A Bond Undone Page 21

  He was no great man. He would not hesitate to betray his ancestors for personal gain.

  He was a scoundrel.

  This was a rude awakening.

  “Mercy? My dear . . .”

  No answer.

  “Ma told me I was sired by your godfather. But, as you know, before I could ask her more about him, they both departed from this world. You don’t know how heavy it weighs on my heart. One’s birth and bloodline is an important matter. I can’t let it lie in doubt like that.”

  I’m too harsh on him. He doesn’t understand his lineage yet. Mercy’s heart was softening. “Don’t ever mention going to the Song Chancellor again. I will find Lotus and come back with the dagger.”

  But Lotus had changed her mind: He can stay locked up, for all I care! Papa hates the Jin.

  “How did you find your way? This place is a maze,” Wanyan Kang asked, after a pause.

  “I was guided by two masters, but they stayed in the shadows.”

  Lotus chuckled silently at being called a master.

  Wanyan Kang pondered Mercy’s answer. “I worry you might be discovered by the martial masters of this manor when you return with the dagger. If you really want to help me, there’s someone I need you to find.”

  “I’m not going to any Chancellor.”

  “I know. You’ve made that very clear. I’m talking about my shifu . . . Take my belt. Carve this message in the gold hoop: ‘Wanyan Kang in trouble at Roaming Cloud Manor on Lake Tai’s western shore.’ Thirty li north of Pingjiang, you will find a desolate hill. Look for a stack of nine human skulls. One on top, three in the middle, five at the bottom. Put the belt under the top one.”

  “Eh?”

  “Shifu is blind. Carve it deep. It has to be legible by touch alone.”

  “I thought your teacher was the Immortal of Eternal Spring. When did Elder Qiu lose his sight?”

  “This is my other shifu. She will come when she finds the message. Don’t tarry in the area once you’ve set down the belt. Shifu can be . . . unpredictable. I don’t want you to get hurt. Her kung fu is superb; she’ll set me free. Wait for me at the Temple of the Impenetrable Sublime, in Pingjiang.”

  “You must give me your word. Swear to me, you will never betray your country. Promise me you will never again call Wanyan Honglie Father.”

  “I will act according to my conscience when I understand everything.” A distinct note of displeasure had crept into Wanyan Kang’s voice. “What’s the point of making me swear now? If you don’t want to help me, that’s fine. It’s your decision.”

  “Fine! I’ll deliver your message.” Mercy untied Wanyan Kang’s belt.

  “You’re leaving already, my dear? Let me kiss you farewell.”

  “No!” She was already at the door.

  “I fear they’ll kill me before Shifu arrives. I may never see you again.”

  Mercy sighed and turned back. It was impossible to steel her heart against him. She leaned into his embrace and let him kiss her on the cheeks.

  Wanyan Kang had hoped to use physical contact and sweet whisperings to weaken her resolve, so she would agree to see the Song Chancellor. He could feel her body responding to his tactics. The tingling tremors, the shallow breathing. Mercy’s desire was being rekindled.

  “If you prove to be dishonourable, there is only one fate left to me. To kill myself before your eyes.”

  Wanyan Kang had not expected her to speak with such detachment and conviction in this heightened state. By the time he had come to terms with her words, Mercy had left.

  Lotus and Guo Jing guided Mercy out of the manor in the same way as they had led her to Wanyan Kang’s cell.

  After scaling the perimeter wall, the young woman fell to her knees. “Masters, please accept this gesture of gratitude.” She kowtowed three times.

  A girlish giggle rang in the air. “Oh dear, we don’t deserve that.”

  Mercy looked around. The stars were shimmering, the flowers fluttering in the breeze, but there was not so much as half a shadow in sight.

  The voice sounded so like Lotus. But why would Lotus be here? Even if it was her, how would she know the way?

  Mercy turned the night’s events over and over in her head as she walked away from the manor. Before long, she had traversed more than a dozen li. Tired, she rested under a tree until the morning, when she would find passage across Lake Tai to Pingjiang.

  5

  PINGJIANG WAS A FLOURISHING CITY OF SILKS AND GARDENS, almost as wealthy and bustling as the capital, Lin’an. There was a well-known saying, comparing the glory of the two cities with the celestial realm: “Above are the heavens, on earth Pingjiang and Lin’an.” Now, with the Song Imperial Court’s relocation to the south, all the riches south of the Huai River were gathered in these two cities. Nowhere else in the world could compare with their opulent architecture or the affluence of the inhabitants. The Song Emperor and officials, indulging in the peace and prosperity that yet reigned in the south, had forgotten the groans and sufferings of their people in the north, who were being trampled daily under the iron hooves of their Jurchen overlords.

  Yet, Pingjiang’s urbane sights were of no interest to Mercy Mu. She found a quiet corner in which to carve the message into Wanyan Kang’s belt hoop. Holding the belt, her mind wandered back to yesternight, when it was still fastened around its owner’s waist. She prayed it would encircle his body once more, and that one day she would have the pleasure of clasping it shut. That would mean he had understood his parentage and sworn allegiance to a just cause. There would be hope for their union.

  She tied the belt under her outer garments and felt her heart pounding. It was as if she was wrapped in his embrace. She blushed at the thought.

  The sun had started to sink below the horizon in the west and she turned her mind to the task at hand. She had a quick snack at a noodle shop and went north, as instructed.

  As she left the city, her surroundings grew desolate. The sun disappeared behind the hills to the cries of unseen birds in the distance. Though unnerved, she pushed on, veering off the road into a valley. By now, only the last hint of twilight remained. There was no sign of the skulls Wanyan Kang had described. She would have to spend the night here in the wilderness and resume her search when it was light again. She climbed up a hill to look for shelter. Eventually, she spotted some structures by a hillock in the west.

  Relieved that she had found a roof for the night, she ran towards them. She was greeted by a dispiriting sight. A broken sign hung above the entrance: Temple of the Earth God. Gingerly, she gave the doors a nudge. They tipped back and crashed to the ground, throwing up a great cloud of dirt and soot as they did so. She waited a moment before tiptoeing into the main hall. The Earth God and the Earth Goddess were cloaked in dust and wrapped in spider webs. A large altar table sat before the deities. She pressed her weight on it. The wood felt strong and the structure solid. It would work as a bed. She busied herself making the place habitable for the night. She collected some straw and wiped the dust off her makeshift bed, then propped the doors back up to block the entrance – two flimsy guards against the outside world. When all was ready, she ate some dried bread and rested her head on her knapsack.

  But Mercy could find no rest. Wanyan Kang filled her thoughts. Tears fell down her cheeks as she thought about his continued allegiance to the Jin, a dark cloud over their future together, but she smiled all the same at the memory of his sweet words and even sweeter touch. Conflicting feelings kept sleep at bay until late into the night.

  Waves of whirring and hissing washed over the abandoned temple, waking Mercy from her uneasy sleep. She sat up and listened. The noise was coming closer. She peered through the gap between the doors. What she saw made her tremble in fear.

  Hundreds, perhaps thousands of snakes were slithering eastwards past the temple. Their scales glistened under the moon. A peculiar stench filled the air. It was a long time before the serpents began to thin out. Then she heard footsteps. Three m
en, dressed head to toe in white, brought up the rear, each prodding the ground with a long staff.

  Mercy huddled behind one of the doors, hoping that the men had not noticed her. Once out of earshot, she peeped her head out again. Her surroundings were once again returned to their night-time hush, giving no hint of the scene Mercy had just witnessed. She opened the doors wider and stuck her head out completely. Tentatively, she stepped into the open and ventured in the direction the snakes had taken, but the three men had disappeared into the night. There was no point in looking. As she headed back to the temple with relief, she caught sight of a splash of white shimmering against a nearby rock. She slowly approached, and then barely suppressed a yelp.

  Skulls, stacked neatly.

  One on top, three in the middle and five at the bottom.

  Exactly nine skulls.

  The very thing she had been looking for all evening. Nonetheless, this unexpected encounter set her heart racing. She edged near the grotesque objects and, trembling, reached for the skull at the top. Her fingers slipped into the five holes in the crown. The cranium opened up and swallowed her hand! Jolting back, she screamed. She stumbled back a few steps, before managing to gather her wits. She paused, then laughed a little at herself.

  What a strange shifu! Is she as frightening as these skulls? Mercy wondered, as she walked back to the pile of bones and placed the belt under the top skull.

  Master, I hope you will find the belt and free him, she prayed silently. I hope you will guide him to change his ways, so he can become the honourable man he was born to be.

  Just then, a tap on her shoulder.

  The shock chased Wanyan Kang’s handsome face from Mercy’s mind. She leapt over the pile of skulls. Holding her arms over her chest for protection, she turned.

  Another tap on the shoulder. She turned again. No-one.

  Tap. Turn. Nothing.

  Nothing behind her, not even a shadow.

  Tap.

  Mercy was now too spooked to move. Is this a ghost? A demon? A monster? A cold sweat broke out across her skin as her mind raced through a list of all the kinds of supernatural beings that haunt the night.

  “Who are you?” A feeble squeak.

  “Hmm . . . Such a sweet scent!”

  Someone was sniffing the back of her neck.

  “Guess who?!”

  She spun round.

  A white scholar’s robe. A gentleman’s folding fan. He’s one of the men who drove Papa to his death!

  Mercy fled.

  But he was much faster. Suddenly she found that she was throwing herself headlong into his open arms. She veered to the left. With a couple of strides, the man overtook her. Waiting, arms wide to receive her. He leered. She dashed in another direction. But there he was again.

  It was all a game to Gallant Ouyang. He only needed a fraction of his kung fu and the girl would be firmly in his clutches. But why spoil the fun?

  Sha, sha! Mercy hacked her willow sabre at his head.

  “My, my! Like it rough, eh?”

  Gallant Ouyang reclined a little as he lifted his right hand to guide her arms away. He grabbed the chance to snake his arm around her waist.

  Mercy squirmed and struggled against his inappropriate embrace. She felt a numbness between her thumb and forefinger. The sabre was snatched from her grasp and clattered to the ground. For a moment, she thought she had repelled his offensive hands. But they returned, twining tighter around her body. His fingers closed around her wrists, squeezing her pulse and cutting off her strength.

  “Call me Shifu and I’ll let you go this instant.” Gallant Ouyang flashed an amorous grin and shifted her arms into the grip of one hand so he could caress her face. “I’ll also teach you how to break free. But I suspect, by then, you’d want my arms around you all day.”

  Paralysed by the fear that he might rob her of her chastity, Mercy blacked out. When she came to, she felt limp and unable to summon any energy in her body.

  For a moment, she thought the strong arms encircling her were Wanyan Kang’s. She opened her eyes. Gallant Ouyang’s face filled her vision. She tried to kick and scream. But her body would not respond and her cries were muffled, gagged by a handkerchief that had been tied over her mouth.

  Her captor ignored her. His entire focus was taken up by something ahead. Why did he look anxious, suddenly?

  Though Mercy had lost control of her body, she could still move her eyes and turn her head. She could feel through her back that she was lying across Gallant Ouyang’s lap and he was sitting cross-legged on the ground. She glimpsed four women flanking them on either side, dressed in matching white outfits. Their weapons unsheathed, they were staring at the same fixed point in nervous anticipation.

  She followed their gaze.

  The skulls.

  They’re waiting for his shifu, she thought, as she looked in the other direction.

  A waking nightmare confronted her. The dark landscape had come alive in a moving sea of red ripples, as far as her eyes could see. Tens of thousands of snakes, wiggling their forked tongues. The three men she had seen earlier stood among the serpents, their staffs raised in expectation.

  Mercy looked across at the skulls and focused her eyes on the golden hoop of Wanyan Kang’s belt, watching as it glimmered in the moonlight. She came to a sudden realisation: they must have planned this attack on Wanyan Kang’s shifu. How could she take on so many enemies and snakes on her own?

  Terror seized Mercy. Part of her prayed that Wanyan Kang’s shifu would not appear, as she would not want anybody important to her beloved to be in danger. Yet, this mysterious mentor was also her only hope. Who else could defeat her villainous captor and deliver her from this horrible fate?

  By now, the men and the snakes had been waiting for more than an hour. Gallant Ouyang was checking the position of the moon with increasing frequency.

  Maybe his shifu will arrive when the moon reaches its highest point, Mercy thought, as she watched moonbeams caress the tips of the nearby pine trees and colour the cloudless night with a wash of indigo.

  There was no sound but the screeching of owls over the ever-present humming of insects. Gallant Ouyang looked at the sky once more and passed Mercy Mu into the arms of one of the women next to him. He stared at the hills beyond, his folding fan poised in his right hand.

  Wanyan Kang’s shifu must be about to arrive, any moment now.

  A distant shriek punctured the air.

  At the foot of the hill, a whirlwind of a shadow morphed into a woman with long unkempt hair.

  Iron Corpse Cyclone Mei had managed to unblock the trapped energy in her Long Strong pressure point within a month of learning the secrets of neigong from Guo Jing. Not only had she regained the use of her legs, her internal strength had also grown significantly. But with her hideout in the Prince of Zhao’s residence exposed, she had travelled south with Wanyan Kang’s entourage. She had no desire to sail across Lake Tai with them, however, as being confined to a small cabin would force her to abandon her midnight kung fu practice. So she travelled on foot around the lake instead, having arranged to rejoin the young Prince at Pingjiang.

  Of course, she did not know that Wanyan Kang had been taken prisoner by the pirates of Lake Tai. Nor that Gallant Ouyang had been following her, plotting to avenge the insult he suffered, for she had killed four of his concubines and torn his robe. Moreover, he was determined to get his hands on the Nine Yin Manual and had been waiting for an opportunity to ambush her.

  The moment Cyclone Mei emerged from between the hills, she slowed.

  Breathing. More than one person. And what was that faint hissing noise?

  She halted.

  The blind hag has sensed us! Gallant Ouyang cursed silently, but they still had the element of surprise to their advantage.

  Flicking his fan, he stood up, ready to lunge. Just as the energy coursed to his toes, the appearance of a second figure forced him to pull back.

  Hovering on cloud and riding on fog, thi
s newcomer drifted in like a phantom, his feet barely touching the ground. He stood behind Cyclone Mei and cast his eyes over Gallant Ouyang and his creatures.

  Tall and thin, he wore a green robe and a square scarf over his hair – the trappings of an educated man. Yet, one look at his face would make anyone’s skin crawl. Cold to the core. Wooden to the extreme. Lifeless and expressionless, his was the look of the undead, frozen except for the eyes.

  However, it was the stranger’s kung fu that really gave Gallant Ouyang the chills.

  Even Cyclone Mei walks with a scratching noise, Gallant thought. Somehow, this man moves in almost complete silence. I must act fast.

  With that thought, the Master of White Camel Mount made a signal with his left hand. The snake herders whistled and the serpents surged, slithering around Mercy Mu and the eight women in white.

  Cyclone Mei gathered her qi and leapt back several paces. She had, by now, worked out that the unusual noise was the sound of thousands of writhing snakes. With a twist of her body, she unwound a long whip from her waist and whisked up a silvery circle of protection.

  Mercy could see the fear in the woman’s face. Was this his shifu?

  The snake herders brandished their staffs and the serpents scattered. In no time at all, the snakes had surrounded Cyclone Mei. Those in the front line sprang to attack at the whistles’ urging, but Mei’s lash sent them flying back.

  “Give me the Nine Yin Manual and I’ll let you go, hag!” Gallant Ouyang called.

  He had been planning the attack since he learned the Manual was in Cyclone Mei’s possession, in Wanyan Honglie’s palace. His uncle, Viper Ouyang, had spent decades searching for the coveted martial-arts tract. If he managed to seize it from her, it would elevate his standing, not only in his uncle’s eyes, but in the eyes of the whole martial world. It would make his trip to the Central Plains worthwhile.