Golden Fortune, Dragon Jade

By Alan Baxter

The Jade Dragon protected Long-En for centuries – until it was taken.

When the Jade Dragon is stolen from the temple in the quiet village of Long-En, the locals are stunned. The very idea of such a theft is unimaginable. And without the protection of the powerful icon, what awful fate might befall the peaceful hamlet?

Two young cousins, Li Yong Fa, a martial monk recently returned from years of training at the Shaolin Temple, and Li Zi Yi, a potent geomancer, team up to track down the thief, recover the priceless statue, and return it safely to Long-En. Little do they know how far afield they will be taken, and what dangers they will face in strange and inhospitable lands, before they even get close to their goal.

This is a short historical fantasy novella, originally published in the And Then..? anthology from Clan Destine Press. This is a slightly expanded standalone edition, available in ebook and paperback.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alan Baxter
• Release date: Mar 3, 2020

Alan Baxter

Alan Baxter is a British-Australian author living in regional NSW. He writes horror, dark fantasy and sci-fi, rides a motorcycle and loves his dog. He also teaches Kung Fu. He is the author of dark fantasy thriller novels, and has had around 50 short stories published in a variety of journals and anthologies worldwide. He’s a contributing editor and co-founder at Thirteen OClock, Australian Dark Fiction News & Reviews, and co-hosts Thrillercast, a thriller and genre fiction podcast. He is director and chief instructor of the Illawarra Kung Fu Academy.

Book preview

The Jade Dragon protected Long-En for centuries - until it was taken.

When the Jade Dragon is stolen from the temple in the quiet village of Long-En, the locals are stunned. The very idea of such a theft is unimaginable. And without the protection of the powerful icon, what awful fate might befall the peaceful hamlet?

Two young cousins, Li Yong Fa, a martial monk recently returned from years of training at the Shaolin Temple, and Li Zi Yi, a potent geomancer, team up to track down the thief, recover the priceless statue, and return it safely to Long-En. Little do they know how far afield they will be taken, and what dangers they will face in strange and inhospitable lands, before they even get close to their goal.

PRAISE FOR ALAN BAXTER

Alan Baxter is an accomplished storyteller who ably evokes magic and menace.

– Laird Barron, author of Swift to Chase.

Step into the ring with Alan Baxter, I dare you. He writes with the grace, precision, and swift brutality of a prizefighter.

– Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of ARARAT

Alan Baxter’s thrillers have complete anatomy—muscles, brains, guts, and heart.

– World Fantasy Award-nominated author, Anna Tambour.

Alan Baxter delivers a heady mix of magic, monsters and bloody fights to the death. Nobody does kick-ass brutality like Baxter.

– Greig Beck, Internationally bestselling author.

…fantastic storytelling in the vein of Neil Gaiman or Alan Moore, but with a merciless black streak…

– Spooktapes

Alan Baxter has joined the ranks of talented authors who seek to push the boundaries of fantasy fiction…

– The Manly Daily

…if Stephen King and Jim Butcher ever had a love child then it would be Alan Baxter.

– Smash Dragons

Alan’s work is reminiscent of that of Clive Barker and Jim C. Hines, but with a unique flavour all of its own.

– Angela Slatter, World Fantasy, British Fantasy and Aurealis Award winner.

Baxter draws you along a knife’s edge of tension from the first page to the last, leaving your heart thumping and sweat on your brow.

– Midwest Book Review

GOLDEN FORTUNE,

DRAGON JADE

Alan Baxter

This novella remains the copyright of the author. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except for brief quotations used for promotion or in reviews. This novella is a work of fiction. Any reference to historical events, real people or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

GOLDEN FORTUNE, DRAGON JADE

First Trade Paperback Edition - March 2020

Copyright © 2016 Alan Baxter

Cover Design © 2020 Alan Baxter

Internal layout by David Wood

All rights reserved

Alan Baxter

www.warriorscribe.com

ALSO BY ALAN BAXTER

DEVOURING DARK

HIDDEN CITY

BOUND (Alex Caine Book 1)

OBSIDIAN (Alex Caine Book 2)

ABDUCTION (Alex Caine Book 3)

REALMSHIFT (The Balance Book 1)

MAGESIGN (The Balance Book 2)

SERVED COLD – Short Stories

CROW SHINE – Short Stories

MANIFEST RECALL

THE BOOK CLUB

THE ROO

GHOST OF THE BLACK: A ’Verse Full of Scum

Co-authored with David Wood

PRIMORDIAL (Sam Aston Investigations Book 1)

OVERLORD (Sam Aston Investigations Book 2)

BLOOD CODEX (Jake Crowley Adventures Book 1)

ANUBIS KEY (Jake Crowley Adventures Book 2)

REVENANT (Jake Crowley Adventures Book 3)

DARK RITE

For Chen Yong Fa

My Sifu

FOREWORD

I’d always wanted to write something in the vein of the great wuxia (martial heroes) kung fu epics I’ve loved so much my whole life. I’ve been a career martial artist for almost four decades, so kung fu has been an integral part of me for pretty much forever. But I’m a horror and dark fantasy writer for the most part, and had never got around finding a good story to scratch that wuxia itch. Then, back in 2016, Lindy Cameron of Clan Destine Press asked me to write a story for her new anthology. She wanted big stories, full of epic adventure, with fantasy or science fiction cores. But the story also needed to be a bit more family-friendly than my usual fare. And it needed an Australian connection. This is what came of that request.

The two protagonists in this yarn are cousins – he a Shaolin monk, her an accomplished geomancer. The Shaolin monk, Yong Fa, shares his first name with my Sifu, my kung fu teacher, in a subtle homage to him, and the character shows some of my teacher’s irreverence and cheekiness, but is otherwise an entirely made up person. The character certainly isn’t based on my Sifu. The geomancer, Zi Yi, is altogether more serious and focussed, but an accomplished mage in her own right. Together their skills are complementary and that’s just as well when they realise the scale of their task, the distance they have to go to track down their missing jade dragon, and the kind of unforgiving country they’ll be led to.

I’d had a nebulous idea for this Chinese-inspired fantasy story in mind for ages, with Shaolin martial arts and spirit magic, travel and adventure, but never quite had the framework to make it sing. Then the request for the story from Clan Destine Press said it needed an Australian connection of some kind, and I realised that setting this Chinese fantasy towards end of the Aussie gold rush would be perfect. It made the original idea better, and I was able to give a historical nod to my adopted country. It all catalysed into what I hope is an exciting novella.