The Sorceress' Revolt
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Ko Biji's Story
Part Nine: Reincarnation
There was a festival on July 7 and another on July 15, which was fast approaching. The city was decorated splendidly with streamers of many colors. On that day, people visited the graves of their ancestors and the emperor marched to the Imperial Tomb in a magnificent carriage pulled by four horses.
This was one of the grandest festivals held in Bianliang. Security was heightened even further on the day of the festival. A party was held in the hall of Rai Ingyō’s estate in the evening, and the estate's guards were invited to partake in feasting and drinking.
The Imperial Palace was very busy on the day of the festival, so officials held a banquet the day before. The general rule was that people should only eat and drink in moderation out of respect for the ancestors, but most of the soldiers broke this rule and got soundly drunk. This happened every year. Court eunuchs, soldiers, guards and women from the Inner Palace intermingled at Rai Ingyō’s party and were falling down drunk by early evening.
“Why don’t you at least show your face?” Rai Ingyō asked Ko Biji.
“No, thank you,” she said.
“Hmm…”
As Rai Ingyō considered her refusal, Ko Biji lunged at him. Chō Ran acted instantly and knocked the knife she held out of her hand. She’d taken the knife from the estate’s kitchen.
Chō Ran pushed Ko Biji to the floor. “You little fool.” He was calm, and spoke quietly.
Ko Biji shook him off and stood up. “Punish me, then.”
“You intend to kill me and the eunuch. I can’t just do nothing about that.”
“I have no reason to live any longer.” Ko Biji kept her voice down, but her tone was as taut as a wire. Determination made her clench her fists.
Chō Ran picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor.
Ko Biji closed her eyes.
“Tanshi is coming,” Chō Ran said. “Do you still want to die?”
“You’re going to kill Tanshi.”
“I’ll kill him, but I’ll let him see you first.”
Ko Biji stared at him, stunned silent.
“I’ll send you to a safe place where no one will find you.”
“I’ve been hunted all my life, so I’m used to safe houses.”
“Good. Tanshi’s a lucky man.” Chō Ran’s voice shook. He spun on his heel and left the room.
***
Just as Chō Ran left the room, the scouts of the salt smugglers sneaked through the forest around Rai Ingyō’s estate. Usually, there were guards keeping watch in the forest, but tonight they were off duty and drinking with their friends. This was exactly what the salt smugglers wanted.
The scouts halted in the woods. Two shadows ran towards the sluice gate that opened and closed to let water in and out of the moat. One shadow held a staff, while the other was unarmed. They were Tanshi and Ri Chū, dressed in all black in loose clothing meant for fighting. The style was common among nomadic peoples who shot their enemies from horseback. Tanshi and Ri Chū weren’t mounted, but the clothing gave them great freedom of movement nonetheless. Ri Chū carried a leather bag over his shoulder. Tanshi didn’t know what was inside, but he guessed that it would be useful for combat.
Two soldiers came into view in front of the sluice gate, just beyond a stone watchtower. They were drinking together. Tanshi and Ri Chū used the watchtower walls as cover and sprang out at the guards, knocking them out with swift blows to the solar plexus. The two guards would sleep soundly until dawn.
***
Tanshi and Ri Chū boarded a small boat near the sluice gate and traveled by moat. From this angle and in the darkness, they were difficult to see, and the stone watchtower they’d passed shielded them from view from the other watchtowers for a short time. They docked their boat under a different watchtower that jutted out in front of the estate’s stone wall.
Chō Ran had given strict orders, so there were three sober men guarding this checkpoint. Ri Chū removed a rope from his bag and tied it around a buckle at his waist. He tossed the rope up at the stone wall, and the buckle caught against something. Ri Chū tested his weight on the rope, then began to climb, using the watchtower wall to shield him from the sober guards’ eyes.
Tanshi watched what Ri Chū was doing with interest. Ri Chū got to the top of the wall and showed Tanshi a fierce grin. Then he went inside the watchtower. A short time later, the sober guards fell over at the same time. They didn’t move.
Tanshi had no idea what Ri Chū had done. Ri Chū touched his leather bag and put his finger in front of his mouth to encourage Tanshi to remain silent.
Ri Chū had used fayalite on the guards. Fayalite was an abrasive iron compound. He’d used a blowgun in his bag that would shoot balls of fayalite, about 2.5 inches (6.35 centimeters) in diameter. This weapon combination was invented by a school of Shaolin martial artists. Ri Chū was skilled with this weapon; otherwise he might have struggled to incapacitate the three guards so quickly.
Ri Chū came out from the watchtower onto the stone wall. He waved to Tanshi. “They’re out cold. At least for now.”
Amazed by Ri Chū’s courage and skill, Tanshi climbed up the stone wall. Ri Chū took a bamboo tube from his pocket, opened the lid, lit it and waved it toward the opposite shore. This was a signal beacon. From the sluice gate where they’d entered, more salt smugglers crawled on their stomachs on a board that served as a raft, crossing the moat one by one. Ri Chū set up a better rope ladder so that the salt smugglers could scale the stone wall of the watchtower more easily.
After that, the salt smugglers split into groups.
One group attacked the guards inside the front gate. There were about thirty of these, but most were drunk and unable to put up a fight. They were quickly cut down or allowed to flee.
The front gate opened, and cavalry forces under the command of Ryū Gen galloped across the bridge over the moat and poured into the courtyard in front of the estate. “We aren’t leaving here without Rai Ingyō’s head!”
The cavalry and infantry groups of the salt smugglers split up to attack critical areas of the estate.
Inside the estate, Rai Ingyō was pestering Chō Ran. Being drunk made his obsequiousness even worse than normal. “You don’t want to? I know I have to keep you hidden, but there’s no reason why you can’t come to the party for a few minutes…”
Chō Ran laughed sarcastically. “No reason? I can’t stand to look at you. I don’t want to see you, you fucking rapist. Get out of my sight.”
At that moment, a military officer hurriedly came in. “We’re under attack by salt smugglers.”
“What? How many? Where are they?” Chō Ran asked. He was surprised by the attack, though not as much as Rai Ingyō was.
“They have already broken through the front gate.”
Rai Ingyō blushed red from head to toe. “Chō Ran, what should we do?”
Chō Ran glared at him. “Go back to your party.” He and the military officer rushed out of the hall.
The estate erupted in screams and shouts.
Rai Ingyō embraced a little dog, a Pekinese he’d owned for years, seeking comfort in the dog’s soft fur. “Oh, where should I flee? Please, protect me, someone, anyone!” he yelled, then ran out into the hallway with the dog in his arms.
Chō Ran rode his horse to the front gate. He had a sword on his belt, an iron pipe about three inches (eight centimeters) in diameter and three feet (about one meter) long under one arm, and a rope hanging from his shoulder. He carried a large bag that contained other supplies. He’d known an attack was coming, just not when. It made sense for the salt smugglers to attack at night. He felt like he’d wasted his time trying to defuse the tension between Rai Ingyō and Ko Biji. He should have kept a better watch over the estate to start with. At least part of this mess was his own fault.
Under Chō Ran’s command, the Imperial Guard cavalry formed ranks and prepared to fight, drunk though they were.
Tanshi’s staff danced and Ri Chū shot fayalite projectiles in all directions.
“Tanshi, you’ll have to cut through the forest to the north in order to get inside,” Ri Chū said. He whistled for a horse, and one trotted up for Tanshi’s use. “Hurry!”
Tanshi mounted up and galloped off into the darkness. A melee ensued, but the salt smugglers had the advantage.
As soon as Chō Ran arrived on the battlefield, he dismounted and prepared his iron pipe. “Die!”
The tip of the iron pipe erupted in flames with a tremendous roar. Several salt smugglers were blown away, along with their horses, in a puff of white smoke. The pipe was a cannon that had been specially ordered and made by a blacksmith in Bianliang. It was inspired by the tiger crouching cannon, but its power was several times greater.1 He took out some ammunition from his pouch, loaded the cannon, then fired again.
Bang!
The salt smugglers were stunned by the roar of the cannon and froze in place, too terrified to move. The Imperial Guard cavalry unit rushed to the scene, and more salt smugglers were cut down. The Imperial Guard were well-supplied with oil and gunpowder, which they’d carried with them from Chō Ran’s estate in Xiangzhou. There was more than enough for this battle.
“This is bad,” Tanshi said from horseback. He couldn’t find Ryū Gen anywhere. He dismounted to grab a small cannon from a fallen soldier, then jumped onto a nearby Imperial Guard’s horse. "Giddyap!" He kicked the horse’s sides to get it moving.
The attack threw the estate into chaos. Men and women ran down the halls with their arms around each other, crouched down like they were trying to hide. The halls were brightly lit, revealing a few dozen guards and soldiers so drunk that they couldn’t stand under their own power. Rai Ingyō, distraught, found himself surrounded by women from the Inner Palace seeking protection. The women hugged each other and burst into tears.
“Chō Ran, where are you? Save me!” Rai Ingyō cried out.
Ryū Gen came racing into the front courtyard on horseback. “Rai Ingyō, where are you? Come out.” He dismounted, leaving his horse behind, and entered the estate through the front doors.
Rai Ingyō gasped and hid his face. The women around him dispersed, huddling in the corners of the hall, clutching their heads and weeping. They made so much noise that Ryū Gen had no trouble finding the eunuch. The guards rushed over and attacked him with their spears, but they were no match for Ryū Gen. They were cut down, spears and all.
A group of salt smugglers also rushed to the scene, and the estate went red with blood in the fighting.
Rai Ingyō tried to escape through the back door, but was discovered by Ryū Gen. He had nowhere to hide.
“Ugh…” Rai Ingyō groaned, pale-faced and trembling as he hugged his Pekinese dog to his chest.
Ryū Gen approached him slowly. “Are you ready, Rai Ingyō? I am not your executioner. My blade belongs to the people who were brutally murdered by your tyranny.”
“Spare me! Please!” He tossed the dog in Ryū Gen’s direction and brought his hands together in prayer.
Ryū Gen swatted the dog away with one hand.
“This is divine justice,” Ryū Gen said. He slammed his long sword through Rai Ingyō’s head.
Rai Ingyō’s skull split open as he shrieked in terror. Blood splattered, staining Ryū Gen’s chest red. Rai Ingyō’s huge body fell to the floor and was still.
The dog gave its deceased owner a disdainful look and ran back down the hallway.
Translator's Note
1 虎蹲砲: The tiger crouching cannon was usually made of iron; it was propped up at the muzzle end and pinned to the ground to deaden the recoil. This setup supposedly resembles a crouching tiger, giving the cannon its name. The long barrel could hold up to a hundred pellets that could be fired one at a time or scattershot from a large bag of ammunition that fed into the cannon. ↩
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