by Jeremy Han
“Speak! Damn it, before I order all of you hanged for insolence.”
One of the men, a sergeant of some sort, spoke, “Sir, we were injured in a mission last night.”
This man knew when to bow to authority and when to throw his weight around; a natural survivor in any bureaucracy.
“In an illegal mission?” Ji asked as he pointed at their black outfits. At this time, the base commander entered the room and Ji turned to him. The officer bowed to Ji but before he could speak, Ji queried, “What mission did you send your men to? Is there trouble in this region?”
“No Lord. They were...” The officer hesitated.
“They were?” Ji parroted him in his impatience.
“They were assigned to perform duties for the Marquis.” The officer finally managed to say.
“The Marquis? He uses Ming soldiers for what? Doesn’t nobility have their own henchmen to do their dirty work?” His disdain could not be clearer. The officer kept silent. He was on thin ice. He did not want to say more than he should or his head could roll; both the Marquis and the commander of the Eastern Depot had the power to remove it from his neck.
“One more time you refuse to answer or do not answer, I will have your tongue, officer.” Ji warned. His tone was neutral, a matter-of-fact. The threat was crystal clear. The officer swallowed loudly. “The Marquis needs the help of the garrison sometimes to root out trouble-makers and other bandits, so we assist him in his duties for the Ming.”
“Indeed! Your men perform their official duties in clandestine outfit. This in itself is an offence. Speak the truth man, or I shall have the truth tortured out of you all.” Ji pointed at the officer, “Starting with you publicly.”
Ji watched the officer squirm and knew that he had something. The man was calculating in his mind which breeze he should yield to. He was not stupid and would not sacrifice himself for the Marquis; especially since Ji Gang clearly held the power of life and death over him at this moment. Then the man fell on his knees and begged him.
“Have mercy Lord! We have no choice.”
“No choice?”
“Yes. The Marquis orders us to do his dirty work.”
“What dirty work?”
“Kidnapping young girls.” The soldier actually lowered his head in shame.
“What? What kind of vile, perverted act is this? You should have reported him!” Ji shouted, his face turning red in anger.
“It is no use. The city officials, all of them from the governor to the judge, they all fear him.”
“Fear him my foot!” Ji bellowed. “You are all bought by the Marquis.”
“Sir, we are not. We are too low in the hierarchy to benefit. But the senior officers, they all accept his favour. Or they die. We just follow orders.”
“What were the orders for last night? It is obvious you failed.”Now that they had started talking, they could not stop trying to exonerate themselves
“Our orders were to kidnap the daughter of a street performer.”
“What interest does the Marquis have in the daughter of a commoner?” Ji did not say but thought the interest the old man had in young girls was sexual.
“He...he...the Marquis” They hesitated. Then one troubled soul blurted out the truth.
THIRTY SIX
The Acrobat could not believe his ears. He stood there stunned for some time before he spoke again. The words reverberated in his ears; its impact propelling him onto his feet, his whole body tensed up. His fist clenched hard and the veins in his neck pulsated. The setting was sombre enough; a group of people in tattered old clothes sitting around a weak fire in an old dilapidated house. The weak, gray light, tinged with the light orange of a rising sun streaked through the holes in the ceiling and the windows to illuminate this sorry scene. Long had earlier led the Acrobat and the Farmer through the maze of the city in their mad rush to escape and they arrived just before the dawn broke. Settling before the fire to warm themselves, they waited for Zhao to come. There was a round of greetings as Zhao rejoiced at their safe coming, but soon realised something was very wrong. He gestured for them to sit around the fire while Fang Xiaoju, the ‘owner’ of the house roasted corn. He handed a slightly burnt ear to each one for breakfast, and some steaming tea.
Once upon a time, these men would have looked resplendent. The former imperial bodyguards in their ox-blood, embroidered tunics and black hats and Xiaoju in the blue court dress of a civil servant. The dress codes were clear; red for officers of the military and blue for the civil service. It was a well-established system of governance that balanced the power of both institutions. But they sat today as fugitives and beggars to discuss their next course of action after the Acrobat recounted to Xiaoju what happened. The old man listened before he told the anxious father the rumours circulating in the city.
“Drink her blood and eat her flesh?” The Acrobat screamed in shocked fury. He jerked upward onto his feet, his whole body tensed. The Farmer had to stand up and put a restraining hand and pull him down. Last night, after Long Wu found them, they came back after collecting their belongings and weapons. They questioned one of their attackers who revealed that the Marquis was the mastermind. Weaving through the city in the dark through narrow streets and alleys, and then finally through a tunnel passage hidden in an old house, they arrived at dawn. Now as they sat together, reunited with Zhao Qi and the rest, Fang Xiaoju told them the entire story of the kidnapping.
“Young girls below the age of fifteen disappear every month just before the full moon. Without fail, the Yamen would be filled by mourning parents who knelt before the judge in the morning, pleading the magistrate to find their daughters. Soon the figures became too big to ignore and anger boiled in the city. Skeletons of little children started to appear in the trash disposed by the Marquis’ household. Rumours flew. Obviously some of his staff members could not hide their disgust and started to whisper. People were angry and slowly it became harder and harder to hide who the monster is. Obviously the Magistrate knew who the culprit is, but there is nothing he could do. The Marquis is related to the emperor, and this place is so far away from the Central Government. No one would dare to touch the Marquis. The best the judge could do was to persuade the Marquis to stop his cannibalistic practice of drinking the blood of virgins before consuming their flesh in a bid to stay young forever.”
Yula asked, “Did he stop?”
“Of course not! The Marquis believes he would die if he were to stop. When the moon is full, he would have their throats slit and he would drink the blood warm before he had the flesh cooked in various styles of cuisine. He believed that this regenerates his youth and therefore it is better than herbs or medicine. So he reached a compromise with the Magistrate and the governor after large amounts of gold were given to the officers; he will only target those children who are not from the city. Traders, lost children, vagrants, nomads and yes, travelling performers; these are transient people who could not do anything against him. These are also people the magistrate could ignore. He could take their children for his rituals.”
“And no one stopped him?” Yula pressed.
“No one. The governor here is afraid of nobility and even offered the use of his soldiers from the nearby barracks as the Marquis’ personal army. The toughest soldiers were selected to serve the Marquis because he pays.” Xiaoju paused and then resumed, “The men you beat up last night were probably soldiers.”
The Acrobat stood up again and roared, “I am going to kill him! I will hack off the head of this demon and rid the world of this evil!” He grabbed his weapon and started to storm off.
This time Zhao Qi stood up. “No! You shall not! You shall not compromise the mission.”
The Acrobat turned and stared furiously at Zhao. Then he spoke, almost inaudibly, seething with anger, “Yes I am going to rescue my daughter. The mission means nothing to me if Li Po dies.”
“You are being disloyal to your emperor by putting your family before the safety of the empero
r and the mission!” Zhao said authoritatively.
The Acrobat retorted, shouting at Zhao now. “Loyalty? What have we done to deserve to be fugitives for the last eighteen years! Eighteen years! My wife died because we lived a nomadic lifestyle and now my daughter is everything to me.” And then he pointed a threatening finger at Zhao; his tone went solemn,
“Li Po is all I’ve got. And she, not the emperor, is the reason why I am on this mission. I want to take her away from here by rescuing the emperor, not throw her life away because of some blind loyalty that robbed us of our years. I have paid my dues, and I am walking away now.”
He took a step forward, but Zhao stood in the way, unrelenting. Li Jing, the Acrobat gripped his guandao. The commander said softly, “Don’t force me.” He stood between the Acrobat and the door. The tension held everyone down. Nobody moved or spoke. The Acrobat ignored him and turned to go, but Xiaoju spoke before a fight broke out between the two warriors,
“Commander, listen to the man.” Xiaoju was the oldest and he had an aura of wisdom that only those who are schooled by books and experience, possessed despite his mad look. They all turned to him and listened. The dangerous spell was broken and everyone was grateful that someone could avert the impending conflict that could tear apart the team.
“Commander, listen to me. To see one’s loved one die before his eyes is worse than death. To remain loyal to one’s cause is commendable, but truly, these men deserve whatever happiness that is left to them.”
He gestured at the circle of people, “I believe none of them are doing this for the sake of duty; they are doing it to save what little they have left. This is what makes them people – love. It is love, not duty, commander, that defines us. Love for freedom, love for dignity, love for family, all these have been denied them. If you take it away, they lose their humanity. Give them a chance to be human once again. They have sacrificed too much.” After a respite, he added carefully, “Commander, if I were you, I would give them that. If not, the mission would fail.”
Yula added, “Commander, I have seen my family die and I was helpless to defend them. I will not allow this to happen to a friend. I know that pain.”
She stood up, sabre in hand. Both the Acrobat and Zhao stared at her in surprise. She looked at Zhao with mixture of dislike and anger, mentally castigating him for being heartless then she turned and nodded at the Acrobat. The Acrobat had seen her only when he arrived but here was this stranger, standing side by side with him bonded by a common pain. He studied her carefully. She had good features but the beauty of it had been eroded by years of suffering and loss. But her eyes were strong. Blazing. Through those portals he could see an indomitable spirit that had refused to be broken; and that she would rise again. Slowly, Long stood up next to Yula and held her hand. Their destiny and choices were intertwined. Then the Farmer rose. His expressionless face did not conceal his resolve to stand by his best friend because his actions were loud and clear. The team was on the side of the Acrobat.
“If we attack the Marquis, we draw attention to ourselves.” Zhao said.
“What if you can rescue Li Po without drawing the authorities to you?” Xiaoju countered.
“Then we have a plan.” Zhao turned to the Acrobat and addressed the man by his name, clasping him by the shoulders. “Li Jing, I am sorry to insult your loyalty. You have paid the price and your daughter should not bear the same suffering as us. I am wrong.”
Li Jing spoke gruffly, “No offense taken Commander.” Then he turned back to Xiaoju, impatient again. “Let’s listen to your plan.”
Everyone forgot that they were gathered here to save the emperor as Xiaoju laid out his rescue plan. The plan would take place after dark. When Xiaoju had finished, all they had to do was wait for the sun to set. Li Jing, also known as the Acrobat was too tensed to rest. The Farmer had gone to a corner and dozed. Long and Yula had a private corner to themselves that the others respected. They ignored whatever sounds that came from there. Zhao continued to speak with Xiaoju, working out details of the greater mission that the others were not privy to. Xiaoju did not want to say much about the mission to rescue the emperor until they had finished the immediate task to rescue Li Po first. Something bothered him, but he refused to reveal it. Zhao promised to catch up with Li Jing when he was done, so Li Jing decided to take a walk in the forest nearby.
The air was clear and crisp. Snow had fallen around the trees and he could hear the sounds of small animals. By now, the sun shone brightly in clear blue sky. Li sat on a tree stump. He buried his head in his hands and wept as eighteen years of emotions overwhelmed him like a tidal wave burying a seaside town. Eighteen years ago, after making sure the emperor had escaped, their team dispersed into the four winds. They discarded their red tunics; once a sign of authority and prestige but became a beacon attracting trouble, and became nobodies. He went home and took his wife away. His mind was filled with images of their ‘new’ life as street performers. They wandered from city to city, father, mother and then a little girl in tow. It was tough but his wife took it well. She did not blame him and he was grateful for it. Together they tried to cobble back a life of normalcy that a little growing girl could adjust to. They would find a city or a town and stay there for a few months; enough to allow Li Po some time to feel settled for a while. He performed with his daughter, teaching her skills while his wife would cook and prepare meals for them. Sometimes all three would perform together, and if they made a little more money, they would eat out. Then exhaustion seized his wife like an assassin’s poison. Slowly but surely, it came and took her essence away. One particularly cold winter, she started to cough and did not recover. It was not a terrible disease by itself, but the stress accumulated over the years from running and hiding took its toll. The cough led to infection and finally, on the edge of spring, when the cherry blossoms were going to bloom, she held his hand and made him promise he would not allow Li Po to live the life of a fugitive forever. When he said yes, she closed her eyes and died with a smile, trusting him completely that he will fulfil his promise. She had always told him he was a good man whenever he felt guilty for putting his family through so much suffering. He had buried her in the soil that had thawed in spring amidst the cherry blossoms she so loved.
He sighed quietly to himself, such a wife, where could a man find? The day they entered the city, he had been feeling depressed as he saw the scenes of normal life around him; ordinary people selling things trying to make a living in the day, going home to a place at night without looking over the shoulder if anyone was trying to kill you. Fathers and mothers bringing up children, thinking of their futures instead of worrying how to avoid detection: It was a life he wished for but he knew that it would not be his and Li Po’s as long as they remained in the empire. He must get her out. They were halfway there now to freedom. He clenched his fist at the thought. Then he heard the snap of a twig, and felt a hand rest on his shoulders. Li Jing did not turn to see or to acknowledge his former commander. Zhao Qi sat down next to him and handed him a flask. Li Jing took it and drank. The fragrance of the wine filled the area as the clay bottle was opened. They sat in silence, for they knew no words could fill in the gap. Eighteen years was a long time, and their first words to each other were not exactly friendly. Finally, Zhao broke the silence.
“We will get her out tonight. The whole team is behind you.”
Li Jing nodded.
“You will not kill the Marquis. Just get Li Po out and we go. Killing the Marquis will be like kicking a hornet’s nest.”
Li spoke now, “And allow the beast to murder again? To allow another poor father and mother who did not have the guts or the means to save their child lose their precious flesh and blood? No. I will remove this scourge once and for all.”
“He deserves to die; no one will disagree. But the entire garrison of this province will hunt us down. This way we cannot fulfil our mission.” Then after a pause, Zhao said, “You know what that means for you and Li Po.”
“You have your ability and the team’s, my friend, to rescue your daughter. No more than that. Let it go. Know that Li Po will be safe with us again by tonight and do not think any further.”
Li Jing nodded his head to acknowledge what was said but did not say anything in reply. After a sustained silence between the two, Zhao got up to leave. But before that, he said, “There will be justice my friend. This monster will get his retribution. Heaven is not blind, but justice must not come from your hand. Think about the future.”
The Acrobat sat there for a long time even after Zhao had gone. The word ‘justice’ playing out over and over again in his mind as he grappled with whether there was really such a thing. In all the years of being a fugitive, the highly skilled fighter had never felt more impotent than today.