Ghost moved back as soon as he finished talking, leaving the Vice-Captain in a happy daze. By the time the two guards noticed their superior, Ghost was already half-way across town.

Now for a more serious mission, a warning message, no killing, at least for now. The last one for tonight.

The Shard made his way to a house at the edge of town. Two matured peach blossom trees grew in the spacious courtyard. It's large branches were bare now as winter was approaching but he was certain it would be a wondrous sight when it was in full bloom and filled the air with sweet fragrance. A real love nest, he grinned.

It had a cosy main house, a servants quarters, kitchen and washing area. The place was gaudily decorated with large stone statues and carvings aimed to flaunt wealth.

The light in the main house was still lighted but dim. The lady inside was known to sleep late, usually singing or playing the Guzheng whilst she waited for her lover. Ghost smiled, well he would not turn up tonight.

She had already dismissed her servants for the night after they had prepared everything. This particular night was going to be special. She would serve her lover personally, enticing him with flirtatious conversation, food and wine. She planned to sing him a lovely new melody of love and commitment. Tonight, she was going to make him promise to marry her and make her a concubine, then she would be set for life.

She had done up her hair carefully in the alluring way he liked and dabbed on expensive hyacinth fragrance. His favourite sweet and spicy scent was guaranteed to arouse him, she giggled in anticipation. He would promise her the moon and stars if she drove him wild with desires. She already knew the best way to tease and play with him. She would withhold until he caved in.

She was humming softly to herself happily tuning her instrument when she felt a hand close over her mouth.

"Scream and your life is forfeit," said a low male voice.

She nodded frantically. Although the hand was removed from her mouth, she felt a sharp blade pressed in warning against her neck. She could not see her assailant who was behind her.

"How did you get in? Where are my guards?"

"I have a message for you ... from Lady Huang," he said ignoring her questions.

"Lady Huang?" she echoed startled. The name sparked anger giving her false courage. "Lord Huang does not love her anymore, he loves only me. He said so ..."

"Shhhh ..." said the voice as the dagger's cold blade pressed more firmly against her throat shutting her up immediately.

"I will deliver her message now. She said," he paused a moment, "... since you have ignored my first warning to stay away from my husband, I will give you a second warning that even someone like you will understand."

"Someone like me? What does that mean? Is she calling me a ...."

"Yes, exactly. You do get it." There was amusement in her assailant's voice.

Lord Huang's mistress bristled. Even this lone intruder was laughing at her, fueling her building anger. Just wait until she called the guards, he wouldn't be laughing then!

"Stupid ugly witch!! Just you wait until Lord Huang marries me!! Then I will have him confine or banish her!!" she hissed vehemently. "Is that it? The message?"

"Yes."

"Really? That's all? Ha, ha, hah!!" she scoffed. "Pffttttt!! She is so pathetic!"

"Do you have anything to say to Lady Huang?"

"Say? Like what? What does that old hag want me to say?"

"She wants an apology and your solemn promise to stay away from her husband."

"This is your last chance," he added after a moment.

"An apology? She must be delusional!! Go now and tell her that she is finished. I was willing to share Lord Huang with her but no more. I will make him throw her out onto the streets with nothing! I will take her husband and make him permanently mine tonight!!"

Ghost sighed. He had hoped Lord Huang's pretty mistress would come to her senses and at least apologize. That would have ended things for tonight. Unfortunately, she was stubbornly holding onto her ambition, thinking she had an upper hand.

She did not.

Lady Huang had been livid when she found out about her husband's affair. Being a lady of noble birth, she had risen above her anger and settled for giving a stern warning to the mistress. Unfortunately, the mistress had not only ignored her warning but reasserted her position, boldly seducing Lord Huang even more by making him stay longer and more frequently with her. She also spent more of his money indulging in frivolous wants at his family's expense.

Lady Huang confronted her husband but he denied everything. He? Cheat? Of course not! She must believe him, he was her husband and head of the family! He even got angry with her for accusing him.

Pushing the matter would mean loss of face and status. She was after all from an influential and well connected trading family. She would settle this matter internally. Lady Huang simmered for a while, thinking of ways to punish her smug husband. Then she did what any furious wife would do, revenge. She would remove the harlot from her husband's life and ensure the tramp was ruined.

In time, she formed a plan. It was time to call in a few favours. She met with a few friends, then contacted the Dark Sect.

Lady Huang was proof that women were scary when angry. When pushed into a corner, they would go to extreme lengths to protect what was theirs. Even he had winced at her explicit instructions, but then he was just the Shard assigned to this mission.

"In that case, I was to inform you that ... Lord Huang will be unable to join you tonight. Lady Huang has invited several important guests that he simply cannot insult by disregarding them. His business' health depends on them."

"What!! That witch dares to sabotage me?"

"Shhhh-hhh, I've delivered the message," the soft seductive voice whispered directly into her ear startling her. She blinked forgetting her anger and the knife at her throat. The man's lips was almost caressing her. His breath tickled her neck. She closed her eyes as a shiver ran through her body.

"Now I will deliver her warning."

Her eyes flew wide open when he pulled her hair. Her head was yanked back painfully. Quickly, he stuffed her mouth and gagged her. Before she could recover and react, he had dragged her over to the solid teak desk and sat her down hard in the chair. The next second, she was tied to it.

"Mmmffttttt!! Mmmmmmfffhhh!! MMMMFFHHTT!!"

The Shard laid out a piece of cloth on the polished table in front of her. Deftly he undid her carefully made-up hair, laying her jewelled pins one by one in a neat row on the cloth. Next he ran his fingers through her long luxurious hair to loosen it. It would make the next step easier.

By now, she had recovered from her initial shock and started to struggle.

"Don't move or I might cut you accidentally."

She stopped immediately, afraid once again. She felt him grab her hair at the base and started sawing at it with his sharp dagger.

She screamed. The muffled sounds and curses incoherent through the cloth.

The first fistful, he placed carefully on the cloth next to her hairpins. Then he got down to business. Her head jerked again and again as he hacked roughly at her hair. She watched in horror as clumps of her precious tresses fell out and were thrown carelessly onto the floor.

"Nnnnuuuuuuuu!!! NunununNNUUUUU!!!" she mumbled desperately into her gag.

Ghost continued until her head was light and cold. Some parts of her scalp stung where he had pulled too hard. Tears flowed from her eyes in rage and humiliation. Her hair! Her precious hair! Why, she must look utterly hideous!!

It took him less then a minute to shave her head. Quickly he rolled up the cloth and its items, tying it neatly into a small bundle. The hair cutting was Lady Huang's idea and she wanted proof of its execution. Ghost would never have thought of such an effective or demeaning warning, but then he was not an enraged woman. The mistress would be utterly humiliated for months to come. The proof was to be sent to Lady Huang as specified in the contract.

Lord Huang's distraught lover watched the masked intruder through tears as he took a candle and put it to the inner curtains of the entrance chamber. The light gauzy fabrics caught fire immediately. As it was some distance from the lady, the servants would have plenty of time to rush to her aid.

"Mmmfffttttttt! Mmmfffttt!"

"This time I am to take only your hair and house. Next time, it will be your beating heart."

She stared into unblinking intense eyes before fainting from shock.

Ghost had cut close but left her scalp undamaged. Given time, her hair would grow back fully but the humiliation would forever be branded into her mind. He wondered if he would get into trouble for that.

She probably would not thank him for his one small yet significant concession, thought Ghost. If Glass had been assigned this case he would have scraped her scalp bloody so that her hair would grow back uneven and in patches. He had a reputation of being unnecessarily sadistic. He liked to inflict pain onto others.

The Shard untied her. Leaving her inert body in a sitting position, he went outside. Amazingly, all was still quiet. He shook his head at the useless guards Lord Huang had left for his mistress. Definitely cheap mercenaries. They wouldn't last a week's training in the Dark Sect.

"Fire!! FIRE!! Fire!" he yelled.

As if on cue, the flames reached the oil from several lamps he had splattered around the front chambers. That way the fire would spread outwards first leaving the bedroom where the girl was relatively safe for a few more minutes. The fire roared as it raced happily along the oil splashes. The flames would take time to reach the lady inside. She was definitely going to be rescued in time.

"FIRE!!!"

The warnings were actually premature as the fire had barely started eating into the wooden frames but it was probably enough to cause considerable damage to the property. The main house would need extensive repairs to make it habitable again.

Chaos ensured as the guards panicked. They started yelling at one another. One brave man rushed into the burning house to rescue the mistress. Another went to rouse the servants for help.

Ghost melted into the shadows when the servants finally rushed out in their bed clothes frightened and confused. They panicked when they saw the flames from the main house. The guard explained the situation hurriedly before running back to his comrades. A senior servant took charge and started organizing the rest to help put out the fire.

Ghost watched for a while ensuring there were no fatalities. When Lord Huang's mistress was carried out safely, he left the place. He would leave her in their capable hands.

She would probably be traumatized but alive. Without her luxurious hair, she would not be able to seduce Lord Huang or any other man for a while. In fact, she would be shunned and ostracized by society, just as Lady Huang wanted.