Shuli Go Stories Vol. 6: Liars and Cheats

Part 7

The rain was picking up again as Lian approached the mouth of the cave. Behind her a few weak streaks of lightning illuminated the sky, casting a scattershot of shadows onto the mud and roots and stone of the entrance. Also illuminated were the signs of the five-headed snake which lady Jingyi had been transformed into.

She'd followed the depressions in the grass, across a series of flooding rice paddies and tree lines, just to be sure, but as Baodung had suggested the path led straight to the cave. As Lian approached, the size and shape of Jingyi's new form finally became clear in the indentations of the mud. She would be thick, but not too long – nowhere near the peasant's warning of twenty feet, much closer to four and a half or five. If Jingyi had weighed a hundred pounds, as her father seemed to indicate, then so would the snake. The deep, heavy shapes in the mud confirmed it: as a snake she would be strong enough not just to destroy her furnishings and every other possession in her room, she would be more than strong enough to destroy Lian.

The Shuli Go slowly drew her weapon as she stepped towards the cave, her cheap leather boots squishing and soaking into the mud, the grimy wetness creeping into the soles, drenching her thin stockings. She peered into the cave, her extraordinary vision catching the thin moonlight and residual flashes of lightning until she spotted her prey. She stopped and brought her weapon across her front. Then she waited.

Jingyi was not actually a five-headed snake. But the peasants had not been far off. The magic that had been used on her had actually given her three heads. Lian knew this even before she saw Jingyi in the cave, because she knew exactly what kind of magic had been used on Jingyi. On top of Fang's sleeping mixture, a cocktail of herbs, chemicals, and spices had been mixed with the tiniest bits of the girl herself: hair, dead skin, even blood if it was available. It was one of the oldest potions known to man: a love potion. Although it's true value had less to do with love than with sex. After ingesting it the victim would feel deep affection and tenderness towards everyone around him or her. And fatigue. And dizziness. And an inability to remember events. But they would be pliable, even desirous of the affection of others. A quick, alchemical way to force love. Even if only for a night. And most often it was only used for one night – a momentary passion sated, the poisoner would often walk away and the victim would wake up barely aware of what happened – but if someone were to become addicted to the artificial love and they continued to administer the poison, the magic and chemicals would build in the victim's system. There were no immediate side effects, but eventually the victim would transform. For a short time, at first: a few minutes perhaps. But continued doses would extend that time to hours – enough time to frighten some local peasants and to eat some local wildlife. And after each metamorphosis the transformed victim would return home before reverting and awake completely unaware of what had happened. But then, eventually, the effect would become permanent. And three heads would appear, staring at Lian, ready to eat her.

Jingyi moved slowly out of the cave and towards the Shuli Go, staying low to the ground, next to a small stream of water that ran through the mud. The six sets of eyes were all set on Lian, their reptilian narrowness betraying any humanity. It was a beast, operating on instinct and basic desires. It was hungry, and Lian was a meal. A meal with a sharp stick.

Lian had dealt with two of these beasts before. Never one poisoned by a family member, but each time was the same. Of all the magical creatures that had once populated the Central Empire, most had died off or become so scarce as to become legends: phoenixes, dragons, Gongwei – great cats with horns and the ability to breathe fire – had more or less vanished from the world. But the potency, reliability, and well-known nature of the love potion, despite its complete illegality, meant three-headed snakes were surprisingly common. And surprisingly easy to cure.

Jingyi approached cautiously, emerging from the cave and sizing up her foe. Lian began to circle, keeping her Shuli Go blade across her torso, where the three sets of teeth could do the most damage. She paced around Jingyi in a slow dance before the serpent suddenly sped up and lifted its heads – all connected to the one, thick torso a half foot down from their eyes and powerful jaws – prompting Lian to rapidly retreat. But it was just a feint, assessing Lian's speed and reflexes. And Jingyi liked what she'd seen: if snakes could smile, this one would have three impressive grins.

The three heads were not merely decorative. In her Shuli Go school Lian had been taught that the three heads were actually expressions of the victim. Two of the heads were the basic elements and energies of any human turned into physical form: good and evil, dark and light, change and stagnation. The third was the build-up of magic made real. Not just the magic either, but the affections and desires of the poisoner and rapist. To any Shuli Go student the task therefore seemed simple: cut off the third, inhuman head, and the victim would be reverted to human form, more or less complete. Except in reality, any head being severed would release the magic. And if one of the human heads were cut off, the corresponding human elements – either for good or evil – would be severed as well. While even Lian's teachers had started to doubt the simplistic duality of the two human heads, victims who suffered an incorrect beheading were always noticeably changed from their previous state. Sometimes they turned to empty, vegetative husks incapable of thoughtful action. Other times they were barely changed except for an odd quirk of behavior or a new accent to their speech. It was impossible to tell what the impact of severing the wrong head would be for the victim, but one thing would be certain – the feelings of love and longing for the poisoner would remain for the rest of the victims' lives.

It was the Shuli Go's job to determine which head was which, and to sever the correct one. Often in a very short time, based on trivially small differences between the three. On both of Lian's previous two experiences fighting such snakes she'd chosen right, and though she'd never admit it, it had been gut instinct both times: a slightly more venomous look in the eye, an extra viciousness in the hiss, one set of teeth that were distinguishable from the others. She would have only a small fraction of a second to determine and make her move. She hoped she would guess right.

Jingyi forced her to guess. She reared up and announced herself in an ear-splitting sizzle of warning, then lunged forward with all her strength and speed for Lian's body, attacking her legs, her groin, and her chest with each head, assured of victory against this slow and clumsy opponent.

Except Lian had been taught to bait the three-headed love snake with slow and clumsy movements for just that purpose. Using all her strength, speed, and superhuman reactions, she examined all three heads in totality, pirouetted out of the way of the snake, and slashed her blade with surgical precision, all in one quick movement.

The chosen head – teeth a bit longer, the nose a little wider than the other two – hit the floor as Lian realized she hadn't quite been quick enough. One of the long teeth had scraped along her stomach, opening up a small cut. "Fucker," Lian cursed and kicked the snake out of frustration: hard, in the body as it shuddered and gasped, light bursting forth from the severed neck, magic pouring out, illuminating the dark night like another burst of lightning.

Jingyi was naked and unconscious a second later, a bruise on her transmutated torso from where Lian had kicked her. Lian continued to patch her own stomach, in no hurry. The girl would be unconscious for another hour or two.

As she tended to her wound, a thought occurred to Lian. Once her bleeding had stopped she picked Jingyi up over her shoulder and set off down the terraced grounds.

Once she was in front of the same filthy hovel from earlier that day she knocked on the door. The same peasant father slowly absorbed the sight of her – bleeding, carrying a naked woman – and his eyes recounted the same terror from earlier that day.

Before he could well and truly freak out, Lian asked him, "How would you like to make enough money to pay off that pot entirely?"