by Jeremy Han
Her words were as sharp and final as a thunderclap.
That night Ji Gang rode out of the city to an outlying town. His horse galloped through the town until he finally came to stop at an inn. The place had a lonely, desolate air about it, and besides him there were no other patrons on that winter night. Two faded red lanterns danced wildly as the wind roared through the streets and white snow lined the road. The door creaked as he opened it, and a sliver of light illuminated the empty hall, chairs and tables unoccupied.
A shadow emerged from the emptyness. “Commander. Welcome to my humble business.”
“You saw my message,” Ji said curtly.
“Yes, Lord Ji. That’s why I did not accept any guest tonight. You can speak without worry.”
“I need your help.”
The man was not as tall as Ji Gang, but his steps were sure and nimble like a cat’s, and he was someone whom Ji Gang trusted completely. His name was An Deli, and he had served as Ji Gang’s second in command during the hunt for Jian Wen.
The man kept a pencil-thin moustache and his eyes flashed with intelligence. His right hand had been hacked off at the elbow, and all that remained was a stump where Zhao Qi’s sabre had chopped his hand off during the final fight the night the fugitive emperor escaped. Once upon a time, An could draw a blade faster than the eye could see, now, technically retired after losing his hand, he continued to serve Ji Gang as his eyes and ears in the capital whenever the commander had to go elsewhere.
He ushered Ji Gang to a corner that had no windows and they sat. A clay bottle of alcohol was already prepared, and considering his disability, Ji Gang poured for both of them. Almost immediately the cold, brittle air became fragrant with the aroma of plums.
“By the way, Zhao Qi and the Acrobat have returned.”
An remained silent. The vivid memory of Zhao’s sabre coming down, and his hand landing on the floor like a landed fish appeared before his eyes. He took a deep breath to control his emotions and a stab of phantom pain tried to convince his mind his arm was still there.
“They are no longer our enemies.”
An took a deep breath. “I understand,” he said.
“Good.”
“What is the urgent matter you wish to speak about, Lord Ji?”
Ji Gang told him everything, including his hunches. An leaned back and thought through what the commander said, his left hand subconsciously rubbing the stump, deep in thought.
Then he whispered, “The Western Depot?”
“Yes.”
“Seems like a power play. The eunuchs already control almost all imperial functions in the palace. They already have their tentacles over the civilian services and military and now they want to control state security as well.”
Ji Gang looked at his former subordinate. “The hunger for power knows no boundaries. But I don’t believe this is just a grab for supremacy. Kong is scheming something. I can almost see the manoeuvrings inside his head.”
An was quick to pick up his former boss’ thoughts. “You think the Xi Chang is a front, so that the eunuchs could infiltrate and undermine the security of the emperor?”
“In a nutshell.”
“But you can’t prove it.”
“Not yet. Too many pieces are still missing, but my guts tell me that I am on the right track. Think about it.” Ji Gang lifted a finger as though he was conducting a lecture. “All those things that happened in the South drew considerable resources there. At first I thought the rebellion was serious, but then it dawned on me that it was just a side show. It has more bark than bite. Then consider the case of the mysterious demoness. The more we dig into it, the more it seemed too coincidental that the military command would be crippled by unseen forces before they could deal with Zhu Wenkui. Someone went to all this trouble, and for what?” He paused for effect,” To draw the Eastern Depot away from the capital!”
“So what do you need of me?"
The handicapped man listened without a word, frowning as he digested the commander’s plan.
57
Wang Zhen looked around frantically, but there was nothing and his pulse and breathing increased as fear overwhelmed him.
The forest was terribly dark and cold and occasional puffs of fog obscured his path. He continued walking, although he had no idea where he was going, or why he was there. He tried to find his bearings, to figure out what this mysterious place was and recall the reason why he ended up there, but he could not. Strangely his legs kept moving, as though they had a life of their own, or rather, as though they knew where to go despite his lack of direction.
Where am I? What am I doing here? Where am I going?
He wanted to scream but his thoughts were trapped and could not be released. He felt like a man drowning, suffocated by his own terror and lack of comprehension. He heard a sound, soft and concealed but when he again saw nothing. His instincts, however, told him that he was being followed, watched, and hunted. He tried to run but his legs, already their own masters, did not comply. His adrenaline was not enough to fuel his escape, and even though his legs felt heavy he kept going. He did not dare to look back again.
Sna-ap.
This time he spun around. Not knowing could be worse than facing the source of one's dread. Mist covered the path he had taken and he could only just make out the vague outline of bamboo that weaved in and out of the white vaporous shroud, illuminated by the ghostly moonlight.
He peered harder. There was someone behind him, following him, but his stalker did not seem to be in a hurry. He squinted one last time before he turned and continued on his way and this time he thought he saw a slim, pale-faced figure with long, flowing black hair looking at him from behind the bamboo. Wang could not be sure if the stalker was male or female, human or ghost. All he could make out was a bag on the ethereal figure’s shoulder, and he felt a certainty that the figure was evil.
Yin stood like a statue as he observed the sleeping eunuch and the only movement he felt was the slow coiling and uncoiling of the snake in his bag. The young eunuch had tossed and turned aggressively with his bad dreams. I could put him out of his misery, Yin thought, but he stayed his hand.
Kong Wei had sent him to monitor the young man. Kong was slightly angry that the young eunuch had survived the attack, and yet he could not decide if the servant was better off dead or might have some future use to him. Since he did not know what to do, he had sent Yin to watch him. Yin could dispatch him efficiently as, and when, he felt the need to. Ever since Ji Gang had returned to Beijing, Kong was no longer so concerned that Wang Zhen could be used as bait against him. He thought by now that the Eastern Depot would be like ants running in disarray, and thus he had sent Yin.
However, he did not know that there were others watching the young castrate too.
Yin snapped his head to the left. He turned and glared directly to the rooftop where a man was watching him silently. Yin’s eyes narrowed in anger at the man. He was clad in black, and had no face, or rather, it was covered by an opera mask. In the faint light he could make out red paint on the mask. It was the mask of Guandi, the Chinese god of war.
Damn! How did he sneak up on me?
Yin did not like to be seen, or to fight open confrontations His immobile form dissolved as he burst into action, his whole body moving as one with great speed. The Acrobat was equally as fast though, and he dashed across the roof, running parallel to his prey. His footing was sure, but light as he ran over loose tiles. There was no point in commanding the stalker to stop. Whoever it was, they were the enemy. No one else could possibly be interested whether the recuperating eunuch lived or died.
He kept his body low to reduce resistance, and with sure steps and perfect balance he pursued the silent intruder, his form fully silhouetted against the full, bright moon. The Acrobat was usually an impatient man, but when on a mission his discipline was iron. He had been hiding in the cold each night, anticipating this very thing to happen. Zhao had given him orders to watch the re
cuperating eunuch so that he could accompany Meng Da on their hunt for the crown prince from hell. He had insisted that Wang remained under surveillance because the young eunuch was undeniably linked to the emergence of Zhu Wenkui, and tonight his wisdom, and the Acrobat’s patience, finally bore fruit.
Yin was fast. His body, lithe and powerful, seemed to move as though he was one singular piece of powerful muscle and even the Acrobat had trouble keeping up with him. The assassin turned to look and at that moment the Acrobat felt his blood turn to ice. The bloodless face, half covered by long, dishevelled hair looked like a hun ‘spirit’.
Ghost or not, take that!
With a movement faster than the eye could see the Acrobat, famous for his use of the throwing knife, flicked his wrist and a blade flew toward Yin. The assassin expertly dodged, but right behind the flying blade was the Acrobat himself, launching into a rolling attack.
He rolled to break his fall, allowing the momentum to carry him forward right into Yin’s path where he suddenly leapt with a kick aimed at Yin’s head. The assassin moved fluidly out of the way, and retaliated. Yin’s hands were flattened, with fingers outstretched like the head of his fanchantou as he struck at the Acrobat’s eyes. The blurred hands almost blinded Li, but the Acrobat swept them away with monkey-like movements, imitating a monkey trying to grab fruits. He danced out of Yin’s striking distance with the erratic movements that characterised the Monkey Fist.
The Monkey circled the Snake.
Yin could not afford to tarry, and he launched a low foot-sweep kick to force Li to retreat. The monkey-like man flipped out of the way, and then balancing on one foot he attacked. Li’s fist swept in a wide arc aiming right at Yin, but instead of retreating the assassin closed in.
Blocking the Acrobat’s blow with one hand he struck, his hardened fingers hitting his attacker in the chest, causing Li to gasp in pain. But the ex-imperial guard was not slow. Just when Yin’s Snake Fist scored a hit the Acrobat’s leg was already in mid-air, the powerful round house kick hitting Yin hard in the face. Yin fell back but almost immediately, like a cobra spitting, he struck out again rapidly with hands aiming for Li’s vital points.
His hands moved with deadly grace and impossible speed, like the dance of the thousand-hand Buddha, but the highly skilled imperial bodyguard blocked them all. In that split second Li ducked to avoid his eyes getting gouged and his adam’s apple crushed, he brought his hand down fast enough stop a finger thrust into his solar plexus. He then blocked several other attempts to strike at his vital points across his body, and only a warrior of great reflex could have avoided all of Yin’s blows. Although none of Yin’s attack struck home the viciousness of them were enough to force Li backward several steps.
Suddenly, it struck him. The hands! They moved so quickly!
He thought he had hallucinated and the realisation he was fighting the multi-hand ‘demoness’ struck him like a hammer. He paused for a second for the thought to sink in, and Yin smiled. In that few seconds of fighting, they had established a bond and were able to read their opponent’s mind.
Yes, I am the many-hand ‘demoness’.
The wicked grin was enough to chill the hardened warrior’s heart before Yin turned and dashed into the darkness. Li did not pursue.
And we will meet again.
58
Wang opened his eyes when he felt his world spin.
One moment he saw the face of the Acrobat and then his vision went topsy-turvy, finding now that he was looking at the man’s feet. Then he screamed through his dried throat as the ex-imperial bodyguard grabbed him by the collar and tossed him across the sparsely decorated room. He crashed against the wooden table in the corner and fell to the floor. He moaned, gritting his teeth as he arched his back in pain from the fall, his still recovering wounds feeling as though they would rip open again. He turned around to his sudden attacker, raising a quivering hand to implore him not to strike him again.
“Plea…se,” the young eunuch whimpered. He glanced around to see if the Acrobat was his only attacker. Through the small window faint light streamed into the room, and a rooster was crowing in the distance. The Acrobat took a step forward.
“No…Sir, please…what have I done? Why are you doing this?” he pleaded, tears streaming down his cheek.
Li Jing stooped in front of him, hauling him by his collar to his feet before slamming him against the wall. The thud sounded ominously loud in the quiet, still morning. Leaning close and ignoring the fetid breath of the man who was rudely wakened by his vicious attack, the Acrobat growled, “Just. Who. The. Hell. Are. You?”
“What?” Wang looked at him blankly.
He pulled him forward before ramming him again against the wall. This time, the Acrobat pressed hard against him so that the weight of his body pressed onto the wounds on his back.
“Aaahhhgggg!” Wang cried out. “Please….Sir! Stop.”
Li Jing threw him to the floor. “Speak! Why do they want to kill you?”
“Kill me?” He looked blankly at Li as he asked, “Who?”
“The many-hand demoness.”
“So…its real,” Wang muttered to himself as his dream slowly re-emerged.
“What did you say?” Li pressed impatiently. “Speak up, you piece of shit!” The Acrobat kicked him.
“I dreamt of a ghostly figure with long hair, carrying a bag, following me in a forest. I had no idea who it was except that I was running and it was chasing me.”
“It was looking at you through the window,” Li said as he pointed. “If I had not appeared, who knows if you would still be alive now? You could be lying there in a pool of blood.”
Fear squeezed Wang’s features as his close brush with death started to register. “It is really a demoness?” he asked.
“Just a highly trained assassin,” Li replied as he stared hard at Wang. “Too expert to be sent to kill a mere servant. Speak now! Who are you!”
“Please Sir, you know me, I am just the emperor’s body slave,” he whined.
Li lost his patience with the pleading man before him. “Fine, if you do not wish to tell me,” he said as he smiled coldly, “I will let the Eastern Depot ask you. I hear Ji Gang serves very good tea to his guests.”
A picture of the huge, bald northerner filled his imagination as Yan Wang, ‘the King of Hell’, glaring at him with eyes like burning coal. The younger man’s face paled significantly, and his bladder leaked. He tried to tighten the weak muscles there to control the urine but failed as the smell rose into the room. They would torture him first, and then when it was over he would confess to anything. He would even sell his parents if they asked him to, and after that they would still execute him anyway.
Li stood up, and turned to leave.
“Wait…!” Wang called after Li as he continued to walk. “Sir! I…” he tried again, but the Acrobat was almost at the door.
“Enjoy your tea with the Commander,” he said nonchalantly, without looking back at the begging eunuch.
“The Grand Eunuch forced me to report to him the whereabouts of the emperor!” Wang shouted,
The Acrobat turned. “What did you say?”
“I…am…I…I am a spy,” he finally confessed. “Grand Eunuch Kong asked me for the itinerary of the imperial family’s travel.”
“And you revealed it to him?”
“How could I not? Do you know how powerful Kong is? He was threatening me if I did not cooperate with him,” Wang retorted desperately, his eyes widening until the whites were fully exposed. “I did not know about the raid, I swear! All I did was tell him where and when the imperial family would be. He did not tell me his intentions. He meant for me to die!” Wang started to shout hysterically. It was a fact. The eunuch had almost lost his life trying to protect the emperor, and it was the Acrobat who carried him to safety.
“Tell me everything,” the warrior growled.
After the eunuch had confessed he started to cry, and Li looked down at him. It was true the eu
nuch had no choice in the matter. Either he complied to Kong’s wishes, or he died. Like the eunuch had complained – he was like a cockroach, liable to be stamped on anytime, for reasons beyond him. In fact it seemed that he was supposed to die, either during the raid or after, when he was no longer useful.
How can I turn this to my advantage? Li thought.
“I can spare your life,” the Acrobat said at last, “provided that you do something for me.”
“Anything, Sir!” Wang begged with both hands clasped together. “Just don’t turn me over to the devil.” Inwardly Wang cursed his fate. Why am I born to be exploited by everyone? Why? WHY?
“Go back to Beijing, as though nothing had happened, and….”
After Li had explained his plan he took out a piece of paper. “Write what I asked you to.” He recited the words and the eunuch, who was quite skilful with the brush, wrote a confession with shaking hands. When he had finished the Acrobat snatched the piece of paper from him and said, “Do anything stupid, and I will personally hand this confession with your handwriting to Ji Gang. You know the man would personally cut your throat,” he reminded the younger man coldly.
“And if I do what you say, you will keep your promise?” he blurted with hope. Wang was an intelligent man, it was why he had been selected to directly serve the emperor. He knew that these men were not the same as Ji Gang, that the imperial agent killed first and asked his questions later. It was probably better to give them what they want and turn them into his allies. After all, neither Kong nor the Eastern Depot merited his loyalty. It was time to trade.
“I will burn this note. And I will make sure the empress dowager hears only of your loyalty to her son. You just focus on your role.”
With that Li left the room, leaving the young man alone to his conundrum. The sun was now fully risen in the sky, but to Wang Zhen it might as well be as dark as the deepest night.
That evening Li Jing briefed Zhao on what had happened. The commander listened intently with his hand below his chin before speaking.
