Baldy Li's Mercy

As I darted to Father's workshop, I did my best to avoid bumping into Baldy Li's men. I was afraid of everyone in the barracks, suspicious, just as they were suspicious of each other. No one spoke about how Mother was being interrogated right now, so it seemed like the news of such happenings hadn't spread to their ears just yet. Still, I did my best to avoid everyone, even the two men who I had spoken to earlier that day. Mother had been interrogated by Baldy Li's men, so I feared that they would try to stop me from alerting Father.

Once I reached Father's workshop, I dashed in through the door. "Father, Father!" I called out.

Father flinched at the sudden commotion. "What is the matter?'

"Mother, she--" I lowered my voice. "There are several men searching the home right now. They think she helped the stowaway and Chao escape."

Father put down his hammer and together we ran home.

When we arrived home, Mother was laying on the ground, curled up, beaten and bloody. Her face was swollen and cut, and her clothes were battered and stained dark red. Although beaten and battered, she did not shed a single tear. Neither did she cry out in pain each time the men kicked or punched her. She merely covered her head and closed her eyes, enduring the pain.

"Traitor!" one of the men screamed.

"We gave you a better life, yet you repay us with treachery?"

"Your husband must have had a hand in this as well."

Only then did Mother break her silence and cry out, "No!" she said. "He knows nothing of this. It was all me. It was all my doing."

But Father wouldn't let Mother take all the blame like that. "Stop!"

All the men stopped beating Mother and turned to Father and me. Their gazes shifted from Father, then to me, then back to Father. Although their gazes had only landed on me for a mere moment, the hostility in their eyes made me shudder.

I wanted to tug at Father's sleeve, but he stepped forward before my small hand could reach him. He stood tall and proud, unwavering, and his face was as still as stone. Even with all of the hostile looks directed toward him, Father's back was the same steady mountain I always saw working in the workshop. Despite this, when I looked down at his hand, I saw that it was trembling.

"It was all my doing." Father's voice was as unwavering as his figure. "I forced her to work for me. I forced her to lie for me and to help the stowaway escape. Whatever punishment you wish to administer, I will take full responsibility for it. But please, leave my wife alone."

"No, please don't--" Mother tried to intervene, but Father cut her off.

"Quiet!" he yelled at her.

I flinched, but I was not the only one to flinch. I could see behind Mother's bloodied face that she was surprised by Father's sudden outburst. In fact, even Baldy Li's men flinched. Father had always been a solemn and quiet man, and he was never one to raise his voice. I almost didn't recognize Father's voice when he yelled at Mother.

"Bohai, why did you do it?" one of the men asked.

Although the men were enraged at Father for his treachery, they still held a soft spot for him. For as long as I could remember, Father had always served them, always willing to create new swords and firearms for them, even helping them with the most minor of repairs. Never in ten lifetimes would they suspect that Father would betray them.

In the time that the men were listening to Father, they stopped thrashing Mother around. I rushed to her side and helped lay her on her back. Then I patted away the blood from her face with a handkerchief.

"The stowaway is an innocent man," Father said. "The only crime he committed was that he was unlucky enough to have been ordered by his master to visit this hostile place. I understand why you would suspect him of being a spy for the Great Ming, but you turned a blind eye to all evidence that pointed to him being otherwise."

"Such as?"

"First and foremost, if he had been a spy for the Great Ming, he would have been more inconspicuous in trying to infiltrate Shuangyu Port. Sneaking onto a boat as a stowaway is not the most inconspicuous way to infiltrate our village. Secondly, if he had been a spy for the Great Ming, he would have disguised himself as a merchant to try to become one of our men. Shuangyu Port sees a great many sailors travelling to and fro. It would not have been difficult for him to disguise himself as a merchant. And if he were truly a servant of the Illustrious Emperor, then he certainly would have been granted his own ship, a crew of men, and goods to trade with us."

At this explanation, several of the men who had been previously beating up Mother seemed convinced. Their expressions were no longer hostile. Still, some skepticism lingered in their faces.

Father continued on, his voice still unwavering. "Lastly, there was not a single weapon found on him. Not even a small dagger to protect himself. The only thing found on him was the money he promised to give to those who helped him and a pendant of his Master's household to prove his identity when he returned home"

"I never knew you were able to speak such flowery and cunning words, Bohai," someone said once Father finished his explanation.

Everyone turned heads to see who had spoken, only to find Baldy Li standing at the doorway, rotten teeth and all. Immediately, heads dropped into bows. Even Mother, whose body was covered in blood and bruises, bowed to him. Instinctively, I lowered my head as well.

"Forgive me, sir," Father said, his head touching the ground. "I never meant to betray you. I just did not wish to see you sully your hands with the blood of any more innocent lives. I deserve to be punished."

Baldy Li chuckled. "You're a lot more cunning than we've given you credit for. You know I wouldn't take you or your wife's lives because your skills are too valuable."

Father kept his head lowered and didn't speak.

"But I wonder, what indispensable skill does your daughter possess?"

A chill ran through my body. I sneaked a glance at Father, and although I couldn't see his face, his entire body was stiff and frozen, rigid. I glanced over at Mother, and she too was frozen in a bowing posture.

"Please," Father begged. "She is an innocent child."

Baldy Li smiled. It was the same, cold smile he had worn when he had Chao imprisoned. "Children suffer for the sins of their parents," he said. "Seems like the crimes of Zhuhua's parents will cause her to suffer greatly."

Father and Mother began kowtowing, hitting their heads against the floor. "Please, I beg of you, do not harm Zhuhua. I deserve to be punished, not her. Please, I will accept any punishment."

Baldy Li stared down at my kowtowing Father and Mother. His smile dropped, as though he were ruminating something, before speaking again.

"If it were any other person who had betrayed me, I would have had them beheaded and dismembered before having them thrown into the sea. But in honor of your decades of loyalty to me, I will grant you and your family mercy this one time. But remember, there will be no next time."

Father lowered his head to the ground. "Your mercy will never be forgotten."

"However," Baldy Li added.

Father looked up at Baldy Li, who leaned in closer to Father's face. Baldy Li flashed a rotten toothed smile. "You will need something to remind you of the consequences of defying my orders."

Baldy Li stood up and motioned his men towards Father. Before I could see what was happening, Mother covered my eyes.

"Don't watch," she said.

Then followed the sound of a knife piercing through flesh and Father's blood curdling scream.