No one in the dining room? “What about Takeda?” Wen-Ying asked.
“I’ll find an excuse to leave the room before they realize the house is on fire.” Takeda said before anyone else could answer.
“Not only him,” Dai Li added. “The fire must be lit at exactly the right time to allow the mask changer to leave the room. His safety is a priority. He’s instrumental to this ruse and we’ll have use for him in the future.”
And just like that, the plan was already in place. Without Fan at the helm, Dai Li had taken the liberty to direct them as he wished.
Quietly, Wen-Ying studied Yao Kang. Toward Dai Li, Yao showed only deference. Every time Dai Li spoke, he nodded in agreement without question. If Yao became their new leader, would their branch of Tian-Di Hui retain any independence?
“General Dai,” Yao Kang said, “You can rest assured. I will definitely handle this matter with great care.”
Dai Li gave him a cold glance. “I haven’t decided who will be in charge yet. This, in fact, is the question I’ve gathered you all here to discuss.”
An instant tension spread through the room. Yao Kang twitched his face, but kept a conciliatory grin. “General, perhaps you’re not familiar with our rules. Since I’m Tian Di Hui’s second in command in Shanghai, naturally I’ll be leading our group now that Fan Yong-Hao has passed—”
“I’m aware Tian Di Hui has succession protocol,” Dai Li cut him off. “Right now, who will take over as your leader is irrelevant to me. The only thing I care about is this plan’s success. I’m still weighing whether I should entrust this mission to you or someone else.”
Yao Kang’s face turned deep red. “Someone else? Who else could handle such a huge, important task?”
Dai Li shot his eyes to the other side of the table. “Huang Jia-Ming?”
Startled, Huang tensed his face. The room turned dead quiet.
This was not good. Wen-Ying threw Takeda a glance. He looked back at her, his eyes reflecting the same worry.
“Do you think you’re up for the job?” Dai Li asked Huang.
Huang pressed his lips. Wen-Ying could see him struggling to find a way to say yes without offending Yao Kang.
“How can he be in charge?” Yao Kang asked, ignoring Huang’s hopeful yet conceding gaze. “I've seen him in action many times. He makes too many rash decisions. His temperament is still that of an immature young man. If we rely on his judgment, he’ll get us all killed.”
“That’s not true!” Huang retorted. “It’s you who will get us killed. You can’t see it when things go awry and you can’t think on your feet.”
“How dare you talk back to me?”
“I’ve held my silence too long. I did it out of respect for Fan Yong-Hao. Now, I can’t idly watch us go down the wrong path.” He raised his head at Dai Li. “General, if you choose me, I will put Kazuki and all the treacherous rats down to death’s floor. I will obliterate that house. I will burn it to ashes.”
Wen-Ying glanced up. Obliterate that house? Burn it to ashes? Who was Huang Jia-Ming to make these bold claims? Did he know that house was a symbol of Chinese prestige in Shanghai? A show of equal wealth and power to the Western foreigners who had taken their land? To let them know the Chinese could still rise?
But all that is gone now…
Silence! She shouted at the voice in her head. And yet, that voice wouldn’t stop. None of that mattered now, did it? It taunted her. In this war-worn city, even the Western foreigners had long since raised their white flag of defeat. What Chinese prestige was there to speak of, when the Japanese had made them kneel at their feet?
“He’s not the right person, General,” Yao Kang pleaded with Dai Li. Wen-Ying glared at him but he didn’t notice. “Please think thrice. Tian Di Hui still stands today because we abide by our rules. If you choose Huang to lead a mission over me, our members will not accept it. If we don’t follow ranks and rules, our organization will fall apart. There’ll be chaos. Our brothers and sisters will rebel.”
“They won’t rebel,” Huang fired back. Wen-Ying threw her glare over to him. “Many of our brothers and sisters have been questioning your ability to lead. Given the chance, they’ll give their support to the right candidate to take the seat of the First Helm. You are not the right person.”
Wen-Ying watched them argue. Neither of them was the right person. At least not the right person to burn down her house. The former Yuan villa was her ancestral home. No one had the right to touch it. Liu Kun and Shen Yi had no right to occupy it. Dai Li had no right to order it demolished. Yao Kang and Huang Jia-Ming had no right to destroy it. If anyone was entitled to take it down, it should be her.
It’s time to let it go. That voice in her head whispered.
Yes. It was time. Let the house do its part to bring an end to this drawn-out, miserable battle against Japan. Let the fire consume and swallow the evil invaders and traitors in a red blazing flame.
But if the house must be obliterated, then let it be burned down by her own hands, on her terms.
“I’ll do it,” she said, interrupting Yao and Huang who were still arguing. Everyone stopped and turned to look at her.
“I’ll do it,” she said again, her voice clear and firm. “I’ll bring our group in to burn Kazuki alive.”
Astonished, they stared at her. Takeda’s mouth fell agape.
Yao Kang recovered first. “What nonsense are you talking about? You can’t lead a plan of attack.”
“Yes, I can. I am the best-suited person for this job. I grew up in that house. I lived there almost my entire life. I know it better than any of you. I know it better than Liu Kun and Shen Yi. When I close my eyes, I can see every door, every hallway, every mark on the wall and every view of the windows. I know every tree and every flower planted outside, only they’re now almost all dead.” She stared straight at Dai Li. “You won’t find anyone who knows better than me how to quickly trap the opponents and the best way to get our people out.”
Dai Lee cocked his head and studied her. A note of intrigue crept up to his eyes. “That makes sense.”
“Wen-Ying.” Huang shook his head. “An attack is very risky. It’s too dangerous for you.”
“I’ll agree with him there,” Yao Kang said to Dai Li. “You can’t choose her. How can we let a woman lead an attack?”
Ignoring them, Wen-Ying kept her gaze on Dai Li. The corner of his lips curled up into a curious half smile as he crossed his arms and rubbed his chin. “I’ve always been impressed by your brother.” He focused his attention on her, ignoring everyone else in the room. “Even if compared to Fan Yong-Hao, Yuan Guo-Hui wouldn’t lose any luster at all. If your brother were here, I would trust him to take the lead without question.”
Hearing Dai Li praise her brother, a sea of sadness stormed inside her. She thought of Guo-Hui all the time. Every day. She didn’t even know if she would ever see him again.
She lifted her chin. If Guo-Hui were here, he would not let anyone else besides him burn down their house. Of that, she had no doubt.
“That house is my ancestral home,” she said, still holding Dai Li’s gaze. “It belongs to my family. No one here has the right to burn it down. Except me.”
“Even so,” Huang said, worries washing over his face, “Liu Kun’s wife knows you, doesn’t she? How will you enter the house? What if she sees you and recognizes you?”
Wen-Ying dug her nail into her palm. How would she hide from Shen Yi? There had to be a way.
“She can be in disguise,” Yu-Lan said. “The opera singers will be in heavy make-up. We can paint her face to look the same as the hua dan, the lead female singer.”
Wen-Ying gave her a grateful smile. Yu-Lan acknowledged it with an encouraging squeeze of her arm.
At the head of the table, Dai Li’s lips widened into a full smile. “Very good,” he said to Wen-Ying. “You have drive. In my eyes, women are not inferior. There are only inferior people.” He glanced at Yao Kang, then turned his sight back
to Wen-Ying. “If you’re half as capable as your brother, then you’re more than capable of leading this attack. I’ll leave this in your hands.” He glared sharply at Yao Kang and Huang Jia-Ming. “Are there any objections?”
Huang twisted his lips, then relaxed his stance. “No. I’ll support Yuan Wen-Ying every way I can.” He leaned back and smirked at Yao Kang.
Yao Kang hugged his crossed arms close to his chest. His tight face alternately flushed with different shades of red. Grudgingly, he said, “Since it’s her house, I have no objection. But let me clarify, this is not a permanent arrangement for who will succeed as the head of Tian Di Hui.”
“You can take that matter up with your elders,” Dai Li scowled. He turned back to Wen-Ying. “I’ll leave the details up to you and Bao Gong then.” He put on his hat, and left the room.
The door closed. Beneath the table, Wen-Ying locked her fingers. The burden of what she had volunteered to do had just now begun to sink in. Bao Gong, Huang Jia-Ming, Zhang Yu-Lan, all watched her with anticipation, waiting for her to give them her first word.
At the front of the table, Yao Kang looked like he could slaughter her. For a moment, she almost regretted standing in his way.
Standing beside Yao Kang, Takeda gave her a subtle nod. He smiled at her. Pride glinted in his eyes, and his face glowed with hope. Instantly, her doubts vanished. She didn’t care what anyone else thought. His smile was all she needed. As long as she had Takeda behind her, she could find the strength to go on and do what needed to be done. Nothing else mattered.
Chapter 8
A week later at the secret meeting room at Dr. Wu’s clinic, Wen-Ying gathered with Bao Gong, Zhang Yu-Lan, and Takeda to show them the hand-drawn map of the inside of her old home. Yesterday, she had already met with Yao Kang, Huang Jia-Ming, and the Tian Di Hui members who would be executing the arson and assassinations. Today, she wanted to coordinate the plans for those managing people outside of their group.
This mission could not fail. When the old Yuan villa burned to ashes and the bodies of the enemy and traitors roasted in the searing fire of hell, it would be her ultimate tribute to her father, her mother, and her most beloved sister. When that happened, their souls in Heaven could rest in peace.
She had to hold it all together. The rift between her, Yao Kang, and Huang Jia-Ming could not spread any further. For the sake of Tian Di Hui, and for the sake of everything they had worked for.
Fan Yong-Hao would be so disappointed if he saw them hooking hearts and knocking horns, bickering and clashing against each other.
Maybe, a successful mission would raise everyone’s spirits and unite their hearts.
Leaning over the map, Wen-Ying pushed her palms against the top of the table. “The villa’s dining room is situated north.” She circled her finger around the big room in the middle of the first floor. “There are three entrances. One to the main drawing room in the front. One to the corridor leading to the kitchen, and one to the hallway to the back stairwell. The back stairway is used by servants. It also leads to the staff’s entrance at the back of the house.”
She checked everyone’s reaction around the table to make sure they understood. In wealthy households, staff members and vendors were required to use a separate door to enter and exit the building. Main doors were reserved for use only by members of the family and their guests.
“On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Bao Gong will bring Yao Kang, Huang Jia-Ming, and four of our Tian Di Hui members into the kitchen as temporary help. I, Zhang Yu-Lan, and four other members will enter the house in disguise as part of the performance troupe.”
She pointed to the sitting room near the back stairway. “Boa Gong, this room is the most convenient for the performance troupe to wait and prepare. It’s also the closest to the staff entrance. You should advise Shen Yi to allow the troupe to use this room that night.”
“That should be no problem,” Bao Gong said. Wen-Ying didn’t think it would be either. That sitting room, being so close to the kitchen and the staff’s common room, was the least used even when her own family occupied the house.
“The staff entrance will be our escape route,” she said. “It’ll be the last door to be sealed off.” She picked up a second folded copy of the map and gave it to Yu-Lan. “Be sure the performers know where the escape door is and how they will go outside. They should leave as soon as their performance is over.”
“I will.” Yu-Lan accepted the map, but Wen-Ying held on. Yu-Lan frowned with a quizzical look.
“Are you sure you want to come along?” Wen-Ying asked. Yu-Lan had volunteered to join them that night to help direct the escape of the theater troupe and to provide moral support. She and Wen-Ying planned to disguise themselves as understudies for the Peking opera singers. That would enable them to enter the mansion with their faces fully painted to avoid being recognized. “You don’t have to come in person.”
“I know.” Yu-Lan pulled the copy of the map. “I want to come.”
“Why?” Wen-Ying couldn’t understand. In the past, all their larger and more dangerous resistance missions had been against Japanese officials and at places where the Imperial Japanese Army operated. When they attacked collaborators, they had always targeted their offices, their vehicles, or in public places. Poison in a restaurant, stabbing in a lounge, murder in a hotel room, even shoot-outs on the streets. This was the first time they attempted arson in a family home. Yu-Lan had to have considered the implications. “What if next time, we target your family? In your home?”
Yu-Lan grimaced. “I’ve thought of this point as well. My parents aren’t political, even though they’ve made the choice to support Wang Jing-Wei. They’re just greedy and selfish. They always have been. They only look out for themselves. And my brothers? They’re just like my parents. All of them are cowards who are willing to accept humiliation to stay alive. But for all their faults, they are not evil. Not like Liu Kun. They don’t torture or murder our own kind.” She lifted her head. Her eyes a mixture of determination and fear. “Evil can’t win against the good. I believe the Japanese and the traitors are destined to lose. I’m doing what I do because if the day comes when Tian Di Hui decides to eliminate my family, I can ask for clemency for them. Maybe after all that I’ve done for Tian Di Hui, the ones who will make the final decision will grant them mercy on my account.”
Wen-Ying softened her face. She never knew. Deep inside, Yu-Lan still cared greatly about her family, and she had found a way to keep her familial devotion while honoring her vows and upholding her loyalty to Tian Di Hui.
Takeda and Bao Gong stared at Wen-Ying, waiting for her to speak.
“What if the Tian Di Hui elders refuse?” Wen-Ying asked. “What if they don’t grant your family clemency?”
“Then, they only have themselves to blame. But I would know I had made my best efforts to save them, and I can’t not try.”
Wen-Ying let go of the copy of the map. She would not be able to change Yu-Lan’s mind. Neither did she want to. In her place, Wen-Ying herself would have done the same thing.
“All right.” She brought everyone’s attention back to their plan. “After dinner is served, the performers will begin the entertainment in the dining room.”
As she said this, her memory flashed back to entertainers who had come through her house over the years. Puppeteers her parents had paid to perform on her eleventh birthday. Singers, dancers, jugglers. Back then, their home was always bustling with activities.
They didn’t only hire Chinese performers either. Sometimes, they would invite pianists and violinists. For her forty-fourth birthday, her mother had refused a banquet celebration, which her father proposed. The number four was considered a bad omen because it was pronounced the same as the word “death” in Chinese. Her mother, who was always overly superstitious, didn’t want to tempt fate with a banquet. So instead of a big celebration, Mei Mei invited a classmate to perform a piano and violin concerto together with her as a birthday gift
after a sumptuous feast for the family at home.
The sound of Mei Mei’s piano music would grace this world no more…
“Wen-Ying?” Takeda called her name.
Wen-Ying came out of her thoughts. “Bao Gong will bring Yao Kang, Huang Jia-Ming, and four other Tian Di Hui members as one team into the house earlier in the day as temporary kitchen staff. When the performers begin their first act, Yao Kang and Huang will lead their team to get rid of the security guards outside.”
She drew a deep breath. From this point on, all their lives would be at risk. But if she could rely on Yao Kang and Huang for anything, it was their well-honed skill to silently kill. “After that, I will lead my team to pour kerosene in front of all the doors and windows on the first floor. We’ll begin with the doors and windows leading to the outside, and work our way to the interior doors. We’ll trap everyone inside the dining room. Once the fire starts, Kazuki and his henchmen, Liu Kung and his wife, and Tang Wei will have no route to escape.” She paused. The finality of her own words chilled her own spine.
“Bao Gong?”
“Yes?”
“The mask changer will be the final act.” She moved the red and black painted mask of an angry face on the table to the center. “When he switches his mask to this one, it is our signal. You will start the smoke in the kitchen and call for the house staff to escape. Yao Kang and Huang Jia-Ming will stay behind and pretend to put out the fire. Try to save as many innocents as you can.” She bit her lip, then pushed on. “Takeda, that’s also your signal to get out. It should take a while before the smoke drifts into the dining room.”
The Darkest Hour Page 41