Hu Li IV

Mountain Province Two, Heguri Empire

a Lord’s Justice

Hu Li woke to the sound of the fire crackling. Morokore Wada squatted next to the campfire, blowing air into the smoking wood and adding kindling to the base. He noticed the small iron kettle sitting next to the fire. Li rubbed his eyes and slowly rose from his slumber to sit upright. The morning was cooler, and he could feel the weather turning into autumn. He wondered if it would be warm again by midday. The nights and mornings in the Heguri highlands and plains were starting to get cold.

Before Li could say good morning, Wada called from his position by the fire, "Tea?"

"Yes, thank you."

Wada chuckled, "I think I'm getting you into it."

"I think you're right."

"A better vice, this tea, than that poison you carry around."

"Don't worry about my wine."

Wada turned his head back to Li and gave him a look of disappointment. He had the fire started now. The kindling lit and burned the larger pieces of wood. One of the pieces of wood gave off a crack as it caught fire. Wada positioned the iron kettle over the flame and let it sit.

Morning light streamed into the valley. They camped in the Heguri highlands of the west. Pine trees lined the short mountain ridge to the northwest of their position, and a wide but shallow river passed by their camp heading southeast. Smooth rocks and various boulders of different sizes lined the river bed.

Lots of boulders, perfect for his exercise.

The water wasn't deep, perhaps up to their calves, and the two travelers used it to cool off from yesterday's afternoon warm sun. The headwaters must be high up in the Gods' Mountains, Li thought. In truth, he wasn't familiar with the terrain and relied heavily on Wada. He was glad to have company for once.

When Li and Wada left Fuhua, they first rode south to Yueyang. Wada showed Li where the tracks left Yueyang. They followed them north through Fuhua. Wada had been right that the tracks were consistent and very likely Chen Feiyan's.

From there, they rode north as far as they could follow the tracks. Eventually, they lost them in the grasslands before the forests north of Fuhua, just as the Ox had said they would. Li updated his priors on Wada. It was now very likely, almost certain, that he was a competent tracker.

His intentions are still unclear. From whom does he take orders? A man this competent must have a plan.

Li and Wada could not continue any further north than the grasslands. A thick, dense, and unforgiving forest led all the way north to the Gods' Mountains.

There's no way she made her way through that wilderness. If she's hiding out in those woods, she's gone.

One option was to ride east to the border town of Fujikami and further still to the coastal port and harbor of Fujihoro. In Fujihoro, the girl could board a ship headed north into the Heguri Empire's depths or south to her hometown of Loghua. She could even reach as far as the Guantzu Kingdom at the tip of the continent. If she made it to Fotian, the Guantzu capital, she could sail to the Hulan plains, the Autumn Isle, or even any of the western kingdoms across the sea. The second option would have been for the girl to ride west, past the two small border cities, and then up into the string of mountain villages that sat in the shadow of the Gods' Mountains.

The mountain villages are where I'd go if I were looking to disappear. And if Fei went east, she's too far ahead of us. The chances we catch her if she went east are very slim.

Li had Wada lead him west. The two travelers passed through the smaller border towns of Sariju and Shimatari, looking for any signs of the girl. Unlike Fuhua, where many cultures mixed like ingredients in a good broth within the crowded city walls, Sariju and Shimatari were very much Heguri cities. Elaborate castles of stone and wood reinforced both cities where the Lords of their province sat. Li wondered why the Daming to the south never emulated the castles from the north.

A man like Guo Xue would love a castle like this. It would be more fortified than his estate. And give him plenty of room to hang more scorpion flags.

Li supposed it was the same reason the Daming never did things like the Heguri, and vice versa. Each people built their way of life off the foundation that they were different from the other. If the Heguri built castles, the Daming would prefer a different way.

The thick stir-fried noodles of northern Daming gave way to thin, buckwheat noodles cold with sesame oil or hot vegetable broth. Markets filled with summer berries, pears, plums, and grapes. Hu Li took a particular liking to the various skewered grilled meat that cooked over a wood flame. But there was no sign of the girl and no new information from the locals.

Leaving the border cities of Sariju and Shimatari, the travelers rode the dirt path north to the mountain villages at the base of the Gods' Mountains. Wada was never in a hurry. Someone was paying him to work, but whoever it was wasn't rushing him. The Ox had a habit of stopping to nap, brew tea, or exercise. Li thought they had plenty of exercise riding all day as it was. Still, Wada enjoyed lifting small boulders or using his own body as a weight to work his muscles. Wada's physique dwarfed Hu Li's. It dwarfed most people's.

Best not pick a fight with this man. I'd be lucky to survive.

"Why exercise so often, Wada? I rarely see anyone capable of beating you."

"It only takes one storm for the blossoms to fall from the tree, no matter how pretty the flower. Constant training is the only way."

Wada had a disdain for Li's lifestyle. He had no interest in drinking wine, went to bed early, woke up very early, and avoided interacting with locals when he could. For their part, the villages in the Heguri highlands were sparse, remote, and not densely populated. Food at the markets became less diverse, and Li noticed more melons and gourds. There were never brothels and seldom taverns; a fact Wada never complained about but drove Li mad.

How do these people relax? It's not good to let all that energy sit dormant.

When there were taverns, all they sold was tea and the bland rice beer the Heguri served heated. The rice beer didn't travel well in his pouch, so Li went dry for long periods at a time before he could find a peddler or trader willing to part ways with Daming style wine for hefty prices. The headaches from not drinking were worse than the headaches in the morning after nights of too much drinking.

"You're wasting your money on that; they're charging you double," Wada would tell Li whenever he could, "And it's poisoning you, slowly."

"Thank you, Wada," Li chuckled.

Always the same things, over and over again.

For all their differences, Li was enjoying Wada's company. He noticed Wada's lifestyles influencing him and not the other way around. Wada was stubborn. His roots dug thick into the earth, and there was no moving his trunk. What worked for Wada worked. Li began to run while Wada lifted boulders. At first, it was out of boredom, but Li soon learned that running through the forests and highlands of the Heguri territory under the Gods' Mountains opened his mind. His mind wandered from his work to different questions, like why he did what he did; what was his purpose. He began to drink the tea, too. It was still bland, unlike the varieties of flavorful Daming teas. Still, he grew accustomed to starting his day early with a cup from Wada's kettle.

Li and Wada were canvassing the string of mountain villages on the western edge of the highlands and forests immediately north of the Red River. The Gods' Mountains that separated the cultural Daming from the Hulan to the west also stretched north into Heguri territory and circled east. They left a pocket of highlands at their base that stretched from the Xiao Empire and the Heguri Empire and the Gods' Mountains. The land seemed fertile and full of highlands, forests, and villages. Winding dirt paths connected small mountain villages. Slightly larger dirt roads led to the larger towns.

Heguri Provincial Lords were given autonomy over two dozen provinces that made up the Heguri Empire; one lord to a Province. Each lord was first and foremost loyal to the emperor at Tobe but had autonomy over the lives of the people that lived in the province. Wada explained that the Lords set the rules and handed out justice. As insurance, the court forced lords to send their firstborn son to Tobe to ensure their loyalty.

"And the emperor and his court aren't threatened by all the lords and the autonomy?"

"No."

"As long as the lords make their tax quotas?"

"It's a win for all," Wada explained, "The lords keep their land and power, and the emperor is paid and protected against rebellion."

"And the firstborn sons?"

"The court educates them and gives them beautiful wives."

"Where do they get all the wives?"

"The aristocratic class in Tobe, scholars; their daughters traditionally marry the lords' sons."

"In a sense, all lords are connected to the capital."

"Literally, yes."

"And it's worked that way?"

"For a thousand years."

"One empire? Connected that long?"

"One Empire."

"And before?"

"The land was fractured. Some of the provincial Lords you see today come from houses that stretch back before the empire's foundation. Before it all, they fought each other for territory and power. The warring constant."

And the common folk we meet in these villages were lost as collateral damage in the elite's games.

At each village, Li questioned the villagers in his passable Heguri. He begged Wada to help him to double his efficiency. Wada deemed it outside of the instructions from his employer. He was supposed to bring Li where he needed to go, keep him safe in the countryside, but not involve himself further in the investigation. Li believed that to be partially true. He noticed Wada was willing to help whenever the work involved tracking. When it came to interacting with people, he would ride off and keep himself busy doing who knows what.

For his part, Li canvassed the populations of the villages they came across. Most of the small traditional mountain towns were subsistence farmers of millet, buckwheat, and other minor crops. Generally, each village had individuals who knew how to fish the rivers. The fishermen traded the fresh catch directly within the meager village markets.

Li hadn't learned much. Most villagers were confused when he asked them questions about a rich Daming girl on a black stallion riding through the night. Occasionally he'd get a talkative villager, usually an older man, who would claim to have seen her. Li would eventually find out they just wanted attention. It only took a few of these types before Li could spot them early. He began leaving out details to test the talkative ones when he came across one. None passed the little tests, and thus Li was nowhere further in his investigation than when they left Fuhua. It left him questioning himself during his long runs through the highlands.

Am I even good at this job?

Li and Wada caught the attention of the two provincial lords that administered the mountain villages that sat in the shadow of the Gods' Mountains. On both occasions, the lord summoned them to meet and report on what they were doing. Wada's Pathfinder seal carried weight, Li noted, and on both occasions, the conversations were brief and to the point. Unlike back home, the lords were quiet and sent the travelers on their way without pleasantries or an offer of a meal. Back in the Xiao Empire, officials took every opportunity to feed and question, and bribe men like Morokore Wada and Li late into the night.

The men must be harder to buy, in return.

Today Li and Wada were riding for another small village, Shinshiri. It was only ten kilometers from the village they canvassed over the previous few days, but there was only one small dirt path through the forest to reach it. The further north they rode into the shadow of the mountains, the more remote the villages became.

I wouldn't want to administer these lands. Simply mobilizing men to silence a rebellion would be difficult work in this terrain. If I were the girl, this is where I'd hide.

Both villages were part of what Wada referred to as Mountain Province Two. Li learned that all the names were as plain: Mountain Province One, Border Province Three, and so forth. Wada often referred to Mountain Province Two as Lord Tamura's Province after the lord that ruled. It seemed both versions were acceptable.

Lord Tamura was one of the two lords that summoned Li and Wada to his castle a week prior. He was a bald man who had sat elevated on his bamboo mat in a dark blue silk wrap. As he questioned Li and Wada, Lord Tamura's blade sat on display to his left. Behind him, also on display, sat an elaborate deep blue armor with bright red trimming. A flying serpent, a dragon resembling those from myths and grandmothers' stories, decorated the helmet mask. Unlike the previous lord, who sat quietly while his officials questioned them, Lord Tamura spoke to Wada directly. He ignored Li for the most part.

Wada told Li of how the lords here fought and died with their province in battle. Back home, the generals, governors, and officials hid behind the masses on the battlefield. When quarrels resolved, treaties were signed, and everyone kept their head: literally and figuratively. In Heguri culture, a loss on the battlefield necessarily meant a loss of life for the lord in charge.

That must be why there is so little infighting these days.

Li wondered if that norm held at the top with the emperor in Tobe. Wada explained that small rebellions were the norm throughout the empire's history, usually in regions far away from Tobe. In most instances, the full might of the Heguri military would crush them. The court at Tobe had the authority to call in lords from any province to quell rebellions in far-off corners of the empire.

"And you Wada? Can they call you and the other Pathfinders in?"

"If they need to, yes. But Tobe usually reserves our kind for cross-border activities."

"Activities?"

Wada nodded silently.

"And to cross the border for these activities, is it only in times of war?"

"I can not elaborate."

"Does the court keep any men full time at Tobe? They must."

"Yes. The Tobe has local Pathfinders and an elite cavalry division. Archers on horseback."

"Who has the skill and training for that?"

"The wealthy aristocrats of Tobe. If you're not the firstborn, the imperial cavalry is not so bad."

Even while Lords ignored him, Li didn't mind getting to see inside the castles. As long as the lords seemed unmoved by his presence in their provinces, Li did not care. He wondered if the villagers were complaining about his questions.

"Small towns are the worst Li; word spreads fast," Wada noted early on.

And so, Li decided to prepare to be questioned by these local lords. It was bound to happen again. His style was to leave no stone unturned and speak with as many people as possible.

Stay quiet, let them do the talking. Take in information.

He decided it wasn't worth changing that now just for some small village gossip.

Li ribbed at Rou, and he began to canter. They were following Wada on his large white horse. Wada told Hu Li he didn't name horses as he did not want to grow attached to them. His life was solitary, he had explained.

"I'm more effective without attachments, Hu Li."

"I know that life," Li nodded.

The large white horse came from the western continent. Someone from the emperor's court in Tobe gave it to him as a gift.

"Does every Pathfinder get a big horse from the emperor?"

"I am not every Pathfinder," Wada announced so cooly that it didn't even sound arrogant.

He must have quite the reputation; I wonder what he's doing so far from the Capital.

Most of the local horses in the region, and in all of Heguri for that matter, were undersized agile horses good for navigating rough and mountainous terrain. Wada's horse was large and robust, unlike any Hu Li had seen. Even the long sleek stallions of the Hulan plains to the west weren't as big as Wada's mount.

"It's bred by the brutes who live at the edge of the continent. I'm told they're oversized and mentally slow; part beast, part man, always looking for a fight. The majority population is more similar to us in size."

"I've heard of the brutes, I think. Pale ghosts with fire hair who smell like spoiled milk."

"Disgusting," Wada spat.

We agree on that.

Li and Wada followed a dirt road on the river until they reached a small crest in the terrain where the forest finally opened. From the ridge, they looked down onto what Wada told Li was Shinshiri. Li recognized the thatched roofs of the homes that covered the villages in the region. The structures were built with wood and had rectangular bases ranging in size. Most were multiple stories, holding multiple generations of the same family under one roof. After the first story, the building began to converge into a point at the top. The thatched roofs were triangular-shaped and very steep. Wada informed Hu Li it was to keep the roof from caving in during the winter's heavy snow at the base of the Gods' Mountains.

Li counted close to one hundred homes in total.

There must be six hundred to one thousand individuals.

Small plots of land surrounded the homes where the inhabitants farmed for subsistence. Li noticed the familiar sights of millet and buckwheat covering the fields, with smaller plots for squash, taro, sweet potato, and melon.

Another day, another village, just like the rest.

"You're heading down," Wada asked.

"I am."

Wada grunted.

"Are you going for a ride?"

Wada nodded and took off down the slope. Li stood at the top of the crest and watched him go. Dirt kicked up from behind the galloping hooves. As Wada grew closer to the village, the hooves' sound died off, and he veered right to ride past onward. Li looked over the village and broke it up into a grid in his mind. He would move through the village methodically, trying to cover as much as he could before sunset.

I can cover this in three days, two if I'm moving quickly.

Li began working through the village. It was the familiar faces. Old and tired farmers, confused by his line of questioning. Li asked if anyone in town kept their residence or tavern open late or if there were stables. He enquired about town drunks that stayed out late. Shinshiri was an average-sized village and had one tavern but no stables. Villagers told Li the tavern closed early, well before the middle of the night. There were no drunks.

Every time. I should have paid Peng Shun to ride with me. He would have been more fun than the Ox.

Hu Li ate a bowl of cold buckwheat noodles and a small helping of melon for lunch. A vendor sold hot tea similar to Wada's, so he had a serving of that too. His wineskin was nearly empty, so he decided to save what was left to sleep that night. Li spent the remainder of the day working through the village grid. Stop by stop; he made quick work of his conversations. He knew how to read if he would get anything from the individual quickly. Most of the villagers were shy, or busy, or uninterested in his line of questioning.

As the sun started to set over the small village, there was no sign of Wada.

I won't finish the grid today, but there's a good chance I finish tomorrow.

Li was satisfied. His mind was clear, and he had worked with ruthless efficiency. If there were loose ends the girl left behind, he would find them. He was sure of it. He watched a particularly older man work a buckwheat field in the next stop on his grid. The man kneeled in the soil, his hands covered in dirt from his day's work. His hair was grey and shaggy, and his skin was tanned and weathered like leather.

"Need a hand, old man?"

"What do you mean, old?" the man turned quickly and looked annoyed.

"Apologies, I didn't mean—"

The man cut him off with a smile, "Only joking with you."

He stood up and bowed to Hu Li. Hu Li jumped off Rou and did the same.

"What brings you to our village?"

"I'm looking for someone."

"We don't have many visitors."

"Have you had any recently?"

"A few."

"When someone comes through, does word travel through the village?"

"Of course. There's no privacy here," the man began to wash his hands in a bowl of water nearby, "It looks sparse but socially, we're well connected. Too well. You get used to it."

"I see. What kind of visitors come through?"

"Just traders, an occasional family member from a nearby village."

"Anyone out of the ordinary recently?"

"Not that I can remember, no."

"No women? Girls?"

The man shook his head, "Lose one? You're a long way from home from the looks of it."

"Something like that."

"Good luck. If someone made it up here to the mountains, they might be able to stay hidden," the man gestured towards Li, "You're not from here, not the village; I mean, you're from across the Red River. You're Daming."

"I am."

"That's the first in a long time. Your accent is not bad, by the way."

"Thank you," Li acknowledged the compliment, "How long have you lived here?"

"All my life."

"Do you travel the countryside?"

"Rarely."

Li looked around; some things were very different from home, some things were remarkably the same.

"Where's your help? Why is an old man working a field alone?"

The man shrugged, "No one to help."

"No sons, grandsons… daughters?"

"All gone. Left the village."

"Cities?"

The old man nodded and looked off into the distance, "Some Sariju, some Shimatari, some all the way to Fuhua or Fujihoro."

Li nodded in acknowledgment.

Same story as the Daming countryside.

"Listen, I'll ride back through here in a week; if you hear anything about a Daming girl riding through, will you let me know when I return?"

The man nodded.

"Thank you."

Li heard the thunder of horses galloping in unison and turned back to the dirt road that split through the village. All around them, farmers stopped what they were working. A man in expensive blue armor led a group of a dozen more on horseback. They were galloping at a fast pace. Dirt was kicking up behind them, leaving a cloud of the earth in the air.

Now, who is this in such a hurry?

Suddenly a man burst from the doorway of one of the nearby homes. He sprinted across the road and through the field the older man was working, ignoring the man and Li.

He's heading for the hills.

The man at the front of the group broke quickly and rode past Li before his men could catch up to him. Hu Li noticed the bright red trimming and the serpent helmet as he rode past.

Tamura?

The lord was onto the man quickly and grabbed him by his shirt before throwing him into the soil. Li watched as the old farmer shook his head, watching the scene.

Is he worried about his crops or the man?

Lord Tamura bound the man's wrists and tied him to a rope he attached to the horse's tack. His men circled the scene on horseback.

It's still surprising to see the lord doing all the work. I would love to see Guo Xue chase someone down on horseback.

Li didn't have Wada with him and hoped Tamura would not recognize him. Lord Tamura seemed unaware of their presence and walked the horse towards the road. He moved fast enough to make the bound man uncomfortable but not so quickly that he could not keep up on his feet.

"You should watch this," the old man said silently out of the side of his mouth.

Li followed the armored lord, his men, and the bound man into the small dirt center square in the middle of the road. A crowd was gathering. Li looked back up to the hill's crest and saw a large man on a white horse watching the scene from afar.

Wada.

"This way," the old man gestured.

Li followed.

By the time Li and Rou cantered into the center square, the show had begun.

"Do you deny the charges?"

Lord Tamura had removed his serpent-faced helmet mask and talked loudly. The man below kept his composure. The crowd was full of concerned elderly faces, but no one said a word except for the man on trial.

"No."

"No?"

"I did what I did for my family, for the village."

Tamura shook his head, "You did it for yourself. Trading across the border is illegal. The emperor sets the appropriate quota for the betterment of the empire."

The bound man spat, "The emperor sets a quota for himself and for you."

The crowd murmured.

Tamura paused for a moment, "A selfish man always justifies his actions. Sometimes he even fools himself into believing them."

"A corrupt official always silences those that speak about what is real. Your make-believe world only exists in your head."

The murmurs grew louder. Li felt the crowd closing in on the scene ever so slowly. Tamura's composure held.

"You leave me no choice. In the name of the emperor, and for the betterment of the empire, I sentence you to ten years hard labor in the north."

The crowd's murmurs grew to cries.

"We don't have enough able men here in the village; you can not take him!"

"Please, let him stay!"

"We'll pay a fine! Whatever the fine!"

Tamura looked around the circle, "I suppose I could raise taxes temporarily to make up for the stolen income."

What a show. Politicians, always the same no matter where they're they are.

Suddenly Li heard more galloping. He turned back to the road to see Wada galloping down at full speed.

Now what?

"Tamura! Tamura!" the Ox yelled as his strong horse kicked up its own cloud of dirt from behind it.

Tamura turned to Wada as the Ox continued, "Shadows! Circling now!"

Lord Tamura wasted no time putting his helmet mask back on, and all the men drew their blades. The crowd scattered in all directions. Tamura kept the man on trial bound before him.

"If they want to save you, let's see them try. This village might lose more than one able-bodied man today."

Tamura kicked the man to the ground and mounted his horse. The men mounted their horses and surrounded Tamura in a circle, with each man pointing outwards in a different direction. The crowd was already gone, scrambling into their homes. Suddenly they were alone in the center of the small village square.

Li drew his sheathed knife and looked around.

What is going on?

The sun had set. There was still light creeping over the mountains' top, but it was getting very dark quickly. Hu Li looked around, but the road was dark, and throughout the village, lights were dimming from inside the thatched roof homes.

Li was the only man on the ground; he looked back to where he tied his horse against the nearest post. He heard a whoosh through the air, and suddenly one of Tamura's men was down, his hands gripping at an arrow lodged in his neck. Blood was leaking out onto the dirt.

Tamura spoke calmly, "Hold your position. Shields!"

The men drew small steel shields from the side of their mounts. They were rectangular-shaped and matched their deep blue steel armor. Hu Li heard more arrows fly past in the air, and another man fell. Others bounced off the outstretched shields that the men used to block their chests, necks, and heads. Hu Li ran out of the square and hid in the closest buckwheat field. He could still see the central yard from his hiding position.

Coward. No. No, this is not your fight.

Li could not see the attackers. There was silence for a moment until Wada yelled again; he had reached the men and joined their position, "The roofs, they're jumping from roof to roof!"

"Light them up," Tamura called.

Lord Tamura's men pulled out torches and lit them in the fire burning in the village square. Hu Li heard arrows fly past, and another one of Tamura's men fell as he went to light his torch. The rest of the men ran to the edge of the square and tossed them on the homes' thatched roofs. Fires lit, and soon the thatched rooves were ablaze. Li heard men and women cry from inside, and suddenly people were streaming back out into the road. Smoke began to billow from the homes.

Amongst it all, Li noticed men in dark clothing falling from the roofs. One was ablaze.

Shadows.

"There!" Tamura shouted, and he rode down one of the men as the rest of his men followed suit.

Tamura's men were on the attack now. Li watched as Tamura cut down the man ablaze without hesitation with his blade. Blood poured out of the man's wound, and he was gone. People screamed; some ran for water and tried to douse the flames. Others pulled belongings out of the infernos as quickly as they could before their homes would be gone completely. Wada was riding close to Tamura. It looked like he was watching over him in the melee. A horse whined nearby.

Rou!

Li whirled back over to see the building that Rou was attached to had caught fire from a nearby home. He ran and released the distressed horse. It was a struggle to hold him back as the horse wanted to flee for the hills.

"Easy boy! Easy!"

Li managed to mount him, just in time to turn and see the older man's house. Smoke billowed from the entrance as flames covered the roof. Quickly Li looked towards Wada. He was fending off a pair of dark-clothed men who were attacking him and Tamura. He looked back towards the older man's home. The man was nowhere to be seen.

Where did you go?

Li ribbed Rou, and they went running for the old man's home. He tied the horse to a nearby house that was safe from the fires and sprinted for the open doorway. Thick smoke filled the home. Li could barely breathe.

"Old man! Old man!"

Li heard coughing from the far corner. He covered his mouth and ran for it. He could barely see, but he felt two bodies huddled together when he reached for the sounds.

"Take my hand!"

He felt the grip. Slowly Li led the pair across the room and towards the doorway. Debris fell from the ceiling, and Li could barely make out the light from the door.

"Cover your mouth!"

They were close now, just another ten meters. Li was hot; the blaze felt like it was cooking him. There was no time to think. Suddenly he felt the fresh air, and they were free of the building. Li looked down at his companions. It was the old farmer and what looked like his wife. They were coughing and breathing in and out deeply.

"Old man, old man!"

He looked up at Li, dazed.

"Is there anyone else in the home! Is there anyone else!"

The man looked like he was thinking for a moment, then nodded his head no.

They're all alone. These two are too old to be all alone.

Li looked back on the house. It was as good as gone. There was nothing to be done, now. Li walked dejectedly back toward Rou. The horse whined as it attempted to break free from the post. Li reached him, let him free, fought him to a standstill, and began to soothe the animal. He pet the long nose of the horse the way he knew he liked and spoke to him in soft tones, "Easy boy, I've got you. I have you. It's alright, boy. It's ok."

Li looked back towards the town square; on the outskirts of the melee, men, women, and children were now out of the homes, crying as they watched their homes disappear into the air. Saved possessions piled everywhere in the dirt around the square. The unlucky homes immediately surrounding the town square lit up the night sky. Luckily the village was not so densely packed that the majority of homes were safe.

Tamura, Wada, and the rest of the men were piling dead bodies in the center. There had not been another casualty amongst Tamura's ranks after the first three fell to arrows, it seemed. Half a dozen bodies were wearing dark clothing and face coverings. Hu Li remembered what Wada had called them as he galloped down the road.

Shadows.

Wada caught Li's eyes. He nodded and exhaled as Li nodded back.

Glad you're safe.

"Who were they?"

Wada and Li tied up their horses. They were safely within the walls of Tamura's castle.

"Locals."

The cold autumn wind swirled in the elevated lands at the feet of the mountains. Leaves floated past the two men.

"You said shadows."

"They wear black; use the terrain to their advantage. The shadows come at you with the element of surprise."

"Up in the mountains?"

Wada nodded.

"And they are brave enough to attack Tamura and his men?"

"Foolish enough."

"Bold."

"They're isolated, remote. Up here in the shadow of the mountains, you're a long way from Tobe. They're not along a trade route. The roads are narrow, and they feel cut off from trading. It cuts them off from the markets but also protects them. It takes a long while to send an army down those roads."

"The man was caught for trading illegally?"

"Right."

The men were walking towards the castle now. Tamura would be waiting.

"And those men in black, the shadows, were they from the village?"

"Likely. Listen, Li, a lot is going on here that's important to Lord Tamura and Tobe. It does not concern you. You're here for the girl. I'm happy to fill in the bigger picture for you so far as it helps your work, but there are things at play here that you do not need to know and do not want to know."

Li listened as they reached the steps towards Tamura's audience chamber.

"You wait here. I need to settle a few things with Lord Tamura. Then we go on our way."

Li nodded.

Don't push it. Do what you're told.

Wada disappeared into the darkness of the steps above. Li walked over to a hanging oil lantern and sat down at the base of the steps. He huddled under his shirt in the cold winds. He missed the summer heat now. Li opened his wineskin, there were only a handful of sips left, but that would do. He took a drink, and the burn warmed his throat and chest. Li looked up to the stars. For a moment, he swore he could make out a fox in the pattern. Clouds slowly covered his view, and he came back to earth. Li took another drink. His eyes felt heavy, and his legs were sore.

Might as well get some rest.

It was an hour or more later when Wada woke Li from his slumber.

"Come."

Li looked up at Wada while the comment registered.

"Come.. with you? Up there?"

Wada nodded, and Li rose to his feet. He slung the now empty wineskin around his shoulder and began upwards on the stone staircase, following his guide. The stone steps cut through a massive stone base that held the castle above ground. The castle itself was made of stone and wood and painted crisp white with blue and red accents. There were small golden statues on the corners and crests of the triangular-shaped roofs. In the dark, massive lanterns kept the stone stairs lit.

"I thought you said I didn't want to know more."

"Lord Tamura asked for you; I come for you."

"He asked? Does he know me?"

"We met him not seven days ago."

"I know, but he event look at me."

"You're beneath him."

Wada paused and turned back to face Li on the stairs.

"I mean that in the most literal sense possible. Our society is more stratified than yours. Tamura is above you in the order."

"And you?"

"I am too. But my job requires me to interact with you."

"Right."

How generous.

Li and Wada passed many night patrols on their way up to Tamura's chamber. The chamber room was as Li remembered. It was plain, and bamboo matt covered the floor. Tamura sat on the far side of the room on an elevated portion. He was out of his armor and back into his dark blue silk wrap. His blade lay sheathed next to him, and the armor was back on display behind him. It was already immaculately clean.

This time Lord Tamura was not alone. Three warriors sat with their blades to their sides. They faced perpendicular to Tamura and did not make eye contact with Wada and Hu Li. Li noticed the paintings on the walls this time. They were all variations of flying serpents on tapestries, depicting scenes of serpents bringing storms to villages and castles. On one canvas, a warrior dressed like Tamura rode a flying serpent into battle.

"Are you admiring my dragon?"

"I'm sorry?"

Tamura nodded towards the man riding the serpent.

"I suppose I am."

Don't say much; let them do the talking.

"What do you think."

"It's very creative."

"I descend from that man riding the dragon."

Sure.

"I see."

"For many generations, my ancestors rode the flying serpents into battle before the formation of the empire brought peace and prosperity to us all. We were one of only a few families that did it, and it gave us an advantage on the battlefield."

"Hm."

"I see you do not believe me. I see you think dragons only exist in stories. You would not be the first. And it does not matter, after all. There hasn't been a serpent in over a thousand years."

A thousand years, the age of the Heguri Empire.

"So there hasn't been a dragon since the formation of the Empire."

"You know some history of our people?"

Li gestured towards Wada, "You can thank my guide for that."

“More than a guide, Morokore Wada. You are lucky to be led by a Pathfinder of his reputation."

Li nodded.

"Your employer is well connected to know how to hire one and affluent enough to afford him."

Plenty affluent.

Li updated his prior on Guo Xue. He knew the man was connected within the Xiao Empire, but this was more evidence of his reach. How well he was connected north of the border was still a question to him.

"I am lucky to be employed by Governor Guo Xue."

Tamura nodded slowly.

"Your employer is why I call on you. I need you to send a message to him."

"Of course," Li hesitated, "But why not send a heron?"

"Inspector Li, are you aware that we register all messages sent with royal herons with the emperor's court?"

"No."

"It is so."

"And you do not want word of whatever message you're sending reaching the emperor's court?"

"No, I have nothing to hide. However, I fear my message may raise more alarm than is appropriate, should it be deciphered. We have everything under control here."

Does he worry about the villagers? The shadow soldiers?

"I see."

"Please tell Governor Guo that we are seeing more of what he and I have been observing around the border."

"And that is?"

"He will know."

"I see. Is this urgent?"

"When do you plan to return to Governor Guo Xue's estate?"

"In a few more weeks. There are more villages to question, but if we don't find anything, we will return."

Tamura thought for a moment before speaking.

"That will suffice. Please, send word if you plan on traveling longer than three weeks. I will want to reach the governor sooner."

"I will."

Li saw an opportunity to learn something he'd been wondering for a while now.

"If you don't mind me asking, Lord Tamura."

"Please, speak your mind."

"Why call for me? Why not entrust this message to the Heguri Pathfinder."

Li turned and gestured towards Wada.

"Our Pathfinder Tamura does not interact with Governor Guo Xue. Or am I mistaken?"

Tamura looked to Wada for an answer. At least in this chamber, it seemed the Pathfinder answered to the Provincial Lord.

"I do not," Wada replied.

So there is an intermediary between Governor Guo and Wada.

"Right. Of course."

"Please, inspector, if you don't mind repeating the message aloud so I can be sure you have it correct. Heguri is not your first tongue, after all."

Li glanced to the three warriors sitting to his left. They were all watching him. Li could not see Wada's eyes as Wada sat behind him. The closest warrior, and thus furthest from Tamura, was the youngest. Maybe no more than twenty years. Li noted the resemblance to his father.

"Lord Tamura of Mountain Province Two says that he sees more of what you two have been observing around the border."

Tamura smiled for the first time and nodded.

"Very good. Thank you."

Li sat for a moment before he realized the conversation was over. Slowly he rose to his feet and bowed before leaving the room. He heard Wada follow him out the door, and the men walked down the stone stairs into the night.