THE THIEF

You are wrong if you think that uniting the kingdom's legendary masters is an easy thing to do. Coming from different corners of the Middle Kingdom, these masters' mind-set are much farther than the distance between their hometowns. Take the Blade master and the Iron master for an instance. Before, the two of them had already engaged in a big dispute in front of His Majesty. Iron Master wanted to punish heavily those people who would break even the least important law. On the other hand, Eagle Master seek to change some of the laws, so that the people would not have trouble of abiding it. At last, His Majesty favored Eagle Master's request, unintentionally sowing a lifetime dispute between the two adamant masters.

"Master" is an honorary title bestowed by the Emperors of the Middle Kingdom to extraordinarily skilled martial artists of their era. The title of twelve masters can be traced back in the past, for almost hundreds of years ago. But it was only in this era when a thirteenth was appointed. Emperor Mengyao, father of the current emperor, was the first one to appoint someone as the thirteenth master. No one knew the reason. And majority does not know what is the thirteenth master's identity. But shortly after that, the Emperor died and the first prince ascended the throne. The thirteenth master disappeared. Some said he secluded himself on top of the Slumbering Hill and never showed up again—until now.

The Assembly turned into a rackety mess when the masters started arguing with themselves, each fighting for their own opinion. Song Xianlong's gaze is bound again toward the thirteenth master who remained silent amidst his boisterous surrounding. Although his face is not visible, Song Xianlong could tell that the man is staring at the dishes served on his table.

Song Xianlong shook his head and whispered, 'Weird hermit.'

After a while of staring contest with the food, the thirteenth master sipped a cup of tea, but still not touching the delicacies.

One other weird thing about him is that he has neither servants nor disciples. He obviously came alone. It was Minister Shi's servants and carriage who fetched him from the Slumbering Hill.

Song Xianlong himself has his own servants, so he could not believe that this particular person lived by himself on the mountain for six years. The old man (Song Xianlong and others guessed that the thirteenth master is definitely old) must have a wrinkled skin all over his body, so that a mild ray from the sun would already burn him to ashes.

"Brother Song, what do you think of the thirteenth master? For me, he doesn't look like skilled at all. Look, he doesn't even carry a sword!" Chen Yi, Song family's servant, inquired.

Song Xianlong searched the man in question with his eyes and noticed that he doesn't really have a sword. Maybe he has other weapons or maybe he has great hand-to-hand combat skills. He wouldn't be a master if he is a good for nothing. Song Xianlong picked up a roasted chicken leg and bit a mouthful.

Unbeknown to him, he is not the only one who wanted to test the capabilities of the unfamous master. While the other masters are busy arguing and the rest is busy listening to their arguments, someone threw a sword aiming for the thirteenth master. Song Xianlong saw it coming and recognized the technique in an instant. It was the Spinning Sword Technique which is practiced by the descendants of Gu family at the Eastern City of Xuanying.

Song Xianlong wanted to see what kind of move the master in black would do to counter such powerful technique. He watched eagerly and forced himself not to blink. But when the sword is just a few inches away from the target person, the thirteenth master still seemed to be unaware of the sneak attack. Quickly, Song Xianlong threw the chicken bone in his hand toward the sword. It made a clanking sound, making everyone aware of the situation. The sword stopped spinning and fell some distance behind the target.

The noise made by the masters ceased, and silence finally reigned within the courtyard. The thirteenth master sipped another cup of tea. Song Xianlong's brow knitted. He doesn't know if the old man is really unaware of the previous attack. Have his senses gone numb?

Song Xianlong was busy thinking it over, so he didn't notice the Dragon Master approached him.

"That's quite a good throw you did," the head of the masters, and probably the top skilled one, told him.

He stood up immediately and bowed. "Thank you, Dragon Master."

If he would be someone's disciple, Song Xianlong wants to be taught by the most skilled master in the Middle Kingdom.

"The Northern city has been void of a Master for more than three decades now. Your grandfather was the last one to date. I met him once before at the Battle of the Red Valley, and I was really impressed just like the way you impressed me today."

"Dragon Master is so kind. My grandfather will definitely be happy to hear these words from you."

The Dragon Master laughed. "Indeed, indeed. Song Huan is a good man."

The Dragon Master turned to look behind him. Song Xianlong looked too and saw the thirteenth master watching them. He stared inside the hood where the face should be but what he saw is an endless abyss that seemed to be swallowing him. The thirteenth master was the first to look away, as he reached for another cup of tea. Xianlong was about to shift his gaze too, but something on the hand of the dark master hit him.

Thin, pale and bony hands with slender fingers.

'I knew it! He's the thief!' Xianlong's brow furrowed as he realized why the thirteenth master somehow looked familiar to him. That's because they have already met just few days ago. That is the hand that broke a boulder into pieces in the forbidden forest. And the thirteenth master, he's the thief of the golden leaf!