To assist Yuen Tsui Wan, Kam Ling
Chi poisoned Chor Lau Heung, Wu Tit Fa and the three ladies. Chor was almost
defeated by Ting Fung but Sit Siu Yan and Wah Jan Jan arrived to save the day (ep 35).
Then Khoo Tai Pang found out their hideout. This fanfiction takes time after Siu
Ching met Sit Siu Yan in town and went to the mansion to assist Chor tai-gor (ep 36). Instead
of asking Tim Yi to play music and acting all cool, Chor et al found a hidden passage
inside the house (with the help of the Pak Ah zither) where he hid his friends
there. Chor then faced Khoo Tai Pang alone. Chor still sustained injuries from
his fight with Ting Fung, hence he was easily defeated and captured. It was now
up to Siu Ching to rescue him. Featuring Chor Lau Heung first kissing Song Siu
Ching. Violence, romance, action. Chor Lau Heung 1984 is
the property of Gu Long and TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu
Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. I own nothing but my love to them and this
series (click here to read
all CLH'84 episodes). Special thanks to all my CLH/FD/MB regular readers, you guys have kept me going!
Click this to read this fan-fiction at my
new Jianghu blog.
Ting Fung defeated a poisoned Chor Lau Heung, ep 35 |
The Princess who saved her wanderer
Song
Siu Ching crawled inside the damp tunnel. Worried that she might be trapped in
the tunnel, she started to regret the idea. However, something about the air
told her that she was getting onto something here. The air was fresh, not
rotten. The tunnel must end in an opening where she could get out, or at least
see what happened in the old mansion.
Siu
Ching had found the entrance of the tunnel totally by accident. Earlier that
day, she had arrived at the hillside of the old mansion with Trouble Maker Sit
Siu Yan to learn that a small army of Khoo Tai Pang’s had surrounded the area.
She waited for a while for Wah Jan Jan (who she knew had been tailed by Khoo
Tai Pang) to reappear. The Hua Shan girl did appear for a brief moment,
stepping down the stairs before she stopped and returned to the mansion. Jan
Jan must have detected Khoo Tai Pang then, which was good.
“Can’t
believe they are still inside,” said one of the guards. “We’ve checked every
room, there were no secret passages.”
“True,”
said the other one. “Just because we captured Chor Lau Heung, doesn’t mean that
the rest of his lot are still here. They could’ve gone somewhere with His
Majesty.”
“Well,
Khoo Tai Pang said that we should be on alert, so we’ll do that,” said the
third one. “At least we’re going to have fun with Chor Lau Heung.”
The
first guard chuckled. “Yeah, that bastard had fooled us so many times. Now we
have him, it’s time to teach him a lesson!”
The
other guard said that he’d have to queue because he also wanted to teach the
King of Thieves some lessons. They then circled the wilderness just for the
heck of it, slashing here and there to vent out their frustration, until one of
them suggested they should just return and vent out to Chor Lau Heung instead.
Laughing, the four of them returned to the mansion, not bothering to look back
to see how just a few meters away from the last bush they hacked, Princess Wing
Ching a.k.a. Song Siu Ching laid very low.
Siu
Ching remained in the bush for a while before emerging. Pale-faced and
supremely worried due to the unexpected news, she just wanted to attack the
mansion herself. However, fully aware that she was outnumbered, she decided
laying low was the best course of action. She left her place, chose a tall
parasol tree that grew nearby the hill and climbed it. She could observe the
surroundings from within the thick canopy, but no one approached the wilderness
anymore. In the silence that followed, she could hear water trickling somewhere.
From her vantage point, she then saw a very small creek flowing from the small
hill. Since she was thirsty, she took her chance to get down and walked
carefully to the creek for water. She carefully sipped the water when she
noticed some rabbits entering a stone across from where she stood. A rabbit
hole, apparently. She was about to leave when she suddenly remembered one of
Chor tai-gor's stories about how he and Wu Tit Fa tried to observe a Bloody Palm
agent taking their money (Wu pretended to have Chor killed so they could face
the Bloody Palm). Back then, Wu Tit Fa and Chor Lau Heung lost the trail
because the money was placed under a rock by the river. Apparently, the rock
was an opening to another passage a distance away from their observation point,
hence the agent had taken the money without even showing himself to Drunkard Wu
(Chor tai-gor had decided to take a nap back then).
Siu
Ching blinked. What are the
chances...She hastily crossed the small creek towards the
rock and checked the point where the rabbits had entered the stone. It was a
medium-sized hole, just enough for one medium-built person to enter the whole.
Tentatively she threw a pebble, hoping she didn’t hit any of the rabbits. She
only had to count until five before she heard the pebble hitting something. She
looked around, decided that it was too dangerous for her to stay in the open
clearing of the creek, and then jumped into the hole with her Jade Sword. She
landed on a damp ground. It was a small cave where she landed. She waited for a
while until her eyes adjusted themselves to the darkness of the underground
cave. She saw a small family of rabbit in one corner of the cave, nearby a
small tunnel. One of the rabbits entered the tunnel. She waited for a while but
the rabbit didn’t reappear. Could
the tunnel lead somewhere? Heart beating
fast, she walked towards the tunnel, which was just enough for one person to
crawl in. And thus she was here, crawling the tunnel, hoping that she wouldn’t
get stuck somewhere. She didn’t really mind encountering some wildlife; twice
some rats actually ran past her. She also saw the rabbit that she had seen
entering the tunnel earlier. She was actually relieved to know rats (and
rabbits) lived there, for it means that snakes didn’t live there.
She
hastened when she saw light at the end of the tunnel. She emerged in another
small cave, only this time the other end of the cave had stone stairs going upwards.
Carefully, she walked the slippery stairs until she reached the end of the
stairs, which was a landing with a lattice stone lid on the landing ceiling above
her head. The lid was almost fully covered by leaves. The distance between the
lattice stone and the landing was very short; she just had to reach her hand to
push the lid open. She must be inside the mansion now. She poked her head and
realised she was indeed inside a garden. She closed the lid again and waited
for any sign of a person detecting her presence, but no one seemed to notice.
She then reopened the lid and extracted herself from the underground passage.
She
found herself behind a thick shrubbery at a dilapidated backyard. It was
already afternoon; the sun was leaning towards the western sky. Soon twilight
would descend. Crouching behind the shrubbery, she saw two small units across
the yard. One looked like a kitchen by its large lattice windows. The other
one, which was across that unit, was properly sealed with only one little
window. It looked like a shack or a storeroom. Two guards were guarding that unit;
a fireplace had been set up just outside the storage. She deducted that Khoo
Tai Pang must kept an important item or person inside the shack. She was right.
She
heard a scream. It wasn’t a loud scream, more like an escaped scream that was
soon muffled. Blood drained from her face when she recognised the voice.
"No,
please let it not be Chor tai-gor ..." She whispered. But it was definitely
him. She heard whips, punches and slashes from within the shack, and the groan,
gasps and muffled screams. She heard Khoo Tai Pang's voice.
"Chor
Lau Heung, you bastard! Tell me where the Duke is!"
Then
some more whips before a guard went outside to get an iron rod that had been
sitting on the fireplace. Siu Ching's face became as white as sheet when she
realised what would happen next. Then she heard it: Chor tai-gor's scream. It
boiled and broke her heart at the same time as laughter was heard from the
storage.
"Speak!!"
Khoo Tai Pang barked again.
Then
another scream. Siu Ching heard that scream again alternating with muffled gasps.
She wanted nothing more than to rush in and rescue the man she loved, but she
was aware that she was badly outnumbered. Her body trembled as she struggled
not to leave her hideout before the right time. “I can’t be caught; I can’t be
caught now... Chor tai-gor needs me...” was her mantra as she tried to block the
groan and screams escaping the storage. Deciding that the shrubbery wasn't a good
hideout, she returned to the lattice stone and slipped into the tunnel landing
again. She could still hear Chor Lau Heung's faint gasps even from her hideout.
She finally walked down the stairs again, slumped on the cave floor and cried.
She acutely felt his pain. For his pain was hers too.
-xxx-
Chor
Lau Heung struggled to open his eyes. Coagulated blood on the corner of his
left eye and the fresh blood streaming down from his right eyebrow left eye had
obstructed his vision. He managed to see a blur of a soldier in front of him.
He prepared himself for some more beating, whipping and slashing. He didn’t
like giving them the pleasure that their torture affected him, but several
times over the day, he had failed to do that. These soldiers were getting good
with torturing him; Khoo Tai Pang had trained them well despite the lack of
‘proper’ torturing device in the storage of that old mansion. Twice, they
actually stabbed his sides with a knife. It didn’t hit any organs, but blood
profusely poured down before they poked those very wounds with hot iron. He
screamed, but after realising that it gave the soldiers pleasure, he bit his
bleeding lips to avoid giving them that pleasure. He then whispered the only
name he knew would give him strength to face the ordeal. Siu Ching....
Khoo
Tai Pang had heard that name, and it gave the Flying Devil another fuel to vent
out his anger. Lashing his whip several times at Lingering Fragrance’s already
bleeding naked back and torso, the Duke’s private guard screamed, demanding
that Chor Lau Heung tell him where the Princess was. Lau Heung had found his
humour at the very weird moment. He chuckled, swallowed blood in his mouth and
whispered, “Are you crazy? Do you think I will let you know...?” he coughed
blood before resuming, “I won’t even tell you where your dog of a duke is. Why
would I tell you where the Princess is?!”
“You
- !!” Tai Pang jerked Lau Heung’s dishevelled hair so that his prisoner faced
him, “ –how dare you!” Then Lau Heung thought his skull cracked as Tai Pang
punched his face really hard. Then he breathed and coughed. Lingering Fragrance
realised that he was still alive, skull still intact. His mother used to say
he had a thick skull (for not listening to her), but this time he was grateful
that she was right. Then he gasped as another knife stabbed him, followed by an
inferno when the hot iron slashed that wound again. His lips bled as he
prevented a scream from escaping his mouth, but when Khoo Tai Pang whipped his
new wound several times, the scream finally escaped. Exhausted of energy to
even restrain, he then let himself being sucked into a dark vortex as he
whispered her name again. Siu
Ching...
Siu
Ching. He heard her voice just now. He must be in comma now, for she was in
Yunnan, safe and sound. Something about what the guard said returned Lau Heung
to the present. His voice wasn’t rough at all, and come to think of it, he was
slimmer than the usual guards. His uniform was light blue, instead of mustard
brown or green-red like the Four Fighters’s. Lau Heung tried to focus again
when he realised he indeed recognised the voice. The guard was...
“Siu
Ching?” he whispered with his hoarse voice. He then gasped as the guard hugged
him so tightly. He moaned in pain before the person released the embrace and
wiped his bleeding eyes. He then saw it clearer. It was indeed Siu Ching. The
girl’s eyes were puffy, her nose was red as tears streamed down her cheeks. She
struggled not to let her sob heard due to safety, but she couldn’t help it. She
spent the next few minutes sobbing on Chor tai-gor's naked, scarred, bleeding and
scorched chest before she extracted herself.
“Siu
Ching...” he whispered again with more strength this time. “It’s really you...”
He tried to hug her but since the Four Fighters left him chained standing on
the wall, the chains that tied his four limbs prevented him from hugging her
with both hands. He could only half embrace her with one chained hand (the
chain had somehow came loose during his torture), but that was enough for him.
“I’m not dreaming...”
Siu
Ching shook her head as she looked into Chor tai-gor's beaten and bleeding face.
“You're not dreaming. I’m here... I’m here...” She cupped his face with two
hands and tentatively kissed his cheeks. She buried her pretty head on his
chest before jerking back with anger in her eyes. “How dare they! How dare they
did this to you, Chor tai-gor! Khoo Tai Pang must pay for what he does to you!”
Chor
Lau Heung shook his head and closed his eyes. He’d let his guard down thus Kam
Ling Chi poisoned them, and this was what he had to pay. He sighed. “I thought
I’d never see you again...” He opened his eyes again. “The whole day they’ve
been torturing me, I have only one image in my mind that kept me going.” He
closed his swollen eyes again as he caressed his cheeks on Siu Ching’s hands.
“Your image. Your face. Your smile. Your laughter.” He brushed his bleeding and
swollen lips against her hand before opening his eyes. “You.”
Siu
Ching let out another sob as she embraced his injured body. “I’ve missed you so
much, Chor tai-gor...I left Yunnan on impulse because Father is now safe. I’m
glad I found you here...”
“I
have been missing you too...I’m so glad you found me,” whispered Lingering
Fragrance. Then he asked with his raspy voice how she got in here. She told him
about the secret passage she found accidentally at the back of the small hill.
She had waited until Khoo Tai Pang et al left at sunset, leaving two men to
guard the room. Then the two guards got bored and went outside to fetch their
own dinner and wine (one of them commented he didn't want to eat there because
the smell of Chor's blood and singed skin was too intense). She chose that
moment to slip in undetected. She told the chained Lingering Fragrance that
she’d sent Sit Siu Yan for Lau Wong temple to fetch the Beggar Clan. The beaten
wanderer nodded and explained with difficulty that Kam Ling Chi poisoned them
and he’d also sent Wu Tit Fa to get Mr Siu just after Sit Siu Yan left to join
Wah Jan Jan in town. Chor Lau Heung had also hidden the girls and the prisoners
somewhere safe. When she asked where they were, he shook his head.
“I
can’t tell you now, Siu Ching. If they capture you, they will extract that
information from you.”
In
fact, that was the other thing Lingering Fragrance was very grateful of: that
the other girls weren’t with him. They were safe, and as long as they were
safe, Khoo Tai Pang wouldn’t be able to extract any information about the Duke
from him. Just an hour before Tai Pang’s attack, Sung Tim Yi vented out her
frustration by stringing the old zither randomly, out of tune. They had found
the zither with a wooden sword yesterday, and that was how they knew they were
poisoned; because Chor tai-gor had practiced with the sword and felt like someone
had hit his chest from within. This time, frustrated by her misguided trust on
Kam Ling Chi, Tim Yi struck the zither randomly in the backyard. To her utter
surprise, she heard a grinding noise on the garden wall. When she examined it,
she found that a small brick had moved slightly to reveal a very hidden
star-shaped stone. She tentatively turned the key clockwise to find the wall
slid just slightly, to give an opening just enough for two people to enter. She
immediately informed Chor tai-gor, who then asked her to repeat what she did
just now with the zither. Being a well-tuned musician, Tim Yi could recall her
accidentally-found tune. She turned the key anti-clockwise and, as expected,
the stone door closed again. When Tim Yi played the strange tune again, the
brick moved back to hide the stone key. When she played the tune for the third
time, the brick revealed the key again. Chor Lau Heung then turned the key
clockwise and slipped into the opening to check what was inside. He reappeared
a few minutes later, stating that he’d found an underground hideout. They had
to take a set of stairs down to reach the hideout, which was well-aired. It
even had a small well where they could draw water. When Lingering Fragrance
checked what mechanism to open and close the door from inside, he
easily found a lever at the bottom of the stairs for that purpose. When he
closed the door from within, So Yung Yung who remained outside for observation
reported that the brick moved as well to cover the stone key.
Chor
Lau Heung then decided that all of them were going to hide downstairs with the
Duke et al. Once the prisoners were underground, they set themselves nicely.
Chor Lau Heung was about to close the door from the inside when Tim Yi realised
that they'd left the zither outside. Apparently, the chaos weakened their
coordination, such that one person thought the other person was going to bring
the zither downstairs and vice versa. Chor Lau Heung realised the importance of
that zither, for it could be found by Khoo Tai Pang and they could open the
underground hideout by accident. He then ran upstairs to get the musical
instrument. Tentatively closing the door behind him, he checked the garden for
the zither's whereabouts. He found it at the small table at the other end of
the garden, rather far from the hidden door. Someone must have put it aside
just in case it was knocked over during prisoner transfer. He jumped across the
garden to obtain it, but just as he landed, he heard footsteps coming. Khoo Tai
Pang and his men arrived at the place, and he wasn't inside the hideout! Lau
Heung glanced at the hidden door; it remained hidden, but he would need time to
get there. He struck the zither according to Tim Yi's newfound tune and the
brick moved to hide the stone key. He prayed that the girls had the sense not to
follow him upstairs, for they would be captured and that was the end of
everything.
Realising
he should remain calm, Chor Lau Heung hence just stood on the spot, next to the
zither, waiting for Khoo Tai Pang's group to arrive. The men arrived just as
Chor relaxed himself, giving no trace that he just emerged from a hidden door.
They then exchanged threats before Khoo opened attack. Chor would usually
defeat the Flying Devil easily, but the poison made it extremely hard for him
to even defend himself. He did manage to throw the zither towards Khoo as an
apparent attempt to attack his opponent, but in reality he did that to destroy
the key to enter the hideout. Khoo did as expected; smashing the zither into
pieces. Relaxed knowing that the hideout would remain hidden, Chor let Khoo
arrested him. What followed were slashes, whips, blood, muffled scream and
extreme pain he had to endure until now. He had endured it knowing that the
girls and the prisoners were safe. The store room where Khoo had been torturing
him was located at the other side of the house, hence his screams wouldn't be
heard from the hideout. That would reduce the girls' impulse to run and rescue
him.
But
now, looking at the blurred image of Siu Ching, Lingering Fragrance suddenly
realised Khoo Tai Pang had a golden opportunity to extract information from
him. Hastily, he asked whether Siu Ching came with the Beggar Clan or alone.
When the girl confirmed that Mr Siu et al had not arrived and she was there
alone, Chor realised she shouldn't have been there with him.
"Then
you have to go now, Siu Ching. We don't know when the guards are going to
return. It can be any minute now, and there is no place here for you to
hide."
“Well...”
Siu Ching processed that logic for a while before saying, “Then let’s just get
out of here. Let me get you out.” She reached for her Jade Sword to slash the
chain, but Chor Lau Heung shook his head.
“The
sound of sword clanking the chain might attract the guards." Lau Heung
winced as he felt the gushing wound on his left side brushing against Siu
Ching, “You need the key. Khoo Tai Pang has it, not these guards. And I can’t
fight now, so if someone sees us as we leave the shack, you’re on your own.
Most likely they will beat you, and use you against me so I spill the Duke’s
whereabouts. And I can’t guarantee I won’t do that if you are their bait.”
“Then...
what should we do?”
Through
his blurred vision, he looked at her beautiful face that he’d been missing.
“You need to leave. Now.”
“But
I can’t just leave you here!”
"You
need to do exactly that. Get out of here. Wait for Mr Siu and others outside.
And you need to promise me not to return alone, not without the Beggar Clan or
others.”
That
logic didn’t strike with Siu Ching. Her lips trembled as she shook her head.
“No way I can do that!”
“But
I need you to promise me that, Siu Ching,” whispered Lingering Fragrance
urgently. He coughed and strived to add, “I may not be able to keep the secret
if you are captured. If I spill the beans, you know what it means to the
country.” He looked into her eyes with his blurred vision. “You know what you
mean to me, and that’s why you shouldn’t return here alone.”
Song
Siu Ching studied the battered face of the man she loved. She had only known
him for almost a year, but she knew that she couldn’t live without him. Her
problem the last few months had been that she wasn’t sure about his feelings
for her. Oh, she had been certain that he truly took a fancy to her, but that
was before he found out she was the Princess. Afterwards, he withdrew and took
a respectful distance from her, which pained her. It took him some convincing
and Emperor Father’s blatant question about the wanderer's affection towards
the Princess for Chor Lau Heung to realise the source of his distancing was not
only Siu Ching’s royal status but also his own insecurities. Once he realised
that and received a confirmation from the girl that she just wanted to be with
him and she’d chose him over the palace life, he finally relented and promised
her that he’d take her exploring the world carefree once they reinstated the
Emperor.
Now,
listening to how he would not want her around him exactly because he cared for
her too much, Song Siu Ching realised Chor Lau Heung truly loved her. He
wouldn’t worry so much about her safety and his own inability to keep the
secret had he not loved her so deeply. With this newfound understanding, she
promised tearfully that she wouldn’t return without help. She gazed into his
eyes and caressed his scarred cheek with her hand. He sighed to feel her touch.
She took a deep breath and tried to detach herself from him. Just as she almost
gained strength for that, he whispered again, “Just in case I don’t see you
again though –”
“What
nonsense!” she glared despite her tears. “I will see you again, and I will free
you from this place!”
“That’s
very nice, but –” he forced a smile, “ – if I can’t make it –”
“You
will!” she almost forgot to whisper as her vision blurred again due to her re-emerging
tears. “I will make sure it happens!”
“If
I can’t make it,” he whispered persistently, “I wonder...if you could do
something for me now...”
Siu
Ching blinked. Wiping her tears away, she asked what it would be. The answer
that came later was totally unexpected.
“...I
wonder... if you allow me to...kiss you...” she hardly heard it. When her eyes
widened in happy disbelief, he added, slightly smiling despite the dry blood on
his mouth. “I know this might be highly improper... but I don’t want to die
before I kiss you. I’m sorry that our first kiss would be in a place like
this... with me like this, but just in case I can’t make it...”
“No!
You’ll be fine...!”
Chor
Lau Heung managed a smile. “At any rate...will you indulge me?”
Blushing,
she replied with “I... that would be just fine...” then tentatively leaning
forward towards the beaten face of Chor Lau Heung, who then struggled to
embrace her for the kiss. Lingering Fragrance could only reach one chained hand
to slightly embrace his love, and Siu Ching had to tiptoe due to his height. He
couldn’t bend so much to kiss her, so their first kiss was just a brush. That
brush though, was enough to send electric jolts on the lovers, such that
somehow Lau Heung managed to extend his chained hand to bring the girl closer
to him and kiss her more passionately this time. The Princess herself, although
the first try tasted blood on her, it was enough for her to want more. The
second kiss ignited something alien inside her, such that she replied in kind
as his mouth claimed hers. His bleeding mouth brushed and ate her soft lips
such that she moaned and arched her back. However, the moan brought Chor Lau
Heung back to reality such that he stopped kissing her. He withdrew with difficulty.
He looked at his beloved, trying to memorise her features through his bleeding
eyes in case this would be the last time they met. He then smiled.
“Thank
you, Siu Ching...” The girl blushed, her eyes glazed. But before she said
anything, he steeled himself. “Now go. And don’t return without help. I mean
it. I can’t take it if they capture you.”
Returning
slowly to reality, Siu Ching nodded. Her lover still had to whisper another go
and even pushed her slightly with his shoulders before she moved away towards
the door. At the door step, she looked back at Lingering Fragrance with utmost
concern before slipping out of the shack undetected.
-xxx-
Later,
Siu Ching would realise it was pure luck that she went inside undetected,
stayed inside for a while there unnoticed and slipped outside without
attracting any attention. She slipped into the darkness of the kitchen backyard
and almost reached the hidden tunnel when she heard incoming footsteps. She
quickly dove into the bushes and stayed very still. It was difficult calm her
beating heart. The kiss had brought her sensations she never knew existed, such
that she was rather lightheaded now. But Chor tai-gor's and the girls’
safety were in her hands now. She must leave undetected, or that would be the
end of their fight. Her petite figure made it easier for her to hide in the
garden. With Chor tai-gor's safety in her mind, she waited until two guards
appeared from the main building and entered the shack. She then heard the
commotion inside and – her fear – something swishing in the air. She then heard
Chor tai-gor's faint groan as the whip (that must be it) landed on his already
scarred skin. It took her whole composure for Siu Ching to stay still and not
running towards the shack to beat those guards and slice their ungrateful
necks. She knew she could beat the guards inside, but she wouldn’t be able to
handle other incoming guards or the Four Fighters.
Siu
Ching steeled herself and took her chance to run towards the hidden tunnel
behind the tree. Trying to ignore the whipping noise inside the storage, she
grabbed an armful of leaves, covered the lid with them before slightly lifting
the lattice stone lid and slipping inside. With difficulty, she rearranged the
extra leaves cover from within. She then closed the lid, ran frantically
downstairs, and retraced her steps. Dirty, tired, and agitated, she waited
until she was certain no one was outside before she reappeared by the creek
under the starry night sky. She then returned to the tree she had been staying
before. She climbed it and waited for Sit Siu Yan, Mr Siu, and Wu Tit Fa. She
was awake almost the whole night. She couldn’t sleep and she didn’t want to
sleep. The image of bleeding, beaten and near-unconscious Chor tai-gor kept
playing in her mind, such that she alternated between tears and anger the whole
night. “Khoo Tai Pang must pay for this” was her mantra. She later added Kam
Ling Chi to her list, for there was little doubt that she was responsible for
the poison. She later had some sleep. Very light sleep, for she kept waking to
check if someone was coming, and also because she was supremely concerned for
Chor tai-gor's wellbeing. Nonetheless, it was still a sleep that her body
needed.
As
the first light of the day penetrated through the tree canopy, she woke up
again. She peeked through the canopy to check her surroundings. No one was
there. She hoped that Sit Siu Yan and Wu Tit Fa would arrive soon. But what would
she do if they're not here today? She decided to wait until sunrise to check
the surroundings properly. Then, at sunrise she heard it: footsteps. Very faint
footsteps. She curled into a ball to remain undetected. But then someone jumped
to her branch and almost gave her a heart attack.
"There
you are! I found you!!"
Siu
Ching almost screamed when she realised it was Trouble Maker Sit Siu Yan who
had just found her. "Sit Siu Yan! You're here!!" She hugged the
deranged old man with relief. "Siu Yan, I'm so glad you're here. Are you
with Mr Siu?"
Instead
of answering, Siu Yan looked down and almost screamed to a person down there.
"I found Sister Song!"
"Ssshhhh!!
Are you an idiot?! I told you to remain silent!!"
Siu
Ching recognised the voice. "Wu tai-gor?? You're also here!" She then
jumped down the tree, followed by Siu Yan. Wu Tit Fa gestured for silence and
for her to follow him. They just had to walk a short distance away to find a
dense shrubbery where he then ducked and entered. Siu Ching followed and found
Mr Sit, the Branch Leader of the Beggar Clan with 2-3 men there. Mr Siu was
about to ask her what had been happening when Siu Ching asked how many men they
had. When he said they brought 10 men with them, Siu Ching realised they needed
a better hideout. She then led them to the creek and instructed them to very
carefully and quickly entered the rabbit hole. Mr Siu instructed two men to
safeguard the hole by observing the creek from a hidden vantage point behind a
nearby bush. He then jumped in to follow the others.
Once
safely inside, Siu Ching delivered her status report. Wu exclaimed his anger
several times when he heard Siu Ching's description of what happened to Chor
Lau Heung. He then said he'd wring Khoo Tai Pang's neck before Mr Siu reminded
him that Wu was also poisoned and hadn't had his health restored. For Siu
Ching's benefit, Mr Siu then explained that Wu fainted just outside town
because he was running towards the Beggar Branch Quarter. Luckily, Sit Siu Yan
found him and helped him to reach the quarter. The beggar clan dispatched
themselves immediately and arrived there around midnight. They had waited in
the shrubbery for the right time to check the mansion.
Mr
Siu then led the discussion of their next course of action. They agreed that,
although they would sneak into the mansion through the secret tunnel, they
would need to beat and kill (or at least wound) Khoo Tai Pang such that the
enemy's force was broken. However, their strongest strength was Sit Siu Yan,
and even assisted by Mr Siu, Siu Ching had her doubts.
“But
will Sit Siu Yan be able to defeat Khoo Tai Pang and the Four Fighters?”
wondered Siu Ching as she glanced at the Big Baby who was sitting on the ground
of the cave, playing with the rabbits there.
“About
that, I forgot to say something, Miss Song,” Mr Siu intercepted. “We actually
met some Wutang disciples in town. Through them, we asked Master Yuen Hung to
help. He was visiting a temple half a day from town. They know where the
mansion is, hence we just have to wait for their arrival.”
Siu
Ching shook her head. “I’m afraid we can’t wait. I’m worried about Chor tai-gor.
He’s
usually very strong, but the poison had weakened him considerably. I’m just –”
“I
agree with Siu Ching that we better sneak in immediately,” said Wu Tit Fa. “I
can’t fight now, but at least I can still guard the tunnel or whatever.”
Sensing that Mr Siu was still reluctant, he added, “We can ask your men to stay
here and alert the Wutangs when they arrive, so they are kept updated.”
Mr
Siu finally agreed. After leaving two men to safeguard the creek and to alert
the Wutangs, they traced the tunnel towards the mansion. Upon arriving at the
cave under the mansion, Wu Tit Fa decided to return to the creek to join the
two beggars waiting for the Wutangs.
-xxx-
His
own scream woke him up. His voice was hoarse and he barely could whisper, but
the last hot iron rod was particularly painful to bear, hence he screamed
despite his unconscious state. Chor Lau Heung had drifted in and out of
consciousness last night. The Four Fighters and Khoo Tai Pang were more than
happy to torture him until well past midnight, whipping and beating him, and
pouring wine on his open wound (if not torching the same wound with hot iron
rod. His body shut down several times to prevent him experiencing the
excruciating pain. When he was awake during the painful tortures, he held on
the images of Siu Ching, of their happy moments. After the kiss last night, he
had determined to stay alive. He trusted she'd bring help soon, and he wanted
to be alive when she found him. He wanted to hold her again, to inhale the
sweet fragrance of her hair, and to kiss the lovely mouth again. He even smiled
several times for he was so deep in his memory and imagination that his torturers thought that Lingering Fragrance mocked them despite being tortured. Hence the
last hot iron rod, which wasn't only pressed to his skin but whipped against
it. The pain truly hit him that he jolted out of his subconscious. Gasping, he was
grateful that they didn't target his eyes anymore though, he still needed his
vision to observe the surroundings. He saw two Fighters standing in front of
him. Khoo Tai Pang wasn't there now, but he was there the whole night last
night.
"Why
are you smiling?!" Tiger jerked Chor's dishevelled hair up. So he was
apparently smiling in his unconscious state then. He must have been drifting
with his memories of her. Thank
you, Siu Ching....
He
coughed and whispered, still smiling. "Because I have a beautiful life and
you are just some rotten apples no one really wants to be around with." He
looked up and tried to focus his vision on his torturers. "You think
following the dog of a duke around will bring you happiness? You don't know
what happiness is. What love is. Perhaps you don't even know what you
miss."
Tiger
raised his sabre high. "You know you're really getting on my nerves? Now I
don't care whether we don't know where the duke is. If you're dead, one problem
is down!"
"Go
on kill me," Lingering Fragrance whispered. He had no idea why he wanted
to taunt those fighters. Siu Ching might not arrive for another few hours, and
he actually had to just shut up so they didn't chop his head. But he couldn't
help it. He smiled again. "At least I die knowing I've known love. You,
when my friends find out that you have killed me, they will not spare you, and
you'll be left rotten to death."
"Shut
up!"
"You'll
die as a lonely man who knows nothing about love."
"Yaaarrrggghhh!!!"
Tiger swung his sabre high. Chor Lau Heung closed his eyes. I'm sorry, Siu Ching. I don't know why I provoked
him. If I don't see you now, I'll see you in the next life...
The
next thing the chained wanderer heard was a clank and a thud. He automatically
inhaled, surprised that he could still breath, and opened his eyes. He felt
blood spraying on his face, but somehow he knew it wasn't his blood. Then he
looked down and saw Tiger lying on the ground, his back was slashed deep. The Lingering
Fragrance looked up.
And
he saw Fury. In the form of a girl in blue, this Fury whirled through the room.
The green jade sword she wielded slashed the guards in the room without
discrimination. Her eyes were red with anger, her dishevelled hair flying
around her, her war cries filled the store room with a chilling realisation
that no one shall escape her wrath. A man was fighting alongside her to protect
her, but her anger seemed to dominate the whole room and the Fury certainly
didn't need any protection. She easily defeated the guards on her own.
After
the whirling Fury defeated the guards, Chor Lau Heung then saw her facing Dragon,
one of the Four Fighters, who were livid to see Tiger down. He tried to trap
her with some false movements but despite her anger, the Fury remained in
control. She pressed forward with her sword, parrying Dragon’s sword and
delivered counterattacks here and there. Then Lingering Fragrance heard the
Fury saying "You will pay for what you did to Chor tai-gor!" and after
she finished that sentence, she swung her sword up to block an attack and
immediately swung it down again to slash open Dragon’s chest. Dragon fell, and
the blood-stained Fury stood still next to her victim in her glory.
Witnessing
this scene, Lingering Fragrance suddenly remembered something. Once years ago,
he met a traveling Buddhist monk from the West, from Tianzhu, the land where the Buddha
was born. Being an inquisitive person, he'd conversed with the monk in mixed
languages about Buddhism and also about the monk's native land. The monk told
him about the non-Buddhist culture of his land, including a well known legend
of a goddess who defeated a buffalo demon. The goddess was a warrior goddess,
although she could be gentle as well. She wielded many weapons and when she was
livid, her wrath would spare no one. With a white tiger as her ride, the
goddess defeated the buffalo demon. The monk also said that the goddess has a
husband, and after she ended her battles, she would morph back into a loving,
gentle wife for her husband.
Somehow,
Lingering Fragrance remembered these two sides of this goddess when he saw the
blue Fury finished her opponent. Her anger somehow subsided as her enemy
exhaled his last breath. A man Lau Heung thought as Mr Siu was still busy
fighting new incoming guards, but since two of the fighters were down, Fury
slowly morphed into a girl Chor Lau Heung knew. She then strode towards the
chained wanderer.
"Siu
Ching...it's you..." He couldn't believe his eyes. He never saw Siu Ching
fighting with such fury, such vengeance, and such intensity before.
"You're back..."
"I
promised I would, and here I am." She caresses his face and studied his
battered body before glint of tears appeared again. "How dare they,"
she whispered as she lifted her sword to break the chain. "I will free you now, Chor tai-gor."
Yet,
Chor Lau Heung saw something she didn't see. A glint of metal flew towards her.
A knife, thrown by the third fighter.
"Siu
Ching, watch out!!"
What
followed was something that Mr Siu later described as scary and magnificent at
the same time. Chor Lau Heung pushed Siu Ching back with his shoulder and head,
yet the knife still hit the back of her arm. She screamed as she fell down. Her
scream ignited wrath in Lingering Fragrance, such that he managed to free one
of his chained hands from the wall. He then swung the chain, including the
brick the chain was attached to, to the fighter who hurt Siu Ching. The chain
hit the fighter's face, but that wasn't enough for Chor. He roared and freed
his other hand and one of his chained legs and attacked that fighter with two
chains attached to his hands. Mr Siu and Siu Ching had to calm him down, for he
apparently couldn't stop saying "Don't you dare hurt Siu Ching! Stay away
from her!" several time as he kept swinging the chains although the fighter was already unconscious.
Then,
as Wu Tit Fa ran into the store room, informing that Master Yuen Hung and the
Wutangs had arrived and the Wutang master and Sit Siu Yan were winning the
fight against Khoo Tai Pang, Chor Lau Heung felt his last energy drained from
him. He fell into Siu Ching's arms and, after whispering the way to forcefully
open the door to the girls' hideout (by retrieving the blocking brick), passed out.
Ignoring
her arm injury, Siu Ching helped Mr Siu and Wu Tit Fa carrying Chor Lau Heung
outside. Master Yuen Hung and Sit Siu Yan just finished dealing with Khoo Tai
Pang and two fighters; the Duke's fighters escaped but were heavily wounded.
Trusting Chor tai-gor temporarily in Master Yuen Hung's hand, who exclaimed in
anger to see how bad they tortured the King of Thieves, Siu Ching then helped
Mr Siu opening the secret hideout. There, they found the four agitated girls
who were actually planning to send Jan Jan for scouting that day, and if things
were getting out of hand, they'd just slit the throats of their prisoners than
giving them back to Khoo Tai Pang. The girls were naturally worried to see Brother
Chor's state. Rosie aka Li Hung Chao immediately dressed his numerous wounds
the best she could. Afterwards, with horses provided by the Wutangs, they
escaped the greater capital with the prisoners. Since Khoo Tai Pang and the
remaining two fighters were wounded, the gates were not properly supervised.
Hence, sneaking out of the capital region wasn't too difficult for the group,
particularly assisted by Yung Yung's excellent disguise strategy. They then
headed to Hua Shan to deposit the prisoners and recuperate. En route, Rosie gave
Chor tai-gor antidote to the poison. They also dispatched two beggars to fetch
Dr Cheong to Hua Shan.
-xxx-
The
first bird songs in the morning woke her up even before the first rays of
sunrise peeked through the windows. Song Siu Ching yawned and stretched her
limbs before she rose with a start. She looked at the bed at the other side of
the room where Chor tai-gor had been laying for a week. His eyes were closed,
his chest rose and fell in a peaceful rhythm. The wounded wanderer looked much
better than when they first arrived in Hua Shan. Originally, Siu Ching got
morning rosters to nurse Chor Lau Heung back to health. However, Lingering Fragrance
had been calling her name in his sleep, such that the group finally decided to
let Siu Ching do night shifts just in case he woke up at night. No one objected
to that plan. Master Dik Chan, formerly known as Koh A Lam, was more relaxed
about the presence of men in her nunnery, particularly during such emergency.
She knew that Chor Lau Heung and the Princess were practically lovers, hence
she raised no comments on the matter of Siu Ching staying in Chor's room to
take care of him at night time. The other girls just accepted it at face value.
Even Tim Yi, who was usually possessive of Chor Lau Heung, didn't mind. The wilful
girl had developed a new sense of respect for Siu Ching after learning from Mr
Siu how the Princess almost single-handedly dismantled the guards and two
fighters in such a fury.
Siu
Ching got up from her bed to check the man she loved. His temperature and
breathing were normal. He'd been in a deep sleep for a week, as if his body
went into hibernation mode in order to restore his health. However, beads of
sweats appeared on his forehead. She wiped the sweats away with her
handkerchief. She then reached for the water bucket on the table, dipped the
cloth in it and placed the wringed cloth on Lingering Fragrance's forehead. She
was about to leave the room to fetch Dr Cheong who had been staying next door
when suddenly her hand was seized by none other than her patient.
Eyes
widened in relief, she turned to see Chor Lau Heung smiling at her. "Chor
tai-gor! You're awake!"
"I've
been awake for a few minutes, Princess," said the wanderer, still with a
smile. "I wanted to wake you up, but I found watching you sleeping a very
satisfying experience, so I let you sleep."
"Ah,
Chor tai-gor, you should've woken me up, just in case something is wrong with
you." Chor Lau Heung said he was feeling well and that he was thirsty. Siu
Ching removed the wet cloth from his forehead then helped him to sit up. After
helping him with two portions of water, she said, "Let me fetch Dr Cheong
now for you."
"Leave
the good doctor alone, Siu Ching," stopping her from raising from bed,
Chor Lau Heung held her hand again, tighter this time. "I sometimes woke
from my sleep and found him attending to me. Also the other girls. And you. So
let them sleep."
"What
should I do now then?"
"Well,"
that smile lingered again on his recovered face. "First please hear my
belated gratitude for saving me. Saving us." Then his face turned serious.
"We wouldn't be here without your help, Siu Ching..."
She
blushed. "But the other ones also helped. Wah Jan Jan helped you first
before I arrived."
"For
that, I'm forever grateful. And I've thanked her. But I haven't thanked you
properly. So... Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."
The
girl smiled. "It's actually nice to be able to save you this time, instead
of you saving me."
His
eyes darted between the two beads of her eyes. "I've never seen you that
angry before. I thought I saw someone else coming to save me that day."
Gently, he embraced her. Leaning against his healing chest, she could hear his
heart beat as hers beat faster. "You killed people to save me that day.
I've never seen you kill people. I don't know whether to apologise for that
record or thank you for that."
Siu
Ching shook her head. "I didn't do it on purpose, killing them. But I
didn't regret it. They tortured you like that, they don't deserve to live. At
any rate, I don't know if I could fight like that again. Something exploded in
me that morning when I heard they tortured you again. I just ran towards the
room and attacked, ignoring that I might have to face five swordsmen there. I
wasn't even aware of what I did to win the fight that moment. Most of them were
like blurs." She slightly smiled. "I guess we do unexpected things to
rescue the people we cherish in our life..."
"You
certainly did..." Lingering Fragrance brought her hand to his face,
feeling her soft hand on his healing cheek. He inhaled her fragrance before
shaking his head. "Still, I made you kill people to save me. I'm
sorry..." He looked into her eyes, saw an ocean of her love for him.
Feeling grateful that he was still alive to see and love her, he sighed.
"I'm still relieved to be here with you, though..." He embraced her
tighter. "I've missed you..."
It
was a while before she answered "I missed you too, Chor tai-gor..."
She let herself resting on Chor tai-gor's chest and shed her happy tears there
before she realised she might put a pressure on his healing wounds. But when
she pulled apart, Chor Lau Heung shook his head. "I am fine, Siu Ching.
Stay." Pulling her back closer to him, he
then caressed her arms. She slightly winced. Then he remembered that. His own
wrath when he saw her injured.
"Oh,
sorry. How is your arm now?"
"Better,"
she said with a smile. "Hung Chao actually fixed my arm that day after we
freed you."
He
sighed. "You got injured because of me."
"You
got injured for me too..." Siu Ching gazed gently into Lingering
Fragrance's eyes then leaned on his chest. He pulled her away slightly to observe
her face. He then silently asked her permission to kiss her by slowly pulling
her face back closer. She closed her eyes. He caresses her eyebrows then kissed
her, slowly and attentively, before she moaned and kissed him back passionately.
They enjoyed that intimate moment for a while until they both ran out of
breath. Disentangling himself from her, Chor Lau Heung smiled.
"I'm
afraid your father will not let me proceed further without a proper engagement,
Princess."
"That
can be arranged," she returned the smile in kind.
He
chuckled and kissed her again. He then guided her to lie down next to him and
whispered for her to stay with him. Tentatively, she lay next to him. She then
wrapped one arm around him and rested her head on the nook of his neck, her
fingers playing with his hair she had washed a few days ago. Soon, the couple
fell asleep again, even as the rays of the morning sun
sneaked into the room.
-xxx-
Author's
note:
Tianzhu or Shendu was the name the ancient Chinese gave to the Sindh region (which included modern India and modern Pakistan, and perhaps Nepal as well). The
warrior goddess that I was referring to in this story is Ma Durga, the warrior
version of Ma Parvati/Uma, wife of Lord Shiva. I love her and her love story with Lord Shiva...
From
this point, the story can return to the time when Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu
Ching left Hua Shan for Yunnan, before getting involved with a combat with Ting
Fung and the Bat Prince.
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