| Fan Fiction |
by Melanie
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER
SEASHORE
Seagulls glide across a deep blue sky, their cries blending in with the soothing melody of gentle waves lapping against the jagged rocks lining the bottom of a steep cliff. The orange sun blazes proud and hot, its rays reflecting off the waves, making the sea appear like a blanket of shimmering ice-blue jewels.
A lone man in a long white robe walks briskly along the shore, his right hand clutching a sword. Suddenly, he stops as if listening intently to the surroundings. Out of nowhere, five men, dressed completely in black with black handkerchiefs covering the lower part of their faces, fly out toward the lone man in white. The man in white adroitly executes several flips in the air and vanishes from eyesight. The five men in black survey the surrounding beach in confusion. Suddenly, from the corner of their eyes, they catch a glimpse of the metallic glint of a sword, but before they could react, they feel the fatal sting of blade against their throats. All five men in black collapse onto the sandy beach, blood gushing from their wounds.
The man in black gasps and pants as he points weakly at the man in white. "Lam Yik Lun, there are more assassins to come. One day, your guard will be down, and you will die at our hands!" He coughs up blood and finally drops his head onto the sand as he takes in his last breath.
Yik Lun looks on the deaths of the five assassins emotionlessly. Drops of crimson blood slowly trickle down the blade of his sword, saturating the dry, thirsty sand. Calmly, he re-sheaths his sword and strolls away without a backward glance.
LATER THAT SAME DAY
ON A GRASSY MEADOW
Lun sits cross-legged on the soft grassy land under the shade of a willow tree, with his ever-present sword on the ground beside him. A travel bag lies open on his lap, and he takes out a sweet bun and starts to chew on it. He leans back against the trunk of the willow tree and closes his eyes as he listens to the gentle swishing sounds of leaves swaying in the breeze. Bees buzz busily around the field, flying from one sweet blossom to another, sampling their sweet nectar.
The tinkling sound of chains and soft footsteps interrupt the peaceful sounds of nature. Lun opens his eyes, looks up, and finds himself staring into the most angelic face he has ever seen. A young woman stands in front him, garbed in a long frosty pink gown with silver ruffles at the hem. Her long, silky black tresses trail down her back, the tips fluttering around her tiny waist. Long, thick eyelashes frame a pair of large, brown eyes. She looks achingly beautiful and fragile and would have been mistaken for an angel if not for the steel chains clamped on her feet, restricting her from taking long strides and from running. Lun could not help but gawk at her delicate perfection.
On the other hand, the young woman does not seem to notice his attention, but instead stares hungrily at the sweet bun in his hand. Finally, Lun notices her hungry look and offers her a new bun from his travel sack.
Tears of gratitude swim in her eyes as she hesitantly reaches for the bun. She whispers gratefully. "Thank you, Sir."
Lun continues to stare at her with a mesmerized expression. Oblivious to his fascination with her, she hungrily devours the bun and finishes it within minutes. Still, her stomach continues to rumble, as she has not eaten in three days. She is penniless and does not have the money to purchase food. Shamefully, she looks at Lun with downcast eyes, wanting to ask him for another bun but too embarrassed to voice her request. Astutely, he notices her longing look and gives her the rest of his sweet buns. She takes the food from him shyly.
The young woman smiles at him sweetly. "Thank you. I will forever be grateful to you."
The young woman turns around and begins to walk away, the chains on her feet rattling with her every step.
Lun jumps up from his seated position. "Wait! Forgive me for being too curious, but why do you have chains on your feet?"
She pauses and stares at the ground with a sad expression. "It's a long story. I must leave now, for I do not want to bring you trouble."
She begins to walk away. Once again, Lun chases after her, unwilling to let this beautiful woman disappear.
Lun attempts to stop her again. "Miss, wait! My name is Lam Yik Lun. Please, will you tell me your name?"
The young woman hesitates but finally decides to divulge her name since he has been so kind to her. "My name is So Sui Han."
Lun trails after her. "Miss Sui Han, if you do not object, I would like to accompany you." He helpfully offers. "It is not safe for a woman to be traveling alone in the wilderness."
Sui Han shakes her head vigorously, her eyes huge as saucers. "No, you must not travel with me, Young Master! I will bring you bad luck!"
Lun smiles at her frantic expression. "Nonsense. Why would you bring me bad luck? Does this have something to do with the chains around your feet?"
Sui Han nods her head sadly before explaining. "I was born in a small fishing village. From the day I was born, my family started experiencing episode after episode of misfortune. My family could not catch any fish, and because of this, my baby brother starved to death. By the time I was three years old, my father died in a boating accident. My mother, due to unbearable grief, committed suicide soon afterward, leaving my older brother and me to fend for ourselves."
Frowning, she continues. "We lived off the streets, because the landlord considered us bad luck. When I was ten years old, my brother went up the mountains to look for wild berries and never came back. From that day on, I roamed the streets alone. When I turned fifteen years old, a terrible flood killed many people in my village. So, you see, I am bad luck." Sui Han concludes her story with a depressed sigh.
Lun smiles at her forlorn expression. "I am not superstitious. Everything that happened to your family could simply be coincidence. You should not blame yourself."
Sui Han, her eyes downcast, speaks in a shaky voice. "A fortune-teller in my village predicted that I would bring misfortune to everyone around me. Because of his words, no one would dare come near me."
She stares into space, as if looking into the past. In a trance, she continues her story. "Big Brother Sai Chung was the only one who would befriend me after my biological brother disappeared. He's an orphan, too, and immediately looked after me as if I were his own younger sister. He brought me food and blankets when it was too cold in the shack that he found for me. But…"
Too emotional to continue, Sui Han sniffs back her tears. "But one day, he didn't come to visit me. Later, I heard a rumor that mountain robbers had stabbed him to death while he was on his way bringing food to me."
Sobbing softly, Sui Han confesses, "I killed him with my bad luck." She wipes her tears with the back of her hand and then looks at Lun determinedly. "Don't you see? You must stay away from me!"
She turns and walks away as quickly as her chains would allow her, but she trips on a rock in her haste. Lun quickly lunges forward in an attempt to break her fall. Unfortunately, he is too far away and reaches her a second too late, and instead of preventing her from falling, he tumbles to the ground with her. He lands with her sprawled on top of him, their faces inches apart.
He stares deeply into her beautiful brown eyes, besotted. Embarrassed, Sui Han scrambles to get up, but he suddenly jerks her head down onto his chest. Alarmed, she looks up at him, but he signals her to be quiet. He concentrates intensely on the grove of trees behind them.
Suddenly, arrows shoot out from the vicinity of the trees. In one fluid movement, Lun picks Sui Han up in his arms and flies away from the rain of arrows.
Five men, dressed in black, give chase. Lun settles Sui Han back on her feet and charges toward the men. Sui Han, her eyes wide with fear, backs away from the scene, trying to distance herself from the violence. Meanwhile, the five men seem to be losing to Lun's superior martial arts skills. With five consecutive forceful kicks, he knocks all five men in black down.
Sensing defeat, one of the assassins looks at Sui Han out of the corner of his eyes. Without warning, he lunges to his feet and charges toward Sui Han in an attempt to hold her hostage. Swiftly, Lun flips through the air and stabs the man through the heart. Without his feet touching the ground, he kicks off from a nearby tree trunk and flips several more times through the air to where the other four men in black are sprawled on the ground. With one swift slash of his sword blade, he finishes them off.
Shocked at what just happened, Sui Han stands frozen to the ground.
Walking toward Sui Han, Lun looks at her with concerned eyes. "Miss Sui Han, are you all right?"
Sui Han stares at him with wide, horrified eyes and begins to hyperventilate. The combination of hunger and fright causes the world to suddenly spin out of control, and soon she sees gray before she drops limply towards the ground. Lun rushes forward and catches her in time.
Lun holds an unconscious Sui Han in his arms and gently slaps her cheeks in an attempt to rouse her. "Miss Sui Han! Miss Sui Han!"
When he receives no response from the unconscious Sui Han, he quickly picks her up in his arms and runs swiftly towards Lam Mansion.
**********
If you enjoy this story, please also read my other story, Legendary Book of Sun-Moon Swordplay - The Prequel. Thank you.
http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/legendprequel/