House of Chen

 The Chen household had been a hive of activity since the visit of Second Master. Old man Chen had not settled. He was erasable, prone to bouts of violent temper,  extreme agitation, followed by further bouts of uncontrolled shouting, and screaming at people. He'd then retreat into melancholic tantrums, screaming for his wife to come to him, throwing objects around the room, then hurrying to pick up the pieces, begging her to forgive his outbursts. He was generally unhinged, even by his recent standards. His physicians did their best, but he refused to take the medication, scattering the medicine bowls across the floor, their contents spilling out over the carpets. A herbalist was brought in and after surveying his behaviours, created a potion which could be burnt and, was strong enough to calm an elephant.  " Master," she bowed to the physician in attendance, "this incense is strong, and will calm the most unsettled of minds. Once the incense had taken effect, may I...

 "If they are going to argue, then kill them. I have no time for this stupidity. Remove their heads and chuck them in the river. Their bodies can be carrion for the crows, there's plenty of them." General Li had had enough of these renegades. He was tired of fighting for the sake of it and he wanted to push on further south to join forces with the rest of the Twin Hammers. It was time to free Chenxi and begin rebuilding. He looked around at this motley crew of idiots and shrugged his shoulders. Another approached him, sword aloft,  screaming defiantly. With a sideways swipe of his sword, the man was headless, his body sinking to the floor. Grabbing the head, General Li smiled and tossed it into the vague direction of the river. Scavengers ran forward and began ripping out the tongue, pecking out the eyes, pulling on the ears; the body was still warm but the animals continued to feast and grow fat. The war zone, where heavy fighting had dominated for weeks, was drawing to ...

"Don't you recognise me? It's Madam Min" I recognised her voice but her appearance was nothing as I remembered. Madam Min had always been a stout person with long, dark hair, beautifully arranged with pins and combs and flowers, making her the belle of the tavern. From the smell of stale body odour and the state of her hair and clothes, this was far from the Madam I expected. "Please, Niao, lower your knives you're making me feel nervous and I get silly when I'm nervous."  I lowered the knives and stepped back just in case. Madam Min turned round and faced me, "Please excuse the state of me, it's been tough times here, but it is so good to see you. We thought you were dead. We didn't know what was happening, all we knew was to run in this direction and hide in the woods." She attempted to push her hair back and straighten her rags, but it didn't make any difference. I felt sad for her. Her appearance was everything and now she w...

 Commander Zhang sat in his chambers reviewing what had just happened. His brother, or half brother, he corrected himself, had come, not with cap in hand but a forward determination he recognised in himself. Instinctively, he reached for his drinking cup and poured another tea. What did this man really want? Friendship? He couldn't give him that. Alliance? Yes, that was possible. Recognition they were brothers? He recoiled from that thought. After all he had gone through, he wasn't about to let the bitterness, the hatred subside. That man had caused him to suffer all through his childhood and he wanted him to pay. ' I have informed the man he can rot in Shipao until the day he dies, he  will not be allowed back on Chen land even in death, and there will be  no place for him in the ancestral hall. He was lucid that day and his  face showed horror at what he had done,'  He remembered Second Master's words and pondered. Who was to blame? Who was really to blame? T...

 Xin bounced and laughed, clapping her hands like a child. "So excited!" She exclaimed as she continued to bounce around Bǎo's legs. He smiled indulgantly and watched as her carefully constructed rags, wafted in the breeze and for all intense and purposes, created the harmless outline of a young woman. Truth was, they hid an arsenal of weopens and powders all designed to dispatch any wrong doer who happened her way. She looked every bit the part of a rabid ghost out to have fun, but it was clear from the expression in her eyes, she was in a very dangerous mood. "I'll be watching you Missy!" He said, smirking at her playfulness. Every bit the child, every bit a dangerous hellcat when she was in full flow. "You'll be watching?" she said, circling him seductively, "you'll be ready to rip their throats out so I can continue to play?" She mischieviously ran her finger across his jaw, which tensed under the seductive power of her touch....

 The swimming and paddling had been hard work, but the progress was far better than expected. In one rather long night, they had made it to where Niao had hoped, the other side of the Reach and close to the forge and her old home. Gesturing to the others, she pointed to a landing site. Hao recognised it immediately and started steering the raft in the direction where the currents were easier. A smell of wood smoke rose in the air. They were not alone.  "Friend or foe?" Five signed. "Beach first, check after." Niao replied. Pulling in, they quickly broke the raft into its bamboo poles and used them to create sleeping pods. Tucked into the undergrowth, they couldn't be seen from the river. Niao signed to Hao, "You come with me, if they are Chen, they will recognise you. If not, then we dispatch them quickly, understood?"  Hao nodded, as did the pack. They continued setting up camp and with potential enemies surrounding them , their actions were completed...