“You, hero, are the only person I can trust.”
Could she? He thought of what she had endured, and wondered if he would have been so courageous in the face of such danger and deprivation. But she went on: “Six days’ journey west of here is a place named Pine Settlement. North of Pine Settlement one day’s journey is a hidden valley in the mountains. That’s where Ten Thousand Thorns Temple is.”
Closer than he thought. As if reading his mind, she said: “Surely we can spare the time!”
He shook his head. “I promised them at Mount Jing that I would come back as soon as I found you, so that you could teach us martial arts. The Emperor is coming to Hubei with an army. Help us defeat him first, then we’ll travel to Ten Thousand Thorns Temple together.”
She looked at him in dismay.
“Teach you martial arts? Dage, I can’t! I’ve already taught you everything I know.”
“But, heroine! You said you would teach me!”
“You are a quick learner, dage!” She nodded. “I only had one principle to teach, and within a short time you have already grasped it!”
“How can this be when your martial arts are so far above mine?”
“Perhaps they are. But it’s no use, because I can’t teach them.” She touched her lips nervously with her tongue. “You asked me who my shifu was. The truth is, I don’t know. I can’t remember anything that happened to me before the spring of this year.”
He stared at her, speechless. Then he drew his sword. With a flash of light it sliced toward her neck. Iron Maiden’s eyes widened. She threw herself backward. One foot rose in a smooth arc, turning aside Clouded Sky’s wrist and slamming it against the floor with a dull clatter. Then she was upright again, palms lifted to strike. Slowly, carefully, Clouded Sky raised his left hand in a gesture of peace.
“That. What you just did. How did you do it, heroine? What do you call it?”
She lowered her palms and released his sword hand.
“I don’t know, dage. Until you drew your sword, I didn’t know I could do it. I never do.”
Clouded Sky sheathed his sword and buried his face in his hands, trying to think.
“It’s as I told you.” She seemed almost about to cry. “I am only an ignorant girl. I cannot teach anyone what I know, because I don’t know it myself. If you want to improve your martial arts, you must let me take you to Ten Thousand Thorns Temple.”
Clouded Sky stared into the fire.
Iron Maiden looked down at her hands and sighed. “It will be like pulling a tooth from a tiger’s mouth, dage. I understand if you don’t want to go.”
“It’s dangerous?”
“Last time I barely escaped with my life. But two are twice as good as one, and if we go together, we might succeed.” There was a short silence. “With the Imperial Sword searching for the temple too, there’s no time to find someone else.”
Clouded Sky sighed. He’d promised Red Cloud and Old Sunlight that he’d hurry back, but he had to face the facts. The Mount Jing rebels were not enough to face the Emperor in full force, and his martial arts skill was not profound enough to make up the lack. He needed Morning Light. He needed the Heaven-Relying Dragon-Slaying Sword Skill. No matter what danger he must face to find it.
“There’s no need to find someone else, heroine. If you really want me, I’ll go with you to Ten Thousand Thorns Temple.”
Beckoning a lantern-bearer to stay close, the Imperial Sword mounted the steps of the lockup and looked down at the guards’ crumpled bodies.
Second Brother was on his knees inspecting their wounds.
“No one saw the rescuer’s face, your excellency. But he was evidently using a Wudang sword skill, and he took Flying Crane when he left.”
“Clouded Sky.” The Imperial Sword seemed thoughtful.
Second Brother got to his feet. “They must also pass the city gates.”
“I sent a messenger.”
The two men stepped into the street. They did not have long to wait before a guard in red-and-black livery hurried around a corner and came toward them. Bowing, he said, “Iron Maiden went through the east gate. She’s left the city.”
The Imperial Sword closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Then he smiled coldly at Second Brother. “You see? A hen forced to nest does not lay eggs, Second Brother! My plan is working.”
“So far, your excellency.”
“You saw the girl. She never would have talked. Or if she had, she would have lied. There’s no sure way to break that kind of resolve. But now she’ll lead us of her own accord, and she’ll lead us right.”
“What happens when they realise we are following them to the Ten Thousand Thorns Temple?”
“They won’t notice that I had the horse reshod. Flying Crane will leave distinctive prints, and with your skill in tracking there should be no trouble finding the trail.”
Second Brother looked impressed.
“It is as I said,” Imperial Sword added. “The Emperor’s vision of peace and unity in All-Under-Heaven must be achieved with minimal bloodshed. The way of justice and mercy is always the best way.”
“Perhaps you are correct, your excellency. But take pity on this ignorant one’s confusion.” Second Brother smiled tightly. “Did the Emperor not command you to kill Morning Light?”
Imperial Sword tried not to allow any suspicion to show in his face.
“The imperial orders are a matter for the Imperial Sword. They are not your concern, Second Brother!”
But Second Brother continued.
“According to the prophecy, Morning Light is soon fated to wake from her meditations. She alone knows the secret of the Heaven-Relying Dragon-Slaying Sword Skill. When she awakes, she will certainly claim the Coiling Dragon King’s authority. The emperor would never send you all this way simply to retrieve the Golden Phoenix Sword! Morning Light must be the real target!”
The Imperial Sword suppressed his dismay. Second Brother was only trying to test him again. “I’ve received no such orders. Return to the inn, Second Brother. You have no more to contribute here.”
And yet…
Before he left Nanjing the Emperor had given him sealed orders—orders he was only permitted to open once he had located Ten Thousand Thorns Temple. Now, he had to wonder what could possibly be inside them.
“Go back to the inn,” he told Second Brother a second time. When the bounty hunter reluctantly started toward the tavern, Imperial Sword grabbed the lantern from its bearer and carried it into the lockup, reaching into his tunic for the sealed orders. With fingers that shook slightly, he broke open the seals and unrolled the scrap of silk.
Written in red ink was a warrant for the execution of Princess Morning Light.
As the Imperial Sword stared in consternation, the step to the lockup creaked. He turned, covering the silk with his hand, but it was too late. Second Brother had glimpsed the blood-red ink that could only mean death, and although he didn’t smile, he radiated satisfaction.
“So there must be a little bloodshed after all, your excellency. Too bad for justice and mercy!”
4.
Iron Maiden had healed quickly from her ordeal. Captivity had sharpened her appetite, and food rapidly replenished her stores of qi energy. On the third day she began to use her lightness skill. Instead of riding, she floated through the treetops as fast as Flying Crane could run. For three more days the road led them through a landscape of forests and increasingly high mountains split by deep valleys. Sichuan seemed to be enjoying a fragile peace: unhurried merchants and farmers passed by, secure in their humble poverty or the strength of their hired escorts.
They came to Pine Settlement on a grey evening that threatened snow. A poor and squalid cluster of huts squatting beside a broad lake in a stony bed, Pine Settlement had little in it but fishing-boats and a timber mill.
“There’s not even an inn,” Clouded Sky realised as they reached the end of the village and saw the lonely road climbing into the mountains
ahead of them.
Iron Maiden was perched on Flying Crane’s hindquarters behind him. Undaunted, she pointed eagerly to the path ahead.
“That’s the way to Ten Thousand Thorns Temple, dage!”
“The weather looks bad. We’ll try it tomorrow, heroine.” Clouded Sky turned Flying Crane back toward the village. As he did so, a solitary figure in a black cloak turned aside into the shadows between two houses.
Iron Maiden caught her breath.
“Did you see that?”
Clouded Sky nodded.
“We saw the same man last night at Bright Moon Settlement.”
“He’s following us.” Iron Maiden’s voice sank to a dismayed whisper. “No, no, no! We can’t afford to lead anyone to Ten Thousand Thorns Temple!”
Suddenly decisive, Clouded Sky spurred Flying Crane into a trot toward the mountains. Not far up the mountain road, the path looped around a spur of rock. With a glance behind, Clouded Sky turned Flying Crane behind the spur and dismounted.
They did not have long to wait. The man in the black cloak hurried up the road on their trail. Iron Maiden fell from the rock above him. He heard her movement and turned with a yell of surprise, reaching for the hooks he carried at his belt. Too late! With one jab to an acupoint, he fell to the ground. Clouded Sky left his hiding-place, rolled the man over onto his back, and gave a grunt of surprise.
“I know this man! He was at the tavern when we first met.”
“He’s with the Imperial Sword, dage. They call him Second Brother. The others can’t be far away.” Her eyes widened in dismay. “What have I done? I’ve led them straight to Morning Light’s door!”
“Don’t blame yourself, heroine. It can’t be helped now.” Clouded Sky stood and whistled to Flying Crane. “All we can do is go on and reach Ten Thousand Thorns Temple before they do! What will we do with Second Brother?”
“Put him under the rock and leave him. He would need truly wonderful qi cultivation to wake up before morning, and by that time we’ll already be at the Temple.” Her eyes sparkled. “At last!”
Clouded Sky did as directed, then turned to find that Iron Maiden had slipped into his saddle and held Flying Crane’s reins. She barely waited for Clouded Sky to vault onto the horse before stirring Flying Crane into a gallop.
Neither of them looked back.
Neither of them saw Second Brother rise to his feet and run toward the village.
At first the road ran straight into the mountains, but a little further on it began to wind to andfro, always rising up the steep hillsides. Below them the lake contracted to a fast-moving river and above, the path narrowed to a ledge on the side of a cliff.
“Heroine, slow down!” Clouded Sky shouted as they approached a hairpin turn.
“I know every step of the way, dage! It’s not far now!” Iron Maiden turned Flying Crane and went on with reckless confidence up the mountainside. The stones dislodged by the horse’s hoofs tumbled down a fathomless distance into the gorge. Clouded Sky tried not to hear them. White flecks of snow blew in the wind, punctuating the thick clouds darkening the sky. Flying Crane dropped from a trot to a walk, his sides heaving.
“How much further, heroine?”
“Not far!” She slid out of the saddle, and Clouded Sky followed suit. Iron Maiden passed him the reins and went ahead, leading them further up the path with her fingers trailing along the rock wall on her right hand. The next bend in the road was sharper and narrower than ever before, the path almost impossible to see. Iron Maiden turned back to him, little more than a pale glimmer in the darkness.
“Do you have your sword?”
He did not understand why he would need his sword now, but he reached down and loosened the catch anyway.
She smiled at him and turned sharply, as if about to walk directly into the cliff. When he followed, however, he found himself walking in at the entrance to a cave.
“Heroine?”
A whisper came out of the dark.
“Take hold of my sash, dage. I don’t want to lose you.”
It wasn’t proper to take her hand before he had spoken to a matchmaker, but as he reached out cautiously to take the end of her sash, their fingers brushed.
It was impossible to see anything. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Iron Maiden’s hand retreated. Her voice sounded wistful.
“I don’t know if we will survive this, dage, but thank you for believing me. Thank you for coming.”
In the close stillness of the cave, there was no sound but the fluting of the wind outside, and a drip-drop of water from the rocks like the chimes of a bell. Clouded Sky closed his eyes. It made no difference; the dark was so absolute. But it seemed easier to speak that way.
“Heroine, with everything that has happened… I don’t know if I’m worthy. I don’t know if I am the hero you need.”
She sighed, a wisp of breath in the dark.
“But you’re the hero I have. You learned what I had to teach. You came to find me when I was captured. You fought for me when no one else had the courage. Have courage now.”
At first, he’d been a little frightened of her. Then she’d become his ally, someone he could rely on. And now…
His hand clenched on her sash with the effort of restraining his feelings, and he took a deep breath to steady himself.
“You’re the one who gives me courage, meimei. Thank you.”
She was so close that he could practically feel her heartbeat.
“Dage,” she breathed. His heart bounded with hope.
“Yes?”
“You’re pulling on my sash.”
He drew back in embarrassment, loosening his grip, and Iron Maiden became no more than a movement on the end of her sash, a voice in the darkness.
“You are a righteous hero, Clouded Sky. You have a vanquish-dragons-and-subdue-tigers ability, a contain-the-river-and-embrace-the-ocean vision. I think that for you, Princess Morning Light will awake.” A deep intake of breath, not entirely steady. “Please…please don’t call me ‘little sister’.”
The cave suddenly seemed very cold. Had he misjudged? Iron Maiden had told Harmonious Virtue that perhaps an attachment to something outside oneself could wake an enlightened one from mediation. Did she think he was destined to love Morning Light?
Did she think he could forget her so quickly? Iron Maiden shuffled nervously in the dark.
“Come, hero.” She tugged at her sash, and Clouded Sky followed.
For a long time, they walked in silence. At first the ground was stony and uneven, but soon it became smooth and chiselled under their feet. At first there came a soft sound of water dripping inside the cave, but soon it became a trickle, and then a chattering murmur beside them.
They must have walked for hours: Iron Maiden and himself, with Flying Crane behind them. At last when it seemed they would walk blindly forever with the sound of water their only companion, a dim light began to pierce the darkness. Gradually it came closer and strengthened, until finally Clouded Sky recognised it for the grey light of dawn, shining in through an opening in the rock ahead of them.
Iron Maiden lifted a finger to her lips, and motioned to Clouded Sky to leave Flying Crane tethered to a ring in the wall. Softly, they stole closer to the cave’s mouth. Iron Maiden lifted her palms warily. Sensing her nervousness, Clouded Sky drew his sword.
The air hissed. Iron Maiden spun, catching a hidden projectile in her fingers.
“The Thorns,” she gasped, but her cry was choked off as more projectiles flew from all directions. Clouded Sky lifted his sword in a futile attempt to block them. Unerringly aimed, they thudded into acupoints all over his body.
He fell into a dream of pain.
It felt as though he was being systematically beaten. Expert fingers jabbed, prodded, pinched and knuckled him. With each blow his qi flowed more freely, relieving the pain of closed acupoints. When they finished, Clouded Sky ached all over, but he was awake again.
Hands plucked him from the
dirt and yanked him to his knees. Clouded Sky’s head rolled back on his shoulders. Looking up, he saw Ten Thousand Thorns Temple.
Remote and peaceful, it perched on a ledge halfway up the mountainside, its walls and roof just a glimpse of red, grey and green among the pines. A narrow path, overgrown with weeds, ran up the eastern side of the valley to meet it.
A broad finger and thumb grabbed and pinched an acupoint on the side of his neck, causing Clouded Sky to gasp with pain.
“Stinking spy! Keep your eyes on the ground!”
Clouded Sky bent his head, but not before scanning his surroundings. He was kneeling in the street of a village tucked into a fold of the mountains, a deep gash of fruitful green among snowy peaks. Before him, steps climbed to a sturdy village hall fashioned from immense pine beams. All around clustered a wide-eyed crowd of villagers. From their murmured comments, it seemed some of them were looking at a traveller from the outside world for the very first time.
Beside Clouded Sky, two of the villagers bent over what seemed to be a shapeless bundle of clothing, jabbing and pinching. With the release of her last acupoint, Iron Maiden jerked upwards, palms flying, feet kicking. She knocked one of the villagers unconscious with a fast strike, but the other dodged and put up his fists.
“Traitor!” he growled.
She launched herself forward, her palms sweeping up dust, and her face contorted in a howl of defiance. Clouded Sky thought to twist himself from the grip his two guards kept on his shoulders, but no sooner did he tense than one of them subdued him with a heavy blow that put him back in the dust.
Coughing, he peeled his face out of the dirt and looked up. Iron Maiden aimed a storm of terrible blows at her enemy. Palms, fists, and feet moved like lightning, but each blow was blocked. The villager facing her didn’t even seem concerned. Before Clouded Sky could regain his breath, Iron Maiden’s opponent swept out a leg. Then, as she flipped in the air to avoid him, already he was up again and pounded both fists down on her body.
Iron Maiden hit the ground. The villager spat.
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