Chapter 3: Raptor

PAN RUGUI STRODE toward Duancheng Gate. The Embroidered Uniform Guard flanked the path, silent as cicadas in winter. The instant Pan Rugui announced the emperor’s edict, the guards began their work. They gagged Shen Zechuan and swiftly wrapped him in a thick cotton-padded garment, forcing him face down on the ground.

In the freezing wind, Pan Rugui leaned over to observe Shen Zechuan’s predicament. He raised his fingers to delicately cover his lips and coughed a few times before murmuring, “You’re a mere child, yet you had the gall to put on such a mawkish display before His Majesty. If you had truthfully confessed Shen Wei’s treason, you might have stood a chance.”

Shen Zechuan shut his eyes tightly. Cold sweat soaked his clothes.

Pan Rugui straightened. “Begin.”

The guards shouted in unison, “Begin!”

A thunderous roar followed: “Strike!”

Before the word was out, the iron-wrapped staff with its hooked barbs whistled down onto Shen Zechuan’s back.

After three strikes, another shout: “Harder!” The searing pain of the blows built into a fire, until he couldn’t move except to bite desperately on the gag between his teeth. The blood in his throat pooled faster than he could swallow, and the coppery taste of it coated his mouth. Shen Zechuanclung to his last breaths as dripping sweat stung his wide-open eyes.

The sky was overcast, and the heavy snow fell like catkins.

Flogging was not a task assigned to just anyone. As the saying went, “faint at twenty, lame at fifty”—to do it well required skill. It was handed down the generations, a family trade. Moreover, this job required not just physical prowess, but also a discerning eye. The experienced flogger needed only glance at the expressions of the high-ranking eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial to determine who should receive superficial wounds but serious internal injuries and vice versa.

The emperor’s decree was death by flogging, and Pan Rugui seemed to show no sympathy. There was no chance of an about-face; this person had to die. Thus the Embroidered Uniform Guard held nothing back—they would make certain Shen Zechuan was dead within fifty strikes.

Pan Rugui, minding the time, noticed Shen Zechuan had already gonemotionless, his head lolling. Placing a hand on the hand warmer, he was about to give further instruction when he saw an umbrella drifting toward them on the path, hiding a beauty in royal garb.

The dark clouds on Pan Rugui’s face were instantly dispersed and replaced by a smile. Though he did not personally step out to receive her, the quick-witted junior eunuch beside him rushed over to offer his arm.

“My sincere respects to the third lady. It’s such a cold day. If Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has any instruction, surely someone else would do to carry the message,” Pan Rugui said, coming forward.

Hua Xiangyi raised her hand lightly to stay the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Delicate and beautiful, she had been raised at the empress dowager’s side since childhood and was said to bear quite a resemblance to her aunt in her youth. Although she was addressed as the third lady of the Dicheng Hua Clan here in Qudu, everyone knew she was a distinguished lady of the palace. Even the emperor doted on her as if she were truly his younger sister.

“Gonggong, is this the boy from Zhongbo’s Shen Clan, Shen Zechuan?” Hua Xiangyi said in a soft, measured voice.

“The very same,” Pan Rugui replied, keeping pace with Hua Xiangyi’s steps. “His Majesty has issued the decree to flog him to death.”

“His Majesty spoke in anger earlier,” Hua Xiangyi said. “If Shen Zechuan dies, we’ll never get to the bottom of Shen Wei’s treason. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager arrived at Mingli Hall a little while ago. HisMajesty heeded her advice, and he has calmed himself.”

“Oh, my,” Pan Rugui exclaimed. “His Majesty always listens to the empress dowager’s counsel. He was in such a terrible rage earlier, I dared not say a word.”

“His Majesty’s decree was ‘flogging.’ Haven’t you done so?” Hua Xiangyi said, smiling at Pan Rugui.

Pan Rugui took a few more steps and smiled in return. “Of course. I was in such a rush earlier. As soon as I heard the word flog, I made sure to give him a good beating. How should we deal with him now?”

“Keep him in the Imperial Prison until His Majesty wishes to question him again. Preserving the boy’s life is of utmost importance. I’m counting on Gonggong to inform Lord Ji to take good care of him,” Hua Xiangyi said, her gaze sweeping over Shen Zechuan.

“Say no more,” Pan Rugui replied. “Ji Lei wouldn’t think of turning a deaf ear to the third lady’s wishes. The weather is cold, and the ground is slippery. Xiaofuzi, be sure to hold the third lady steady.”

The moment Hua Xiangyi had gone, Pan Rugui turned to the two rows of guards. “His Majesty gave the order to flog, and we’ve done what’s required. Drag him back. You heard the third lady; it is the empress dowager’s wish. Tell Ji Lei: everyone with a hand in this case is leagues above his level. If something happens to the boy on his watch…” Pan Rugui coughed once. “Even the Jade Emperor himself couldn’t save him.”

Xiaofuzi returned to support Pan Rugui by the arm. The long stretch of road was empty, but still he furtively whispered, “Lao-zuzong, if we lethim go like this, will His Majesty not blame us later?”

“His Majesty knows in his heart that the blame does not lie with us,” Pan Rugui said, pacing through the snow. Snowflakes squeezed their way under his fur collar. “A promise is worth a thousand gold; a sovereign reneging on his word does not bode well. His Majesty has suffered another bout of illness from the stress of the Biansha invasion. He will accede to anything the empress dowager asks these days. To please her, the emperor is even considering elevating the third lady to a princess—never mind sparing one man’s life.” Pan Rugui looked over at Xiaofuzi. “And when have you ever seen the empress dowager change her orders?”

In every case, the real master was the one who stood by their word.

Shen Zechuan was delirious with fever. One moment, he saw Ji Mu dying before him, the next, he saw himself still living in Duanzhou.

The wind brushed the banners. His shiniang lifted the curtain and stepped out carrying a white porcelain bowl of plump dumplings with thinskins. “Go tell your brother to come home!” she called. “He can’t sit stillfor a second. Tell him to hurry back and eat!”

Climbing over the veranda railing, Shen Zechuan bounded over to his shiniang and bit the dumpling right off the chopsticks before running off. It was so hot it scalded his tongue. As he went out the door, huffing to cool hismouth, he spotted his shifu, Ji Gang, on the stairs and squatted down besidehim.

Ji Gang looked up with a grunt from the rock he was grinding in his hands. “Silly boy, a dumpling is worth hardly anything. You treat it like some kind of treasure! Go get your brother, and the three of us will go to Yuanyang Tavern for a proper meal.”

Before Shen Zechuan could answer, his shiniang was pulling JiGang’s ear. “Turning your nose up at my dumplings, huh? Good for you. If you’re so rich, what are you doing with a wife? Take these silly boys and go live on your own!”

Shen Zechuan laughed as he leapt down the stairs, waving to his shifu and shiniang before racing out of the alley to find Ji Mu. But it was snowing heavily; Shen Zechuan couldn’t find any trace of him. The longer he walked, the colder he became.

“Ge!” Shen Zechuan called into the storm. “Ji Mu! It’s time to come home!”

The sound of hoof beats rose around him; snow obstructed his vision. Shen Zechuan was trapped in the thunder of hooves, but he couldn’t see anyone. The sound of slaughter exploded in his ears and warm blood splattered his face. Shen Zechuan felt stabs of pain in both legs as an overwhelming force pinned him down. He saw the dead man’s face inches away from his. The deluge of arrows whistled in the wind. The man on his back was heavy, and something warm and sticky trickled down his neck and across his cheeks.

This time, he knew what it was.

Shen Zechuan woke trembling, drenched in sweat yet shivering uncontrollably with cold. He sprawled over the wooden slats of the cot as his eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. He wasn’t alone in the cell. Anattendant had been cleaning up, and now lit the oil lamp.

Shen Zechuan’s throat was painful with thirst. The attendant seemed to anticipate this and set a bowl of cold water on the bed. Waves of sweat and chills washed over him as he slowly nudged the bowl toward himself, spilling half the contents in the process. Neither spoke. The attendant withdrew and left Shen Zechuan in the cell.

He slipped in and out of consciousness. The night dragged on without end; no matter how long he waited, dawn never came.

When the attendant again came to change Shen Zechuan’s bandages, his mind was clearer. Ji Lei looked at him through the bars and said coldly,“You’re one lucky bastard. A scourge truly never dies. The empress dowager spared your life; I suppose you don’t know why.”

Shen Zechuan lowered his head and kept still.

“I know your shifu is Ji Gang, the outcast of the land,” Ji Lei said. “We were fellow disciples twenty years ago and served together in the Embroidered Uniform Guard here in Qudu. You probably don’t know, but he was once a vice commander of the Guard and a third-rank official. I’mtrained in the same Ji-Style Boxing he practiced.”

Shen Zechuan raised his head and looked at Ji Lei, who opened the door of the cell and waited for the attendant to leave. Once they were alone, Ji Lei sat at the edge of Shen Zechuan’s bed.

“Later, he got into trouble bad enough to warrant losing his head. But the late emperor was benevolent and spared his life—just banished himbeyond the pass.” Ji Lei propped his elbows on his knees and grinned at Shen Zechuan from the shadows. “Your shifu is no talented man; he’s just a worthless wretch with good luck. You know how he survived? Just like you did—because of your shiniang. You probably don’t even know who she really is. Her name is Hua Pingting, from the same Hua Clan of Dicheng that produced the current empress dowager. It was for your shiniang’s sake that the empress dowager spared your life today.”

Ji Lei leaned in and whispered, “But who’d have known your shiniang already met her end in the chaos of the attack? Ji Gang really is a worthless wretch. To lose his father twenty years ago, then lose his wife and son now. Do you know who’s to blame? You must know better than anyone—the culprit is Shen Wei!”

Shen Zechuan’s breath hitched.

“Shen Wei abandoned the defensive line at Chashi River; he allowed the Biansha Horsemen in. A scimitar slit your shiniang’s throat, but what she suffered before her last breath would make Ji Gang wish he’d died instead.”

He continued mercilessly, “Duanzhou fell into enemy hands. You said your brother saved you.” Ji Lei sat up and studied the back of his hand. “Ji Mu, huh? Ji Gang raised you, and Ji Mu was your older brother: Ji Gang’s only son, the only continuation of Ji Gang’s bloodline, and the Ji Clan’sonly descendant. But because of Shen Wei—because of you—he’s dead too. Pierced by a thousand arrows, his remains forgotten in the sinkhole, humiliated and trampled under the hooves of Biansha horses. If Ji Gang’sstill alive, I wonder how he felt as he collected his son’s body.”

Shen Zechuan surged up, but Ji Lei easily shoved him back down and held him there.

Shen Wei colluded with the enemy and betrayed his country. That is a debt you must shoulder. When you plead for your life today, know that countless ghosts of Zhongbo are wailing for justice. When you dream tonight, seek your shiniang and your shifu among the dead. You might bealive, but it’s a life more agonizing than death. Can you forgive Shen Wei for all this? If you exonerate him, then you’ll be letting your shifu and his entire family down. Ji Gang raised and nurtured you. How could you disgrace him with such a disloyal and unfilial act?

“Besides, even if you drag out a feeble existence, not a soul in this world will pity you. Now that you’re in Qudu, you’ve become Shen Wei. The rage of the common folk cannot be quelled; countless people hate you to the core. Your death is a foregone conclusion. Rather than dying for nothing, why not speak frankly to His Majesty and come clean about Shen Wei’s crimes? It would comfort your shifu’s departed spirit.”

He suddenly stopped. Shen Zechuan, still pinned to the wooden bed, smiled up at him, his deathly pallor gone frostier still.

“Shen Wei did not collude with the enemy.” Shen Zechuan bit each word out through clenched teeth. “Shen Wei never colluded with the enemy!”

Ji Lei lifted Shen Zechuan from the bed and slammed him against thewall. Bits of earth and dust rained down, and the impact was enough to setShen Zechuan coughing.

“There are so many ways to kill you,” Ji Lei said. “Unappreciative little bastard. You managed to escape death by the skin of your teeth. Doyou think you can survive past today?” He kicked the cell door open and dragged Shen Zechuan into the hall.

“I’m impartial in my duties and serve at the pleasure of the empress dowager. But there are plenty in Great Zhou who can do as they please without consequence. If you’re so hopelessly foolish, I’ll honor yourwishes. You want to die so badly? Well, someone’s here to kill you!”

The city gates of Qudu opened wide, and a line of pitch-black armored cavalry stormed through like rolling thunder. Ji Lei dragged Shen Zechuan along the main road to meet them. The Embroidered Uniform Guard scattered, and the packed crowd parted to make way for the horses.

A Libei gyrfalcon circled overhead as the clang of armor rever berated in Shen Zechuan’s chest. The rumble of hooves drew nearer. He opened his eyes and saw the horse in the lead charging straight for him. The steed beneath the heavy armor was a ferocious beast, huffing out hot clouds of air. It skidded to a stop just as it threatened to crash into them and reared back dangerously. Before its front hooves hit the ground, its rider had already leapt off.

Ji Lei stepped forward, calling, “Welcome, Xiao—”

The rider didn’t spare Ji Lei a glance. He marched straight up to Shen Zechuan, who barely had time to shift his shackles before the rider kicked him square in the chest, swift as lightning. The kick was so powerful he had no chance to steel himself; the impact sent him tumbling. Shen Zechuan opened his mouth and vomited until nothing was left but blood.

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