Shuli Go Stories Vol. 4: A Week's Bliss

Part 11

The next morning Lian woke up with her mind aflame, going through all the possibilities: all the ways their plan could go right and the many, many ways it could go wrong. She made a mental list of all the things she needed to do. Buy clothes, buy bedding for if they got stuck out on the open after the first night. Buy food enough for themselves and their horses to last a few days. Buy the horses. The list went on. A shred of anxiety sat underneath her, that she'd forget something critical and Mei would die as a result. But that tiny bit of fear incited her to action, igniting a fire just like the one Mei had initially quenched so thoroughly and expertly their first night together.

Mei, for her part, was calm. Almost at peace. She woke calmly in the morning, got dressed and cleaned herself patiently. She told Lian to meet her at a home – Mei's home – as soon as Lian was finished preparing. It was in a far corner of Yiwu that Lian wasn't familiar with, but Mei gave detailed instructions.

"It's in a corner. Quiet, out of the way. You won't be able to ask the neighbors about it. Half of them don't even realize there's a house there. But I'll be there."

Lian kissed Mei once, full of feeling, then sprinted out to do all her tasks.

Lian was so energetic in her work she completed it all before the day was even half done. The horses were bought and paid for, saddled with the right equipment and food, and scheduled for pickup at a place Lian marked on a map of the city and countryside she'd also purchased. The stableman who sold them to her said he knew the spot well, knew all the spots around the city for good riding. She asked him how far the horses could make it at full speed without stopping.

"Thirty miles, easily."

"And how long will it take?"

"Flat country like out east. Shouldn't be more than six, seven hours if you push the horses. But they're good for it."

"And is there a place to trade the horses thirty miles out."

"Oh yeah, we see animals brought in from the east all the time. A town called Fuching would be your best bet. Big stable, lots of choice. They'll have ones good for another thirty miles."

She nodded, satisfied, and paid him an extra ten silver on top of the cost of everything else to ensure he actually showed up. She had him swear he would, and examined every facet of his face. There was no lie.

The rest of the preparations were simple: she locked up her new apartment, folded away the fancy clothes Jiang had convinced her to buy, and donned her swords. The guard Duan sent to follow her was too stupid to realize Lian knew about him, and not big enough to be intimidating in the least. She caught, out of the corner of her eye, the fear and surprise on his face when she emerged from her apartment bearing her two swords. She didn't want to kill him, but she wouldn't have any issue doing so if he threatened Mei in the least.

Her nervous energy was almost overwhelming her when she forced herself to stop at Mei's favorite noodle house for a meal. She ate alone and pretended not to notice the guard who ate across the hall. As she ate the energy seemed to drain out of her, but her fears remained, flooding over her until she felt their heavy presence all the way up to her throat.

What if she was wrong about time being a part of the curse? What if distance was all that mattered? Would she be able to get Mei back to save her from the fatal end of the curse? Did Mei need to spend nine days at the Golden Slumbers before she could leave for a whole day? What if the stableman reneged on their contract and didn't show up? How could they possibly cover a hundred miles without the horses? What if Duan had Mei's escape route locked down in some way? What if they tried to stop them before they even made it to the wall?