by Jeremy Han
“This is sour Miao soup. We have a saying, ‘one cannot walk unless one drinks a bowl of sour soup every three days.” The elder explained. “In the soup, there are vegetables, salt and peppers. The snake makes it even better.”
That night after the feasting, there were grunts and moans all over the camp. Somehow the brush with death freed inhibitions just as much as rice wine or perhaps snake was an effective aphrodisiac. Couples copulated with vigour as they realised how precious life was. Zhao was sure Long Wu and Yula contributed to the din somewhere in the dark. He shook his head and laughed. He caught the Acrobat’s expression of embarrassment; the father of a teenage girl did not know how to explain to his daughter why it was too noisy to sleep. He burst out laughing even louder.
FIFTY SIX
The blinding rain fell in sheets that made it impossible for one to see through its shifting curtains. Lian Yi-Lei shivered as he cursed his luck for drawing the short stick – which led to escort duty on this hellish night. The night was afflicted with a freezing late winter storm and he was right in the middle of it. He was wearing a raincoat made of straw knitted together with the leaves pointing down to let the water fall off but it was not designed for a drenching like this. He was soaked and shivering. Water kept going into his eyes and he had difficulty looking ahead. Somehow, he wondered miraculously how the lanterns continued to illuminate. A consignment of slaves had to be sent off and his boss had ordered them off on this rainy night knowing that the chance of government interception was nil. The One-eyed Dragon had become wary of Hong and did not trust him; hence he thought it was better to send off his wares in the middle of the night. Lian was a grunt in the One-eyed Dragon’s bandit army so he had no choice. He glanced back and mumbled something about his misfortune to be picked. The slaves were packed into carriages that were more like mobile cages. The slaves were silent; or rather their crying was muted by the sound of the rain and thunder. Slaves being sent off were seldom silent. There were always tears, curses and calling for the loved ones they were torn from. But tonight he had his own troubles. He had to lead this convoy of the damned to the next nearest town through pitched darkness without getting lost, without getting caught and whatever trials a bandit might face. He thought it was ironic that the prisoners were sitting in a closed carriage protected from the elements while he, the guard, was exposed to the stinging rain. His boss cared more about the quality of the goods than the comforts of his staff – the misery of having a bad boss. He had no idea how unfortunate he really was that very fateful night.
Lightning flashed and something caught his eye. The temporary illumination revealed a form standing in his way. He blinked the water out of his eyes as he wondered if it was a sensory delusion. Then another flash of lightning came, as though on order, and confirmed what he thought he saw. A man, still as stone, was blocking his path. The lightning did not illuminate just his form but reflected nicely off the wicked, sturdy blade of a guan dao held in his hand. The man was standing with his head dipped so his face was obscured, but his right hand held the weapon at an angle forty five degrees to his body. It was the body language of a challenger.
The Acrobat had stood there still as a statue until he saw the approaching lights of the convoy. Passage was slow because of the rain but it was no matter to him. He was disciplined; he could stand still for hours and burst into action within the next heartbeat. He breathed and a puff of mist floated up. The rain soaked him but it did not soften his control. He stood there relaxed, ready to kill. He counted six lanterns: six men to send to hell.
Lian’s first reaction was fear; who would be out here tonight in the wilderness? Then the next flash of lightning confirmed his worst fears: the man looked up; it had a black face with dark eyes and a wild beard. On the forehead was a very obvious white crescent moon. In his fear, Lian did not recognise the face of the legendary judge Justice Bao Zhen, the man who was known for his sense of righteousness. He would not be able to appreciate the aptness of it. Justice Bao was a judge during the Sung Dynasty. He had a fearsome reputation of someone who did not tolerate injustice and wickedness. He was so righteous and fearless that he even persecuted members of the royal family for crimes that no one dared to pursue. As a result, he was hated by those in power but loved by the people. The emperor of his times gave him a golden sword that represented the monarch; where the sword was, there the Son of Heaven would be. Hence, the unmovable judge could execute those corrupted princes with impunity. The judge was immortalised in opera, where his countenance was painted a shade of black to represent the sternness of his look. He was rumoured to have a distinguishable birthmark of a crescent moon on his forehead. Whenever, Justice Bao appeared on stage to fight evil, the people cheered; especially the poor and oppressed.
Li Jing as Justice Bao looked at the man in front of him. He could recognise the body language of shock and fear. He smiled under the mask he was wearing. He chose the countenance of Justice Bao because tonight, he was here to sentence these criminals to death. He had seen their swaying lanterns from afar even though he knew they could not see him in his black garb and mask, so he stood deathly still like a demonic statue that could come alive at any moment. When he saw the man in front of him started to struggle to take out his sabre which was tucked under the straw raincoat, he burst into action. The fumbling man dropped his lantern and shrieked. Then darkness overtook as the lantern got wet and the flame was snuffed.
In a blur, Lian saw the wicked blade move toward him, the glinting moon light showing clearly the slash of the blade. He got a shout out before seeing the world go topsy turvy; his head was decapitated and it had fallen onto the floor. It tilted at an angle, looking at his still standing body. His hand twitched as its fingers continued to try and comply with its last orders to draw his blade. Dark blood washed out into the black mud as his body continued to pump obediently. The rest of the bandits saw what happened and tried to draw their weapons. One of them attacked Li Jing with a slash. Li blocked it with the shaft of the guan dao before rotating his weapon downward and slashed at the man’s leg. The man screamed as his leg was amputated at the knee by the heavy weapon. At the same time, those bandits who were escorting the second carriage were attacked by another demon that sprang out from nowhere. Another black-clad man with a black mask came at them from behind. He held a sabre in a double-handed grip and hacked the first bandit who stood in his way. His stroke was from top to bottom, from the right to the left and it opened his opponent’s chest from the left collar all the way to the waist. The man went down in a spray of blood. The assailant turned in time to see another bandit trying to get his sword out from under the rain coat and he drove the blade into his guts. He shoved all the way and screamed, pushing the man backward, staring into his eyes and seeing the fear reflected there. Long Wu saw death fill the other man’s eyes before he turned around. There were two more bandits there.
Two men attacked Li Jing at once but the acrobat was too agile for them. He danced around to frustrate them, feigning attacks to keep them wary and off-balanced. Then he moved in, attacking both men simultaneously using both ends of his weapon. He forced them backward just as Long attacked, so that the remaining bandits were caught between the two demons of the night. The aptness of the masks was lost to the doomed men as they had more urgent things like their survival to consider at the moment. But it was not too long before they too were finished.
When the bloody deed was completed, Li Jing turned to the two carriages filled with slaves and broke the lock. Long did the same. The prisoners did not need to wait for further instructions; they fled. As they ran into the darkness and rain where their safety laid, Li said loudly,
“Remember it was the Ming army that saved you!”
Everyone could hear it and he knew that someone in the crowd would start to whisper, and the word would eventually get to the One-eyed Dragon’s ears. When the slaves were gone, the two ex-imperial guards disappeared into the bush where their Miao guides were hiding and left.
FIFTY SEVEN
The Commander of the Eastern Depot pondered the words of his spy. Ji Gang sat alone in the inconspicuous house with a bare room; one of the many safe houses sprinkled throughout the country to facilitate the dirty work of the emperor. Outside, life seemed normal to unsuspecting eyes. People went about their business with no knowledge that assassinations, torture, and all manner of wickedness were plotted inside. The man had reported that ever since the grand admiral had returned from his inspection of Quanzhou, his chief bodyguard was never seen again. The spies at the naval base at Suzhou noted this anomaly, waited for some time to see if the man would return but he did not. Now Ji debated whether he should go to Quanzhou to pick up the trail or should he head to Suzhou and speak further with his spies. The distance between the two cities is great, and he could not be at two places at the same time. So he thought he should split his team to investigate both ends while he based himself at a city in between. But first, he would speak to his men, update them. So often in his line of work, it was not the commander’s brain alone that was at work only, but the input from his trusted subordinates, who in their own right, were men of ability. He alone made the decisions, but he allowed his men to give their views, especially the senior members.
After a while, the team was assembled. Due to the bareness of the place, only Ji Gang had the privilege to sit. The rest stood in a ring around him. “Our spy had returned.” Ji said to the waiting men, pausing to allow a moment of drama. The commander was like that. He enjoyed a bit of showmanship sometimes. But the iron discipline of the Eastern Depot held and they did not speak, sensing that Ji had not finished, and it was rude for them to interrupt their boss.
“He reported that Zheng He’s bodyguard did not return with the admiral to Suzhou after the tour of Quanzhou. The admiral went there with a command team to coordinate the logistics for his fleet and returned to Suzhou. After that, his bodyguard was never seen again.”
After a respectful silence, Ji asked, “Theories?”
An spoke up, being the second most senior. “It seems then that Quanzhou would be the area we should investigate. Anything else is too preliminary to say. No theories yet Lord, we will form better conclusions after we go to Quanzhou.”
Li spoke next. “We should start with the governor there. The governor’s office would have hosted the Grand Admiral, and would have worked closely with his staff to organise the logistics for the fleet. They would definitely have seen the bodyguard. We can ask our spies there to pick up the trail or to corroborate any information given to us by the governor’s office. The garrison manning the city gates would also be useful because they might have seen the man leave if he went somewhere.”
Lu asked, “Should we then pursue the case at Suzhou?”
Ji replied. “It will be pointless going after the Admiral without evidence. For such a big matter, only the most incriminating evidence will be good enough to make our case. Remember,” Ji said with a finger pointing into the air in his usual professorial air when he lectured his men, “who our foe is. The Grand Admiral may or may not be guilty, but even if he is, he has the emperor’s favour.”
“Lord Ji, you don’t believe the admiral is innocent do you?” An asked tentatively. He knew what Ji Gang was thinking after following the commander for so many years.
“I believe he is involved somehow. Guilty or not, intentional or not, it is too early to say.”
“If you don’t believe it, you wouldn’t pursue him so vigorously.”
“Instincts,” He lectured, “can be honed over the years. Yes, I smell a rat. And the rat smells like a tiger. An, contact the spy network in Quanzhou. Order them to dig out all the information they can about the admiral’s visit and the movement of the man and his staff. All the information must be ready when we arrive.”
A month later, Ji stood at the entrance to the governor’s office and residence. The guan fu was brightly lit even at night. Large lanterns hung and swayed gently, creating the shadows of the guards who stood at the sides of the huge wooden, red doors, creating the effect that the men were larger than their actual sizes. There were four men who stood perpendicular to the door, and two facing outwards. There was a large brazier burning to warm the men. An officer was in charge of the night duty. Ji had planned his visit well. He had one month to strategise, to find out all he could about the governor and how he should handle the man. In his career, Ji had learnt that having positional power did not automatically make a man formidable – he had to have the instincts, the personality to use it. Indeed he had met men with little official authority, but with great personal strength and wits. Wen Xuan, the chamberlain was one of them. A chief eunuch did not have great authority beyond the realm of palatial domestic affairs, but he had the guile and leadership to utilize the networks he cultivated into something more powerful than a governor’s position. He may have been a non-combatant, but he had proven to be one of Ji’s toughest opponent. Ji did not even manage to break him before he killed himself. While it frustrated the commander, the dead eunuch earned his respect. Zheng He was different; more dangerous because he had the positional power as well the personality to use it. The eunuch admiral had ‘figurative balls’, Ji conceded. A real tiger, the admiral was. Ji had to admit that the admiral was one of his toughest, most wily and slippery foe. Although he could not prove it yet, he knew the admiral was deep in this. Two coincidences that stretched throughout the years must lead to somewhere, Ji thought. However, tonight his opponent was the governor of Quanzhou. He had studied the man and analysed the spies’ report. The governor had the position but not the guts or the brains to be a worthwhile foe. That was why Ji had chosen the late hour to pay him a visit. A visit by the Eastern Depot would rattle anyone, even a governor, unless the man had some steel in his gut and some activity in his brain. The governor had neither. Moreover, he found that the admiral had granted the governor’s son a place on his staff, so there must be a favour done there which Ji could exploit. So tonight he was going to rattle and shake the man until something fell out.
Behind Ji was his team of agents. The commander stopped in front of the officer and loudly announced,
“Tell the governor that Commander Ji Gang from the Dong Chang is here to see him on an important matter.”
The guard’s eye widened at the title replied in his most authoritative voice, “Lord, please present your seal for inspection.”
Ji handed him the seal and turned so that his side profile faced the man, deeming him not worthy to look at - an obvious show of power. The guard scrutinized it and then respectfully handed it back with two hands, eyes looking down and head slightly bowed. He called to a junior, “Open the gates and inform the governor that the Head of Eastern Depot is here!” Turning to the commander, he said,
“This way, Lord.”
They marched into the compound like royalty. A servant brought them into an audience chamber where it was warm and tea was already prepared. Ji sat without any invitation while his men took position behind him; they were a little more mindful of the fact that they were in the residence of a city governor. Ji sniffed the tea and closed his eyes as the flowery fragrance filled his senses – Tieguanyin, a local produce of Quanzhou. Good stuff worthy of a governor. He pressed the lid of the cup and sipped the tea from a beautiful blue and white porcelain cup. The cup was another famed product of the region. Tea and porcelain from the region would fill the Admiral’s fleet as gifts from the Son of Heaven to his lesser subject rulers. His men did not touch the drink and Ji did not invite them to sit. They were used to this; their commander enjoyed the hospitality while they were invisible, until commanded to come alive, usually to kill or to capture someone.
The governor came. Ji stood to give him the due respect; he was not a suspect in this case so protocol had to be observed. Much as Ji was feared, a governor was no small fry. Greetings were exchanged and the governor showed that he was both cooperative but also slightly peeved to be disturbed at night. However, th
ere was also curiosity in his voice; he was concerned that the spy agency had something on him.
“What urgent business took you, Commander Ji, to my city?” The governor asked politely.
“I need to speak to you about a very urgent matter, governor.” Ji leaned forward. “An extremely important matter, so much so that it requires my personal attention and yours.”
“Oh...? Well, I am here Commander so please ask what you need. I am most glad to assist the Eastern Depot.”
As though the governor had a choice, Ji thought, but he must let the charade of assistance continue for the sake of maintaining the governor’s face.
“Some months back, the Grand Admiral visited your city.”
“Yes he did.” The governor spoke quickly, “Did the Admiral do something wrong?” His heckles were up. Was this a corruption investigation on the governor’s son joining the admiral’s staff? It should not be under the purview of the Dong Chang right? That would be too trivial for the commander of the internal security to handle it himself.
