The next few days were horrible. They were worked to the bone with little rest and little food. Their overseer was a lazy man and left most of his work to his over worked assistant. The assistant was too busy doing both his job and the overseer’s job to notice anything amiss.

He had to plan everyone’s work and ensure the grounds were orderly and well kept. He checked that there was enough fire wood to warm the mansion and the stoves in the kitchen. The fields had to be worked and he too pitched in, all hands were needed before winter set in.

Every evening he ate with the overseer and reported the day’s work. He left the workers to their seniors. He was not aware of the abuse the male servants were subjected to. The female servants were doing just fine.

The time was not wasted though, Xuelei found out the information that he needed. The servants gossiped about everything, from what happened outside the mansion’s walls to what happen in the bedrooms. It seemed Master Tian had quite a huge appetite for pretty girls. Some of the prettier maids had also fallen victim to his lust. Madame Tian turned a blind eye, she had three grown sons and was living in comfort and luxury. She would not do anything to upset her position in the house.

The Tian family had three male heirs. The eldest was a quiet scholar who preferred reading and music. The second was active in sports and loved hunting. The third was scheming and spiteful. He craved power. He never had a good word to say about anyone and made the servants miserable. Unfortunately, he was also the Madame’s favourite son. He could do no wrong in her eyes.

It would be easy to eliminate the eldest son. He was no fighter, but to pin the murder on the second son, it seemed wrong. It was probably the third son’s scheming. It was a brilliant move, kill two birds with one stone. Get rid of both his brothers, one dead and the other disgraced. He would inherit the family’s fortunes.

Xuelei shook his head, he hated politics of any kind. Still, a job was a job. It was not his place to ask questions, only to carry out orders. He probably did not know of other issues the family was having, who was he to judge who was right and who was wrong. All he knew was that he was growing tired of manual labour and getting beaten every day. He would make his move that night.

When darkness had enveloped the mansion, Xuelei opened his eyes. He knew the various guards’ nightly routes. The time they would start, how long it would take each one to walk the paths and when they would end their rounds. He knew their schedules, routines and who were on guard duty that night. He was ready.

Amazingly, there were only five security routes. Insufficient for a mansion of this size, by his professional opinion, but hey, he was not in charge of security. Each route was walked every hour and had three guards on each shift who took turns. Most of the time, they were on time. He had studied each guard and noted each one’s habits. Even taking a smoke en route would affect the timing of his planned ‘exposure’.

The young assassin had infiltrated the Tian household, done a week’s worth of observation to get valuable information, make plans and double check that it will work. He allowed himself a smile, the ‘witness’ would be the hourly guard. He would have to time the murder and ‘escape’.

A young couple he knew was going to have a tryst at a gazebo near the first son’s rooms that night. He had heard the gossip from two giggling maids that afternoon. The couple was going to be his back-up ‘witnesses’. He was not going to fail in the task just because a lone guard missed seeing the fleeing assassin.

Xuelei listened carefully, snoring sounds and deep breathing was all he heard. Someone muttered in his sleep and turned to find a more comfortable position. All was normal, everyone was fast asleep. They should be, they were all exhausted.

The assassin got up and crept outside to his stash. Quickly, he slipped on the black clothing over his servant’s rags. The double layers served to make him look bigger, broader and would serve to mislead identification, he hoped. He tied a black cloth over his head and face, masking his identity. Only his eyes were not covered.

A beautiful jewel encrusted dagger was in his hands, the one he had stolen from the second son’s collection. It’s owner would easily be identified, thus the blame would fall on him, framing him nicely. The sharp steel blade gleamed and it’s heavily adorned hilt glittered in the bright moonlight before he hid it within his clothes.

Xuelei made his way to the first son’s rooms and climbed onto the roof. He lay flat on the roof, waited patiently. The lover’s gazebo was within his line of sight.

The night was bright and clear. The silvery romantic moonlight was perfect for a lover’s tryst. It was also a beautiful night to die.

He did not have to wait long before the lovers showed up. They were giggling and holdings hands, excitement making them giddy. They could not even walk a straight path. Xuelei rolled his eyes. Luckily his Sect forbade falling in love. He would never have to be in that awkward position.

Carefully he removed the tiles on the roof above the young Master’s room. He made a hole just big enough for him to slip in. He waited for the couple to reach the gazebo before slipping into the hole and dropping silently into the room. He had not bothered to replace the tiles. A sloppy assassination was required. The guard should be along in fifteen minutes.

He crept to the bed. There was a sleeping figure, the scholarly first son was there. Xuelei watched him sleeping peacefully for a few moments, confirming the target. He was a young man about to die for being born into the wrong family at the wrong time. Xuelei pitied him. He was going to die because he had a power hungry sibling.

“Forgive me.”

Xuelei owed his head at the sleeping man, “I will give you a swift and painless death. If I find myself on the wrong side of your sword in the next life, I hope you will extend me the same courtesy.”

It took less than a minute to slit the scholar’s throat. All it took was a quick forceful slash at the throat to cut the windpipe and jugular. Red blood gushed out staining the satin sheets. It was so fast that the first born son of the Tian family did not even know when he died. Just like that a life was gone. Xuelei left the bloodied dagger at bedside, they needed ‘evidence’. No fingerprints, he had wrapped the dagger’s hilt with cloth.

He went to the door, out the corridor and waited for the guard. The lovers were busy with each other. They were kissing noisily. Xuelei shuddered at the slurping sounds. Ugh! What a turn off, he would never fall in love, he vowed.

All was set. Movement! Xuelei heard the guard before he saw him. He was unbelievably noisy, his feet shuffled against the pavement and he was tapping on the hilt of his sword with ringed fingers, making clanging metallic sounds. Any real intruders would have been warned of his approach with ample time to make a getaway. Xuelei’s muscles tensed, ready for action. Now, to get this guard’s attention.

Xuelei jumped in front of the heavy-set man, making sure to clumsily topple a decorative flower-pot in his haste. It smashed to the ground shattering the night’s silence. The guard yelled in surprise. Before he could recover, Xuelei was already running towards the gazebo.

“Guards! Guards! Intruder!” the man yelled on top of his lungs.

“Intruder!”

The couple jumped apart guiltily at the sudden noise. The girl screamed when a black figure ran into the gazebo and stopped right in front of them. The couple stared in shock at the intruder.

“W-who are you?” the man asked bravely, moving in front of his lover. The girl cringed behind him.

The intruder ignored him and turned back at the sounds coming from the main house. Guards were running towards the commotion. The first guard who had set off the alarm had yet to catch up with him.

The intruder squinted at the man in amusement, his dark eyes twinkling merrily and cheekily winked at the girl before jumping over the railings of the gazebo, disappearing into the night. The man couldn’t chase after him, his girl was clinging onto his arm, her face was flushed in embarrassment and her mouth hanging open in shock. She stared after the intruder.

The house guards arrived a moment too late. The couple pointed in the direction the intruder had fled.

“Over there! Hurry, we have to catch him!” They crashed into the gardens after the intruder.

Xuelei couldn’t believe how slow the guard’s response time was. After leaving the gazebo, he ran across the flower gardens and climbed over the outer walls. Quickly he discarded his black clothing, stashing it in a hole under some bushes he had dug earlier. He pushed some loose dirt over it. Real evidence shouldn’t be found on the premises.

He made his way to the servants’ quarters from the outside and scaled the walls back onto the premises. Stealthily, he re-entered the male quarters and curled into a sleeping position. Then he closed his eyes, regulated his breathing and waited.

It took a whole hour before the household was roused by the calamity. Another hour before the young Master’s body was found with the murder weapon. The grounds were searched and everyone was assembled at the main court yard. A useless head count was done. Inwardly, Xuelei was amused. What use was a head count when they didn’t even know the number of people working for the family?

The scared couple was called up and interrogated in front of everyone. They were near the murder scene. Yes, they had seen the intruder. There was only one, he was working alone, there were no accomplices.

He was a huge hulking man with evil eyes who towered over them. He was wearing full black, even his head was covered. He had come from the direction of the young master’s chambers. The coward ran away when he was challenged by the brave couple. Everyone was dismissed. Master Tian would interrogate his son in private.

The next day, rumours flew about the mansion. Servants. maids and guards gossiped about last night’s tragedy. It seemed that the second young master had contracted a killer to end his brother’s life. He had even given the murderer his personal knife to do the foul deed. The intruder had not been caught. Work slowed almost to a standstill.

The second master had been dragged in front of his father and condemned. His cries of innocence and protests falling on deaf ears. His bloody dagger damned him for his brother’s death. He was locked away, stripped of his privileges until a proper trail could be done. Madame Tian had collapse at the double tragedy of her sons, her health soon declined. Her beloved third son was there to comfort her and help his bewildered father. He soon took over control of the family.

Xuelei stayed for a few more days to ensure the condition of the family and the success of his actions. No one suspected him. The intruder had vanished into thin air. The household was still gossiping when he stole away from the Tian mansion two nights later. No one would really miss him. The only people who would notice his absence would soon forget him as they drowned in their daily chores and personal misery. On the way, he retrieved the black clothing and burned it.

Mission completed.