Page 14 of The Wind Dancer
“Oh?” Her gaze slowly slid down my back. “Would you have given me a chance? Would you have listened to me if we, for example, met in an alley, would you suddenly think “Yes, this woman definitely wants the best for me”?”
I didn’t answer. She was absolutely right.
“As for the bed, you’re my type and you didn’t disappoint.” She grinned again. She looked like a werecat from legends. I was yet again taken aback by her magnetic beauty, no matter how dangerous she was.
I realized if she had wanted to kill me, she could’ve just put poison into my wounds. Something about the look in her eyes told me she could sense what I was thinking about.
“Your mentor’s influence didn’t die with him, Feng Lao,” she continued. “He was involved in too many things. Corrupt officials, hired assassins, smugglers... He dared to dig where others wouldn’t even look. Powerful people want this information. And you found yourself in the very center of this.”
I clenched my teeth. Judging by what she was hinting at, she knew a lot more about my mentor and his past than I did. A lot of the jobs he had sent me on immediately came to mind. Often, my goal wasn’t gold or silver, I was more often involved in stealing documents. I was away doing one of these jobs when he died.
“So your people were looking for him?”
She tilted her head slightly.
“Yes. And now they’re looking for you. I found you first.”
My fingers reflexively tightened, ready to grab a dagger that wasn’t there. I was already being hunted?
“But,” she took a step closer, “I can make sure that you’re left alone.”
I chuckled dryly.
“A generous offer. And what would you ask for in return?”
She leaned in, her lips almost touching my ear again, but now there was a cold, calculated edge in her voice:
“You have something very valuable in your possession. Something they’re willing to kill for.”
I felt my insides tense up, but I didn’t let it show.
“What are you talking about?”
She slowly ran her finger over my chest.
“About what you stole. About what he hid.”
A chill went through my spine. She knew. There was no question about it.
“The supply log that was stolen from a merchant of the Diang House, Prince Hung’s favorites...” she said, holding my gaze.
I kept my expression calm and unbothered.
“What makes you think I have it?”
She grinned.
“If you didn’t have it, you wouldn’t be trying so hard to look unconcerned. Besides, you didn’t have the time or opportunity to pass it on.”
I cursed under my breath.
“Who else is looking for it?”
“No one right now. But for how long?” The grin curled into a smirk.
I took a deep breath. I was in so much trouble. It wasn’t her physique that convinced me that she was from the Secret Chancellery, no, there were plenty of mercenaries out there who were just as fit. It was her manner of speech — it was too calm and precise. She knew exactly how much of what she needed to say, nothing more, nothing less. Demons, she must’ve intentionally whispered my name earlier.
“So you’re offering protection?”
