House of Chen

  Madam Min stared at the remnants of her beloved town. Much of what she remembered had gone. The milliners which had stood on the corner was now a pile of burned out rubble. The butchers was boarded up as was the flower shop. The stalls which had once housed a bustling throng of people and sellers were just splintered wood lying, desolate on the floor. She walked further expecting to see carnage, but arrived at a scene which made her heart sing. Her boarding house was whole and vibrant. It had been rebuilt and repurposed, housing the children and some of the women she had collected and brought back. One saw her and yelled out, "Auntie!" Others looked up, and all came running to her, like chicklets to its mother. "You're here." "You're back." "Auntie, we missed you. Where's Tantan? She wasn't with us?" At that moment a frightened face appeared from behind Madam Min's skirts. "Tantan!" one little girl exclaimed and pu...

  Returning to Chenxi took longer than Madam Min had expected, but the sheer logistics of moving everyone, especially the children who insisted on running around, all excitedly, as well as all the reclaimed goods, required several journeys and controlled logistics. She had stayed behind until everything was cleared, ticking it all off her sheet as they went. Taking one final look around, she saw a little girl clutching a blanket, huddled under a tree. "Why are you still here, little one?" "I'm scared Auntie. What if the bad men are still there. What of they want to hurt me again?" Min's heart lurched as she looked into the little girl's face. She was another who had seen and experienced too much. "They are all gone now." she cooed, "the nice soldiers have sent them all away and now we've been told we can go back." "Are you sure Auntie?" Her eyes were filled with fear and tears spilled down her face. Min took her in her a...

  Min watched Second Master go up the hill toward his wife. She shook her head. 'I feel for him. I feel for her. She needs help otherwise she will not get through this ordeal.' She shook her head again, then, with resolve, ' this won't get the move done', she called the adults together for a meeting. It was time to move out and take everything they had salvaged back to Chenxi, ready for the rebuilding. She was under no illusions as to just how bad it would be. They needed carts, wagons, anything they could muster to get them all back. Assigning jobs to people, she sent them off to complete their tasks, then lifted herself off her chair and straightened her back. She was getting too old for all of this. Slowly, she left the make shift hut and started the trek up the hill to where she knew Yiran would be sitting. She heard it before she saw it. Reaching into her apron pocket she pulled out a vial in preparation. Yongle looked at her with obvious worry. "Its alrig...

  Xin went over to Băo and placed her hand on his shoulder. She felt his body tremble and she noted tears were falling on the face of the woman on the cot. "You know her?" "She is my sister." Xin tensed. She had never seen him like this. She didn't even know he had a sister, they never had time to talk about things like that. She quietly muttered to herself, 'when we have time, we must sit and tell each other of our pasts, our families, our hopes and dreams.' Out loud, all she could say was, "I'm sorry." He turned his head and faced her. Tears were falling freely down his cheeks. There was nothing but anguish in his eyes. "Is she dead?" Xin looked down and held a finger under her nose. There was the faintest of breaths, but it was clear she was close to death. "Barely." He looked down at her. "I can't let her suffer any more like this, I really can't." "Would you like me to do it?" "No. I...

  It was some time before Xin found Băo and his pack. The back street was very busy and reaching him was fraught with the possibility of being seen. She called out her signature sound and waited for the response. Her Blades had followed her, protecting her like a most precious, and delicate sister. "I hear a response," one of the Blades whispered. Another nodded and they slowly advanced towards the source of the sound. She called again. This time there was a question in it. "Where are you?" The answer came, but with a rider, "be prepared for what you'll see." Xin, was thoughtful. There wasn't much that shocked her any more. These past few years had hardened her into a creature far removed form the girl she had been five years ago. She looked at her pack. "We go in, but be aware as always. Create a perimeter." They nodded. They would do this naturally, why was she emphasising it? The name read, Pleasure Palace, but the smell which hit them...

  The fight in Tangun had been going well. The ghost soldiers, dragging their swords on the cobbled streets had left a lasting impression on the public and soldiers alike. People were seen bolting their doors at night, only to pack up and flee to the outer suburbs during the day. The centre of Tangun, once a thriving market place, was now a ghost town. The Blades deployed each of their three packs independently, operating in separate parts of the town. One targeted the wealthy district, setting small fires, walking with flaming branches, swords clattering, moans loud enough the scare the gentry. Another went to the retail district where stores of food, clothing and jewellery were housed in small warehouses. The owners lived above, now so scared they did not open their storefronts. The final pack focused on the dock area, collapsing wharf infrastructure, sinking small vessels and sending boatmen into the water. Poles were mysteriously broken, boats drifting down river, still with ca...