111 There they are....

 It was almost dark when we arrived. The blades and arrows weren’t as adept in the dark as Băo’s men, so they hung back, following us in small groups. They were quiet but not as silent as I would wish. Approaching the first dwelling it was clear this was not the place, no lights, no smells, we moved on.

Another dwelling and the same result. Băo tapped my arm and pointed. In the distance I could see a faint light at what would be window height. I smiled. I dropped into a crouch and the men did the same. In whispers I told the blades and arrows to stay at a distance but kill anything they saw move. They nodded and moved out, creating a circular shield around the building. No-one would be getting in, but most importantly, no-one would be getting out.

The next circle was that of the Blades. They created a tighter circle around the place; that left me with the eight most senior Blades. Hao remained in the outer ring with the troops whilst Băo maintained the second ring. I went towards the house; it sounded as if they were have a lovely time. I smelt testosterone and alcohol plus a female hormone given off in times of sex, yes, this was the place. I wanted to growl with fury but that would wait, first we had to gain entry without disturbing their revelry. I reached into my pouch and found my new weapon, a glove. This was modelled on the paw of a mountain cat. I had received enough scratches from one of these to know what a terrifyingly painful weapon it was; what better a place to test it out.

I gestured to the eight to be prepared to enter but with stealth. Those inside were pre-occupied with the ‘entertainment’ and the alcohol, they had made the mistake of not watching the door.

Slowly, I entered.

Behind came the Blades.

I gestured, “silent”. Their faces said a thousand words but I wasn’t about to let the perpetrators off with a swift death, no, more a long and painful life.

“I see you are having fun?” The man who was in the process raping Xin, looked up at the sound of a woman and sneered a salacious grin, “Come to join the party love?”

He was high on hormones and alcohol, easy prey. Reaching forward, I slashed his shoulder with the paw and wrenched him backwards. He turned ready to retaliate but my knife had found his private parts and grabbing them, I sliced them off, throwing them on the stove. Sizzling and spitting, the smell of roasting flesh stung the nostrils; he collapsed to the floor, holding his crutch, trying to stem the bleeding.

The other men were so stunned they hadn’t moved but found there was at least one very heavily armed man standing in front of them, each with a blade to their throat.

“One of you come over and untie Xin. Take her outside and give her to Major Băo, she needn’t see this part, but the rest of you, form a cordon, these men do not leave until I give permission.”

“Ma’am.”

I looked down at Xin. They had her spread eagled out over a table, legs and arms tied to the four legs of the table. She had been stripped and there were cuts and brand marks across her breasts, belly and thighs.

I bristled.

She looked at me with a mixture of relief, pain and fear. “Don’t worry sister, I’m here and these men are mine now. Just as you will never forget, I will leave them so they will never forget either and will brand them for what they are. No-one messes with Twin Hammers do they dearest?”

She tried to speak but I stopped her, “Save your strength. Here,” I wrapped her in a piece of cloth I found on the floor, “Băo is outside and he’ll be waiting for you. These nice men will take you to him.” I kissed the top of her head and smiled as she left the hut.

She looked back and saw the blackness in my eyes return, the cold, hard river of death as it swept over me and into every part of my being. I was deathly calm and clear headed. These men were mine and they would remember tonight for the rest of their miserable lives.

“The remainder of you, close ranks, and throw those men inside the cordon. They are all mine!”

The men were very sober all of a sudden. One of their number was writhing in pain on the floor, blood pouring out of his crotch. You could smell their fear; my time, my playtime.

“All of you, drop your breeches, let’s see who wishes to become a eunuch first.” Now the fear rose, panic broke out in the room and they turned in the hope of running. The Blades stood solid, turning them back to face me. “Ma’am said to drop your breeches! Do as she said, or we will do it for you!” One of the Blades barked.

The breeches started to come off, some being more reluctant than others. “Don’t tell me when the other woman was in the room, you were reluctant at getting the pants off.” I walked over to one of the boys who was being extremely slow and slashed his face with the paw. He screamed in great pain and quickly dropped his breeches. Seeing this, the rest followed suit. I giggled at the sight, half a dozen men standing with their pants down around their ankles. Without realising they had hobbled themselves.

I walked over and inspected their private parts with the paw. As I did so, the claws caught the delicate skin and pulled and cut so small pools of blood began to trickle down their legs. One of them stood with a partly engorged member; it was clear this man had either just had sex with Xin or was getting erotic pleasure from all of this – he was my next target.

“What do we have here?” I looked into his eyes whilst holding up his private parts with the paw. “Certainly looks like we have been playing recently. Did you enjoy it? I hope so, because it will probably be the last time you get to use it.” My hand came upward rapidly and slashed his private parts into ribbons. None would function again. His eyes narrowed with hatred as he screamed in pain. “If you're lucky, I might kill you, but then, the slashes might kill you first.” I smiled, “arsenic is a slow but powerful poison and favoured by my sister and I. The poison should be moving up your body by now. Ho hum.” I turned to the others in the room. They attempted to get out but were made to stand and face me. All wanted was to either die quickly or get out. They began fighting the Blades men but quickly found their trousers hampered their actions.

“Be careful, all my men are skilled bladesmen and they too favour the arsenic. If you get nicked by their blades you’ll never be sure of you’ve not been poisoned.”

I pushed the first man’s private parts off the stove and onto the floor, they had cooked and were going a delicate shade of burnt. I was more interested in the brands I had noted lying around. “Time for branding I think, now which would be the best for ….. the face, no, chest.” I smiled as I looked at the terrified faces in front of me, “Men have a habit of covering brands with a beard. No, I want the brand to be clear so any woman can see, but then, you wont be raping any woman, as a eunuch, you will have a very different life ahead of you.”

Picking up a brand I had seen used on Xin’s breast, I heated it up in the fire. Finding a piece of wood, I fanned the fire, making the brand hotter. Once almost white hot, I walked towards the first in the queue. He screamed as the hot brand came into contact with his chest.

He collapsed.

Each man sweated as the brand came closer to them in that queue; each time I branded, the screams would have echoed around the forest. I knew Xin would hear. This was for her.

“Lastly, I think it only fair each of these men is given a new role in life. Blades, this is your chance to act for Madam Xin Yi.”

“Ma’am!” and with that, each of the mice were rendered neutered, their parts thrown into the fire.

“Time to go. Come. I don’t know about you, but I really need tea and some food. Who’s making the fire?” A hand went up.

“I’ll collect the wood.”

“I’ll do water.”