by J C Kang
Thorn of the
Night Blossoms
JC Kang
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons, alive or dead, is entirely coincidental and unintended.
Copyright © 2019 by JC Kang
http://jckang.dragonstonepress.us
[email protected]
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work or portions thereof in any way whatsoever, as provided by law. For permission, questions, or contact information, see www.jckang.info.
Cover Art by Binh Hai
Maps by Laura Kang
Logos by Emily Jose Burlingame
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Maps
Tivaralan
Cathay
The Capital
The Floating world
The Trench
Chapter 1
The ongoing bid on Jie’s virginity had already exceeded the highest recorded, in part because every other Night Blossom was claimed by sixteen. While seedy whorehouses in dingy back alleys dealt in whatever flesh a man with coin craved, and didn’t necessarily keep accurate records, the Floating World’s unwritten conventions stipulated that a Blossom remain unplucked before she flowered with Heaven’s Dew. At twenty, Jie had extra years to catch the eye of wealthy men with her exotic features, and to her lament, had yet to bleed.
Unless she counted the cuts and scratches from her other training. She didn’t, because even the stodgiest accountant in the Floating World would’ve needed an abacus to tally them all up.
Said grey-haired accountant happened to work as Florist for Jie’s house, the Chrysanthemum Pavilion. Ju Wei now looked from the shopping list to her ledger on her office’s rosewood desk, illuminated by the morning sun through an oval window. She gave an appreciative nod. “You bought ten bottles of rice wine for a silver jiao?”
Actually, Jie had haggled with the brewery for a dozen and gotten two copper fen in change. All it took was the right pout, and the man was paper ready to be folded by dexterous fingers. “Yes, Florist.” She bowed, the motion still too awkward by a Night Blossom’s standards.
Florist Wei laughed, bright and clear for her middling age. “The house might make more sending you shopping than attracting Hummingbirds. Now, run along. I mean, off you go. No running.”
Jie bowed again. She turned and reached for the sliding door.
“Ahem.” Wei’s tone carried loving exasperation.
With a bow no better than the last, Jie knelt at the door and slid it open. Once she’d stood, passed through, and bowed, she knelt again and closed the door. It was such a tedious ritual, one which the full-fledged Blossoms didn’t have to perform at this hour, after the guests had left the house. As a Floret, Jie was bound by the tedium.
She glided over the nightingale floors, not making a sound. In all the Floating World’s reputable houses, the chirping floorboards allowed the Gardener to hear every coming and going, and help protect the Hummingbirds’ anonymity. In a lord’s castle, they were meant to deter spies.
Jie suppressed a laugh. All spies from the Black Lotus Clan learned to navigate the joists and joints as soon as they could walk. It required grace, though a different kind than that of the Night Blossoms of the Floating World. The only reason the lords of the realm thought nightingale floors worked was that no adept had ever been caught.
With her chores done, she headed to the only Blossom of the Chrysanthemum Pavilion not getting her beauty rest. As she moved down the hall, she kept her eyes set forward to avoid looking directly at the hanging scrolls of calligraphy and brush paintings. Created by Dragonscribes, their magic would cause an unsuspecting viewer to loosen their purse strings. Then again, most of the unsuspecting were usually too busy ogling the Blossoms to notice the art.
A full-fledged Night Blossom worked a very different kind of magic to achieve similar results, and few did better than the Chrysanthemum Pavilion’s Corsage, Ju Lilian. How coincidental that the house nicknamed her Beautiful Lotus, never knowing her alter ego as the most beautiful Fist of the secret Black Lotus Clan.
Jie padded up the steps and crept down the hall to Lilian’s room. Ear to the door, she listened, just to confirm that Beautiful Lotus’ important patron had indeed left.
With Lilian’s mastery of the Viper’s Skin, her shallow breaths would’ve been inaudible even to most clan adepts. But not to Jie, with the tapered ears inherited from her worthless elf father; the same father whose blood slowed her aging and sped up her healing. It kept all but major lacerations from scarring, but also prevented Heaven’s Dew from arriving.
Of course, Lilian didn’t have to know whether anyone heard her or not. She lay in wait, suspended from the rafters on the other side of the door. As much fun as it would be to wait until her arms and legs got tired, an exhausted Fist endangered clan operations. Forgoing ceremony, Jie slid the door open and feigned unawareness as she stepped in….
…and spun out of the way, arcing a kick into the edge of the door in the same motion. Just enough force that it slid to a quiet shut.
Lilian landed right behind where Jie would’ve been, back exposed, without a sound on the plush wool carpet.
With equal silence, Jie swept a leg behind Lilian while wrapping an arm around her neck. She twisted her hips and sent the Blossom into a soundless heap on the ground. Rolling over, throwing her legs across Lilian’s chest, she arched her back and locked Lilian in an armbar. Their silk gowns tangled in a flash of blues, yellows, and greens.
“Big Sister,” Jie said in a loud voice. Although the thick walls and dense doors muted all but the loudest gasps and moans, Night Blossoms had a propensity for hearing things. Even with their reputation for discretion, the less they knew about the Black Fists in their midst, the better.
“Greetings, Little Floret.” Lilian kept her voice even through gritted teeth. Any more leverage would dislocate her elbow.
Jie leaned back to apply a little more pressure. “I’m here for my lesson.” If only it were true.
“You’re late.” Face red, Lilian surrendered with staccato taps on Jie’s leg.
“My apologies, Big Sister.” With a grin, Jie relented. She rolled backward into a crouch, fist to the ground, and stood.
“I appreciate your sincerity.” Lilian’s skirts billowed out as she twirled her legs like a windmill, vaulting herself upward feet-first and then landing. It was utterly immodest. Using clan hand signals, she signed, You’re not sorry at all, Big Sister.
Not at all, Jie signaled back. She stood and placed her right fist in her left hand in a warrior’s salute. “Please, teach me.”
Lilian returned the gesture, adding a bow of her head. To the Chrysanthemum Pavilion, she was a full-fledged Blossom, the Corsage of the house; but she’d been an orphan of three when the Black Lotus Temple had adopted her, and six-year-old Jie had taken her under her wing.
She looked up from her bow.
What Lilian lacked in martial skill, she made up for in an elegance Jie hadn’t deigned to master. Her thin, high-bridged nose accentuated large brown eyes. Glossy black hair, tousled first by entertaining an important guest the night before, and now by a more lethal form of grappling, framed her triangular face. At eighteen, she boasted ample curves.
A pit formed in Jie’s throat. She’d been the Elder Sister, but still had a flat body, and was no closer to earning the clan her virgin price and leaving the Floating World. With a possible insurrection brewing in the North, the posturing and backstabbing of hereditary lords seemed much more interesting than the posturing and backstabbing of the entertainment district’s great houses.
Lilian motioned toward the bed. “Come. We’ll practice the Jade Polishing technique.”
Jie’s belly fluttered. Jade Polishing—a euphemism for some sex act, but for what? A Blossom had a plethora of techniques at her disposal, all which looked titillating, but the silly names had never been her priority. After all, she’d eventually return to the Black Lotus Temple to train new recruits in stealth, fighting, and poisons; or maybe even get sent on missions to eliminate threats to the realm.
Then again, she’d already been in the house four years longer than originally planned, and her body ached for release in more ways than one.
Whereas they’d taken care to keep their martial interaction silent, both relaxed as they walked across the room. Lilian looked paler than usual, and dark bags hung under her eyes. Usually the embodiment of grace, it seemed as if she were slogging through mud.
Are you all right? Jie’s fingers danced out the signs.
Lilian perked up, smiling and nodding.
All contrived. Her guest last night, perhaps? All the great Houses of the Floating World knew of Lord Ting’s penchant for a little rough play. There were certainly worse Hummingbirds, and the most recalcitrant men had earned a ban from the Floating World altogether. No amount of money in the empire could buy reentry.
Jie looked around for clues. At a casual glance, nothing looked out of place in the room. The landscape paintings—one imbued with magic to loosen a viewer’s lips—hung in their usual places on the wall. A red lacquer platter with a porcelain decanter and matching eggshell cups sat on a low table to the side. From the scent, a sour plum had flavored the rice wine. Lilian’s bedsheets were appropriately rumpled, and the rug had shifted a degree, but that came as no surprise given Lord Ting’s vigor.
Gut twisting at the thought of having to share Lilian, Jie swallowed hard.
Lilian’s honeysuckle fragrance clung the strongest in the center of the carpet and the west side of the bed, mingling with fresh incense and the dissipating odor of sour man-sweat. It didn’t take much imagination to picture what Lord Ting had done, and where. Another scent lingered, hidden among the others: yinghua flowers, a contact toxin that made most males susceptible to questions, and left them with a forgetful hangover.
Did you find anything out from Lord Ting? Jie signed.
Nodding, Lilian knelt by the bed. She slid a hand between the futon and frame and withdrew a finger-length tube. “Lie down.”
Excitement jolted up Jie’s spine, and she settled back into the cool softness of thick blankets.
Full report here, Lilian signed as she plopped down beside her and passed the tube over. “Relax.”
Something was wrong. Lilian’s tone and posture lacked enthusiasm. Excitement melting away, Jie sat up. It didn’t look like they’d be practicing Jade Carving, whatever it was. She took the tube and slid it into the hidden pocket sewn into her sleeve. What’s it say?
Lords of the North are grumbling. “That’s better. See?”
Jie let out a moan for anyone who might happen to be listening at the door, even as she imagined straddling Lilian.
Lord Ting plans to meet with them in secret, to calm them. She pointed with her chin to where the tube was stashed. “See, it’s all in how you work your fingers.”
Closing her eyes, Jie imagined Lilian’s fingers walking up her belly, even as she considered Lord Ting. Known throughout the realm for his martial skill and bold leadership, he was staunchly faithful to the Emperor. The strategic location of his county helped keep the other lords around him in line, and the clan had taken keen interest in protecting him.
“Keep practicing.” With a sigh, Lilian leaned in and rested her head on Jie’s shoulder. Her delicate body shuddered.
What’s wrong? Savoring the closeness, Jie tapped and slid her fingers in clan code on Lilian’s wrist while draping her other arm over her shoulder. It was a strange occurrence in the Floating World, where an Elder Sister was supposed to comfort the house’s Florets and Seedlings.
I’m tired. I don’t want to do this anymore.
Jie searched Lilian’s tear-filled eyes. Why now?
I never wanted to. Not past training and the virgin price.
Jie sucked on her lower lip. Using shell companies as bond holders, the clan sent many of its pretty girls to the Floating World. It usually lasted two years, not only so they could learn about pleasure, but also to hone other skills, and gather information about powerful men. Some, like Lilian, who lacked more than basic combat and stealth skills, were embedded in the prominent houses long-term.
A tear trickled down her cheek. I wanted to be like the Beauty, not the Steel Orchids.
Jie nodded. Three of the most celebrated adepts in recent memory, the Beauty and the Steel Orchids had entered the Floating World as apprentices at the same time. While the Steel Orchids had remained here, the Beauty joined the Surgeon and Architect to form a team that planned and carried out the most important clan operations throughout the continent. All three had died young, twenty-one years before, but every Black Lotus Fist and initiate still idolized them.
Instead, I’m used night in, night out. Lord Ting is the worst of them all. Lilian let out a despondent sigh, one that someone listening at the door might mistake as one of pleasure.
Setting bones and stitching lacerations came easy. Attending to emotional wounds… Well, clan training fell short. Jie patted her on the back.
Lilian’s mask of cheerful Blossom slipped as the tears flowed freely now. Pain and disenchantment etched worry lines into the beautiful sculpting of her face. This, after just two years of receiving men.
This might be Jie’s future, as well. Despite the constant, unfulfilled urges now, it would undoubtedly grow tiring, especially compared to all the more interesting places her skills would be of use. I’ll get you reassigned. Together. As adopted daughter of the clan’s grandmaster, she might actually be able to.
If she could come up with a good reason. Lilian’s stealth, combat, observation, planning, and other skills lagged behind even clan members five years her junior. The Floating World really did make best use of her assets, and her connection to Lord Ting was invaluable to the realm.
And the posting would keep her safe. No Sister had been lost here since a deadly training accident twenty years ago.
Jie stared at the messenger tube, wondering what she should do.
Chapter 2
Heart heavy and mind racing, Jie returned to the Florets’ and Seedlings’ room. Large enough to house twenty, its austerity rivaled the barracks of Black Lotus initiates. Each girl had just enough space to sleep on the reed mats, and a chest for their few personal belongings. The sooner Jie could move into her own room, the better. Or better yet, out of the Floating World altogether. With Lilian.
At the mid-morning hour, all the bedrolls lay folded at the edge of the sunlit chamber. Not including her, thirteen pretty Seedlings and Florets, aged eight to fifteen, called this room home. While they’d all ultimately earn their keep with their bodies, life in the Floating World was far better than say, the Trench. There, prostitutes controlled by the Red Dragon Triads would service dozens of men a day. At this very moment, some young girl was being exploited, and it made Jie’s blood boil.
At least here, though, most of the House sisters were currently out running errands, or taking poetry and music lessons in the district’s theaters. Only thirteen-year-old Ai and twelve-year-old Yin remained, playing a game of chess.
“Big Sister.” They both looked up and bowed, their motions the embodiment of grace even at such a young age. In this, they’d already surpassed Jie.
>
“How did your lesson with Lilian go?” Yin asked. Blessed with the exquisite features of the North, she’d suffered misfortune when her father had died in a mining accident. Scouts for the Floating World had pounced like carrion birds, buying her contract from a desperate mother with three other children to feed. She’d been with Chrysanthemum House for only a year, and any description of what happened behind closed doors—and sometimes open ones—would leave her mortified.
To spare her from fainting, Jie answered simply. “Well.”
“It’s such an honor to learn from the Corsage. What did she teach you?” Ai’s face looked bright. Coming to the house as a Seedling of eight, she’d been here long enough that a graphic description of a sex act would affect her as much as basic bookkeeping. Which was to say, anyone could fake interest.
Jie looked from Ai to Yin. What was the name of the technique again? Squeezing Jade? No, it had to be something a little more elegant. Jade Thrust? Turning to shield her hands from Yin, Jie pantomimed a motion Lilian had taught years ago and hadn’t reviewed since.
Yin covered her mouth and flushed an interesting shade of red.
Brows furrowed, Ai tapped her chin. “Duel of the Phoenix and Dragon?”
Ah, the poetic names for something so primal. Jie nodded. Now, what was the name Lilian had used?
“So lucky.” Ai let out a wistful sigh. “The way she does it…mmmm.”
If Yin’s original shade of red had been interesting, their language had no word to describe the new one.
With a chuckle, Jie padded over to her own chest. Making sure Ai and Yin had returned to their game, she retrieved two throwing stars from the false bottom. She adjusted her hair, pinning it up in a popular style with a sharp hairpin.
Then, she closed her eyes and thought about Lilian’s message. Lord Ting meeting with disgruntled lords, Jade Teahouse, in two days.
