Shuli Go Stories Vol. 6: Liars and Cheats

Part 6

           

Lord Baodung was drunk, but even if he hadn't been, Lian imagined her impression would have remained the same. The man was an asshole.

He berated her at once when she entered, though his thoughts were so slurred it was difficult to make out just what disturbed him most. His clothes were rich, but dishevelled and ill fitting; a reality that would have existed with or without the alcohol. He paced the room back and forth in a practiced canter, gesticulating and motioning as if he were before an army on the eve of a desperate battle. Lian's estimation of the man was of someone longing for a brighter, more glorious past than anything the future had in store for him. She'd met other men who molested their children, but none had so transparently hungered for their former, younger exploits in their outward appearance.

"I'm not here to discuss the fee," Lian said for the fourth time.

"Of course you are," Baodung slurred, "Thas all you types do. Meddle and steal. Steal my money."

"Master Yao and I have already agreed to terms," Lian explained for the third time.

"Yao's a good man," Baodung told himself, nodding into some long-forgotten distance.

The two of them were alone in Baodung's study, a gaudily appointed room teeming with the trappings of a provincial landlord: thick books, family portraits in oil and water, heirloom bowls and a bar filled with expensive liquors and wines. Lian was dressed in little more than peasants clothing that failed to reek only because she'd been walking through the rain for the past few days. Yet of the two of them, Lian felt she was better off at that particular moment.

"I just need to ask you a few things," she tried again.

"How much?" Baodung spat back at her.

"I told you I'm not—"

"Not you. The ransomers. How much. Do you think?"

"Ransomers?"

"The men who took her. I'll pay. Oh Gods I'll pay whatever... whatever they want."

"Your daughter was not kidnapped, sir."

"What?" Baodung tried to focus on Lian but swayed too much, falling back on one foot. "Of course she was. Yous... you saw it."

"There was no note. The girl was alone all night – time would not have been an issue. They would have left a note if there was someone whose goal was to get money from you."

"What then? Oh Gods," he brought one hand to his mouth and the other fell to the back of a tall nearby chair. "Oh Gods. Not just some men, taking her to... you know?"

Lian shook her head no, but Baodung had already started down the terrible path in his mind.

"Jingyi... she's, she's so beautiful," and almost at once he started to cry. "They would do such terrible things to her."

"Lord Baodung, she's not being... disturbed. I promise you."

"How can you know?" He cried again before dipping back into unremitting anger. "You're just a filthy meddler, pushing your disgusting fucking nose where it doesn't belong!" Spit flew from his mouth and his eyes turned to daggers of fire, as if Lian herself had taken his daughter.

"Lord," Lian decided to cut straight to the matter. "I'm afraid that your daughter has run away."

The anger in his face remained for a few long seconds until the words made their way to his brain. Then he turned to a fierce, defiant laugh. "You stupid bitch. You're so fucking useless. I should tell Yao to have your throat slit."

Lian clenched her jaw. But she let him continue.

"How do you explain the way her entire room was destroyed?" He exclaimed at the top of his voice, more mucous and bile flying from his mouth with every word. "How do you explain that nothing's missing? Wouldn't she take something if she was running away?" His face grew red with rage and exertion, his body trembling under the weight of his anger. "How do you explain her turning upside-down a dresser that weighs more than she does? Well? You ungrateful bitch, how do you explain it?"

Lian took a calming breath before replying through her clenched jaw. "I have a theory."

"Oh, a theory," Baodung threw his arms up in the air before turning back to look at her. "A theory. Like my daughter is some... fucking experiment you're running. I'm paying you to find her! So go fucking find her before I have Yao get five fucking men and cut you up into pieces!"

"I need your help," she responded, injecting sincere concern into her voice and taking a step towards him. "To confirm my theory. I need your help."

Baodung was huffing, his thick belly heaving under the exertion of his shouting. After he calmed he just nodded to encourage her asking.

"I need to know if there's anywhere in the surrounding area where she liked to go. A tree, a well, any sort of landmark she liked to run away to, perhaps as a child. Maybe somewhere to the northwest."

Baodung's eyes scanned his memories and soon his mouth hung agape with a new sensation: hope. "Yes... there was a cave. An old iron mine. Maybe... a quarter of a mile. To the northwest. Just along the ridge."

"If I follow the ridge, I'll find it?"

Baodung nodded again and then fell into questions. "You think she went there?"

"It's possible. I'll go check right now."

"Do..." he paused and swallowed painfully, "do you need help? I can call Yao, get five men. Ten men! Whatever you need..."

"No, it could be dangerous, and they'd only get in the way. I'll go."

Lian turned to leave, Baodung calling after her. "Are you sure? Please, madam, are you sure? Please, just bring my girl back to me. My beautiful, beautiful Jingyi. I need her!"

The sincerity of his voice was real. Real enough to strike something maternal and protective in Lian's heart. But not sincere enough to overshadow the reality that his need was more base and disgusting than anything Lian could imagine.