"The Smiling Brethren"

[dochermes]

The Smiling Brethren"

5/11-5/12/1996

I.

There were twenty Chujirans in the afternoon class, mostly youngsters but with several in middle age and even one elder who participated as best he could. The students were seated in the full lotus, eyes closed, breathing deeply and slowly. Po Lin was still too tense; she fought well but could not learn to let go. At the rear, young Mu Lin was almost out of body. The boy had a natural gift for meditation.

Watching them at the front of the room, Tang Ming smiled to herself. Nearing thirty, her petite size and build made her seem younger. Just over five feet tall and slim to the point of seeming fragile, Ming's glossy black hair was cut straight across at her shoulders. The tawny gold skin tone and single eyelid fold marked her as Asian but she did not closely resemble any of the Chujirans. Ming was full Chinese from Hong Kong, living here farther from the outer world than miles could measure. She was wearing the same pale blue tunic and loose pants she herself had worn as a Tel Shai student years ago.

She softly clapped her hands twice and watched her students come back to awareness. "Thank you all for attending," she announced. "Go in peace. Tomorrow is Market Day in the village but we will have our regular classes on the following morning. And remember to practice every chance you find!"

As the class bowed deeply and began filing out into the late afternoon sunlight, Tang Ming felt she had found the correct balance between Tai Chi and Fu Jow for these people. She would love to introduce some easy form of Yoga in the mix but then the sessions would be too long. Maybe it was time to consider choosing an assistant...?

She felt a twinge at the worry that the esoteric Fang Lung style was being lost. It had been devised by the father of her one love, and Chen Wong-Lai had instructed her in its secrets not long before his death. Only Shiro Mitsuru had learned some Fang Lung and he was irrevocably retired from the Midnight War. Recently, she had been spending quiet evenings writing down the principles of Fang Lung with stick figure illustrations but that was not at all the same as actually teaching it to someone.

The sound of bare feet slapping on the polished hardwood of the floor broke her out of her thoughts. Ming glanced up as a village boy no more than ten ran headlong through the open door and dropped to one knee in front of her. Like most of the townsfolk, he wore coarse white shirt and pants bound at the waist with a sash.

"Liu? What is the matter?" she asked as she took him by one arm to raise him to his feet. She often found the respectful gestures of Chujir embarrassing.

"Sifu Tang. It is the Smiling Ones. They have been seen riding down from the hills. Everybody is in an uproar. I heard there is smoke coming from the farm of Old Tien."

Tang Ming clapped the boy on the shoulder and raced from the room without a word. She leaped down to hardpacked earth outside, vaulting over the front steps entirely, and swung around to the side of the school where her chesnut mare Breeze was tethered in the shade. Ming flung a thin blanket on the horse, untied the reins and bounded up to land on Breeze's back as nimbly as any acrobat. Without stirrups or saddle, she urged her mare forward and the well-trained beast took off at a full gallop.

Hurtling down the plain dirt road through the village, Ming ignored the stares and outcries from the plainly agitated townsfolk. Within minutes, the huts and shops were left behind. Miles ahead, she spotted a black plume of smoke rising into the warm air.

As she neared Tien's farm, Ming galloped around villagers who were running in the same direction. Her heart sank at the extent of the destruction. The house itself was burning so furiously that it obviously could not be saved. Two dead cows lay on the ground, slashed by swords in a dozen places. A yellow dog was impaled on a broken fence post, its tongue hanging out.

Most difficult to endure were the human corpses. Both Tien and his wife had been old, well past middle age, and their adult children had long ago taken over the work of the farm. Both of the parents and the two sons stretched out face down where they had been killed while fleeing. One young girl, engaged to a son and working in the household, was curled up in a ball with her head nearly severed from its neck.

Against the smell of burning wood and the crackle of the flames, Tang Ming leaped down from the saddle. Holding her voice steady took effort. "Could anyone still be in the house?" she asked.

"No, Sifu," said Tien's nearest neighbor. "Only the four of them lived here. Poor Hong. She was too young yet to formally announce her betrothal." His voice started to crack in grief. "She had hardly begun to live...."

"If only you had been here, Sifu Tang!" cried a woman.

"Yes!" said another villager. "You would have taught the Smiling Brethren the lesson they deserve. Poor old Tien."

Sharply aware that every eye was on her, Ming raised a hand. "Did anyone see the dogs?"

"I did," declared the neighbor. "They stormed past me on the road, riding their horses and laughing like madmen. Their faces carried that horrible grin. There can be no mistake."

As everyone resumed talking at once, Tang Ming surveyed the scene a final time. She strode stiff-legged over to her mare and hopped nimbly on to its back again. "I call for an assembly at the Well tonight," she called out. "Let the priest of Cirkoth and his acolytes prepare these bodies for a decent burial."

The crowd watched her in silence. Ming went on, "You all know I was not born here. I come from the world outside this realm. Yet, as surely as my beloved Chen Wong-Lai rests in this soil, so will my heart ever be here. I tell you I am a daughter of Chujir now and I promise that Chujir will be rid of the Smiling Brethren. I swear it!"

She wheeled Breeze around and pounded down the road toward her school. Away from all those eyes, Tang Ming fought back tears and took deep breaths to calm herself. She needed clarity of thought. She had not told the crowd, but she had already decided to take some weapons and supplies and begin the hunt that night. First she needed to focus her powers of perception. What would help quiet her mind would be a brief period of meditation. Ming slowed as she neared the village, circling to approach her school the long way around. She wanted to avoid having to face more upset townsfolk.

II.

As she drew near the school, Tang Ming's heartbeat sped up and her eyes widened. She felt a presence both unexpected and welcome. Her special power was gralic enhancement of perception, useful for finding hidden objects or detecting that which what out of place. Being able to pinpoint where an opponent was weak or off-balance was one factor that made her such a masterful fighter.

Dismounting and looping the reins of Breeze around the post, she laughed out loud. Her perception could not be wrong. "Jeremy! Captain!"

The Chinese woman raced full tilt around to the front of her school. There on the open porch stood the lean figure in black she had followed into so many desperate battles. She rushed upon him in a fierce embrace that was almost a tackle. "Captain! It IS you!"

With a fondness rare for his taciturn nature, Bane returned the hug, picking Ming up off the ground and swinging her side to side. "Good to see you again," he said simply.

The Dire Wolf was a tall gaunt man in his forties with short black hair and pale grey eyes in a narrow face. His clothing was foreign to this land... all black, boots and slacks and turtleneck under a sport jacket but he had a quiet confidence that let him seem at home anywhere.

"I have thought of visiting the world so often," she said. "And instead here you have come to see me."

As they disengaged, still standing with arms locked, Bane pointed at the building where they stood. "Hey, what's this place? Your own school?"

"Yes. It is called 'China Light,' which is my own name in Cantonese," she said. "I have classes in Tai Chi and Fu Jow Pai for the villagers. I also do some healing exercises and herbal medicine. Do you like it?"

"Absolutely. I think it's great. You have so much to offer. Ming, you look wonderful. You seem so at peace here."

She pressed her palms together in front of her and continued to smile. "A life of service is a life well lived, captain."

Turning, the Dire Wolf indicated a huge open cardboard box behind him. "I, uh, I brought you a care package from home. Things that aren't found in Chujir. Pineapple, chocolate, sweet potatoes. Also, Louise Whalen has written two novels since you came here, I thought you might like to read them."

"Are you serious? She is my favorite author. I practically memorized RAINY NIGHTS AND BRIGHT DAWNS. Oh, look, a case of Kleenex and toilet paper and Q-tips. Very practical, thank you. What's this? A sketchpad and charcoal? Wonderful."

Watching her affectionately, Bane said, "The KDF has been disbanded for six years now. I thought we had lost enough of our friends. But lately I've been wondering if it's time to start a new team. A new generation of Tel Shai knights. I wanted to see what you think."

Suddenly serious, Tang Ming pushed the box to one side and stood up again. "The world always needs heroes, Jeremy. My time is done. I will stay here teaching and healing, although certainly I might appear in New York again once in a while. What have you been doing since our disbanding?"

"Private detective work, mostly. I kept the Dire Wolf Agency open. But I keep getting drawn into Midnight War affairs no matter what. I can't resist it any longer, I guess it's my purpose."

Placing her fingertips on his sleeves, Ming looked up at him. "Yes. You were born to slap tigers across the face, captain. Anything less is a waste of your ability. And, you know, I believe I even have a possible candidate for your new team."

Bane raised an eyebrow. "Here in Chujir?"

"A boy named Sheng. He has a special gift, even as you and I do. But he is headstrong and impossible to put up with. Still, you are the one who tamed a Kulan demon and..." Her voice trailed off.

"Ming?"

"Captain, I believe it is more than mere chance that brought you to this land today. You are drawn to trouble as a piece of iron is drawn to a magnet. Have you heard of the Smiling Brethren?"

Bane shook his head. "Never."

They paused as a young girl walked up, carrying a laquered tray laden with covered dishes. "Here comes my supper," the Chinese woman explained. "The villagers provide me with my evening meal in exchange for my services. Thank you, Tsin." Ming took the tray with a bow of her head, then told the girl, "This is my friend from the outside world. Everyone will meet him later."

Eyes wide and obviously eager to start asking questions, the girl reluctantly bowed and turned back toward the town. As she left, she walked faster until she could not help breaking into a run. Tang Ming laughed softly. "Tongues will be wagging in the village today. Here. Let me put this down. Will you have some? It is not true Chinese food as I knew it, but it is similar. The vegetables are different but rice is rice and always good."

"Thanks, I'll try a bit." Bane sat down the top step leading up to the porch and took a hot dumpling. It was pork stuffed with onions. "What were you going to say about these Smiling Brethren characters?"

"Bandits. Marauders." Ming filled a plate and began work with handcarved wooden chopsticks. "They terrorize the district at intervals. They rob travelers, burn crops, vandalize temples. No one knows what they want."

"Hmm. Tell me more."

"The Smiling Brethren first appeared over a year ago. No one had heard of them before that," Ming said. She stopped to chew thoroughly. Her meal seemed to consist of thin pancakes which she filled with pork chunks and rolled up to eat. "They have been reported for fifty miles in all directions but their activity is mostly in the foothills to our west."

"Wait a minute. Are these little things carp?"

"Yes. They are small as sardines here but tasty. Try one. Anyway, the Emperor has been notified and he sent a detachment of soldiers last winter to search the area but they found nothing. It seems the Brethren eluded them somehow."

"Okay, I have to ask," Bane said. "Why are they called the Smiling Brethren?"

She tilted her head to regard him thoughtfully. "Captain, you have not been in Chujir before, have you?"

"Only very briefly. To be honest, when we had a mission that involved Chujir, Shiro used to insist on handling it. And then you and Chen took over. I assumed it was for the obvious reason that you were our Asian members."

"There was that, of course," she agreed. "But Chujir has a custom that you may not have heard about. Everywhere you go in our realm, you will see the same eight faces. Four times a year, at each turn of the seasons, everyone undergoes Meng-lei. The ancient rite of face-molding."

As she paused, the Dire Wolf smiled. "Oh, believe me, I'm interested."

"It is mandatory for all adults on pain of being sentenced to labor gangs. Everyone must soak a cloth on their face which is seeped in the Meng-Lei formula and then bind a tight clay mask which reshapes the bones of their faces overnight. The magistrates and the officers who oversee the ritual have already undergone it themselves earlier that day." Tang Ming wiped the last bit of sauce off her plate with a scrap of roll and finished it, watching Bane's reaction.

"There are only eight faces to choose from, four for men and four for women," she continued. "Children do not begin the ceremony until they are well into puberty. When the masks are removed, the faces beneath have been shaped into accepted contours. Until the next ceremony."

Bane made a scoffing noise. "What a custom. Man. I'll tell you one thing, Ming, I am glad you never went along with the ceremony. I wouldn't want your face changed for anything."

"Thank you, captain. Honestly, I have been pressured to join the Meng-lei ritual but it will never happen. I would go live in Fanedral with the demons first."

Refilling the rather small cup, the Dire Wolf seemed still disgruntled. "Talk about a homogenous population. I would be lost finding anyone. How do Chujirans tell each other apart?"

"Oh, it is easier than you might think," Ming said. "People have moles, freckles, some get more exposure to the sun than others. And of course the hands stay unchanged. Hands are very individual."

"That's true. And these Smiling Brethren don't wear any of the usual four male faces?"

"No. It is strange. Each has a round, flat-nosed face with a permanent smile extending up into the cheeks. They are an unsettling sight."

Bane leaned back, frowning more than usual. "You'd think they'd be spotted immediately. Especially in Chujir."

"So you would think," said the Chinese sifu as she sipped the last of her own tea. "And yet they cannot be found. The mountains have been searched repeatedly. Even the Emperor's soldiers spent weeks turning over every rock for a hundred miles around." She started stacking the plates and bowls back onto the laquered tray. "I am determined now to end the terror of the Smiling Brethren. I do not think I need ask you if you will join me?"

"Of course I'm with you," Bane said. "This is exactly the sort of threat I was born to fight."

III.

The buildings were basic wooden structures and the street was hard-packed dirt but in the center of the settlement was a cluster of small shops, a temple dedicated to Cirkoth, an inn and a stable. The village green had benches in a circle around a stone well which sported a peaked cover and a bucket on a winch. This was where the townspeople inevitably gathered.

Tang Ming had taken a minute to change into more formal garb. She wore a long-sleeved white blouse which fastened with tabs down one side, loose black trousers and slippers. Her hair was pulled back with a silver barret. As she came into view, the villagers reacted with a joy that she found embarassing.

"Sifu Tang!" "Sifu is here!" "She knows what to do!"

"Hello, my friends," she called out. "This man with me is a stranger to you, I know. His name is Jeremy Bane, the Dire Wolf, and I have trusted him with my life for years. He will help us if anyone may."

Despite her assurances, the Chujirans fell silent. They stared at Bane as if he had two heads. This did not surprise him. Most of these villagers had never been more than a day's walk from their town.

"We do not need the aid of outsiders!" yelled an outaged voice. All heads turned. A young Chujiran, still in his middle teens, stepped boldly forward.

"Sheng," muttered one of the elders. "Who else?"

The youth was average for his people, five feet five and no more than one hundred and forty pounds. Although he was wearing the same coarse clothing as the others, he had torn off the sleeves of his tunic evidently to better display well-developed biceps. "This stranger is not like us. Look at his skin! His eyes! What is he even doing in our realm?"

Bane remained calm and unflustered. "What's your name, son?"

"Son?! I am not kindred to you. My name is Sheng Mo-Yuan but I prefer to be addressed as my ancestral name Argent. Go back to your own world and tend to your own fields."

"Would you send me back as well?" asked Ming.

"No... No, of course not, Sifu Tang. You are a Han person like us. But this Dire Wolf is some weird barbarian. His eyes are the color of iron."

"You have much to learn, Sheng." Ming kept her voice firm but not angry. "Chujir is one of fifty adjacent realms and the world beyond is larger than all of them combined. You may visit them someday and see what strange-looking really is."

"Well... Sifu, I am still unhappy with this outsider."

Now, Bane broke into the conversation. "Sifu Tang has asked me to help her smash the Smiling Brethren. I intend to do so. Will you join us?"

This put Sheng in an awkward spot. "Of course," he answered after the briefest moment of uncertainty. "Let no one say Argent lacks courage. In truth, I have an idea of my own on how to fight them."

"We would like to hear this," said Tang Ming.

"Not here. Let us speak in privacy. I do not accuse anyone of being allied with the bandits, but prudence is better. We should go to your school to talk."

There was unhappy grumbling from the crowd, but Ming raised her hands. "Patience! I will hear suggestions from any of you but Sheng will have his turn first."

Bane and Ming escorted Sheng from the village, down the narrow road back to the school. Dusk had fallen on a warm Spring night. Using the wooden matches from the outside world, Ming lit two waxed-silk lanterns which hung on support beams by the front door. In their soft yellowish light, she blew out the match. "Speak your mind, Sheng."

"I am not sure I trust this strange-looking outsider," the Chujiran boy said.

"Then trust me and my judgement. Explain your ideas or return to the village," she said.

"Oh, very well." The youth dropped down on the front step and raised an imperative finger. "These has occurred to me. No one has been able to find the hiding place of these bandits. There are at least twenty of them because that many has been seen at one time but I think their full number is higher. Perhaps they are very numerous."

Bane had crossed over to lean an arm on one of the support posts. He was listening to Sheng but at the same time he could see back by the rear of the school.

"If they somehow live among the people, their grinning faces would be noticed at once, of course." Sheng's voice rose as he warmed to the subject. "One was killed a few months ago and his face remained with that awful smile even in death. It was not a disguise. So it seems a puzzle. The Smiling Brethren can not be hiding among us and yet they are not to be found in the mountains."

Tang Ming had been standing with arms folded across her chest. "It does sound impossible, Sheng. What is your explanation?"

Argent took a deep breath and started, "Well.. is it possible that these bandits do not always have the smiles fixed on their faces? We held the Meng-lei ceremony on the last dark of the moon, and as I watched, I wondered if perhaps these men use the Meng-lei to mold their faces into the smiles and then change back so they can moved undetected as normal villagers."

"It's worth considering," Tang Ming said. "But the Meng-lei is kept secure by the district magistrate. It is forbidden for anyone else to possess even a drop, on penalty of torture. Also, this would not be a quick process. It takes a full night, twelve hours at least, to change one's features."

"Does it?" asked Sheng. "We do leave the masks on from sunset to sunrise but is that necessary? If the features change immediately, how would we know? I was curious. So at the last ceremony, I managed to steal away from the crowd and removed my mask only an hour after I had put it on. I had hidden a small mirror in my sash. The serum had worked in that time."

Bane made a sound of approval. "That showed initiative, Sheng. You have the instincts that would make you a good investigator." As he spoke the last word, he spun and hurtled away from the porch. A dark figure ran from the trees nearby but Bane caught up with the intruder within a few bounding steps. As the man whirled around, his arm came up holding a short curved knife but that was a serious mistake. Bane stepped to the outside of that stabbing attack and blasted a short straight punch that snapped the intruder's head painfully far to one side. Another inch or so would have meant a broken neck. The stranger was thrown down as if struck by lightning.

Hurrying up, Sheng Mo-Yuan said, "That was amazing. You're as fast as I am."

Bane could not keep a hint of amusement out of his voice. "Really? Imagine that. Okay, now we have someone to examine."

As the Dire Wolf dragged the stunned bandit closer to the school, Tang Ming brought a lantern close to the man's face. He was a typical Chujiran in height and build, with a flat round face and short-cropped black hair. The corners of the mouth were drawn excessively high in an unmoving rictus. Even with the man unconscious, that smile remained fixed.

Sheng picked up the curved blade. "Pretty little toy. Farmers use these for gutting pigs and goats."

Tang Ming stood over the man and shook her head. "I am so sorry, captain. How out of practice have I become! I should have sensed his approach."

"He only turned up a second before I tagged him," Bane said. "He couldn't have heard anything we said." Kneeling over the prisoner, he started to examine the man and then said, "Well, that's funny. Both of you, do you see this?"

In the lantern's subdued light, his fingers sank into the prisoner's flesh which deformed and remained that way. "The bones are soft. You can shape his face like putty."

"He must have just used the Meing-lei." Sheng sounded horrified. "But that's impossible."

"There's proof right here that it's possible," Bane said as he stood up again. "Any way to identify this guy?"

"My perception has already told me who he is," Tang Ming said. "But let me show Sheng proof." She bent over and yanked up the sleeve on the man's left arm to reveal a badly scarred area below the elbow. "See. That is where I treated him last summer when he dropped a hot iron on his arm. This is Wan Chai the carpenter... and it seems he is one of the Smiling Brethren."

The youth who called himself Argent was standing with fists on his hips and shifting his weight in agitation. "Then anybody could be a Smiling One! They can walk among us, laughing up their sleeves at our ignorance, until they change their faces and strike...."

The Dire Wolf was studying Sheng. "They know Ming is opposed to them. Maybe they want to draw her into a trap. Who knows, they might send one of their gang to lure here out where she could be killed without witnesses."

"Hold your tongue, outsider," snapped Sheng. "Do you say that I am one of them? Why, it was I who discovered their secret."

"I've known thug to pull tricker schemes than that," Bane said. "When the Smiling Brethren were burning that farm, where were you?"

Sheng Mo-Yuan attacked without warning. He was startlingly fast, going from standing at arm's length to being on top of Bane in a split-second. The young Chujiran whirled a wide roundhouse blow that whistled as it came in. But although he was quick, Sheng had no training. He was up against a Master of Kumundu, taught only at Tel Shai, and a veteran of uncounted street fights. Bane blocked and countered with one continuous circular movement and his backfist smacked Sheng right on the chin.

Even reacting like that, Bane pulled his punch to half what he could have delivered. Sheng fell backward to land in a seated position on the ground and stared blankly down in front of him. It would be a few minutes before he regained full awareness.

"You're faster than a normal Human," the Dire Wolf said as he reached down to help the boy up. "Is this something that developed recently? Were you always like that?"

Argent did not answer, being preoccupied with finding if his jaw still functioned properly. He moved away a few feet.

Stepping over between them, Tang Ming examined Sheng briefly. "He has a gralic variation, Jeremy. As you and I do. My elevated perception, your speed. Sheng can channel gralic force into his body to become quicker, stronger or more resilent. But he can only do one aspect at a time. I've been testing him."

"This is a night for surprises," Bane said. "Listen, Sheng or Argent whichever you prefer. There's no time to waste. Wan Chai might have come alone or there might be twenty Smiling Brethren on their way. For all we know, half the village is in on it, either as members themselves or as collaborators." He bent and hauled Wan Chai by the feet into bushes at the edge of the cleared space around Ming's school. From an inner pocket of his jacket, he took a flat metal case which held color-coded syringes. Bane knelt and injected the stunned bandit in the forearm, then carefully replaced the empty hypodermic.

"That's a muscle relaxant," he explained. "For the next day or so, he'll be too weak to do more than crawl. We use this to get enemies out of the way for a while."

"We should simply cut his head off!" suggested Sheng.

The Dire Wolf sighed. "Have you ever killed a helpless prisoner?"

"Me? Well.. no. Of course not."

"I did. Once. At the beginning of my career," Bane said. "It's bothered me ever since. I don't intend to ever do it again. Ming, do you know if this man has a family?"

"Yes, captain, he has a wife and two children. Both were at the assembly tonight."

"Let's hope they are still there," Bane told them. "We need to check Wan's house for evidence. Ming, you have a weapons rack. Should Sheng take something?"

"I think so," the Chinese teacher answered. "What do you say, Argent? I suggest either a short sword or a staff. You are not trained in the iron fan or the tiger fork."

Argent laughed. "So I am going with you? Excellent." Sheng rubbed the side of his face where a bruise was forming. "If you allow me, Sifu, I will get a short sword. That is what I am most familiar with."

"One second," she said. Striding into her kwoon, she returned immediately with a wide-blade weapon two feet long, which she handed to Sheng. "These butterfly knives are traditionally used in pairs but I think one will suffice."

She herself held a wand of hard wood, capped at one end with an iron ball. "Jeremy, I am certain you are carrying your beloved silver daggers."

"Absolutely," the Dire Wolf admitted. "Let's get going. We better make good time."

"Ah, but there is one more thing." Tang Ming held up a dark bottle of glazed ceramic which she had wrapped in a cloth and secured inside her shirt. "Do you remember when we used this in London years ago?"

"Oh, sure. What was that thief's name, the Hedgehog? His hands were still blue at the end of his trial."

"Exactly," she said, tucking the bottle away again.

Sheng frowned but did not ask what they meant.

IV.

The cottage of Wan Chai-Pei the carpenter was dark and quiet as three figures approached. Even with his own skill at stealth, Jeremy Bane held back and let Tang Ming glide up to an open window. Straining as he might, he could not hear her footfalls and if he had not already been watching her, Bane doubted he would have spotted the slight form pressing up against the outer wall of the cottage.

A few seconds later, she hissed and waved them forward. As Bane and Sheng came near, Ming said, "No one is inside. Not even a cat. I would know." With that, she grasped the open window and nimbly vaulted inside as if she had been practicing nothing else all her life. Bane followed. He was more flexible and agile than most athletes himself, but he had to admit he was no match for Tang Ming in those respects. Sheng Mo-Yuan climbed over the sill last. The first faint awareness that he was in the presence of two people with superhuman abilities greater than his own was starting to sink in.

The search only took an instant. Not stopping to light a match, Ming stepped into the center of the one large room with its sleeping mats in one corner and its firepit in the center. She swept her hands in wide graceful motions and drew on her gift of perception. At one, the Chinese woman swung over to a corner where a heavy bench was jammed against the wall. Under it was a loose floor board which she pried up. Dropping to one knee, Ming held up a burlap sack that had been covered with loose dirt.

Even with his eyes adjusted to the gloom, Sheng could not see much. Curiosity got the better of him. "How could you know that was there in the dark?"

"You have your gifts and I have mine," she answered. "I can detect falseness and deception, I can find what is out of its proper place." As she dug into the sack, her voice brightened. "There is a word of triumph in the world beyond. Bingo!"

She held up a fire-hardened clay mask shaped into a round grinning face. There were also gold and silver coins, a handful of jeweled rings and loose gems and a wide-bladed knife with a black wooden handle.

"In my world, I think this is evidence enough to clinch a conviction," Bane said. "Excellent. We should place everything back exactly as it was, though. Chai's family might come back any second."

"Yes, quite right." Ming put it all back as she had found it, brushing dirt over the sack and pressing the loose board down into place. She slid the bench back against the wall and rose to her feet. "We should leave at once."

Once they were out of sight of the cottage, Sheng spoke up. "Something was not there that I expected to see."

"Go on," his Sifu said.

"Some of the Meng-lei liquid. The Smiling Brethren must have access to it."

"Well, the cult certainly does but that doesn't mean the individual members get to keep any," said Bane. "Ming, what do you think?"

She was leading them down the dirt road again, away from the village and toward the foothills that loomed up dimly in the murk. "Officially, only the Magistrate himself has the right to store Meng-lai. It is closely guarded. His court is some distance away, a day's walk at best. Yet his deputy actually travels from town to town with a group of servants to administer the Meng-lai on the holy days. He and his household also collect taxes and deliver edicts from higher up to the people. I suspect the deputy will have the answers we seek."

Walking beside his teammate, the Dire Wolf said, "Sounds like the logical next step. What's this guy's name?"

"Chin Wo..." said Ming. "He is the youngest son of a noble family related to the Emperor. I have not heard much about him either good or bad. He seems to be another boring bureaucrat toiling for his gold."

"Maybe that is just one more false face the biggest bandit is hiding behind," Bane offered.

"Forgive me, forgive me," Sheng Mo-Yuan broke in. "I must know. Will you tell me, Dire Wolf, how it is you know our sifu?"

"Fair enough." Bane's voice softened almost imperceptibly. "Both Tang Ming and I are knights of the Order of Tel Shai, which dates back thirty thousand years. Tel Shai was founded under the authority of the Spirit which guides this world, Jordyn. Or that's how the legend goes in any case."

Beside him the Chinese woman chuckled. "Jeremy has a skeptical streak in his making. Tel Shai has wisdom accumulated over the ages. Its Teachers instruct their students in skills not known anywhere else. The knights of Tel Shai are sent out to the world and all the adjacent realms to fight for justice."

"All this I have heard in tales taught me by the elders," Sheng admitted. "But why did you come to Chujir? You were not born here. You are from a place called China."

As they walked down the dark road, Tang Ming said, "Chujir is thought to be the source of the Han race who populate China. It's too complicated to get into right now. I lost the one love of my life when Cheng Wong-Lai was killed in the Harbor of Dreadful Night. That was six years ago. In my grief, I found purpose here as a teacher in my own right..."

"Everyone in the village loves you, Sifu Tang," said Sheng. "Your knowledge of medicine and your advice on agriculture has made our lives better. Your teaching of martial arts makes our children more confident, our elders stronger. We are grateful you settled here."

"Thank you, Sheng. My friend Jeremy here was the captain of our Tel Shai team. He will always be my captain."

Bane had slowed unconsciously and his two companions did the same. "To tell the truth, I tried retiring from the Midnight War at the same time Ming did. For a few months, maybe half a year, Cindy and I idled around the world at concerts, museums, resort beaches, casinos. I hated it. I was only happy when I took up the Dire Wolf role again."

"Why do you sound so unhappy about it?!" yelled Sheng. "All the Gods bless me, I would love to be a warrior as you are.. as Sifu Tang is. To protect the helpless, to strike down tyrants, oh! I would ask nothing more of life."

"Whoa, keep it down, Sheng," said Bane. "Bandits will hear you. But I like your attitude. Maybe your ambition will come true."

Ming raised both hands and hissed for silence. In an instant, she had seized both Bane and Sheng by an arm and pulled them off the road. They all held still and silent, then in the brilliant starlight of a pre-industrial sky, they saw dark figures marching up the dirt road toward them. The fixed grins on their faces were clearly visible.

V.

In the lead, the tallest man held a strung recurved bow with an arrow notched. He jumped as he saw a small slim figure step boldly out into the road twenty feet in front of him but he was not startled that he did not immediately pull the string back to his ear and let fly.

Swaying to one side, Tang Ming's arm swirled with perfect co-ordination as she caught the shaft of the arrow and redirected its momentum to send the arrow punching directly into the archer's chest. Even as he was crumpling to the dirt, with one hand clutching that shaft, his comrades were rushing forward with their knives drawn.

Jeremy Bane stepped directly in their path. Three sharp cracking noises echoed in the night and three men were thrown aside with broken jaws or cracked sternums from blows no one had seen. The Dire Wolf was drawing back his fist even the first bandit hit the ground.

Sheng had not fared as well. He drew on his gift of speed and whirled his short sword in an arc that chopped deeply into a bandit's side where it stuck into a rib. In the instant it took to yank the blade free, another of the Smiling Brethren jumped him from behind with a knife of his own ready to strike. Sheng whirled around sharply but did not succeed in flinging the killer off his back. The point of that knife jabbed at Sheng's throat but the young Chujiran shifted his gralic focus into speed. He caught the bandit by the wrist, then changed his power again into greater strength. The man's bones snapped beneath Sheng's grip. As the bandit howled at the unexpected pain, Sheng dealt him an open-handed slap that spun him around in a loose cartwheel.

The two remaining Brethren had not seen this. Their attention was fully on the small slim woman who stood waiting for them with the hand grasping the short staff down by her side. Tang Ming's face remained as serene as if she were daydreaming. The bandits came within reach and abruptly she was playing the hardwood baton like a drum stick across their heads. Both men staggered wildly dropping their own weapons as she dealt two final blows which dropped them decisively. Ming twirled the staff in a figure-eight pattern before tucking it back up under one arm.

"Ha HAH!" barked Sheng Mo-Yuan, almost hopping up and down in his excitement. "These outlaws were not expecting the likes of us. What, that's all of them? I could welcome a few more to thrash."

Meanwhile, Bane had quickly begun dragging the defeated Brethren deep into the bushes out of sight. Three were still alive but would not be reviving any time soon. Seeing what he was doing, Sheng hurried over to assist.

"That's quite a gift you have there," the Dire Wolf said. "I saw you shift from speed to strength. With practice, you could take any opponent off-guard."

"The more I use mu power, the easier it becomes," Argent gloated. "I am like three legendary fighters in one. Do you think the Teachers of Tel Shai would take me as a student? Am I flattering myself?"

Bane could not keep a hint of amusement from his voice. "Yeah, low self-esteem is not your problem. But I definitely feel Tel Shai would consider admitting you. We can discuss it when things calm down."

"Chael will teach him some humility, if nothing else," offered Ming. She started heading down the dirt road again. "Come. Those lost souls were not from the village. They came from this direction."

"An attack means we've got them worried," Bane said. "Things are going to pop now."

VI.

Soon, the three of them crested a hill that overlooked a long low wooden structure. This was the ceremonial center where Chin Wo performed traditional rites on state holidays and where he addressed the villagers from the district when they had grievances. It was not a military fortress. The stone block wall surrounding the building was merely chest high. Behind the ceremonial struture itself was a stable. Two gates on opposite sides of the wall each had a pair of brawny soldiers from the Emperor's army standing watch.

All this was lit by torches on iron stands scattered around the courtyard. After a few minutes of watchful silence, Ming whispered, "I have been here many times. I believe I know where the traitor is concealing the Meng-lei potion. Wait for me."

Bane rose up to protest but she placed a tiny hand on his arm. "No, captain. There will be servants in there. At least a few guards are always present. This is a task for my skills."

"If you say so," the Dire Wolf grumbled. "I don't like it.. but I've learned to respect your skills, Ming."

"I have the bottle in my shirt. Wait here, I should not be gone long." She crept forward into a dark space at the corner of the wall and was gone. Bane and Sheng expected to catch a glimpse of her crossing the open space but saw nothing.

The Chujiran youth could not restrain his curiosity. "Bottle? What bottle?"

"Something she had been keeping at her school," Bane answered unhelpfully. "If it works as we hope it does, you'll understand."

"How did she vanish like that? I was looking right at her and suddenly she was gone. Can she turn invisible like a spirit?"

The Dire Wolf scoffed. "No, no, nothing like that. Tang Ming is the best I have ever known at stealth and timing. She makes a ninja look like a moose," Bane whispered.

As he shushed Argent, they saw a group of thirty men pass by them almost within reach. The Smiling Brethren marched toward the courtyard, wrapped in dark garbs and with their weapons wrapped so not a glint of blade could be seen to give them away. Their faces were stern and unsmiling, all one of the more common facial types of Chujir.

As the party stomped toward the outer wall of Chin Wo's stronghold, Bane straightened up. "The Smiling Brethren before the smile," he said. "They're assembling right where we want them for the big showdown."

Leaning over, Sheng whispered, "What about Sifu Tang?"

"I'm here," came a voice from right behind them.

Bane gave a violent start and nearly lost his balance. "Don't DO that! I swear, Ming, I just lost a year off my life."

"Sorry, captain," she replied in a voice that hinted at a touch of glee. "I wanted to pass by those bandits unseen."

"Sheesh. Everything set?"

"Yes," Ming said. "The Meng-lei is stored in a ceramic jug in a back room. The potion is thick and black as tar. After I stirred in the contents of that bottle, no difference could be seen. The timing could not be better. Sometimes, captain, I really believe higher forces guide our hand."

"Eh. We've had our share of disastrous mistakes and wrongheaded decisions," Bane scoffed. "If things go smoothly, it's because we prepare and train and seize opportunities as we see them."

"You are so American. Always a skeptic. Still, philosophy can wait." Ming pointed at flickering lights within the walls. "See? The torches are being lit within the courtyard."

Bane gazed thoughtfully for a moment. "Let's give them time to get their faces ready. Think an hour is enough?"

"Yes," said Tang Ming. "By then, they will have placed nooses around their own necks..."

VII.

Creeping near the stone block wall, three heroes froze in place to listen to voices and movement within. They stole noiselessly up to the wall and found a spot in the shadows of an ancient willow where they would not be seen. Sheng seemed as if he could not restrain his excitement much longer. Bane clamped a sobering hand down on the boy's shoulder to warn him.

As they watched with their eyes barely raised over the wall, they saw the thirty bandits lined up professionally enough in rows of six. Facing them, inspecting them critically, was an official in fine embroidered robes and wearing a high peaked cap with a silver chevron emblazoned on its front. This was Chin Wo, deputy magistrate and the secret mastermind of Chujir's most dreaded cult since the Blind Archers.

A glossy ceramic jug five feet high was carried out by two servants and its plug removed. Linen clothes were dipped in the goo within that jug, then wrapped snugly around the faces of the stoicly waiting Brethren. From a massive cedar trunk, the servants took masks of fire-hardened clay and strapped them tightly over the bandits' faces.

During all this, Chin Wo watched in silence, seeing that everything was done precisely. When the jug was capped and the wooden trunk closed again, he gestured imperiously. The servants dropped to their knees and waited with bowed heads.

Chin Wo thrust a reed into the hot coals and used it to light a tall white candle on a stand. "As this burns, so burns the fire that shapes your faces," he announced in an old-fashioned dialect. "When it is done, the Smiling Brethren will paint the hills with blood and leave terror in hearts across the land."

He launched into a flowery speech filled with stirring images and exhortations for the men to be bold. Listening from the shadow of the guard post, Bane shook his head angrily. He had heard so many pep talks from gangsters and warlords, always working men up to risk and maybe lose their lives for the benefit of others. Old men sending young to die. The manipulation was always so obvious but they always fell for it.

Finally, the candle was a mere stub in which the flame guttered and went out. The specified time for the ritual had passed. As Chin Wo clapped his hands sharply three times, the bandits stirred and shifted their weight after standing still so long. "It is done," the official announced. "Our plunder will be rich tonight, we strike at the district treasury!"

"That's my cue," Tang Ming said to Bane and Sheng. She vaulted the wall and dropped lightly over it to the stone floor of the courtyard, striding decisively toward the assembly. At her appearance, the bandits lost all composure. They recognized the mysterious Han woman who had come from the world beyond this realm.

"Sifu Tang!" "Tang Ming!" came a dozen voices. The Dire Wolf and Argent had followed Ming but their presence was hardly noticed.

Chin Wo bowed deeply and let out a heartfelt sigh. "My lady, I am much grieved to see you here. I wish you had not found your way to this place of cold hearts and sharp blades..."

"I am led by my duty as a knight of Tel Shai," she announced firmly. "You men know me and you know that I speak only truth. I must say now that it is too late for you unfortunate souls to save yourselves. You have chosen this path and you are lost. In a minute, it will all become clear to you."

Chin Ho gestured wildly at her companions. "And you, the iron-eyed barbarian? What do you have to do with this?"

Speaking with quiet confidence, Bane responded, "I have seen this before. The magistrate trusted you with the Meng-lei potion. Either you diluted it or you put aside a tiny bit after each ceremony, but either way, you built up your secret supply. Enough to start this band of Smiling Brethren. It's a guerilla army answering only to you. In time, you expected to gather enough of these grinning fools to be a warlord in your own right."

"You can not expect to leave here with your lives," the official warned. "You know too much!"

"Hah! How many times have I heard that before?" Bane snorted. "As secret societies go, yours is really devious, though. Your thugs lead normal lives in their towns until they're summoned. Then they literally change their faces so they can loot and murder as you order, then they change back and seem to vanish. If one is killed or captured with the smiling face, even their own friends and family can't recognize them. You're a real menace, Chin Wo. I'm glad we got here in time to stop you."

"Stop ME? Are you insane? There are three of you and you are surrounded by thirty of the Brethren. This night is your last."

"Enough," Tang Ming announced. She held out her hands, palm up. "It is too late for you. Remove your masks."

Uneasy at hearing her words, the bandits uncertainly reached up to unstrap the hard clay masks. As the uncomfortable molds were pulled free, the men unwrapped the wet clothes wrapped over their faces as well. Only then, as they caught sight of each other, did the Brethren begin to scream in fear and horror.

Their faces were bright blue. When the Meng-lei serum had soaked in, the skin had been stained a bright, almost lumimous azure.

VII.

Tang Ming's voice cut sharply through the babble of confusion. "Hear me! The dye is permanent. It can not be scrubbed off. It will last for months. I left a note with the villagers to be read at midnight, explaining what has happened. You men have done this to yourselves. When the people see your blue faces, they will want retribution."

To one side, Sheng Mo-Yuan muttered to Bane. "Ah. I see. That bottle contained dye?"

"Exactly. Your sifu has always been a clever woman."

Despite Chin Ho's calls to settle down, his men were reaching hysteria rapidly. He moved among them, waving his arms. "Be still, I say! Get hold of yourselves."

The Smiling Brethren were crying out that they would be killed when the villagers saw them. Painless execution by axe would asking too much. Several began loud prayers to Cirkoth and Jordyn.

Bane's stern voice cut through the noise. "You men have one chance."

The bandits heard the natural authority in his tone and they swung toward him in a group. Between the brilliant blue skin and fixed grins, they were an unholy sight.

Seeing he had their attention, the Dire Wolf shouted, "Can you expect mercy from the magistrate? No. Your crimes are too well known. Yet who was it that led you on your offenses? Who was it that created the Smiling Brethren and who stole the sacred Meng-lei potion? Chin Wo! Turn him over to the magistrate and the rest of you may escape the death penalty."

The official scoffed. "Fool. My men will never betray me."

"Let Chin Ho bear the blame," Bane continued. "It's the only hope you have."

Stepping closer to the panicky mob, Tang Ming took over. The bandits recognized her as someone to be respected and trusted. "If you think of hiding in the hills, the blue dye will remain unfaded for months. Worse, the Meng-lei is contaminated. You cannot even use it to regain your normal features. Your one chance is to surrender and beg for clemency. Chin Wo misled and misguided you, perhaps his magick affected your judgement."

Without warning, the deputy yanked a wide-bladed dagger from his sash and leaped at Tang Ming, only to be stopped short by a slippered foot driving into the center of his chest. Ming's high side kick was perfectly executed. Gasping desperately to get a breath, Chin Wo dropped to his hands and knees in the courtyard.

Pointing to the guards at the door to the court, Tang Ming commanded, "You two. Take horses. Ride to the village and summon the magistrate and his soldiers to deal with this traitor. Hurry, at midnight the villagers will be heading this way."

As the guards hurried to obey, the rest of the Smiling Brethren stood in numb disbelief as what had happened. There was no defiance in them. They slumped ashamedly staring down at the stone paving of the courtyard.

Bane was watching them warily but he felt there would be no trouble from them. Chujirans were raised to obey authority and they all knew Tang Ming as both a venerated teacher and a deadly fighter. She was undeniably in charge here. He stepped back a few paces.

Seeing Sheng watch him, the Dire Wolf gave an approving nod. He had a good feeling about the kid. Despite the ego and brashness, this boy who called himself Argent had shown courage and quick thinking. If Ming vouched for him, Sheng might have the potential to be a real hero... even a knight of Tel Shai.

All that could wait. Thirty killers with grotesque blue leering faces milled about uneasily in that courtyard. Bane watched as Tang Ming removed the sash from around Chin Wo's middle and expertly tied his wrists together behind his back. The bandit leader was still gasping and coughing and did not resist.

Rising, holding one end of that sash, Tang Ming caught her captain's expression of pride and affection for her. She gave a gesture he himself had taught her, a jaunty thumb's-up.

5/8/2000 - Rev. 9/27/2017