Martial Art Fantasy Short Story
Author: Hani Law Copyright © 2006
Author: Hani Law Copyright © 2006
SWAN BEAUTY
CHAPTER 5
We continue our journey and, before long, have
arrived at an inn situated in a narrow street. It is
dark by now and silence lies like a pall over the
street. I do not know why I have the feeling that we
are being tailed. We enter the inn and approach the
tiny man at the reception. He informs us that only one
room is available. The rest are taken, for a great
number of people have travelled down from other
places either to participate in the martial-arts contest
or to watch it. I bravely agree to take the available
room, because I cannot bring myself to walk another
step in order to look for alternative accommodation.
It has been a long day and I am quite exhausted. At
the same time, I am in a quandary, wondering
whether I should be sleeping in the same room with a
man. For a girl to spend the night in the same room
with a man who is not her husband is considered
immoral.
The man at the reception sends for a boy to show us
to our room. The latter is very basic and furnished
with a bed, a table and a couple of chairs. The Prince
offers to let me sleep on the bed and uses part of the
bed linen to make sleeping arrangements for himself
on the floor. We bid each other goodnight and retire
for the night. After the experience of travelling with
the Prince, I am beginning to nurture positive
feelings for him.
Just as I am about to fall asleep, the Prince suddenly
jumps on to my bed. I cannot believe what he is up to.
As I open my mouth to scream, he clamps his hand
over my mouth and asks me to keep quiet. He
whispers to me that somebody is at the door and asks
me to hide under the bed. As the window is closed, it
is pitch dark. The Prince quickly leaps up and lands
on the beam just under the ceiling.
The door creaks open. I peep from under the hem of
the bed cover and watch two masked men, dressed in
black, enter the room. One is carrying a crooked
sabre and the other, a glittering dagger. Both
weapons give off flashes of light. The intruders start
searching the room as if they are looking for
something. Without warning, the Prince launches
himself from the beam above and stretching both
legs, kicks the masked man carrying the dagger. At
the same time, he wrenches the masked man’s waist
by locking his legs around it. The man is in such pain
that he passes out and keels over. Before the Prince
can rise to his feet, the other man uses his crooked
sabre to slash at his head. Having heard the swish of
the sabre coming his way, the Prince cleverly ducks,
just in time. Thus, he not only manages to avoid the
blow, but also picks up the dagger left on the floor by
the other masked man who is now unconscious. The
Prince swings the dagger at the second masked man
and drives it deep into his chest. The man falls to the
floor and remains motionless.
The Prince pulls me out from under the bed, and we
run out of the inn as fast as we can. We both suspect
that the two intruders were looking for the land-
ownership deed. Whoever gets hold of the document
can declare himself the owner. The Prince is aware
of how utterly exhausted I am. Once again, he grasps
me by the waist and carries me along with him by
using his light-step skill. We travel a long way until
we reach what look like the ruins of a temple. We go
inside. The place appears to be deserted. We spend
the night there. This time, confusing thoughts don’t
trouble me. And soon, I am in the depths of slumber.
When I wake up, it is late morning already. We leave
the temple and continue our journey, in a hurry now
to reach the Magic Lake.
CHAPTER 5
We continue our journey and, before long, have
arrived at an inn situated in a narrow street. It is
dark by now and silence lies like a pall over the
street. I do not know why I have the feeling that we
are being tailed. We enter the inn and approach the
tiny man at the reception. He informs us that only one
room is available. The rest are taken, for a great
number of people have travelled down from other
places either to participate in the martial-arts contest
or to watch it. I bravely agree to take the available
room, because I cannot bring myself to walk another
step in order to look for alternative accommodation.
It has been a long day and I am quite exhausted. At
the same time, I am in a quandary, wondering
whether I should be sleeping in the same room with a
man. For a girl to spend the night in the same room
with a man who is not her husband is considered
immoral.
The man at the reception sends for a boy to show us
to our room. The latter is very basic and furnished
with a bed, a table and a couple of chairs. The Prince
offers to let me sleep on the bed and uses part of the
bed linen to make sleeping arrangements for himself
on the floor. We bid each other goodnight and retire
for the night. After the experience of travelling with
the Prince, I am beginning to nurture positive
feelings for him.
Just as I am about to fall asleep, the Prince suddenly
jumps on to my bed. I cannot believe what he is up to.
As I open my mouth to scream, he clamps his hand
over my mouth and asks me to keep quiet. He
whispers to me that somebody is at the door and asks
me to hide under the bed. As the window is closed, it
is pitch dark. The Prince quickly leaps up and lands
on the beam just under the ceiling.
The door creaks open. I peep from under the hem of
the bed cover and watch two masked men, dressed in
black, enter the room. One is carrying a crooked
sabre and the other, a glittering dagger. Both
weapons give off flashes of light. The intruders start
searching the room as if they are looking for
something. Without warning, the Prince launches
himself from the beam above and stretching both
legs, kicks the masked man carrying the dagger. At
the same time, he wrenches the masked man’s waist
by locking his legs around it. The man is in such pain
that he passes out and keels over. Before the Prince
can rise to his feet, the other man uses his crooked
sabre to slash at his head. Having heard the swish of
the sabre coming his way, the Prince cleverly ducks,
just in time. Thus, he not only manages to avoid the
blow, but also picks up the dagger left on the floor by
the other masked man who is now unconscious. The
Prince swings the dagger at the second masked man
and drives it deep into his chest. The man falls to the
floor and remains motionless.
The Prince pulls me out from under the bed, and we
run out of the inn as fast as we can. We both suspect
that the two intruders were looking for the land-
ownership deed. Whoever gets hold of the document
can declare himself the owner. The Prince is aware
of how utterly exhausted I am. Once again, he grasps
me by the waist and carries me along with him by
using his light-step skill. We travel a long way until
we reach what look like the ruins of a temple. We go
inside. The place appears to be deserted. We spend
the night there. This time, confusing thoughts don’t
trouble me. And soon, I am in the depths of slumber.
When I wake up, it is late morning already. We leave
the temple and continue our journey, in a hurry now
to reach the Magic Lake.
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