FicWad

Chapter 8

It took every ounce of self-control that Shang possessed for him to refrain from beating Captain Mao to a pulp as he confronted him back at camp that evening. He towered over his subordinate, fists clenched, barking at the captain as he stood at attention since he'd never ordered him to stand at ease, his expression a mixture of defiance and smugness. It was all Shang could do to not wipe that look off of his face with a swift backhand to it. At times he began to pace back and forth, fists still clenched, to channel the fury that threatened to overtake him.

"I told you to stay in command of the camp. How dare you disobey my order! And you left the troop without a commanding officer! I should run a sword through you for that, and if anything had happened to anyone in this camp, that's exactly what I would do now!"

He began to pace.

"And now you've gone and made our presence known by barging into that school and asking questions."

"With all due respect, General..."

"I didn't give you permission to speak yet, Captain!" he snapped, stopping in front of him again and getting right in his face.

Captain Mao stood down but there was fire in his eyes as he remained at attention, meeting his general's gaze despite his proximity to him. Shang stepped back and folded his arms, glaring at him, his jaw clenched.

"We need to find out who the leader is and my idea was to go in covertly and gather that information. Thanks to you, now they know we're here. We're not just here to capture her. We've also been charged with stopping a rebellion that hasn't started yet."

"Permission to speak, General?"

With a sharp snap of his wrist he gestured for Mao to go ahead.

"The troop was not left without someone commanding them. I asked Captain Liang Sheng-hui to take charge. He is a good leader and trustworthy."

"Yes, he is, but you still had no place doing what you did."

"General Li, I went to the calligraphy school. That's the starting and ending point of the ink and artwork..."

Shang cut him off.

"We already know that."

"My point is that even though we don't have solid proof yet, I'm sure that the school is where they're based. There's no reason why we can't just go right to the school and attack."

"You're suggesting that we surround the school and just rain arrows down on it?"

"Yes. She's there, General."

"What?"

"Hua Mulan is in that school."

Shang's eyes narrowed. "What makes you say that?"

"A gut feeling. Her father was there."

"What? What was he doing there?"

"He's supposedly a patron of the school; he gives them money to keep it going. But I wouldn't be too sure of that. Also there were two students who were 'not there'. That old man claimed that one of them was his son and the other one was a boy from the school. But either one of those 'boys' could be her. And if they are harboring her, they're just as guilty for doing so, even if they have nothing to do with the rebellion. We would be raining arrows down on traitors."

"And if that isn't the case we'll be killing a school full of innocent kids. If they are involved, by alerting them to the fact that we're watching them you've given them the opportunity to fold up shop and to warn others. It's not just this village; there is a network involving several villages and we need to uncover all of them. I've sent scouts to those villages, but if those people are warned because of this they won't find out anything. Besides, you still disobeyed my order. You had no business going there without my permission."

"I apologize, General," Captain Mao said, bowing respectfully.

Releasing a sigh of exasperation, Shang addressed his subordinate firmly.

"I have to think about how this situation can be salvaged. Originally I wanted to send someone in there as a student to work with them and find out what's going on from the inside. But they will be suspicious of any newcomers now. You're confined to your tent tonight. And if you pull anything like this again my punishment will be swift and harsh. If the Emperor hadn't ordered me to take you as my second in command I would demote you right now. Dismissed."

His captain saluted him then turned on his heel and exited the tent. Cursing profusely he knelt down behind the low makeshift desk he'd procured for himself and slammed his fists down on the wood. It released some of his rage and frustration but he couldn't completely rid himself of the stymied feeling. Shang knew he had every right to run a sword through Mao for disobeying him and completely screwing things up, yet alone demote him in rank. But the damned captain was somehow connected to the Emperor, and even though he was the superior officer he knew without a doubt that he had to tread carefully when it came to Captain Mao. His hands were tied and that infuriated him.

He rested his elbows on the desk now and lowered his head into his hands, allowing his breath out in a slow, easing exhale. He raised himself up when he heard a voice address him outside of his tent.

"Enter."

Seven men that he'd summoned stepped into the tent and saluted him, then stood at attention. These were men that he'd judged to be the most keen and discreet and he had picked them to be his scouts. He gave them instructions and sent them off to scout the village of Shangqiu.

Scouts had already been sent back to Sui Xian and ahead to Xiayi and he now pondered the situation concerning the calligraphy school. The thought that Hua Zhou was involved in this had crossed his mind a few times now and the fact that Mao had run into him in the school disturbed him.

He mulled over an idea then stood up and went reluctantly to speak to his second in command.

xxxxxxx

"General Li came to see me this afternoon, Mulan," Hua Zhou told her. As usual they were conversing together in the private study.

Her heart leaped into her throat at the mention of him and the fact that he'd been in their house and she scolded herself inwardly for getting so excited about such a foolish thing. She was supposed to be forgetting about that, especially when they were faced with much more serious issues.

"I warned him about the prophecy and the ballad. I don't think he believed me about either. Also, our morning visitor Captain Mao is under his command and the general had no idea that he'd come here and asked questions. Apparently his orders were to stay at camp."

Knowing that there was a point to him telling her this, she refrained from answering and gazed at him expectantly, waiting for the rest of it.

"General Li didn't choose him. The Emperor forced him to take Captain Mao as his captain and second in command. I gave him what advice I could. I'm sure he'll be able to take care of himself."

Mulan bit her lip, her forehead creasing with worry. She didn't like the sound of what her father was telling her about Shang and Captain Mao.

"Captain Mao is going to be a problem, in more ways than one," he remarked, as if he'd read her thoughts. "You said that you and Ao-li ran into a general at Xiayi."

"Yes. He questioned us, but then he left us alone."

"Did he tell you his name?"

"No, but Prefect Liu knows him and he told us. Zhao. General Zhao."

"Good. That's information that will come in handy. I have an idea."

"Oh?"

He nodded. "There is a twenty-four hour watch set up here in the school but we need something better. General Li is sending scouts to watch us and to observe other places in the village, I'm sure."

"I'm sure."

"We should be scouting him, too. I'll at least arrange for someone to watch his camp tonight. And now, I've been coming some nights and teaching these young men and women to fight, but they haven't been able to see a physical demonstration. That's where you come in. You will demonstrate and also instruct them on the nights that I can't be here. Come on and let's get down to training."

Standing up and following him out to the courtyard at the back of the school she wondered if he really believed that she was qualified to teach them on her own. She certainly didn't have confidence in herself regarding that.

The courtyard in the back was well-hidden by a high stone wall that surrounded it on all sides away from the house, and though they had lit some lanterns to light up the area they were positioned low so as not to be too bright and draw attention to the area.

Her father kept his voice quiet, just loud enough for everyone to hear and Mulan demonstrated the martial arts movements while Hua Zhou moved through the lines with the aid of his cane fixing the students' forms as they needed and speaking to them about finding their center, posture and breath control.

"Just like calligraphy," one student quipped very softly.

Everyone heard though and a light wave of cautious laughter sounded from the group, even from Hua Zhou.

"That's exactly why you're all spending your days practicing calligraphy. Except for those of you on the night watch."

Silence came over the group again as they moved through their forms silently in imitation of Mulan.

"Your form is quite good, Mulan," her father remarked as they walked back inside at the end of the practice session. "Tomorrow night we'll work with swords."

"But I can tell that I'm not in as good shape as I was. I'm sure I'm going to feel this little workout in the morning."

Hua Zhou chuckled softly.

"Baba, do we have bows and arrows as well?"

"Yes, we do now. We'll work on archery later."

"I hope I remember. My aim at that used to be good, but it's been a few years."

An amused glint twinkled in her father's eyes as he gazed at her.

"How will you get home now? There's no carriage outside."

"I'm staying here tonight and tomorrow night. When Wei Wang comes to deliver a fresh supply of food the morning after that, I will return to town with him. I need to discuss several things with Li Meng-shi and I want to be here for the first couple of nights of real training."

"Who is Li Meng-shi? I mean, I know he's a Daoist priest, but Master Jiang said that he used to work at the palace. He looks so young."

"Yes, he is not even thirty yet. He came to be a spiritual advisor to Wu Di while I was in service still. He was very young at the time, only eighteen, but he is unusually gifted. I believe he left the palace immediately when Wu Di died."

"He didn't want to work for Luo Di?"

He shook his head. "I doubt it. He's a true visionary, Mulan, and he knew of things that were to come a few years before Wu Di's death. He had already foreseen then that there would only be two Emperors from this Dynasty, Wu Di and Luo Di."

"Then you believe in the prophecy."

"Yes. Li Meng-shi is going to seek the man that will be the Mandated Son of Heaven. When he comes into power and begins a new dynasty China will be unified, at peace, and very prosperous. The dynasty will last a much longer time."

"In Xiayi he mentioned that he saw signs over the province of Shanxi. Taiyuan specifically."

"That's why he's headed north. I need to make arrangements with him to help him get there quickly, and also find out as many details as I can from him about any other signs and his interpretation of them."

They stopped outside of the private study.

"Rest well. I'll talk to you in the morning."

"You, too. Goodnight, Baba."

"Goodnight."

Mulan stepped into her small room and lowered herself onto her pallet, gingerly rubbing a couple of muscles that she could feel she had strained slightly. But it wasn't pain that woke her in the early morning, as she had expected; rather, she was jarred awake by the sounds of slamming screens, running feet and yelling.

"Imperial soldiers! Led by a general!"

She sat up with a start, blinking and getting her bearings, then stood up. She threw her clothes on hastily and rushed out to see exactly what was going on.

"A group of Imperial soldiers is on their way here, led by a general who I can only assume is our very own General Li," her father told her as she ran into the main room. "One of our guys on watch saw movement through the trees. They'll be across the field soon."

"I'll hide in the cellar."

"Ao-li, gather the others," Master Jiang called out. "Cover the trap door up the moment they're inside. I'm sure that they will be searching the dojo for weapons. Everyone else, to the tables. You should be working on your art when they arrive."

Puzzling over what he meant by 'after they're inside' but pushing the question aside for now Mulan opened the trapdoor and hurried down the stairs. She was aware of someone following her and turned to see Li Meng-shi coming down the stairs behind her, followed by her father hobbling down as quickly as he could. As he ducked his head down below the level of the trap door it closed behind him. She heard something heavy being dragged along the floor above them then and felt her stomach begin to clench.

"Well, we might as well make ourselves comfortable," Hua Zhou remarked. "Who knows how long we'll be here."

"They may wonder where we keep our supplies," she remarked.

"We keep a large supply of food in the kitchen and they'll see it. We only store excess dry food down here, and really it's just packing for the weapons, as you saw. Everything will appear to be in order unless they move whatever they're covering the trapdoor with."

The three of them fell silent, listening, but it was impossible to hear anything other than creaking floorboards above them.

"Baba," Mulan began, wanting to speak to him about her concern with regard to Captain Mao and also wishing to take her mind off of the anxiety that was building up inside of her the longer she sat in the sealed off cellar. "What if the Emperor had ulterior motives for forcing General Li to take Captain Mao into his troop, and as second in command? He is having everyone with the surname Li killed. What if Mao was sent by the Emperor to harm Shang?"

"Yes, the same thing occurred to me. I already arranged for a man to start watching Captain Mao last night."

"You did?"

"Yes. As I said, we should be scouting General Li and his troops, too and I'll be sending more scouts to watch them. But the man I sent last night was only ordered to follow Captain Mao's movements specifically."

Mulan smiled slightly and spoke up. "I'll volunteer to scout the troop."

"Yes, I expected you would, Daughter, but I'm afraid that would not be wise. The general and his entire troop are looking for you, as well as every other one of the Emperor's generals."

"And the last place they'll think I would go is anywhere near their troop," she argued quietly. "They wouldn't expect me to be right under their noses. I'll be careful."

She received an amazed stare from her father and Li Meng-shi began to laugh softly.

"Well, she obviously inherited your unique way of thinking, Zhou."

Hua Zhou sighed. "I need you to stay and help me train the students still, and I have my concerns about you going. But I'll give it some thought."

"That is if those soldiers up there don't discover this trapdoor," Li Meng-shi remarked, pointing up toward it. "If we're discovered, there won't be any need for any of that."

xxxxxxx

"General Li."

"Come in, Captain."

Captain Mao entered the tent and saluted. Shang gestured for him to sit across the low desk from him.

"Anything unusual to report?"

"No, sir. I drilled the men as you asked."

"Good. We did a search of the calligraphy school today and found nothing, just as I expected. If they have weapons there's a hidden place where they keep their store, one that we couldn't see and didn't have access to. I have no doubt about that."

A worried frown formed deep creases in the young general's face.

"Then we'll be carrying on with your plan that we discussed last night? To watch the school tonight?"

"Yes," Shang answered with a nod. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he replayed the scene in the main room of the school in his mind. "It was quite amazing actually how calm and cooperative they all were in there. The master had one of the students go with my men when they searched to answer any questions they might have had. The rest of them remained sitting there working, ignoring us all except when I addressed them directly. And that master just sat cross-legged on a platform in front of the room painting characters as if we weren't even there."

He sighed.

"If they are hiding weapons or anything else it will become apparent when they believe they aren't being watched. At least that's what I'm hoping. After today's search they will either be panicked or they'll think that since our search came up with nothing we won't return, in which case they'd become comfortable and sure of themselves. If they are afraid they may try to relocate the weapons tonight, after it gets dark."

"I'll go tonight and watch them," Mao volunteered.

"No," Shang answered sharply. "You will go nowhere near that school anymore unless I decide to move the troop to surround it. I'm going back there tonight. I want to observe the school before we make any plans to attack them and make certain for myself that there's a reason for it."

Captain Mao remained silent but he looked peeved. Shang fixed him with a steely stare.

"Alright, Captain, that's all. You're dismissed."

After sunset Shang prepared to depart from camp. Seeing that everything was in order there he saddled his stallion and rode off, skirting around the village as they'd done earlier, heading northeast to Master Jiang's calligraphy school.

As the open clearing came into view through the wooded area he stopped and dismounted, tying his stallion to one of the trees. He hiked across the open field toward the school which was visible in the distance and quietly surveyed it. Walking around the perimeter stealthily, he scrutinized the structure of the building. There were high walls in the back of the school obviously enclosing what was most likely a courtyard or a garden. He moved closer to the wall, thinking that he had heard voices. A man's voice reached his ears, speaking quietly, talking about form and movement and balance. It sounded like a martial arts lesson.

Gazing up at the roof and pondering quickly, he moved back toward the front of the building and found a spot where he could scale the wall. He pulled himself up onto the roof, moving over it quietly with cat-like, graceful movements, not an easy feat with armor on. He rested the length of his body against the slope of the roof on the opposite side from where the courtyard was, his foot planted in such a way as to keep him steady. He peered over the ridge of the roof and down over it, into the courtyard which he could now see clearly.

The dimly-lit yard was filled with students, each one with a sword, working through movements and practicing their swordsmanship. He saw the limping figure of Hua Zhou moving slowly through the lines with the aid of his cane, stopping to correct someone's form here and there, and he heard him instructing them. He sighed, an ache of regret filling his heart with the realization that his father's old friend, one of the Emperor's most trusted and honored generals, was now a traitor to his country. And his enemy. A lone slight figure stood off in front of the group, facing them and him, demonstrating each of the moves, the students imitating. Shang started and his heart leaped into his throat as he looked into the face of the small leader, recognizing his former soldier Ping.

He was deeply disappointed that these were the circumstances under which he was seeing her again, though he really hadn't expected anything different, especially when her own father was involved. And though he had his orders as the Emperor's general, he could understand her motives. Traveling through the countryside, she'd borne witness to the same sights he had and he couldn't blame her for wanting to do something about it. Just as he couldn't bear to see that starving little boy harmed for trying to get badly-needed food, he knew she wouldn't be able to stand by and watch people suffer. She was too caring and compassionate a person. That had become clear to him that fateful day when they reached the village at the Tung Shao Pass and he discovered that his father had been killed. She was the only soldier that offered sympathy to him, her few words quiet, gentle, supportive.

Since he'd last seen her he'd thought of her often, wondering what had happened to her in these three years and what would have happened if he had kept in touch with her. There had been unanswered questions and an underlying aching desire in the background of his consciousness to figure out the mystery of who she was. She'd come into his life like a whirlwind at that time and had disappeared from it just as suddenly. He always brushed the thoughts off when they came to the forefront of his mind. After all, he hardly knew her. He still didn't understand why he continued to react the way he did when he heard her name, the catching of his breath, the quickening of his heartbeat, the way his mind had grinded to a screeching halt for that moment when General Zhao had spoken of him finding her first. Just the mention of her hometown by the Emperor had caused him to feel a jolt through his body. He certainly wasn't in love with her, there wasn't enough time for that, even if he did notice how lovely she was in the mountains that night, and in the Imperial City, and standing with her father in the family's garden. But she'd made an impression on him. His experience with her had left an imprint on his mind and soul.

He remained frozen in place, watching her move gracefully through the forms and waiting silently for his heart to stop thudding. Her form was good but she was a little rusty since she'd trained in his camp, he noted absently. It had been three years, of course. She obviously hadn't been working through sword forms everyday while she was working as the Emperor's council.

Tearing his gaze away finally he eased himself down off of the roof slowly, climbing down the wall and landing softly on the ground. He stole across the open plain, thinking of Captain Mao's suggestion that they just rain arrows down on the school, with or without proof; now they had it.

He had no choice. His duty was to defend his Emperor and stop these people, including Mulan and her father; especially since Captain Mao was around. There was no doubt that Mao would report back to the Emperor anything that he failed to do; perhaps that was why he'd been forced on him. Maybe the Emperor was worried that he would have a soft spot for his female former soldier. But he wouldn't be soft. In the morning he would move his troop out and drive them out of the school. All he could do was hope that she would somehow come out of this alive, even though common sense told him that couldn't possibly be unless he let her escape. And he knew that he couldn't do that either. He sighed, knowing that there would be no sleep for him tonight.

He automatically went into alert mode as he returned to the cover of the woods where his horse was. Sure enough, as he passed by one of the trees he was assaulted from behind.

Somehow he instinctively sensed his attacker before he reached him, maybe even heard him without realizing he had, so automatic were his reflexes. He whirled around quickly, springing into action and dodging in time so that the blade of the sword coming at him in the dark sliced his lower forearm instead of hitting a more vital area that it was originally aimed at. He drew his sword and gained his balance quickly, focused on his assailant now, finding himself staring in shock at Captain Mao.

"Mutinous traitor..." he began, breathless with disgust and anger.

"No, General. I'm following orders."

They stood facing one another in the dark, bodies taut, each looking for weakness in the other. Then the captain lurched toward him, fighting fiercely. Shang blocked all of his sword thrusts, concentrating on defending himself and using his opponent's own strength against him, managing to swipe Mao's neck with his blade. Even in the dark he could see the blood starting to flow. Then, before he knew it, Mao had flipped his sword over and slammed the hilt of it into his head with massive force. Shang reeled back, clutching his head that was throbbing already, and staggered dazedly as stars exploded in front of his eyes. He fell to his knees, dizzy, feeling the stickiness of the blood that was beginning to drip from the cut on his head onto his fingertips, imagining that he heard the sound of a singing arrow. He blinked rapidly, and for a split second the sparks in front of his eyes seemed to clear; he caught sight of an arrow sticking out of Mao's chest, vibrating ever so slightly from the momentum of hitting its target, sickeningly. Then he blacked out.