by Fred Yu
She turned to her husband. “Tell him. He’s scaring the children!”
The Orchid Farmer clenched his jaw and shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You will after I slit his throat.” Ko Sun shot to the youngest son, a boy no older than twelve, and pinned the sword against his neck.
The Orchid Farmer’s wife screamed and grabbed the naked blade with both hands. Blood trickled from her hands immediately. “Stop! He’ll tell you what you want to know. Put down the sword. Please, just please put down the sword.”
The Orchid Farmer stood up. Every guard in the room drew their weapons. The roar of many men outside responding to the zing of bare steel resonated in the room. The Orchid Farmer’s trembling left hand stiffened. He slid back into his seat.
Ko Sun wagged his finger. “What are you going to do against a hundred of us? Call your blacksmiths to come and fight with their hammers?”
Feng thought his head would burst. A heavy tear rolled across the bridge of his nose as he struggled to pull one hand toward his neck. He had to extract the needle. He had to break free.
“Tell him,” he heard the woman pleading to her husband, her voice cracking. “Tell him, or he’ll kill our son.”
The Orchid Farmer gazed into her eyes, his body motionless, his lips pressed together. She sobbed once, the desperate expression on her face morphing to sheer horror. The entire room fell into deafening silence.
Feng held his breath. He managed to draw his left hand to his hip, and his fingers already clutched his belt. But he could not reach the needle embedded in his neck.
Not a muscle twitched. Everyone watched the Orchid Farmer. After a long time he exhaled and turned his face.
“Fine!” Ko Sun shouted. He jerked his sword back, severing every finger on the woman’s left hand. She screamed and crumbled against the floor, her head striking the floor tiles with a heavy thud. She scrambled to her knees as blood shot out of her hand, and she clamored to her son, embracing him, shielding him with her body.
Ko Sun drove his sword deep into her hip. She arched to the side with a horrid cry and clenched her son harder. The boy screamed. The little girl clambered forward, crying, but a guard yanked her back by her hair.
Ko Sun pulled his sword out, reached over, and dragged the woman away from her son. He threw her onto the floor and stabbed her in the abdomen. She cried out again, this time with very little voice left. She scrambled toward her husband. “Help me,” she whispered. “Help me.”
“Where is he!” Ko Sun shouted. He ran his sword into her lower back. She clenched her fists and stiffened in pain; but she could not scream anymore. “Where is the Red Crest?” he demanded again.
The floor around her was covered in blood. The Orchid Farmer’s eyes were closed. “Leave her alone,” he whispered. “Leave her alone.”
Ko Sun grabbed her by the hair and pulled her ashen face to himself. “Beg him. Beg him to speak up, and this will be over.”
Her twitching lips stopped moving, and she glared back into his face. Ko Sun grunted, slammed her head against the floor, and stabbed her in her side. She choked once and curled into a ball, her entire body convulsing in short spasms.
“No! No!” the little boy cried.
The oldest son stared, his lips pressed together without a sound, his face frozen with shock, contorted with utter horror.
“Beg him,” Ko Sun said again.
The woman lifted her face. “Not for you.” Her voice was barely audible, but the entire room heard. Every man held his breath.
Ko Sun grunted and sent the blade of his long sword deep into her heart. Without another gasp she lay still.
Ko Sun withdrew his sword and turned to the Orchid Farmer. The entire room was silent except for the weeping of two children.
“Your son is next.”
The younger boy trembled, a puddle of urine gathering around his feet “Father! Help me! Don’t let them do this! Don’t let them!”
Ko Sun grabbed the boy by his hair and pulled his face back, exposing his neck. He pressed the blade against his throat. “Where is the Red Crest?”
“Stop!” the Orchid Farmer shouted. “I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”
Ko Sun lowered his sword but held the boy’s hair even tighter. “Tell me.”
The Orchid Farmer clenched his fists and ground his teeth. His entire body shook. His shallow breaths were hard and short, and he could not utter a word.
“Are you going to speak?” Ko Sun asked, lifting his sword again.
The Orchid Farmer moved his lips, but no words emerged.
“Tell him, Father!” the boy pleaded, his voice tight and weak. “Just tell him!”
The Orchid Farmer closed his eyes and turned his face.
“No!” the older son shouted.
“Father! Help me! Help me!”
“Speak up!” Ko Sun shouted.
The Orchid Farmer was shaking.
“Help him, Father,” the older son pleaded, his voice cracking. “How can you do this?”
“Last chance!” Ko Sun screamed.
“I’m sorry, Father,” the young boy whimpered. “Whatever I did wrong, I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry with me anymore.”
“Last chance!”
“Don’t let him do it, Father! Please don’t!”
Feng tried to scream, tried to call attention to himself, but the voices outside were too loud. With a burst of strength he suddenly managed to lift his hand to his face. He was close to the needle. He had to extract the needle.
“Help me,” the boy pleaded. His voice was so broken he could barely speak anymore.
The Orchid Farmer’s eyes were still closed. A tear rolled down his face.
Ko Sun jerked the blade across his son’s neck. Without a scream the boy toppled over face forward. In a moment blood pooled around his lifeless body.
“No!” the older son whispered.
Feng’s fingers were able to wiggle. The initial shock of the needles was wearing off. He bit his lip, pulled his hand to his neck, and with great difficulty closed his fingers around the needle.
“Bring me the little girl,” Ko Sun said, pointing to the guard restraining the Orchid Farmer’s daughter.
The guard standing behind the little girl reluctantly pushed her forward. “Yes, colonel,” he muttered under his breath. The child folded her hands, bit her lip, and looked at the head guard with a timid gaze.
“Come here, little girl.” Ko Sun had a sweet smile on his face. She turned back to her father for approval.
“Father?”
The Orchid Farmer released a deep, weary sigh as if his life had escaped his lips. “My child,” he said in a weak voice, “are you afraid to die?”
“I don’t know.”
“Be brave, my child.”
“I will. I’ll do whatever you say. Later, can we go water the orchids together?”
The Orchid Farmer nodded. “Yes.”
“Can mother help me carry the water?”
“No, my child. You’re a big girl. You have to carry your own water.”
Ko Sun reached out and grabbed the little girl by the hair, laughing. “You’re willing to let this one die too?”
The Orchid Farmer turned to his oldest son. “I’m so sorry, my children. I’m so sorry. But what kind of world will you grow up in if I give in? Is it better to live in fear for the rest of your lives?”
Feng’s fingers clenched the needle, and with a silent shout he extracted it from his neck. A numb tingle coursed through his nerves. His fingers were weak, but they moved well. He reached for the needle behind his neck.
Ko Sun uttered a cold laugh and stabbed the little girl in the heart. She released a short gasp, then crumbled over.
“No!” Feng tried to shout, but he could not find his voice. He yanked the needle from the base of his skull and fought to move. He needed his strength back. He had to get out of this hiding place.
Ko Sun pointed his sword a
t the oldest son. “Everything that’s ever meant anything to you is about to end, Orchid Farmer. Are you really going to watch your entire family die to protect one person? One person’s life in exchange for all your children?”
The oldest son turned to his father. “At least tell me why.”
“You can still save this one,” Ko Sun said. “Or your lineage dies here.”
The Orchid Farmer leaned back with a sigh, his body crumbling into his chair like he no longer had the strength to remain seated. “For millions of other children like you and your brother and sister. So they can have a chance.”
“Have a chance at what?”
“Have a chance to die of disease, or die of old age, or die giving birth.”
Once again the room was silent, as if everyone forgot to breathe. They stared at the teenage boy, their swords dangling, their expressions tense and anxious.
The Orchid Farmer’s son lowered his head and said nothing.
“Beg your father,” someone whispered from the side of the room. “Don’t die like this.”
“Ask your father to save you,” someone else said. “Don’t you want to live?”
No one moved. In a moment the boy lifted his face again. “I understand, Father. I’m ready to die.” He turned to Ko Sun. “One day, when you die, many people will celebrate.”
Ko Sun laughed, raised his sword, and aimed for the boy’s heart.
A jolt of strength coursed through Feng’s body. There was no time left. He wedged his shoulders against the trap door, and with a roar he slammed against the inner wall with all his strength. The secret door snapped open. Feng drew a needle, pressed it between two fingers, rolled out of the compartment, and climbed to his feet.
Ko Sun spun around. Every guard in the room turned to Feng.
“No!” the Orchid Farmer whispered. Blood rushed back into his face. He reached behind his chair for a weapon.
Feng held his breath, forcing himself to exert control over his weak body. Let me do this one thing right, he told himself. Let me draw them away before I die.
“Well, what do we have here?” Ko Sun said with a smile. “You must be Mu’s messenger. When everyone thought Mu was hiding the Red Crest, we find it with the Orchid Farmer.”
Feng laughed and said nothing. His strength was returning. He may have a chance.
Ko Sun pointed to a single guard and cocked his head at Feng. “Arrest him.”
The guard reached out to grab Feng. He jumped back with a shout and clutched the back of his hand. The veins on his forearm began to turn black.
Feng laughed again. “Why are you so afraid of the Judge? Aren’t you afraid of the Red Crest’s magic? The Judge is.”
The guard, still holding his hand, uttered a high-pitched scream. Black veins crawled up his neck, spreading throughout the side of his face. Without another word he collapsed and stiffened on the floor.
Low gasps echoed across the room.
“Take me to meet the Judge,” Feng said. “But I warn you. If any one of you ever set foot in this valley again, you will see the full power of the Red Crest.”
Ko Sun glanced at the Orchid Farmer’s severed hand, then back at Feng. He uttered a long, low chuckle. “Magical powers? Is that what the Venom Sect call their poison nowadays?”
Feng froze, unable to respond. Somehow even this Ko Sun recognized the Venom Sect’s poison.
“No,” the Orchid Farmer whispered. “It’s over.”
“He has a needle held between his fingers,” Ko Sun shouted. “Cut his hands off before you arrest him!”
Two guards lifted their swords and closed in.
“The Venom Sect has surrounded the valley,” Feng said, finding his words. “All four hundred of us. Do you really think you can get out of here alive?”
“Nice bluff,” Ko Sun said. “Our archers surround the valley, not Venom Sect criminals.”
“Twenty archers with rapid-fire crossbows,” someone said from the back of the room. “All aimed at a few civilians. It was enough to make me think the civilians knew how to breathe fire.”
A man stood in the corner with a large straw hat over his eyes. No one had noticed him before. He was dressed as a hunter, his muscular physique bulging through his leather clothing, but he was unarmed.
“And who are you?” Ko Sun asked. “How did you get in here?”
“So, I come in here, and all I see are dead women and children,” the hunter said. “And a one-armed cripple.” He emerged from the corner of the room and lifted his straw hat, revealing dark eyebrows, a chiseled jaw, and eyes flashing with power.
“The archers aren’t surrounding the valley anymore,” the muscular man continued. “I’ve killed them all.”
Ko Sun laughed. “You? Alone?” He motioned for one of the guards. “Kill this nuisance.”
One guard standing close to the hunter lifted his drawn sword. The hunter lurched forward and smacked the guard across the face. There was a crack. The guard’s head spun around from the impact, his neck breaking, and he crumbled without a word.
Ko Sun sucked in his breath. Every man in the room turned to face the new threat. “Second unit! Get in here!” he shouted.
The hunter moved for the front of the room. The guards closed in with weapons pointed.
“I won’t get involved in other people’s politics,” the hunter said. “I need to ask the Orchid Farmer a question. And then I will leave.”
Ko Sun motioned for his men to step back. “Ask. And then get out of here.”
“You may leave the room. I will ask in private.”
Ko Sun laughed. “I don’t care who you are or how hard you can smack someone. You can’t fight all of us.”
The hunter grabbed a guard by the face and slammed his head into the floor tiles. The soldier didn’t even have a chance to scream. A heavy pool of blood expanded around his head.
The remaining guards inched away.
“Second unit!” Ko Sun shrieked. “Get in here!”
No one came through the door.
“Second unit!” he screamed again.
“The second unit is busy,” the hunter said. “I hung your dead archers upside down, and they’ve gone up the hill to help.”
“Really?” Ko Sun said, his voice biting with sarcasm. “Leaving their positions without notifying me?”
“They tried. I killed the two messengers on their way here.”
Ko Sun moved his hand in a quick, circular motion. The men took positions around the hunter, surrounding him.
The door creaked open, distracting the guards as they circled the hunter. A handsome man, tall and elegantly dressed, stood outside the door. He had sharp facial features, and his hair was tied behind his head.
“My apologies for the intrusion,” the tall man said. “I wish to speak to the Orchid Farmer.”
“Get out!” Ko Sun shouted. One of the guards rushed forward to stab him.
The tall man shimmered. No one saw what happened, but suddenly he was in the front of the room, the long sword aimed for his throat already in his hand. He planted the sword into the floor tiles, cracking apart the thin stone. Feng’s jaw dropped. The sword not only split apart the tiles, but half the blade penetrated the ground underneath.
Feng wondered where these two men had come from. The big hunter and the tall warrior brought renewed hope. He had never heard of anyone with such skills, yet out of nowhere two incredible fighters appeared in the room and instantly altered the dynamics of the situation.
Ko Sun was too far away from Feng and could not reach the Orchid Farmer without passing the tall warrior. He signaled one of his guards standing near the open door. The guard nodded and inched away.
The tall man noticed the children’s bodies, and a deep frown settled over his brows.
“Who are you?” Ko Sun asked, his voice laced with desperation now. “What do you want?”
“I don’t know what you’re fighting over,” the tall man said. “I don’t care why you’re killing each ot
her. But the children are innocent!”
“It’s none of your business,” Ko Sun said. “Interfere, and you’ll answer to the Judge.”
“Whatever you need from me,” the Orchid Farmer suddenly spoke. He looked at the tall warrior, then at the hunter, and pointed to Feng. “I’ll give you whatever you want, but this man cannot be allowed to die.”
Both the hunter and the tall man turned to Feng.
The guard was slipping out the door, and Feng hissed in alarm. He launched the needle in his hand, sending it across the room and into the guard’s back. The soldier screamed, knowing he was poisoned, and continued running. Once outside, he drew a whistle from his belt and released two sharp bursts.
He called the second unit, Feng thought. The tall warrior and the hunter both seemed to read his thoughts. The hunter pounced, launching his body diagonally across the room at Ko Sun. Two soldiers intercepted him. He swiped away their swords with his bare hands, grabbed each by their faces, and dashed them to the floor, killing them.
Four other guards rushed into the tall warrior from behind. He yanked the buried sword from the ground, twisted around, and sent all four guards stumbling back with one clean spin. Some of them dropped their swords, and each of them held their right eyes as they screamed in pain.
Feng stared in both horror and fascination. All four soldiers were stabbed in the eye. The tall warrior didn’t slash them across their faces with a single spin of the body; he had stabbed each of them with such speed and precision that his blade pierced four separate targets in a flash.
The Orchid Farmer jumped over his desk, a heavy sword in his left hand, and charged into the melee. He was screaming at the top of his lungs. “Blacksmiths! Shut the gates! Shut the gates!”
Feng’s legs were still wobbly. He was afraid to launch the needles and accidentally strike the two newcomers or even the Orchid Farmer.
The hunter picked up a shield from somewhere and slammed it into the guards, pounding their swords and overpowering them.
The tall warrior moved like a ghost, darting left and right, his sword always a blur. He was disabling the guards around him, slashing their wrists or jabbing their armpits, rendering each of their sword arms useless.
