FicWad

Chapter 12

Something jarred him awake, though there was no noise outside. It was still dark out. He'd been up for most of the night, first conversing with Li Meng-shi and then lying on his pallet pondering their discussion. He couldn't remember when he'd dropped off to sleep but he vaguely recalled having the feeling before he drifted off that the young priest had been detaining him not only because he wanted to coax him to go to Taiyuan with him, but in order to distract his attention from something.

Softly, Shang stood up and crept out of his quarters. He had a feeling that there were things going on that he should be aware of, though it was the middle of the night. He stopped when he reached the main room at the end of the corridor, blinking in disbelief as he found himself staring at hundreds of arrows spread out on the tables where the students usually worked on their calligraphy. So they did have a supply, he thought smugly. He'd been right to not believe her answer earlier.

Movement outside caught his eye through the window and he went closer, staying to the side of it where he couldn't be seen. A soft flurry of snow was falling now and he could see that the ground was covered with a thin layer of white. He caught sight of several dark figures moving about, some appearing to be climbing down the stone wall that surrounded the front courtyard, others walking toward the school. He leaped back into the shadow of the dark corridor. Moments later Mulan and the others had shed their wet boots and were gathered in the main room, hair and coats peppered with white flurries of snow that melted and dripped to the floor. Each of them was holding a life-sized straw puppet dressed in clothing typical of their own. He immediately noted that these were covered with arrows, which the students began to pull out and set down on the tables, adding to the already large supply of arrows.

Astonished, he watched, silent and unmoving, as they harvested the arrows then attempted to tidy up the ragged-looking straw figures, clothed in tunics and trousers that looked ripped in places and filled with holes, as if they had already been hit with several rounds of arrows. With a start he realized that Mulan hadn't been lying earlier. Their practice supply had been all that they had. But now the school was under attack, and this clever group was using the straw dummies to instigate their enemy to fire their arrows, stocking their supply and depleting their adversary's at one time.

It was his troop out there; he had no doubt about that and he knew he should be with them. He was flooded with shame, disappointment, and a sense of loss. And he felt angry at Hua Zhou and his rebels for having kept him from his men in this way, against his will.

As soon as the straw figures were fixed up, they went back outside again. The snow was falling steadily, heavier now. Keeping some distance from the group, Shang hurriedly put his boots on and followed them outside. He hid behind one of the trees in the garden, watching as Mulan and the others climbed up toward the top of the wall and lowered the figures down the other side of the wall on her signal. They waited, still and silent, the cold snowy night remaining quiet around them. There wasn't even the sound of arrows. Maybe they weren't firing this time. Had Captain Liang finally figured out that it was a hoax; that they weren't aiming at real people? Shang wondered how many times Mulan and this group of rebels had repeated this exercise before the captain finally figured it out /now/.

A sigh escaped him. If he ever saw Liang and the rest of the troop again he'd have to chew them out for their stupidity and carelessness. Didn't they wonder why the enemy hadn't returned their rain of arrows?

Mulan drew her dummy back first, inspecting it and then silently signaling to the others. One by one, they withdrew their straw dummies from over the wall and looked them over. Each one signaled back to her, then she nodded and they all climbed back down to the ground, turning back toward the school. Shang stayed hidden behind the tree and in the shadows, watching as they passed by. She was the last to file past, just as he'd hoped.

"Mulan."

She gasped and whirled around, dropping the straw figure that she was holding, her face contorted in fear, her body tensed into a defensive stance. He stepped out from behind the tree where she could see him and her hand went to her heart as her stance relaxed.

"Shang," she uttered his name on an exhale.

He noticed that she was now blinking back tears that had come to her eyes and a pang of guilt wrenched him as he realized that he'd really startled her. The night was almost completely black except for the lantern light from the window in the main room of the school and some hints of moonlight that reflected through the clouds. He took a step toward her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you..."

"What did you think you were going to do, calling to me from in the shadows?" she retorted, clearly annoyed. She brought a gloved hand up to her eyes and wiped them with one swipe.

"I...whoa...wait a minute. Where do you come off being angry at me?" he demanded now, outraged that she had the audacity to be angry when she was the one who was deceiving him. "You and your father have kept things from me, you've manipulated me and you've held me hostage and detained me from returning to my men..."

"We've been trying to help you, Shang..." she interjected, softly but defensively.

He didn't allow her to finish.

"Did it ever occur to you that you could have just told me what you had planned and let me decide for myself what I wanted to do?"

She didn't respond.

"Maybe you meant well," he added, his voice softer now, "but that's my troop out there and I had every right to make my own decision."

"Yes, you did have that right," she answered quietly, her eyes meeting his. "I'm sorry."

The tree behind him cast a diffuse shadow that fell over part of her face, making it hard for him to see her expression. Her eyes looked like dark pools. They were open, honest eyes, he thought as he gazed at them. The two of them remained silent for several moments, staring at each other in the dim light, snow falling softly on them. It was becoming heavier and denser now than it had been just minutes ago and a snowflake had landed on one of her eyelashes. He had an impulse to bring his hand up to brush it away for her, but it melted just as he began to raise his arm. He let it drop back to his side, feeling sheepish as he realized that he'd almost done something that she might have seen as improper.

"You must be cold," she finally said, breaking the silence.

He'd been so focused on watching Mulan and the others to find out what they were doing he had forgotten that he never put a robe or a coat on over his tunic; and he'd been so wrapped up in his anger and indignation that he hadn't realized he was shivering and his teeth were chattering now.

"Yes."

"I'll make you some tea when we're inside."

"Thank you," he murmured, still staring at her eyes.

For a moment she held his gaze. Then she turned toward the school and indicated that she wanted to go inside.

"I'm getting cold. And they're going to wonder where I am."

As she walked away he leaned down and scooped up the straw figure that she'd dropped onto the ground and forgotten about. There were no arrows in it. He dusted the snow off of it and caught up to her, indicating the figure to her as he walked by her side, showing her that he had it.

"Oh, thanks. I forgot I dropped it."

"I guess your enemy figured out what you were doing this time," he remarked.

"Yeah, my father said they would figure it out. He was surprised they didn't after the first round."

An exasperated sigh escaped him as he silently agreed with that sentiment; he'd been wondering himself just how long his captain had taken to figure it out. He was about to ask her where Hua Zhou was but decided against it.

There was a shift change shortly after they were inside, and the students that had been lowering the dummies over the wall now turned in while the ones that had just woken up went out to stand watch. Right now, Shang's troop appeared to be remaining wherever they were, off in the dark somewhere, and they didn't seem to be making any move to charge toward the school. Apparently the two sides were still observing one another warily. He felt relieved to see that Captain Liang wasn't storming the place in anger after the trick these rebels had played on him; that would not have been wise. And now that the snow was falling heavier with every moment, the layer of white on the ground becoming deeper, he was hoping the captain had withdrawn and let the troop take cover until the weather cleared up.

Hua Zhou emerged from one of the sleeping quarters along the corridor and stepped into the main room, looking somewhat dismayed to see Shang up and about. But he suppressed the expression quickly and nodded to him.

"General Li."

"Honorable Hua Zhou."

"Father, they didn't take the bait this time."

"It was bound to happen. We were lucky to accumulate as much as we did."

Mulan nodded then turned to Shang.

"I'll bring you some tea, Shang."

She gestured to the private study.

Suppressing a sigh, he nodded and went off into the room, sliding the door closed. He was still angry with Hua Zhou, and he didn't trust himself to remain there; he feared he might have started to speak loudly and rudely. No matter what had happened, he owed respect to this man who was older than him and who had been a friend to his father. And whatever the method, his intention had been to help him, not harm him. Despite his irritation, he knew that deep in his heart.

He remained next to the door, attempting to listen to father and daughter as they spoke softly about what had been happening this far during the night. Their voices dropped in pitch so often that he only picked up parts of the conversation. Giving up, he moved away from the door and took a seat at the table, leaning his elbows on it and dropping his face in his hands. He wanted to talk to her. Though there was no guarantee that she would reveal anything to him, she did genuinely seem to regret that they had kept things from him and hadn't allowed him to make his own choice. Maybe now she would feel guilty enough to provide him with an explanation to the things he asked.

The conversation he'd had with Li Meng-shi was still fresh in his mind too. He wasn't sure how much she would know about that, but after witnessing the routine with the straw dummies he was more sure than ever that the purpose of that meeting was to keep him occupied while Mulan and the others tricked his troop out of their supply of arrows.

"Mulan," he muttered to himself and sighed.

He couldn't help feeling annoyed with her too even though he knew she had only been doing what Hua Zhou told her to do; she was a filial daughter who would never disobey her honored father.

But he felt he had been taken advantage of. He recalled her father's words the morning after he'd been brought there, that she knew he was in danger and had left the palace to warn him; she hadn't said the words, but Hua Zhou claimed that he knew his daughter and that she didn't have to. The retired warrior knew that he had a soft spot for her, he thought angrily, and he used that to play him, making him feel guilty about her predicament and beholden to her for risking herself to help him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open and he sat up with a start. His anger began to dissipate as he watched her enter the room carrying in a teapot and two cups. She set them on the table then went back to shut the door behind her.

She took a seat beside him and filled one of the cups, pushing it toward him.

"Thank you."

He closed his hands around the warm cup, lifting it and taking a sip.

"Mulan..." he began, then trailed off, at a loss as to how he wanted to continue. He couldn't understand why his thoughts, why his emotions and sentiments seemed to be constantly shifting, as if with the wind, ever since he'd been staying in this school, since he'd been around Mulan again; and he found that his mind had gone completely blank now. He stared at the liquid in the cup, frowning as he tried to think of exactly what he wanted to say to her.

She was gazing at him, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, she spoke up.

"Shang, my father...he thought it would be easier for you if you didn't have to make a decision to fight against your own men...so he wanted to keep you out of it..."

He shook his head slowly, feeling the anger rising in him again.

"He still had no right to make the decision for me."

She stared into her own cup now with a crestfallen expression, falling silent and looking somewhat lost. He closed his eyes and sighed softly as his anger dissolved again, feeling slightly ashamed that he'd doubted her intentions and had directed his anger toward her. For as long as he'd known her she had acted as a friend to him and had done nothing but come to his aid when he needed it, risking her own safety, her own life on more than one occasion. And he'd just told her earlier that very night that he believed her and that he considered her a friend. How could he forget that? How could he think to blame her for everything?

He opened his eyes again and shifted his gaze back to her.

"My troop believes that I've been killed."

"Yes," she answered looking up from her cup. "Wang Xiao brought the message to them, and by now word is on its way to Luo Di."

"Did Wang Xiao also bring my troop here?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"So they will believe that they've defeated us."

"You mean, he started it...?"

She nodded.

"And then what? You'll regroup and meet up somewhere else?"

"Yes."

"The men in my troop know that you're here, Mulan. They won't stop until they've captured you."

"I'm not staying here."

"Where are you going?"

"With Li Meng-shi. Whatever happens, I can't stay here much longer. And this way I can make sure that he gets to his destination safely. It's very important that he reach Taiyuan and find the man named Li."

"What?" he exclaimed in astonishment.

"Taiyuan is where he believes he will find the Mandated Son of Heaven."

"I know. But...Mulan, Li Meng-shi suggested that I go to Taiyuan with him."

"Oh."

It became clear to him that until that moment she had no idea that this is what the priest had spoken to him about. Her father hadn't shared everything with her either.

"Are you going to go?" she asked softly.

He sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do or where I'm going to go. I'm considered dead right now so I can't go back to my troop unless I want Luo Di to find out that they 'made an error' in their message to him. They could get in a lot of trouble for that."

"And Luo Di would send someone else to kill you too."

"Yes. I suppose I should go with Li Meng-shi."

Shang took a deep breath and recounted to her the conversation that he'd had with the priest.

"I still find it hard to believe," he added when he'd finished. "I haven't made up my mind yet."

"But he's right. You do know of someone named Li there."

"Two men," he answered with a nod. "A father and a son. My father knew the family and fought with Li Jing in several battles. He's been stationed at Taiyuan for a few years now and his son Zhi-xu is around my age. He's also a soldier."

"How much do you know about them?"

Shang sighed. "Li Jing was a good soldier according to my father."

He fell silent, frowning as he thought about Zhi-xu, feeling a tinge of the old resentment he'd always felt when his father spoke of him, bubbling over with praise and enthusiasm for this prodigy.

"What about the son?" she prodded gently.

"Li Zhi-xu..." he began, distantly.

Mulan must have noticed his sour expression. "You don't like him?"

"I never met him. My father always said that he was remarkable. His talent, his swordsmanship..."

"Maybe he's the one..."

"Yes," Shang conceded, reluctantly. "He did say that Zhi-xu had a special aura about him and he was destined for great things."

He felt her soft hand fall gently on his own hand and turned to look at her, a small appreciative smile beginning to play around his lips. But she spoke before he could.

"Thank you, Shang."

"For what?"

"Now we'll know exactly who to seek out when we get there."

xxxxxxx

They had turned in for the night shortly after finishing their tea. Now, long after day had begun, they stood with Hua Zhou and the others, staring at the blanket of white that covered the bottom half of the windows.

"What about the students on watch?" Master Jiang exclaimed in alarm. "Are they still out there?"

"No, no. I called them back inside when the snow wouldn't let up. They're safe in their sleeping quarters."

The old teacher exhaled deeply, clearly relieved that his students, whom he cared for deeply, were safe.

"We can't get out of here," Hua Zhou continued. "But they can't get in either. We're at an impasse."

Mulan knew that one of their neighbors had been checking on her mother and grandmother on the nights that her father was here at the school to make sure they were alright, but it occurred to her that they might be worried about him.

"Baba, would Mama or Grandma have any reason to think that you would have been traveling in this weather?"

He turned to his daughter and smiled reassuringly. "They knew I would be staying here."

"Good," she murmured, relieved.

"Mulan, as soon as the snow begins to melt and it becomes possible to move through it on horseback, you and Li Meng-shi will depart for Taiyuan. We will seal up the weapons cellar until we can get them all out of here. Master Jiang will remain here at the school with his original students and continue as before, working on calligraphy. The rest of us will return to our homes in town and regroup when it's safe to do so."

"What about Ao-li? He never returned...and Wang Xiao."

"Ao-Li is in Sui Xian and will remain there for now. When the time is right I will send word to him and the groups from both villages will join together. And Wang Xiao will somehow find a way to part from the Imperial troop and return to town as well. I have no doubt that he will figure something out."

"Forgive me for interrupting, Honorable Hua Zhou," Shang began.

"Go ahead, General."

"What about my troop? When the weather clears, they will come here to fight you again. And they'll be looking for Mulan as well."

He nodded. "We will hold them off until she is safely away with Li Meng-shi."

Mulan watched as her father laid a hand on Shang's shoulder and patted it comfortingly.

"Come with me, General Li. I know that Mulan has explained some things to you, but I feel I owe you a more complete explanation."

"That's alright, sir. I understand..."

"I would still like to explain and offer you an apology."

A relieved smile spread across her face as she watched her father lead him to the private study. She knew how deceived and upset and angry Shang felt about everything and that he had every right to. Her father had given her permission to begin to explain things to him the night before and she was glad that now he would reveal everything else to Shang.