The Sword Dancer

by Jeanne Lin

  ‘Death take me,’ he cursed.

  Li Feng remained surprisingly calm. As if he didn’t admire her enough already.

  ‘You’ll be able to walk out the front gate,’ she said. ‘I can find my own way out.’

  ‘Absolutely not. We go together.’

  She looked around the compound. ‘All right, from the top of the storehouse, we might be able to jump on to the fence and then over.’

  Han looked at the barrier sceptically. The bamboo fence was over two man-lengths high and cut at a slant to create sharp points at the ends. They would be impaled if they misjudged the jump and climbing on to the storehouse would certainly put them in sight of the lookout tower.

  ‘I have a different plan,’ he suggested.

  ‘What would that be?’

  ‘We go out the front gate, as you said.’

  She frowned at him, but followed without protest as he went towards the tower of the nearest salt well. They stayed low and hid behind the extensive scaffolding at the base. He searched through the bamboo piping and found a set that led towards the brine vats.

  ‘The wells produce fumes that can make the workers sick,’ he explained, following the piping. ‘The best way to be rid of the poisonous air is to burn it and then the workers use the flame to boil the brine. Don’t breathe too deeply.’

  Li Feng backed away as he broke open the bamboo pipe with the hilt of his dao.

  ‘There’s nothing there,’ she said when he returned to her side.

  ‘You can’t see the poison.’

  Han found a lantern and struck a flint to light it. Keeping as far back as possible, he threw the lantern towards the broken pipe. The paper shell ignited instantly. Li Feng let out a shout as plumes of flame licked out towards them.

  By the time they returned to the storage area, the gong was already sounding from the tower. The few remaining workers rushed to the fire. As shorthanded as they were, the guards at the front gate were forced to leave their post to see to the catastrophe.

  ‘Now,’ Han said.

  They made their escape into the surrounding forest.

  * * *

  Hours later, they were situated in their temporary hideout, a makeshift shelter they had built in the woods. The area was removed from the road and situated outside the boundaries of the village.

  The evening was upon them and the clack and buzz of night insects filled the air. Han scanned the ledger book by the meagre light of an oil lamp while Li Feng appeared to be searching the ground for snakes.

  ‘I think it would be safer to sleep in the trees,’ she said. ‘I’ve done it before.’

  ‘What if you fall? You could break your neck.’

  ‘I never fall.’

  Han turned the page and held it close to the flickering light, trying to focus on the reports.

  ‘You can read all that?’ she asked.

  He nodded with an affirmative grunt. Reading was one thing, but comprehending it all was another. The book contained a meticulous log of operations within the salt works, complete with reports of official inspections, but if there was any evidence of wrongdoing, it was beyond him to decipher. The result was a headache and it didn’t help that Li Feng watched him with such rapt attention.

  ‘That’s quite impressive,’ she purred.

  ‘What?’ He held up the book. ‘This?’

  She touched a hand to her cheek in what might have been the most girlish gesture he’d seen from her. ‘What woman doesn’t dream of marrying a scholar?’

  ‘Failed scholar,’ he reminded her.

  Li Feng laughed. The lamplight was warm on her skin and set her face aglow. It was an easy sort of laughter. Genuine, not teasing or flirting or coy. It spoke of all they had just done together. Outwardly, it involved subterfuge and theft and the destruction of property, but inwardly… Inside, his heart was suddenly pounding. He turned a page and the characters faded before his eyes, forgotten.

  He was in trouble.

  ‘I’m afraid of you, Wen Li Feng,’ he confessed.

  ‘I didn’t think Thief-catcher Han would be afraid of anything.’

  Setting the book aside, he placed two fingers beneath her chin to tilt her face towards him. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to become accustomed to having you by my side.’

  Her lips curved and that smile was his undoing. If he kissed her now, he could capture it for eternity. At least he could claim this moment. He lowered his head towards Li Feng while she pressed closer to him.

  The snap and rustle of movement in the woods stopped them both.

  Li Feng bent to extinguish the lamp. Before the flame went to smoke, Han saw her touch a hand to her sleeve. With as little movement as possible, he ducked outside the shelter to see several lights floating in the distance. Lanterns. Someone was moving through the brush.

  ‘Leave them. They won’t find us here,’ Li Feng urged as he straightened.

  ‘I need to see what they’re about.’

  She made an impatient noise, but stood to follow him anyway. Li Feng was a rare sort of woman. Fearless. He had known during that first chase over the rooftops that she would be his match.

  After a few minutes outside, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The moonlight cast the forest into black against deeper black. The dark figures were moving towards the river. Han let them gain more distance before attempting to follow.

  They stopped at a clearing long before reaching the water. It appeared the lanterns had been fashioned out of thick layers of paper to block the light. What filtered through was dimmed, but there was enough illumination to reveal six or seven men. Han could make out several carts packed high with sacks. The cargo had been placed there ahead of time, to be retrieved under the cover of night.

  When he’d first started thief-catching, Han had assumed salt bandits were dirty thieves, lurking in the dark and raiding salt farms. He’d come to learn that the business of salt smuggling was much more organised.

  He tapped on Li Feng’s shoulder to signal a retreat. There was nothing more he could do here besides gather information. Apprehending a gang like this required some planning.

  ‘Who’s there?’

  Han cursed at himself. He’d missed the presence of a rear lookout. Li Feng tensed beside him, but she didn’t remain immobile for long. Together, they started for the forest while the smugglers gave chase. Han had no account of their numbers any longer, but from the shouts around him, he knew that he and Li Feng were being flanked. Not good. Beside him, he heard the whisper of a blade being unsheathed. Li Feng had her short sword in hand as she planted her feet to face the pursuers. He followed her instinct and drew his dao.

  At the sight of the weapons, a few of the smugglers fell back. The men were meagrely armed with clubs and sickles, but they still had sheer numbers on their side. Brute force could readily defeat a skilled sword.

  Han took advantage of their hesitation. ‘Over here!’ he shouted into the night, directing it towards his supposedly hidden comrades.

  The simple ploy seemed to shake them. The smugglers broke formation, what little formation they had to begin with, and Han took the moment to charge. A cry of pain punctuated the darkness to his right. Li Feng had already drawn blood. A moment later, his dao also sliced through cloth and into flesh.

  Trained fighters were rare among such gangs. These men were confused and lashing out in fear and blind instinct. Han repositioned himself and assessed the situation. Visibility was low, but it seemed their numbers had thinned considerably.

  After fending off a few swipes from the crude weaponry, Han turned to search for Li Feng, but she had disappeared.

  * * *

  Li Feng sheathed her sword. There were two men chasing her through the trees and the gleam of metal could be used to track her. As she pulled away from her pursuers, the woods closed around her, looming with dark shadows.

  She wasn’t alarmed. In the night blindness, she started relying on touch—her footing on the ground, her hands scraping against the
brush. She had grown up surrounded by mountains and wilderness.

  After she had gained some distance, Li Feng launched herself up into a tree and settled behind the cover of the branches where she remained as still and watchful as an owl. The pursuers never even ran by underfoot. She had lost them.

  She stayed crouched, waiting and listening. Her sense of direction was unassailable. The river was to her right, the village slightly north of that. She could find her way back to their hideout once she was safe. She strained to listen for the sounds of fighting, but she was too far away to hear anything. A knot formed in her stomach at the thought of Han fighting outnumbered in the darkness. He could be injured and helpless, bleeding out on to the ground.

  Such an imagination! She had to trust Han to defend himself. These were untrained bandits, and not particularly stealthy ones. They were no match for Han.

  Li Feng stilled as a lone figure passed by below her carrying a lantern. She couldn’t discern his facial features, but she was certain that he didn’t have Han’s stature or build. He appeared to be heading towards the village.

  Her fingers started to twitch. This was a dangerous situation and she had no business chasing after bandits. That was Han’s obsession, not hers. She was safe up here. What she ought to do was stay put until daybreak.

  Still, there was only one man. She had the cover of darkness and she had her sword. If there was any threat, she could disappear again into the trees.

  Climbing down, she landed soundlessly on the ground and kept her distance. A lantern bobbed in the darkness ahead. The man was moving rapidly, but there was an unevenness to his gait. As she reached the far edge of the village, her heart seized. The bandit was sneaking into the tavern. Yiyi and little Ping were in there, asleep and defenceless.

  Li Feng broke into a run, lungs filling with air and muscles straining. Drawing her sword, she entered the main room and prepared to strike first and strike hard. Her feet froze on the threshold.

  The intruder was bent over a table. He propped himself up with one hand while the other was clutched to his side. His fingers were slick with blood. It was the tavern keeper.

  Li Feng took a step forward. ‘Wei?’

  ‘There was a man with a sword—’ He stopped when he saw the weapon in her hand.

  She came forwards slowly. ‘Where is this man?’

  The tavern keeper gritted his teeth. ‘He’s coming.’

  The prosperity of the tavern didn’t come from the occasional travellers or the labourers from the salt wells. Wei and his wife were part of the salt-smuggling ring and Han was coming for them.

  Li Feng was torn and the two halves warred within her. She and Han had come to this village wary of one another, but over the last two days, something had changed between them. Han was starting to trust her and she was starting to feel that she was worthy of that trust. We go together, he had insisted.

  Wei’s breath caught as he tried to breathe through the pain. When he looked up at her there was fear in his eyes.

  ‘Miss Wen,’ he pleaded.

  This was no ruthless bandit. He was a husband and father. His wife and son were sleeping in the back of the tavern and he was afraid for them.

  She thought of Yiyi and her boy. Han might spare the two of them, but Wei had been caught in the act. Salt smuggling was worse than theft; it was a crime against the government. Ping would have to watch his father dragged away by a thief-catcher. Wei would be tried and executed.

  No matter how many times Han explained it to her, Li Feng would never understand how a few sacks of salt could equal a man’s life. Yiyi would be left without a husband and little Ping without a father.

  ‘Is there somewhere you can hide?’ she asked Wei. ‘Somewhere safe and far from here.’

  He nodded.

  ‘Get ready now.’ She looked to his wound. It would need to be bound before he lost too much blood. ‘I’ll go with you.’

  She had to go in case Han tracked them down. Wei wasn’t a trained fighter. He was no match for the thief-catcher.

  Wei went to gather his family while Li Feng bolted the door. She considered asking Han to spare the tavern keeper, but she knew her effort would have been useless. Han believed in justice and order above all else. It would take more than what they had between them to persuade him.

  Li Feng closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the door, listening for the pound of footsteps coming towards them. From the back of the tavern, she could hear shuffling and the sound of voices as Yiyi and her son awoke.

  She and Han would have had to part ways sooner or later, she told herself. It wasn’t as if she owed Han anything. Certainly nothing more than she’d already given. She had just assumed that when they parted, there would at least be a farewell. Instead she would disappear into the night and Han would know that she had betrayed him.

  But there was no time for regret. Li Feng pushed away from the door and went to help Wei and his family.

  Chapter Nine

  Minzhou was a city of hills and canals, hidden within the mountains which surrounded it on three sides: east, west and north. The old part of the city was located on top of a hill and protected by a stone wall. A newer section had cropped up in the lowlands to the south. The Min River flowed between the two halves and a wide wooden bridge connected old to new. Though it was the capital of the prefecture, its location within the valley made it seem remote and sheltered. At the same time, it was a sprawl of a city. Li Feng walked through lane after lane, engulfed in the crowd and the buzz of voices. How did one go about finding a single man in such a place?

  Thief-catcher Han would know how.

  She shoved the thought aside. There was no point in thinking about him every day. Or in yearning for his company. She was done with Zheng Hao Han.

  It had been over a week since she had helped Wei and Yiyi escape from their village. She had made sure they were safe before continuing on to Minzhou. During that time, she had exchanged her peasant clothing for the blue-grey robes of a Taoist priestess. Her hair was pulled back into an austere bun.

  Li Feng didn’t know what she was expecting now that she was in Minzhou. Perhaps a sense of familiarity. Or of two pieces coming inevitably together, but she felt no more a sense of belonging here than she had anywhere else.

  The bustling marketplace engulfed her and everyone became as nameless and faceless as she was. There were times when she sought this feeling of being lost in a crowd. She wasn’t so alone in a place where no one recognised one another.

  She found a stand that served sweet dumplings and spent some time chatting with the vendor. He happened to be a former clerk who had fallen on hard times. Now his wife made the dumplings every morning and he sold them to care for their small family with another child soon to be born.

  ‘All things being said, Heaven has been good to me, Elder Sister,’ he said.

  The respectful address startled her until Li Feng remembered she was dressed as a priestess. She ordered extra dumplings to further ingratiate herself. This was a busy intersection and the dumpling seller was the sort who spilled secrets easily.

  ‘Do you know of a man named Cai Yun?’ she asked him when he brought the second plate of dumplings. ‘He is supposedly from this city.’

  ‘Cai Yun?’ He scrubbed a hand over his chin. ‘The name sounds familiar—’

  Another customer piped up. ‘Wasn’t that the name of that man outside the tea house?’

  ‘Him? Oh, was that his name?’

  ‘Horrible!’

  Li Feng tried to follow the exchange without success until the dumpling seller turned back to her. He lowered his voice gravely. ‘If this was the man you’re looking for, he’s dead.’

  The wind rushed out of her. ‘Dead?’

  ‘Right in the street, in daylight. They came upon him with knives.’

  Others joined in the gossip. ‘There were city guards right at the corner.’

  ‘Nowhere is safe!’

  The dumpling seller nodded
. ‘One can’t be too careful.’

  Li Feng was in shock. She had seen Cai Yun alive not ten days ago. ‘What happened?’

  ‘A man was leaving a local tea house when a gang of bandits surrounded him. He was with his attendants, but they were no use and were quickly overpowered.’ He lowered his voice ominously. ‘They slit his throat and left him there.’

  ‘Heaven and earth.’ She touched a hand to her own throat.

  ‘He wasn’t just any no-name,’ another customer said. ‘I heard he was the prefect’s steward, in charge of his affairs.’

  Li Feng stood, slightly shaken at the convergence of events. The man she was searching for had been ruthlessly murdered. Han had suspected Cai Yun was involved in corruption, but this was still unexpected.

  ‘Did you know him, Elder Sister?’ the seller asked.

  She was listening with half an ear. There was a stranger at the end of the street, half in view, half hidden by the corner. His face was incongruous, his features slightly askew. His jaw was shaded by a rough growth of stubble. Something about him left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her gaze passed over him and he quickly turned away.

  He had been watching her.

  Hastily, she reached into her purse, placed a coin on to the table and turned to leave.

  ‘Your dumplings, Elder Sister!’

  She had to wait while he wrapped them in palm leaves. By the time he handed her the package, the mysterious man was gone. Li Feng murmured her thanks and slipped into the crowd, taking care to match the pace of everyone around her. After several streets, she glanced back warily. Nothing was amiss.

  Was another thief-catcher after her? The weight of the stranger’s stare sent a shiver up her spine. Whoever he was, the man was dangerous.

  She crossed through a shaded area where a row of banyan trees had been planted. By the time she emerged on the other side of the park, the feeling of being followed had dissipated. She kept a hand close to her sword as she continued through the streets.

  * * *

  The rain came the next day, chasing all but the most stalwart of pedestrians from the streets. Li Feng had been expecting it, from the look of the sky, and had found refuge inside an abandoned Taoist shrine.