The Blade of Silence (Fang Mu Eastern Crimes Series Book 3)

by Mi Lei

  What narcissistic nonsense the dream of everlasting fame and glory was. No, no human could ever understand the true terror of eternity.

  Fang Mu shook the heavy thoughts from his mind and looked down at his watch. It was three o'clock. He had to hurry. Checking his GPS again, he calculated his exact position along the river. Where he stood wasn't far from the public section of the Dragon Tail Cave. Those girls had to be hidden further upstream, away from the prying eyes of tourists and tour guides.

  At first, he tried walking along the river, but it only took a few steps to realize that that would not work. In the dark of the cave, the jutting rocks along the riverbank made further progress on foot far too dangerous. At any moment he could slip and fall into the dark waters.

  Fang Mu attached his flashlight to his headband and got on his hands and feet. He would have to crawl forward.

  Soon, his entire body was soaked in sweat. At those depths, it was a solid 50 degrees and he was still dressed for temperatures below zero. He stopped on a decently flat rock and took off his jacket. After he had stuffed it into his backpack, he crawled on. It felt as if he had taken a lead weight off his shoulders.

  As he pushed on, Fang Mu remained well aware that the enemy might be hiding just ahead. To not give away his presence, he kept his flashlight on its lowest setting, leaving everything more than an arm's length away hidden in darkness.

  He was just climbing over another rock when something unexpected caught his eye. He took the flashlight from his head and shone its beam toward the water. There was something stuck to a rock in the river.

  He pulled the collapsible walking-stick from his backpack. Holding on to a stalactite with his left hand, he firmly placed his left foot in a small crevice. Leaning forward over the river, he tried to grab the object. After several attempts, he was able to pry it from the rock.

  Once he had regained his footing, Fang Mu examined his find. It turned out to be the plastic wrapping from a pack of mineral water bottles. It must have drifted there from upstream.

  That proved it. Someone was hiding in this cave.

  Fang Mu felt elated. He had been right all along. In his euphoria, an idea popped into his mind.

  He took a bottle of mineral water from his backpack and drank it. He ripped a piece of paper from his notepad. Quickly he wrote on it: If anyone finds this note, it means that I am in danger.

  Please call: 13514287371. Thank you.

  It was Xiao Wang's telephone number. Last time, he had kept Xiao Wang in the dark. The result was that Jing Xu had remained unguarded and everything had all gone to hell. It was perfect timing that Xiao Wang had just transferred from the local Suijing City Municipal Bureau. If something happened to Fang Mu here, Xiao Wang would certainly be able to pick up the investigation.

  Fang Mu folded the slip of paper and stuffed it into the empty bottle, and then returned the bottle to his backpack. It had felt like writing his last will, but having the emergency message at the ready took an enormous weight off his shoulders. All done, he sorted his things, made sure his backpack was secure and continued his slow crawl onward.

  Up a rock, down a slope, stop, look, and listen; it went on and on, robbing Fang Mu of all sense of time. He checked his GPS. To his surprise, he had made it almost all the way to the end of the cave. He only then realized that he had been crawling for a good hour.

  He slowed his frantic pace. His goal had to be just up ahead.

  And it was. After the next bend, the river was suddenly enveloped in a soft glow. It was the glint of fire, glowing on the water.

  Fang Mu immediately turned off his flashlight and dropped to his belly. He inched his way forward.

  With every turn and every rock he passed, the light on the river grew brighter. Then, he heard the faint sound of voices. Around another bend, Fang Mu was confronted with a huge boulder lying across the entire width of the cave. It easily weighed 10 tons. Hiding behind the rock, he considered his next move. Luckily, there were enough hand-holds on the boulder to make it climbable. After a moment's hesitation, he carefully began to pull himself up. Clinging to the side, he took a deep breath. He pushed himself up and peeked over the edge.

  Right in front of the boulder, Fang Mu could see what appeared to be a large cavern, surrounded by sheer rock-face. There were several small fires scattered throughout the area. Between them, he could make out the silhouettes of people.

  Fang Mu immediately ducked back down. He had gotten a first glimpse of what lay ahead, and also of the top of the boulder. It was almost perfectly flat, except for a hole on one side. That would be the perfect spot for him to hide.

  He quietly pushed himself back up. This time, he slid onto the boulder and then quickly pulled himself into the hole in the rock.

  Fully hidden, Fang Mu struggled to catch his breath, doing his best not to pant too loudly. Once he had managed to calm his breathing, he took his pair of night-vision binoculars from his backpack.

  This was the end of the cave, where the underground river emerged from the rock. Fang Mu could see two men sitting at the riverbank, close to one of the fires burning there. The two were drinking from the bottle. Not far behind them, a huge boulder was being used to anchor a heavy iron chain. Following the chain with his eyes, Fang Mu saw an area covered in straw. A group of four girls huddled there, their feet manacled to the chain.

  He ground his teeth, his entire body tensing. Something moved out of the corner of his eye. He turned his binoculars left and spotted a man with another girl.

  Fang Mu almost gasped in shock. The man was Lu Dachun and the girl was actually a young woman. It was Lu Haiyan.

  Through his binoculars, Fang Mu could see that Lu Dachun barely managed to walk in a straight line and that his face was flushed red. Obviously, he was drunk. Stumbling along, Lu Dachun dragged Lu Haiyan to another, relatively tidy, patch of straw. There, he planted a few slobbering kisses on her mouth. Moments later, he pushed her onto the straw and climbed on top of her.

  Lu Haiyan looked numb. Powerless to stop him, her body had gone limp. Something told Fang Mu that this wasn't the first time she'd had to endure his abuse.

  The two men at the riverside watched and laughed.

  "Lu Dachun, you slacker. Be careful that I don't tell your father!" one of them called out.

  Fang Mu recognized the voice. It was to Lu Dajiang, the villager who had struck the first blow against Lu Haitao.

  "Yeah! You fuckin' come here and enjoy yourself and then don't share with your brothers! Selfish!" the other villager chimed in.

  "Fuck you, too, wankers!" With a sway and a wobble, Lu Dachun pushed himself off Lu Haiyan and back to his feet. He reached behind his back. Suddenly he was holding a Type 54 in his unsteady hand. "I'll fuckin' cap both of you!"

  It almost sounded like a real threat. The gun in his hand was certainly real. In any case, it was enough to shut up Lu Dajiang and the other villager.

  Feeling indestructible and powerful, Lu Dachun grabbed hold of Lu Haiyan and dragged her toward a large rock. The young woman's face remained vacant and her body lifeless. She didn't even button her wide open jacket, leaving her breasts half-exposed as Lu Dachun dragged her away. Naturally, the two villagers took the opportunity to stare leeringly.

  Behind the rock, the two were hidden from the villagers, but Fang Mu could see them all too clearly. He watched as Lu Dachun brutally spun Lu Haiyan around, bent her over and placed her hands on the rock. He pulled her pants down to her knees and unzipped his jeans. The moment he was free, Lu Dachun began to savagely thrust himself into her.

  Fang Mu put the binoculars down and closed his eyes.

  Could he save her? And even if he managed, would she choose his help over her mother and the village? And there were three of them down there; he hardly stood a chance.

  But how could he just sit there and close his eyes as she was being raped right in front of him?

  Inside the cave, the sound of Lu Dachun's grunts and the slapping of flesh on flesh w
as magnified to a terrible crescendo. Fang Mu pressed his hands over his ears. He was completely overwhelmed by a feeling of helpless revulsion.

  Finally, the noises stopped. Satisfied, Lu Dachun pulled his trousers back up and let himself fall into the straw. Lu Haiyan was trembling violently. Every last bit of strength seemed drained from her body and she slid to the ground. As soon as her shaking hands would allow, she pulled her pants back up and closed her belt.

  Fang Mu fiercely gritted his teeth nearly to the snapping point. He whipped out his GPS unit and with a stab of the pen, marked his current position on the map. A nameless fury was burning inside him, urging him to action. But he knew that he couldn't give in, not now. With all the strength he could muster, he suppressed his rage and focused on the task at hand. He had to make it out of there and get the place surrounded before daybreak.

  And then, there would be hell to pay.

  Fang Mu lifted himself onto his hands and knees. He was waiting for the right moment to slip out of the hole and climb back down the boulder. But before he could move, he heard Lu Dachun lazily ask, "What time is it?"

  "Four-fifteen," Lu Dajiang replied.

  "Right. The truck will be here at 5:30." Lu Dachun sat back up. "No time to sleep."

  A truck? Fang Mu froze. This changed everything. He dropped back on his stomach and continued to watch and wait.

  Back in the cavern, Lu Dachun was motioning Lu Haiyan to join him. She numbly obeyed and seated herself next to him. Lu Dachun wordlessly grabbed her in a firm embrace and began to crudely fondle her.

  Apparently, it was too much stimulation for Lu Dajiang. He started to rub his crotch and quickly emptied the bottle in his hand. With a satisfied smack of the lips, he got up and walked toward the chained girls sleeping on the straw.

  Looming over them, he stared at each girl in turn. He knelt down next to one of them and started tearing at her clothes. The girl woke with a start and immediately began to struggle. Her frantic thrashing pulled and tugged at the chain, waking the other girls. In an instant, the cavern was echoing with sobs and screams.

  Lu Dachun spat a series of curses. He picked up a rock and threw it right at Lu Dajiang's back. Despite being far from sober, he actually managed to hit his target and Lu Dajiang grunted in pain.

  His face flush with anger, he spun around. "Mother-fucker, what was that for?"

  "Cut the crap!" Lu Dachun shouted back at him.

  "If you ain't gonna share, I'll have one of these. Why do you fucking care?" Lu Dajiang shot back.

  "Because Boss Liang's gonna care, you knucklehead. He fucking told us not to touch them!" Lu Dachun glared at him.

  "This batch is all popped anyway. Nobody needs to know that I had a quick go." Lu Dajiang was practically salivating as he bent back down and continued to tear at the girl's clothing.

  A cold, metallic click sliced through all the noise and chaos. It sent a jolt through Lu Dajiang's body. Slowly, he turned his head to stare straight down the barrel of Lu Dachun's gun.

  "Cut the fucking crap! You don't want to piss me off!" Lu Dachun roared.

  Lu Dajiang's shoulder's sagged as he accepted defeat. Cursing and muttering, he got back to his feet. "All right, all right. Prick."

  "You're freakin' insatiable." Lu Dachun sounded almost amicable, evidently eager to put his death threats behind them. "Just hold it until we've sent these ones off, then you can go right back home and get it on with your wife. And if that doesn't do it for you, I'll take you along next time we go shopping. Then you can try the city girls."

  Lu Dajiang's face brightened, but he continued to eye the gun in Lu Dachun's hand apprehensively. "Have your father talk to Boss Liang so that we can get some of that action. too."

  Lu Dachun smiled smugly. "Do you think just anyone can have one of these?" He looked down at the gun glinting dull blue in his hand. "The old folks say it best: Power comes from the barrel of a gun!"

  In his hiding spot, Fang Mu was racking his brain. At 5:30 a truck would arrive and take the girls away. The Dragon Tail was close to the border. This was the last chance to save them before they were sold off into the international sex trade.

  Suddenly he recalled his first trip onto the mountain. He had heard a noise from the back of that truck. When he had asked about it, Lu Dachun had told him that it was pork.

  That pork had probably been these four girls. He had been sitting within arm's reach and done nothing.

  How could I have missed that? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  No. He was letting the case get to him again. In his wallowing, he had almost managed to miss a critical question:

  Who was Boss Liang?

  Judging by the way they talked about him, there was a good chance that Boss Liang was the mastermind behind the sex-trafficking ring; in any case, he almost certainly was the source of the villager's ill-gotten wealth. But details would have to wait for later. Right now, he still had too little information to go on and more immediate problems.

  His initial plan had met reality and fallen apart. There was no time for him to notify the police before these four girls would be taken over the border. And once they were out of the country, rescuing them would become almost impossible.

  It all came down to a fundamental choice: What was more important? Saving a victim of a crime or arresting the criminals?

  Fang Mu smiled bitterly at the rock. He had always known his answer.

  Saving the girls would be difficult. There were three villagers and only one of him, and that was if Lu Haiyan didn't try to stop him. Even worse, Lu Dachun had a gun. Fang Mu's most formidable weapon was his collapsible walking-stick. Finally, those four girls were shackled to a boulder. If he didn't somehow get his hands on the key, there would be no way to free them without causing a serious racket.

  None of it really mattered. He had no choice.

  He slowly pushed himself out of the hole and quietly slid down behind the boulder. Back on the riverbank, he pulled his message-in-a-bottle from his backpack and placed it in the water. As he watched it drift downstream, he silently prayed that it would be found quickly.

  Then, he climbed back up the boulder. Back in the hole, he checked his equipment one last time and secured the collapsible walking-stick to his belt. He was ready. Now, he just had to wait for the right moment, and if there was no right moment, he would just have to free them by force.

  The odds were not in his favor. In fact, it would be a miracle if he made it out of there in one piece. He tried not to think of what failure would mean. At the very least, he had sent his message. Just thinking of the bottle gently bobbing down the river slowed his pounding heart.

  For a good while, he heard the three men talk. Then, their conversation died down and silence returned to the ancient cave.

  Fang Mu peered over the edge. Lu Dachun was lying on the straw, Lu Haiyan firm in his grasp. He seemed to be sleeping. Lu Dajiang and the other villager had passed out, half-full bottles lying at their feet.

  Fang Mu held his breath. This could be the opportunity he had been waiting for. Quietly, he got out of the hole and made his way to the other end of the boulder. He was in luck: There was a slope there that led down to the other side. He descended cautiously.

  Crouching low on the cave floor, he held his breath, his body rigid with tension. None of the men moved.

  Fang Mu snuck forward across the cavern floor. It was only a short distance to the edge of the straw, but each careful step felt like it took an eternity. Finally, he reached the girls. He was about to examine their shackles when one of the girls stirred and drowsily looked up at him. Seeing a man bent over her, she immediately opened her mouth to scream. Hastily Fang Mu managed to cover her mouth with his hands.

  "Don't scream. I'm the police," he whispered in her ear. "I'm going to take you away from here. Do you understand me?"

  The terrors of captivity had obviously had their effect on the girl. For several long seconds, she just stared at him in wide-eyed panic. Then finally, she
nodded.

  "Quietly wake the other girls," he told her as he removed his hands. He pointed at Lu Dajiang and the other villager. "Be careful not to wake them."

  As the girl went about rousing the others, Fang Mu took a look at her shackles. The manacles around her ankles were connected to the chain by a curved iron bar and a large lock. If he wanted to free the girls, he would somehow have to find a way to get the locks open. He silently cursed; he really should have asked Old Ghost to give him some basic lock picking lessons. For a moment he considered forcing the lock, but he could think of no way to even attempt that without waking the villagers. There was no way around it, he needed the key. And the key had to be with Lu Dachun. He leaned down to the girls and signaled them with a finger over his lips to be quiet. He then turned around and stealthily moved toward Lu Dachun.

  Lu Dachun was lying on his back, blissfully asleep. Lu Haiyan was curled up at his side, pinned down by his left arm. Her eyes were closed. Fang Mu stood over them and carefully studied Lu Dachun. He was wearing a thick jacket and a pair of jeans. It made for a total of six or maybe seven pockets. Which one was the key in?

  For a moment Fang Mu hesitated. He bent down and reached for the bottom right pocket of Lu Dachun's jacket. Empty. Fang Mu frowned. He was about to go for the left pocket when he saw Lu Haiyan's eyes fly open.

  Their eyes met, and time seemed to stop.

  Lu Haiyan was staring at him through dead eyes. To her, he could have been just another mildly curious stalagmite. Tense seconds passed before she recognized him. Her pupils contracted and her gaze narrowed to a piercing beam.

  He met her gaze in silence, a shared look that imparted volumes.

  It was more than enough. Their eyes said everything that needed to be said.

  So much regret, such wonderful surprise, so much anger and such unexpected comfort.

  Fang Mu slightly nodded his head and made an unlocking gesture. Lu Haiyan's eyes remained fixed on his face, but she understood even without looking at his hands. She reached for Lu Dachun's jeans. Her hand disappeared in his front right pocket. When it emerged, she was holding a key.