by Derek Dorris
Without hesitation, she removed a tiny hand drill from her backpack as well as a piece of cord, scorched on one end. Ducking behind one of the barrels, she drilled a hole just above its base and inserted the unburned end of the cord into the hole so that it acted as a stopgap. She then sprang up and went straight for the rope which they left hanging from the hole in the roof. The two followed her, one feeling embarrassed and wary of his leader, the other feeling immensely guilty and afraid for her friend.
They were up, out, and gone within seconds. Not a single trace was left behind with the exception of that cord which would only be found if someone went looking for it.
* * *
Tao Huiqing had been meditating for three hours and was about to turn in when he heard something almost inaudible outside his window. Whether it was an animal, a human being, or simply a leaf falling to the ground, he wasn't sure but he stood up to check it out anyway. He looked out from his first floor window and peered across the street. Everything was quite. Nonetheless, within seconds, he was outside and perched on top off the roof, sweeping his highly attuned eyes around the sleeping city. As his orange robe billowed in the wind, something caught his attention to south of the city. In a split second, he was gone, heading in that direction.
He made his way to the largest building in the area, the warehouse where the city's supply of lantern oil and other highly flammable materials were kept. Li Jing and Xun Da had been concerned about this strategic weak point but the former had since improvised a wonderful device to safeguard against arson. He had filled approximately one thousand buckets with extremely fine sand and hung them intermittently from the vast ceiling. At the first shout of alarm, the guards would pull on one of the several release cords and tip the buckets all at once. The hope, of course, was that the fine sand would disperse down on top of the fire and smother it.
Tao Huiqing approached the guards at the main door and noticed them gulp in nervousness as he looked at them. They were about to ask him if anything was wrong when the Taoist calmly signalled them to be quiet. He stood there facing the closed doors. Holding his breath, he loosened the muscles in his lower jaw so his mouth fell partially open, thus increasing the space between his ear cavities. Like all the great masters, a lifetime of meditation had rendered his knowledge of his own body supreme and his senses honed beyond anything that could be considered normal. Nothing was happening but the guards remained like statues. In an instant, Tao Huiqing’s ears twitched. Something very light hit the floor inside.
Signalling for the guards to move towards the release cords for the buckets of sand, he leaped three meters high through an open window, clearing the sill without even touching it. The guards looked at each other in disbelief. After all, an eighty year old man bounding through an open window from a standing position was not a typical sight. As Tao Huiqing landed noiselessly on the inside of the building, he moved slowly towards the source of the sound when, from the corner of his eye, he saw something exit through the ceiling. With no time to pursue, he went straight for where he heard the sound. In moments, he had discovered the fuse. Even someone of his inner fortitude felt a twinge of fear when he saw the cord burnt on its end. Heaven is on our side, he told himself as he pulled it out and plugged the hole.
Exiting the warehouse, he ordered every barrel be checked for fuses and went to wake Fu Xiaoli and Wong Shi Hong. Xun Da and Li Jing joined them in the Old Wanderer’s inn and Li Jing was the first to voice an opinion. “I'm not surprised by the attempt, but I am by their failure. With the kind of skills Senior Tao describes, it's difficult to imagine they'd make even a single error let alone three.”
Xun Da nodded in concurrence. “To not achieve their objective of setting the building alight is certainly unexpected of a group this good.”
“Do you know who they are?” Fu Xiaoli inquired of Wong Shi Hong, the worldliest person present.
“There's a cult of spies from the northern desert who possess the infiltration skills Brother Huiqing describes. But as the young men say, they wouldn't make mistakes as significant as these. It's tempting to conclude they were just a lesser team of saboteurs and we've luckily escaped danger.”
They turned in for the night. Dawn was in a few hours and if the Qui were going to attack tomorrow, they'd most likely move at dawn. Only Li Jing was restless. He went down to the warehouse to have a closer look. He didn't know what he was looking for. Something just didn't feel right.
A couple of hours later, Xun Da began organising the assembled troops. Archers were placed on the wall, lancers at the gates, and lines of communication were established between the main gate and the rest of the city's fortifications. Wong Shi Hong walked up and down the wall drinking from his flask and mumbling to himself. He was getting increasingly cantankerous these last few days and his apprentice was concerned the burden might be getting to him. The Old Wanderer was convinced the attack would come this morning. Rui'In was known for his lightning speed in war. It just didn't seem likely he'd wait. But by mid morning, it had become clear that Qui forces weren't budging. The main defensive force was dismissed from the wall leaving only a slightly reinforced unit of experts at each post.
“This will tire the troops out,” Tao Huiqing said, imagining several more mornings of this. It was always a possibility Rui'In would go against habit and attempt a morale-eroding move like this one.
“Well it's not like we have a choice!” Wong Shi Hong growled. “In this, like so much else, he has the upper hand.”
“It's not like you to feel sorry for yourself Brother,” Fu Xiaoli said. “Perhaps you should rest.”
Wong Shi Hong bit down on his tongue. Of course she's right, he thought.
* * *
Sometime in the early afternoon, an excited call went out from the front gates. Xun Da was close by and ran straight there to see what the commotion was about. As he ran up the steps and looked over the wall, he saw an imperial official of the Liu government standing outside the main gate with a small retinue of guards, assistants, and servants behind him.
Screaming wildly at the city guards and waving his hands in temper, the official saw Xun Da and recognised him as a person of authority. “I'm here on orders of your Emperor. Either open the gates now or this city will suffer the punishment of our glorious Liu Emperor.”
Xun Da nodded at the guard who then opened the gate. The nobleman from the Liu Imperial Court strode into the city with an air of immense self-importance. Soft, overweight, and virtually neckless, he moved pugnaciously forward like he was oblivious to the presence of anybody but himself. None of the heroes currently defending Gongsum had much time for the court but they respected it as a national symbol. Thus, they behaved courteously while he and his armed guards marched past. As he made his way down the extended entranceway, the official appeared distracted by the unusually tall trading stalls lined up on either side of him. It certainly was strange and a little claustrophobic for such a large city.
After only a moment, Xun Da arrived. “Greetings, I'm General Da of the Gongsum militia. Can I ask what…?”
“What Gongsum militia!” the official rasped in disdain. “The Emperor recognises no militia in this city. What enormous impertinence! Who's responsible for this?”
Xun Da was a little unsure what to say. The Liu government had cowered in the imperial capital ever since the Qui attacked the outlying cities so he never expected them to show up at all, never mind doing so in such an emboldened manner. “My master, the Majestic Wanderer, Wong Shi Hong established it with the help of the great Folding Wind, Tao Huiqing and the Blue Lady, Fu Xiaoli.”
“And just who are these people to the Liu Imperial government?” the official shouted, clearly nettled by the idea that he should be in awe of these names. “A wandering peasant and an arrogant monk? Bring them to me immediately. Tell them Commissioner Zhao Zhu of his Imperial Majesty's High Council is here to give them instructions.”
Xun Da noticed the official didn't even blink at the mention o
f such renowned names. Something dangerous is happening here, he told himself.
“Yes sir, of course. Please come this way,” Xun Da said, mustering as much politeness as he could while leading Zhao Zhu to the town hall. After ordering the servants to bring their guest tea and steamed buns, he darted for the inn where his master was staying.
On hearing of the official’s arrival, Li Jing had rushed to intercept Xun Da. “This is all wrong. What was his manner like?”
“Extremely impolite.”
“This is the work of the Qui. Rui'In has found a way to blackmail or simply bribe that corrupt bastard.”
“He's here flying the imperial standard. We cannot refuse anything he asks. It'd be like refusing the Emperor himself.”
“Damn that Qui bastard! He really is smart. He's going roll up this city without even firing an arrow.”
The two men hurriedly reached the inn and informed the three grandmasters of everything. Fu Xiaoli and Tao Huiqing were sitting calmly, though alert to the implications of the visit. Wong Shi Hong was lying down in the corner, facing the wall. “Has he the standard with him?” he asked without turning around.
“Yes, Shifu.”
Wong Shi Hong sat up and stretched. “Okay, I'll go meet him.” After rubbing his neck, he grabbed his flask of wine and took a drink. “No need for you two to bother yourselves with such a snake,” he said to his fellow grandmasters. Tao Huiqing and Fu Xiaoli offered nothing in reply. They just looked at each other with a concerned expression. “Da’er, take me to him. Jing’er, you come too.”
The three men walked back across the city and entered the hall. Zhao Zhu remained seated at the place of honour and began barking at Wong Shi Hong even before he had a chance to bow.
“Well, well! The ‘Great Wanderer’,” his voice boomed sarcastically. “Exactly who empowered you to take charge of this city's defences?”
Wong Shi Hong dispensed with the formalities and spoke with so much power that not a person in the room was left unaffected. “What are you here for?”
Zhao Zhu blanched. Standing opposite this renowned grandmaster, he was held momentarily by the enormity of his opponent’s poise and quivered under the flame in his eyes. Drawing on all his experience as a veteran diplomat, he willed his voice to work. “To… to tell you… to command you by imperial decree to exit this city with your illegal forces... Immediately!”
At this point, other experts had begun flooding into the hall to hear the Emperor’s command.
“And who will defend it when we're gone?” Wong Shi Hong asked back in the same thundering voice as before. “You have seen the Qui army outside the gates, I presume. Or did you simply miss it?”
“I've been instructed to disband the militia and then open negotiations with the Qui general,” the official said, sounding increasingly more confident.
“Negotiate!” Wong Shi Hong spat. “With what as a stick? These half dozen guards you brought with you.”
“That's none of your concern.”
Wong Shi Hong could see the tension growing on the spectators’ faces. They were being browbeaten by this man’s haughty attitude. He was an official of the Imperial Court and so an expert manipulator. Wong Shi Hong simply didn't have the time for this—or the patience.
He picked up a small pebble from the floor just as Zhao Zhu began bellowing at the gathering crowd.
“Are you going to follow this drunken old man into infamy? Treason is…” His arrogant voice was interrupted by a flicking sound that seemed to split the air. The crowd saw a faint puff of blood emerge from the back of Zhao Zhu’s head, right before it flew backwards like it was hit by a plank of wood. His body stumbled two steps in the same direction and then collapsed on itself.
Attempting to make sense of the official’s slumping form, the crowd’s blood ran cold when they saw a small pebble-sized hole right in the middle of his forehead. Even Xun Da, who knew his master better than anyone, couldn't believe what he had just done.
Wong Shi Hong turned to the imperial guards. “Bring this snake corpse back to the Qui king and tell him that's as close to a surrender as he’ll get from Gongsum.” He opened his flask and took a deep swig. The guards didn't hesitate to comply.
The Great Contest
News of the imperial guards’ quick retreat from Gongsum reached the Qui command tent in minutes. Rui'In knew surrender was out of the question yet he was hoping the Emperor’s standard, which was legitimate, would shake the morale of the city's defenders. When things became tough for them in the days to come, it might influence their decision to flee. It was in Rui'In's nature to prepare a constellation of little schemes like this in the build-up to a big battle—schemes which might affect the enemy during the heat of battle. And more often than not, they worked. However, the last thing he expected with this scheme, other than an immediate surrender, was for the Gongsum militia to summarily execute the official who he went to great trouble to, firstly, identify and, secondly, bribe. Straight away, he guessed it must have been the speedy action of one person—no doubt one of those fearless grandmasters.
Rui'In couldn't help admiring the swiftness of their response. Certainly, it will have rattled the city to hear an imperial official commanded them to lay down arms but, whoever killed that official, may have actually stiffened their resolve. Like a general destroying his army’s chance of retreat before the battle, the killing of that official has irretrievably made them traitors to the Liu Emperor. Now they have nothing to lose. Rui'In sighed inwardly; those Ten Greats are truly worthy of their name in every respect. Not just fantastic warriors but astutely focused in the mind too.
Naturally, this line of thought brought him back to Yu Guo Wei. In his case, too clever for his own good, he thought. Not to worry, he's only hours away from making his last contribution to my campaign and soon after, he will be eliminated—by his own apprentice no less.
* * *
As night fell on the besieging Qui army for the second time, the troops began to assemble into battle formations. Rui'In emerged from his tent around midnight and was immediately surrounded by his Eight Knives. He walked towards the front of the army where Han Liang, the Lin couple, Priest Hou, and Sing Yi stood with their contingents of martial experts lined up behind them. Each of them had just taken a small capsule of antidote powder which Yu Guo Wei had instructed a Qui herbalist to make in huge quantities. Rui'In walked forward in big confident strides, every one of his soldiers lifted by his commanding presence. Seeing the experts ready and waiting, he allowed his face light up. “Ah, my friends, are you ready to do me this great service?”
Priest Hou nearly tripped over himself rushing to the head of the group. “Yes, your eminence. It is our honour.”
The Qui king smiled at the untidy Taoist. What a disgusting, obsequious, little fool, he thought. The sooner I'm finished relying on these so-called “experts”, the better.
“Excellent, friend, excellent,” Rui'In replied. “Then off you go. We await your signal flare. In the meantime,” he grinned, “good killing.”
Followed closely by their respective troops of experts, each of the masters turned on their heels and dispersed into the darkness, heading straight for the city.
Rui'In walked back to his place at the head of the army and mounted his horse nimbly. Sitting on their horses, on either side of him, were Yu Guo Wei and Wangchuk Drup. Behind them were the fearsome siblings Wen Weisheng and Wen Zhu who had only recently escaped the clutches of the inexplicably powerful Liao Quan. They sat on their horses dressed in their impeccably embroidered gowns with their faces exposed for the first time in years and badly swollen at that. Moreover, both of them now wore matching sashes wrapped around their heads. Nobody thought anything of it but the pair seemed decidedly uncomfortable in them.
Sitting behind the siblings was the most recent addition to the Qui campaign and perhaps the most curious member thus far. The youngest of the Ten Greats, Jade Zither, a forty year old woman of stunning beauty and fierce ski
ll, she had remained an elusive figure in Wulin up until now. Nobody could guess what her motives were in being here but Rui'In was glad to have her for more than just tactical reasons. He had become quite enamoured of her presence.
So it was, the Qui king sat contentedly on his huge black stallion. Sixty thousand troops to their two thousand; five kung fu geniuses to their three.
* * *
Inside the walls, the city was eerily quiet. Not a shadow stirred on the well lit streets and a light breeze blowing sporadically from the east counted for the only form of activity.
Then, in an instant, the Qui’s mercenary experts began pouring over the main wall silently but in great numbers. As an additional precaution to the antidote they just took, every one of the invading force wore wet rags over the bottom part of their faces to prevent them from inhaling the substance that had been wafting from the city lanterns since dusk. Nearly everywhere the mercenaries looked, unconscious bodies lay strewn on the ground. Under orders from their commanders, they spread silently throughout the square and surrounding streets while ever more experts came over the wall. The last men over, remained on the walls and each one stood above an unconscious sentry waiting for the flare.
Han Liang watched the well organised experts move through the town square before each of them staked a claim to a body and readied themselves. He looked at the gate and noticed the eighty meters of trading stalls lined up on either side of the long entranceway, running perpendicular to the gate. It was an odd sight and not something one typically sees when entering a city. Something about them nagged at him yet, not having the luxury of time, he raised his hand to his men at the lever. One of them fired a signal flare while the other pulled the gate open.