They would, it seemed, spend some four hours on the hunt.
They might as well spend forever, Maomao thought. She was supremely bored.
“Ah, so that’s where you’re going,” Suiren said. There was the rap of a Go stone being placed on a board.
“Are you sure about that move?” Taomei fingered her black stone.
I don’t care about Go!
She watched the two women play, but her eyes were empty.
The tent was certainly impressive for something that had been put up in such a hurry, but there was nothing to do there. No cleaning was needed, and no books lay around to pass the time. They’d brought board games, yes, but Maomao didn’t have any interest in them and could only watch.
What are the chances the hunt will wrap up early?
Just as the thought was crossing her mind, a guard poked his head into the tent.
“Yes?” she asked.
“There’s someone here who wants to see you, Lady Maomao.”
“Who is it?”
“He says his name is Tianyu.”
Maomao looked at Suiren and Taomei.
“It’s all right, since we’re here,” Suiren said. “He may come in.”
“Is that all right?” Maomao asked.
“Why, yes.”
“Are you sure it’s all right?”
“Aren’t you full of questions?”
Maomao had no recourse but to admit Tianyu to the tent. If only the women had objected, she would have been spared entertaining her troublesome colleague.
For that matter, should he even be here?
If it was calculation and not coincidence that had brought them to Tianyu’s home area, wasn’t it dangerous for him to be wandering around?
“Thanks,” Tianyu said as he entered the tent. The moment he did, his eyes flitted every which way, taking everything in.
He’s practically a tourist!
“Did you need something?” Maomao asked.
“Nah, they just haven’t come back with the game yet, so I had some time to kill.”
“Then I think maybe it’s about time for you to leave.”
No doubt he’d ducked Dr. Li’s gaze to come here. He must have known there was a knuckle in his future, but he’d done it anyway.
“Oh, and it looks like there’s some kind of fire out in the direction of my place,” Tianyu said lightly, and pointed.
“You could lead with that!” Maomao exclaimed. She ran out of the tent and looked around; there was smoke rising somewhere beyond the trees.
“You think it’s a cook fire?” Tianyu mused.
“That wouldn’t really be better!”
Maomao asked herself what she should do. She wanted to make for Tianyu’s house and see if it was still in one piece, but she could hardly go alone.
“What’s wrong?” someone asked. She turned and found Basen.
“I thought you were with the Moon Prince,” she said.
“We’re working in shifts today. And I was instructed to update my mother on our progress.” Basen didn’t look very happy about it. He wanted to guard Jinshi at all times.
“Basen,” said Taomei, emerging from the tent. She’d heard everything Jinshi and Maomao had said, and then a person named Tianyu had appeared. Taomei was smart enough to guess what Maomao wanted. “I want you to escort Maomao as her guard. The report can wait.”
“Um, what in the world—”
“Don’t ask questions, just do it!”
The confusion remained on Basen’s face, but he said nothing more.
“Could we head toward where those flames are?” Maomao asked.
“I can guide you if you want,” Tianyu said, coming forward. He knew these woods; it would certainly be the fastest way.
“Would you?”
“Sure!”
Neither Taomei nor Suiren said anything. Suiren, however, came over and helped Maomao tie up her sleeves with some string. “Anything to make it a little easier to move, right?” she said.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Maomao said.
“Would you like me to go instead, Maomao?” Taomei offered.
“No, thank you, Lady Taomei. I have a better grasp of the situation.”
Taomei was blind in one eye, which would make it hard for her to navigate all the potential hazards in the forest.
“Now you listen to me, Basen,” his mother said to him. “Make sure you protect Maomao.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t know what was going on, but he could sense the tension in the air.
“Okay, we’re off!” said Tianyu, who seemed the least concerned of all of them considering it might be his home on fire.
Guess that’s a hunter for you.
Once in the woods, it was hard to see where the sun was. Maomao was afraid they would get lost if they let their attention slip. The ground was soft, thick with leaves. She picked her way along, trying not to lose her footing.
Tianyu tromped ahead, getting ever farther away from her.
“You’re too slow,” Basen said, and clasped Maomao around the middle.
“Whoa!” she cried.
What was going on here?
Oh, for...
He was carrying her like a sack of wheat or rice. It was by no means a dignified mode of conveyance; nonetheless, they moved considerably faster than with Maomao walking. At least they managed not to lose sight of Tianyu.
“How can you find your way without the sun?” Basen asked, the same question Maomao had.
“There’s some real big trees in this forest, hundreds of years old,” Tianyu said. “Hunters use them as markers. I had to learn which tree was where.”
It was true; they did occasionally see huge trees.
“We’re almost there,” Tianyu said and came to a halt. The smoke they had seen was indeed coming from a house.
A disquieting scene lay before them. Jinshi had been right that the young folk had wanted to get violent.
Basen was furious. “What in the world is this?”
It was impossible to ignore what they saw: A middle-aged man, a hunter to judge by his attire, was being confronted by several younger men in fashionable outfits. One of them grinned and leveled his sword at the man.
“Oh, it’s my dad,” Tianyu said. He was about to trot right out when Maomao stopped him.
“Wait a second!” she said.
“Why?”
“If you go out there, you’ll only make things worse. Let’s let Master Basen handle this.”
Not that it’s a lot more reassuring to send him in, she thought—but it was better than Tianyu.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Basen demanded, approaching with a series of long strides. Maomao watched from the safety of the trees.
The young man with his sword pointed at the hunter turned. “Well, well, if it isn’t Master Basen,” he said. “Isn’t it obvious? We’re clearing out the bandits.”
“Bandit? Is that what he is?” Basen still didn’t know the situation.
“No! He’s a local hunter,” Maomao called.
“You heard her. So why are you burning his house and threatening him?”
“You’ll sing a different tune when you see this.” The young man grinned even more broadly and tossed something on the ground.
“That’s...”
It was half of a broken jade tablet. Almost identical to Joka’s, but the damage to it was different.
I knew it...
Joka’s father had been a member of Tianyu’s family. For some reason, he’d broken the jade in half and given it to her mother.
“This jade tablet once belonged to someone who laid hands on an Imperial prince in violation of taboo, and it proves this man is a criminal. Supposedly, the prince was poisoned and then carved into pieces. But that fiend’s descendants are alive and well. Something wrong with that, wouldn’t you say?”
I don’t think that’s quite how the story goes.
Maomao had heard that the emperor’s favorite son had died of illness, and that Kada had been punished for doing an autopsy on the corpse.
Was the tale twisted in the telling over generations?
People loved to embellish stories. The version that came down from the physicians was the truth, and it accorded with the version Jinshi knew.
The house was on fire—could the blaze be seen from the woods? Knowing Jinshi, he would come running if he sensed anything amiss.
The young man went on: “He used zhen poison to do the deed. There was a feast, and he dipped one of the bird’s feathers in the prince’s drink when no one was looking. Worse, he tried to become the prince by skinning his corpse and wearing the skin to an audience with the emperor. It’s only too obvious that the offspring of such a creature would be monsters themselves.”
Wait... When they said there would be zhen birds...
Was this what they meant? Maomao couldn’t keep the scowl off her face.
They must think they’re very clever, but I’m not laughing!
She kicked the ground like a wild boar about to charge.
Basen, in contrast, froze. He had no idea what they were talking about. Maomao felt bad about it, but neither she nor Jinshi had shared this information with him. He looked at her as if to ask what was going on.
“Oh! I can explain that,” Tianyu said, about to step forward again.
Maomao kicked him in the shin and stepped up instead. “That’s wrong,” she said. She had to. It killed her that they’d used the metaphor of the mythical zhen.
“Who the hell are you?” the young man spat.
Maomao didn’t remember people’s faces, no matter what family they were from. Instead, remembering that Jinshi had said this hunt involved named clans, she decided to ask a leading question.
“It would seem you don’t remember me. Weren’t we introduced at the meeting of the named?” She gave an exaggeratedly polite bow.
“Oh!”
One of the youngsters seemed to have figured it out. Now that she got a better look, she recognized him as a soldier she sometimes saw. He’d even been to the medical office. Wait...it was Mister Love Letters from the Shin clan!