Dao of Cooking

Chapter 14 - Not Us

There were five of them — a fact that Lei kept reminding himself, with a dozen children caught in the mix, staring blankly about themselves. Only Snake and Stone got that image of someone getting ready for a fight, and Lei reckoned he might have to split his attention in order to keep them away from dashing into these bastards.

"Disappointing," said Bushy, his voice a tad harder now. "You're not leaving us with much choice."

"Bite me, bitch," Fatty Lou said and shrugged when Lei gave him a look. That earned him a barking laugh from the scarfed-men, and also made Lei question the ladle in his hand.

What do I do with this thing? Just swing it around, and hope it'll crush some bones?

That ought to do it, or else he'd be swinging punches and kicks against swords and axes. The worn metal wasn't as nearly close to being a trusted weapon but looked heavy enough that any hit with it should leave a man in pain if Lei could somehow learn how to fight in a split second.

They didn't give him that second, however, as Bushy waved a hand to his men, after which Big Mole stepped forward and cracked his knuckles.

Lei shared a look with Fatty Lou, and they both nodded. At least he wasn't alone. That was a good thing. He'd get bashed and beaten with his brother-in-arms by his side, meanwhile the kids could run away. They would patch their wounds and drink the pain away if they could survive this sudden increase in tension.

They're not going to kill us. That isn't likely at all.

Likely? So it was that time to speak about life and death as if they were all possible outcomes. But as seconds crawled past, and the group of thugs slowly came at them, all his thoughts gave way to a muted tension.

Bushy the boss stood behind his group and seemed too proud to lay hand on some cooks while he had his men for it. So it was Big Mole who greeted Lei with a simple punch. Must be a cocky bastard if he thought of him not worthy of a sword, instead coming at him bare-handed.

Lei shook his head and focused. He poured everything he had into the ladle and swung it round into a great arc that connected with Big Mole's arm from the side. It sunk deep into the man's elbow with a sickening crunch, followed by a loud crack that made Big Mole's eyes grow wide, with Lei's eyes growing even wider as they both reeled back from the impact. Big Mole's arm hung limply from his shoulder, his hand fixed in that punching motion, but his elbow bent rather hideously to another side.

"Is that a bone?" Lei asked and blinked before finally registering that Big Mole's shirt had been torn with the tip of a bone sticking out from that unnatural bent of his elbow.

A shrill scream echoed as Big Mole crashed on his knees, holding his elbow near his face and staring into that bone, a tear or two trickling out from his right eye. His face twisted in pain, then squirmed with lack of breath as he gasped himself into a coughing fit.

It was then that another body joined Big Mole's agony, a tall man holding his stomach as though somebody rammed a mace through it. Nothing was bloody, but Fatty Lou's pose as he stood with one arm stretched out, holding the cleaver's blunt side, his knuckles all white round the handle, showed the real reason behind this scene.

"What?" Lei asked.

"How?" Fatty Lou pointed at the broken bone of Big Mole.

"I don't know," they both said at the same time, but their shock at each other's performance was broken up by Bushy's roar that awfully sounded like a war cry.

Then the children were running, Stone and Snake throwing rocks to keep another thug busy. Nimble kids with devilish moves, Lei thought, as they played around the thugs like fish in the sea.

"Get away from that man!" Lei jabbed with one finger into the air, screaming out of his lungs. "Don't let him catch you!"

When those two broke away from the thug Lei turned to his side, his body lighter than ever, his hold around the ladle strong and steady. He sidestepped by pure instinct when some metal came flashing at his face, turned, and found that it was actually an axe, singing a deadly song an inch away from his ear. He hauled the ladle right on the hand holding the hilt, the worn cookware whistling through the air like an awl, and it crashed down on the fingers and the axe with a loud thump.

Lei's whole arm went stiff for a second, and he had to drag the ladle back with his other arm as his body refused to collaborate. Inside, however, he felt a deep, almost primal satisfaction that came from breaking bones. Was perhaps cutting and cooking all that meat had made him durable against anything bloody in the general sense? Could that be the reason why he didn't feel a damned thing at the sight of that bloody stub of fingers that got tangled with the crushed handle of the axe?

But it was draining, that sense of satisfaction was. Slowly, and painfully something else crawled from the depths of his core. He started shaking, staring round himself in full panic, his fingers dull and senseless, the ladle too heavy in his grip. Smeared with blood and the soil beneath his feet. What the hell was happening? And why, amid all this mess, did he have the time to pay attention to Fatty Lou as his brother-in-arms hauled a man over on one shoulder, then hurtled him away like a sack of potatoes?

"W-Who are you?" Bushy said, and it was his ghastly face that made Lei aware the man had been left alone on his feet, his aides either lying listless on the ground or staring foolishly into a broken arm or a finger as though simply looking at the bones would make them magically fix themselves.

"I'm curious myself," Lei said, glancing at Fatty Lou. Then he pointed with his head to the groaning man who got handled like a spoiled three-year-old by his brother-in-arms. "Were you always this strong? And why would you try to throw an adult man like that when you can use the cleaver?"

"It just…" Fatty Lou sucked in a sharp breath, staring wide at his hands. Seemed even he couldn't believe what he just did. "Felt right. He came at me in such a way that I couldn't help but spin him backward and send him sprawling on his face. Didn't think it'd make him fly."

That sounded reasonable enough, so Lei gave him a pass. But this time, it was Fatty Lou's turn to question some things. "What is that ladle?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the worn metal that'd left a clear trail on the ground while Lei was dragging it away. "If I didn't know any better, I could've thought it a spiritual tool."

Lei averted his gaze away and blew strangely a breath into his hands to spark some feeling in his numb fingers. It helped only a little, but it was a start.

"You can't be fucking serious!" Fatty Lou said, dashed closer, and tried taking the ladle away, then winced under its weight and poked a finger into Lei's right shoulder. "Is this related to your—" He stopped, stared around, and leaned closer before whispering, "Boon?"

Lei decided a nod would be enough for now. He didn't have the time to explain in detail. Not that he had enough details to make it sensible for Fatty Lou to understand. And they had another thug to deal with. Bushy looked strong-legged, and strong-spirited too considering he'd remained fixed on that same spot while his men had been dealt rather awful hands in mere seconds.

"Get down on your knees, and put your hands on the ground," Lei said, raising the ladle into the man's face. He nudged the groaning thugs with his leg, turning them around and checking if they still had some fight in them.

But his brother wasn't as gentle as he was. He huffed his way round the wriggling worms and started jabbing the cleaver's handle into their faces, making sure they were all out cold before spitting on them for good measure. He then gathered all the swords and the axes, piling them over on the side before hawking a mouthful straight into Bushy's face.

"Get down on your fucking knees!" he said when the man stayed silent, his eyes darting left and right.

Bushy crushed down on his knees under his intent gaze, placing his hands on the ground as he gave Lei a trembling glance. He had that shocked look of a headless chicken, no doubt considering what the hell went wrong against some cooks and a bunch of children. Not the group you'd expect a strong retaliation from, and that, Lei could understand.

"It's not fair at all, right?" Lei muttered, staring at his own hands, shaking after the adrenaline left his body. It was cold now, and it came from within, too deep for him to do anything about it. So he tried to take it all in, letting the seconds do their thing as his heart pounded in his chest.

"What are we going to do with this fool?" Fatty Lou said with a deep frown, then reeled back and slammed the cleaver right at the nape of Bushy's neck with all his worth. That earned him a groan that got muffled by the pebbles and the dust the man choked when his face got plastered on the ground after the impact.

"We'll take them to the guards," Lei said. Carrying weapons alone was a major offense, one which was often punished by a hand or two. But looting, and kidnapping… Now these two would be more than enough to get them hanged.

"Please," Bushy said, and choked, and pleaded a second after, "I'll do anything you want! Just don't let me—"

"I'll cut your fucking tongue!" Fatty Lou yanked the man by his hair, eased near to his face, and hissed at his ear, "Do you hear me? I'll fucking cut your head if you say one more word!"

"Alright, easy now," Lei said when he heard the footsteps from the back. He turned, and tried to smile as a dozen little faces came under light, shocked senseless, and shivering like little pups. He raised an eyebrow when he saw how hard Snake clenched his jaw, face red as a beet, trying to keep a strong front before his brothers and sisters.

"You've done good." Lei reached and pulled the boy to his side, pressing him tight into his stomach. He could feel the fear that caught him hard as the boy was shaking like a leaf bearing a winter breeze. The others didn't look much different, so Lei smiled down at them, "Come here, all of you."

He stood there, under the stars, hugging the children as they wept silently. Orphaned and left homeless, but the world still refused to give them a break. A place where they could live like normal children, Lei was thinking, a place where they would be safe and sound, away from all the shit that governed this twisted world.

But then doubt crawled back into his thoughts, making him question if he had what it takes to care for a bunch of children. He'd near killed a man just now and had done it without blinking. It all started to come back at him, jabbing at his heart one by one.

He glanced at Fatty Lou. His brother-in-arms had the same savage look on his face, focused on the thugs that lay all around him. Not a single tear Lei could find in those eyes.

Just when he thought he found a path of his own in this forsaken city, the heavens or whatever the hell it was kept reminding him how alien he was in this world. Life wasn't worth much around here. People got killed or lost all the time.

"Not you," Lei muttered. "Not us."

"What did you say?" Fatty Lou asked.

"Nothing." Lei shook his head.

"Get the children back to your place. Then fetch the guards," Fatty Lou said, staring up at the sky. "I bet those fools are sleeping sound now."

……