The Wandering God

21 Go Among Enemies With Only One's Sword 1/2

單刀赴會
dāndāofùhuì
Go among enemies with only one's sword.
To go alone into enemy lines.

-One hour earlier-

As Sanli strode through the Guang Han's manor, flanked on one side by Zakhar and Kageyama on the other, a memory from the past was playing in the prince's mind.

He had been sixteen, and already at war with the world. That day, the taunting of the other boys in the family school had grown unbearable, so Sanli had skipped out on afternoon lessons and disappeared into the forests of Linjing to practice the sword.

Sanli swung the heavy stick he had found forward and backward over his head, savoring the way his back muscles burned. Around him, the woods of Linjing were filled with birdsong. Sanli joined their music with the rhythmic sound of the swish of the stick through the air, enjoying the feeling of finally being free of his classmates' taunts.

'Alone is better,' he said to the trees.

He had just about lost himself in the repetitiveness of his practice when a small voice asked:

"What are you doing?"

Sanli turned. A little girl, perhaps four or five, peered at him from around a bush. Her pink cheeks were plump, and her hair was done up in two huge buns on either side of her head.

"Training." Sanli lowered the stick, raising his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Why are you training?"

"Sho Sensei says practicing the sword helps discipline the mind, not just the body."

"Oh," said the girl, coming out from behind the bush. Her dress was bright fuschia pink, contrasting terribly with the bright green bows in her hair. The dress was too big for the girl, and she stepped on the hem, tripped, and then righted herself.

"Are you a warrior? You're too skinny." The girl asked, plump face serious as she brushed off her dress.

Sanli frowned. "Sho Sensei says reflex is more important than muscle."

"Sho Sensei? Who's that?"

"My yah'ying. He's the one who taught me the sword."

"You have a yah'ying? Me too! Her name is Liang'yi. She's a Dachuo. What's your yah'ying?" The girl breathed out her words in a rush, as though afraid Sanli would disappear before she could say them.

"He's a kitsune. From the Eastern Isles."

The girl had come closer to him, and tugged on his sleeve, soft brown eyes round. "A kitsune? Is he scary?"

"No." People are far more scary, Sanli thought. He wondered who the girl was. One of the many cousins from the outer houses? Most didn't have mu'ren yah'ying though. And the girl's face was familiar...

Suddenly a voice called out. "Lady Ermi! Where are you?"

Then Sanli realized who the girl was. Ermi, the daughter of his older sister Erli. The girl had been living in the capital with her aunt since she was a baby, and had only just returned. He had not recognized her, grown as she was.

At the sound of the servant's voice, the small girl tugged on Sanli's sleeve and pulled him down into the foliage, out of sight. Together they crouched, thrills tingling on their skin as the servant passed close by their hiding place and away.

The little girl giggled, then sighed. "They won't let me play where I want."

Sanli looked at the small hand clutching his sleeve. "You're Erli's daughter, aren't you? I'm your Uncle."