Red Dogs

1150 AD, Black Sun Village, China.
Mei followed the bloodstains into her house. Her heart sunk and knees wobbled at the sight.
Her father lay in halves, his slimy intestines coating the wooden tarmac. Her mother faced downwards, her naked body bloodied and motionless. Tears streamed down Mei’s face. Where was her younger sister Ling? Was she dead?

Mei knew it must have been the Red Dog bandits. 

Their troubles began when a group of bandits, called the Red Dogs, entered Shandong province. They were dealing in black spice drugs and capturing young girls as sex slaves. These girls were then controlled by their black spice addiction. But her father, an upright official, refused to accept bribes from the Red Dogs. All the other government officials were in cahoots with this powerful gang for fear of reprisal. This angered the bandits and led to continual harassment and death threats. 

But Mei’s father had stuck to his principles and died for it. With him out of the way, the Red Dogs would have full permission to set up their illicit businesses in Shandong province. 

Father always told Mei and Ling that if they stood for nothing, they would fall for anything.
Mei cursed herself for not being home. She could have protected them with her skill in sword fighting. She had trained from the tender age of 9 till now at 19 years old. Instead, she was out frolicking in the Eastern Moon village with her friends. She had to find and rescue Ling at all costs. Even if she died trying.
Mei found a small bag of wine and sweet cakes. Then she headed into the cellar. She shifted away a large jug of wine and found what she was looking for. There were some silver taels and a long wooden box. The box was sealed by red wax imprinted with their family clan character, Song. She lugged it upstairs and took the rest of her belongings.
Before Mei could leave, two men walked out of the side room, laughing and smiling. She quickly hid behind a bush. One was a scrawny man with moustache. The other had a scar running down his face. Both were carrying swords.
“Boss will be pleased with the girl we caught!” the scrawny man said to Scar-face. “There’s supposed to be one more girl though.” 

That girl who was caught must be Ling! Mei shifted uneasily and a twig snapped under her shoe.

“Did you hear that?” Scar-face said, muscle tensed. “Someone must have come back. Search the place.” 

The thin man unsheathed his sword and entered the house. Scar-face waited in the courtyard.
Mei held her breath. In the dark, her fingers frantically broke the wax on the wooden box. It made a sharp sound.
Scar-face pulled out his sword instantly. It gleamed in the dark night. “Show yourself!”
Mei grabbed the sabre’s handle and a rush of adrenaline flowed through her body. She sprang out from the bush like a tiger springing out and swung the blade downwards at Scar-face.
Surprise registered on his face and he parried the blow hastily. He stumbled backwards, finding his footing again. In the moonlight, he saw her clearly.
A young girl, no more than a teenager, held a large sabre with both hands. Too big for her. He grinned. “You must be the other daughter. I’ll ravish you just like your whore mother.”
Mei’s brow furrowed. She couldn’t force out images of what had happened to her parents. At that moment, Scar-face lunged forward, the sword aimed for her chest. She dodged, barely. The blade swished past her.
Mei twisted her waist and brought the sabre down on Scar-face with all her might. The blade went through his flesh and bones.
He screamed. His butchered arm holding the sword clattered to the ground. His eyes bulged in horror and he collapsed. Blood flowed out of the stump copiously. “She cut off my arm. Cut off.”
The thin man rushed out from the house.
Mei turned to face him. “Where is my sister?”
“In hell!” The thin man sneered, glancing at Scar-face’s convulsing body due to extreme blood loss. He would be dead in a few minutes.
Mei kicked Scar-face’s body away to create more space. The thin man held his sword confidently, his legs staggered for stability. He was much taller than her, with a longer reach with his sword.
Mei’s arms were aching to the sockets from swinging the huge sabre already. This couldn’t be a long drawn fight or she’ll be killed. She gauged the distance and guessed there was enough time to get to the grain shack. She dashed to the grain shack as the thin man chased her.
She slid through the wooden door and ducked under the wooden instruments used for pounding grain. The thin man rushed in, sword crashing through the wooden door. The door broke into pieces and he moved in. His whole body seemed to fill the place.
“You can’t escape girl,” the man said. “Put down your sabre and I’ll let you go.” He saw a shadow flickering to his left and he lifted his sword above his head to strike. The blade hit a wooden cross beam in the low ceiling and got stuck. No wonder she chose to come in here.
A sword came out of the darkness and cut the man’s side. He swivelled away, yanked the sword out and swung it horizontally. He seemed to hit flesh.
Mei let out a cry as the sword sliced her upper arm. Blood seeped down her dress. She didn’t have the strength to grip the sabre anymore, at least not with one hand. With pain racking her arm, she dropped the sabre.
The thin man laughed as he wrapped his arm around her neck. She struggled to escape but her life was fading rapidly. “I’ll enjoy playing with you before I kill you.”
Mei bit into the man’s arm till she tasted blood. He loosened his hold for a split-second and she slammed her head backwards against his face. Her head throbbed upon impact, smashing his nose and mouth into a bloody pulp.
The man kicked her away and wiped the blood flowing down his face. He was standing near the grain grinder where a rope held a stone pounder overhead.
Mei untied the rope, causing the stone pounder to fall on the man’s skull. He screamed and the night became silent again. Dark blood seeped out of the grinder onto the straw.
Mei heaved a sigh as she rested against the wooden wall. Her breath was ragged. Though her father told her that violence wasn’t the answer, Mei couldn’t be convinced. Tonight’s massacre confirmed it. Tough justice had to be served. Where would she go next? She searched the dead bandit’s cloak. Inside was a pale letter, seemingly an approval letter from the harbour master with the Red Dogs’ leader, Kang. Her jaw clenched with anger.
She heard the cicadas chirping.
Her arm still hurt like a thousand ant bites.
She took one last look at her house before leaving for the harbour.