Captain Howin banged furiously at the door, it was late at night and he couldn't believe what happened. After another round of hard knocking, the door opened and he saw a familiar face. "Oh thank goodness this was the right place." he stated.
"Captain, how did you find me?" asked Lord Tyron, he was shocked that the captain was banging on the door to his home.
"Uncle, why aren't you at the palace?" asked a boy. He came out from behind Captain Howin but his clothes were really big on him.
"Zhōng? Is that you?" asked Lord Tyron in disbelief.
"Lord Tyron, is this your home?" asked a girl, following Zhōng's lead.
Lord Tyron looked up at Captain Howin, confused and concerned. "I can explain, may we come inside first?" asked Captain Howin.
An hour passed as the two men sat at the table in silence when Xing approached them. "I've put Zhōng in his room and the princess in mine." she declared.
Lord Tyron nodded, then looked at Captain Howin who hardly touched his tea. "Are you sure it was the Reaper?" he asked, while Xing was busy putting the kids to bed, Captain Howin told Lord Tyron what he saw tonight.
"He carried a scythe and can do dark magic unless you have someone else that meets those standards." stated Captain Howin.
Lord Tyron shook his head and looked over at the door to Zhōng's room. "Do they remember anything?" he asked.
"Nothing past seven years old, they believe the war is still going on. I haven't told them anything else." promised Captain Howin.
"Good, they don't need to know right now." stated Lord Tyron.
"What do you mean, uncle?" asked Xing.
"Not only did the Reaper take over half of the life Zhōng and Princess Zhen live through, but he also took their memories and experiences. It feels so strange to know that Zhōng is asleep," stated Lord Tyron as he looked at his niece. She turned to look at the door and approached it. She carefully opened the door and the three of them saw Zhōng rustle in his bed before shutting it.
"Sooner or later, they're going to find out." said Captain Howin before he chugged all of his tea.
"Then we better try to make it later," said Lord Tyron.
"Are you serious about lying to them, uncle?" asked Xing, she didn't like to lie, especially to her brother.
"For now, yes, the Reaper is a descendant of the lord that first wielded the Samurai Sword." replied Lord Tyron.
"A blade that could almost rival the Ninja Sword." stated Captain Howin then a thought popped into his head. "Do you know if the Reaper was responsible for taking the Samurai Sword about four years ago?" he asked Lord Tyron.
"That was technically Zhōng," answered Lord Tyron. He took a sip of his tea as he knew what Captain Howin was going to ask him next. "I had it destroyed, melted down into metal to be reused as part of an axle."
"You did what with the Samurai Sword?!" shouted Captain Howin.
Lord Tyron quickly looked at the doors where Zhōng and Princess Zhen were sleeping. He nodded at Xing who checked both the rooms to find they were still sleeping. When she was done, she nodded at Lord Tyron who took a sigh of relief. "If anything, I did this empire a favor. A powerful thing like that is too dangerous to keep in a museum, it could have risen to a new rebellion." he stated.
Captain Howin sighed, he had been trying to figure out what happened to it for years. "I guess you're right, but it would have been great if you let us know sooner instead of keeping it a secret." he said.
"I'm sure the empress would love me after I sent a letter saying I stole the Samurai Sword and smelt it down into a useful axle on a carriage. She would have definitely removed my punishment and wouldn't have sent more guards to hunt me down." exclaimed Lord Tyron.
Captain Howin sighed again, he knew the empress would do the opposite of Lord Tyron's statement. "So how do we find the Reaper?" he asked, trying to get back on topic.
"Finding him would be hard if we don't know what he's planning." stated Lord Tyron. He got up and led them into his office where towers of papers stacked as high as them.
"How did this office get so full?" asked Xing.
"I'm holding all the jobs till the black market is back in business. Most of these are in fact jobs Zhōng has done." replied Lord Tyron as he sat down behind his desk and wrote a letter.
"So what is he planning?" asked Captain Howin.
Lord Tyron finished his letter and sealed it before answering, "That I don't know, I don't have an interest in potions and spells but there's someone I know who is."
"Who?" asked Xing.
"Don't you remember? He's the one that found and employed Zhōng in the first place." replied Lord Tyron.