minute intervals between sectors."
Nine nodded almost imperceptibly. She had been counting the patrol timing as well, her mind automatically tracking multiple streams of information about their surroundings. The merchant district y three streets ahead, and within it, their target's compound.
For the past two days, they had established their cover by sleeping in a crowded communal shelter and spending daylight hours inquiring about work throughout the district. This routine allowed them to observe the area, noting guard rotations, delivery schedules, and the movements of their target without arousing suspicion.
Liu Fang-Zhi, the merchant they were tasked with investigating and potentially eliminating, maintained a significant compound near the center of the merchant district. His legitimate business in silks and spices thrived, providing an effective cover for whatever cndestine activities had drawn the Shadow Guard's attention.
"The western wall remains our best entry point," Nine said quietly as they paused at a noodle stand. They purchased small bowls with the meager coins appropriate to their disguise, then settled on a bench with a clear view of the street leading to Liu's compound.
Five nodded, sipping the thin broth. "The delivery gate will be closed by now, but the guard rotation creates a three-minute window of vulnerability."
Their pn was simple in concept but required precise execution. They would scale the western wall during the guard rotation gap, navigate across the rooftops of the storage buildings to avoid the patrolling watchmen, then access the main house through a second-floor window that intelligence suggested was typically left untched during summer nights for ventition.
From there, Nine would locate Liu's private study while Five secured their escape route and monitored household movements. Once inside the study, Nine would search for the suspected treasonous correspondence. If found, she would complete the second phase of their mission—Liu's elimination.
As darkness deepened and the district quieted, Nine and Five made their final approach, moving from shadow to shadow with the fluid grace their years of training had perfected. The compound's western wall rose fifteen feet high, imposing to ordinary intruders but merely a momentary challenge to Shadow Guard candidates.
Nine went first, unching herself upward to catch the edge of a decorative roof tile. With minimal effort, she pulled herself up and over, dropping silently to the inner courtyard. Five followed with equal precision, nding beside her without disturbing so much as a pebble.
The compound's interior spread before them—a series of courtyards connected by covered walkways, with the main residence rising two stories at the center. Guards patrolled the perimeter and main entrance, but the inner areas relied more on walls and locked doors for security.
Moving with practiced coordination, Nine and Five navigated across the moonlit courtyards, freezing into absolute stillness whenever a guard passed nearby. Their progress was methodical, each movement calcuted to minimize risk of detection.
When they reached the main house, Five produced a slender bamboo tool from his sleeve and extended it upward to test the suspected window. As their intelligence had indicated, it was indeed untched, swinging open with the gentlest pressure.
Five cupped his hands to provide a foothold, boosting Nine up to the window ledge. She slipped inside like smoke filtering through a crack, then secured a thin silk rope for Five to follow. Within moments, they both stood inside what appeared to be a guest chamber, currently unoccupied.
Nine closed her eyes briefly, extending her senses throughout the house. Her enhanced hearing detected several sleeping individuals—the steady breathing patterns distinctive from wakefulness—and one person moving quietly on the floor below. Probably a servant completing final duties before retiring.
She signaled to Five, indicating the presence and location of household members. They had rehearsed this operation extensively during the previous days, reviewing the compound yout until they could navigate it blindfolded. Now, they separated according to pn—Five moving to secure their escape route and monitor the house's occupants while Nine proceeded toward Liu's private study.
The upper floor was sparsely guarded, relying on the compound's outer security. Nine moved like a ghost through the corridor, her feet finding the solid portions of the wooden floor that wouldn't creak under her weight. She passed three closed doors—bedchambers, according to their intelligence—before reaching a staircase that led down to the main level where the study was located.
Descending required even greater caution, as the servant she had detected earlier was still moving about below. Nine paused at the top of the stairs, listening intently until she determined the servant's location and movement pattern. When the optimal moment arrived, she glided down the staircase and immediately pressed herself into a recessed doorway as the servant—an elderly man carrying a tea tray—shuffled past without noticing her presence.
Once the corridor was clear, Nine approached the study door. It was locked, as expected, but the mechanism was simple. Using a slender metal pick from the set concealed in her sleeve, she maniputed the lock with practiced precision. Within seconds, it yielded with a soft click.
Nine slipped inside, closing the door silently behind her. Liu's study was a spacious room lined with shelves containing scrolls, ledgers, and various trade samples. A rge desk dominated the center, its surface ordered and meticulous—the workspace of a disciplined mind.
Moving directly to her task, Nine began a systematic search for the suspected correspondence. The most sensitive materials would likely be hidden rather than stored openly, even in a private study. She examined the desk first, checking for false bottoms in drawers, pressure-release mechanisms, or other concealment devices.
Her search was rewarded when she discovered a cleverly disguised compartment beneath the desk's central drawer. Inside y a small cquered box secured with a miniature lock. This too yielded to her picks, revealing several scrolls bound with bck silk cord.
Nine unrolled the first scroll carefully, angling it toward the faint moonlight from the window to read its contents. The message was written in a cipher, but one that she recognized from her training—a variant of the code used by northern border tribes in their communications with imperial spies.
Working methodically, Nine deciphered enough of the message to confirm its treasonous nature. The scroll contained detailed information about imperial troop movements along the northern border, information that could only have been obtained from someone within the military command structure. Moreover, it proposed a coordinated series of raids targeting specific vilges to create a diversion for a rger incursion.
The evidence was conclusive. Liu Fang-Zhi was indeed colborating with the same tribal forces that had massacred border settlements, including Nine's home vilge of Lihua. His actions had likely led to countless deaths, with more pnned if this correspondence was any indication.
Nine carefully returned the scrolls to their box but left the hidden compartment slightly ajar—enough that a thorough search after Liu's death would discover the evidence, but not so obvious as to suggest outside interference. According to their briefing, imperial investigators were already positioned to "discover" Liu's treasonous activities after his demise.
The second phase of her mission now confirmed as necessary, Nine moved toward the sleeping quarters. Liu Fang-Zhi would be in the master chamber on the upper floor, likely alone according to their intelligence about his widowed status.
As she retraced her steps to the staircase, Nine heard a soft signal whistle—Five's warning that something had changed in the security pattern. She immediately pressed herself into the shadows beneath the stairs, her breathing slowing to near imperceptibility.
Moments ter, she understood the reason for the warning as two guards appeared, accompanying a middle-aged man in a silk robe—Liu Fang-Zhi himself, apparently working te rather than sleeping as expected.
"Bring the ledgers to my study," Liu instructed one of the guards. "And have Zhao prepare my usual tea. I'll be working through the night."
This unexpected development complicated their mission significantly. Nine had pnned to eliminate Liu in his sleep using the specialized needle technique that would simute natural heart failure. Now, with him awake and accompanied by guards, a new approach would be necessary.
She caught Five's eye from his position on the upper nding and signaled the complication. His response was immediate—a series of subtle hand gestures proposing an alternative scenario. Nine considered his suggestion, then nodded once in confirmation.
Their revised pn required precise timing. Nine retreated to the shadows of a side corridor as Liu and his guards approached the study. Once they entered, Five descended silently, positioning himself near the doorway while Nine circled around to approach from the opposite direction.
Inside the study, Liu dismissed one guard to fetch the requested ledgers and tea, while the second remained posted at the door. This division of forces pyed perfectly into their improvised strategy.
When the first guard departed, Five made his move. He produced a small cloth packet from his sleeve, crushing it in his palm to release the sleep-inducing powder they had been provided. With a controlled exhation, he blew the substance toward the remaining guard's position, the fine particles carried by the slight air current.
The effect was nearly immediate. The guard's posture sckened, his eyes growing unfocused before he slumped against the doorframe, sliding gradually to the floor in what would appear to anyone discovering him ter as natural sleep at his post—a dereliction of duty, but not an indication of outside interference.
With the guard neutralized, Nine slipped into the study through the partially open door. Liu stood with his back to her, examining a scroll at his desk, unaware of her presence or his guard's incapacitation.
"The northern commanders confirm the summer garrison will be reduced by half," Liu murmured to himself as he read. "Excellent opportunity for the Khitan advance..."
Nine moved silently across the room, retrieving the specialized needle from its concealed sheath in her sleeve. The conversation she had overheard provided final confirmation of Liu's treachery—he was actively coordinating with the northern tribes for military action against imperial territories.
Master Hawk had taught her that the most successful elimination was one where the target never realized what was happening. Speed, precision, and absolute certainty of movement were essential. Nine had practiced the technique hundreds of times on training models. Now, she would apply it to a living target for the first time.
As she closed the distance, Liu sensed something and began to turn. "Xiao Li, is that—"
Nine struck with perfect precision, the slender needle entering at the exact point where skull met spine, angled to sever the connection between brain and body. Liu's words died in his throat, his expression freezing in mild surprise rather than pain or fear. His body crumpled, dropping to the floor with a soft thud that would not alert anyone beyond the immediate vicinity.
Five entered the study as Nine confirmed Liu's death, checking for pulse and respiration though she knew with certainty that her strike had been lethal and instantaneous.
"Position him at the desk," Five suggested quietly. "Heart failure while working te is consistent with our cover story."
Nine nodded, and together they arranged Liu's body in his chair, head resting on the desk as if he had simply fallen forward while reading. The needle had been removed immediately after insertion, leaving only a microscopic puncture that would never be detected in a routine examination.
"The scrolls?" Five inquired.
"Confirmatory," Nine replied, her voice betraying no emotion about the life she had just taken. "Explicit colboration with Khitan tribes, including pnned attacks on imperial vilges."
Five nodded grimly. "Then justice is served. We should withdraw before the guard returns with the tea."
Their extraction followed the same methodical precision as their infiltration. They exited through the same window they had entered, descended to the courtyard, and navigated back over the western wall during another calcuted gap in the patrol pattern.
Within twenty minutes of Liu's death, they had disappeared into the anonymous flow of the lower city night, two unremarkable figures among thousands. By morning, they would be back at the Shadow Guard compound, their mission complete, their first field assignment successfully executed.
As they walked in silence through the darkened streets, Nine reflected on what had transpired. She had taken a life—not in mercy as with Wei Zhen, but in calcuted elimination of an enemy to the empire. The act itself had been clinically precise, emotionally neutral, exactly as her training had prepared her to execute.
Yet somewhere deep within, in a pce she had thought long sealed away, Nine felt a flicker of something—not quite satisfaction, not quite justice, but perhaps a closing of a circle that had begun with fmes consuming her vilge and her parents falling to northern bdes. Liu Fang-Zhi had been colborating with those same forces, enabling more deaths like those she had witnessed as a child.
His elimination served the empire's interests, which aligned in this case with a justice Nine had never sought but perhaps unconsciously welcomed. The thought was acknowledged, examined, and then carefully set aside. Personal vengeance had no pce in the Shadow Guard's philosophy. She had acted as an instrument of imperial will, nothing more.
"You executed the technique fwlessly," Five commented as they approached the city gate where they would exit according to their cover story of seeking work in the outlying farms.
"The operation succeeded," Nine replied simply. Neither praise nor emotional reflection were part of their training. Results were what mattered, and the result here was clear—a traitor eliminated, evidence preserved for imperial investigators, no traceable connection to their involvement.
By dawn, they had returned to the Shadow Guard compound, reporting directly to Master Lin in the strategy room. Nine delivered a concise account of their mission, detailing the evidence discovered and the method of elimination employed. Five added relevant observations about the compound security and their extraction, completing the operational summary.
Master Lin listened without interruption, his expression revealing nothing of his assessment. When they finished, he simply nodded once.
"Written reports to be completed by midday. Lady Fei will want full details." He studied them both briefly. "You are dismissed to rest until the noon meal."
As they turned to leave, Master Lin added, "Nine."
She paused, turning back to face him.
"Your first field elimination. Any observations?"
Nine considered the question carefully, understanding its purpose. The masters monitored candidates not just for physical capability but psychological suitability. How she responded to her first killing would indicate her readiness for future assignments.
"The technique was effective," she replied evenly. "The target's death appeared natural, as required. The mission parameters were fulfilled precisely."
Master Lin's gaze remained penetrating. "And your internal response?"
Nine met his eyes directly. "Appropriate to the duty performed. The target was confirmed as an enemy of the empire through direct evidence and his own statements. His elimination was necessary and justified."
After a moment's further scrutiny, Master Lin nodded once more. "Very well. Complete your report with particur attention to the cipher used in the correspondence. The interrogation specialists will want to know if it represents a new variant."
Nine bowed slightly and departed, walking beside Five toward the candidates' quarters. Neither spoke until they reached the small garden where candidates were permitted during personal time.
"You did well," Five said quietly, seating himself on a stone bench.
Nine remained standing, her posture rexed yet vigint—a habit so ingrained after years of training that it had become her natural state. "We both did. The mission succeeded."
"True," Five acknowledged. "But first eliminations can be... consequential for some candidates."
Nine understood his meaning. Though never discussed openly, rumors circuted about candidates who had failed after their first killing assignment—not through technical failure but psychological breakdown. The taking of human life affected different individuals in different ways, regardless of training.
"I am unchanged," Nine assured him. "The mission was justified, the action necessary."
Five studied her face briefly, then nodded. "Get some rest before report writing. I'll wake you at mid-morning."
Nine retired to the female candidates' sleeping area, where she found Eight already awake and preparing for morning training. Their eyes met briefly, Eight's gaze questioning though she voiced nothing aloud.
"Mission complete," Nine said simply, knowing Eight would understand the implication.
Eight nodded, then returned to her preparations. The retionship between candidates had evolved over the years into something complex—neither friendship nor rivalry alone, but a unique blend of competition, respect, and shared experience that defied simple categorization.
Nine settled onto her sleeping mat, closing her eyes to implement the short-rest technique Master Hawk had taught them—a state between wakefulness and sleep that provided maximum recovery in minimal time. As her breathing slowed and her muscles rexed, she conducted a final mental review of the mission.
The infiltration had proceeded according to pn with only minor adaptations required. The evidence had confirmed the target's guilt beyond question. The elimination had been executed with perfect technical precision. The extraction had been completed without detection.
By every measure, the mission had been an unqualified success. Nine had proven herself capable of performing the Shadow Guard's most serious duty—the taking of a life in service to the empire. It represented a significant milestone in her progression toward potentially becoming Shadow Nine when the Crown Prince eventually ascended the throne.
As she drifted into the controlled rest state, Nine briefly recalled the moment of Liu's death—the look of mild surprise in his eyes as the needle found its mark, the instantaneous transition from life to lifelessness. She had expected to feel something more profound at that moment, some recognition of the weight of what she had done.
Instead, she had felt only the calm certainty of duty fulfilled, of purpose served. Perhaps that, more than anything, confirmed her suitability for the path she had been set upon seven years ago when Commander Zhao had found a wild child in the forest and recognized in her the potential to become something extraordinary.
Mei Lin of Lihua vilge would have been traumatized by taking a life, even a guilty one. But Nine of the Shadow Guard had been forged for precisely this purpose—to observe, to act, and when necessary, to kill in service to the Dragon Throne.
The girl was truly gone. Only the Shadow remained.
Later that day, after completing their detailed mission reports, Nine and Five were summoned to Lady Fei's private chambers—an unprecedented honor for candidates at their stage of training. They knelt before her in perfect formal posture as she reviewed their written accounts, her elegant fingers tracing characters on the scroll.
"Liu Fang-Zhi's death has been reported throughout the capital this morning," Lady Fei informed them without looking up from the reports. "A heart seizure while working te, according to the physician who examined the body. The imperial investigators 'discovered' his treasonous correspondence during the official inventory of his possessions."
She set the scrolls aside, finally focusing her penetrating gaze on the kneeling candidates. "No suspicion of outside involvement. No disruption to the merchant district's routine. Evidence secured for further investigation of his network. An exempry first field operation."
Nine and Five remained silent, accepting the rare praise with appropriate humility.
"The Crown Prince is pleased," Lady Fei continued, her tone revealing the significance of this statement. "He has taken a particur interest in your cohort's development, especially those candidates showing exceptional promise."
She rose from her seat, moving to a cquered cabinet from which she withdrew two small objects. Returning to stand before them, she extended her hands, revealing two bronze tokens simir to but smaller than the medallions all candidates wore.
"These mark you as having completed your first field elimination," she expined as Nine and Five accepted the tokens. "They are carried by all active Shadows as a record of service. Some accumute dozens throughout their careers. Others, whose duties lie primarily in observation or protection, may earn only a few."
Nine examined the token, noting the subtle dragon pattern on one side and a single notch carved into the edge on the reverse—the first mark in what might become a record of lives taken in imperial service.
"Your training enters its final phase," Lady Fei announced. "Two years remain before the Crown Prince makes his selections for the Shadow Guard. Based on your performance in this mission, both of you are now considered primary candidates."
She returned to her seat, her posture impeccable as always. "You will continue specialized training according to your demonstrated aptitudes. Nine, your focus will remain on observation, infiltration, and elimination techniques. Five, your exceptional combat skills suggest a protective specialization, though you've shown commendable adaptability in other areas as well."
Lady Fei dismissed them after providing details of their adjusted training schedules. As they left her chambers, Nine caught a rare glimpse of uncertainty on Five's typically composed face.
"Something troubles you?" she inquired quietly as they walked toward the training yards.
Five hesitated before responding. "Primary candidate status changes expectations. The final selection becomes more... consequential."
Nine understood his concern. Being identified as primary candidates pced them under greater scrutiny, with higher standards for success and harsher consequences for failure. Moreover, it potentially altered the dynamic with other candidates who might now view them with increased rivalry.
"We focus on the training, not the outcome," Nine said, echoing one of Master Lin's frequent instructions. "Selection is beyond our control. Performance is not."
Five's expression settled back into its usual calm. "Practical as always," he observed, the barest hint of appreciation in his tone.
As they reached the training yard where Master Hawk awaited Nine for her scheduled instruction, Five paused. "They will assign us more eliminations now that we've proven capable. It becomes easier with repetition, I'm told."
Nine considered this. "Easier technically, perhaps. But we must never allow it to become easy in principle. As Wei Zhen said, we serve for the dynasty's continuity, not for power or glory."
Five nodded solemnly, then departed for his own training assignment, leaving Nine to contempte how much had changed in a single night. She had crossed a threshold that could never be uncrossed, taken a step that could never be retracted.
She had taken a life in calcuted judgment rather than heated battle or defensive necessity. She had determined that a man deserved to die and had executed that sentence with cold precision. It was the essence of what the Shadow Guard represented—death delivered not in passion but in deliberation, not in public spectacle but in private certainty.
As she approached Master Hawk to begin her day's training, Nine touched the bronze token now secured alongside her candidate medallion. It represented both an achievement and a burden, a skill demonstrated and a responsibility assumed.
Whatever the coming years might bring, whatever the Crown Prince might eventually decide about her fitness to become Shadow Nine, she had proven herself capable of fulfilling the Shadow Guard's most solemn duty. She had become, in the most fundamental sense, what Commander Zhao had seen the potential for in that wild forest child so many years ago—an instrument of imperial will, a protector of the Dragon Throne, a bringer of justice from the shadows.
The path ahead was clear now, illuminated by the certainty of purpose that came from crossing this most significant threshold. Nine moved forward to greet her master, ready for whatever challenges awaited in the final phase of her transformation.
