“Why should I? Why would the Shaolin Temple need defending?”
She stopped and turned to stare at him. Several moments pass without a single word being exchanged. Then she said, “Because you just let her get away, child,”
“Wait, stop, what do you mean?? I demand you tell me! What is it about her that is so dangerous?” Zuo Shilong yelled. His questions were ignored as the bladeswoman kept walking like she did not hear a thing. He tailed her from a distance and they continued far into the other side of the township. It was not long before red paper lanterns crisscrossed the canopy and pleasure houses and smoking dens became the common theme of the street. “Oh dear,” said Zuo Shilong. “This is not a place for the righteous man to be exploring.”
She led him toward a large pleasure house of three stories, and by then, the rains eased somewhat. She entered through the lattice doors where she unfastened her hooded cloak and tossed it onto a rack. Zuo Shilong entered the building soaking wet and dripping through and through, and was immediately faced with a dozen finely-dressed women scantily or loosely clad in evening gowns and robes. Some smoked ornate pipes as they lounged around the large chamber.
“Nice to see you have returned, m’lady,” said the house’s head mistress. “And who is this you have brought with you this fine evening?”
“An admirer. He’s a young one and passionate too. Be careful around him,” she said.
“We’ve a potential customer? Well he’s quite handsome for a monk,” said the headmistress as she gazed at him flirtatiously.
“Customer? Stalker is more like it…” said the bladeswoman.
“I only wanted answers but she refuses to give them to me,” said Zuo Shilong with his arms crossed.
“Someone hand him some dry rags and some fresh robes. The poor boy is going to catch a nasty shiver,” said the bladeswoman. “If you really want answers, get changed. I will make you realize the magnitude of your mistake this evening. Don’t worry for your robes and armor. They’ll wash them for you,” she said to Zuo Shilong.
Zuo Shilong gladly took the clothes and changed behind a folding room screen then proceeded up the pleasure house’s top level. It was an exclusive suite where no common man was allowed to enter. Zuo Shilong found the excessive red lighting of the chambers to be most nauseating, but he could not help but forget about his discomfort when he laid eyes on the bladeswoman whose name he had yet to discover. Charm and beauty blended together upon her face in a way he had never seen before. He could not even catch himself staring at her.
“Should I hire a painter to paint my portrait? You can stare at it for the rest of your life,” she said with a faint smile as she poured a pot of hot tea. She sat on a bed with her legs crossed and examined the monk. “Tell me something, brother. Do you always meddle in other people’s business?”
“Yes. When I see them do wrong, I stop them. This is the way a good man acts for the sake of goodness,” he replied.
“Hahah,” she giggled. “These childish notions of heroism… if only it were so simple and easy. If only the world were truly black and white. That lady musician sitting under the pavilion: did you know who she was?”
“No.”
“Then you had no business interfering!” she shouted, tossing her small tea cup across the room. The porcelain pieces scattered into tiny glittering fragments.
“Why can you not just tell me so I can understand!?” said Zuo Shilong, his voice more raised.
The bladeswoman sighed. She walked to a window and looked across the sparsely lit urban landscape. The rains had stopped pouring, but the wind remained cold.
“Her pretty face and musicality are her greatest deceptions. I have been hunting her for weeks, and her trail had led me here to this putrid city. Beneath her heavenly façade is naught but a witch—one that leads the largest guild of beggars and street entertainers in the Ming Empire. Through her serpentine tongue, she had turned them into rebels who believe that the government was the very reason for their suffering… but I doubt you would believe in something so outlandish. That very same witch had set fire to my home not long ago, and killed those who worked and dwelt in it, simply because it was headed by my father— a man who always sought righteousness. He was not home when the attack occurred, but I feel it matters not. I already believe he has passed from this world.” She sighed and pressed her face against her hands, struggling to fight the urge to cry. “Nearly everyone who had watched me grow up is dead. I cared about each and every one of them. Only Heaven knows why the wicked is allowed to savor such victories. With all that has been transpiring from within and without the empire becoming a distraction, the guild of beggars and street entertainers has been spreading anarchy. This city is next.”
Zuo Shilong shifted uneasily in his robes. He was not sure what to think. He began to pity the bladeswoman. “Would it surprise you if I said that I believe you? Because I do. In the past several days I have seen many things— things that I would have never believed just weeks ago. I would be branded a fool and a loon if I were to speak of them in the streets. I know for certain that dark forces have reawakened with renewed vigor in recent times for I have witnessed its horrors myself. If you say that the musician is a witch, then she is definitely one,” said Zuo Shilong with a deep look of focus and eagerness in his eyes. “I have lost track of my other traveling companions. I have yet to find them, but until then, I shall help you destroy her.”
“Traveling companions? Why are you not with the rest of your brethren in the temple?” she asked with curious eyes.
“I was banished and then I fled. I do not like to talk about it. I had very few friends in the temple. I have since made great new ones. Some are very great fighters, and though it may be difficult to believe, I had volunteered to take part in an imperial mission with them. But alas, we have since been separated, and I know not if they still live,” said Zuo Shilong, turning his gaze away from her.
“How intriguing… that’s quite a tale, but I feel you are trustworthy. You are naïve, but trustworthy.”
“So why are you here? Why a pleasure house? It is a repulsive place,” said Zuo Shilong, not even wanting to touch the furniture that stood right next to him.
“It’s the last place anyone will expect to find the daughter of an honorable and respectable swordmaster,” she said.
“Ah, of course. So how do we find the witch leader of beggars?” he asked.
“We simply ask. I have just discovered an alley in the slum areas of the city where many of them like to congregate. ‘Tis a filthy place that reeks of drink and smoke. Not even the army bothers to patrol those streets, but we are sure to find our answers there.”
“Since I could not help my comrades with the mission, nor do I think I am qualified to even do so, helping you put a stop to the madness caused by this witch is the least I can contribute to the empire’s war. Let us depart soon, the night grows darker.”
It was pitch dark and curfew had been implemented by the time Zuo Shilong and the bladeswoman departed. She exited the pleasure house with Zuo Shilong who now wore his cleaned and fire-dried robes. They cut through alleyways and lesser-frequented streets toward the other side of the town where slums and beggars resided. No soldiers or guards had noticed their passage, and even if they had, they would not bother with the activities of the slum areas. A small area of abandoned buildings marked the location of their destination. By the time they had arrived, the clouds had parted and the moon had shone brightly upon the cityscape, casting harder and darker shadows upon the streets. The continued down another dark alley toward an abandoned structure, and they were surrounded by many of street dwellers— a combination of professional beggars and wandering street entertainers, some of whom were skilled in music and acrobatics. They slept in makeshift beds and eked a meager living in the dilapidated building of what appeared to once have been an old restaurant.
Rats scurried about the area. The
smell of waste and urine was pervasive; Zuo Shilong cupped his hand over his face. The bladeswoman ignored it altogether.
“You seem to be accustomed to this sort of environment,” Zuo Shilong commented.
“My father trained me to ignore discomfort and distraction,” she said.
“He sounds like a good father who prepared his daughter well.”
As they wandered about the beggars’ area, a figure had spotted the duo’s approach, and upon seeing that they were armed and searching for someone, he scrambled to escape through the back entrance. He knocked over some porcelain in his haste and the commotion woke everyone nearby. Zuo Shilong and the bladeswoman made chase, leaping and tumbling over people and obstacles. They chased him over and through old courtyard residences and across the streets. The beggar was surprisingly agile and remarkably fast, but it was not long until Shaolin monk’s superior speed and agility closed the distance. He used his wooden staff to knock the runner off his feet and sent him stumbling into the muddied street. The bladeswoman arrived close behind.
“What do you want from me, masters? I be just a lowly beggar, naught else. Please don’t hurt me!” he cried.
“Why did you run? That was very unwise. It makes us think that you are hiding something,” said Zuo Shilong.
“I saw that the two of you had weapons. I got scared, masters. Don’t hurt me,” he said. The beggar was slim and lanky and smelled of stale drink. His clothes were riddled with patches, small tears, and holes.
Zuo Shilong looked deep into his eyes and noticed a faint and familiar discoloration. It was one that he had seen not long ago, fighting the agents of Shan Gui who had been under the influence of the Terukk elixir. “So that is why you were so quick on your feet for such a frail-looking beggar.”
“Whatever do you mean, sire?” asked the beggar, lifting his arm over his face.
The bladeswoman looked at Zuo Shilong, curious about what he meant.
“I can see it in your eyes. Do not lie. Where did you obtain the potion you have been drinking?” he asked.
“Potion?” asked the bladeswoman.
The beggar hesitated, desperate to conjure a lie or to feign ignorance to prove his innocence of having knowledge about the potion. “I – I – I…”
Zuo Shilong became unusually angry, and backhand-slapped the beggar across the face. “Answer me, swine!” he shouted.
“The-the black market! A dealer had given it to us for a small price. That’s all I know, I swear!” he began to cry.
“How many of you have been taking it?”
“Just me and a few others and none else. I swear that’s the truth!”
Growing impatient, the bladeswoman stepped in and grabbed the beggar by the collar. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep my friend at bay before he decides to inflict serious pain upon you. Answer my question and you can be free: Where is your leader? Where is the witch who plays the pipa?”
Instantly, the beggar’s face changed from fear to surprise then to extreme worry. “The pipa player… I cannot say anything without putting my own life at risk!”
“At this very moment, your life is in my hands and I can take it with one swing of my hand. Now answer the question!”
“N-n-no! I cannot!”
Suddenly, a large voice from behind startled all three of them that even Zuo Shilong spun around and brought his staff at the ready in the batting of an eye. “You amateurs need to learn the art of interrogation,” said the voice. It was Buff Baby standing before them, an imposing giant standing under the luminous and ominous glow of the moon’s light. He stomped toward the beggar with both his fists clenched. Shoving aside Zuo Shilong, he grabbed the man by his collar and with one arm extended, lifted him off his feet, and carried him into a nearby abandoned structure. “I have been following the two of you for many street blocks. Just when I thought the monk here had found himself a girlfriend, I find out that you embarked on a mission without me. I must say, I feel a little slighted by that.”
“Take no offense, my friend. Things just progressed so quickly that I had not the time to go call for you,” Zuo Shilong explained.
The four of them climbed the stairs to the highest tier of the multi-storied building until they reached the highest level balcony where Buff Baby dangled him off the edge using only his outreached arm.
“I am not nearly as patient as my friend here so I suggest you just tell us what we want to know, and you can be on your merry way. See, it is very easy for me to just loosen my grip and let you fall to your death. I always enjoy watching a good splat from a falling body,” said Buff Baby.
“You’re a savage,” said the bladeswoman with an expression of disapproval.
“I simply do what must be done,” smirked Buff Baby. Zuo Shilong just shrugged and did not bother to question Buff Baby’s methods.
The man then unexpectedly transitioned from a crying, fearful coward into a calm and collected man with seemingly nothing to lose. “I cannot, you see… she is our defender and our advocate. She is the beggar and the street performer. The body cannot betray the head. She protects us and provides for us— the lowly, the forgotten, and the unwanted. You see, you whoresons are the fools for believing that my life was ever yours to take. While the world scorns us beggars as scum of the earth, we belong to her as her children, and shall be with her forever.”
“You’re a sick bastard, mate” said Buff Baby with a frown.
“May the Pale Ones bring judgment upon this empire in the dawn of the new world order.” The man pulled out a knife in an attempt to cut his collar loose from Buff Baby’s grip, but he reflexively released the man from his grasp and the beggar fell to his death, bouncing off of the building’s tiers like a ragdoll, and shattering tiles off the rooves’ frames. He slammed against the ground face up as blood pooled slowly around his body. Even in death, an ominous smile ran across his face.
“Crazy little runt!” spat Buff Baby.
The trio stood there in shock, staring at the body for several moments, surprised at how the situation had escalated so quickly.
“Alas, we could not get useful information from him. Did you hear his last words clearly? There is no doubt that even their witch leader has pledged allegiance to the Pale Foreigners!” said Zuo Shilong.
“Everyone who is not in agreement with the Ming Empire has sided with these Pale Foreigners. Rebels, outlaws, mobsters, warlords, and gang lords to name a few are all counting on them to overthrow the dynasty. Evil has reawakened and has become invigorated with the arrival of our newfound enemies,” said the bladeswoman as she continued to stare at the fallen man below.
“Believe me, I know all about reawakening evil,” said Buff Baby, recalling the battle against the Jiangshi and his recent harrowing encounter with hag of the woods.
“I believe we should continue our search for this witch. Our experience here as inspired me to see her demise. I shall feel neither hunger nor exhaustion until the deed has been done. Such a pursuit is honorable and noble,” said Zuo Shilong resolutely.
“We can accomplish nothing without rest. I shall return to the pleasure house for the night. We’ll meet back at the slum’s outer premises to continue our search at dawn,” said the bladeswoman.
Buff Baby shrugged with his arms crossed and sighed. “I’ll take care of the body,” he grunted. “We should return to the inn. I paid good coin for the meager accommodations.”
They proceeded back to street level and were about to part ways when Zuo Shilong turned to call out the bladeswoman.
“Wait, you have yet to reveal to us your name. Should we ever search for you, whose name do we cry out?” he asked.
She stopped mid-stride and turned her head halfway toward them. “It’s Meiling. My name is Lo Meiling, but you can simply call me Lady ‘Ling.” She continued her stride back toward the center of the town while Buff Baby and Zuo Shi
long made a proper burial for the beggar in an empty lot before making their way back to the inn, without losing their way.
“This ‘witch’ we are supposedly hunting… what’s it have to do with Lady Ling?” asked Buff Baby.
“It destroyed her home and all who dwelt in it in the hopes of destroying the righteous man who led it. This is a mission of Lady Ling’s revenge, and a means for us to contribute to the greater war, for the witch has clearly allied itself with the Pale Foreigners,” answered Zuo Shilong. “We have learned much on our own here, Bao. Our ventures had not gone to waste. We must report our discoveries to the authorities in the capital soon.”
They spoke nothing more to each other and silently accepted the fact that they were no longer part of Sun Xin’s, team but were contributing to the larger cause in smaller ways. The agents of chaos and anarchy they now faced should not be left unanswered and undealt. All the self-centered endeavors of their previous lives now mattered little in comparison to their current noble cause. Although Zuo Shilong was once a monk taught to separate himself from the ways of the outside world, and Buff Baby was a rogue fortune hunter who cared nothing for patriotism, they were still citizens of the Ming Empire.
Meiling approached the front steps of the pleasure house and immediately sensed a dark disturbance in the atmosphere. The air was thick and heavy, and she was sure it had nothing to do with the evening moisture. Listening to her instincts, she approached the main entrance slowly and cautiously, placing one booted foot in front of the other in near silence. She swung open the first door and peered into the main hall. Many of the courtesans lay upon the long chairs, platform beds, and couches like they had usually done every night. Some slept snugly in blankets and sheets of colorful silk. One courtesan slept on her side with her arm curled around her body. The limb went limp and dangled lifelessly above the floor boards.
Meiling approached her and attempted to shake her awake. There was no pulse and no breath left her nostrils. She brought a candle’s light to bear only to see the courtesan’s blank, lifeless eyes staring straight through her. A deep and bloodless cut grazed across her throat from one side of the neck into the other. Meiling nearly dropped the candle at the startling discovery. Every courtesan in the house’s main chamber was inflicted with the same deadly stroke. All had died in their sleep.
Clash of Alliances Page 29
