Xuelei huddled in a corner of the secured room. He sighed inwardly. One would have thought that being locked up with fifteen pretty teenage girls would be Heaven.

It was not.

They were constantly crying, moaning or bickering with each other over silly things. He would never look at girls the same again.

His thoughts turned to the situation he was in. When they had arrived, they had been led straight fifty paces, up eight steps and another fifty paces. The place was big. At that point, they were in the house proper, the packed dirt had changed to hardwood floors and then their footsteps had been muted by carpets.

They had stopped a moment when their captors had conferred for a bit. Then it was right through a passage, it was cooler and the muted echo suggested an enclosed space. About eighty paces, then left, down eight steps and right again for forty paces.

A door was unlocked before they were led down twenty-five steps. They were being taken underground, he realised. Another door was unlocked. Chains rattled and a key was turned nosily in a padlock until it clicked open. There was a shushing sound as girls scuttled away from the door. Only then, were their blindfolds removed.

The Captain had looked him over but his attention was clearly on the other captured girl. Xuelei kept his amusement to himself, positive that the Captain now thought the other girl was the hired assassin. She looked tougher and more blood thirsty than he did… well maybe just a little.

Xuelei and the girl had been pushed into a large room which held the fourteen missing girls. They made number fifteen and sixteen. Scarface was locked in the room across them. It was a large place. Guards were posted outside both rooms.

He sighed. He was hungry, thirsty and tired. He wondered idly if his next assignment would not involve starvation.

To keep his mind occupied was to keep from thinking of his miserable condition. He surveyed the room. Now, to locate the Minister’s daughter. She was priority number one.

All the girls were fairly young. He would have bet none were over twenty. The three brothers had been given a portrait of the Minister’s daughter so that they would recognise their target when they saw her. However, none of the girls here resembled the fine portrait of a prettily made-up girl.

The girls in the room were dirty, listless, their pretty faces blotchy and puffy from days of crying. Some slept to pass the time, some sat staring at the floor. All were half starved and radiated a sense of hopelessness. He probably did not look much better himself.

Since their faces did nothing to reveal their identities, Xuelei focused on their clothes. The daughter of a high ranking Minister should be wearing better clothes than a commoner. He narrowed down the possibilities to three girls. Although their clothes were crumpled, it was made of finely spun silk and cut in the latest fashions. It had to be one of them.

Evening came and the door to their room opened. The girls automatically cringed against the walls. Several men entered and placed a bag of steamed buns on the table. One girl rose to face them.

“Sir, please set us free. If you want money, my father will pay whatever you want.”

The men laughed. “He sure will. He is going to pay a nice sum for you.”

The girl gasped. “You have spoken to my father? Is he coming for me soon?”

“No little girl, he tried to rescue you and failed. If he wants you back, he will have to pay double for the extra trouble he has caused us.”

“He tried to rescue me?”

“Yes but he failed. Everyone is dead except the Captain.”

“Captain? Oh, Captain Shang! Is he here? I demand to see him at once!”

The men laughed. “You do you think you are? You are merely our prisoner now not a high and mighty Miss. Remember where you are! If he doesn’t pay up, you will be sold along with the others. Either way we will be rich.”

“How dare you!”

She lost her temper and rushed to hit him but was easily blocked by the bigger man. He caught her outstretched hands before they could reach him and flung her violently onto the floor.

Xuelei watched the scene unfold. That must be the Minister Lay’s daughter, Lay Ting Ting. She would get into trouble if she didn’t keep her mouth shut and stay inconspicuous.

“Spoiled little brat.”

The man kicked her. She cried out in pain and clutched her tender stomach. They laughed and kicked her again. At this rate, this delicate flower might not make it out of here, not with her superior attitude. Instinct made Xuelei go to her, protecting her with his body. He had to get her out of here alive. She was priority number one.

“Stop it! You don’t have to kick her!”

“Get away little girl, you can’t help her. You are in the same boat.”

Xuelei glared at him. “You are not a man. You don’t treat a lady like this. She is weaker than you!”

“Lady? She is no lady. She is just a rich and spoiled brat.”

“You are nothing but a bully!”

His comrades sniggered at him making him embarrassed. He kicked Xuelei, but missed as the youth moved, making him look like a fool. That made him even angrier. He grabbed the front of Xuelei’s clothes and held him up so that he was face to face with the burly man.

“Smart mouth! You are going to pay for that.”

He slammed Xuelei’s head onto the table twice before pushing him onto the floor. He finished off with a kick, this time his foot connected squarely to his stomach.

“Ahhhh!”

Anger and pain filled the assassin but this was not the time to retaliate and kill the man. He had to wait for his brothers to arrive first or the whole plan will be spoiled. Xuelei stayed down.

“Don’t piss me off again or you will get worse. Don’t push your luck little girl. As long as you are not dead, we can still sell you.”

The men walked out and locked the doors behind them.

The other girls gathered around Xuelei and Ting Ting.

“He is right new girl. He likes to pick on us and hurt us.”

“Don’t anger him, he is just looking for an excuse to beat us up.”

They helped the fallen girls up and sat them at the table. Ting Ting was still holding her stomach and was looking very pale. Xuelei’s head was throbbing. He touched his head feeling a damp stickiness. Blood.

“Thank you for standing up for me,” Ting Ting said to him. “I took a risk talking to him but I didn’t mean to get anyone else involved. Now you are hurt too.”

“She’s new. She didn’t know how bad tempered he is,” one of the girls quipped.

“I’m okay.”

“What’s your name? I’m Ting Ting.”

“Xue … Hua.”

“Snowflake….that is such a pretty name. Well XueHua, please stay away from him and don’t make him angry anymore. I’ll fight my own fights. I’m older than you.”

She was treating him like a younger sister. He smiled at her presumption. He had studied her profile, they were actually the same age but he let it slide. She did look older.

“Come and eat. It is all we have,” another girl exclaimed. “Eat slowly or you will choke.”

As chatter filled his ears, Xuelei slipped into a corner and closed his eyes. He needed to sleep, the last few days he had gone without proper rest. He had had to stay alert and mark the trail for his brothers when he was not being watched.

He blamed his lack of sleep for his poor judgement. He should not have interfered and brought attention to himself. Of course the kidnappers would not kill them. If they died, they could not be sold, right? He drifted off to sleep, his mind still thinking.