Chapter 62
THE ASSASSIN had a nasty crash landing in the field, but quickly regained his feet.
“Halt—!” a voice shouted.
A group of soldiers had arrived.
Duan Ling yelled too: “Stop fighting! Get back here!”
Wu Du stopped and watched the assassin warily, but the assassin made no move to flee. As soldiers filled the road, the middle-aged man from before emerged from the crowd crying, “M’lady! M’lady!”
The girl Duan Ling rescued had finally recovered from her shock. She let out an answering shout, running toward the man.
Two hours later, Wu Du and Duan Ling found themselves riding together on the back of a borrowed horse. Their carriage was gone, and their possessions lost. Wu Du, bare torso streaked with soot and sword case slung across his back, looked for all the world like a blacksmith. Duan Ling rode in front of him, his face smudged with smoke and ash. The soldiers who led the way seemed in no great hurry.
“Who was he?” Duan Ling murmured.
Wu Du leaned in and whispered, “That was Helan Jie.”
The name hit Duan Ling like a bolt of lightning.
Wu Du carried on, unaware, “The one who poisoned the late emperor. Don’t go anywhere near him.”
“Why did he want to kill me?” Duan Ling asked in disbelief. He began worrying right away—he couldn’t fall at the hands of his enemies now and let his efforts be in vain.
“No reason,” Wu Du whispered. “He’ll kill anyone who annoys him.”
Helan Jie, riding at the front of the column, turned and cast them a cold glance. Duan Ling felt a shiver go up his spine.
“Why is he even here?” he asked.
Riding double meant they were pressed body-to-body; when Duan Ling tried to turn his head back to speak to Wu Du, their lips were kissing-close. “…Aren’t you supposed to be smart?” Wu Du whispered, glancing around at the soldiers riding with them. “Take a guess.”
But Duan Ling was too agitated. His father’s murderer was within arm’s reach, but he couldn’t do a thing about it—he couldn’t even tell Wu Du without revealing his identity. Overwrought, he was unable to gather his scattered thoughts.
“What’s wrong?” Wu Du asked, noticing something was off.
Duan Ling shook his head, trying to clear his muddled thoughts so he could sort through the web of complicated relationships.
“I think I got it,” he mumbled. “He’s working for Bian Lingbai, and Bian Lingbai sent him to come find that girl.”
“Exactly,” Wu Du answered. His voice held a chilly undertone. “The girl they took hostage was traveling to Tong Pass as well, presumably to meet Bian Lingbai, but was ambushed by bandits on the way. Bian Lingbai sent Helan Jie to investigate. As for who she is, that I don’t know.”
Duan Ling nodded. The bandits had stolen their carriage because they’d mistaken them for the girl and her attendants.
As they came to a crossroads, Duan Ling spotted the other carriage and quickly saw what had happened: Hers was almost indistinguishable from their own. The confused bandits had attacked the wrong person and were unable to report back for further orders, so they took Duan Ling and Wu Du’s carriage back with them. On the way, they’d run into the actual carriage they were looking for and kidnapped the girl. Only the middle-aged man, who seemed to be a steward, had escaped and gone for help.
Sure enough, Duan Ling’s guess was spot-on. A captain of the Tong Pass Garrison was waiting for them at the post house ahead. Duan Ling and Wu Du had taken a wrong turn after the previous post house and ended up heading toward the border between Western Liang and Chen. Western Liang had been right on the other side of the stream they’d encountered. As it turned out, after they’d gone to rescue the kidnapped girl, her steward had run to the nearest post house with the driver in tow in search of more help. An escort from the garrison at Tong Pass had been waiting for the young lady’s arrival, and the two parties crossed paths at the post house. Reinforcements were speedily sent back down the road.
Luckily, their driver hadn’t been seriously injured and was resting in the post house’s backyard woodshed. Duan Ling checked his pulse again to confirm his life was not in imminent danger.
It seemed the bandits had been wreaking havoc in the area for a long time, and harassed the locals year-round. The soldiers from Tong Pass had repeatedly tried to eradicate them, yet their visitors had still been kidnapped. They expressed their sympathy to each and every one of the victims.
“Please rest assured, miss,” a Tong Pass soldier comforted the rescued young woman. “You’re safe now.”
The girl was still grieving the death of her maid and the other servants that had accompanied her; though the soldiers had offered her food, she had no appetite. She merely nodded toward the soldier as the man’s captain approached Wu Du and Duan Ling.
“You two,” he barked. “What were you doing there?”
“Just passing through,” Wu Du said. “And I suggest you back off.”
At his threatening tone, everyone drew their swords. Duan Ling, who’d been lying down dozing on the floor behind Wu Du, was so frightened by the sound of swords sliding free he bolted upright. Wu Du, sitting cross-legged in front of him, reached a hand over his shoulder without looking and pressed him gently back down.
“I defeated your Lord Helan,” Wu Du said. “And there’re so few of you. How many moves do you think it’d take for me to knock you all out cold?”
A soldier nudged the captain and whispered something in his ear. Duan Ling lay back down behind Wu Du, who was leisurely sipping his tea. He tossed out a calling card. “Take this to General Bian and tell him to be ready for us.”
The captain gave Wu Du a long look before picking up the card and leading his men out.
Three groups now occupied this post house. The Tong Pass soldiers and the assassin Helan Jie formed the first group, sitting together on one side of the hall. Helan Jie, with a glove on his left hand and an iron hook for his right, kept his good eye trained on Wu Du. The kidnapped young lady sat on the other side, still softly crying as her steward comforted her. Wu Du and Duan Ling made up the third group. Duan Ling hadn’t slept a wink the previous night and was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. He napped briefly until Wu Du woke him to eat.
“What about you?” Duan Ling asked.
“I already ate.”
Duan Ling sat up to have his dinner, and beside him, Wu Du scrubbed the mud off Duan Ling’s boots like a patient elder brother.