Fate's Attendant 1.26

Hong Fei awoke from a dream in which he was an old tree whose trunk had cracked open. Qi seeped out of him like a golden syrup, and the hungry ghosts of his dead comrades crowded around to lap it up with their tongues.

He rubbed his eyes, then grabbed for the tea cup on the table beside him. He barely tasted the tepid contents before starting to stand, only to be stopped when he realized a blanket had been placed on his lap.

Wouldn’t that have been foolish? To trip in his hurry to return to duty.

Hong Fei took a breath to shake away the bad dream. He folded the blanket with careful precision, then went outside where he found Auntie Ling waiting for him. She was on her back gazing up at the stars.

She stood with a twist to come greet him, but before he could say anything, she pushed him into returning to the salon. On the main table were a set of covered bowls. Only then did Hong Fei realize he was starving. The last food he’d eaten was a small portion of fish and that was hours ago.

Pork-filled buns, rice balls stuffed with braised greens, and a jelly made from local figs—they were foods that were as tasty cold as they were hot. None of it was extraordinary, but the food filled him up.

While he ate, Hong Fei explained the day’s events to Auntie Ling, and she nodded enthusiastically when he came to his suspicion about yellow numbers—that they were for people in need of connection.

She asked to see his card afterward, and he showed off the “Fate Points: 3 | 5” to her, which pleased her no end.

Auntie Ling was less sanguine when asked for an explanation of red numbers. Valiantly, she tried by removing the pork from a bun and then reassembling it. She did the same with a rice ball, but when Hong Fei suggested that red was the color for filling things up, she shook her head.

Then inspiration struck! She took two pork buns and mashed them together. A moment later, she cut away bits of one which she rolled into tiny balls with the pad of her paw.

When Hong Fei stared dumbly, she repeatedly bumped the buns together, then pointed at the smaller balls. The third time, she split open one of the buns after bumping them and made it seem like the small balls fell out of it.

“No!” Hong Fei exclaimed, finally understanding. “But how? He’s a man and can’t get pregnant.”

Auntie Ling gave him a flat stare.

“He needs to become a father,” Hong Fei corrected.

She replied with a so-so gesture, then returned to the two buns. She placed them apart, then brought them together.

“He needs to find a wife,” Hong Fei clarified.

Auntie Ling sighed in relief and nodded.

“So… there’s a marriage match for Rock Head who needs to be connected to his web.” Hong Fei rubbed at his beard in thought. “But how does that feed the magic of the cards? How do any of the numbers?”

Auntie Ling pointed to a place on his card. It was the collection of symbols that assembled into a word: “Fate.”

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Hong Fei wore a long coat to hide the motley of dark colors under it. Auntie Ling was in her card, tucked away in the satchel at his side. He didn’t expect to see action that evening, but the chance existed, and a dūtóu wasn’t meant to operate alone.

Still, he walked through the estate in good humor and mentioned to the patrols he encountered that he was headed to the Night Market. He asked each soldier he met for their advice on which stalls to visit—food, drink, shopping, and entertainment. He wanted all their suggestions.

It was a moment of camaraderie, since people tended to enjoy talking about their favorite things. And now they knew where he’d be for the evening. Anything that happened elsewhere wouldn’t be attributed to him unless he wanted it to be.

He didn’t think there’d be any danger to Little Ruyun while he was out, but he’d warned the Kang family, just in case. They’d thanked him and locked the door to their quarters afterward. As he’d left them, he noticed that several of the kitchen knives were missing.

As for Fortune’s Favor, he’d hidden it among the rafters of his salon.

Hong Fei wasn’t the only one out and about. A steady flow of residents from the high city traveled to and from the night market. Oil lanterns lit the streets, casting a warm glow onto the people under them.

Farther down, the city’s center was aglow with the wash of lantern light. Every stall at the night market had at least one, adding to the ambiance. The murmur of voices could be heard from a block away.

Lights traveled across the ropeways under the bridge, like fireflies determined to go from one side of the gorge to the other.

Hong Fei wove his way into the night market crowd. While on the high-city side, he made a point of stopping to buy beef skewers, then moved on to drinking a cup of rice wine while watching a barbarian fire dancer perform. On the mid-city side, he ate plate of chicken dumplings and drank another cup of wine before moving on.

Each of the places he’d stopped at had been recommended to him. He planned to visit those soldiers tomorrow to thank them.

Feeling overly full, Hong Fei strolled between the stalls for a while longer, purchasing a slim backpack that would work for his purposes. The durable cloth was dyed the color of charcoal, the stitching neat and tight.

He also spotted a few off-duty Yu retainers enjoying the market, and they saw him, too. None were in uniform, so they didn’t salute, but a few nodded his way, which he counted as progress. He nodded in return and kept strolling.

He thought it might be time to transition from looking for numbers to making his way to the Ma family’s residence when a pair of numbers—a gray 1 and a white 1—appeared two rows over. The tips of the 1’s poked up from behind a wooden sign.

Hong Fei slipped between the stalls and saw it was a place selling eggs and scallions wrapped in buckwheat pancakes. The regular customers appeared to have cleared out to make room for the gang’s arrival—three men and two women, all with stone weapons at their sides.

The gray 1 belonged to a woman with sharp features and some of the fingers on her left hand missing. The white 1 floated above a man in flamboyant red clothing, which was a bold choice given that such displays were usually reserved for those at the Qi Blossoming realm.

Hong Fei’s eyes glittered in calculation. He changed directions, so that he could watch over the gang members from the audience of a pair of tumblers performing—a brother and sister, likely at the cusp of Body-Forged. A bronze coin tossed their way ensured that they wouldn’t bother him.

The Rock Knives took over the pancake seller’s stall. A pair of them left briefly to bring back jugs of wine. They laughed and joked with each other. Pancake after pancake was placed in front of the group, the food disappearing into their gullets.

Hong Fei thought they might stay there all night. His attention shifted when a new number 1 arrived on the scene—it was that split-face who’d run from him, the one who’d been after the Kang family.

The brother and sister changed their performance, so that they lifted each other up, then dove to the ground before tumbling back to standing. Hong Fei tossed another coin their way.

Meanwhile, the gang members who’d been at the stall stood up at Split-Face’s arrival. They listened respectfully while he spoke, then left with him, heading to the market’s western exit.

Not toward the low city, then, Hong Fei thought.

When he stood up to leave, the brother and sister paused their performance to bow to him. He acknowledged their thanks before hurrying after the gang.

The Rock Knives went east then south, the street sloping up as the mid-city rose in parallel to the high city across the gorge. From what Hong Fei had heard, the residents here were quick to point out that they lived at the same elevation as the those in the high city. The buildings grew more ornate, the trim and paint colors brighter, even in the lamp light.

They passed a few small estates, their courtyards hidden by walls and closed gates. Then Ma Mo stepped out from a narrow alley ahead. He’d apparently been lounging there and waiting.

Split-Face jogged forward to meet him, the Rock Knife rubbed his hands together, and his head bobbed as he spoke. Ma Mo pointed to an estate across the way, slightly larger than the ones around it, then he disappeared back into the alley. From his posture, it’d seemed that he’d found Split-Face distasteful.

The Rock Knives conferred after Ma Mo left. They split up into two teams of three to slip into the alleys on either side of the designated estate.

When they were out of view, Hong Fei carefully checked and saw that Ma Mo hadn’t lingered. Catching up shouldn’t be difficult, but it was a more enticing prospect to learn what the Rock Knives planned for the estate.

Hong Fei retrieved a dark scarf from his long coat’s pocket to wrap it around his nose and mouth, tying it so that the scarf wouldn’t interfere with his swordplay should it become necessary. He then removed the coat to store it in his new backpack.

Split-Face had gone left, so that was the direction Hong Fei picked, padding lightly into the alley. Up ahead, the scarred man was being lifted so that he could grab ahold of the top of the courtyard’s wall. The clouds were heavy that night, blocking the moon and stars, so it was only light spilling over the wall that illuminated his target.

Hong Fei crouched in the darkness. The Rock Knives had a woman on watch, but her eyes slid past the swordsman’s motley. Hong Fei narrowed his own eyes to keep the whites from showing.

Over the wall, Split-Face went. He was quickly followed by the lookout who was also boosted up and over. The last remaining member of the gang stayed in the alley, however. Hong Fei counted to ten, and it seemed this new lookout wasn’t going anywhere. The man turned one way then the other to ensure the alley was clear of observers.

When the lookout was faced away from him, Hong Fei rushed in with a whisper of essence. A hand blocked the man’s mouth; a knife stabbed him in the kidney and stayed there holding the blade in place until Hong Fei could step to the side. Blood spurted, but it was kept away from splashing him.

The lookout slumped to the ground, his life taken.

Dustborn, Hong Fei noted. A touch more essence sent the swordsman jumping to grab the top of the wall and pull himself up so that only his eyes showed.

On the other side was a small garden, with three of the Rock Knives among the flowers and one already on the roof of the main building. It was the man with the red clothes; his white number 1 marked him clearly against the tiles. He disappeared over the roof’s peak, taking the number with him. From the estate’s layout, it looked like there’d be a second, smaller courtyard that way.

No guards stood out in front, so the Rock Knives approached the doors without obstruction. Unnoticed by them, Hong Fei slipped over the wall and landed softly on the other side. A few of the flowers nearby had already been trampled by the gang members passing through them.

Red-Clothes came back over the roof’s peak to signal the back courtyard was clear, then he maintained his position to watch the main gate. Missing-Fingers tried the doors, but they appeared be locked, and the shuttered windows were barred.

The Rock Knives conferred, then Split-Face gestured, and Missing-Fingers retrieved a pair of small metals tools from a pouch at her side. She crouched at the door to pick the lock.

They’ve come prepared, Hong Fei noted.

A pair of oil lamps lit the garden. They spoiled the gang’s night vision, which let him move from shadow to shadow and work his way forward until he reached an outbuilding. From the decorations, it looked to be a visiting hall for guests.

Hong Fei carefully climbed up and onto the roof. Staying below the peak, he continued until he came to a section potentially putting him in view of Red-Clothes.

The swordsman took a long breath and felt the essence warming his limbs. His eyes sought an alternative route, but the opposite side mirrored this one. He’d have to risk the leap to the main building.

An exclamation came from the door, then it was hushed. Red-Clothes approached the roof’s edge to peer over the side, down below. Hong Fei used this moment of his distraction to make the jump and move into the man’s peripheral vision. From there, he slipped across a ridge in the roof, out of sight. Quickly now, he padded toward the building’s centerline, then climbed up to the roof’s peak. On the other side, Red-Clothes had gone back to keeping watch.

Hong Fei slowed his breathing. He made his eyes mild, so that his quarry didn’t sense his killing intent. When he came closer, he smelled the coppery tang of essence coming from Red-Clothes.

Essence was good for enhancing the blood, muscles, nerves, and organs. To do more required qi, or for the truly advanced in cultivation, shen.

Eyes? Hong Fei thought. Readiness? Legs for jumping down? Depending on how the essence was being used, Hong Fei’s knife might not be enough.

Red-Clothes shifted as if he’d heard something. He glanced down at the front courtyard. His comrades appeared to have finally unlocked the doors. The odds were unlikely he was prepared for an attack.

Breathing steadily to keep his heart’s beat in check, Hong Fei came up from behind with an essence-fueled stab to the man’s kidney. His quarry’s cry was muffled by a hand across the mouth, then he was silenced permanently by a slice across the throat.

Ignoring the cool energy flowing into him, Hong Fei twisted the body so that the blood sprayed on the roof tiles. He hurriedly dragged it back over the peak, so that any blood spilled into the back courtyard.

Hong Fei gulped to moisten his throat. He listened intently, but didn’t hear anything from the Rock Knives below. He counted ten breaths, then carefully went around the roof’s peak to look over the edge from the side.

The area in front of the house was clear, the doors open. Presumably, the Rock Knives had gone in. Hong Fei could retreat now, having collected a number 1, and come out ahead for the evening. His duty compelled him to drop to the ground and follow the Rock Knives.

From inside the house, a woman screamed.

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ToC | Next Chapter >

Characters Mentioned in this Chapter 

• Auntie Ling, a summons 

• Kang Lian, mother to Little Ruyun 

• Kang Ruyun, daughter to Kang Lian 

• Ma Mo, a Yu guard, Ma Zhi’s cousin 

• Rock Head, a resident of the low city, has a red 3 

• Split-Face, a Rock Knife gang member who'd escaped from Hong Fei