by Ino Lee
He tried to return to the safety of the forest again, but a white blade shot at his face from the shadows. He ricocheted the attack with his shield and barely dodged a second as the unan whipped both arms repeatedly, striking out with its fang blades like a snake; even the faintest scratch would be cause for worry, as the blades were undoubtedly poisonous.
Wong heard the ominous sound of air wafting behind him and instinctively jumped in the air, back-flipping over the spinning edge of a forest cleaver. The unan also jumped to avoid the airborne blade as it bounced and tore a chunk off the tree bough on which it stood.
“Watch it, fools!” it hissed.
The brown zhuk with the ax resumed its assault, while the gray one went to retrieve another cleaver from a fallen zhuk, having thrown away its own.
Wong waited for the brown giant to strike before making his next move. He sidestepped a chop of its ax and grabbed onto the handle for leverage to angle to the underside of the beast’s arm where he spiked a nerve bundle. The ax dropped and Wong caught it solidly in hand. His first thought was to end the zhuk, but he knew there was a greater danger at hand. He pivoted, then launched the weapon at the lurking unan, cutting off its leg. The zhuk pummeled him as soon as he released its ax, able to use its left arm, even though its right was injured. The beast meant to pursue, but realized it could no longer move its spiked arm and had no weapon, allowing Wong a short reprieve.
The unan pressed the stump of its severed half-leg against the other until it became a singular unit, the space between its appendages smoothed over and its tar-flesh merged. The lower part of its body transformed into a tail and it slithered across the ground.
Wong shook the cobwebs from his head. He eyed the transformed unan and perked up.
“Now that’s what I was expecting!”
The snake wriggled forward and struck with its daggers. Wong had his shield up and backtracked. The blows came quick. He bounced away a blade and then caught the next strike with his Iron Fist, flaring the shuriken blades along the sides of his shield and twisting down, severing the hand of the unan along with its blade.
The gray zhuk with uneven horns charged, having newly scavenged a forest cleaver. It looked to attack, but felt a sharp pain hit its abdomen and discovered a white knife—the fang blade which Wong had just acquired. It felt woozy and lowered to its knees.
Wong examined the zhuk cautiously. The viper’s poison worked faster than expected. Though it might not kill the beast outright, it was enough to take it out of action. The other zhuk still nursed its disabled arm and Wong knew that it would be ineffective chopping wood as well.
His job was complete.
Wong ran back through the forest again, abandoning the fight as suddenly as he came, his hobbled opponents unable to follow. The remaining zhuks were injured and the unan was slower in the trees without the use of both legs.
He cupped his hands and howled. Not long after, Shiki came storming through the treetops.
Gaiman tried to follow with a few dagwais, but keeping up with Wong and Shiki through the canopy was an impossible task. They watched helplessly as their uninvited visitors trailed away, their forest clearing operations left in shambles.
“Success?” Renshu asked, raising a brow.
“That depends on how broad your definition of success is,” Wong said.
Renshu frowned and looked at Shiki.
Shiki grinned and flashed teeth. “We got them.”
“Really?” Renshu said. “How many?”
“Six zhuks.”
“Six? We are victorious! Why is the human grumpy?”
“He saw some unan. Old gray face, white hair.”
“Gaiman,” Wong said. “And there was another.”
“More unan?” Renshu said. “They are bold lately. Have they no fear anymore you will steal their face?”
“Times have changed. They stayed away ever since I took Kunchu, but it seems they’re back for good now.”
“Ah. You would be happy to have more masks, then? Why so grumpy?”
“I’m not grumpy.”
“You are not happy.”
“No.”
Renshu rolled his eyes. “Is it because you are demon?”
“No.”
“Not that again,” Shiki said.
“It’s not that. Are you even listening to me?”
Domu, the burly gorilla-man, chimed in. “Please, human. We are all of dark chi. Do not be afraid.”
“It’s not because I’m demon,” Wong said, exasperated. He shook his head. “Sometimes I miss Shaolin. It’s like I’m surrounded by big hairy children.”
“Do not tell falsehoods. You enjoy the company of magaus.”
“What’s troubling, then?” Shiki asked. “Ever since the battle, there has been a burden.”
“I admit it. But it’s something much worse than you think. Something much more core to my being.”
“What?”
The magaus leaned in.
Wong spoke gravely. “I broke my sword.”
The magaus collectively groaned.
“It was a red crystal sword,” Wong said. “Do you know how long it takes to make a crystal sword?”
“Who is the child now?” Domu said.
Shiki shook his head.
Wong laughed. After they had a moment to reset, he asked, “What’s happening on the frontline?”
“It’s all right,” Renshu answered. “We will be fine.”
“Just fine? No cries of victory?”
“The Koon Gee make slow progress.”
“They drag their instruments of war,” Domu said. “A radiance pool. It is harder to stall them now, turn them back.”
“So, not well,” Wong commented.
“They are more organized. We would attack the main line, sneak back to the forest.” He gestured with his fingers. “Now they attack before we reach them. Possessed dark ninjas.”
“You can’t take down the patrols?”
“They are formidable,” Renshu said. “Strengthened. There is also the one that strikes from afar.”
“The masked ninja with a painted tear?”
“Yes. Lady of the Painted Tear.”
“The Weeping Arrow,” Shiki said.
“I wish you’d stop giving them names.”
“Tell that to the dead. Tell that to Toutoumo. He got an arrow stuck.”
“Toutoumo got hit?”
“Yes.”
“Will he live?”
“Barely.”
Wong sighed. “This Painted Tear must be dealt with.”
“Its arrows are formidable,” Renshu said. “Hard to get close.”
“Still don’t know what this enemy may be,” Shiki said. “An elite ninja or one possessed?”
“They mock you,” Domu said. “Wear masks as you do.”
“I will go with you on the next hunt,” Wong said. “We can’t let up on the frontline. We have to stop their progress.”
“Good,” Renshu said. “There is much forest. There is time to turn this.”
“Is there? We stopped a backroad incursion today, but how many more are out there? How much more territory will we lose on the main front? It’s only a matter of time before they reach us.”
“We have pushed them back many times. We can do it again.”
Wong shook his head. “Something’s changed these last few months. The only thing stopping them before was their preoccupation with the Great Wall, but now they’re focused on us. They are even sending in unan again. We are a thorn in their side and they mean to remove us.”
“They can try.”
“I know you don’t want to hear it, Renshu, but the time may come to abandon the Tangled Root Forest. We can’t hold out much longer. We should be prepared for that.”
“Where will we go? To the other side of the Wall? That is easy for you.”
“It is not.”
“I will not be indebted to strange humans. We will be outcasts. Here we are home.”
“I will be more of an outcast than you.”
“How?”
“I am demon.”
Renshu remained silent.
“We will defend our home,” Domu said.
“I agree with Wong,” Shiki said. “My heart belongs to Tangled Root, but the magaus fear to remain. They will follow you to safety. We must do what’s best for them.”
Renshu shot Wong a look. “See what you have done?”
“I won’t argue with you because you know I’m right,” Wong said.
“Bah,” Renshu barked. “You are a terrible celebrator of victories.”
3
TING WALKED SLUGGISHLY along the road to Hanai. She was dirty, tired, and hungry, having spent the entire day traveling. After fleeing from the unan the night before, she made her way to the neighboring farm to see what had become of her dad, but decided to sleep in the wilderness before looking around come morning; she remembered the unan talking about invading the other farms there and she feared running into more Koon Gee in the dark. Her suspicions were confirmed shortly after daybreak when she spotted dagwais halfway to the farmhouse, causing her to turn back and hide in the brushes. She sat in a daze, wondering what to do for the next hour before making the decision to go to the city for help.
The road was lonely, the dirt path packed down by wooden wheels and hooves, with wild grass and weeds that threatened to overtake the edges. Even rougher looking roads branched off to additional farms, perhaps hosting more deadly creatures within. Ting kept her feet moving methodically and her mind active by examining the countryside for signs of danger. When she finally came upon Hanai’s city walls, she saw activity and felt a vague sense of relief.
A stream of traffic flowed through the southern gate to feed the large metropolis. Soldiers at ease manned a station and monitored the flow, oblivious to the sinister activity within the farms.
Ting picked up her pace and ran to a guard post.
“Help!” she yelled, almost out of breath.
A soldier with a ponytail looked over the guard rail. “What’s wrong?”
“Unan killed my mom.”
“What?”
“Unan killed my mom. You have to come help.”
Another gruff looking soldier peered over and examined her.
“Looks like one of those street orphans. Those little brats have been running around distracting folks and picking their pockets.”
Ting looked confused, then became suddenly conscious of how ragged she appeared.
“No. I live on a farm outside here. I just came down the road.” She pointed, feeling increasingly panicked.
“What would unan be doing there?” the first soldier said.
“There’s a whole army of them.”
“A whole army? Have there been reports from other farms? Has there been a breach of the Great Wall?”
“No,” the other soldier said. “Throw her a coin and she’ll go away.”
“No. I’m telling the truth,” Ting said.
“What do you want from us?” the gruff solider said.
Ting didn’t know what to say; she assumed the soldiers would believe her and know what to do. She spotted an alarm bell behind them.
“Ring the bell. Tell everyone the Koon Gee are here.”
The soldier looked around suspiciously, wary of her motives. Ringing the alarm might be a distraction for her accomplices to start picking pockets.
“Why don’t you go home? Do you have one?”
“I told you!”
The guard looked around and saw kids loitering nearby.
“Get out of here. Tell your friends if I see you again, I’ll throw you all in the cellar.”
Ting’s face turned red. “My brother is a Shaolin warrior and I’m going to be one, too. I command you to get off your fat butts and help me!”
The soldier laughed. “Oh is that right? A Shaolin warrior right here in our midst? Maybe you should take care of the unan, then. Here—” He tossed her a coin. “You earned it for the laugh.”
Ting caught and examined it, then flung it back at his head.
“Ouch!” the soldier yelled. “That’s it, you brat, you’re going to jail!”
The soldier jumped over the post and charged her. She ducked under his arms, threw her satchel at his legs to trip him up, then skirted up the side of the wall to the station bell and rang it furiously.
“Koon Gee alert! Koon Gee!”
“Stop that!” the soldier with a ponytail said. He pulled her away, despite her furious kicking and screaming.
Her alarm attracted attention and drew in more guards, including the commanding officer.
“What’s going on here?”
“Nothing,” the gruff soldier said. “Just some troublemaker.”
“No,” Ting said, half-struggling and half-crying. “Koon Gee are here! The Koon Gee are here!”
“What’s this?”
“Sorry, sir,” the soldier holding Ting said. He put her down. “This young girl is claiming unan killed her mother and there are Koon Gee about.”
The officer furrowed his brow and stooped to her level.
“Is this true?”
“Yes.”
The other soldier interjected. “She’s telling tales and threw a coin at my face. She’s probably scheming with those pickpockets. They’re around here somewhere.” He looked around, but they were gone.
“Is this right? Do not lie to me, girl,” the commanding officer said.
Ting wiped her eyes. “I’m telling the truth. I only threw it at him because he wouldn’t listen to me.”
“Why would unan kill your mother?”
“I don’t know. They just appeared on our farm. There are dagwais, too.”
“What farm?”
“Lotus Pond Farm. Down Chin-chu road.”
The officer looked unconvinced. “The lotus farm? There have been no reports of Koon Gee breaching the Great Wall. How do I know this is true? What else can you tell me?”
“The unan’s name is Raikahn. It wears a red devil mask and carries a pitch fork. The other is Lafay. It has a white grinning face with red cheeks and talks in a high voice. I know it because it stabbed my brother Hojin in the leg at the Shaolin Temple during the Night of the One Hundred and One Demons.”
The officer’s face softened with uncertainty at her elaborate tale.
“Okay, this is what we will do. Tomorrow morning a relief squad and supply wagons are set to go to the Great Wall. I will have them scout your farm on the way.”
Ting looked in the farm’s direction. “Why not now?”
“Don’t press it, young lady. It’s almost dark. Even if your story is true, I would not send soldiers into the hands of unan at night.”
Ting nodded and quietly accepted.
“What do we do with her?” the soldier with the ponytail asked.
“Do you have any place to go?” the officer said.
Ting shook her head.
“Keep her in the gatehouse for now. Let’s see where this story goes.”
Ting walked up the stairs of the gatehouse, a defensive building above the entrance where many soldiers moved about. The ponytailed guard guided her up, which she was grateful for since her dealings with the other had been so contentious. They stopped on the second floor.
“Wait here please,” the guard said.
Ting leaned back against a wall. The guard talked to a woman at a desk, who glanced her way. She looked old and crabby, seemingly annoyed for having been disturbed. For a brief moment, Ting thought that they might actually throw her in jail, but rea
soned they wouldn’t have left her alone if that was their intention.
She looked away.
The room was full of activity and distraction. Often she had passed through the gates below on her way into the city and looked up at the gatehouse, wondering what went on inside, and now here she was. The wooden building felt old. Numerous tables and desks were dispersed on this level, with workers busy talking to each other and writing on scrolls. This was probably the command center of South Gate. She wondered if she would be able to work there one day if Shaolin didn’t work out, inspired by her brother’s service at the temple and enthralled with the idea keeping the city’s peace, though fighting with the gate guards was probably a bad way to start. More soldiers passed by and took note of her on the way to their evening posts.
The guard returned. “You’re in luck. There’s a room available a couple floors up.”
Ting was unsure of how to react. “Is it a jail?”
“No. Not the most luxurious place, but certainly no jail. What’s your name? Perhaps we did not start off under the best of circumstances. I’m Yao.”
“My name is Ting.”
“Are you hungry, Ting?”
She shook her head even though she was hungry, afraid of being seen as a street orphan trying to get handouts.
“First so bold, now so shy?” He handed back her satchel, which she had thrown at the other guard’s legs. “There’s only a few half-eaten vegetables in there. You must be hungry. I’ll get you something.”
She took back her bag and nodded. They climbed a staircase to the third floor and proceeded down a hallway where fresh air circulated from archery windows on an exterior-facing wall. Yao finally stopped around the corner and opened the door to a room with several cots. Ting was glad it looked nothing like a jail cell.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Yao said. “I’ll be back.”
He closed the door and left.
Unlike the main office, this room felt isolated and lonely. Ting dropped her bag and went directly to a chair by a window facing the side of the gatehouse, near the front, so that she could see the top of the city wall and parts of the interior and the exterior. The sun was about to set, covering the world in a golden haze. On any other day, it would have been an amazing sight to behold.
