| Fan Fiction |
by Melanie
NEAR THE BORDER OF THE SONG DYNASTY
OUTSIDE A HUGE STONE STRUCTURE, WHICH SERVES AS THE SUN MOON SECT HEADQUARTERS
The two Sun Moon Sect members, who had previously discovered the deaths of two fellow members in the forest, have returned to headquarters to report this setback. They press a hidden stone lever near the entrance of a stone structure, and a hidden door slides open to reveal a long, torch lit hallway. The two members enter, their footsteps echoing loudly in the silence. At the end of the hall, they hesitate at the entrance of a huge, dimly lit room and exchange apprehensive glances before stepping inside.
INSIDE THE DIMLY LIT ROOM
A darkly handsome man sits on a stone bed with his legs crossed and eyes closed as he practices his martial arts. His eyes suddenly open, and he jerks his head in the direction of the doorway. His cold, emotionless eyes pierce the two Sun Moon Sect members standing at the entranceway.
The man looks questioningly at the two members. "Did they capture the Lams?"
One of the members, Chau Mo, shakes his head. "No, First Young Master. Lau Dong and I found the bodies of our two men in a forest. The Lams must have killed them."
Hearing this news, the darkly handsome man tightens his jaw muscles, his lips flattened into a grim line. "Incompetent imbeciles! I send two burly men out, and they cannot even capture one young woman! What about the ten assassins we sent out to kill Lam Yik Lun?"
The other member, Lau Dong, looks worriedly at his fellow Sun Moon Sect member, Chau Mo, before answering. "They, too, have failed their mission. Chau Mo and I found five assassins dead on the beach and five more dead on a meadow in the outskirts of the city of Lam On."
Incensed at this news, the darkly handsome man hurls a fireball at the opposite stone wall.
Another young man stands at a corner of the room, his front turned away from the other three people in the room, as he calmly studies the kung fu drawings on the walls. He now turns around and speaks, smirking slightly at his darkly handsome older brother. "Elder Brother, I told you that the Lam siblings are difficult to defeat. After all, the Lam family has been holding the title of Chancellor of the Martial Arts World for over forty years."
The darkly handsome man glances over at his younger brother, his gaze piercing. "Yat Keung, don't be so sure of the Lams' invincibility. After all, everyone has an Achilles' heel. All we have to do is find that weak spot and strike. If worse comes to worse and I have to battle these siblings personally, I believe that I, Koo Yat Fei, will be able to defeat them."
Koo Yat Keung walks calmly toward his older brother. "Why waste your talents, Elder Brother? Why don't I personally go and take care of them for you?"
Fei looks at his younger brother questioningly. "You? Are you sure you want to deal with this?"
Keung shrugs nonchalantly. "Sure. Why, not? I haven't had the chance to try out my newly learned flying knives kung fu. I might as well use this skill on the Lams."
Fei smiles. "Then I shall wait here for your good news. Take Lau Dong and Chau Mo with you to help. Don't disappoint me, Keung."
Keung smiles confidently. "When have I ever let you down?"
CITY OF LAM ON
OUTSIDE YEE HEUNG LAU (THE BROTHEL)
Lun walks toward Yee Heung Lau, with Sui Han trailing apprehensively after him. He pauses in front of the brothel's entrance and glances back at the quivering Sui Han.
Lun smiles reassuringly at the frightened young woman, as he walks over to Sui Han's side. "Sui Han, do not be afraid. I promise I won't let them recapture you."
Sui Han peeks up at Lun worriedly. "But First Young Master, what if they…?"
Lun reassures Sui Han, "Don't worry. We are here to pay for your freedom. You'll never have to return to this place again."
Sui Han looks at him gratefully. "Thank you, First Young Master. First, you free me of my chains. Then, you pay for my freedom. I don't think I will ever be able to repay you for your kindness."
Lun stares at her intently and murmurs to himself. "Maybe you will be able to repay me someday, if you are willing…" Pulling himself away from his wishful thinking, he speaks in a louder voice. "Don't be silly. There is nothing to repay. Let's get this unpleasant task settled, and we can be on our way."
Sui Han, eyes wide, hesitantly follows him into Yee Heung Lau, her hand tightly gripping his.
INSIDE YEE HEUNG LAU (BROTHEL)
Inside the notorious house of ill-repute, drunken men chase scantily dressed women around, while some customers enjoy the seductive dance on stage as they sample the fine wine and cuisine. From a corner of the room, the Madam of the establishment spies a well-dressed Yik Lun and, smelling a potential rich customer, sashays up to him.
The Madam smiles charmingly, baring all her teeth. "Young Master! Welcome to Yee Heung Lau, where the women are beautiful, the music is high-classed, and the cuisine is delicious! We have a wide variety of girls for selection. Who is your pleasure today?"
As the Madam chatters on, Sui Han hides behind Lun and stays out of the Madam's line of vision.
Lun dangles a pouch full of gold pieces in front of the Madam's nose. "I am actually here to pay for the freedom of one of your girls." He pulls Sui Han out from behind him, thus revealing her presence to the Madam.
Spotting Sui Han, the Madam’s mouth hangs open with surprise. As surprise turns into outrage, the Madam points an accusing finger at Sui Han as she advances toward Sui Han threateningly. "You! So this man is whom you have been hiding with all this time! I paid good money for you, and you have not brought in one gold chip for me!"
Terrified, Sui Han burrows herself against Lun's chest. He holds her protectively against him as he holds out one hand to halt the advance of the angry Madam.
Lun speaks calmly. "Madam, why don't you just take this bag of gold and forget that you ever laid eyes on Sui Han? There is more than enough money in here to cover all your losses."
The Madam, incensed at being told what to do, screeches, "What?! Forget that I ever laid eyes on this girl? Are you kidding? She has the kind of fragile beauty that attracts men like honey attracts bees! She will make me a million times richer than I am now! Do you think that your pouch of gold can compare to the riches that lie ahead for me?!"
Lun's eyes narrow dangerously, his voice cold with anger. "I wouldn't overreact if I were you, Madam."
The Madam laughs mockingly in Lun's face. "I am not afraid of you! I have men to take care of troublemakers like you."
The Madam backs away from Lun and Sui Han as she claps her hands loudly. From the balcony, four heavyset men leap down and surround Lun. Sensing trouble, he sets Sui Han away from him and turns to face his opponents with a dangerously calm expression.
The Madam shrieks in the background. "Beat him up, men!!!"
The four men charge at Lun simultaneously with fists raised menacingly. Calmly, without unsheathing his sword, Lun grabs one of the men by the shirt front and flings him toward a second man, who is in the process of charging forward, thereby knocking both down. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees two more men swiftly approaching and, with a forceful kick, sends both crashing into a nearby table. The occupants of the table scream and run for cover. Chaos ensues as guests quickly evacuate the brothel, leaving the four bouncers writhing in pain on the floor and the Madam cowering in the corner.
Sui Han quickly runs to Lun's side and latches onto his arm as she surveys the carnage. Lun, with Sui Han attached to his arm, walks toward the frightened Madam.
Lun drops his pouch of gold onto the floor in front of the Madam. Stretching his hand out toward the frightened woman, he demands, "Give me her ownership papers." When the Madam continues to stare up with him with shock, her eyes glazed over, he adds calmly in a lethally soft voice. "Now."
Her head nodding like a puppet attached to strings, the Madam, with shaky hands, pulls out Sui Han's papers, and hands them over to Lun. "Here, Young Master."
Lun takes the papers and shreds them to pieces. Then, holding Sui Han's hand, he proceeds to walk out of Yee Heung Lau with her.
One of the burly men, unwilling to accept defeat easily, charges at Lun's back with a small knife. A split second before the knife touches his back, Lun swiftly turns around and stares emotionlessly at the burly bouncer. Frightened by Lun's steely gaze, the bouncer drops his knife and runs away.
OUTSIDE THE WRECKED YEE HEUNG LAU
Holding firmly onto Sui Han’s hand, Lun pulls her across the cobblestoned street across from Yee Heung Lau. Stopping once they are some distance away from the brothel, Lun pauses and looks at Sui Han with concern. "Are you all right?"
Sui Han looks at him quietly for a moment before breaking into a wide grin. "First Young Master, you were fabulous in there, just like the heroes in the bedtime stories my mother used to tell me!"
Lun turns beet-red and looks bashfully down at the ground. "Ummm…" Clearing his throat, he mumbles shyly to his feet. “It is nothing. Sui Han…”
However, by the time he glances back up, Sui Han has already wandered off to inspect some hairpins at a nearby vendor stand. He walks over to her and looks over her shoulder to see which pieces have caught her eye.
Lun comments, "Those hairpins are beautiful. Would you like…?"
But before he is able to complete his question, Sui Han interrupts him. "The hairpins are pretty, but too expensive for me. Let's go, First Young Master. It's getting late." She walks away after one last longing look at the hairpins.
Lun glances back at the hairpins and then follows Sui Han, who appears to be deep in thought. Tapping Sui Han on the shoulder, Lun makes up an excuse to stop Sui Han from heading straight back to Lam Mansion. "Sui Han, I am a bit hungry. Why don't you find us a table at that restaurant up ahead? I have something to do first and will meet up with you in a few minutes."
Sui Han nods. "Okay."
Sui Han walks toward the restaurant up ahead. Once she disappears into the restaurant, Lun backtracks to the hairpin vendor stand.
VENDOR STAND SELLING HAIR ACCESSORIES
The vendor, a smooth-talking elderly woman, enthusiastically welcomes Lun's browsing and excitedly advertises her goods. He inspects the wide selection of hair accessories with a confused frown on his brow, as he has never bought anything for a woman before.
The vendor speaks encouragingly. "Take your time, Sir. I have a wide variety of hair accessories that not only accentuate a lady's beauty but also are sturdy to wear and tear."
Lun studies the hairpins with a confused expression as he scans the wide assortment laid out on the table. "Which hair accessory did that young woman seem interested in?"
The vendor looks at Lun questioningly. "You mean, the young lady with you here a few minutes ago? Well, it was hard to tell because she glanced at every piece." The old woman smiles cunningly, sensing an easy target. "Sir, if you want to impress her, then my advice is to purchase this one here." She points to a beautiful, delicate gold hairpin with multi-colored stones embedded along the edges and three long, shimmering, gold chains dangling from one end of the pin. "It's an exact replica of the hair accessory worn by the beautiful and famous Tang Dynasty concubine, Lady Yeung Yuk Wan."
Lun picks up the recommended hairpin and examines it closely, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Hmmm…" He glances at the other hairpins, which look very pretty to him, also. He tries to imagine which one Sui Han would prefer, but comes up with a blank. Finally, after much deliberation, he makes a decision. "I'll take all of them. Wrap them up for me, please."
The vendor smiles excitedly, for this is her lucky day. "Thank you, thank you, Sir! That young lady is truly fortunate to have you as an admirer."
After handing over his payment and tucking his package away, Lun walks toward the restaurant, deciding that he will surprise Sui Han tonight with his purchases. As he strolls away, the vendor, also known to others in the Sun Moon Sect as Grandmother Fa, smiles slyly at Lun's retreating back…
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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/