Chapter Twenty
UNEXPECTED GUESTS
“I understand that the ghost girl is angry with Sunila,” Kai said. “He was responsible for her death. But why does she wish to kill you?”
“I told her grandfather that she was at peace, and she isn’t. I sent her remaining family members far away. I was the one who found food for Sunila. I saved him from starvation and I cared for him. Then, the final insult, I gave her a gift made of his hair.”
“It is not your fault she died.” Kai glared at the naga, who was trying to hide behind the couch. “Our problems started when the naga appeared. He is the one who killed her.”
Tao couldn’t blame the naga for Baoyu’s death; he’d been mad with hunger when he crashed through Shenchi village. But it was true – since Sunila had entered their lives, nothing had gone right.
Baoyu had swept through Wei’s room and knocked the precious things from the shelf. Those fragile mementos of the outside world that Tao had brought back for his brother had sat undisturbed for years, but now they were broken, smashed by the ghost girl’s force. The baby spiders were all gone. Baoyu’s fury must have frightened them away. She knew all the things that were dear to him.
Outside, Tao could hear the sounds of the Zhao soldiers returning from their second night of searching for the Black Camel Bandits. From the way they trudged silently to their quarters, he guessed they’d still had no success. Fo Tu Deng would soon be awake and Tao would have to face the monk and his demands.
In the kitchen, pieces of the red clay teapot and broken bowls littered the floor. Tao knew he hadn’t seen the last of the ghost girl.
“It is time to go,” Kai said.
The thought of leaving all his problems behind was tempting. The Zhao knew all about his secret places – Yinmi Monastery and his family home – neither provided sanctuary any more. But there was still something holding him back.
“Not yet.”
“If we leave this place, you will be free of the ghost girl.”
“No, I won’t. She’s been haunting me ever since we left her grandfather. I thought if I could convince her to move into her next life, then all would be well. But she won’t go. There’s something I have to do to appease her.”
“What?”
Tao sighed. “I don’t know.”
“We cannot stay here.”
“I know that. But I can’t leave until Baoyu’s ghost is at rest. I must find out what it is she wants.”
“A ghost must stay near its remains,” Kai said.
“So how can she continue to exist in ghost form when she is so far from her grave?”
“It seems a long way to you because we had to walk up and down hills and around mountains to get here. And we travelled at human pace. But her grave is not far away – as the dragon flies. If we travel further from her grave, she will not be able to follow us.”
“Then she will haunt someone else.”
“I suspect that it is not the ghost girl you are concerned about leaving behind, but Pema.”
Tao felt his cheeks warm.
“It’s true I am worried about her, but I will happily leave her behind if she has a safe place to live, and she has chosen a peaceful way of life.”
“Huaxia is in chaos, Tao. You cannot save everybody.”
Tao knew he couldn’t save everyone. But he wanted to save Pema.
“Your duty is to be a dragonkeeper as Wei told you. You cannot allow these two girls – one dead, one alive – to shackle you to your past.”
Tao’s brain agreed with Kai though his heart disagreed.
“If you refuse to leave. I will go alone.”
Tao couldn’t let that happen.
“You’re right, Kai. We must go.”
Once Tao had made the decision, he wanted to leave immediately. He found a leather bag in a storeroom, the sort that goatherds carry on their backs when they take their flocks up to the mountain pastures in summer. It took him no more than a minute or two to collect his few possessions and put them in the bag. He looked at his toes poking out from his sandals. He needed more substantial footwear, warmer clothing. He wasn’t sure how he would endure the winter months, but that was a problem for later.
Kai composed a poem to reassure him about the cold weather that lay ahead.
“Winter is a lovely season,
When cleansing winds do blow.
There is not a sensible reason
To dislike it because of a little snow.”
“That isn’t your best poem.” Tao managed a smile.
Kai didn’t have to pack. Everything he owned fitted behind his five reverse scales. Tao went into the kitchen, bundled up as much grain, dried fruit and nuts as he could fit into the bag and slung it on his back. He picked up his staff with its new dragon head.
Kai nodded approvingly. “It is good. Fitting for a dragonkeeper.”
They walked towards the gate. “You go out through your tunnel when the guards are on the other side of the wall,” Kai said. “I will use my mirage skill.”
“What about Sunila?” Tao said. “We can’t leave him here.”
“We cannot take him to the dragon haven. He is a naga, not a dragon of Huaxia. The other dragons will attack him.”
“Then we must take him back to Tianzhu.”
They were still arguing about this when someone started thumping on the gate. The guards, who had been dozing in the morning sun, jumped to their feet, grabbed their weapons and peered down from the wall to see who was there. One of them gasped in horror. The thumping continued, accompanied by impatient shouting. Fo Tu Deng came out of Mrs Huan’s room, bleary eyed.
“Are we under attack?” he called up to the guards. “Are our enemies at the gate?”
“No,” one of the guards shouted back. “Not our enemies.” From the tremor in his voice, it sounded like whoever was there was worse.
Someone lifted the bar and opened the gate. A pack of Zhao soldiers astride black horses was crowded outside. They wore leather armour and red plumes on their helmets. The horses were snorting and sweaty after a long ride. At the head of the group was a handsome young man wearing a crimson jacket, shiny metal armour and a white fur hat. His leather boots were the same colour as his jacket. His black horse reared up, as if angry at being stopped from galloping, and then strode into the compound.
Tao groaned. “It’s Jilong and his personal guard!”
“We should have left at dawn,” Kai said. “The delay has cost us dearly.”
Tao couldn’t believe his bad fortune. The moment he finally decided to escape was the very moment Jilong arrived unannounced at the gate. Kai was right. They should have left as soon as they’d made the decision.
“I kneel before you, Langhai,” Fo Tu Deng said, sinking unsteadily to one knee.
Tao had not heard the term before. It meant wolf child. He guessed it was the title given to the man next in line to be Chanyu – the leader of the Zhao.
“You should have sent word you were arriving,” Fo Tu Deng said. “I would have arranged a welcome feast.”
The monk’s hair was standing on end, his outer robe thrown hastily over his shoulders, scarcely covering his skinny body. He was too busy bowing to Jilong to notice that Tao had a packed bag and was ready to leave.
“Where are my men?” Jilong asked.
“They are sleeping, Langhai.”
The warlord glanced at the sun, which was almost halfway along its journey to midday. “At this time of day?”
“We have been up all night,” the monk said. “Searching for the Black Camel Bandits.”
“I have ridden all through the night,” Jilong said. “But I am not asleep. No one else should be.”
“I will rouse them immediately.” Fo Tu Deng waved over a blinking Zhao soldier who had got up to pee. “Wake the men. Get someone to prepare food for the Langhai.”
The man scurried away.
“I will explain our new tactics, but first you must have food and refresh
ments.”
The warlord got down from his horse in a single smooth motion. He glared at Fo Tu Deng, who hadn’t stopped bobbing and bowing since Jilong arrived. Then the warlord’s eyes fell on Tao and Kai. He sneered at them as if he’d discovered not one but two cockroaches in his food. “What are they doing here?”
“I have captured them to serve you, my lord.” The prospect didn’t seem to please the warlord. “Or to dispose of, if that is your wish.”
“Is the girl here too?” Jilong asked.
He meant Pema, who had tried to kill Jilong’s uncle, Shi Le.
The warlord scowled at Tao and Kai. “If it wasn’t for these two, that murderous little savage would not have escaped my punishment. Kill them both.”
Fo Tu Deng had a problem. The monk needed Tao alive.
A young nomad, no more than a boy, was so tired he’d fallen asleep on his horse. He slid to the ground with a thump.
“The Langhai did not give any orders to stand down!” the captain of the guard snarled. He was a huge man with muscular arms and one ear missing. “Put that man in irons and give him no rations.” The lad was hoisted up and taken away.
Jilong surveyed the compound. “This place will make a good headquarters.”
He went over to the peony pavilion and sat on Wei’s couch, leaning back and putting his red-booted feet on the cushions. He called for some kumiss.
But Jilong and his men weren’t the last visitors to arrive. No one had bothered to close the gate. A covered carriage drawn by four horses came into the compound. Tao recognised it immediately. It was the same carriage that he’d seen at the horse-riding contest outside Luoyang. Then it had contained beautiful young ladies, favoured by the warlord, whose job it was to flatter him and look attractive on his arm.
Tao remembered the last time he’d seen that carriage, when Pema had stepped out, almost unrecognisable in a fine gown and with painted lips and eyelids. Tao’s stomach clenched as the carriage door opened. He was half expecting Pema to emerge again among a chatter of ladies, wreathed in perfumed silk. But just one woman stood at the carriage door and waited as servants rushed to place steps for her to climb down. It wasn’t Pema, and this woman was no court beauty. She was short, fat and old. Her hair had been tied up inexpertly in the style of Huaxia women, and had fallen to one side. She wore a creased and ill-fitting gown that was an ugly shade of green. She struggled awkwardly down the three steps. Jilong hurried over to give her support as she descended.
The woman stood in the compound, cooling herself with a bamboo fan. Her face was red from the effort of climbing down the few steps. Her brow was deeply wrinkled from scowling; she had an enormous nose, and the lines around her mouth turned down as if she’d never smiled in her life. She reminded Tao of a painting of a demon at Yinmi. The compound fell silent. Jilong bowed low before her.
“Mother,” he said. “What are you doing here? Quarters have been prepared for you at Luoyang.”
“I spent last night there. I didn’t like it. The bed was uncomfortable. There were rats. And I couldn’t see the stars.” She spoke with a harsh accent, unlike Jilong whose Huaxia was perfect. “I was hoping for one of those imperial palaces I’ve heard so much about, but they were all in ruins. Your men told me you were here.”
“As soon as I have defeated the Black Camel Bandits,” Jilong said, “my first task will be to build a grand palace for you.”
The woman grunted. “In the meantime, I will stay here.”
Jilong turned to Fo Tu Deng. “See to it that the best room in the compound is prepared for Lady Wang,” he said. “Unless I am mistaken, that will be the one you are currently using.”
“I will do it immediately, Langhai.” Fo Tu Deng backed away to Mrs Huan’s room, bowing as he went.
Jilong took his mother’s arm again and led her to Wei’s couch.
Tao didn’t recognise the kind and caring person that Jilong had transformed into.
“I am honoured that you have made such a long and uncomfortable journey to visit me,” he said, stroking her arm.
“I want food,” she said, whacking his hand with her fan.
Tao waited to witness Jilong’s anger. Surely this woman would be executed for such disrespect. But the warlord’s features rearranged themselves. His eyes filled with tears, his mouth turned up at the edges, his teeth were revealed. Something unfamiliar appeared on his face. It was a smile – not the mean sneer Tao had seen before, but the sort of soft smile women wore when admiring babies. It was like watching a tiger roll over to have its tummy tickled.
Jilong shouted orders at his personal cook. “Prepare a meal for Lady Wang immediately!”
“Get my chest,” the old woman snapped. “I don’t want one of your stupid men carrying it. They’ll probably drop it.”
“Of course, Mother.”
Jilong scurried back to the carriage and hauled down a huge chest, like a child proud to be asked to do a task beyond his age. Some of his men went to help him.
“I’ll carry it!” he insisted, though his knees were buckling under the weight.
Jilong staggered to Mrs Huan’s room. Lady Wang followed.
Tao and Kai glanced at each other. It seemed there was one person in the world who had no fear of Jilong. His mother.
Chapter Twenty-One
THE ORB SPIDER
The Zhao troops were gathered around the peony pavilion where Jilong and his mother sat framed by its delicate carvings and double roof with the turned up corners. It was the sort of setting that the young warlord liked – something that made him look imperial. He stood up to address his men and they fell silent.
“You have heard the news,” he said. “Our enemies have the upper hand. They have taken back Jiyuan, which I won less than a month ago.”
He made it sound like he’d done it single-handedly.
Lady Wang sat on the couch, her knees apart, her feet dangling. Next to her were the remains of a small feast of four courses – roast deer, rabbit stew, baked pangolin and pickled eggs. She wasn’t listening to the speech. She was still pushing food into her mouth.
“They attacked at night wearing their black clothes,” Jilong said, “sneaking up on our comrades and killing them silently in the darkness.”
“Cheats,” the men muttered. “Cowards.”
“They have no pride in battle. They will use any means to beat us.”
Tao and Kai were watching from the kitchen doorway.
“Remember the tactics the Zhao soldiers used in the contests at the White Horse Temple?” Tao said. They had been prepared to do anything to win.
Kai nodded. “And that was when they were pitted against their comrades.”
One minute Jilong was shouting that the nomads were useless soldiers, not fit to clean his boots, the next he was describing the wonderful victory they would have because of their superiority over their enemies.
“It is up to you.” He left them to imagine what would happen if they failed. “Even I cannot defeat the Black Camel Bandits alone. You must find strength and fight with me. Your hearts must be filled with hatred for these spineless thugs. We fight for the honour of the Zhao!”
The men cheered and clashed their weapons. The warlord didn’t need to give them kumiss to win them round. They were ready for a fight.
Jilong helped Lady Wang get down from the couch. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and put her arm through his. The men were still cheering their leader as Jilong turned and walked straight into the orb spider’s web. The sticky threads clung to his face and his crimson jacket. The more he tried to free himself, the more entangled he became. The huge spider crawled out of the vine that wound around the pavilion. It descended on a lengthening thread of silk until it was dangling a finger-width from Jilong’s nose. A look of horror spread across the warlord’s face. The spider was reaching out to him with several of its yellow-striped legs. Jilong seemed unable to move. Tiny Lady Wang tried to bat it away with her fan. The spider stepped delicately onto Jil
ong’s nose. The warlord screamed. Lady Wang hit his nose so hard it started to bleed. The spider, meanwhile, descended on its thread and sat on Jilong’s hand. He jumped into the pool to wash it off, but the water barely came up to his knees. He slipped on the slime in the pond and fell on his bottom, still waving his hand to try to dislodge the spider.
Kai’s jingling laughter rang out. “Did you make the spider do that?”
“No. At least not intentionally.”
Tao wondered if his qi power really had influenced the spider. He moved forwards and bowed. “If I may assist, General.”
Tao stepped onto a rock in the pond and reached out to the spider, which climbed onto his hand. He stepped back off the rock. The men were biting their lips, trying not to laugh. Jilong got up and stalked off to his quarters, leaving behind his mother and a trail of wet footprints. Tao put the spider safely back among the vines.
Fo Tu Deng grabbed Tao by the arm and pushed him into the peony pavilion.
“Quick,” he said. “I need to know what advice to give Jilong. You must seek another vision.”
“But …”
“I haven’t got time for your excuses. I need a vision now! He hates to be humiliated. At any moment, one of his men will make a comment or a small mistake and Jilong will have him executed on the spot. I have seen it before. And then he will attack some unfortunate town and kill the inhabitants, just to improve his mood.” The monk put his arm around Tao’s shoulders. “You can stop people from dying.”
That was the one thing that would convince Tao to help Jilong. Kai made a deep rumbling sound.
The courtyard was quiet. The soldiers had all gone to their quarters to sleep. Jilong was still sulking in his room. Tao had no distractions. If he could save people’s lives, it was his duty to try.
“Tell me what Jilong wants to achieve.”
“The Zhao have been victorious for more than ten years under Shi Le’s leadership.” Fo Tu Deng was whispering, though there was no one around to hear him. “Jilong isn’t content to leave a trail of destruction behind him – though he has a talent for that. He is planning to take over from his uncle. He wants his own empire. He dreams of rebuilding Luoyang and making it his capital. The recent setbacks don’t help his cause. Shi Le will not hand over the reins of power to Jilong while he is losing towns to bandits.”