A pale face. Bulging eyes.

“Nooooooo!”

“You’re all dead! All dead!” howled Lord Gao. “I’ll see y-”

BOOM!

Trip’s eyes snapped open, her heart thundering in her ears. It took a few moments for her to realise that she was laying in a bed. It look even longer for her to realise that, for the first time in a long while, she was able to think clearly, and was feeling much better. Physically speaking, that is. No more vertigo, no more high-pitched buzzing in her ears, no more invisible knives in her torso every time she moved or breathed.

She had memories of being injured very badly, trying to fight on regardless, then getting saved by… Brother Mender and White Dragon? She still wasn’t sure if that had been a hallucination. Then came the periods where she drifted in and out of consciousness, having her wounds washed and dressed, having her bandages changed, having water slowly dripped into her mouth, and through it all… Wukong had been sitting on the floor at her bedside.

Slowly, she used her elbows to push herself upright into a sitting position, feeling as weak as a wet noodle. Almost by reflex, she reached for her revolver. Her eyes widened in alarm when she found it missing. Even her holster was gone.

“Mistress? Are you alright? Do you need anything?”

Wukong was still in the same position beside her, looking like he had stayed there the entire time she had been recovering. She tried to speak, but all she could manage was a dry rasp, barely a whisper.

“Where’s my gun?”

“In the drawer beside you, Mistress.”

Only after checking that it was there, taking it out to put it in her lap, did she drink from the convenient cup of water placed on the waist-height drawer beside her bed.

“How long have I been here?”

“Three days, Mistress.”

Huh. Three days to recover from almost dying, not bad.

Once again, Trip gave thanks to the strange regenerative ability she’d gained from Wukong’s blood.

“Alright, time to get going.” Trip swung her legs on to the floor.

“Mistress, before you go, may I please have a moment?” Wukong looked up at her with a pleading expression.

“Yes?” Trip sat on the bed, feeling a bit taken aback by the unaccustomed look on Wukong’s face.

Wukong rose into a kneeling position, shuffling until he was arm’s length of Trip.

“Mistress! Please punish me!” Wukong slammed his forehead into the wooden floor, his hands on each side of his head.

“Wukong disobeyed orders!”, he slammed his head into the floor again, cracking the wood.

“Wukong failed to protect Mistress!”, he slammed his head into the floor a third time. He remained there, with his head pressed into the floor.

For a second, just a second, Trip imagined herself running her fingers over her metal bracer, activating the words of Pacification within. A part of her, an emotionless part, wondered what effect it would have on Wukong, and if it would cause him pain, then how much of it. Then she squashed those thoughts. No, take a deep breath. What did Mama always say… yes, I choose to be my best self.

“No.” She reached down to lay one hand on top of Wukong’s shoulder, her voice as gentle as her touch. “I put myself in harm’s way, and you did try your best to protect me, especially at the end.”

“But!-”, Wukong raised his head, looking shocked and rather indignant. A tiny part of Trip felt like chuckling at Wukong who looked so outraged at being denied punishment, but she suppressed it and continued.

“As for disobeying orders, who’s to say that my orders were the best thing to do in that moment? Or that my orders were clear enough? I have things I need to improve too. If you need to be punished, then I need to be punished too.”

“But!-”

“But I hope that we can improve our communication, so that we can agree on what to do. When you have a better idea, in any situation, let me know. Or at least let me know when you’re abandoning a plan. Alright?”

“Yes Mistress!”

“... I think you mean yes, you’ll try your best.”

At Wukong’s comical expression of trying not to look offended, Trip held up a hand.

“I’m not doubting you. I believe that you mean exactly what you say. But I also think that you have problems. Just as I do. And some of our problems get in the way of our doing what is best. So yes, all I ask for is that you try your best. As will I.”

Looking thoughtful, Wukong nodded.

Just then, the room door creaked open, revealing Brother Mender and a woman, both dressed similarly in short brown monk robes.

“Oh, you’re awake! That’s great! I’ll go inform the rest!” Brother Mender grinned as he ran off.

The woman smiled at Brother Mender’s retreating back, then turned back towards Trip.

“Please forgive Brother Mender, he’s been quite worried about you, despite Master White Dragon’s reassurances that you would be fine after enough rest.”

“Sure… and you are…?”

“My parents named me Fierce Sparrow, but please call me Sparrow.” She gave a self-deprecating smile. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you properly. Awake, that is.”

At Trip’s inquiring look, Sparrow continued, “I’m the one who cleaned and dressed your surface wounds. The progress of your healing has been nothing short of miraculous. The way all those huge bruises just cleared up in a few days… it’s amazing!”

Trip simply nodded.

Looking uncomfortable at the lack of response, Sparrow blurted “Er… shall I go fetch you something to eat? You must be hungry… yes, I’ll just... go.”

At that moment, Brother Mender burst back into the room with Elders Mu and Jing. Elder Jing was the first to speak.

“Trip! So glad you’re okay! We have so much to tell you!”

***

Trip had been quiet and focused, listening to the plans of Brother Mender and the village elders. At times, she would interject with short questions, prompting further explanations from Brother Mender.

When Brother Mender was done, he looked at Trip with a gaze full of expectation. “Well, what do you think?”

“Hmm…” Trip stared off into nowhere, thinking.

The room fell silent.

“Er… is there something wrong?” Elder Jing whispered in what he thought was a soft voice.

“Shh. Let her think.” murmured Elder Mu, as he placed a hand on Elder Jing’s shoulder.

Before long, Trip’s gaze focused on the three men. “I think the focus on learning, training, and developing technology is a great idea. As is strengthening your defenses. But I have a few suggestions, is that alright?”

Brother Mender seemed to radiate attention and focus, as he said “Of course, please tell us!”

“You mentioned liberating communities from the demons. I think you will only be able to do so when you have at least a few things. Fully trained and equipped combat teams, sufficient information about the demons and the community, and the cooperation of the community.

I think you’re on the right track to building combat teams, but information gathering is important as well. If I had done that, I wouldn’t have made such a big mess in your village. I wouldn’t have killed Lord Gao. That is something I regret doing, and I’m sorry.”

From her seat on the bed, Trip bowed as low as she could to Elder Mu and Elder Jing.

“Mistress! You did nothing wrong, he deserved to die!”

“Wukong!” Trip snapped, then caught herself. In a much calmer tone, she continued “That’s not for us to decide.”

“Wukong is right. You did us a favour. I thank you for it.” Elder Mu bowed back towards Trip.

“That’s right! If you hadn’t done it, I for one, would have!” Elder Jing’s fists were clenched in front of his chest, his arms sawing back and forth, as if he was imagining strangling Lord Gao himself.

Brother Mender gave Trip a sympathetic look. “It’s a heck of a thing, killing a person. You take away everything they are, everything they ever will be. Definitely not something to be taken lightly, and I’m very glad to see that you don’t. Still, please don’t punish yourself too much. Based on what Elder Mu and Elder Jing told me, it needed to be done.”

Trip still looked doubtful, but she straightened up, giving Brother Mender a grateful nod.

Elder Mu cleared his throat. “You mentioned information gathering?”

Trip blinked, needing a moment to gather her thoughts.

“Yes. You’ll need people trained and equipped for a different purpose. Instead of those bigger metal wagons with more weapons, which would be great for your combat teams, look into building lighter, faster wagons for a single person. These people will be your scouts, your messengers. They will be your early warning system, and the golden thread that connects your communities together.

You already know that it’s only a matter of time before the Crimson Army sends someone to investigate what happened the weapons and supplies you were supposed to send. Using scouts and messengers, you could find and eliminate them before they discover anything, or before they report back. In any case, you buy yourself more time to prepare before they bring war to your doorstep.”

Elder Jing gulped. “W… War?”

“Yes.” Trip looked grim as she pinned Elder Jing with her gaze. “It’s important that you realise it now. This situation we’re in will only result in full-out war with the Crimson Army. It’s only a matter of time. The Bull Demon King would never tolerate any form of resistance to his, or the Crimson Army’s authority. Sooner or later, he’ll come to crush you. The only path to survival is to expand, gather enough people and resources, build up enough war machines and defenses, and train up your people.”

The Elders were silent. Elder Jing looked like all this was a revelation to him, while Elder Mu looked like the was thinking hard. Brother Mender looked horrified, like he had only just realised the true extent of the situation.

Trip supposed it was understandable. Brother Mender had led a sheltered life, and the Elders’ were only slightly less so, all things considered. Trip kept silent, giving the men time to process.

Although, before the Crimson Army came to her home, she supposed her life had been the most sheltered of all.

Elder Mu spoke up. “I have confidence in Brother Mender and our people. I think we can work on everything you mentioned. Except for expansion. Right now, all we know of is the Crimson Army stronghold called Yellow Wind Ridge, which is hardly the best place to find allies. We believe Lord Gao knew of some other villages, but after doing a complete search of his office and villa, we turned up empty-handed. Whatever knowledge he had of those, it died with him.”

Trip smiled. “Until you build up the people to do so, please let me help with that. Thanks to Elder Jing sharing with me that’s where you deliver your supplies, Yellow Wind Ridge is exactly where I’m headed next. After that, I’ll direct any potential ally I find to you. We’ll need to work out how to leave signs and messages for each other… maybe scratching signs into certain trees or rocks to direct your scouts and messengers. Regardless, I’ll still have my swiftest messenger with me, if I ever need to send you any information in a hurry.” Trip nodded to White Dragon.

White Dragon gave a brief dip of his head. “Of course, Miss Trip. It would be my pleasure to facilitate in this great endeavour.”

Trip lifted the revolver from her lap. “Brother Mender, White Dragon, I’d like the two of you to make more of these. They’ll be helpful against the demons.”

White Dragon gave light snort. “Ah, Miss Trip, I’m afraid they’ll need to be at a much higher level of technology before it would be possible to duplicate a weapon requiring such accuracy and fine engineering.”

“Then is there a way to use their current technology to make something that shoots and loads faster than their pistols?”

Brother Mender grinned. “I’ve had several ideas about that. White Dragon and I will think of something, together with my fellow monks.”

“With your permission, Miss Trip, I’ll give Brother Mender the knowledge needed to eventually produce revolvers and the ammunition needed. I believe pursuing that would help them in other areas as well.”

Trip nodded. “Thank you. Do you also have the knowledge of how to train to shoot revolvers?”

At White Dragon’s shaking of his head, Trip continued. “Then that’s something I can help with. Get me something to write on.”

Brother Mender grinned. “Gladly, Sister Trip, gladly.”

-- Chapter 49, End --