Chapter Text
Hua Cheng was a highly feared assassin within other guilds and even within his own. He was referred to as 'Crimson Rain Sought Flower' in the assassin world. Only a few members of guilds had nicknames such as this.
He Xuan, from the same guild as Hua Cheng, as well as an old friend of his, was named Black Water for his method of drowning his victims.
Qi Rong of an opposing guild was known as Night-touring Green Lantern. Other guilds joked that the second half of his name came from an assumed liking for the DC Superhero, much to Qi Rong's dismay. The first half, however, had more meaning, for he would stalk his victims and only attack at night. It was a more underwhelming method, which was why he was not known as He Xuan or Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng's name came about because of his highly violent method of killing. He would approach his victims with a front that he had been drawn in by their beauty. He would offer them a flower, and they, of course, would not know that it had very powerful drugs on it. They would promptly pass out, and Hua Cheng would brutally kill them.
Many say his red clothes are that colour because he dyes them in his targets' blood. Of course, that fact was untrue; he just really had an affinity for red.
"Your new assignment, Hua Cheng," the guild master said, sliding the file across the table and into Hua Cheng's hands. "Name is Xie Lian. Male, aged twenty-six years."
Huh, three years older than me, Hua Cheng thought to himself. He looked at the file. No photo. "Sir, why is there no photo of the target? How am I supposed to locate him?"
The guild master sighed, "He is the heir of the Xianle jewelry business. Well, it's practically an empire. You may recognize his father as the one who killed one of our own."
"An owner of a jewelry store killed one of our skilled assassins?"
"Listen, besides us, there is one more assassins guild that holds centuries of experience. That is the Puqi Guild. I trust that you recognize that name?" Hua Cheng nodded. "Wonderful. He is the leader of that guild, which means that the jewelry shop is but a front for the dark side of their business. As for the lack of a picture, your target's old man is quite adamant that his son should never be let out of their estate. Apparently, such an outing went poorly before, and he is now known for being a rare beauty. I imagine that he got spotted and was swarmed by women."
"How... interesting." Except Hua Cheng was not intrigued in the slightest. "What has the boy even done? His father seems like the problem."
"Well, he is the heir, and they are an established group. Nipping the growing bud that will continue the empire will allow us to rise above while they sink under the weight of no one being qualified to lead. You understand this is a necessary action, yes, Crimson Rain?"
Hua Cheng bowed, "Of course, sir. It will be done."
"I know, you never fail me."
Before leaving, as trained, he memorized every detail about the target.
Male, 26, brown hair and brown eyes. A scar on his neck from a prior assassination attempt, which was promptly covered by a beautiful tattoo. Tall, but shorter than Hua Cheng himself.
He still wasn't convinced about the whole beauty thing. How could someone be so entranced with a person that they chase after them? Eight blocks, no less. No one was that gorgeous.
He made his way to his apartment to grab his usual gear. Flowers-- which he had learned Xie Lian did indeed like, concealable throwing daggers and knives, and civilian's clothes to be able to fit into his surroundings.
Thankfully, the flowers were easy to grab, for he already knew what his target's favorite was. When Hua Cheng is assigned missions, the target's favorite color or flower is taken into account for a cleaner abduction or entry into a location.
Xie Lian's favorite flowers were Peach Blossoms, Cape Jasmine, and any other white flower. Delicate, like how Xie Lian himself was described.
Hua Cheng left his apartment, gear on his person and flowers in hand.
He was prepared, but not as prepared as he assumed, for the beauty that Xie Lian was described to have was no farce.
Behind the now open door stood a beautiful man. He was clad in a white turtleneck stained with paint, paired with jeans. His hair was not as long as Hua Cheng had pictured, for it was about at his shoulders, having been put into a half-up-half-down hairstyle.
"I am sorry, but can I help you?" Xie Lian said, tilting his head politely.
For the first time in almost his whole life, Hua Cheng, the revered Crimson Rain Sought Flower, was speechless. He had eliminated many an attractive target, but none were like this. This man stood like a painting, utterly unreal to the human eye. Hua Cheng wished he could immortalize Xie Lian in a painting so he could look upon it forever. The tattoo on his neck could not be seen from under the turtleneck, but he was now sure that the rumors about Xie Lian were true. He was a total beauty.
"Sir?" Xie Lian repeated.
The assassin snapped back to reality, remembering his mission: get rid of the heir.
"Ah, yes, I just wanted to say that I saw you once and thought you were quite beautiful..." Hua Cheng began as he always had, smoothly and without any hiccups, "And I got these flowers for you."
It was silent for a moment, and the two men, assassin and his target, stared at each other almost unblinkingly. In an instant, Xie Lian's smile dropped into a suspicious frown.
"I have not been outside in eight years. My windows are tinted. There is no way you could have seen me and been enamored with me enough to want to give me flowers. If you did indeed see me before my windows were tinted and before I was locked in here, you would not have taken this long to come, especially if you are that entranced by me. Furthermore, you could not have gotten in here without skill." He paused.
During the whole discussion, his gaze never left Hua Cheng. Not once. His eyes were masterfully trained on Hua Cheng's own eyes, locking the assassin in place.
Xie Lian was smart. Too smart and too resolute for Hua Cheng's taste.
It seemed like this target would not go as quietly as the others did... along with the feelings burning at Hua Cheng's chest.