The Last Concubine (28 page)

“I have come to show you the way to your new owner in the underworld,” Lan’xiu said.

Her voice startled Wen. It seemed deeper and was filled with loathing and disgust.

“Very amusing. A sweet little girl raising her sword in contest with a real
man,” the unknown general jeered. “If anyone journeys to the underworld today, it will be you!” He drew his long sword with a snarl. “I shall enjoy this. And after I’ve given you what you deserve, I shall cut your little rat’s head off and dispatch him to fetch your slippers for you in hell. That’s all he’s fit for.”

Two soldiers appeared behind the general and charged toward Lan’xiu. Before Wen could shout an order, the princess had thrown her spear, skewering one man through the throat. He fell, clutching his throat and gurgling, to writhe in the dust until he died. His horse bolted through the opening on the opposite side of the clearing. The other soldier hesitated just long enough for Lan’xiu to snatch a spear from Ning. Wen noted that she seemed familiar with the weak spots in the Liaopeh armor as she jabbed the man in the armpit. He wheeled his horse and retreated back into the darkness beyond the gap.

The Liaopeh general did not move during the contretemps, the sarcastic smile still curling his thin lips. “You think to impress me with that little coup? Pah! They were mere soldiers, nothings. Their destiny is to die for me. One more or less will make no difference in the outcome.”

“At least you will have a bodyguard to accompany you in your death, brother,” Lan’xiu spat at him. “If you can still command their loyalty after you die.”

“You forget, my dearest sister,” Wu Min said, “your lamented mother read the omens for me. You cannot kill me. If you believe her oracles, my death cannot be caused by man or woman. You can stab at me all day with that toy sword, but in the end I will spill your blood in the dust and trample your broken body in my ride to victory.”

“I remember,” Lan’xiu said. “She also said that although I could never kill you, I would be the cause of your death. I wouldn’t have blamed you for sending me away. Perhaps I might have done the same. But you didn’t need to kill my mother.”

“Old news, sister. Her bones have been dust in the wind a long time. As yours would have been, had events followed my plan. But I shall soon rectify that.”

“You have no need to fear the hand of man or woman, but I have always found it amusing that you don’t fear horses, for instance. I could spook your horse, and he might throw you onto those rocks and break your spine. It could be a long, slow death.” Lan’xiu smiled.

Wu Min looked down uneasily at his horse. “My horse is too well-trained, and you would not harm him. You never could hurt an animal.”

Then he dug his spurs deep into the horse’s side, drawing blood with his wild strength, and charged at Lan’xiu, his sword raised to pierce her throat. She raised her own blade and sidestepped her horse, parrying his thrust and shouting like a clarion, “Neither man nor woman can kill you, Wu Min! Let a eunuch show us all who is the better man and warrior!”

Wu Min turned a stunned face toward Ning and raised his sword again. Wen urged his horse forward but stopped when Lan’xiu hurled a command to him.

Ning never even glanced at Wen, his concentration was so fierce. Wu Min had every advantage of size, height, and longer reach. His horse was taller and stronger, and yet from the back of one horse to another, Ning proved to be his master in swordsmanship. Every thrust, every slash from Wu Min was expertly parried and countered.

Wen was holding his breath, ready to ride forward to rescue his lover, but gradually he forgot to be afraid. Never had he seen such a fight! Brilliantly, Ning beat back the larger man with skilled finesse and superior strategy. He knew more tricks than Wen had ever seen!

Used to an easy life where he had only to command, Wu Min was tiring and his arm was dropping. His face was set in a desperate snarl, teeth exposed as he swung his sword at Ning frantically, hoping to best him with brute strength. Sweat rolled down his face from under his helmet, and he blinked quickly to rid his eyes of the sting.

Ning would not take advantage of those moments. He waited with a scornful smile at Wu Min’s weakness before attacking again, but time and again his blade drew blood as he slashed at the general’s exposed skin and pierced his armor between the leather plates.

“What do you want of me?” Wu Min finally roared, his heavy arm slowing as he slashed the air in vain.

“Something you cannot return to me!” Ning shouted in his altered voice. “You cannot give my balls back, so I will have yours this day!”

“No!” Wu Min roared. “I’ll kill first you and then that unnatural spawn of the devil you serve!”

“You can try,” Ning replied, a little smile lurking on his mouth.

Wu Min charged him and Ning stood his ground, keeping his horse under tight rein. Wu Min was so close Wen wanted to cry out and order Ning to move out of the way!

But Ning surprised him again. Just at the last possible moment, when Wu Min’s sword thrust toward his chest, Ning crouched low, allowing the blade to pass over his shoulder, nicking his armor. But his blade took Wu Min under the arm, plunging deep into his side.

A screeching howl of pain erupted from Wu Min’s throat, but he managed to hang onto his sword, though he was having trouble lifting it. “Five thousand men wait for my signal beyond that pass,” he croaked. “They are coming to my aid even now. I am only wounded, but they will kill you and I will have the pleasure of watching!”

“No bandage will stop the spurt of life blood from your wound,” Lan’xiu said in the coldest voice Wen had ever heard from her. “Do your fingers grow numb? Is darkness clouding your eyes? You are dying, my brother, and my mother’s spirit waits to accuse you of the crimes you committed in this life. My death will bring you no comfort, for you will die long before I do.”

“No, it cannot be!” Wu Min shrieked. “I will kill you!” His fingers opened and his sword fell to the ground. His eyes were empty as he stared about him. “The mists! The mists of death!”

“They come to claim you, brother. I wish you a pleasant journey, for at the end of it, you will pay for all the misery you wrought in this life.” Lan’xiu stepped her horse forward, staring at her brother’s face.

He looked about wildly, but death had stamped its claim upon his face and he was white with the loss of blood. Lan’xiu stretched out her hand and pushed him off his horse.

In a flash, Ning dismounted and stood by the fallen man. “The demons come to claim your soul and your body, but you will go to hell without the bits of flesh I claim as my just due. You will pay for your entertainment at my expense. I have waited a long time for this.”

Wen flinched but forced himself to watch as Ning drew a dagger and sliced through Wu Min’s trousers, severing his balls from his body. Wu Min howled with pain, but his voice was softer now, almost sobbing as the strength left him.

Ning tossed the dismembered testicles as far as he could throw them up onto the rocks, saying, “Let the buzzards have them for their dinner. That is all they are good for.”

“Why would you do this, Lan’xiu, my dear sister? Why do you hate me so?”

Silently, Lan’xiu and Ning stood by and watched as Wu Min’s blood clotted in the dust around him, turning black as the flow grew slow and ceased. When his body sagged into the laxity of death, Ning spat upon him, and Wen thought he might never plumb the depths of his hatred. Lan’xiu dismounted and grabbed her brother’s boots, dragging his body to the side of the clearing. She looked up at Wen.

“We will make a stand here. Wu Min may have brought five thousand men, but they can only come by twos and threes through that gap. We must stop them here for the safety of the general and his force, your compatriots. Have your men ready with their bows.”

“Five thousand—yes, your Highness.” Captain Wen swallowed, feeling as if he was emerging from some bad dream. He whistled and his men appeared from their hiding places, their shocked faces showing him they were equally shaken by what had transpired.

Lan’xiu was atop her horse again, and she had her bow in her hand. “Soldiers of my guard, we are few and the enemy is many. My Lord Hüi Wei is down in that valley, fighting to defend our land and our honor. If his forces are split to face the men of Liaopeh, we may not carry the day. We will make our stand here and force the enemy from their hole.” She pointed at the gap. “Five thousand may wait beyond that pass, but today twenty will stop five thousand. The Liaopeh forces must not march past us to surprise the general from the rear. Are you with me?”

“Yes,” Captain Wen said. “We will stand and fight by your side.”

Lan’xiu smiled, a smile in which courage, adventure, and amusement were combined. “I thank you for your service and your oath to me. If you die, I will die with you.”

“We will not die,” Ning said firmly. “We will fight.”

Lan’xiu looked at him with an admiring gleam in her eye. “Ning, you were magnificent!”

“Thank you, Lan’xiu. And now, perhaps we’d better fight.”

She turned to face the first of the soldiers bursting through the gap.

“
J
IANG
, where is she?” Hüi was practically shouting in his panic. He was riding amongst the wounded and dead, looking for any familiar sight that would guide him to Lan’xiu.

“Gently, Hüi. I vow Ning and Captain Wen have kept her safely at the rear. And you have soldiers to attend to, be they wounded or dead. They have served you faithfully.”

“You are right and I would do it, but I must know if Lan’xiu is alive!”

Jiang grabbed the General’s arm. “Do not dishonor her by this demonstration of emotion. Even if she has died, the gods forefend, you will honor her as well as all the others who have fallen in your service.”

Drawing a deep breath, Hüi tried to calm himself. “You are correct to reprove me. Have the field hospitals been set up? What of the prisoners?”

“The prisoners await your review. The hospitals are at the rear. I need your aid in transporting some of the wounded,” Jiang said, knowing that what the general most needed right now was a task to take his mind off his worry. “I wonder whatever happened to Wu Min and his troops? I could have sworn the flash off that shield was a signal to a watcher on the hill.”

“Perhaps he did as Lan’xiu suspected, lured Daji into making a stand and then abandoned him to his fate when he saw the size of our forces.”

“Where is Daji?”

“He is being held apart from the prisoners,” Jiang said. “Let us take care of our own first, and attend to the enemy last as befits his treachery.”

“Very well.” Hüi Wei tried to curb his rising fears and put his trust in the gods that Lan’xiu would not have come to any harm. When he bent to help a wounded man onto a litter, his mind was distracted from his personal fears by the suffering borne by his men. He turned his attention to them, knowing that a smile and word of commendation from him would ease their pain until the doctors could treat them.

All the rest of the day, he worked, giving water, calling a physician to a severely wounded man, talking to his men, while in the back of his mind, he wondered, why had he heard nothing from Lan’xiu, Ning, or Captain Wen? Could they all have perished in the conflict? If so, that was too great a sacrifice for him to bear. He saw Jiang watching him and was careful to school his face not to betray his emotions, but with every fiber of his being he longed to fling himself upon his horse and go searching for his love.

The sun was slanting low over the valley and painting it gold when at last his eye caught sight of a small band of armed men coming down from the mountains. Hüi froze, straining his eyes as he stared into the golden haze, willing it to be Lan’xiu and her guard.

“There she is!” Jiang cried out. “She is alive!”

The relief in his voice made Hüi decide to forgive Jiang for forcing him to keep to his duties. Apparently, Jiang had been equally worried but sufficiently in control to keep Hüi’s honor and dignity first and foremost. For the first time, Hüi thought of Zheng Guofang, Jiang’s partner and his own commander, worrying back in Yan over Jiang’s safety. He resolved to send Jiang back to him before the rest of the troops.

He watched as the small band rode toward him and counted over and over again. One was missing. Surely it could not be Lan’xiu? No, he recognized her slim figure riding tall in the saddle, closely accompanied by the shorter figure of Ning. When the group reached the flatness of the plain, they spread out and he saw his count had been wrong. Lan’xiu was returning to him, whole and safe, with her entire guard having successfully defended her—against what?

Jiang spoke up in an amused voice. “Go on, go to her. You’ve done enough today. Reassure yourself that she is safe. And find out what happened with Wu Min!” He shouted the last words for Hüi had already found his horse and was galloping across the plain.

When Hüi saw Lan’xiu, his heart threatened to break out of his chest. There was blood on her face, but she smiled when she saw him.

Captain Wen and Ning rode close together, and the rest of the guard brought up the rear. There were a few makeshift bandages to be seen, but the men were all alive and looking rather proud of themselves.