Song of Exile

Chapter 117: Payback

The middle-aged man took out five taels of silver and placed it in the outstretched headscarf and said in a low voice, “Thank you, young man. I’ve never in my life heard such moving and heartfelt singing.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Wenchang said, bowing slightly. Then he withdrew.

Suddenly, a leg shot out and tripped him, nearly causing him to fall. Followed by a man blurting out, “Hey boy, sit down here, and play a tuyne for me. Hey! This is your reward, just fuckin’ take it first.”

It was one of the five men reaching out with an ingot of silver worth one tael almost touching Wenchang’s nose.

Wenchang pushed down his anger and took a deep breath as he packed up his pipa. It was too hard to make a living this way. He swore to himself that he would never do any more of this good-for-nothing work to make a living. He would rather lose his life while looting.

“Sorry, I have other clients, I’m afraid I must be going now.” He said it casually, as if it was of no importance.

The man slammed his hand on the table, making the plates and chopsticks jump. He stood up, arms akimbo, eyes bulging. “What? You fuckin’ little son of a bitch don’t know how to appreciate a favor and instead refuse me, Master Li, just like that, you blind snob! Just try and get fussy with me again.”

All the customers and all the men’s exclamations of surprise all at once went to silence. Things were getting tense.

There was a pounding on the stairs as three fierce-looking men of various heights stormed up, stopping at the stairwell entrance. “Brother Li, what’s going on?”

The man hmphed over and over and blasted, “Fuck, this little son of a bitch is deplorable, doesn’t recognize a favor. I’m gonna teach him well.”

The three newcomers went to the table. Wenchang turned to look at them. He was shocked. He thought to himself, God-fucking-dammit, my enemies are always showing up. Looks like I’m going to have to fight.

One of the newcomers was bald. It was Han River Bald Flood Dragon Ling Yuan.

Another one was tall and lanky, and looked doltish and sinister. It was Barracuda Zhong Hao.

The short one looked like Wu the Elder. His facial features were all scrunched together. He was River Rat Guan Jiang.

All of them old friends he had met before. Bald Flood Dragon looked the same as before, except for a scar on the top of his head that shone more than the rest of it, the scar from where he had been scraped by Wenchang’s throwing knife. River Rat Guan Jiang was missing several front teeth on the right side. Another memorial from Wenchang.

Bald Flood Dragon saw it was Wenchang and he flinched in surprise and reflexively stepped back two paces. He was wide-eyed and tongue-tied. “Is… Is your family name… Cai?”

Wenchang knew he couldn’t hide it. He said icily, “Greetings, Manager Ling, it’s been a year since we last saw each other, hasn’t it? How’s business?”

The man who was rude before now stared wide-eyed and gasped, backing up like he had seen a ghost and knocking over a chair.

Wenchang had been shaking the jianghu as of late. How could Bald Flood Dragon not know? He was so scared he broke out in a cold sweat, his face ashen. He bowed at the waist. “Your pardon, Brother Cai, my, my mistake, Brother Li has offended you…”

Wenchang found this curious. Huh? Had this guy forgot about his grudge over being scraped on the head by that throwing knife? Why so polite? He didn’t know his status and how much weight his name now carried throughout the jianghu, no wonder he found it odd. He slipped to the left and cut in, “Manager Ling, have you and these two, Zhong and Guan, come to get revenge for that time back at Fine Horse Village?”

“Brother Cai, you have it wrong, I… I…” Bald Flood Dragon couldn’t finish his sentence.

Wenchang strode forward, saying, “Let’s talk elsewhere, I have a favor to ask.”

Bald Flood Dragon was all in a fluster, like he had 15 well-water buckets and was trying to raise seven while lowering eight. He was on tenterhooks. He whispered, “Brother Cai, just say the word, I will carry out your instructions at once.”

They went out to the street, walking side by side. Wenchang whispered, “First, don’t reveal my whereabouts.”

“Your wish is my command.”

“Are you one of Black Flag Sovereign’s men?”

“No! I only pay lip service to his position as alliance head of the dark path. That’s all.”

“I don’t blame you. Oh! There’s an important family in Hanzhong by the surname of Ji, with a domineering daughter. Do you know them?”

“Oh! That’s the Ji family that lives down a back street behind the yamen at the north end of the city. They’ve been a family of scholars for generations. They’re well-known bully gentry of Hanzhong. His ancestral home is thirty miles to the northeast of the prefecture, in Wu County Valley, the former fief of Zhuge Liang back in the day.”

Wenchang turned to him and cupped a hand over his fist in salute. “Thanks for the information. See you again sometime.”

Bald Flood Dragon, filled with hope, returned the salutation. “Brother Cai, I wonder if I might have the good fortune to befriend you?”

“You don’t care about what happened between us earlier?” Wenchang asked.

“Brother Cai, are you taking a dig at me?”

Wenchang held him by the shoulder and smiled. “Then I would be honored to make friends with you. If you’re free later, call on me and we’ll catch up.”

“Then it’s settled,” Bald Flood Dragon exclaimed happily. “I look forward to it.”

“Goodbye, we’ll meet up later.” Wenchang saluted and left.

He circled around the street and took a good look at the place he was going to strike tonight, then he went back to Tranquility Inn.

Back at the inn, there were some uninvited guests waiting for him.

As he approached the inn, a figure darted from a street corner and someone leaning against the wall behind him beckoned to him, “Brother Cai, let’s talk for a minute.”

His heart leapt. Someone was calling to him. Might be one of Bald Flood Dragon’s men. He flashed over and said, “Who are you? Why are you looking for Cai…”

“Me, I’m River Rat Guan Jiang,” the shadowy figure said in a low voice.

“Oh! Brother Guan, what is it?”

“Tranquility Inn has been sealed off by the authorities. There’s a large group of hired thugs waiting inside. You can’t go in.”

“Why?” Wenchang said, surprised.

“Ji Manor reported to the yamen that you were the great bandit who tried to rob the emperor’s special envoy last month. There’s a lot of men moving about now, come with me quick and we’ll lie low outside of the city.”

Wenchang gnashed his teeth and said sinisterly, “There’s a limit to a man’s patience. I’ve done reached mine. Okay, we’ll lie low first.” He handed River Rat Guan Jiang his pipa. “Brother Guan, take care of this pipa for me.”

He didn’t wait to see if River Rat would agree to take it or not, he just turned and walked off.

The chamberlain of the back lane of the prefectural yamen as Hanzhong’s first-class mansion. Over a dozen buildings over various size magnificently constructed and lavishly adorned, it’s heavy main gates were large and imposing.

If the Ji family was mentioned around Hanzhong prefecture, people acted like they’d seen an epidemic break out and they stopped listening and scurried off, cursing to no end. If the Ji family’s petitioned the prefectural yamen, someone was going to get a flogging and would be imprisoned. Anyone who provoked with the Ji family was defying the mighty, and by the time the hour of the pig rolled around[1], you could be that one’s family would be destitute and homeless. Because the patriarch of the Ji family, Ji Renyi, was related by marriage to the prefect.

Ji Renyi had two daughters. The eldest had been married off to the prefect’s worthless son, and the younger daughter often visited her big sister’s place for fun, where she just got worse and worse so that people cleared out of the way when she came and went, like she was the prefect himself out on an inspection tour. He servants tried to avoid her and the crack of her horse whip was the signal to clear a path.

Anyone who went against her would be beaten half to death, according to established practice. If she ran up against someone from another powerful, prominent family, she need only run to her sister’s place and someone would come out and take care of it for her.

So within the prefectural city, Second Miss Ji was an intimidating figure, a well-known personage. The commoners hated her to the very marrow of their bones, but there was nothing they could do about it. But they still had their own form of passive resistance, which was to avoid her like the plague. When Second Miss Ji came out to throw her weight around, everyone scattered far off. No one paid her any attention, and with no one appreciating her power and prestige, she had less and less chance to vent her wrath on them.

Tonight, she after much difficulty she had chanced upon the unlucky Cai Wenchang, which pleased her greatly, but White Dragongirl and her father had showed up to spoil her fun, injured two of her servants, and even drew a sword as if to kill her. Wenchang’s final spiteful words of vengeance made her boil with rage even further. She helplessly ran back to her big sister’s place and told her everything.

Their running dogs were loosed everywhere, out to arrest the criminal who had plotted to rob the imperial envoy last month. The situation had grown serious. Such a headstrong, overbearing and ferocious girl was a rare sight. Like father, like daughter, so you can imagine how her father conducted himself around Hanzhong prefecture.

This devilish girl waited at her big sister’s place for news, but when none came she not only lashed eight times with her whip to drive people away, she even whipped her servant’s father and daughter, who scurried off. She was absolutely furious and didn’t return home until the third watch. With her hate and anger combined, she hurried up to her room and ordered her maidservants around, having them prepare her evening toilet, and she angrily entered her bedroom.

Two maidservants followed behind as the three of them pushed the doors open and went inside. The maidservants were suddenly knocked unconscious by two strange arms that reached out from the shadows, and they were gently lowered to the floor and the bedroom doors were shut quietly.

She didn’t know what had happened behind her as she went to the dresser and sat on the ceramic drum stool with its embroidered cover in a huff. She was just about to order the maids to help her remove her makeup.

Suddenly, she was terrified. Her heart sank. Her rouged cheeks were ashen. She wanted to cry out, but it was caught in her throat. She wanted to move but she felt stiff all over. A shiver ran through her and she opened her eyes and stared hard into the big bronze mirror on her dresser like she had seen a ghost.

Yes, a ghost did appear in the big bronze mirror. Behind her, reflected clearly, stood a tall figure with a black covering over his face, big eyes glaring like a bolt of lightning. It was very frightening. A monster like this appearing in a lady’s bedchamber was sure to terrify her. She had just about lost all courage.

The apparition’s big hand reached out and fell on her right shoulder.

Eek! She wasn’t seeing things, it wasn’t her imagination, she really felt something on her shoulder. She whipped around and opened her mouth to scream.

“Ah…” She only got it half out before the big hand on her shoulder grabbed her by the throat. Fear and a sense of doom assailed her and she fainted.

The apparition was Wenchang. He had been there for a while. He clenched his teeth and threw Second Miss Ji on the bed and took a pot of cold tea and dumped it on the devilish girl’s head, then he pinched her Human Center acupoint at the indentation on her upper lip and she suddenly woke up. She croaked fearfully, “Are… are you… a man or… a ghost? You…”

She retreated farther onto the bed as she talked and reached out with terribly trembling hands to pull the covers over her head.

Wenchang gave a sinister laugh and grabbed her by the right foot and pulled her back over to the edge of the bed, then reached out and threw the brocade quilt off the bed and pulled off his mask.

The girl had a good memory. Wenchang’s face had returned to normal, no longer ashen and sweaty, but the contours of his face and his expression were the same.

“It’s… It’s… It’s you, you…” she cried out desperately.

Wenchang’s hands shot out and grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her up and set her on the edge of the bed, then pressed his knee between her legs, which did not reach the ground, and he sneered, “You domineering bitch, always with many people at your beck and call. Where’s your swagger now? Your servants? Your horse whip?”

“Save…” She tried to call for help.

But she had barely got the first word out before his hand clamped around her throat. She struggled desperately, but it was no use.

Wenchang slapped her four times across the face, not too hard, not too soft, but fast, as if all four blows landed at once, knocked her half senseless, her head spinning. She didn’t know where she was.

1. 9-11pm