Jin Wuniang was a dark-skinned young man with fierce brows and eyes as black as polished stones. Compared with his two older brothers, he carried more of the careless arrogance of a spoiled young lord.
A golden crown sat on his head with a red pom-pom tucked jauntily to one side. He wore a bright red robe decorated with tigers and cranes. A treasure pouch rested inside his clothes, while the white cuffs of his fitted archery sleeves showed at his wrists. An eight-treasure jade belt circled his waist, and quick deerskin boots covered his feet.
He held a riding crop in his left hand and snapped it through the air.
Crack!
Grinning like a victorious bandit returning home, he called, “Watch what you are doing, boys! It was not easy for me to rob these treasures. Do not damage a thing. Even if you sold yourselves, you could not repay me for a single scratch.”
The men following him all wore red pom-poms beside their temples. They answered in one voice and carefully carried twenty chests made of dark, fragrant wood into the storehouse.
Two servants stood nearby holding Jin Wuniang’s broad ceremonial axes. With nothing else to do, they began whispering.
“The young master did well on this trip. He brought back treasures like these. The madam will certainly be pleased.”
“The young master was carrying out justice on heaven’s behalf, but the madam never takes part in highway robbery.”
“That is not true. The madam’s honored mother was a righteous bandit. When the madam sees that Third Young Master handled everything properly and brought every brother home whole, how could she not be pleased?”
“The madam’s birth family were righteous bandits? No wonder she is forceful but fair. She must come from a Hall of Righteous Brotherhood.”
“You ignorant little servant! Stop talking nonsense. The Empress Dowager issued an edict naming the madam an imperial princess. How could she belong to some common bandits’ hall? At the very least, call it a Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness!”
Jin Wuniang’s face darkened. He slapped them both, nearly knocking them off their feet.
“Inside the highest inner vault is a sign from a bandit stronghold. It still bears the blood that spilled when my grandmother was beheaded. Would you two like to go inside and pay your respects? That old sign may have gained a spirit over the years. Perhaps it will suck both of you in.”
The servants looked around, frightened and embarrassed. One of them suddenly pointed toward smoke in the distance.
“Young Master, what is that?”
Jin Wuniang glanced over carelessly. His expression changed at once, and he leaped into the air.
“Damn it! Brothers, grab your weapons and move!”
Everyone recognized the colors of the signal. All jokes ended. They put down what they were carrying, seized the weapons at their waists, and ran after him.
Jin Wuniang led them at a charge through the compound. They rounded several bamboo groves, and the gate out of the storage courtyards appeared ahead.
At that moment, the messenger Wang Qian had sent climbed over a wall in search of Third Young Master. He spotted Jin Wuniang and shouted from far away, “Third Young Master, stop! Second Young Master orders you to seize the estate’s Three Guardian Treasures!”
Unfortunately, Jin Wuniang was far too reckless. His mind was fixed on the smoke signal, and he charged straight toward it without looking around. The two servants carrying his heavy axes made enough noise for a stampede. The messenger was still far away, with willows, bamboo, and garden plants between them.
Jin Wuniang did not hear a word.
Fortunately, one of the men beside him was known as Sharp-Ears. Princess Fang had assigned the man to Jin Wuniang because she worried that her hotheaded son would miss signs of danger around him.
Sharp-Ears caught the distant call and recognized the messenger as one of Second Young Master’s men. He turned and ran toward him.
“Brother, what happened?”
“The madam is gravely wounded. Second Young Master orders Third Young Master to seize the estate’s Three Guardian Treasures. He ran too fast for me to catch him.”
Sharp-Ears pointed back the way they had come. “My group just left the vaults. No one will suspect us if we return. You go after Third Young Master. I will retrieve the treasures in his place.”
“Do not joke, brother. Once a three-colored signal rises, every part of the estate is sealed. The vault guards will be especially afraid of thieves taking advantage of the confusion. They will not admit you without the proper seal, even if you belong to Third Young Master—or to the madam herself.”
Sharp-Ears knew he was right. Yet after wasting this much time, they might never catch Third Young Master.
The messenger showed him a bloody cut across his shoulder, grabbed his arm, and pulled him toward Jin Wuniang’s retreating group.
“Every courtyard has armed guards. Third Young Master will not get far.”
The two men used an overland flying technique and raced ahead with astonishing speed.
They found Jin Wuniang roaring like thunder at the officer guarding the courtyard gate. He pointed one of his broad axes at the man.
“I am Jin Wuniang! Open your worthless eyes and let me through! You may lock down everyone else, but I am half a master of this estate!”
The officer repeatedly saluted, wearing a bitter smile. “Third Young Master, Young General, when a black, red, and blue signal appears, the entire estate is sealed. No one may pass. That is the madam’s absolute command. Anyone who disobeys will receive no reward for his achievements and severe punishment for every mistake.”
“Nonsense! This is the storage compound, and I am trying to leave it. You are the one standing in my way!”
Sharp-Ears shouted, “Young Master, come back! This servant has urgent news! Young Master, come back! It concerns the madam and cannot wait!”
Jin Wuniang waved his ax at the men behind him. “Charge! But do not kill anyone.”
Then he turned. “Why are you calling me?”
Wang Qian’s messenger had crossed the vast residence several times after taking wrong turns while searching for Jin Wuniang. Only his powerful inner energy had kept him running. Now sweat covered his face, along with fear and urgency.
“Third Young Master, Second Young Master orders you to seize the estate’s Three Guardian Treasures and save the madam’s life. The master was the one who wounded her. Be careful.”
There was something about Jin Wuniang that had not yet been explained.
Both his parents had died, but he had been born with divine strength. His two arms could lift an enormous weight, and he possessed the courage to face ten thousand men alone. At six or seven years old, he could push a great millstone all over the hills even though a donkey could not pull it.
The villagers called him a monster. They claimed he had brought about his parents’ deaths and wanted to kill him to restore peace.
The grand chancellor found a report about the child buried among accounts of strange events and lucky omens from across the kingdom.
*My wife will certainly like a little monster like this,* he thought.
He sent people with one hundred pounds of date-paste cakes and one hundred pounds of red-bean cakes. They lured the child back to the capital, where he became the third young master.
His foster parents gave him the delicate name Wuniang because his childhood nickname had been Little Five. Princess Fang hoped a feminine name would make him less careless and help him become as thoughtful as a girl. She also feared that his violent temper, simple nature, and divine strength would lead him to an early death like the legendary strongman Li Yuanba. Giving him a girl’s name was meant to weaken that unlucky fate.
Now Jin Wuniang led his men back to the vaults. He hacked apart every mechanism whose location he remembered but whose proper method of opening he had forgotten. He destroyed both hidden and visible locks, then seized the Spirit-Stabilizing Pearl, the last medicine left by the Medicine God, and the Fire-Cleansed Cloth.
The final bottle of the Medicine God’s medicine stood in a room filled with other prepared medicines. Jin Wuniang ordered his men to bring in several chests. He took piles of everything: life-preserving pills, antidotes, poisons, knockout drugs, blood-restoring medicine, medicines to stop bleeding, and drugs for changing voices, disguising faces, and removing scars.
He did not know what they might need.
He only thought, *Mother is always telling me to be more careful. I brought everything this time. She will be happy and praise me for being more thoughtful than Second Brother Wang.*
After taking the medicines, he noticed the armory and armor vault next door. He knew they held weapons sharp enough to cut a drifting hair and armor that ordinary blades could not pierce.
He snatched back his broad ax, shattered a linked purple-gold lock, and shouted, “Take every weapon! We can divide them later. Choose plain-looking armor. Carry as much as you can!”
How many weapons could one grand residence contain?
Only two chests of short sabers and daggers. Only a few dozen rare swords gleaming with cold light, a few dozen treasured sabers shining purple and blue, row after row of fine bows, and a handful of unusual weapons of nearly every kind.
Jin Wuniang rushed forward and seized the only ax.
It was a ghost-faced bronze ax mixed with gold. Its edge flashed so brightly that it hurt the eyes. The handle felt cold, and the weapon carried a terrible air of death. He swung it twice. It was comfortable, light, and perfectly balanced. With the slightest touch, it sliced a stone table in half as easily as bean curd.
The ax might have been made for him.
Jin Wuniang laughed loudly. “Get moving!”
Under his bandit-like leadership, his bandit-like followers swept the two vaults clean. They stuffed weapons inside their clothes, tied them to their waists, tucked them into their boots, strapped them across their bodies, and carried them in both hands. As long as the load did not interfere with fighting or dodging, they took as much as possible.
Everyone knew the situation was dangerous. Yet every man was excited and eager to be first. Not one showed any fear for his life.
Jin Wuniang could not bear to abandon his old ax after finding the new one, so he carried one in each hand. His heavily loaded men followed behind, along with several chests.
When they reached the gate officer again, Jin Wuniang did not waste another word.
The officer thrust his iron spear forward. Jin Wuniang caught it on the blade of his new ax, and the spear snapped in two.
“Jin Wu! That weapon in your hand is a treasure from the vault. It belonged to Prince Rui of the former dynasty! How could someone like you—”
The officer could not finish. Jin Wuniang reversed his grip and swept him up with the flat back of the ax. He tossed the man into the branches of a tree as easily as a girl lifting a handkerchief.
Jin Wuniang charged onward. He used the flat of his ax to throw aside anyone who stood in his way and shed no blood. After crossing two courtyards and scattering more than a hundred skilled guards, he and his treasure-laden men reached the smoke signal.
His voice rolled ahead of him like thunder.
“Mother! It is Little Five! Mother, where are you?”
Inside the stone chamber, the walls trembled with his shouting. Wang Qian hurried outside and called back, “Third Brother, stop shouting! Mother is unconscious! Did you bring—”
He stopped.
Jin Wuniang held an ax in each hand. His clothes were stuffed so full that he looked pregnant, and every man behind him carried treasures from head to toe.
Clearly, they had brought everything.
Jin Wuniang reached him, dropped both axes, and threw himself into Wang Qian’s arms. Wang Qian gathered all his inner energy and was still driven three steps backward.
Jin Wuniang pulled a white cloth bundle from his clothes. “The Fire-Cleansed Cloth, Spirit-Stabilizing Pearl, and Medicine God’s medicine are all here. Where is Mother? Where is she?”
“Inside the cooling chamber. Take those things to Eldest Brother so he can dress her wound.”
Jin Wuniang rushed past so hard that he shoved Wang Qian aside. Wang Qian barely kept his balance. He pointed at Jin Wuniang’s band of robbers.
“Tie everything down securely. If something falls while we are running, do not stop to pick it up. Give anything you cannot carry to someone else.”
Wang Qian returned to the stone chamber. Chen Liang handled the medicine powder as carefully as the priceless treasure it was and spread it over the wound, which continued to seep blood through its first bandages. He wrapped the injury in Fire-Cleansed Cloth.
They waited.
No more blood appeared on the white fabric.
Only then did Chen Liang and Wang Qian both sigh with relief.
Jin Wuniang stared blankly at the pool of blood on the floor. His eyes turned red.
“Mother lost so much blood. Will she die? Eldest Brother, Second Brother, say something!”
Chen Liang collapsed to the ground. Forgetting all dignity, he used the sleeve of his white brocade robe to wipe away his sweat.
“As long as she keeps the Spirit-Stabilizing Pearl in her mouth, she will not die. The wound may trouble her for the rest of her life, but survival is enough.”
Jin Wuniang nodded quickly. “As long as Mother lives! What do we do now?”
“We wait for Tenth Lady.”