Due to the mystery of the story, I don't want to tell you too much of the casts' identity. So this is just a quick personality check on them:
Heung Fei Lap ** Ekin Cheng - He's kind of goofy in personality, but he has a giving heart. Optimistic most of the time, but when it comes to love he is always undecisive.
Liu Ping Yee ** Vivian Leung - Very secretive when it comes to her past. She doesn't know much about it and is constant search for it.
Cheung Hung Sing ** Sunny Chan - He was a trained killer that turned to the kingdom for help. In return to spare his life, the King made him into the top body guard to protect his only girl.
Kam Yuk Lan ** Nadia Chan - A sweet girl with a kind heart. Although she is always in constant trouble due to her identity. She seems to have a bright star next to her that shows her the way to safety.
Cheng Yiu Fai ** Wong Hei - A smooth talker that can get out in any situation. A great friend and loyal person when it comes to people that he trust and respect.
Wong Fah Yong ** Gi Gi Lai - She's a hyper girl that keeps everyone on their toes. She is actually not as childish as she seems, its a simple cover to distract people.
All other characters will be added slowly as the story progress. I will try to put in names of familiar actors to give you a better idea of what they look like. Let me know what you think!! Jenny
Chapter 1
It was another beautiful day in the little crowded town of Ha Chow. Everyone seemed to be doing what they were suppose to. Fei Lap (Ekin) was busy carrying the large bags of rice onto the rollers. He was to deliver them to the next city in a few hours. Stronger than the average guy, he was able to make ten trips instead of the usual five that the other guys do a day. Always in a happy mood while he delivered the bags, he waved to the friendly people of the town as he passed by them. It was such a tiny town that everyone knew each other well.
Fei Lap passed by a tiny broken down cottage where there lived an old man and his grandaughter. He stopped unconsciously as he turned to the empty home. The old man always had a habit of coming out in the morning to take a walk. Fei Lap would always walk with him as he did his delivery. Although he never met the man's granddaughter, actually no one in the city ever did. The old man always kept her in the house. Rumors said that she was tortured in there or that he was too ashamed of her? Nevertheless, no one ever found out, even Fei Lap. 'What happened to him?' he asked himself. Worried overcame him quickly as he approached the front door. Ready to knock when a voice called out to him "Fei Lap! You looking for me?"
Turning to the familiar voice as he found the old man (Wu Fung) a few feet away. "Lou Bak, I was getting worried." Taking a leap as he landed face to face with the old man.
"Oh silly boy, Im fine. Come on, we're late for our walk. Where to today?" stepping quickly to Fei Lap's long stride as he pushed the rollers.
"Ha Zhuan." he noticed the old man was a little shakier than usual. "Lou Bak, where's your cane?"
"Oh, silly me, I lost it." he waved his hand nochalantly.
"Should we go back and find it?" his concern rising, he didn't want the old man to faint on him.
"Of course not. I can go one day without it."
They continued their walk as they passed the forest that led them to the next city. Wiping the persperation from his forehead as he stopped and turned his attention to the old man who was heaving big breaths of air. "Lou Bak, maybe you should stay here? I'll come back for you."
The old man was breathless as he nodded his head in agreement. Fei Lap went on his way as he reached his destination and delivered the heavy bags of rice. When he returned back to the forest to fetch the old man. His eyes widened at what he saw. The man had fainted and hovering over him was a girl. She was searching his belt. Dropping the roller as he ran to the thief "HEY!! Stop it!! What are you doing?!" grabbing the girl's hand as he pulled her to her feet. As quick as he grabbed her, he let go. "AHH!" jumping back from surprise.
They stared at eached other for a few minutes until Fei Lap realized that the old man was beginning to wake up. He bent down to the man and helped him sit upright. "Lou Bak, you okay? This girl was trying to steal from you. I'll take her to the mayor and get her arrested."
The girl sighed as she bent down next to the old man. "Yeh Yeh, I think we should arrest him for leaving an old man alone in the forest."
"Yeh Yeh?" Fei Lap looked questionally at the old man.
Lou Chung just laughed and shook his head "Fei Lap, this is my granddaughter. It's just a misunderstanding."
"No its not! Yeh Yeh, he hurt me. See?" she pulled out her wrists to show the red mark where he grabbed her.
"I didn't do that!" Fei Lap exclaimed in shock "I didn't hold onto it for more than 5 seconds. Your face scared me!!"
The girl blushed as she touched her scarred face. She looked around for her hankerchief. She found it on the ground nearby and quickly picked it up. While she tied it back around her face, her grandfather explained "Now you see why I won't let her out of the house? Her face was badly burned when she was a little girl, there's no cure for it. I don't want the whole town to be disgusted by her face. She's a girl afterall and looks are so important to them."
"No its not, Yeh Yeh. I told you I didn't care. You were ashamed for me." she said annoyingly.
"I can see why." Fei Lap muttered under his breath while the girl glared at him.
"Ching Ching, don't be rude. Come on, my legs are going to go numb if I don't walk it off." Fei Lap and Ching Ching helped the old man up as they continued to glare at each other.
"Lou Bak, why don't I take you to Lam Dai Yee (Dr. Lam) so he could check you?"
"Hmph, who needs your help? He's got me." Ching Ching said coldly.
"Ehh..." the old man patted her hand "Ching Ching, he means well. You two use to be such good friends. What happened?"
"Friends?" Fei Lap hadn't the faintest memory of this girl.
"Yeh Yeh, what are you talking about?" her calm voice seemed to sooth down.
"This is Fei Lap. The same guy that use to buy you candy down the street when you were five. I remember that one day it was raining so hard. You were crying and crying after the boiling soup spilt on your face. I didn't know how to quiet you down so I asked Fei Lap to get you some candy. He did it without question." The old man's eyes glossed over as he thought about the past "If only your parents were here, they would have stopped the accident from happening. Then your poor face wouldn't be so badly burned." A single tear dropped down his wrinkled face as he quickly wiped it away "Do you two remember?"
"Now that you mentioned it, I do kind of remember something." Fei Lap looked at the man thoughtfully.
"How about you, Ching Ching?"
"Vaguely." was her response. Lou Chung just shook his head as he laughed. His granddaughter was never afraid to tell the truth. Sometimes he wondered if it was a mistake to keep her away from all the people for so long. She doesn't know how to converse with others. She probably won't ever learn.
When they reached the town, everyone seemed to stop in their tracks as they looked at the unfamiliar girl with the old man. Whispers began as everyone began to ask each other if that was his granddaughter. The old man smiled to the group as he put his hand up to silence them. "Im sure everyone is wondering who she is. Well, this is Ching Ching, my granddaughter."
The whispers came louder and louder as everyone began to talk amongst themselves. "Why did you hide her all this time?" Lam Suk asked in curiousity.
"Because I look like this." Ching Ching pulled off her hankerchief bravely.
Gasps of shock ran through the crowd as everyone covered their mouths. While the guys looked away in disgust. A few children ran behind their mothers in fear. Ching Ching quickly put back her veil. Fei Lap was afraid of their response and being a friend of the old man, he knew they would give him grief. "Oh come on, don't exaggerate people. She's not that ugly." he said.
"Who ever said she was ugly?" Lam Thai asked. "We simply think its a shame that such a young girl like her be condemned with a scarred face. I don't think any girl in the right mind would do that to herself." The crowded nodded and answered in agreement.
Fei Lap quickly blushed at their heartful response. He never knew that they would be so understanding. What with all this competition about what girl was the most beautiful in the city. It was almost like a beauty pageant they had each year. Everyone would get together and 'present' their daughters. It was the town's little way of finding an appropiate home for the girls. Their little tradition was so popular that alot of their guests came from other cities to look at the girls.
"Actually, our annual tradition is coming up. Its a shame Ching Ching cannot be in it." Lam Thai said thoughtfully.
"Its alright, I never liked that tradition." Ching Ching said honestly. "Come on Yeh Yeh, you need to rest your legs." she led him through the crowd to their home while the people began to scatter away.
"Fei Lap!!" his best friend, Keung ran up to him breathless. "You're ...mother...she"
Before he finished, Fei Lap rushed off. He knew his mother was sick and the doctor had said that she was coming close to her death. He barged through the wooden doors as he rushed to his mother's room. "Mother!!" calling out to her as he saw her unconscious by her bed. With a strong arm, he carried her up to her bed. "Mother..." his shaking fingers touching her neck for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found it.
The elder lady opened her eyes slowly. Seeing her son, she smiled "Ah Lap, you're home."
"Mother, how are you feeling?" he controlled himself not to cry.
"Im okay sweetie. Just dying, like any old person has to go through." she was so open when it came to death. When she noticed his eyes winced in pain, her smile faded. Reaching out to touch his face "Ah Lap, you are so optimistic about everything, why must you be sad now? Think about it, if I die then I will no longer be in pain. I feel so useless at times. You work so hard everyday to support the expensive medicine you keep buying for me. But there really is no use for them because I am going to die soon. I have no regrets." She smiled at her son, who tears began to fall down his face.
"You're not going to die. You're going to live to a healthy age of 80 or even 100." His eyes full of earnest while his mother shook her head.
"No, I think I'll kill myself if I turn 80. I've lived quite a happy life if you think about it. I have a wonderful son. Im just sad that I won't get to see you get married and have kids."
"If you hang around for another year, I'll get married in a month and give you a grandchild for you to carry." he joked.
She chuckled at his naive response. "It takes longer than a month to get to know someone. Don't be silly, you can't get married like that." her face turned solemn "Ah Lap, there is something I never told you. Remember when I told you that your father died when you were born?"
"Yeah, you said he fell down the mountain." he never did believed the story but since his mom never went into detail, he figured she was too hurt from the loss.
"Actually, he left us." his eyes widened in shock "I know I shouldn't have lied to you. But well, he would have might as well be dead. He was always travelling to other towns to work. He met another woman and fell in love. He didn't know I was pregnant with you and I didn't intend to tell him. I figured he wanted to leave me anyways, what difference does it make? Anyways, I wanted to tell you before I die and regret it. If you ever want to look for him, his name is Kam Chiu. Unfortunately, I don't know where he resides."
Fei Lap shook his head angrily "I don't want to know and I don't really care. He left you for another woman and I'll never forgive him." his face calmed down when his mother started to cough "Just rest. Don't think too much. I'll come back and see you after I finish my delivery." he left the house feeling like a zombie. In one day, he gained a father he thought had died over 20 years ago.
Chapter 2
Far away in the Kingdom, the King patiently waited in his library for the news from his worthy officials. Stroking his gray beard as he heard footsteps getting closer to the door. Looking up in time to see his eunich, Siu Kuen came in and respectfully kneeled down "Your majesty."
"Any news?" he asked calmly.
"General Lam said he hasn't heard anything. He sent 50 of his strongest men out to look for her. He guarantees that one of them will find her soon."
"USELESS!!!" The King roared in anger. "She's just a twenty year old girl. How could you not find her? Tell General Lam that if the Princess is not found in 3 days, I will have his head!"
The eunich shivered in fear. Never in his life has he seen the King that angry. He closed the doors behind him and turned to give General Lam the news.
**********
Yuk Lan (Nadia) has been travelling for a few days already. She had no destination nor did she really care as long as she was far from the Kingdom. Her father wanted to marry her off to a General's son. How could she ever marry someone she doesn't even know? Love, to her was the most important thing next to freedom. She wasn't about to let her freedom be taken over by anyone.
She was walking further away from the main city as she reached the quieter part of the city. It quickly turned into green grass and tall trees. Smiling to herself as she secured the bag of luggage she carried tightly around her shoulder. Approaching a nearby restaurant that seemed to appear from no where. She sat down to rest "Siu Yee, can I get some tea please?"
"Sure!" The waiter quickly carried out a pot of tea for Yuk Lan. "You want anything to eat?"
"Just some steamed buns wrapped up. I have to be on my way soon."
"Of course." within a few minutes he brought out a bag of hot steamed buns for her.
"Wait." the waiter stopped in his step "I wanted to ask you. What's the closest route to Ha Chow?"
The waiter scratched his head in wonder "Ive never heard of that city. Sorry, I can't help you."
"Its okay." Yuk Lan looked away disappointingly.
"Ha Chow is about 50 miles north from here." a manly voice came out from behind her. Yuk Lan turned around to find a young guy sitting at his own table and drinking tea while he ate his lunch. She smiled and moved herself to sit at his table. He looked at her curiously "You're not afraid?"
"Why should I be? I have nothing against you nor you to me. You have no reason to harm me." she replied logically.
"There is still a chance of kidnapping for money or worse..." his voice trailed off to warn her he wasn't as nice as he seems.
It didn't seem to bother her as she shrugged her shoulders. "You helped me find my destination, didn't you?"
He shook his head while he smiled for the first time "You know being so ready to befriend a stranger can really put you in danger." He looked at her carefully, she appeared to be upper class. "Here's a little piece of advice. Never ever trust a stranger. Thats including me." he said slowly.
"What's your name?" he looked away while she continued "My name is Kam Yuk Lan. What's yours?" she tried again.
He glanced at her and muffled a reply "Cheng Yiu Fai (Wong Hei)"
She smiled kindly at him "Now we are no longer strangers. I suppose I could trust that the directions you gave me is real?" He nodded his head while he sipped on his tea "Thank you. Its getting late, I must be on my way. Its nice to meet you Cheng Gung Zhi." Picking up her bag as she walked towards the north.
He smiled to himself.
***********
It was a few days until Yuk Lan reached a few miles from Ha Chow. Tired and restless as she stopped at the city called Ha Zhuan. According to the people there, Ha Chow was just a 5 miles down. She was so busy looking for a hotel that she didn't realize someone was walking quickly towards her. Before she could dodge the person, he collided into her causing her to fall hard to the ground.
"Watch where you're going!!" cried the young guy. He looked to be around Yuk Lan's age.
"You bumped into me!" she argued back.
The guy was going to respond when his eyes opened wide at the big group of men coming up ready to take him away. "I'll deal with you later." The guy threatened as he ran off.
Yuk Lan brushed her green skirt as she picked up her bag. She looked at the men curiously as they chased after the guy. Looking around to find a hotel to spend the night, she eventually found one a few feet away. She rented a room and followed the waiter as he led her to the room. "Siu Jei, I advise you not to come out at night if you don't have to."
"Why?" Yuk Lan asked.
"This town is usually very peaceful but lately, there has been some kidnapping of young girls. Most around 20 or so. The officers of this town is not as strong as the kidnappers, they have not found the culprit nor have they figured out where to start."
She listened in horror as he explained the disappearance of the girls. None were returned or ever saw again. Some were missing for a whole week. She thanked him as she closed the door behind her. Shivering in fear as she hugged herself to keep herself from shaking.
That night, she was awaken by shrieks from girls coming from outside her window. Her room was on the second floor so she felt a little safer. Gathering up the courage to get up from her bed as she wrapped the heavy blanket around her body and slowly walked to the window. She creeked it open and found a bunch of masked men carrying girls over their shoulders as they disappeared into the darkness. Soon there were no more shrieks just dead silence. Suddenly her room door burst open "AHHH!" Yuk Lan cried out as she covered herself with the blanket in the corner of the room.
"Shhhh!! If you yell, they'll come." said a loud whisper.
Yuk Lan peeked through the covers as she recognized the young guy that bumped into her earlier. "You! What are you doing here? Get out of my room!!" Tossing the blanket over the bed as she walked over to the guy and tried to push him out.
"Hey, stop it!" he cried out as he pushed her away. "Their coming!!" Covering Yuk Lan's mouth as he pulled her to the ground.
"I saw him run over here." one man said.
"No, I think he's gone. He' can't run far. Come on." the other man said.
Breathing a sigh of relief as he let go of Yuk Lan's mouth. "Thank you."
She stared at the stranger with suspicion "Who are you? And why are those men chasing you?"
The guy smiled evily "You want to know?" Immediately regretting her question as Yuk Lan began to shake her head. The guy didn't seem to care as he continued "Those were imperial soldiers who came here to catch me. I'm the famous rapist that never gets caught. You have no idea how lucky you are to run into me. I'll give you the best night ever."
Yuk Lan stumbled backwards as she moved herself away from him. While he got up and smiled seductively at Yuk Lan. "Now be a good girl and don't yell."
Just as he said it, Yuk Lan let out a shriek so high pitched that even the guy had to jump back in shock. Realizing that she was about to wake up the whole town, he reached over and touched her freeze point. Causing her to stay still and the wretched screaming stopped. He smiled as he attempted to carry her onto the bed. Almost slipping her out of his slender arms at one point. He laid her on the bed as he looked around for her luggage. "Lets see what you have here." Opening it and pulling out one of her blue dresses. "Cute." untying his belt as he began to strip.
Yuk Lan let out a whimper as she closed her eyes, not wanting to witness anything she didn't want to. When she didn't hear anything nor did the guy touch her, she opened one eye and then the other. She was shocked to see a girl appear in front of her eyes. The girl pulled out the material that hid her long black mane and combed it with her fingers. 'She's a girl!!' Yuk Lan thought with relief.
The girl, who was dressed as a boy reached over and unfroze her. "Thanks for the dress."
"You're a girl!!" Yuk Lan cried out "But why?"
The girl laughed at the shock expression Yuk Lan had. She was sure her cover was blown over when she bumped into her earlier. "Yes, so? Anyways, Im being chased by some...bad guys. So can I stay here for the night?"
"Uh...um...sure." Yuk Lan hesitated for a while until she agreed.
The girl smiled "What's wrong? Don't believe Im a girl? Here" she reached for Yuk Lan's hand "touch this." pulling it to her chest while Yuk Lan yanked her hand back before it reach the girl's chest.
"I believe you."
Covering up a yawn as the girl prepared to lie on the bed. "My name is Yung(GiGi) by the way."
"Yuk Lan." but the girl was already closing her eyes and falling asleep. It was an uncomfortable night for both girls. Who were not use to sleeping with anyone else on the same bed. Close to dawn, Yuk Lan was kicked off the bed by Yung, who was constantly moving around all night.
Chapter 3
Back in the Kingdom, its been over three days and no sign of the Princess anywhere. The King was beginning to show his frustration as he cancelled every meeting with his officials. He just wanted his girl back home safely. He even put up notices throughout the city with a drawing of her for everyone to see. There would be a prize of 10,000. gold nuggets for anyone that could find her. Of course it caused chaos in the Kingdom where people picked up any pretty girl and claimed the girl they had to be the Princess. Unfortunately, not everyone has seen the Princess, so they didn't know exactly what she looked like.
Outside the Palace door was a man who hid his face behind a circled veil hat. He was hiding from his enemies, again. Always in trouble with those families members that searched for revenge against this cold hearted killer. As the years progressed he managed to gather up more enemies. Tired of running from town to town, he knew the only place he could turn to.
"Mister you cannot enter the Kingdom." the guards blocked his entrance.
"I have news on the Princess." that was enough for the guards to pull out their swords, ready to attack the stranger.
"Where is she and what did you do to her?"
He laughed "Stupid guards. If I kidnapped her, why would I be here? I want to see the king."
The guards looked at each other, slowly buying his words. "Should we tell the General?" they asked each other.
"You wait here, I'll call him." He watched as the guard ran inside through the Palace hall leading to another giant double door. Within a few minutes the guard rushed out, breathing heavily "The General wants to see you."
He was led through corridors and corridors of endless rooms. It was a magnificent place that seemed to amaze any guests that have the honor of seeing the Palace. The guard stopped at one of the bigger rooms and opened it. "General Lam, he's here."
"Leave us." the man commanded. Turning around to face the stranger as he searched his face "You are?"
"Cheung Hung Sing (Sunny)"
"Cheung Siu Hap, so you know where the Princess is? You mind sharing the news?" The General wasted no time in getting the clues. His head was at stake.
"Im not talking to anyone but the King."
"How dare you!!!" The General slammed the table with his fist as he stood up eye to eye with Hung Sing.
Hung Sing appeared cool as he took a seat and poured himself a cup of tea. "You can kill me if you want. But if you kill me, you're head will fall faster than a needle."
"How did you know?" General Lam inquired.
"Simple, you were eager to see me while two simple guards won't even let me through the gates because I mentioned the Princess. I would have assumed to be attacked by you. Yet you were more welcoming, that General is the suspicion." pulling his veiled hat off and appeared a handsome man with an obvious beard growing.
The General's face was a crimson red while his eyes pierced through Hung Sing's eyes. "Fine, you can see the King."
Hung Sing was led through the longest corridor until they reached the King's Library. The eunich knocked on the door and announced the General's arrival. The King immediately summoned them. The two men knelt down at his presence. "I hear you know something about my daughter?"
Hung Sing smiled slyly at the King "Actually, I don't know."
"You lied to me?!" cried the General.
The King threw a stern look at the General and his face calmed down when he turned back to Hung Sing "But you have a plan to find her?"
"Correct."
"Would you mind telling me your name?"
"Of course not. Cheung Hung Sing." he said it almost too proudly.
"Ahh....the famous trained killer." The King smiled as he sat behind his red oak desk. "I see why you have turned to me for help. But what makes you think you can find my daughter if you've never met her? You know there are thousands of people that have claimed that the Princess is with them. Yet that is absolutely absurd since I only have one daughter."
"I see my name has travelled to the Kingdom. Well, Im going to be honest, your majesty. I am tired of this life style. My enemies will come surging through my door one day and kill me. When that day comes, I will embrace it with open arms since I have done no good in my life. So I want to do one last good deed before I die. Growing up with no parents, I ached for the love of a father. If I have the chance to reunite you two, I will do all that I can."
The King chuckled lightly "Im not sure if I believe you Cheung Siu Hap, but I am desperate to find my daughter. Since these usless men can't even do anything right. My daughter carries a gold charm that I gave to her. Every general in the country knows that when she shows the charm, it will prove her identity. If this carries out to the people in China, they will attack her for the charm. I don't want her to be in any kind of danger, you understand?"
"Yes, your majesty. I will be on my way if you don't have any other words?"
"No, go ahead." Hung Sing quickly disappeared through the doors leaving the King and General Lam.
"Your majesty, you really trust him?"
"I have no choice. But if anything happens to the Princess, he's going to die."
*********
In the usually quiet town of Ha Chow, it was busier than usual. While everyone was busy setting up for the annual tradition of choosing of a wife, Fei Lap was still working hard. He had no intention of attending the tradition. His mother was getting a little better. That afternoon, he twisted his wrist from carrying two rice bags and ended up going home early. In a hasty move, he wrapped his wrist up to loose, not giving it time to heal.
When he got home, he saw his mother talking to someone that he didn't recognize from the back. As he got closer, he saw a veil tied to the back head of the person, he knew it was Ching Ching. "You bothering my mother?"
"Ah Lap, don't be rude!" his mother scolded "Ching Ching was just keeping me company. She's been taking care of me everyday for the past four days. You should thank her."
Ching Ching smiled through her eyes as she nodded at Fei Lap "Be a good boy and listen to your mother. Hah, I wonder where you get your rude manners from. Certainly, not your mother. Must be from the father side huh?"
Fei Lap's face turned red as he angrily pointed to Ching Ching "Don't mention him..." whipping his hand back when he felt the pain that shot through his wrist.
"Ah Lap, what's wrong with your wrist?" His mother finally noticed his bandaged hand.
"Im okay, I just hurted my wrist thats all."
Ching Ching shook her head and sighed "You wrap it like that and the bruise will be more purple than my dress by tomorrow."
"Ching Ching is right, son. Why don't you let her help you?"
Fei Lap gave a disgusted look "I don't want her to touch my wrist."
"Don't be so childish, come on. Im not going to give you any diseases!" Ching Ching pulled his unhurt hand to the table. He eventually sat down and pulled out his wrist to have her rewrap it. She was careful not to hurt him as she wrapped his wrist tightly. He didn't even feel the pain after she was done. He tried to move his wrist around and only felt a little pain.
"Not bad." was all he could say.
"I'll take that as a compliment." she said curtly.
"You two act like you have some kind of past or something. Maybe you were enemies in the past life so this life, the Gods are putting you together." Heung Thai laughed at the two and returned to her bedroom.
"The day I fall for you is the day I go blind." Fei Lap said disgustedly.
"Not before I kill myself." Ching Ching got up and walked out of the house. Fei Lap stared after her in shock, he's never met such a rude girl before.
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