Owe You Something
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The classical buildings built in the Edo period were messy, yet pleasant. As Yang Chen searched for the silhouette, he passed through two alleys and arrived at a garden formed by fences.
Since it was winter, most of the trees and other plants had withered away. Red and yellow leaves fell on the tiles and slates of the roof which have seen some rough times .Tree branches could be seen through the mottled fences.
A few really aged yew plum pines which were green during all four seasons occupied some of the space in the courtyard. Delicate trimmings made them hold the green which was exclusive to winter.
There weren’t any tourists at the bluestone path in front of the courtyard. Yang Chen didn’t know if the place wasn’t a tourist site, or it was just coincidentally deserted.
Yang Chen was extremely emotional, since he didn’t lose her trail this time!
The figure dressed in a water-blue skirt pushed the wooden door of the courtyard open before quietly walking inside.
Yang Chen followed to the door, which should have seen years of history since the iron bars on the wooden door revealed rust. However, the thickness, mass and texture of the dark-colored wood gave off the dignity of a noble house.
When he noticed that the person he wanted to see so badly could be inside, at such a short distance, Yang Chen suddenly hesitated.
His footsteps stopped outside the door. Clenching his fists violently, Yang Chen took a deep breath before slowly pushing the door open.
The first thing that entered his vision was the artificial mountain and a water stream inside the courtyard. The stream of water which trickled down a small pool should remain unfrozen all year round. Dense, but frequently trimmed plants surrounded the blocks of ancient houses.
One could feel the majesty of ancient shoguns through the elegant yet generous design of the buildings.
However, all of these had no appeal to Yang Chen’s eyes, as his gaze had been fixed on the pathway in front of the mansion at his opposite, since he entered the place.
Her skirt wavered when the wind blew slightly, revealing a pair of bare feet with the color of snow. She looked curvaceous like a Japanese quince as her black hair got blown to her face by the cold wind, looking cold and quiet as always.
Her eyes still didn’t hold any emotions.
The nostalgic face, posture and aura made Yang Chen stunned where he stood absentmindedly as his mind went completely blank.
Following closely, too many complicated scenes evoked acted like vicious and violent waves as they sucked Yang Chen into the past…
…
In a place of icy weather, there lay numerous pine trees which were covered in snow all year round. The dark and dense sky was spread with feather-like snow.
A youngster dressed in a robe was pressing onto his arm which scarlet blood gushed out of. He leaned against a humongous tree while the ground of snow in front of his feet was drenched in blood.
The youngster’s lips were pale while his face was ashen. A sharp and ferocious ambience condensed in his eyes as it refused to disperse. However, due to excessive blood loss and the low temperature in addition to three days of continuous stressful battle, he couldn’t sustain himself at last.
Occasional howling of the arctic wolves could be heard from the endless snow forest.
At this moment, more than ten armed soldiers wearing snow capes came in two armored vehicles which were capable of climbing mountains. They stopped on a nearby slope.
The youngster knew who they were. The team was one of his enemies, the special forces called Snow Fox who were secretly trained in Northern Europe, who came to surround and annihilate him. Frequently battling in snow forests and mountains, they were more skilled in fighting at snowy areas than anyone else.
Snow Fox jumped down the armored vehicles orderly before running in a quick but complicated manner as they started their inch-by-inch search in the forest.
The youngster exhaled a mouthful of fog before his eyes turned scarlet once again.
This was the fifteenth wave of enemies he encountered. The previous fourteen waves were all wiped out by him alone, but he finally got heavily injured.
The bullets of his opponents were specially treated so that his wounds couldn’t recover in a short time, even a scab would be difficult to form. This meant his body strength would be expended uncontrollably while he would slowly lose his life…
However, he didn’t want to die!
A long blade slid down into the youngster’s palm from his sleeve. It was the final weapon he had with him!
At this moment, a soldier from the Snow Fox nearest to him suddenly choked!
There was a hole cut open by a sharp weapon on the soldier’s neck. As blood poured, he crashed onto the snow ground!
Behind him appeared a graceful young lady whose body was wrapped in snow camouflage clothing, causing her long hair to be the only eye-catching on the ground of snow!
Before the other soldiers from Snow Fox assaulted the lady, she circled the numerous trees around like lightning.
Occasionally, the short blade in her hand could draw out a splendid splash of blood from a soldier’s throat. Her death-like dance was attractive but lethal!
When a small team of Snow Fox got wiped out by the lady, she walked towards the youngster without saying anything. Ignoring the youngster’s intention, she pulled his arms and lowered her body before carrying him up on her back.
“Didn’t you leave earlier, why did you come back…” Blood still overflowed from the youngster’s arm, causing the lady’s clothing to be soaked slowly.
The lady ran swiftly but she didn’t pant at all. Without any emotions, she answered, “Came back to rescue you.”
“It’s my turn to cover the retreat this time. Missions are all like this, you don’t need to save me.”
“You saved me in the rainforest, I’m returning the favor,” the lady replied.
The corners of the youngster’s lips raised slightly. “You allowed me to vent on your body earlier while I let you live. That was the deal.”
“Correct, that’s a fair trade, but I still owe you something else…”
“What is it?”
“It was you who told me I could learn to trust, at least I can trust you…”
The lady’s voice was really soft while she sounded immensely cold as usual, just like scattered catkins in the wind.
…
During a night in midsummer, everyone seemed impetuous on the jammed streets where the noise of nightlife could be heard.
On the rooftop of a five-storey building, a youngster stared at the foggy streets with a poor-quality cigarette hanging on his mouth. Over there, some people were fighting, some authorities were chasing unlicensed food stalls away and some people who had gotten in a car accident were arguing. There were all kinds of people doing different activities, as if it was an entire different world.
The youngster had started smoking not long ago and gotten addicted to the feeling since. As the hot smoke entered his lungs, his mind could be temporarily awakened, causing him to feel his own existence.
Suddenly, a silhouette landed on the rooftop and slowly walked towards the youngster.
The youngster turned around and looked at the girl dressed in a water-blue dress whose air was blown by the wind. The face which had gotten a lot mature still looked like a lifeless wooden doll as ever.
“Have you met your mother yet?” the youngster asked with a smile.
“Yes I have,” the girl replied in a dull manner.
“Ah, you’ve spent so much effort to look for her. You finally found her.” Out of curiosity, he asked, “Has she told you your real name yet? Your real name can’t be Seventeen as well right?”
There weren’t any emotions in Seventeen’s eyes. As he gazed at the dark sky, she said, “I don’t have a name. Also, I killed her.”
“Who?”
“The woman who gave birth to me,” Seventeen said.
The youngster coughed violently for a few times. He choked after listening to what she said. Gloomily, he asked, “It wasn’t easy for you to finally locate your mom. Why did you kill her?!”
Calmly, Seventeen answered, “She’s a prostitute. She was doing business when I found her. I asked her who my father is, to which she replied she didn’t remember, since she had many customers each day. She said there was the people back then were willing to pay a high price to play with pregnant ladies, so she didn’t get an abortion. However, since she didn’t have enough money to spend, she didn’t want me either. As a result, she directly left me by the road, so I wasn’t given a name.
“She asked if I had money, and I replied no. She asked me if I wanted to do the kind of business together with her, since she’s old and she wants me to pay for her living…”
The youngster flicked the soot on his cigarette as he remained quiet for a while. “Don’t you feel that you acted a bit too recklessly?”
“Based on the way she lived, it was more appropriate that she died. At least she didn’t have to worry about money or getting old. She should be more blessed this way than being alive. You too know that I don’t feel pain when I kill…” After Seventeen finished speaking, she turned around and snatched the cigarette from the youngster’s hand. As coldness flashed in her eyes, she said, “Let me tell you, Thirteen, don’t smoke this kind of stuff in front of me. I hate to see this look of yours!”
As soon as she finished speaking, the girl turned around. At that moment, a teardrop fell from her face and floated onto the ground.
Seeing the silhouette-like figure disappear in the night, Thirteen slanted his head and smiled before taking yet another cigarette from his shirt pocket and lighting it up.
“Stupid, it’s better that you know how to hate than not know how to feel…”