He crouched briefly against the wall while squashing the urge to cough. Fortunately, none of the Tiger Masks had appeared to have noticed him; they all continued to focus on their various tasks. That would soon change, however. There was no cover between them and him.
Hong Fei took more essence from his lower cauldron to distribute it through the rest of his body. He wiped the sweat from his palm, then transferred the chisel from his injured to good hand. “In about ten breaths,” he whispered, “I’ll summon you—”
A bell interrupted him, ringing three times. The sound had come from outside the mine entrance.
“Hold on,” Hong Fei whispered. He’d instinctively dropped to the ground and fit himself into the crease between the floor and the wall. His eyes darted to where his enemies gathered, yet they weren’t alarmed—he saw them calmly putting on their masks.
Afterward, the One in Charge moved outside of Hong Fei’s line of sight, and a bell sounded from that direction, ringing just once.
A donkey pulling a cart entered the chamber moments later. The beast was led by a young man and followed by a gaggle of children in their early teens. In the cart itself was a large pot. Tied to the cart bed’s walls on the outside were bundles of produce, as well as five small cages containing a chicken each.
All of the Tiger Masks except for the One in Charge left to enter a nearby tunnel. They were still gone by the time the donkey finished its slow approach across the chamber. The young man at the fore bowed deeply to the One in Charge, then commanded the children to unload the produce and chicken cages.
The children rushed to do as they were told. They also scurried to collect the waste pots kept inside the prisoner cages and dump them into the big pot in the cart. Some of the captives called out to the children, but the pleas were ignored.
It was clear that none of the visitors wanted to anger the Tiger Masks. They kept their eyes on the ground while working. They bowed anytime they came near the One in Charge.
Hong Fei’s memory prodded him. There was a boy larger than the others who moved in a way that seemed familiar. Yet, when would Hong Fei have run into him previously? He rarely dealt with children, with the exception of Little Ruyun.
Thinking of the young girl, Hong Fei was reminded of the day he’d saved her from falling under a stone-carrying wagon. She’d been chased at the time by a group she’d called the “Rock Knife brats.”
Hong Fei gasped when he realized the large boy was the one who’d led the chase after Little Ruyun. These were the children of Rock Knife gangsters. His gut told him this piece of intelligence was useful, but not how… at least not yet.
By then, the Brats had finished their tasks and lined up beside the donkey. They appeared to be waiting. The reason became clear shortly thereafter when the Tiger Masks who’d left earlier came back with more pots, which were handed over to the children to dump into the cart. That done, the pots were returned, the donkey turned around, and the Brats headed out.
The Tiger Masks, meanwhile, argued about who would take the emptied containers back inside. A pair of dice came out, and the One in Charge ignored the brief game of chance to determine the losers: Soup Eater and a woman with yellow scarf. The pair collected the emptied waste pots and left for the mine’s interior.
Hong Fei eyes narrowed in satisfaction. Only three enemies remained. The timing… he thought, gauging the likely distances traveled by both the donkey and the Tiger Masks returning the pots to where they belonged. He began creeping forward.
The One in Charge ordered his underlings to check over the produce. Meanwhile, he went to stand over the chickens, apparently picking one out for slaughter.
Hong Fei’s nerves tingled. His anticipation rose. There might be more Tiger Masks inside than he’d estimated, but the risk was worth taking—to both diminish his enemies’ strength and deprive them of Fate Points.
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A signal flashed through his mind, his intuition telling him this was the moment to go. He immediately lifted up, and his essence flared inside him as he darted forward. His steps flew across the stone floor whisper quiet, yet the prisoners in the cages spotted him. Several gasped. A young lad cried out in surprise.
The One in Charge looked over at the prisoners. “Shut up—” he began, then turned to see what had caught their attention.
Hong Fei’s chisel took him through the neck, the tapered edge sliding between the vertebrae to come out the other side. The One in Charge gagged. His hands reached up to throw Hong Fei off but only managed to flail weakly.
Hong Fei rode the body to the ground and smashed his enemy’s head into the stone floor. Blood splattered as the One in Charge’s nose broke. Essence powered the next bash, and the man’s skull cracked from the impact.
Scanning the area, Hong Fei saw that the other Tiger Masks were shocked by his sudden arrival. With a face, hair, and clothes all white from rock dust—he must’ve looked an evil spirit come out from the mine’s depths, yet his enemies still chose to charge him. He shook his bloody chisel at them, then retreated to draw them to his side of the cages.
Their attention on him, they didn’t see the giant badger being painted into existence. Hong Fei laughed at the Tiger Masks; he couldn’t help himself.
The prisoners shrieked in surprise as Auntie Ling appeared from behind them and threw herself onto one of the enemies’ back. Her claws carved into the man’s shoulder, separating the arm and sending it flying. The limb smashed against the bars of a cage. Someone inside vomited. The badger followed her first attack with a swipe through the man’s torso, tearing through his guts.
Meanwhile, the last of the Tiger Masks realized her predicament. Auntie Ling stood between her and the bell. She ran instead for the tunnel leading deeper into the mine. Hong Fei chased after her, yet she proved faster, so he threw the chisel, the impromptu weapon spinning end over end to strike her flat against the shoulder.
She stumbled briefly, though not enough to break her stride. Hong Fei “tsked” and was suddenly passed by Auntie Ling. The giant badger bowled into the fleeing Tiger Mask, and the woman disappeared under the spirit beast.
A breath later, the enemy’s head went rolling. It came to a stop against the entrance to the tunnel that had been her goal.
Hong Fei quickly scanned his surroundings. The enemies were dead, and while Auntie Ling’s ears swiveled, she didn’t appear alarmed. The people deeper inside the mine hadn’t heard the skirmish.
He moved toward the body of the One in Charge and took the sword at the man’s side. Drawing the blade to examine it, he thought, Do we ambush next? No, there’s too much blood on the ground. The enemy will know right away something’s wrong. We’ll have to go in after them. Either that or run.
Sliding the blade home, he glanced toward the prisoners. The young man with the red 3 appeared safe, as did the woman with the white 1 in the same cage with him. The other captives had finally calmed and a few even seemed to recognize him. Or more accurately, they recognized Auntie Ling from the stories they’d heard about her.
There wasn’t much time to make a decision, but he needed more information before he could do so. “Break the locks,” he commanded.
None of the cages withstood Auntie Ling’s strength. The prisoners emerged from them looking wary and grateful at once.
Hong Fei’s eyes sought out the individual the others looked to for guidance, which appeared to be a matron old enough to be a many-times grandmother, with a drooping nose and wart on her forehead the size of thumb’s knuckle.
He strode toward her. “Do you know the number of enemies inside? What about the sentries or guards outside?”
She was quick of wit, this grandmother, and she answered, “There are another two who ought to be asleep right now. They watch over the cages at night. I don’t know about outside, but…” she went among the other prisoners to pull forward the one who’d most recently arrived.
That young woman had a round face and thick brows making her look like a small animal, especially when she shook her head. “I didn’t see no one. The Rock Knives took me as I was runnin’ an errand for the boss. They handed me over where no one else was around.”
“We’re at the tip of the Dragon’s Tail,” the Grandmother clarified. “It’s what the empty quarries around here are called. People don’t come to visit except for a scavenger now and then.”
“There’s got to be someone,” Hong Fei muttered. “I can’t believe there are no sentries.”
The Grandmother’s hands twisted together. “Hero, what should we do? Is it safe to run?”
“Not yet, not without knowing for sure if the way is open,” Hong Fei replied. “You’d best stay here for now while my friend and I deal with the rest inside this base, then we’ll escort you out.” He paused to check the exit. “If the bell rings, don’t respond to it. And if someone arrives, pretend to be trapped in the cages. I’ll come back as quickly as I can.”
The Grandmother nodded seriously. She placed a hand on his arm. “Be careful.” Then she turned to the others and herded them back toward the cages. “You heard the lad. We’ll pretend to still be caught.”
Hong Fei left them to it. He gestured for Auntie Ling to walk alongside him.
The tunnel ahead was smaller than the one he’d come from—sized for people rather than the transportation of marble. It was only wide enough for five people to walk abreast rather than twenty-five. And after a short walk, they actually came upon an old wooden door blocking the way.
A bronze plaque nailed into the adjacent wall read “Office.”
Hong Fei put his ear against the door and heard a pair of voices arguing. The sound was steadily growing louder, so he stepped to the side. The first thing the person who opened the door would see was Auntie Ling. She would also be the last.
ten chapters ahead. :)