Authors Note: Alright, I was going to make this chapter longer, but desided against it when it got really long. Sorry. Leave a review and let me know what you think!
Chapter Thirty Seven: Help or Harm
Khan and I ride as long as we can until, finally, it becomes too dark to travel, and we are forced to retire for the night. I find a stream and immediately dismount, eagerly drinking the cold water. Khan does the same. Deciding to stay close to the water source, we settle down at the base of a large tree. My ride on Khan seems to have set my wounded side aflame, and I close my eyes tight in pain, sucking in air through clenched teeth. I know the wound must have opened more. I wrap the thin horse blanket around myself and lean on Khan, trying the best I can to stay warm. Luckily, I believe we are almost down the mountain, as there is only a thin layer of snow on the ground, and the air is nowhere near as cold. Still, it is cold enough for me to see my breath as it escapes my mouth in puffs. Before exhaustion fully takes over, I have one thought. 'Please, please let us make it in time!'
I look as far as I can down each path on the fork in the road. Throughout the day, I have been following a dirt path through the wilderness, but now, it splits off in two different directions. No matter how hard I try, I can not figure out which leads to the Imperial City. Finally, I give up.
"I think I saw a village or something a little ways up the road, let's see if someone there can give us directions," I say to Khan. I lead the way, but with each step, I become more nervous. What if someone turns me in? Am I a wanted criminal, or was I actually pardoned? So far, I haven't seen anyone along the road, which is fine with me. I'm not quite sure if Captain Li's sparing my life was actually an official pardon, or if the Emperor will still have me hunted down and arrested. And, if I am arrested, who would warn people that the Huns are coming? Still, I head down the path in the direction I think the village is in, knowing that if I took the wrong path, I would be just as useful as I would be locked away in the dungeons.
I notice there is something…strange about this village right away. For one, it isn't on the path. In order to get to it, I have to trek through a patch of underbrush and trees. It's almost like the village is hiding itself from the world.
Once in the village, I find a dirt road that seems to be right down the center of it. Small, cozy-looking houses line either side of the road. I begin to walk down the road slowly, trying hard not to attract attention to myself. Finally, I reach what looks to be the square. It is a sunny day with a cold wind blowing, but many people are out anyway. I try to figure out who to ask for directions, really studying the people, and when I do, I feel a warm sense of happiness surge through me.
I see men and women engaging in conversations, ones in which the women seem confident and sure of themselves, never once looking at the ground. I see women sitting on porches reading! And not just one or two, but many seemingly literate women, a rare sight. The children are the most heartwarming part. I see many of them playing together, each different. I see a little girl in a pink dress with her long hair hanging to her waist. I see another girl wearing a tunic and trousers, playfully wrestling a young boy. An older child helps a young boy with a deformed leg kick a ball. Two teenage boys share a quick kiss. Children of both genders are playing together, not one criticizing the other for who they are. Needless to say, this is exactly the kind of childhood I wanted as a kid. Every person in the square seems free to act as they wish and wear what they wish, none of them bound by gender roles.
For a moment, I wonder if perhaps I died in my sleep last night and miraculously made it to heaven. Everything looks so nice, so inviting, yet something seems…foreign. And then it hits me. Nothing here, not the houses, the people, the roads, anything, have been touched by the war. There are no singed roofs, no blood. Everything is beautiful.
Abruptly, I feel something hit my ankle lightly. I look down to see a ball resting there. A young girl, about nine or ten, runs after it but stops in her tracks when she sees me. She stands still a few steps away from me but does not look frightened or disgusted. Instead, she looks…worried? Unsure of what to do, I pick the ball up and reach it out to her, giving her a small smile. This seems to snap her out of her stillness. She takes the ball before looking me over once more.
"Ma'am, do you need some help?" She asks it in a way that makes her sound incredibly mature, her young eyes full of concern.
For some reason, I can't seem to form proper words, and it takes me a second before I am ready to answer. At that point, however, the girl has spotted my side. The blood has seeped through my armor, leaving a dark stain on the green material.
"You're hurt! Wait here, I'll get my mama!" She is gone before I can object. I have a sudden urge to run, to flee, and I have no idea why.
The girl is back quickly, a woman a little younger than my mama in tow. The girl stands back a little as the woman approaches me. She does so like I am a little injured puppy who she is afraid to act too quickly around, out of fear that I may startle and flee. I can't blame her. I'm sure I look terrible. I am dirty and my side is covered in blood. I don't have a mirror, but I am sure there are dark circles under my eyes. The nightmares were bad last night, leaving me with little sleep.
The woman stops a few steps away from me and gives me a kind, motherly smile.
"Do you need some help dear?"
Her voice is warm, calming, and I feel like a little girl when all I can manage to say at first is "I'm lost." Realizing how stupid I sound, I start again. "I was traveling to the Imperial City, but I can't find my way. I was hoping someone here could give me some directions."
"I'm sorry to say, I"m no good with directions, but I have a friend who may be able to help you." She smiles at me warmly and takes another step towards me. "Do you want me to take you to see her?"
"Yes please, ma'am," I reply.
She nods and gestures for me to follow her. The girl runs up to her mother.
"Can I go back and play now mama?"
"Yes, run along now dear. I'll be back in a few minutes."
The girl smiles and turns to me. "Bye, miss! I hope you find what you're looking for!" She gives me a little wave and runs back to a group of children.
The woman chuckles a little as we walk down the street.
"My name is Wu Liu by the way," she states, "but you can call me Liu, everyone does."
I nod. I know she wants me to tell her my name, but I need to be careful. What if there are soldiers or guards or something? I look over my shoulder reflexively, worried I may see someone lurking in the shadows, waiting to get me.
Strangely, Liu doesn't ask about my name. I suppose if she was looking for me, she would already know who I am. It's not every day you see a woman with cropped hair walking around in armor. Although, who knows? I've already seen women with short, long, and no hair in the five minutes I spent standing in the square. Maybe oddness is just the normal here?
We walk in comfortable silence until we reach a wooden building with a large porch. It is two stories high, with a large sign hanging from the roof above the porch. The sign reads:
Bi's Tavern And Inn
A younger woman, a few years older than me by the looks of it, maybe mid-twenties, is standing on the porch, sweeping. She looks the way women in my village look: long hair, colorful dress, doing housework. I wonder if her husband owns the tavern. She is humming an unfamiliar tune but stops what she is doing when she sees us. She does not seem to notice me at first, turning right to Liu.
"Nice to see you Liu!" she states, leaning the broom against the wall. She then notices me and becomes concerned. "What happened to you?" she asks me. She doesn't say it rudely, more surprised and worried. Liu answers before I have a chance.
"She's looking for directions to the Imperial City."
This seems to concern the woman more. "No offense, hun, but you should be looking for directions to the nearest doctor," she states, motioning to my side.
"Xue, enough. Where's that crazy cousin of yours, she's better with directions." Liu interjects.
The woman, seemingly called Xue, sighs and motions for us to follow her inside. I tie Khan to a nearby post before walking up the three steps onto the porch and into the building. The inside of the tavern slash inn is quite nice. It consists of a large room with a long counter on the far end. A few tables and chairs are neatly placed around the open space. On the left side is a wooden staircase leading to the second floor, where I suppose the bedrooms must be. It is not like most bars I have been to, and over the past two years, I have been to quite a few. For one, the place is organized and clean. It also smells better. Alcohol is in the air, but it isn't overpowering. And the only smoke I smell comes from the fireplace.
"Spitfire! Spitfire where are you?! Liu's here!" Xue calls.
Suddenly, another woman, looking slightly older than me, bounds down the stairs. Her black hair is down and falls just to her chest, about half a foot longer than mine. But, her hair isn't what catches my attention, it's her clothing. She wears a blue tunic with black trousers. A woman in trousers! And no one bats an eye! What kind of beautiful normal is this!
The woman is all smiles, with the energy of a young girl. She cheerfully greets Liu before turning to me. She studies me for a moment, and as it gets awkward for me, I give her a crooked smile and a shy "hello".
"Hi, there!" she smiles enthusiastically.
"I am Bi Xue," Xue cuts in, "and this is my younger cousin, Bi Ying. I call her spitfire, though. You can probably figure out why."
Xue is right about that one. Ying is like a spitfire, the way she seems to bounce around, a little spark ready to burst into an inferno at any time.
Ying sticks her hand out and shakes mine.
"You know, this is the part of a conversation where you tell us your name," she whispers humorously.
I pretend like I don't hear her. "I'm looking for directions to the Imperial City. Liu said you could help me."
"Well, that's one mouthful of a name!" Ying exclaims. "I'm just gonna call you 'looking'!" she jokes.
"Ying, just help her," Xue states, exasperated, as she grabs a wet rag and begins to wipe the countertop.
"How about this," Ying begins, smiling at me kindly, "I'll give you directions right after you let me take a peek at whatever is causing you to bleed like that." I notice her looking at my side.
"I'm fine, really," I argue weakly. "Besides, I'm a bit of a rush…"
"Hun, if you plan at getting out of here anytime soon, you should just listen to her. Ying is stubborn. Besides, with how much blood you seem to have lost, you'll be dead before you reach the city." Xue looks at me pointedly. When I don't relent, she continues. "Why are you so worried? You act like someone is going to cut your head off," she jokes.
"You have no idea," I whisper under my breath. Ying grabs my hand, and I give in, allowing her to drag me up the stairs and down a hall. Finally, we enter a room and she closes the door.
"Sit." She motions to the bed. I do so and begin to remove my armor as she roots through a cabinet for something. The room is small and doesn't look like much of a bedroom to me. The bed is small and every drawer and cabinet Ying goes through seems full of medical supplies. She catches me staring and shrugs her shoulders.
"We get a lot of injured travelers here. We are a small town and don't have an actual doctor. I know some things about caring for sick and injured people, so I'm always ready." She places some supplies on a nightstand near the bed before turning to me. "Stay here, I'll be back in a moment.
I sit on the bed in my tunic and trousers, waiting. She returns soon, a bowl of water in her hand which she sets on the table. She pulls up a stool and sits opposite of me.
"Now, I can't really do anything if I can't see the wound." She reaches over and carefully removes my tunic before working to unwrap the blood-stained bandages. Everything, my tunic, my armor, the bandages, is covered in a thick layer of crimson blood. Ying stops unwinding the bandages after the wound is revealed, leaving my chest covered. She secures the bandage firmly in place before taking a moment to look at the wound.
This is my first time seeing the wound, and it is worse than I expected. It starts at the bottom center point of my rib cage, wrapping itself diagonally from there almost all the way to my right hip. The skin around it looks red and swollen, and parts of the wound are open, allowing crimson blood to stream out.
Ying takes a rag and dips it in the bowl of water. Putting her left hand on my back to hold me in place, she looks into my eyes.
"Hold still, alright? I'll be gentle."
I hold as still as I can while she cleans my wound, sending pain coursing through my body. It hurts horribly, and I bite my lip to avoid shouting. Finally, it is over, and as Ying wraps a new bandage around me, she begins to speak in a worried tone.
"You should really have a doctor look at that, it looks infected. You could stay here, you know. We can send someone to fetch a doctor and…"
"No." I look at her seriously. "I can't stay, I must get to the Imperial City."
Ying gathers up her supplies and begins to return them to the cabinets and drawers they came from while I begin to dress. "If you're not going to tell us who you are, may I guess?" She doesn't wait for my response and continues with her back to me.
"Let's see. If I were to take a wild guess, I would say that perhaps you started an avalanche in order to bury the Hun army during a battle at the Tung Shao Pass. In doing so, you saved what is left of the Imperial Army along with your captain's life. However, you were injured in the process. Due to this injury, your identity as a woman was revealed, and you were sentenced to death. To thank you for all you have done, your captain decided against killing you immediately and instead abandoned you at Tung Shao Pass."
She pauses for a moment before continuing.
"Now, if any of this were true, that would make you Fa Mulan."
With this, she turns to me, a large triumphant smile on her face. I feel the blood in my veins run cold.
"Is it really you?" she asks. There is the sound of admiration in her voice, and she smiles like a small child.
I find myself capable of only one word.
"Yes."
