Ch. 12

Disclaimer: "Has the fact that you're a PARANOID DELUSIONAL PSYCHOPATH completely escaped you, somehow?"

Ling Yi smiled to herself as she placed the burning incense on the altar and bowed her head in reverence. It seemed the situation was salvageable after all--- or would be, once the pirate was dead. It wasn't that she had anything against him personally, but like she had told lord Zhang He, the man was a loose end. A dangerous loose end, a potential threat to her and her master, and she really didn't take threats lightly, especially when her lord was involved. Ling Yi had molded herself into the perfect servant, unshakably loyal and devoted to the master, willing to kill or die for whoever held that title. She breathed deeply, taking in the familiar scent of the aromatic smoke. Kneeling in front of the altar, she replayed her conversation with lord Zhang He in her head. While she was certainly impressed with her own brilliance, she was also slightly uneasy. What she had done smacked of manipulation, and while she had no qualms about stringing others along like puppets in order to benefit her master, it would be unthinkable to treat him in such a manner.

But she had only acted in his best interests! While she would never suggest this to her lord, (he seemed so happy, and that was so rare these days that she was loathe to ruin his make-believe romance) she firmly believed that the pirate was merely toying with him, pretending to be his lover in order to get some kind of gain. After all, when he had first arrived, he had spurned her master, hadn't he? Oh yes, and hadn't he firmly asserted that he did not prefer the company of other males? Yet now he acted as though he had some sort of affection for her lord, and lord Zhang He, trusting and desperate for male companionship as he was, believed him completely. Well, that horrible pirate could not fool her. She knew what he was up to. First, he would gain her lord's trust, and then pump him for information, though it would be subtle. It would probably take months to amass a significant amount of information in such small pieces, but it could be done. After all, hadn't lady Zhen Ji once told her that all men were foolish when it came to sex? A man would tell his lover anything if he were properly bribed, and this brigand certainly seemed to have plenty to bargain with. Once he got what he needed, he would kill lord Zhang He and make his escape.

She clenched her fists, fury rising within her. How dare he! How dare he try to harm her master! There was no doubt in her mind that this was all planned. Despite her best and most brutal efforts, rumors still managed to spread, and it was more than likely that those wretched dogs of the Wu kingdom had heard of them. It would be all too easy to select any attractive male officer as a plant, give him his instructions, and send him to the battlefield where her lord would be. The rest would be in lord Zhang He's hands, but anyone who wanted to take the time to gather information on her master would know that he tended to spare enemies who he found beautiful, and often took prisoners. She relaxed her hands, unclenching her fists and dropping them at her sides. Well the joke was on Wu, wasn't it? Instead of killing her master, she would see to it that her master killed their pirate first. She would kill him herself if she had to, tear his throat out with her teeth if that were necessary to keep her lord safe. She was no warrior or bodyguard, but didn't take much skill to slip a little poison in someone's drink, and if nothing else, Ling Yi was a master of poisons.

She lit more incense, and prayed that her plan would work, that lord Zhang He would be safe, that Wu and their lying, spying pirate would suffer for their vicious plot. As she knelt in the shrine and prayed, it never once occurred to her that she could be wrong, or that Gan Ning could actually have feelings for her lord and was not a spy or would-be assassin, merely a man who was beginning to come to terms with himself. Not even in her wildest imaginings would she even for the briefest moment conceive that his feelings were genuine, or that there was no plot against her master. This was not in her nature, to believe in such fairy tale nonsense. Her nature was skeptical, pragmatic, calculating, and left no room for notions of romance. Even if she did know these things, who knows if it would matter? He would still be a loose end, and an indirect threat. And loose ends needed to be cut.

DUN DUN DUNNNN! I have nothing to actually say about this chapter, (except that it's damn short) so instead, I'll take the time to recognize someone who made me feel all special. Big ups to Crazy Insanity for saying such VERY nice things in her review! I appreciate you taking the time to write one, since you seem to prefer ghosting. Everyone should go check out her lovely fics! I'd also like to announce a new shtick I'll be doing: Every chapter, I'll do a shout-out to a different reviewer and say nice things about you and shamelessly advertise your stories! I feel it's only right, since you all say such nice things about me. Oh yeah, and I've updated my profile. It's shinier now. And it has sequins. ……Oo ((sweat drop))…Um…wow…I really need to get some sleep, huh? Right-o then, I flee! The bed awaits! ((scurries off like a spazzy little salamander))