A Cruel Romance

After getting his fair share of “enjoyment” out of Li, Commander Ho had trouble straightening his back for three days straight and developed a case of cold extremities . But Bai Su-Ch’en did stop his nightly visits for the time being . Commander Ho got the impression that he’d run so fast that he’d left Bai’s ghost behind in Chengde .

Bai’s frequent materialization had made Commander Ho neurotic to the extreme . Not only was he jumpy, he’d often be seen mumbling to thin air . Now that Bai had failed to show himself for days, Commander Ho seemed almost back to normal, and his conversation partners went from every spirit between Heaven and Earth to just the Buddha and Lan Bai-Shan . Unfortunately, neither of them responded to him .

He’d also heard back from Chao, who invited Commander Ho to take refuge within his city and urged him to join the Resistance Alliance .

Commander Ho did want to resist the j.a.panese . Under current circ.u.mstances, he and the j.a.panese could not coexist in the Jehol area . But merging with Chao would no doubt hinder his prospects . After much hesitation, Commander Ho decided to first take care of the business at hand . If Chao tried to gobble up his troops in the future, he would simply run off with his forces .

Once Commander Ho declared his cooperation, Li opened the city gates and let his army in . After days of being stranded on the other side of the walls, Feng appeared before Commander Ho looking frightened and haggard .

“How’ve you been, Commander?”

Commander Ho worn a frown . Even though he was seated, he supported his midsection with a hand . “I’m fine . You?”

“We had to sleep in tents outside the city,” Feng said, sniffling . “I nearly froze to death . ”

Commander Ho still wore his gloves inside, and he reprimanded Feng softly: “Crybaby!”

Feng wiped his nose with a handkerchief . “Commander, I think there’s discontent among the troops . ”

“What do you mean?”

Feng lowered his voice . “A few brats tried to run a few days ago and were caught . What do we do with them?”

Commander Ho sat up straight . “Deserters right when the enemy are at our doorsteps? Preposterous! We’ll have to make an example out of them . d.a.m.n it Feng, you useless fool . How much money have I given you? And you can’t even wrangle a few soldiers! I’ll go take care of this myself . ”

The terror-stricken Feng had nothing to say for himself .

It was so cold that Commander Ho wanted to go out wrapped in his quilts .

This was of course impossible . Left with no other choice, he unequipped his Browning pistols and put on a little padded jacket . He made his way to the army camp in a freezer-like car and did his usual inspections before he got down to business .

During his inspection, he found an army of boys .

And they really were just boys; the oldest couldn’t have been more than fifteen . Commander Ho turned to Feng . “Where did you recruit them? These are kids!”

“They say kids are the most fearless at this age,” Feng said in a low voice . “Say the right thing and they’ll charge wherever you’re pointing . Any older and they’ll get crafty, hard to manage . ”

Commander regarded the unit before him, the hair on his brows nearly falling out with the force of his scowl . “These… these are way too young . Look at that one over there, he’s shorter than his rifle!”

Feng scratched his head . “I—I suppose . But when I recruited them, I thought they’d grow up in no time . Look at what happened with Hsiao-Shun…”

“Is that even comparable?” Commander Ho raised his brows . “How much did Hsiao-Shun eat? How much do these boys get to eat?”

“Of course, of course . I know that now . ”

Commander Ho didn’t want to look at the emaciated fledglings anymore and turned to ask: “Where are the deserters?”

“I kept them locked up in the back . There are five of them, all from the same hometown . They were trying to run back home together . ”

“Bring them out . ”

There were a few barren trees behind the camp . The deserters were tied to the trees before the gathered crowed, who stood in formation silently to observe the impending demise of the ill-fortuned boys .

Commander Ho made his way around deserters . Three of them were scrawny boys . One was bigger and looked to be in his late teens . The other was pale and well-fed, probably the son of a wealthier family .

They burst into tears when they saw Commander Ho, all pleading for their lives between sobs . Commander Ho said nothing, and he walked away to tell Feng what to do .

The soldiers were divided into five groups and made to stand in long lines before each boy . They’d each take their turn knifing a deserter—they’d be supervised, and must neither spare nor kill their target . Each group was a few hundred strong; the deserters must die by the hands of those at the very end of the lines, or the whole group would go without dinner .

The boys’ screams filled the cold Jehol air . The older boy began to shriek: “f.u.c.k you, Ho Bao-Ting! You wretched despot, you’ll die in misery!”

Eventually the boy began to lose his voice, and could only cry hoa.r.s.ely: “f.u.c.k you! Ho Bao-Ting! f.u.c.k You! Ho Bao Ting!”

Feng wanted to send somebody to silence him, but Commander Ho stopped him coolly . Soon, the boy simply went quiet .

These five little souls took them over an hour to extinguish . The five groups all accomplished their mission successfully, and were therefore able to enjoy their usual dinner . Commander Ho made his way slowly to the steaming warm and mutilated bodied, and he announced to the soldiers: “Brothers, discipline is the core of what we are! We’re soldiers at war, protectors of our homeland, not children playing house, coming together only for the reward, then going our own way whenever we want! The deaths of these boys are tragic, but not undeserved! For the cowards among us, these will serve as the best examples . I’ll tell you this: I’ve spent a fortune on you . The clothes on your backs, the food in your bellies—they all belong to me! Eat my food and wear my clothes, and you better be ready to die for me—this is a universal truth! Besides, the very freedom of our country is currently at stake . Be a coward now and you’ll end up a slave without a country! Would you rather obey me, or obey the j.a.panese? Go have good think about it!”

Commander Ho left the camp with his head held high . When he arrived at his residence, he found Li Shih-Yao waiting for him inside .

Li leaned against the doorframe, a half-burnt cigarette between his lips . He didn’t greet the Commander at all and only grinned at him like some goon . Commander Ho particularly loathed this face of his, so he said frostily: “you’re here . ”

Li waved a dismissive hand at Hsiao-Shun, who  was standing behind Commander Ho . “Leave us, boy . The adults are talking . ”

Hsiao-Shun glanced in his direction and said nothing .

Commander Ho turned his back to Li . “Help me out of my cloak,” he said to Hsiao-Shun .

Li strode up and shoved Hsiao-Shun out of the room, then approached Commander Ho with a grin . “I’ll help you . ”

Commander Ho twisted away from him and unb.u.t.toned his black cloak himself, making his way to the couch . “No thank you . ”

His coat tossed onto the brick bed, Commander Ho was left wearing a little black jacket . The jacket was well-fitted, perfectly accentuating the shape of his body .

Li spat out his cigarette and swayed his way to Commander Ho .

“Commander,” Li said .

“Yes?” Commander Ho said, looking up at him .

Li’s eyes crinkled in a grin, and suddenly he bent down, hoisting Commander Ho up by his waist and carrying him to the bed . Commander Ho yelped in bewilderment and threw his arms around Li’s neck . When he recovered, he found himself sitting in Li’s lap .

Furious with embarra.s.sment, he struggled to get up . “What the h.e.l.l are you doing? Let go of me!”

Li already knew that despite his impressive height, Commander Ho had little psychical strength to speak of . He tightened his arm around Commander Ho’s waist and gripped his thigh . “What are you so worried about? n.o.body can see us . My Commander, it’s been days since we got together . I’ve missed you so much, take some pity on me!”

Commander Ho yanked a C96 out of his belt and pressed its barrel solidly between Li’s brows . “Let go . ”

Li froze for a moment, then began to laugh . Slowly, he raised his head, letting the barrel slide down the bridge of his nose and rest at his lips . He opened his mouth and gave the barrel a lick, then bit down on it with two rows of white teeth—and began to suck gently .

Commander Ho flinched back and tore his pistol out of Li’s mouth .

Li buried his face in Commander Ho’s chest and breathed in deeply, his voice m.u.f.fled . “Had you been a dame, I’d take you home and worship you like a bodhisattva . ” His hands began to roam and stroke . “I like you so f.u.c.king much!”

Commander Ho knew exactly how much pleasure the vile b.a.s.t.a.r.d could bring him, and under Li’s caress, he began to lose his composure as well, his breaths quickening . “Let go of me… We can’t… We can’t do that sort of thing all the time…”

Li snuck a hand into Commander Ho’s jacket, his fingers searching for his nipples, and leaned down to place a kiss on his neck . Commander Ho rested his head on Li’s shoulders, his arm dropping bonelessly to the side . The pistol fell to the ground with a clang .

Just as Li was about to get his prize, the G.o.ds decided to intervene and sent Feng Guo-Chung their way . Orderlies announced his arrival the moment he set foot in the courtyard, and with a start Commander Ho leapt out of Li’s arms like a live fish .

Furious, Li almost wanted to run outside and end him right then and there . He sniffed his fingers—it still smelled of Commander Ho .  

As for Commander Ho, the dazed look he wore was gone in an instant . The moment his feet touched solid ground, his expression turned icy . “I’ve still got business to attend to . You may leave . ”

Li smiled lamely, knowing he was done for the day . “Tell Feng to be careful,” he said with a shrug . “I’ve a mind to slaughter him . ”

Commander Ho pointed a finger at the door . “Out . ”

Feng came in with his rump covered in snow .

“I ran into Major-General Li on the way in,” Feng said, baffled . “He shoved me to the ground without a word . ”

Commander Ho waved him off . “Don’t mind him . If he tries to bully you again, you come see me . ”

“Commander, I just received orders from the Alliance . They want us to send three regiments to Duolun . This doesn’t seem right at all . We’ve just joined up, and they already want to break us up and send us to the front lines?”

Commander Ho widened his eyes . “Who gave the orders? Why wasn’t I consulted at all?”

“They came through right after you left . Delivered by a staff officer—he works for Major-General Li . ”

“We aren’t going!” Commander Ho said, banging the table . “Do they think I’m some kind of idiot? That I’ll let my men die for Chao? Feng, don’t you move a single man without my express permission . If they—where did say the officer was from again?”

“Major-General Li . ”

Commander Ho stared blankly for a moment, his face going from pale to pink . Once the flush receded, no hint of color was left on his cheeks . “Major-General Li is no longer our man . There’s no need to listen to anything he says . Also, he’s got an entire division stationed in town . You have to be careful around him . Don’t you know how he is? He’s worse than a bandit, you never know what he’s capable of . ”

Feng nodded . He stood there for a moment, then stole an awkward glance at Commander Ho . “Commander,” he said haltingly . “I want to ask a question . Please don’t read too much into it . ”

“Go ahead . ”

“If Major-General Li forces us to move out to Duolun, do we stay here and fight him, or do we leave? If we fight him, there’s no guarantee we’ll win . If we go to Duolun, even if we eventually come out on top, it’s going to cost us . What do we do?”

Commander Ho lowered his head and pondered over it for a long moment . He sighed and looked back up . “We’ve still got another option . When did you join the Anguo Army?”

Surprised by his line of questioning, Feng thought about it for a second . “Probably around the time the Old Marshal celebrated his sixtieth birthday . I was just an orderly then . ”

Commander Ho nodded . “Then you wouldn’t know about this . There’s a Prince Yun, a Mongol lord, who was good friends with my father . He was even named my G.o.dfather, though I haven’t been in touch with him after leaving Peking . I heard he’s in Suiyuan now . If there’s no other way…”

Feng had a look of dawning comprehension . “No wonder you spoke of retreating to Mongolia! So that’s what you were referring to . ”

Commander Ho frowned thoughtfully . “Prince Yun treated me well, back in the day . But we haven’t seen each other in a long time . I fear… Never mind, it doesn’t matter . We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it . ”

Feng had great faith in Commander Ho . If Commander Ho said they still had options, then Feng had nothing to fear . He made a lively exit and headed back to the camp in high spirits .