171 Why?

 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 as they walked in, was rancid. Then she noted it, an aphrodisiac mixed with an hallucinogenic.  She held up her hand, "Stop!" she whispered, "mouths covered. Do not, repeat, do not breathe in the air."

The response was instant. Those who had face coverings applied them, those that didn't took up positions outside. 'Please! Don't have succumbed to this Băo,' she muttered under her breathe as she allowed her instincts to lead her to where she felt him.

As she entered the room, she stopped and covered her mouth with her hands.

Second Master separated from the two Hammers. They went on, into the woodland to explore the Forge and hopefully start getting it back up and running. Second Master kept jogging. He had been told to follow the smell of burning and the eventual sight of the fires. They smoked and spat, as the fat of the corpses rendered down in the heat. It was unmistakably human, and most animals stayed well away.

Two men stood upwind from the fires, leaning on long handled shovels. They were perfectly relaxed as they unceremoniously threw another, spitting, groaning body onto the fire. Chatting away, it was clear they were happy; the news of Chenxi's freedom had reached them and they were already discussing what they were going to do next. 

Second Master slowed and walked up to them. When they saw him, they stiffened. They had never seen their Commander in Chief up close, but recognised the uniform immediately. They both stood straight, holding the shovels at their side as if they were weapons.

"Sir!"

"At ease, gentlemen. No need for ceremony here." He smiled and the two men relaxed just a little.

Second Master continued, "I presume these are the dead from Chenxi? They look like they have floated here."

"Yes, Sir. Madam Min suggested we cook them off so as to reduce the pollution building up in the lake. As she said, we fish here, we want it free of dead Mu dogs, Sir."

"Excellent. Excellent." Second Master smiled. "If you could tell me where Madam Min is, I would like to pay my respects and see if my wife is there."

"Of course, Sir. Follow that path up a way and you'll come across the camp. Either that, or you'll come across some of the children. They often play between us and the camp where its safer."

"Thank you, I will leave you to your work." With that Second Master turned up the hill, heart pounding. After all these years he would finally see his wife. As he walked, he replayed incidents they had shared. The moment she said yes, when he proposed marriage. The time they realised she was pregnant with their first and the excitement of watching her belly grow. A sharp pang hit him. Her belly grow. Yes, and now.... he couldn't continue that memory.

" What you doing here mister?"

He stopped and looked down at this scrap of nothing, no more that three or four years old. Tears welled up. This is how old his youngest was when he left. He sniffed and pulled back the tears. "I'm looking for Madam Min."

"Oh, then I'll take you there." With a happy smile and the innocence of the cocoon she had been brought up in, she boldly took him by the hand and skipped ahead, pulling him up into the woodland. 

 

Xin opened the door onto what could only be described as a horror show. Beds lined the walls each with a woman chained to it. One leg was permanently attached to the rail of the bed, restricting their movements and stopping them from escaping. Near each bed stood a bucket, and from the smell, it was clear this was their latrine. One had been knocked over and the human excrement spewed out on the floor next to her cot. Flies buzzed around, grubs squelched in and out of the foam ridden pots.

The beds were little improved, each one covered by a filthy sheet which had seen many a man's semen. Blood stained the central areas revealing the truth about many of these women; originally, they had been maids, unwed and still complete. Xin wondered how many had died on these cots, only to be replaced with another who had arrived in one of those prison carts.

This didn't horrify her, she could accept this as the reality of a low class whore house. She thought back and remembered how Min had stopped her being taken to one when she was really young. Some men like them very young it seems. What did they call it? Unharvested rice ready to be winnowed? She shrugged.

No. What horrified her the most was Băo leaning over a cot and crying. 

She turned to the Blades who had entered the room. They looked on in horror. "Listen to me," she commanded, "these women cannot be saved and they know it. Even if we did, they would kill themselves. The shame of this and the diseases they must carry, would be too much to live with." She looked at each of them, "This is a hard thing to do and I ask only those who can care enough to do this for me, but these women need to be killed." There was a sharp intake of breathe and the men stared at her incredulously.

"Yes, I know it sounds dreadful, but you are not women and you cannot think like one. I promise, this is the kindness they desire, can you do that?"

Several shrank back. This was too far for them and they couldn't follow her. A couple stepped forward. "I have a sister," one said, "and if this was done to her, she would ask to be killed or given the knife to do it herself. I understand." He looked at the man standing to his right. He nodded. "If this was my wife, sister or cousin, I would give them the knife if they asked for it." The two men looked at each other, "Let us ask each of these women what they really want and we will comply with their wishes."

Xin smiled and touched their arms, "I love your honesty and your gentleness. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." With that, she walked into the room and went over to Băo.

 

"There's Auntie!" The little girl called, "Auntie, there's someone who wants to see you." The little girl dragged Second Master right up to Madam Min. "Auntie, here he is." She looked at the man and beamed, "I'm going back now, we're playing Tag and I want to win this time." She turned and skipped off in the direction she had arrived.

"Second Master." Min looked at him with a mix of softness and sadness. "You are here to see your wife?"

He nodded but couldn't speak.

"Sit down and let me explain some things to you first. I do not know how she will react, even if she does. She is in deep shock and no matter what we do, we cannot seem to pull her out of it. She hasn't spoken since she arrived. She will eat, but only if the children force her to eat something. She sits and they play all around her. They love her to pieces but even they cannot reach her. I placed a screaming baby onto her lap the other day and she did nothing. I am worried about her mental state. Whatever she went through, and chances are we wont find out, she has blocked it so forcefully, she no longer functions." Min touched his arm and looked directly into his eyes with a gentleness which could melt snowdrifts. "Expect nothing. If she recognises you, then that is good. If she doesn't, then give her time." Min turned to a small area further up the pass. "She'll be up there. Some of the children play around her. You'll hear their laughter." With that, she gently pushed his arm suggesting he go and see for himself.